Grim Tales: End of Reign

I own no rights to The Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy, nor am I affiliated with Grim Tales by Bleedman.

This is a sorta-sequel to a previous fanfiction I wrote called Grim Tales: Before the Burial. I say sorta-sequel because it uses some of the same ideas and works timelinewise but doesn't necessarily have to be read before this story.

High atop the jagged mountains of the underworld sits Castle Grimskull. Once the impenetrable home of the family Grim, now the throne of the most powerful being in the Underworld and beyond. The tales of the punishment trespassers receive are so terrible that only the greatest of fools would ever even think about attempting to penetrate its walls.

It is a title the man who currently tries to break in can live with, so long as it means he can finally end this.

He moved quickly and silently over the walls and through the corridors like a shadow. He could not waste time on the guards if he was to stand a chance. He avoided the booby traps easily, having grown up around them his entire life (and accidentally setting off a few in his childhood). He made his way through the castle, knowing exactly where she'd be.

Two skeletal guards stood blocking the doorway. Neither saw him until he crushed their skulls.

He gently pushed the doors open and entered. Stealth was no long required. There was little doubt that she'd been waiting for him.

Within was the throne room: the must-have for all great rulers. And on the great chair sat the blond empress of all evil. The two, after all this time, finally meet again.

"Junior."

"Mother."

The doors closed behind the tall robed skeleton. He couldn't help but comment to himself that he'd changed so much over the years yet she looked exactly the same. Her immortality prevented any alterations caused by aging. In fact the only difference Junior could see based on memory was his father's prized blade laying across her lap. He curled his fist but made no moves yet.

"I'd say "Welcome home" but I suppose you haven't considered this your home in quite a few years." She said. Junior didn't talk back. "You've grown quite a bit since I last saw you. I think you might be taller than your father now."

Still, Junior stand nothing.

"Junior, it's rude not to address back when you're a guest in someone's home." She goaded him.

"I didn't come here to talk."

"And yet I bet you have something to say."

He waited a moment before answering. "I hate you." He said. "I hate you more than I ever thought it was possible to hate anyone. You took them all away from me. Uncle Nergal, Charles, Uncle Jack, Aunt Sally, my father, Mimi, Minnie…everyone I've ever cared about is gone because of you."

"You're hardly the only one who's lost their loved ones to war."

"This was your family."

"What's your point?"

Junior glared at her. "I suppose I don't have one. Given that you ordered your troops to shoot me on sight after I left, I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when you had them taken out too."

"You seceded from my house during the start of a war and ran off with Him's daughter, what the hell did you think was going to happen?"

"I don't know, I was a kid back then, but I've had a good ten years since then to learn firsthand what you're really like!" Junior said. "No matter where we ran, in every realm we found your troops and your machines and your monsters burning it to the ground. Not because they had anything to do with Him but because they didn't immediately ally themselves with you in your damn war. I suppose I could call it your and Him's damn war but we both know that isn't true. You never considered Him a threat, you just used him as an excuse to strike at the other realms. An excuse to drive what little you didn't already have further under your heel."

Mandy yawned, not a gesture to mock him but because she honestly was just that bored by their conversation. "You done?" She asked.

"No I'm not!" Junior yelled. "Having me on the run from your troops wasn't enough for you so you decided to manipulate me and Minnie into fighting each other!"

"Minnie hardly needed any manipulation into going after you." Mandy pointed out. "She felt so betrayed when you left, with Him's daughter of all people, that she spent years planning what she'd do to you before I sent her out."

"We would have killed each other if Mimi hadn't stopped us! She gave up her life to save ours!"

"Are you trying to make me feel sympathy for the girl who not only instigated a war with me but also who I let you keep as a pet?"

"She was the best friend I ever had."

"I'm guessing that's why Minnie wanted you both dead so bad." Mandy commented. Junior continued to glare at her from under his hood. "Junior, it seems like you're only mad at me because you're mad at yourself. You're the one who kept running and you're the one who got his friend and sister killed when they ran away with you. Blaming me won't change that."

