Chapter Text
Zak (though he preferred to go by his IGN, Skeppy, since that’s what the world referred to him as) glanced around in curiosity. He never expected the device to work. Immediately his personality reverted into that of a giddy child as he looked around the vibrant new world. One of the first things he noticed was the strange texture everything held. Glancing down caused him to jump back in slight shock at his own appearance. When first putting the device on, Skeppy had only been wearing a simple black t-shirt (courtesy of the company which sent the device.)
Now he was dressed in a teal hoodie that was slightly too large for him, which granted him the ability to form sweater-paws if he so desired. Taking it off proved to be a challenge, but once he had he noticed the “derp” face that rested atop the hood’s feature (iconic to his Minecraft persona.) Underneath the hoodie was a simple navy t-shirt that protected his body from being exposed to the elements. Putting the hoodie back on (if only for the style points since he didn’t really think it was cold,) he began to mess around some more.
One of the more interesting features Skeppy discovered was that his hood had the ability to be pulled all the way down his face. Once down, he was able to clearly see the world despite the fabric slightly hindering his breathing. He pushed it back up. While it slightly puzzled him, he decided to just be satisfied with the fact that he could see out of the “derp face” if necessary, but he preferred to keep his hood up in order to take in oxygen properly. A grin quickly found its way onto his face.
This definitely wasn’t on his life-time agenda, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to explore new technology. Especially when said-technology allowed them to be transported into one of his favourite games, Minecraft. The project had started with the lead developers of a popular Virtual Reality company coming together in order to figure out ways to “truly immerse” individuals into another, more digitalized, world. It had been decided that the popular game Minecraft would be the perfect test. Upon entering the world, players were expected to feed themselves and ensure that they didn’t “die” via the game’s natural threats (though the word die held very loose terms, since death ended up resulting in the deceased being kicked from the game and thrown back into reality.)
Skeppy had been invited, along with several other popular Youtubers, to engage in the first official run of the game. Instead of following the other Idots (his small band of friends) or The Dream Team (friendly acquaintances,) he decided to wait until Darryl (who he preferred to call BadBoyHalo,) was ready to go in. The other had been nervous about entering the new terrain and had to be reassured countless times that time in real life tended to stop passage for those who were immersed in the gaming world. This did little to persuade Bad, though, so Skeppy finally resigned into offering Bad various dog-sitters in order to appease his mind.
Afterwards, Skeppy and Bad both joined a Discord call and began anxiously rambling to each other in excited tones. Well, Skeppy harbored most of the excitement, Bad seemed more nervous if anything. Finally, with reassurance from the company, they decided to put the device on at the same time. They were told that they would spawn near each other and had already planned out what to do. Skeppy would run around screaming (primarily because staying still simply wasn’t apart of his DNA) while Bad waited patiently until he heard Skeppy’s voice. The plan was full-proof.
Looking around some more, he noticed that upon waving his hand he would open what he assumed was the GUI over his wrist. Curiosity immediately overtook him as he explored the various functions it promised, growing oblivious to the rest of the world (as he tended to do.) Near the bottom of the GUI showed his health and hunger, both apparently at full capacity currently. A small part of his mind wondered if they could feel pain. From what the company said, that was sketchy at best. Apparently pain had been mandatory in order to ensure people didn’t go in to the game just to continuously die (or were unaware of their health) since revival took ages due to the device needing to reprogram everything. It was a lot of scientific nonsense that Skeppy didn’t have the attention span for, but he knew that basically too many deaths resulted in the device breaking altogether, rendering one unable to return.
Breaking away from these thoughts, Skeppy frantically waved his hand around once more in order to (hopefully) remove the GUI. It flickered back out of existence and he stared in awe for a few moments more before looking around once again. He supposed that he should begin using his best trait, a loud voice, in order to attract Bad’s attention. Wandering around while screaming at the top of his lungs, Skeppy was able to note the fact that he had spawned in an oak forest. Good. That usually meant there was a lot of resources around, at least to start out with.
He had wandered for what felt like hours (though in reality it was a grand total of four minutes.) Hope was fleeting, especially for someone as impatient as Skeppy. It wasn’t long (another minute, actually) before worry began to burrow deep into his stomach and knaw a hole through his nerves. Bad should have definitely heard Skeppy’s insane screams for attention by now. Right? A simple huff was all his body did to exert the increasing pressure that was being placed onto his head, a sure sign of a headache approaching. He couldn’t give up. His best friend was surely out there somewhere, he probably just wandered the wrong way. Skeppy wasn’t known for his good luck, after all.
As he circled around and wove through the oak trees, his mind took solace in the way his voice reverberated in the environment. There was no way anybody within a ten mile radius hadn’t heard him yet. But Bad still didn’t show himself. Slowly Skeppy’s feelings began to mix into a twinge of fear, anxiety, and anger at his lack of finding the other. Surely Bad didn’t just go off on his own and leave him behind. Surely not. As his mind registered through the various scenarios in order to keep himself sane, a dark shadow swept past the corner of his eye.
