Gods of Down Below
Disclaimer: I Don't Own Grim Tales. If I did, this would be on the SNAFU website.
Summary: How would things play out, if Junior wasn't kidnapped? Would it just be another night in Halloween Town? Of course not! This is Grim Junior we're talking about and he just came into his own rightful powers. Ladies and gentlemen, help me in welcoming the newest God of Down Below! And yes, he will probably have a harem. Political/Adventure/Mythic. Powerful/Learning/Reaper Junior.
Beta: Dragon_Wizard91
Regular speak
Thoughts and Emotions talking to person outside mind
Demonic or Animalistic Speak
Demonic or Animalistic Thoughts
The undead prince, sitting on a water fountain in Halloween Town, grumbled to himself as he moped and brooded in solitude over his embarrassing accident with the punch bowl. One night here and everything was the same as everywhere else. Minnie was the delight of the party and he was the oddball eyesore of the family. Nothing ever changed with that. All Minnie had to do was open her mouth and use that old, flowery accent of hers and she was already half way to being everyone's favorite princess.
"Should the Prince of the Underworld really be out by himself?" A voice asked in confusion. Junior jumped as he turned to see someone he had never met. He was tall, almost as tall as his father at least, and he looked pretty normal. He had brown hair with grey ends, his eyes were light blue, and his skin looked like any other humans. His clothes seemed out of place in this old town, being a light brown and worn-out coat over a regular grey shirt and black pants. He had a wooden walking staff, looked a bit younger than his mother, and...that was it. He didn't really look all that interesting compared to the rest of the town...then again, being the odd one out might be what made him the most interesting.
"W-who...are you?" Junior asked, a bit nervous about talking to a stranger.
"Ahhh, where are my manners! I am Outis, Prince Grim," He said with a playful grin and a brief waist bow, "I'm a traveler and came to see this town on its namesake holiday. Low and behold, I am treated to the sight of the Royal Family as well. Still, shouldn't you be back at the party? Some trick-or-treaters might steal you away if you're not careful," He questioned, looking concerned and curious.
"Eh, not like anybody will miss me while I'm gone," He retorted bitterly, not too weirded out by the fact that Outis knew who he was. He was the Prince of the Underworld. He may not be famous, but people still knew that Mandy's eldest was a reaper. He didn't say anything after that as the man decided to sit by him on the fountain.
"...I get the feeling this has to do with that ballerina sister of yours, right?" Outis asked with a small, sympathetic grin as the boy stiffened, trying to curl up and disappear. "Easy now, kid. I admit that she has her talents, but I'm not a big fan of the theatre, or ballets and plays for that manner," He assured, chuckling as the boy unwound a bit at that, happy he wouldn't have to hear another ramble about how great his sister was, "Still...I don't get why you'd be jealous of her," Outis said offhandedly.
"Who said I'm jealous?" Junior asked with a glare.
"I'm good at reading people, children included. And that is a very jealous look in your eyes," Outis explained proudly.
"I don't have any eyes," Grim Junior retorted blankly.
"Let's try and keep it that way," Outis joked dismissively.
"...She gets everything, okay," Junior admitted after a bit of silence, "The talent, the fame, the attention, everything. I just...just get tired of being nothing special, I guess," Junior explained, not willing to go into his 'other' reasons for why he wasn't fond of his sister. Reasons revolving around their family. Venting to a stranger was one thing, but there was a limit to what he'd reveal for now.
"Nothing special? No-nothing spec-special?!" Outis repeated, starting to chuckle and laugh as Junior looked unsure on if his new 'friend' was being mean or insane, "Grim Reaper Junior...You are a little slow in the skull, I must say," He added after calming down as Junior almost fell into the fountain at the bluntness of it all.
"W-what?" Junior asked, wondering just what was with this guy.
"Look at your sister and then look at you. She's flesh and blood, you're a skeleton. She's a ballerina, you're a reaper. She's an actress, you are heir to the scythe," Outis explained as Junior watched and listened in interest, "Yes, she found some talents, kid, but...what is all that talent compared to what you will have?" Outis asked with a smirk.