"The moment you got word that Minnie left your ranks you had us bombed!"

"You were both traitors."

"We were your children! Having us killed shouldn't have been such an easy decision for you to make!" Junior yelled at the queen. Mandy's expression stayed unreadably neutral. "Do you have any idea what it was like for me? To watch my sister die for a second time?!"

"I imagine it was significantly worse than last time. Or did you think I wouldn't notice that you now have both of your sister's eyes."

Junior was taken slightly off guard by the comment and slowly shifted his gaze to the ground, unable to look at her. Mandy continued talking. "Before I ever let Nergal Jr join my army I made sure to learn everything there is to know about his species so he couldn't pull any surprises on me. I know exactly what the giving of the left eye signifies. And even more so, what it means to accept it."

Junior remained silent. "I wonder where she is now." Mandy continued. "They barred her from Heaven the last time just for having less than pure thoughts about you. What happens to her now that you've finally given her what she wanted? Sure I've ruined most of the afterlife realms but I'm sure they'd still have some place reserved especially for people like her. Assuming there's anything left of her soul, of course."

"Shut up."

"At least I can understand why you feel so guilty over her death. Screwing her over because you screwed her over."

"Shut up."

"How wonderful her flesh must have felt on your body as you damned her."

"SHUT UP!"

Junior's anger was near a breaking point, the only thing holding him back was the knowledge that making the first move would be suicide. Mandy was almost tempted to smirk, just to get another rise out of him.

"You know what the biggest difference between you and me is, Junior?" She asked. "It's regret. I've done many terrible things in my life and I regret none of them. They were my choices to make and I live with them, because whether it worked out of not, I won't back down from what I've done. You, however, seem to regret everything you've ever done, even if it's what you wanted, just because not everyone got a happy ending out of it. Just like your father, you'd rather cry over your misfortunes instead of just dealing with them. You're completely shackled by your regret and I'm not."

"But that's not entirely true, is it?" Junior said. "It's not that you don't regret anything you've done, it's that you don't regret period. You don't care enough about anything to feel any sort of emotion once you've lost it. We're all just pawns in your little game and once our purpose is used up you just toss us away, like you did to my father and Minnie! You never loved us! You never cared about us! So don't act you're some kind of higher being just because you never gave a damn about anyone in the first place!"

"What's. Your. Point?" Mandy asked again, sick of this argument. "You keep going on about the terrible things that I've done, trying to make me feel like I've fucked up somehow, and yet, after everything that I've done, all the things that you condemn me for, what happened in the end? I. Still. Won. All the cold, heartless tactics you want me to feel ashamed of put me here and made me the most powerful ruler the Underworld has ever known. So keep whining if you want, it doesn't change the fact that I won."

"No. You haven't." Junior countered. "Because in case you hadn't noticed, there's still one person left opposing you. Your victory isn't complete yet."

Junior's aura rose tremendously. "You think you're a match for me, boy?" Mandy asked, her demonic eyes pushing against him.

"I'm here to kill you. That means I'm better than you."

It was on the last word that Junior moved to dodge the bullet from his mother's gun. He launched himself forward at her, his Nergal powers spawning forth a green bladed scythe. He swung the weapon but Mandy dodged it with ease, the chair taking the hit in her place. She spun in midair, Death's scythe slicing Junior's in half. An imitation was no match for the real thing.

But Junior wasn't just a Reaper. The tears in his clothes made way for the green light that poured from them. Spikes protruded from the top of his hood and from behind him spawned a black, bladed tail. This was Junior's true power: the power of the Demon Reaper.

