Loved You In Another Life // A Skephalo Story

Chapter 29

Skeppy POV

Bad wakes me up a few hours later, shaking me gently. "Skeppy, it's time."

I groan, sitting up to look around. Through the windows, I can see that it's dark outside, the only light from bubbling pools of lava lining the streets.

"You don't have to come with me, if you changed your mind."

I shake my head, pressing a quick kiss to the crease of his eye and standing up. "I'm not leaving you alone, Bad. But you will have to take the lead, I don't know this place very well at all."

With a quick nod of his head, Bad tells me to keep quiet and follow him.

Though Bad has always complained about never being able to see the sky, or have clean air, I can't help but think it looks beautiful at night.

Obsidian pathways are shrouded in shadows, the flecks of iron in them shimmering. The lava pools cast a light drowned in orange, making the houses we pass appear to be glowing.

Bad assures me that no one will be out at this time of night, and even if there were to be someone, they probably wouldn't see us. Still, I cling to Bad's arm, eyes darting over every shadow.

It doesn't take us long to find the palace, a beautiful structure of deep grey bricks with dark oak wood accenting the windowsills and doors.

Instead of trying to sneak through the front, or even climb through a window, Bad leads me around the perimeter of the building, carefully examining the ground at the edges of the walls.

"I used to sometimes see people led in from a hatch on the ceiling, which means there has to be an entrance from out here. It'll be much easier to just find it than try sneaking past all the other guards."

"Won't there be guards there even if the entrance is hidden?"

He shakes his head. "I don't think so, that would make it obvious there's an entrance in the first place, and it's not like we can just get in. It'll be something like bedrock or obsidian, multiple locks, and it's hidden. Still, I guess you're right, we should be careful."

The castle is huge, and by the time an hour's passed we've only made it just over halfway around the perimeter. It makes sense, we have to move slow to find any clues of an entrance and not get caught, but the process is grueling.

"Skeppy!" Bad hisses, kneeling to the ground, brushing dirt away from a patch of ground. "I think I found it!"

I drop to the ground beside him, and see a large hatch under the rubble of landscaping. There's no lock on it, but of course that only means they're on the other side, or it's a face door.

We both set to work brushing away the musk, and I pull some tools from the small pack I brought. Bad tries melting the door first, but this is the Nether, so of course it's fireproof.

Bringing a small silver device to the surface of the door, I press it down, hearing a quiet shic shic shic. The door seems to be caving in a bit, but we have to be careful.

"Y'know, there's a front door."

Bad and I freeze, slowly turning around to see a short little kid, looking annoyed.

He has a wiry little pair of red wings. Tiny stubs of horns stick out from his messy blond hair, and his spaded tail thumps against the ground angrily.

He can't be older than ten, what with his lack of height and missing teeth, though there's a likely possibility he lost them falling out of a tree or something else equally stupid.

"Who are you?" I ask, not really knowing what to do.

He wipes his hands on his white shirt, smearing dirt on it. "You're the one trying to break it, I think I should be the one asking the questions. Why are you here?"