"What I will have?" Junior repeated, feeling slightly confusion and almost a sense of awe at the man's words.
"When you come into your own heritage, everything your sister has...everything she can ever do will seem so very...insignificant, I believe," Outis said, chuckling after a dramatic pause, "So let her have this time in the spotlight, Grim-Son of Grim. Her time came by chance, yours is inevitable," He advised before patting the child on the shoulder and getting up, "Think about it, Prince of the Grimskull Throne," He called as he headed off.
"...Thanks, Mr. Outis," Junior called, a bit unsure of what to think or say after all that, getting a wave in response, "What a strange guy," He mused, sitting there for a while as that lecture, or whatever it was, repeated in his head. Some of what the guy mentioned made sense, he guessed, but...he didn't want to have to wait around for his reaper powers...mainly because he had no idea when they would come in. He didn't want to be in Minnie's shadow for another five or ten years!
...Then again, what were five or ten years to him, really? He was young, yes, but he had known he was immortal for as long as he could remember...He wasn't sure on Minnie's immortality, really, but assumed it was something kind of like their mom's. In five or ten years, he could start an eternity as a truly powerful reaper. And in...who knew how long, he would be Death itself.
'Well...maybe this is that karma thing Dad told me about once, giving Minnie some good times...or just giving me bad ones. Then again, Mom said that's bull and that we have to make our own luck and lives,' He thought, a bit amused by that. He was about the only one who, deep down, wasn't 'completely' terrified of his mother, Queen Mandy. When you get comforted by someone so many times since birth, you become immune to even their most terrifying of natural fear-inducing traits…not that she couldn't scare the shit out of him if she really tried, probably, but what mother couldn't anyway?
"Well, no use sitting around here all night," Junior decided, jumping to his feet as he decided to go for a walk and headed towards the one place all Reapers liked. A cemetery. A yard of graves was to a Reaper what a field of flowers was to most humans. He had never been to one before tonight and he didn't really get to enjoy being in one during the town's show. His father had told him about it a few times and it had been something he had been looking forward to...
And as the Scion of the Scythe stood amongst his Subjects of the Dead, he knew what his Grim father had meant. As a Reaper, a walking incarnation of death...these hollowed grounds were more alive to him than any city of lights and sounds. To feel the slumbering souls of all those that lay here stirring at his mere presence...it was exhilarating. It made his very bones shake in joy! He felt more like the prince he was in these simple burial grounds than he ever did in that grand castle his clan called home.
He stood there, surrounded by silent tombstones, those simple markers for the resting place of the deceased, as the cool breeze cascaded around his skeletal form and the soft radiance of the All Hallow's Moon bathed over him. With the greatest smile he ever remembered having, he tilted back his head and enjoyed the moment. He sighed pleasantly with his nonexistent eyes closed, a breath of deathly black smog escaping his mouth, feeling at one with his kingdom of death here. No wonder his father loved his job. He was the reason for these...these necropolises! These deathvanas! Knowing that...his father must feel like a god amongst these silent tombs...
Junior opened his eye as he observed the now mist-covered graveyard. It was so thick that Junior could barely see twenty feet in front of him. Internally, he was shocked and confused as he heard many scraping and clawing noises from every direction...but he felt so calm and at ease in this place that, for some reason, he instinctively knew he wasn't in any danger.
He smirked, almost against his will, as he saw many figures clawing their way out of the hollow grounds. Skeletons, shades, zombies, ghosts, and many more creatures of the undead. They all crowded around him but gave him a respectable circle of distance, moving slow and sluggish, some climbing on top of tombstones, as if just to get a glimpse of him, their beloved crowned heir. They groaned and they screeched and they howled their reverence for their liege. The screeches of banshees, the grunts of zombies, the roars of ghouls, the moans of specters, the rattling of bones...it was almost like music to that Little Boy Death, an Orchestra of the Fallen, a Symphony of the Dead, and an Opera of the Departed.
