Red Was Always My Favorite Colour

Chapter 2: The Talk of Enemies

Later that night, a meeting was called. In the reddish hue beyond hanging vines, the members of the Eggpire could be seen seated at a long rectangular table with gorgeous red wood: Badboyhalo, Antfrost, Hannah, Punz, and Ponk. Skeppy had also come to the meeting, yet chose to stay closer to the Egg than the rest of the members.

The meeting was called to decide what the Eggpire would do about a certain teenager who seemed to lack the capability of being swayed by the Egg. No one had seen such a thing occur; of course, there were people that despised the Egg, however, they still were susceptible to the power of the Egg. No one was immune unless you had voices, i.e. Technoblade, but Tommy definitely didn't have voices. None of the members conversing knew why such a predicament happened. Nevertheless, everyone sitting at the table agreed that Tommy was a danger to the Eggpire.

"We should figure out something to do so he doesn't mess up the Egg," spoke Antfrost, an anthropomorphic Siamese cat with tan and brown fur. Members of the Eggpire chatted with one another, agreeing that they needed to do something in order to prevent any mishaps between the Egg and Tommyinnit.

"Well, people are always at risk of something happening and Tommy is no different," Badboyhalo replied with a wave of his hand to gesture the fact.

"True, but if we do anything to Tommy then we'll lose the possibility of allies. We should try to find a way to get him on our side, find out what he secretly wants," Hannah spoke up as she adjusted the white flowers that ran their course in her hair. It was a logical response–killing such an important person would only be detrimental to their already poor image. They needed to do something to prove to Tommy that the Eggpire could be trusted.

"I don't think we'll be able to sway him though, since Bad said Tubbo didn't like the Egg, Tommy definitely isn't going to trust it. Those two are two peas in a pod," Punz spoke up as he adjusted the sleeves of his white hoodie with red accents. He knew they would never get Tommy on their side, even with the best convincing. "We're more likely to get better results by going with Bad's plan: having something happen to Tommy and making it seem like an accident."

With a sigh, Hannah replied. "I suppose. As long as any evidence left behind doesn't trace back to us, then we should be fine," she nodded slightly.

"I have something I'd like to add to this," Ponk spoke up, readjusting his red, yellow, and black mask to properly hide his face.

Badboyhalo looked over at his colleague. "What are you thinking, Ponk?"

"I just want to say your statements about Tommy are contradictory. You say he is immune, but you also explained to us that Tommy was in the obsidian box over the Egg and his eyes had changed," Ponk began as he shifted in his seat to rest his elbows on the cold wood of the table. "Is that not a sign of someone who has the potential to join the Egg?" He questioned. The other members of the Eggpire look at each other and nod in agreement. Perhaps they were wrong about Tommy–he wasn't immune, he was just as vulnerable to the Egg as anyone else was. They just needed to figure out what it was he deeply desired. It was like fishing, you get the hook, cast the line, and wait for the fish to grab a hold of the hook. That's when you reel it in, that's how they'd get Tommy on their side.

"So, he is  able to get persuaded then?" Antfrost asked for clarification.

Hannah nodded. "It seems so, which I believe is a good thing. Tommy has a big influence over people–whether he knows it or not–so having him on our side could possibly get us more allies," she spoke confidently, and she was right too. Everyone seated at the table acknowledged that. A few side conversations happened between each member of the Eggpire before they all collectively nodded.

"I believe we've all decided that we're going to try and get Tommy on our side then?" asked Bad. In response, the others nodded. "Good. Now, what we do need to figure out is how," he spoke with a more serious undertone.

The members glanced at each other, thinking of ways to convince, or force, Tommy to join the Egg. They were lost in thought, planning what they would do. Some spoke their thoughts and received a few head nods here and there, while others were acknowledged with disagreements. It took a few minutes before someone spoke about what should be their next course of action.

"Why not trap him again?" Antfrost asked. Badboyhalo looked over to the anthropomorphic cat.

"If we trap him again, he'll only be rescued again," the demon spoke in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Antfrost hummed in response and began thinking more.

Near the table, where the Egg lay, a red anthropomorphic diamond block spoke their thoughts in a low monotone voice. "Trapping him could work, if he's trapped long enough that is," Skeppy suggested. Badboyhalo looked over at his friend and smiled.

"Yeah, wonderful idea, Skeppy!" Bad spoke with enthusiasm, happy to hear his old friend speak willingly. Skeppy only hummed in acknowledgement.

Punz exchanged looks with the other members of the Eggpire before looking over at Badboyhalo and Skeppy. "Feels like I should say this, but Tommy doesn't like us so it is going to be hard to trap him again," he spoke, offering insight into his own thoughts.

"And even if we do he'll be freed, like Bad said," Hannah added. Badboyhalo looked over at the two, humming in thought. His tail curled behind him as he tried thinking of a way to convince the teenager to come back to the Egg.

"Don't you know his schedule?" Skeppy interrupted in a quite harsh manner. The members of the Eggpire turned to look at him. "It's Thursday, and every Thursday Tommy goes to talk to Sam in the prison," Skeppy stated. The other members looked confused at what Skeppy was trying to say.

"Okay... And?" Punz questioned as a dumbfounded look spread across his face. "What are you trying to imply?"

Skeppy groaned in frustration, disappointed that the other members didn't understand the message he was trying to convey. "The prison is made of obsidian," Skeppy gestured to the obsidian box above the Egg. "Trap him in the prison with some of the Egg's spores and he should be as good as ours," he insisted.

Members of the Eggpire looked at each other, chatting about the plan that Skeppy spoke about. Skeppy himself no longer included himself in the conversation, he was back to focusing on the Egg. Hannah however was trying to perfect the plan.

They all spoke about how they would trap Tommy. Some members mentioned the fact they could use Dream as a way to trap Tommy. Each member knew that Tommy despised Dream because of what Dream had done, however, every broken person needed clarity. They needed a way to move on from the trauma caused to him, and that is what the Eggpire was going to use against Tommy.

Tommy might not be weak, but he could be naive. He didn't trust easily, but if one twisted their words enough to suit Tommy, he would believe it; especially in the condition he was in now. He was vulnerable and letting vulnerability show was always a bad thing to do in L'Manburg.