Prologue: Skip to the End!
It's funny when you think about it, how these two kids' came together. How it only took a single action, made on a whim by a, uh… humble, young boy.
But what's even funnier is how different their lives would be if that boy hadn't taken that first step towards the house down the corner, where a certain little girl (if you could call her that) had just moved into.
This, coincidentally, started a chain of events indescribable to the average being. Tales of hideous monsters, crazy devils, and grim adventures. If only they could see how much their lives would have changed if they hadn't met on that day…
Well, wouldn't that be a sight?
…
"GRIM! WHERE IS MY REMOTE!?" boomed Mandy.
As it were, our favorite little demon child was reclined on the couch. Sitting next to her was her very loyal "friend" Billy, lazily lying upside down with a look of undebatable boredom.
"I swear, if that sack of bones is using my remote to watch his stupid soap operas again, I'm gonna…"
"Ugh!" yelled the boy in question, "I'm so BORED! Come on Mandy, let's go do something fun!"
"No," proclaimed Mandy, "I've had enough weirdness for one day, thank you very much."
"What do you mean Mandy?" asked Billy as he sat back up.
Mandy took a deep sigh as she turned to face her Billy.
"Well," Mandy began, dragging out her words, "Don't you think all this odd nonsense we get into is getting a bit old?"
Billy, having the mental capacity of a twig, searched for the right words that formed, what most people called, a reply.
"Well, not really… hey, weren't you the one who forced Grim to hang out with us in the first place?" Billy asked.
Mandy couldn't believe what she was hearing, since for once in their short lives, Billy had a legit point.
"Huh, I guess you're right," Mandy replied, her gaze shifting to the window, "Although, while I wouldn't want to be as oblivious to the strangeness like we were before, that doesn't mean I don't get tired of it every once in awhile."
Mandy waited a bit for Billy say something, but it seemed as though the boy wasn't going to comment, which had been her intention. So, she whipped her head back to look at the boy, who had just been sitting there with a blank look on his face (which truthfully didn't surprise her) and spoke.
"Billy," she said, gaining the boy's attention, "don't you feel the same too?"
Realizing her mistake of not explaining what she meant, since these kinds of conversations usually ended up with Billy being completely lost, she was about to comment yet again when suddenly, the boy spoke back with;
"Eh, not really," replied Billy in an unusual moment of clarity.
"…seriously?" Said Mandy with a raised brow.
"Well, yeah." Billy looked out towards nothing in particular, a distant look creeping into his hazel eyes, "I love the adventures we go on together. I feel, I don't know, at home in all the oddness. I can't honestly think of it ever changing."
It took a second for Mandy to speak, mainly because 1), it was rare for Billy to complete such a complex thought, and 2), it was even rarer for something to utterly stump her.
"Heh, well then, for once, I kind of wish I had your stupidity."
"Thank you." Nodded Billy with a big dumb smile on his face.
It was at this moment that Mandy contemplated her and Billy's situation. Sure, it was nice to have a lord of death as a slave.
Oops, I mean friend. Mandy thought to herself.
It was just, if she was really honest with herself, it wouldn't have gone on this long if it wasn't for Billy. Now that she thought about it, the numbskull (her meaning Billy in this instance) caused well over half of their so call "adventures", maybe even more. If she had it her way, Grim would probably be spending the entire time doing chores, and not even important ones. Speaking of which.
"Grim! If my remote isn't in my hand in the next five seconds, I'm…"
Mandy was suddenly cut off by a loud *thunk from somewhere inside the house.
"Grim?" called out Mandy once more.
They waited another minute for the Jamaican skeleton to stomp through the hall in his usual foul mood (courtesy of the two kids), but alas, he did not.
"Gee, should we go check on him?" Billy asked absentmindedly.
"(Sigh), fine. Let's go find bone head," she sighed as she leaped off the lumpy furniture, "I'm sure I can think of a good punishment while we do."
As they made their way down the halls of the otherwise unoccupied house, a low moan could be heard coming from down below.
"Do you hear that?" Billy asked.
"Hm, sounds like it's coming from the basement." Mandy summarized, the moaning becoming louder as they walked.
"Hey, didn't Grim say we weren't allowed in there?" asked Billy.