Junior's smirk melted into a smile as he tilted back his head and laughed. It wasn't a laugh of evil, of triumph, of insanity, or even of sadness. It was the purest laugh of a happy, joyous child. Perhaps even, just for that moment, the happiest child in all the Afterlives. And as his chortle echoed throughout the cemetery, and over the Melody of his subjects, nothing could dampen the euphoria in his soul. Not Minnie, not his Mother, not even God himself could rob him of this moment!
And from a great distance, Outis smiled to himself while standing in an alley of Halloween Town, "See, Prince Grim? Did I not say that your heritage would make your sister's talents seem so trivial?" He commented to himself with a chuckle, "Why, I'd say your abilities even dwarf hers, in raw power at the very least," He mused out loud before he turned to the walking bathtub behind him, a large and tied up bag resting inside it. "Now to deal with these little trouble makers," He commented, tapping the tub twice with his walking stick, causing it to start to walk towards the exit of town, the screams of the children in the bag muffled as their tub trotted onwards. "Ahh, kids. Some need a little encouragement and talking to, others need a good kick in the ass," He finished to himself with a grin...
Of course, the show had not gone unnoticed in the slightest. The first to lay eyes upon it, was none other than Princess MiniMandy herself, flying high above the graveyard with her Nergal wings. The entirety of the massive burial grounds was becoming one large mob of the undead. Truly, it was a sight to behold, to see such an army- no, such a kingdom just rise from the under-earth by the mere presence of the Heir of the Grim Reaper. She wanted nothing more than to swoop down and embrace that skeleton brother of hers, to congratulate him on awakening his powers, to praise him for this moment. But she did not; she let him have the moment, let him be alone in that Kingdom of Death that he was Prince of, let him revel in the cheers of his denizens.
"Ahh, Mine Brother, ye art truly more blessed than ye realize," She noted happily, and almost whimsically, "Empires and Kingdoms, Gods and Devils. All these may rise and fall, but only this dominion of the dead can claim to be truly eternally everlasting, and endlessly expanding. Even mother and I will doubtlessly join their ranks, if not for many an age. But ye, Mine Prince, wilt rule for countless strange eons, mayhap until even our great mother is nary even a memory in the afterlives. And even after thine scythe is passed to thine heir, as it wilt inevitably be passed to ye, and thou pass onto to wherehence thine kind journey to after thine unlife, mine spirit wilt remember you forevermore as Mine Brother, Mine Prince, and one day, Mine King." She monologued softly to herself, smiling down at the distant figure of her brother, within the only empty circle in the mass of corpses and spirits.
After that, the partiers within Halloween Town began to notice the sounds as well, and began to gather at the edge of the graveyard, looking on in curiosity, awe, and wonder at their new guests.
"Well would ya look at that!" A witch called with a cackle, "That ghoul doesn't look half bad..."
"There's so many of them!" The Wolfman said in amazement.
"And I thought we knew how to throw a party." A member of the zombie band mused.
And at the head of it all stood one woman with two skeletons. Mandy the Bitch Queen looked on with a raised eyebrow at the unwieldy mass of undead creatures, practically overflowing the massive cemetery, "I'm guessing by your grin, Grim, that this is Junior's doing?" Mandy asked evenly.
"Oh yah, definitely him. Hehe, was kinda hopin someding like dis migh happen, ta be honest. Graveyars can have quite de effec on young reapas," Grim explained with a look of fatherly pride on his skull.
Jack, meanwhile, was just gaping, "I summoned up a herd of Nightmares on my first try, but...damn, he really is your son, Grim," Jack said in awe.
"Oh? What'd bonehead do on his first time?" Mandy asked, a bit curious on the development and abilities of a young reaper.
Grim was about to answer when the ground began to shake a bit, a dust cloud forming in the distance before a giant skeleton arm reached out of the ground as the top half of an eighty foot skeleton pulled itself out of the ground, "...I summoned up abou fifty of dose," Grim answered after a moment of stunned silence before the crowd started to cheer in amazement.
"Giant skeletons?" Mandy mused with a raised eyebrow.
"Why'd ya dink de boys upstairs called up a flood? Dese dings are not easy ta get rid of," Grim commented.
