My fingers drummed idly on the wooden table as I glanced at my front door again, my gaze lingering on it's wooden planes as if I could find something different than the last time I had looked at it. Quackity was supposed to show up soon to collect all the TNT I had put together for him. I wasn't too keen on holding three stacks of explosives in my house any longer.
A couple loud knocks rapped on the door, and I nearly jumped from my seat, my fingers halting their little dance. I stood up quickly and crossed to the door, swinging it open to reveal who was on the other side.
Quackity stood on the doorstep wearing his familiar white button up and grey slacks, a crystalline diamond sword at his side and a small bag hooked on one shoulder. An elusive, smug grin spread on his face as his eyes landed on me.
He was probably thinking I wouldn't have everything ready, but I was about to prove him wrong.
I stepped to the side, gesturing to the explosives piled on the ground and the netherite ingots stacked on the table.
"Three stacks of TNT and four netherite ingots." I looked back at him. "Just as we agreed."
He nodded as he stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the items with a critical eye. He moved closer to the table and picked up one of the slim, dark ingots. He rubbed his thumb over its smooth surface and twisted it around in his hand before deeming it satisfactory. He slipped the bag off his shoulder and placed all four ingots inside before twisting the bag and tying it off.
"Alright." He nodded again. "Now you're gonna carry the TNT out."
"What?" My brows ticked in, and my arms folded. "I made them as you asked. I'm not carrying them around for you."
He bent down to pick up a stick of TNT, walking over to me and holding it out. "You are carrying them for me or I get to visit Dream tomorrow—maybe tonight if I find Sam at the prison later."
I glanced down at the TNT stick but made no move to take it. My eyes flickered back up to him, remaining firm. "You should have clarified that in the deal."
He shrugged, turning away lazily. "Suit yourself. I'll call up Sam."
I blew out an exasperated breath, trying to keep my cool.
"Okay, fine." My words made Quackity pause. "I'll help load it up, but you gotta help at least a little."
He faced me again, pursing his lips as he hummed in pretense thought. "I'll put a few sticks in."
I shook my head, dismissing his mockery as I strode past him to kneel beside the TNT. I could hear him tossing the stick he had picked up earlier into the air and catching it as I began to pile a few sticks in my own arms.
"Makes things easier for me when you're the only one who cares for Dream," he spoke idly, almost pointedly.
I stayed quiet, ignoring his comment. I could tell he was smiling at me without having to turn and see for myself.
"Does it really make you feel better to torture him?" I picked up another stick to add to my arms, not bothering to look at him as I asked.
"Yes." He answered quickly, confidently. Though I was sure there was the smallest bit of hesitation. My eyes flicked up to him, trying to judge whether he really had hesitated or my mind was just making things up.
What made him change? The Quackity I knew would have never manipulated deals like this—especially with friends. At least, I thought I was his friend. But all of this change had only happened in a couple weeks.
"Where have you been these past few weeks?" I asked. I stood up, my arms full, awaiting for his direction as much as I awaited his answer.
He reached down to pick up a few sticks of TNT, avoiding my gaze entirely. "I've been busy."
"Have you talked to Sapnap or Karl recently? Or maybe even George?"
He shrugged, and his mouth twitched, his face flickering into an expression I couldn't catch. "They're too busy with their own stuff." He quickly straightened up, moving past me and to the front door. "Come on, I've got a carriage out here."
I didn't press for any more conversation. He seemed irritated after I had mentioned his friends, and I wasn't going to push him over the edge; I didn't need him twisting the deal we had made yet again.
Quackity was strictly focused on getting all the TNT loaded into the cart in a timely manner. So much so that he began moving armfuls of it as well. I debated telling him that Wilbur had returned, but that discussion would probably lead to Dream, and I wasn't sure how he would react to that.
After multiple back and forth trips, I turned to Quacktiy once I set down the last bit of TNT into the cart, pushing the ones that started to roll towards the edge back against the others.
"You're using this tonight, aren't you?"
He lifted the wooden tailgate, slamming it closed and giving it a shake to make sure it was firmly latched. He gave me a sideways glance. "Yeah? What about it?"
I shrugged. "Just—curious. I've heard that blowing up stuff doesn't seem to fix things here."
He titled his head, a smug smile touching the corners of his lips. "Well this time, I'll be fixing something."
I folded my arms, a sarcastic note filling my voice. "I don't know about you, but I believe TNT does the opposite."
He climbed up onto the seat of the cart. "I'm blowing up the Egg. It's been getting on my nerves." He replied casually.