"Since when do you ever listen to him?" Mandy inquired as they came to the basement's door.
"Good point." Billy said.
The door was slightly ajar, letting the moan seep through the crack.
"What the heck is he doing down here?" Mandy wondered.
"I don't know. Maybe he's doing some spring cleaning." Billy argued on Grim's behalf
"If he's watching his stupid shows down here, I swear," she mumbled as she marched down the stairs with Billy in tow.
When they got to the bottom though, the sight that awaited them was a bit… well odd.
"What the heck?" muttered Mandy.
Every light was turned off, with a nearby TV being the only source of illumination. Apparently, Grim had moved a bunch of furniture down here. There was a large, comfy looking lime green couch planted in the middle of the room with a few matching chairs and futons scattered around. A mini-fridge could be seen sitting in the corner with a microwave sitting on top of it.
The TV itself seemed to have been paused, the picture being unrecognizable. A box was laid down beside a DVD player, indicating that he had been watching some sort of show for a while. The table next to the couch held a plethora of snack foods and soda on it, along with the missing remote.
And then there was the reaper himself, lying face down on the ground.
"Hm," Mandy pondered as she examined the scene, "looks like Grim here took a bit of tumble while binge-watching one of his shows. Pfft, serves him right for taking my remote."
Mandy proceeded to kick him in the head several times.
"Ooo! Ooo! Let's see what he was watching!" Billy yelled as he took a squat on the couch, "Hehe. I bet it's lame!"
"Eh, sure, why not," Mandy said, taking a seat next to Billy while swiping the remote, "Beats whatever's on TV."
Before she pressed anything, she tried to make out what the paused picture was. It looked like some sort of room, but it was a bit fuzzy and dark.
Guess he paused it while the camera was moving. Mandy thought to herself.
If you squinted hard enough, you could just make out two bodies. One was on the floor while the other stood over him.
"Well, let's get on with it," She said.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is when she pressed play…
[? POV]
I couldn't go on. I just… couldn't. The blood just kept pouring out of my wounds. My eyes… they felt so heavy. I… I need a nap.
"Whoa there, big boy," I heard him say, "We ain't finished here, yet. Not by a long shot"
He kicked me hard in my rips, breaking everything that wasn't already. He then knelt down to my level, savagely bashing my skull with his fist over and over and over again, until a loud ringing was sent through my ears.
"Where's your boss, huh?!" he demanded, "If not him, then where are your so-called friends, huh!? Where are all the people that you protected with your life, huh!?"
He stood up, deciding to use his foot to deliver the punishment.
"WHERE, ARE THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE!? HUH! HUH!"
He stopped, turning his back on me while walking away. No doubt fetching something to finish the job. I pondered crawling away, but really, what's the point. He was right, in a messed up way. After all I did, nothing came of it. Nothing I ever did mattered. Not a goddamn thing.
As I was tittering on unconsciousness, I noticed his dark silhouette walking back towards me, holding something sharp and very pointy. But I didn't look away. I stared him down, waiting patiently for my inevitable demise.
Before I knew it, he grabbed me by the collar and sunk his blade deep within my chest.
That was it. I was done. Finished. I was going to die. Right here, right now.
And I didn't even get a kiss goodbye from her.
Her.
"…mandy…" I whispered to myself.
Just before everything went black, I heard those last few words leave his mouth.
"Goodbye…"
"…Billy."
["Hey, what ar' ya brats doin' in 'ere!"]
[3rd POV]
Billy and Mandy turned around to see the Grim Reaper himself standing behind them, albeit a bit wobbly. It would have been somewhat intimidating, if not for the numerous food stains covering his robe. Now, if the kids were in a different state of mind, they would have asked about his wellbeing (well, maybe Billy would). However, after witnessing that traumatizing scene, they had only one thing on their mind.
"What the heck was that!" they both yelled in unison.
Grim only had to take one look at the TV to figure out what had happened, face palming as a result.
"Ah' right, what did ya see?" Grim asked.
"Well," Mandy began, "from what I could gather, we saw, what looked like, an older Billy being savagely beaten, then clearly murdered, all while saying he regretted not ka… kaaah…. kissing m-me." She finished, barely able to say the last few words.
"What?!" yelled Grim, surprising the two children, before jumping for joy, "Yes! I knew he regretted it! Hahahahhaahaa!"