"...Wait, you caused the Great Flood, as a child, by calling up a horde of giant skeletons...which I'm guessing were the Nephilim...purely by accident?" Mandy asked with a raised eyebrow, something flashing in her eyes.
"Well, we don't really consida dese firs acs of necramancy ta be accidens...but, yah, pretty much," Grim explained a bit thoughtful, looking to Mandy curiously, "...I'm goin ta guess yer turned on righ now?" He stated with a small smirk.
"Very," Mandy admitted with a smirk of her own, one tinted with lust.
"Umm, guys?" Jack called, coughing sheepishly. "Maybe before you start consummating the unholy union of Death Personified and Evil Incarnate once more, you might want to get your son?" He suggested, pausing awkwardly, "...And a room, perhaps?" He added on sheepishly.
Mandy sighed through her nose at that, "I suppose we must," She admitted as she fearlessly waltzed into the graveyard, the closest creatures of the undead turning towards her as she drew near...and slowly parting to make way for her, Mandy never slowing in her stride, "You coming, Griiim?" She asked, drawling his name.
Grim just chuckled as he followed after his evil, sexy, bitch of a wife as Jack just sweat-dropped, 'While utterly whipped, I cannot deny Grim is lucky, because he going to be tapping that tonight,' Jack thought in brotherly amusement, 'Though, seeing as all it took was that one comment to get her aroused, I can't help wondering who really is the whipped one...'
As she made her way through the crowd of ghouls, zombies, and the like, Mandy gave a curious attention to these beings her son had summoned in such quantity. There was a look of respect in their lifeless eyes, but there was also a look of ferocity…unsurprising, really. They probably recognized her as Mandy the Queen of the Underworld, or Mandy the Wife of Death, or Mandy the Mother of the Prince, or even all three. However, as freshly resurrections and Junior probably not issuing any large amount of control over them, this horde would mostly like snap at anything that seemed to harm Junior.
After over ten minutes of walking, the monarchs of the Underworld reached the circle in which their child resided. Mandy, for all her black heartedness, might have actually had to force a smile from creeping onto her face at the sight. There Junior sat, on the ground with his back to a tombstone. He looked tired, but the expression on his soul was pure serenity, unbidden happiness. And in the pale light of the moon, he looked all the more at peace. If Mandy had to guess, Junior truly felt like the prince he was, just sitting there against that slab of stone.
"Sorry...did I ruin the party?" Junior asked weakly, not sounding apologetic at all as he turned to smile at his parents.
"Not at all. In fact, I think they enjoyed the show," Mandy answered evenly, yet softly.
"Personally, I dink ya did grea, kiddo," Grim added in with a grin before looking upwards at the giant skeleton looming nearby, "Dough, dat migh be trouble gettin rid of," He noted idly.
"Couldn't we just keep it? Or leave it here?" Junior suggested with a raised eyebrow.
"Actually, that might not be a bad idea," Mandy noted. "I'm sure Jack and the rest of the town could find many ways to work in a giant skeleton into their performances." She pointed out.
"Hmm, well, Jack should be able ta handle de ding...," Grim reasoned, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "Still, de res of wut ya brough outta de ground is noding ta sneeze at either," Grim reminded.
"Yeah...how do I send them back?" Junior asked curiously, "And...can I have five more minutes?" He asked sheepishly.
"You make it sound like we walked in on you masturbating," Mandy quipped, Grim chuckling as his son blushed and gaped at his mother, sputtering words at an attempt to make a comeback.
Eventually, he sighed, giving up on covering up his embarrassment, "Never mind, that killed the mood," Junior relented as he stood up and dusted off his pants.
"...It still sounds like we just walked in on you masturbating." Mandy pointed out, Grim laughing out loud as Junior gave his mother a glare for the extra embarrassment, "Stop saying things that can be taken the wrong way and you won't have this problem," She pointed out.
"Unless I learn to make better comebacks than you," Junior muttered in annoyance.
"What was that?" Mandy asked warningly.
"I was wondering where Minnie was," Junior covered up flawlessly, without even a hint of fear.
'There is hope for you yet,' Mandy thought in mild amusement, "She should be dropping in any time now," She answered cryptically, Grim giving her a slightly surprised look.