My brows perked up. I heard someone had tried using TNT on the Egg before, and the explosion had yielded no results. But this much TNT...I doubted anyone had tried something as big before. Surely three stacks of explosives would be enough to damage the Egg. And Quackity wasn't the only one wanting to see the crimson vines gone. It would be satisfying to see the Egg gone for good.
"Well in that case..." I hoisted myself up onto the seat beside him. "I'm coming with you."
He looked offended, but the expression quickly melted into irritation. He tried pushing me off. "No no no. This is what I'm doing."
I swiped his hand away. "Quackity, you can't just go in there alone. Besides, I've been working on this TNT for days, I might as well see them through."
He stopped and leaned back slightly, studying me with narrowed eyes. "You really want to help me?"
"If there's a chance for the Egg to be destroyed, then yes."
He stared at me for a moment more before throwing his hands up as he faced forward and grabbed the reins. "Fine, fine. But If you get killed, it's not on me."
---
"All right," Quackity announced, lifting the pickaxe in his hand. "The Egg should be through this wall."
I gave the gray cave wall a skeptical look. After quickly grabbing my sword, we had transported the TNT along the Prime path until we passed Punz's castle, leading the cart off the path and across the grass. We only stopped until we came across the small entrance to a cave. It descended into a passageway that was lit by flickering torches. I assumed Quackity had scouted it out earlier, and placed the torches along the way. He must have been planning this for a while, especially since he was so confident that the end of the cave sidled up to the cavern the Egg resided in.
I shrugged, stepping back to give him room and avoid getting my eye taken out by the tool he held. "You're the one holding the pickaxe."
Without any further words, he started chipping away at the wall. With steady blows, the hole grew bigger, and larger pieces of rock began to crumble under the hits of the pickaxe. As Quackity swung the tool down, a shaft of warm light appeared in the hole he created. He paused to peer through the hole, his chest heaving from the exertion of breaking the rock.
He looked back at me, jutting his chin up to gesture back to the cave entrance. "Go get the ender chest."
I nodded, already heading up through the cave. We had stuffed as much TNT as we could in the ender chest. With the space we each had available, we fit most of the TNT. It was incredible how much an ender chest could contain.
It had quickly gotten dark, and large, inky clouds hung overhead as I retrieved the enderchest. I glanced around to make sure no one was in sight before turning back into the cave. I didn't want anyone possibly foiling our plans, but I was also checking to make sure no one was around to get innocently caught up in the explosion we would set off.
When I returned to the end of the cave, Quackity had opened the hole enough for us to fit through. The other side was much different than the gray, old cave. Deep red nether brick created walls and corridors, and torches attached to the walls flickered in varying colors of red, orange, and yellow. The large room, however, was empty. Only the soft crackling of the firelight could be heart, filling the room with heat that spilled over us.
I glanced at Quackity. Was this the right place? It looked a lot like the Egg room, but I had never seen this area before. Was the Eggpire building secret underground rooms and tunnels?
With a determined expression, Quackity stalked forward to the opposite side of the room. He stopped, studying the walls for a moment before carefully lifting his hand to brush red vines out of the way. He turned back to me with a grin on his face that made his scar look menacing.
"Get the TNT out."
I placed the ender chest down and started pulling out all the explosives.
"Get over here and pull out yours. I'm gonna get the rest." I told him as I finished shoveling all the TNT out from my space.
He came over to me when I closed the chest, allowing him to open it up to reveal the TNT he had stored in his own ender chest space. The pile of TNT in the corner grew quickly. As soon as he was done clearing out the chest, he grabbed a handful of sticks and I stepped through the hole to the cave to fill the chest with more.
I was feeling anxious. We had already spent a lot of time here and I wasn't sure how much more we had. We still hadn't placed all the TNT down so I wouldn't be surprised if the Eggpire somehow showed up. They seemed to appear at the worst of times.
I stored the rest of the TNT sticks in the ender chest and dashed down to the red-lit room. I didn't even empty the chest when I arrived, instead picking up some TNT to follow Quackity into the Egg room. I hadn't been around the Egg in ages, and just being close to it caused goosebumps and an uneasy feeling that hung in the back of my mind.
We worked with one mind, placing the TNT where we saw fit. Most of the sticks sat on the Egg itself, practically blending in with the color. Eventually, we began to toss the sticks around the whole cavern that the Egg lived in. The more we could get rid of, the better. We started to lead the explosives back into the brick room, so it would be easier to light it up and get out as soon as possible.
"Quackity."
I jumped at the familiar voice. Both Quackity and I whirled around to find Badboyhalo and Punz. Their red eyes glowed impossibly bright in the warm, shimmering light of the Egg room.