Mandy had only ever fought a Demon Reaper once in her life and technically it had been Junior as well, back when he'd first gained his power and it had been the Nergal symbiote in control. The form it had taken then had been a massive hulking behemoth, so large it nearly crushed Halloweentown in its steps and so powerful that it demolished nearly everything she'd sent at it. There was no doubt in the queen's mind that her son could go into that form anytime he wanted and it showed his incredible growth in wisdom that he didn't. It was powerful, yes, but that power was raw and unrestricted, too unwieldy to be used effectively. He could crack the castle wide open in one blow but he could just as easily take out the ground from under him without meaning to and fall into the abyss below. Plus the queen had weapons that could take out entire realms. All that size would do is give her a bigger target.

The form Junior fought in now was far better for one-on-one combat. His great power was conserved and could be released at his leisure, with his more manageable size giving him greater speed and mobility.

He spawned from his arm a large cannon and fired round after round at the queen. Mandy circled the room to avoid the blasts until she finally came to the spot she needed. She stepped on a trigger switch in the floor causing two modified pistols to pop out, confirming Junior's suspicions that Mandy had laced the entire room with hidden weapons. She fired the pistols at Junior's projectiles, the modified weapon packing enough firepower to match his demon gun perfectly.

However, what Junior lacked in quality he made up for in quantity. His gun would never run out of ammo while her's eventually had to. And she was smart enough to know this. Which means…

Junior looked behind him just in time to see the high-tech security system fire at him. Black wings burst from Junior's back and launched him skyward, avoiding the shots. He swooped and dodged every shot that came at him. But when looking back down to take aim he discovered his mother was nowhere to be seen.

He had a split-second to react when he heard the SHING behind him. He spawned a new scythe just in time the intercept the scythe Mandy just nearly took his head off with. As she started falling through the air she opened another scythe portal and disappeared again.

This time she appeared from above him, guns blazing as she fell out from the portal. Junior fired back, even managing to hit her with a few rounds, not that it mattered to her as her immortality healed her instantly. Before he could take a swing at her with his scythe, Mandy ported away again.

This pattern continued, though with variations. Though he hated his mother, Junior couldn't help but be in awe of her sheer skill. There was little question that she was far better with the scythe than his father ever was (though he doubted Grim ever wished to use it for anything more than his job) and her years as an assassin had trained her eyes to the point to where not only could she predict where he'd fly to avoid her, but also where to pop out to best use the security system to her advantage, causing Junior to be bombarded whenever he tried to get close to her.

The battle was too quick-paced for anyone other than them to observe. If anyone else had been in the room all they'd be able to make out would be the sound of gunfire and the sparks caused whenever the two scythes crossed.

But due to Junior's superior speed he was able to get lucky at least once and smacked Mandy with his tail, knocking her straight into the ground.

Junior dive-bombed at his mother, the closing range causing more bullets to hit them both. As Junior just about took her head off Mandy leapt above him and slashed both wings off with the scythe. Junior tumbled across the floor as Mandy landed gracefully back at her destroyed throne. She turned and fired more rounds at him along with the security system, but Junior's Nergal skin grew around him until it was a thick hide the bullets could not penetrate. Getting back to his feet Junior knew his defense wasn't going to hold up forever. As the dictator of the realms Mandy had access to some of the most powerful weapons ever known, which she showed off as she withdrew a new toy from behind her throne. The PTRD-41000, better known as the most advanced Anti-tank rifle in existence.

The doors burst open behind Junior as a guard ran into the room. "My queen, I heard gunfire! Is everything all-" Junior then grabbed him by the skull and chucked the poor servant at the queen. Mandy made no hesitation and fired the rifle, the round cutting through the guard's body like a wet tissue as it targeted her son. The millisecond the bullet slowed had been just enough for Junior to spawn a new demon scythe and cut through the round. Its two halves sailed off in different directions before destroying the wall behind him. The heat of the explosion brushed past his hood.

Junior spawned new wings and attacked, knowing that while the weapon could easily harm him it wasn't effective at close range. Mandy was well aware of this and shot the only thing she was guaranteed to hit: the floor. The force of the blast shot rubble up all around them, the wall of debris becoming unavoidable to flying Reaper. As he was pelted he lost track of where she'd gone. At least until he felt the barrel of the gun on his back.