"So...am I going to do this every time I walk into a graveyard?" Junior asked curiously. Sure, he absolutely loved the feeling of doing this, albeit unintentionally, but calling up a legion of the undead all the time might be...a bit hectic in other realms... and it would be tedious in ones like this.
"Nah, nah. Afta ya get use ta yer powas, it should only happen when ya wan it ta...or if get too pissed," Grim assured lightly, "Migh go ova boar de firs few times, but betta ovakill den undakill," He added on with a chuckle.
"I see I'm rubbing off on you," Mandy noted with a smirk.
"I more ways den one," Grim retorted.
"Did I miss something? I thought Mom's time of the month wasn't for another week?...Wait, Mom, are you pregnant?" Junior asked with wide eyes.
"Wha-?" Mandy started, momentarily not sure how to respond to that, "Since when do you know about a period?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Undernet," Junior answered effortlessly.
"...An wut made ya dink yer moder has a bun in de oven?" Grim asked in surprise.
"Because Mom gets really horny when she's pregnant," Junior answered with a tilt of the head, "Or when she's on her period. What, you think I didn't notice that every month, almost like clockwork, you two are mysteriously busy for up to three days straight yet can't be found anywhere in the castle?" Junior asked with a blank stare. The looks on the faces of the King and Queen of the Underworld were priceless. Grim was openly gaping while Mandy's eyes were widened just enough to be noticeable, "People, I have a computer in my room and few friends. What do you think I spend most of my time doing? And yes, Mom, I know the double meaning in that, and I don't care," Junior pointed out with a small grin.
"I suspect thou mayhaps inherited our mother's sense of humor, Mine Brother," Minnie pointed out curiously with a finger on her chin as she stood beside Junior, as if she had been there the entire time.
"Well, I had to get something from her, since you seem to have everything else," Junior pointed out, a pregnant pause growing over the group until Junior blinked and turned towards his sister in surprise, "When did you..." He started off, stopping with wide eyes as he saw her Nergal wings and tail, "...get here?" He finished in a stunned tone, taking in the image of his sister's wings and lithe tail, twirling idly and slowly behind her.
Minnie turned to fully face him with a nervous smile, her hands fiddling behind her back as she let the fact sink in, "I cameth to bear witness to the awakening of thine slumbering reaper powers. Thou art, indeed, most impressive. As to be expect of our Prince," Minnie said, awkwardly and sheepishly, trying to break the tension while Mandy and Grim watched the scene carefully. Junior just kept staring with an unreadable expression on his face, making Minnie a bit more nervous, "I-I see the nature of mine true powers has surprised ye. Mine apologizes, I...I thought this might be a good time to...," She trailed off, withering a bit under his blank stare, "Brother, pirthee, say something," She whispered pleadingly, needing to know his reaction to her having Nergal powers.
Junior still refused to react as he scrutinized her form, almost like he was passing judgment on her. Then, he moved…Minnie wasn't sure if he was deliberately moving slowly or if it was happening in slow motion. He raised his left hand, reaching it out towards her, pointing his index and middle finger until they were level with the middle of her forehead, his boney digits pressing lightly against her skin. For whatever reason, Minnie's body refused to move and her voice could not form words as she just stood there, waiting for...something.
"You know, if I had found out about that a bit earlier, I probably would be mad," Junior said evenly, making her more uneasy until he chuckled and ruffled her hair, a wry smile slowly working onto his face at her shocked face, "But right now, right here? I can't find a single shred of jealousy in me," He assured with a smile. "I'm not mad, Mins," He assured, a bit amused by the whole situation.
"Thank ye, mine brother," Minnie said happily, smiling a bit as Junior removed his hand, to her slight displeasure, "I had feared that ye might not take too kindly to mineself possessing such powers but hoped that thou coming into thine own powers would nullify any...ill feeling it mayhaps bring up," She continued, a bit nervously.
"I might not have taken it so well, if it hadn't clicked that Nergal Junior is your biological father," Junior answered with a chuckle as she blinked, "That...actually clears up a lot of things for me, to be honest," He said with an understanding smile.