Mandy, however, wasn't very amused. While Grim was enjoying himself, Mandy coolly walked over to the dead man, before grabbing him by the collar, and throwing him to the ground.
"Now listen hear, you worthless sack of fossils," Mandy said, pointing a threatening finger in his face, "you either tell us exactly what in underworld's name you were watching, or I swear…"
"Ah' right, ah' right, I'll explain. Now, can ya please let go of me?" Grim asked patiently.
As soon as Mandy let go, Grim stood up and took a seat beside Billy, all the while magically poofing his robe clean.
"Ache hem," Grim said, clearing his throat, "You see chi 'dren, d' ere are multiple realities out d 'ere, most of which follow de same directions as da rest. For example, the day you two meet when you's was babies is da same as tee other worlds, though with a few minor changes, like da flavor of Billy's ice cream, or da brand of Mandy's diapers."
"However," Grim continued, "some wor'ds veer off course. In rare cases, way off course. In some, like dis, you two don't meet. At least, not tin da usual way."
"So, what you're saying is, I could not have met Mandy at all!" Billy asked with a sad face.
Although Mandy still held her usual straight face, those "close" to her could tell this upset her from the distant look in her eyes.
"Well, not exactly. Dare's a bit more to it, but I'd just confuse you guys even more so, yes, in some realities, you could not have met Mandy."
Billy looked back at Mandy for comfort, but all she did was look away.
"Okay, so how does that explain this?" Mandy asked motioning towards the TV.
"Oh, well, that tis a funny story," Grim said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Try me." Mandy dared.
Grim took a moment to organize his thoughts before clearing his voice once again.
"Well, what you witnessed right now is a, uh, 'documentary' of one of those realities. Where you guys never met as kids and so you lived different but similar lives."
"Okay, let me get this straight," Mandy began, "In your free time, you have been binge watching a 'documentary' set in the future of a separate reality of our lives like it was one of your stupid soap operas!?
"Well… ya" Grim admitted
It was quiet for the next few minutes. Mandy was staring down at her feet, unable to comprehend this recent discovery, while Billy had given up interjecting all together, and Grim just sat there with a figurative lump in his nonexistent throat.
"…show me." Mandy finally said.
"Uh, what?" Replied Grim
"I said, show me this separate reality."
"Bu… but, why?" Was all Grim had to say.
"Eh, I'm curious. Besides, there's nothing else on TV." Mandy admitted, taking her original spot on the couch.
"Eh, but, dis is, like, da second to da last episode! You'd have to start at da beginning!"
"Then put in the first episode." Demanded Mandy.
"But, but I, an… the snacks and da… da finale and, da… da… (sigh), oh alright. Fine." Grumbled Grim.
As Grim made his was over to the DVD player, Billy and Mandy made themselves comfortable, fluffing their individual pillows and grabbing a few snacks here and there.
Mandy was about to make an attempt at small talk with Billy before it started, but it seemed Billy was doing his best to avoid her, which admittedly wasn't very effective since they were both sitting on the same couch, but the message was pretty clear. So, she backed off.
"Alright chi 'dren, dis show isn't exactly for kids, so don't go tellin' your parents about dis, okay. I'm in enough trouble with dem as it is." Grim complained. "And mak sure not to talk durin' da show, oh kay! I hate it when people do that!"
"Okay/Fine." Said both Billy and Mandy respectively.
However, Mandy already had a number of questions, because, at that moment, in big bold letters, the show's title appeared.
How Billy Met Mandy: Grim Edition
Episode One: A Day in the Life of Billy
"…what the…"
"SHH!"
Author's Note:
Okay, so this is just a refreshed version of the prologue, take three. I fixed a few mistakes and had someone proof read it.
That someone is my new cowriter Valkyrie Knight, and he'll sometimes appear in my notes every once in a while.
If you guys see any mistakes, PLEASE NOTIFY ME! I'll take the time to fix them, I promise.
Anyway, I'm about to finish the first real chapter, so hopefully it'll get recognized.
That's not to say the reviewers didn't help. Thanks a ton. You guys are honestly the reason I pushed this ahead instead of my other ones.
Whelp, that's about it.
SEE YOU NEXT TIME!