Junior was deafened by the shot as the wings pulled back to take what they could of it. In a split-silent-second the impact slammed Junior into the ground. He wasn't gone yet but he had been in better shape before. The Nergal symbiote repaired what it could itself and him, the blast having taken off a good chunk of his back.

His hearing started to come back when Mandy got to him, stepping on him before he could get up. "You miss your sister so much? Then go join her." She said as she swung the blade of the scythe at his neck.

Junior then wailed. It was a wail Mandy knew quite well. It was the same wail that Mimi let loose inside her vault all those years ago. The one that nearly ruined her collection. He'd learned it from her a while ago when he questioned her about that day. It was a wail fueled by despair, grief, and anger, which she'd been filled with after reliving her tear from innocence. It was skill Junior hoped he'd never be able to use, but here, facing the one who took everything from him, his own mother, the fuel for the wail was all that was on his mind.

And while normally the damage it would cause would just be something the janitor would have to worry about, at this range the scream was enough to vibrate Mandy's brain violently around in her skull and burst quite a few vessels.

Mandy clutched her head on instinct and failed to finish her swing, giving Junior the time he needed blast her point-blank in the stomach with his arm-cannon, sending her across the room.

Junior used that moment to figuratively catch his breath, knowing she wouldn't stay down for long.

Mandy cared little for the pain. It would subside in a moment. Her mind was more distracted by the memory the wail had reminded her of.

Him's daughter had broken into her home, challenged her authority, and now had ruined her collection. She had already been planning the proper torture for the girl when she tore the evil from her. She'd ordered the servants to lock her up until she would deal with her later. And that's when Junior stepped in to protect the child.

Mandy was in no mood for more shit tonight and ordered him to step aside. He refused.

She beat him soundly for it.

No one was surprised while she hit him. The servants stood waiting for their next orders. Her daughter watched in horror at the sight of her beaten sibling. Her husband simply hid his eyes under his hood and waited for it to be over.

When she finished she once again ordered her son to step aside. What happened next she had not expected.

She'd expected that he'd slowly crawl out of the way and let the servants do their job. That he'd make his way over to Minnie, who'd rush to comfort his pain. Maybe that he'd start crying over his mother, whom had never raised a hand to him before, had suddenly beat him with no hesitation.

He'd done none of this. Instead, he got back up and used his newly gained Nergal powers to stand his ground. Not only was he not going to back down, he was going to fight her on it.

In a move that surprised even her, Mandy did not get angry or strike him again. Had this been anyone else she would have ended them right then and there. But this was her son and she felt…proud… She feared that he and Minnie would grow up to be just like their fathers: spineless and afraid, too weak to be worth the powers they had. To see her son stand up for himself, to show some damn backbone even at the risk of having it broken…the feeling was new to her…

She did not strike him again and told him he could keep Mimi as a pet, the proper position for someone of Him's ilk, as encouragement.

Her current battle with her son would not end the same way. There would be no staying of the hand this time. This was a direct challenge to her authority and pride only goes so far. He'd come to take her life and if he wanted it, he'd have to earn it.

Mandy's immortality fixed the damage caused to her brain. "You won't be able to settle this with an aneurysm, boy."

"Then I'll settle for your entire damn head!"

Green glowing chains then began to burst forth from Junior's body, all with a sharp blade at their ends. They responded to his will and attacked the queen as he did. Mandy moved quickly, using the scythe to cut off the chains within her reach. But each severed chain just gave room for a new one to appear. A technique he'd no doubt learned from Spawn while he'd been away.

Mandy used the scythe portals to keep her distance, the bladed chains giving Junior far too much of an advantage up close. After avoiding another swing Mandy took aim and fired the rifle, the demon flesh, chains or no, wouldn't survive it a second time.

But again, Junior proved he was more than just a demon, as the blades on the ends of the chains opened up their own portal, just big enough for the round to go through.