Mandy and Grim looked on with more than a bit of pride in their eyes over their children finally getting along, or at least Junior not feeling vexed by Minnie's mere presence. Mandy smirked as she looked at Grim and mouthed an 'I told you so.' in his direction, to which he rolled his sockets, '"Give dem time", she said. Ha! I doub even she dough dis woul happen jus afta dat.' He thought in equal mixtures of amusement and annoyance.
"Well, if you two are quite done with your sappy moment, I think Bonehead Senior has to be teaching Bonehead Junior how to unanimate an army of corpses," Mandy reminded after a few more seconds. "Minnie, come with me. I believe this counts as a father-son moment for Reapers," Mandy instructed.
"Aye, Mother," Minnie agreed as she headed off after her mother.
"Minnie..." Junior called, the younger heir looking back at him curiously. "...I'm sorry you felt the need to hide that from me," He informed evenly before turning away from her. Minnie blinked before smiling in understanding, heading off in better spirits than she remembered being in in ages.
"Dat was very nice of ya, Son," Grim said with a smile, "I was beginnin ta dink dat ya two woul neva gettalong," He added on with a chuckle.
"You know, if you guys had led in with Uncle Nergal being her father, that actually would have helped," Junior pointed out, a bit annoyed with Minnie's secret.
"Ya, bu ya still woul have been jealous an mad abou de whole ding," Grim retorted.
"Oh, no question, I'm just saying that knowing that little fact would have helped me get over it faster, and it explains a lot: Why Minnie isn't a reaper, why he spends so much time with her these days, why you don't like him, and a few other things," Junior explained with a shrug, "Now, back to the matter at hand...?" Junior added on, gesturing to his legion of the undead.
"Ya know, I'm actually amazed ye're keepin dese dings unda such good control," Grim commented with a touch of praise.
"I'm controlling them?" Junior asked curiously, looking between his father and the horde surrounding them, "I...honestly don't see how," He informed in an unsure voice.
"It's a bit hard ta notice de firs times. It's mosly a matta of will an knowin whatcha wan dem ta do," Grim elaborated thoughtfully, "Hmm, boy, I'd sugges closin yer eyes ta try and...ge back dat mood ya were talkin abou," Grim answered.
"...Ya, dat didn soun awkwar at all, Mon., Junior said dryly, imitating his father's accent.
"Smartass," Grim grumbled as Junior closed his eyes...
"Well Jack, we have two bits of news. I'm not sure which of these are good and bad for you, so that's up to you," Mandy informed as they approached the crowd at the edge of the town.
"Probably a bit of both, depending on how you look at it," Jack answered with a shrug, having a good idea of where this was going.
"Junior is sending these husks and shades back to their graves," Mandy informed, getting some groans from the townspeople.
"Now, now everyone," Jack called in a placating tone, "These ghouls and ghosts were mostly young and feral thralls. Even if we kept them, they'd be causing trouble for upwards of ten years...Plus, we'd have to expand Halloween Town...a lot," Jack pointed out, the townspeople agreeing, for the most part, but with some disappointment still, "Sorry about that," He said to Mandy, who waved him off.
"The other bit is that Junior-" Mandy started, only to pause as a she heard something. She turned and everyone looked on in wonder as the creatures closest to Junior were screeching and grunting as they slowly turned to dust, forming a large ash-gray ring around the two reapers. After a few seconds, the wall of dust exploded outwards with a gust of wind, rapidly turning all of the horde into dust. It expelled without effect over Halloween Town, coating the citizens with it, "Is letting you keep the giant skeleton," Mandy informed in annoyance as the wind died down.
The town watched in curious wonder as it started to rain ash from the sky like snow. "...Okay, this might be the best Halloween ever," Jack said in amazement as the monstrous townspeople began to enjoy something better than snow to them, something more suited to their holiday.
Mandy glared as she found herself covered in the ash, marching back towards her skeletal son and husband. The two were sitting on the ground, coughing lightly, "Ova did it a bit dere, Son," Grim informed with a laugh.
