The Burning ~ Dreamnotfound + Skephalo

Chapter 8: How Did We Get Here?

          It didn't take long for A6D to find his way to Sapnap, Skeppy, and Bad. He had watched them for a week and knew what they looked like and, because of the trail of blue ash his soul torch left behind, he found the village they were staying at easily. The part he was struggling with was what he was going to say to them. What was he supposed to say? Should he tell them that he helped take George? A6D was pretty sure that Sapnap would make him die a slow, painful death if he found that out. Even Skeppy could be a potential threat in this situation. A6D eventually decided that he would approach Bad first. Surely he wouldn't be aggressive. A6D silently waited until Bad was alone, which took much longer than he expected. He ended up awkwardly hanging out in the village, waiting for Skeppy to leave his side. After what felt like hours, Skeppy finally left him just long enough for A6D to approach him.
          He clenches his fists as he walks over to Bad, feeling unsure about his whole plan. "Um, excuse me?" he asks softly behind Bad.
          Bad turns around and smiles. "Hey there! I don't think I've seen you around here before."
          A6D forces a laugh. "Yeah, I'm new here. I wanted to talk to you about something."
          "Oh my goodness! You have a french accent!"
          "Um, yes I do, But I really needed to-"
          Bad looks past A6D's head and yells, "SKEPPY! SKEPPY COME OVER HERE!"
          A6D begins to stutter over his words. "W-wait I...he doesn't....we don't need to."
          "WHAT?" Skeppy yells as he jogs over. A6D begins to panic even more when he notices his trident strapped to his back. "Everything ok over here?"
          Bad bites his bottom lip to avoid smiling, but an excited squeal still escapes out of the corner of his mouth. "He's F R E N C H."
          Skeppy gasps. "You are?! Quick, how do you say 'sand' in French?!"
          "Um, le sable?"
          Bad excitedly screeches. "Oh my goodness! What about 'house'? Can you say 'house' in French?!"
          "'Maison'. Now can I please talk to you?" A6D begs.
          "One more, one more!" Skeppy pleads. "How do you say 'Darryl' in French?"
          "Why do you want him to say my name in French?" Bad asks.
          Skeppy winks. "I heard French is the language of love." He smiles proudly as Bad blushes, then looks at A6D. "How do you say 'Darryl'?"
          "Darryl," A6D responds.
          "Yes, Skeppy wants you to translate it to French," Bad says patiently.
          A6D frowns. "It's literally just 'Darryl'."
          "What's your name?" Skeppy asks.
          "A6D."
          "How do you say that in French?" Bad asks.
          "A6D."
          "But how do you say it in FRENCH?" Bad repeats.
          "Ok, listen to me," A6D says, annoyed. "You know how you can say words by parts? Like I could say 'A. 6. D.' It's in three parts. Right?"
          Bad nods, listening to his explanation. "Yes, but it's one word."
          A6D takes a deep breath. "First of all, it's not a word. It's letters and numbers."
          "Ok, but what's the one word way to say 'A6D'?" Bad asks.
          "THERE IS NO ONE WORD WAY BECAUSE IT'S THREE DIFFERENT WORDS!" A6D yells.
          "I thought they were letters and numbers," Skeppy says, trying his best not to laugh.
          "Are you two idiots done?" Sapnap asks from behind A6D, startling him. He slowly turns around, not wanting to face him. Of all of the guys, A6D was most afraid of Sapnap. He had already met Dream, so that didn't scare him, and Skeppy and Bad both didn't seem very threatening. Sapnap, on the other hand, was terrifying. He was skilled with a sword and had a resting look of disapproval on his face at all times. He looks at A6D and says, "Don't mind them. We share a single brain cell and it looks like it wasn't their turn with it."
          "I don't even want to know what that means," A6D groans.
          Sapnap crosses his arms. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
          "I know where George went," A6D says. "I saw where a bunch of piglins took him."
          Sapnap's expression turns into one of concern, which was surprisingly a pleasant change for A6D. "Can you show me where he was taken?"
          "I can, but Dream needs to come with us."
          "Dream isn't here," Bad explains.
          A6D's heart sinks. "Where is he?"
          "He's back at our village," Skeppy responds.
          A6D shakes his head. "He's not. He's not safe."
"How would you know?" Sapnap asks.
"We need to go find him! He-he could be hurt or something!" A6D yells. He grabs Bad's arm and tries pulling him forward, but Bad doesn't budge.
          "I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about. How would you know that Dream is hurt?" Bad asks. A6D's mind goes blank as he tries to search for an answer. He couldn't just tell them that Techno hurt him without revealing who he was. "Hello? A6D?"
          Sapnap's jaw drops slightly. "You're Dream's friend from the nether!"
          A6D looks at Sapnap with fear in his eyes. He was pretty sure Sapnap could smell the fear radiating off of his body which only made him feel worse. "Yeah. That's me."
          "Uh, huh. Ok. Now tell me, what are piglins?" Sapnap attempts to cross his arms, but can't bend his wrapped arm all of the way. A6D felt better knowing Sapnap was injured. If he had to fight for his life, he may have a chance.
          "They are these pig men that live in the nether," A6D says.
          Sapnap's eyes trail from A6D's face and down to his black armor. He could see the same specs of blue ash embedded into the soft leather. Without thinking, he pushes A6D up against a nearby sandstone building. "Where is he?!" He growls. "WHERE IS HE?!"
          "I-I can take you to him but Dream needs to be there!" A6D yelps. Sapnap's grip was surprisingly strong for someone who was hurt. A6D figured it was because he was angry about George. His fingers dug into his armor and began to hurt.
          "Dream isn't here," Sapnap says. "Now you take us to George or I'll kill you!"
          "Please don't hurt me! Dream has to be there. He's the one that Techno wants, not George." A6D begins breathing heavily as he watches Sapnap ball his fist to punch him.
          "Why does this Techno guy want Dream?" Skeppy asks.
          "Because Dream killed the Wither."
          "Technically, Bad killed the Wither," Skeppy states.
          "Look, we need to go find Dream!" A6D shouts. "Technoblade went to him and killed a kid and hurt him!"
          "What kid?" Bad asks desperately.
          "I don't know. Dream was trying to adopt her, though." He suddenly feels Sapnap's grip loosen on his armor as his mad expression leaves. For the first time A6D had seen, Spanap looked vulnerable. His deep, brown eyes began pooling with tears. His gaze drifted down as he stared at nothing. His eyes danced as if he was searching for something. After a moment, he let go of A6D and backed away. A6D's heart shatters when he sees Skeppy slowly wrap his arms around Bad as Bad begins to cry. He closes his eyes and holds his breath to keep from sobbing.
          "Let's wait for Dream," Sapnap decides. "We can all grieve together as we go. We shouldn't leave him alone right now. Not after losing Lily too."
          The three walk towards the warrior home together, leaving A6D awkwardly standing alone. He didn't know if he should follow them or not and he was too scared to ask. Sapnap stopped walking and looked back at A6D, nodding his head in the direction of the house. A6D took that as the signal to join them.