It took the queen's brain only milliseconds to process what'd just happened, but that was still just enough time for the ported round to literally disarm her. As the arm holding the rifle fell to the ground glowing chains burst from Junior's arm and impaled the queen before she could escape. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't move, alerting her to exactly what they were and why they were a problem, as it wasn't her body that the Reaper's Chains had latched onto, but her soul. Something that if separated, a Reaper would have total control over.

"I'll tear your soul from your corpse!" Junior yelled as he yanked the chains with all his strength.

Mandy's will was strong and her soul refused to leave her body, though the sheer force of being pulled forward tore the scythe from her remaining hand and across the floor.

Junior commanded the rest of the chains to impale her and yanked again, but she remained strong. However as Junior yanked and yanked both could feel her soul slowly giving way. A soul has no chance against a Reaper and if this battle continued, Mandy knew she would lose.

It was time to stop fooling around and end this. Mandy pulled out a pitch-black gun from behind her (where she'd been keeping it, Junior would rather not think about) and fired repeatedly at her son.

Junior didn't bother dodging. He barely even felt the bullets in his Demon-Reaper form. He gave another tug, feeling the soul's resistance slipping away. He was almost there…

…And then he felt the thump in his chest. And then another. And another.

Junior knelled over in pain, clutching his chest as the chains dissipated into green smoke. Mandy breathed normally again and walked over to her hunched over son.

"Well, that was certainly something different."

Junior could barely respond. His body felt like it was on fire as pain shot through him from his very core. "What-what did you do to me?!"

Mandy eyed her weapon. "It's amazing how willing to remain ignorant people are." She said. "When I first married your father, bets were started all around the Underworld as to when I'd eventually kill him. I doubt many figured it'd be 20+ years later, but when the time finally came, no one was surprised that it happened. But not once, not once, have I ever heard anyone ask the very important question: how did I kill Grim? How does one kill Death? And I first got the idea for how, interestingly enough, when we decided to have you."

"W-what?"

"Junior…look at your hand."

Junior looked, expecting to see his black Nergal-covered boney hand, only to see the soft pink digits instead. Speechless, Junior felt his hand to his face, also soft. Mandy knelt down to him. "You can feel it. That's no Nergal mimicry. No illusion. That is your real living human flesh. Here's your proof." She gently grabbed one of his fingers and quickly bent it back until it snapped. Junior cried out in pain.

"As a skeleton that would have been an annoyance. Living hurts, doesn't it?" She said. Junior cursed at her as he tried to attack, but he couldn't move and the pain was too much for his thoughts to form correctly.

Mandy continued talking. "I wondered why you had to be aborted in order to be a Reaper. Grim was so uncomfortable with taking a child's life himself that I'm sure he would have weaseled a way around it if he could. But then I realized the answer is just as simple as it seems. Death is Death and Death can't be living. Simple as that. Life and Death coexist but are not compatible and should the two ever try…well, things then to break down."

Mandy held the pitch-black gun in front of his face. "You wouldn't believe to effort that went into making this thing. Especially for the ammo." She put the gun away. "It goes by many names throughout history. The Fountain of Youth. The Fountain of Eden. The Spring of Life. Waters so pure that many wasted their lives trying to find it. Said to be able to heal any wound, restore one to the prime of life, or even restore life to the fallen. I could save a lot of lives with this stuff. I won't, but you get the idea."

Junior's pain was getting worse and his powers wouldn't activate. "That pain in your chest? That's your new heart, stopping and restarting over and over. The pain in your head is probably your synapses refusing to fire. Basically your entire body is trying to kill itself while also trying to keep itself alive. The end result? Eventually everything you are just gives out and you're gone."

Junior tried to lunge forward at her in rage but fell short and collapsed back into the ground, still clutching himself in pain.

Mandy's cold eyes showed no emotion to her son. "You truly are your father's son, going out the same way he did. Though I'll give you credit, you at least put up more of a fight than he did." She patted her son on the head. "Goodbye, Junior."