"Yes, yes you did," Mandy informed with a bit of a glare as she stood over the two reapers. Junior gulped and hid behind his father.
"It was Dad's idea! He told me to visualize them turning to dust with a wave of my hand!" Junior blamed quickly.
"Ow, way ta drow me unda de bus Son!" Grim yelled in betrayal over his shoulder, "Wut kinda Son sells out his own fader?!"
"How about the kind that just got used by his father to prank the fucking Bitch Queen?!" Junior yelled in retort as it went deafeningly silent, "Should I be running?" He asked quietly as his mother's eyes were hidden by her bangs.
"Unless ya rader take it like a man?" Grim suggested nervously.
"Would you?" Junior asked, blinking at the silence, "Dad?" He called, turning to find he was alone with his mother now, "Oh that lousy...," He started before stopping and sighing as he turned back to his mother, "You know what, just get it over with. At least I can hold it over his head I didn't run off," Junior grumbled in resignation.
With that acceptance, Mandy moved forward, standing ominously over Junior, who was shaking lightly as he felt like it suddenly got darker while his mother approached, until her glare was unhidden by her bangs, making him wince. She raised a hand and...bonked him on the head, to his surprise. Sure, it stung a bit, but it wasn't like his skull was cracked or anything He looked up to see his mother smirking down at him, "Do hang that over his head, Junior. I think it'd be a fitting, long term punishment for Grim to know his son has bigger balls than he does," Mandy said with a bit of praise.
"Umm, thanks?" Junior asked uneasily, smiling a bit.
"Don't mention it. Ever," Mandy countered, very seriously as flicked him between the eye sockets, making him wince at the subtle threat.
"Will do!" He agreed quickly before blinking, "Hey, where's Minnie?" He asked curiously.
As if on cue, a body fell from the sky right beside the queen and prince, "HUUUUU! CAN'T! BREATH!" Minnie gasped for air, covered in ash all over, her hair almost looking completely grey right now, "Brother...mine lungs burn...pirthee...reap mine soul and...be done with this agony...in mine chest!" Minnie begged, a bit overdramatically, in between deep, ragged breaths.
"Junior, take your sister inside the town hall and get her something to drink before she starts spitting up blood," Mandy ordered, unconcerned for her gasping daughter, "I'm going to go track down your father," She added on in annoyance.
"Umm, right," Junior said awkwardly, his eyes still wide, as he knelt down and gestured for Minnie to climb on his back, "Climb on, Mins. I don't think you're in much shape to walk at the moment," He instructed, a bit worried for her.
Under the shadow of the giant skeleton, the coughing princess gratefully climbed onto the offered back as the prince escorted her back to town while the queen made her way to find her cowardly king. And thus ended one of the greatest Halloweens in the history of the Holiday.
End of Chapter
Well, there we go, ladies and gentlemen! This is the first chapter of Gods of Down Below. I've actualyl had this story planned for over a year, almost as long as RDR. It's just tooken me a while to get the inspiration for the second half off this. I've had the conversation with Outis written down for at least a year now.
And for this Chapter, Junior comes inot his powers as a reaper. My logic to him summoning so many undead creatures? Well, in canon, we saw what Minnie could do with the Nergal, than we saw whatthe nergal could do with Junior's power- it turned into the freaking Reaper-Beast. That implies an insane amount of raw energy. With that, if I figured that if he used solely his reaper powers, they'd be very overpowered due to him putting a ton of energy into them.
So, we can all thank my character Outis for lifting up Junior's spirits, not getting kidnapped, getting along better with Minnie, and getting his own rightful powers. And yes, this story is going to be a bit more politcal based but its going to have its own action and adventure. Think mythology with politics people, its more epic than you might think.
Also, on Mandy?...I kind of like the idea that Grim Senior can get her randy just by mentioning some terrible event he caused in one way or another. She's evil, so its not too far of a stretch to say that Death is her favorite turn on after Power.
And though Junior is patching things up with Minnie, he' not completely over everything. He just feels...less overwhelmed now that he has his own for where this is going? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.
No Questions to Ponder this time. Just tell me what you think and where you think this might be heading.