I backed up into the brick room, dropping the rest of the TNT from my hands and gripping the sword at my waist. Quackity started stepping back as well, drawing his sword immediately.
"Hey, stop right there," he snapped.
Bad's gaze shifted to mine and then back to Quackity's. His expression stayed firm. "What are you guys doing?"
"We're blowing this place to shreds," Quackity answered immediately.
"You can't—"
Quackity ignored them and started dropping his TNT. Bad and Punz surged forward, causing us to back up even further.
"Stop dropping the TNT," Punz warned, alarm ringing on the edge of his voice.
Quackity lifted his sword at them. "Stop right there." He glanced over at me, giving a short nod in the direction of the ender chest.
I moved, and Quackity kept the two members of the Eggpire at bay while I grabbed the rest of the TNT in the chest. I littered the explosives on the ground as Quackity and I retreated to where we first entered the brick room. Bad and Punz remained in their places as Quackity threatened them with his sword, yet I knew they were itching to pursue us.
"Taryn," Bad called, his attention switching to me, "If you do this it's going to cause so many problems."
I glanced up at the sound of my name, but didn't let his words distract me from dropping the TNT to the ground.
"Bad, the Egg already is the problem," I said. "You don't need it. All it's doing is harming you and everyone else around you."
I dropped the last stick of TNT and stood beside Quackity, our backs facing the hole to the cave. Our only exit here.
"No." Bad said as he moved slowly toward us. Punz followed, stepping closer to me while Bad continued. "I have a goal. I have a mission." His gaze slid to Quackity's. "You know that."
Quackity was quiet, his jaw tensing, yet his sword remained in front of him. He suddenly switched the weapon to his other hand and snatched a torch from the wall.
"I'm gonna light it up."
"Don't do this Quackity!" Bad's voice rose.
Punz stepped closer to me, enough to make me draw my sword.
"Stop, stop!" Quackity waved the torch, the flame ripping through the air. "I can throw this torch on the ground right now and nothing could stop me."
"Tell Punz to go away," I said, glaring at Bad. The two were only going to keep closing in on us until one of them caught us unaware.
Bad glanced at Punz, but neither of them moved.
"Punz, go away!" Quackity yelled.
Punz shot a dubious look to Bad, his weapon wavering.
Bad's gaze remained pinned on us as his expression battled irritation. "Back up Punz," he said finally.
I kept my sword out even as Punz took hesitant steps backward, leaving us with Badboyhalo.
"You know this Egg is useless, Bad." Quackity's voice had quieted down, but it still contained a simmering anger.
"You need to leave—"
Quackity shook his head sharply, cutting him off. "I'm sick of this egg, all right? We could do big things together. But in order to do that, I have to get rid of the Egg."
"There's no negotiating, Quackity. You two know what will be brought down on you if you do this."
Quackity wasn't quick to respond, and I glanced over at him when silence filled the air. The light of the fire shifted on the scowl twisting his face, and emotions flickered in his eyes. Anger, regret, desperation, they all flashed as fast as the flame from the torch he raised.
"Sorry, Bad."
I barely had enough time to register what was happening as Quackity threw the torch down near Bad's feet. My legs jerked into a run, panic zipping through my body and making my heart jump. I only caught a glimpse of Quackity as I scrambled through the hole and into the cave, fighting to keep my body upright as I tripped over the uneven, rocky ground.
An explosion of sound ripped through the air as heat and light surged over me. I yanked my arms up to protect my face and I was suddenly flying through the air, landing on the ground with jarring pain that shot through my shoulders and back, all the way down to my hip. I gasped, dust immediately coating my throat and making me cough. My limbs were numb and my mind fuzzy as I rolled on the ground.
Somehow, I managed to stumble up to my feet. There was a spot of light up ahead, and my body surged forward on its own accord, clawing at the rock wall to keep me going.
Quackity was long gone. I was sure of it. My ears were ringing, my head spinning, and my vision fading. My arms stung so much they felt like they were on fire, yet I continued to the light of the moon that flooded the cave.
I collapsed onto the grass, the damp chill seeping through my skin. I briefly realized that I wasn't holding my sword. It must have slipped from my hand as my feet left the ground, a miracle, really, that I hadn't impaled myself.
I couldn't tell if my ears were just echoing, but I still heard explosions somewhere behind me. I could only hope the TNT was enough to destroy the Egg once and for all as my eyes fluttered shut and all sounds faded from my consciousness.
---
A/N
Don't blow up eggs with TNT kids, you might get hurt.
Just wanted to say thanks again for reading, and thank you guys for all the comments! I truly love reading each and every one of them. See you guys next time! <3