Instead of setting off every red flag in the book, like a normal person’s brain would do, Skeppy’s interest was immediately peaked. He turned and began looking around. Normal trees. Unsatisfied (and looking for an excuse to think of anything besides Bad, which was quite a feat,) Skeppy began prodding around the trees where he believed he saw the offending shadow. Excitement took hold once more. Perhaps it was Bad, trying to be sneaky in order to prank him. Well, Skeppy was going to let him know damn well that he had failed.
“Baddddd~,” Skeppy drawled out, eager to meet his comrade already. He had no mind for any other potential dangers that could be lurking around the corners instead. “C'mon dude, I know it’s you. Come out already.” As Skeppy approached yet another tree near his mental crime scene, a dark hand sprouted out from behind it (which may or may not have caused Skeppy to let out a shrill scream.)
“W-wait, Geppy, don’t look-,” Bad’s voice was covered in a layer of distress and fear. Not fully comprehending what his friend was so afraid of, yet also not wanting to ignore such a commanding order, Skeppy leaned on the other side of the tree so that he wouldn’t be able to see Bad’s figure. He figured that his friend was simply waiting to do a grand reveal or show him something stupid (though in reality he thought everything Bad showed him was endearing-) such as flowers. As he listened to Bad shuffle around, a childish thought sprouted in Skeppy’s mind. Trolling was a lifestyle.
“Jeez Bad, the first time we actually get to meet each other in ‘person’ (though they were in the virtual world, Skeppy still counted it,) you refuse to see me? What? Are you taking a piss or something? I thought you only did that in your bed,” Skeppy grinned at his own snide comments and strange humour. If Bad didn’t roll with the punches, it would most likely get him to tell Skeppy what was really going on at least. And if the other did decide to pursue the conversation, then they’d both be on the ground laughing for another hour. It was a win-win situation to Skeppy.
However, when a sharp sob broke out from the other side of the tree, Skeppy couldn’t help but feel a sudden and intense sense of distress. That definitely wasn’t one of the reactions he had anticipated.
“Bad, dude, you know that was just a joke right? I didn’t mean it. C’mon, it’s okay,” Skeppy immediately tried counseling the other. While talking, he nervously began to wander to the other side of the tree. Bad immediately noticed this and reached out his hand once more (which Skeppy noted was draped in a oversized black hoodie that had red trim,) and beckoned him back.
“GEPPY NOOOO, DON’T LOOK AT ME,” Bad’s tone was reminiscent of an upset child trying to stop another child from ruining their beloved sand castle. Full of worry and slightly hurt (he was his best friend, after all,) Skeppy resumed his position leaning back against the tree. He’d do whatever he needed in order to appease Bad, who was obviously in extreme distress. A few moments passed before Bad’s quiet sobs turned into silence. Skeppy was beyond worried, but too scared to talk incase it would further upset his friend. He absolutely hated how powerless his current predicament was.
Finally, Bad spoke up, “Are you turned away?”
“Yeah, I’m just leaning again the tree right now. Bad, what’s going on?”
Instead of answering his question, Skeppy found his eyes being covered by a pair of hands (at least, he assumed they were hands.) He groaned dramatically, hoping to add to comedic effect, and said, “Bad, I’m not in middle school, I know how to close my eyes. Trust me.”
Still, Bad’s hands didn’t leave, and Skeppy supposed that was because Bad was genuinely scared of Skeppy seeing whatever it was that Bad was hiding. He guessed that all those times he had pushed the limits too far was enough to warrant skepticism. Fine. Whatever made Bad comfortable. He did, however, reach up and began rubbing soothing circles into the other’s hand, hoping to either help calm his friend or get the foreign skin to remove itself from his face. Instead, Skeppy only felt the other’s hands tense before relaxing slightly.
They stood awkwardly like that for a short few minutes before Skeppy’s mind allowed himself another advancement. Surely Bad didn’t expect them to remain like this forever, after all. Slowly Skeppy turned around (making sure his eyes remained comedically screwed shut just incase Bad’s hands slipped, he didn’t want the other to have trust issues,) and reached out to the other. It wasn’t long before he could feel the soft fabric of what he assumed was the hoodie that he had seen a sliver of earlier. When Bad didn’t react, Skeppy further pushed them into an embrace.
This was apparently a breaking point for Bad, considering how he immediately removed his hands from Skeppy’s eyes in order to wrap his arms around Skeppy as well. Skeppy felt as sobs wracked Bad’s body. His maternal (and slightly simp-y) side immediately took hold. Trying his best, Skeppy began awkwardly coddling his friend. Bad was one of the best people Skeppy had ever met. What could possibly torture him enough to have him so shook from distress. Was the virtual world really that shocking? While Skeppy contemplated the nature of Bad’s dilemma, a muffled voice spoke up from his shoulder.
“I’m a monster Skeppy, a friggin’ monster,” Bad’s voice was barely audible due to it being directed more towards Skeppy’s shoulder and less towards Skeppy’s ear. It took a few moments for Skeppy to process what was said. When he did, his curiosity and concern only skyrocketed. Monster? He could feel himself almost laugh at the notion. If Bad was anything, it definitely wasn’t a monster.