"I-I'm n-not finished yet!" Junior stuttered out. Mandy didn't acknowledge his words and walked back to her throne.

"Get back here!" Junior yelled out, struggling to still fight. He had to. He had to!

But Mandy ignored him. He was no longer worth her time.

"Get back here!" He roared before falling forward on his face.

Tears couldn't help but form as he cursed himself and his helplessness. He'd come so far…so close…

"I'm sorry, Minnie…I'm so sorry…"

As his being continued to break down Junior saw the reflection of his eyes in the tears on the ground.

…But they weren't his eyes, were they? They were Minnie's. She'd given them to him.

She'd given everything to him…so many times…

…And now he was failing her…again…

…no…

…No…

No!

Mandy turned suddenly at the sound of tearing flesh and agony as Junior's Nergal symbiote tore the humanity from his bones, literally ripping life from Death.

"AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The pain was unimaginable, which is mainly why Mandy had never considered this would happen. That someone would so willingly place themselves in this torment just for the chance to keep fighting.

"Junior…you-" The queen was interrupted by the giant Nergal fist slamming into her midsection, knocking the air and ribs out of her. Mandy felt the pistol explode behind her from the force.

Completely blinded by pain Junior just struck. Again and again he crushed the Bitch Queen into the ground with his massive fist, the blows from within the room shaking the entire castle.

After several minutes Junior finally had to cease from fatigue. His knees hit the floor once more as the Nergal symbiote covered him, doing what it could to help ease the pain that rattled through his bones. He finally reached a point where he could catch his breath, or at least as close to breathing as skeletons get.

Unsurprisingly the moment was not to last as Junior's eyes shifted to the movement in the rubble. From it emerged the queen, broken and bent at almost every point, limbs twisted and insides poking out where they never should. An inconvenience for her at best.

The silence of the room was occupied by sickening snaps and stretches of bone, as the queen's immortality put everything back where it should be. In less than a minute the only evidence of Junior's assault would be of her tattered clothing and even that was barely unpresentable.

"Alright then…" Mandy said as she snapped her neck back into place. "Guess we're going to do this the messy way then."

Junior grimaced and slowly stood back up. It was a fight to the grave and only Death would put her there.

Arms free and guns blazing, the two dove at each other.

…

It was over in an instant. The moment it took for their minds to take in what just happened was filled with silence, only broken by the sound of a red droplet hitting the floor. And then another. And another. And then many more.

Mandy's eyes gazed downward to view the damage. Junior was ducking below her, holding the weapon that just ended her life. The blade of his father's scythe curving upward through her heart. He really was fast.

At this distance a headshot was guaranteed, but impossible, as her hand had been caught in the blade's arc and lay motionless nearby on the floor, still clutching the gun.

Mandy opened her mouth to speak, only to have blood replace all words. Her body forced her to cough it up onto the ground to prevent her from suffocating. A futile gesture, she thought.

Mandy looked at the floor as she continued to drip. She'd bled before in this battle, she just hadn't noticed how red it was. But in the pool forming, a ripple was caused by droplets not from her. Clear droplets.

With her feigning strength she looked at her son. Though his face was mostly hidden by his hood Mandy could still make out his grimace, his incredible effort to hold back the emotions that went through him and failing badly at it.

"The difference between you and me…" Junior said through clenched teeth as tears continued to stream down his face. "…Is that even though I know that you deserve this…that you deserve a thousand times worse than this…I'll still always feel some regret over this…and I don't give a DAMN if you think that's weakness!"

For a moment the only noise was the dripping. Then finally, though it drove the blade farther through her, Mandy pushed herself forward and threw her arms around her son, to give him a hug.

Junior finally released his grip on the scythe, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening.

"Wha…wha…?" was all he could speak, his mind overtaken by grief and confusion.

Mandy sat in the bed of the hospital, waiting for Grim to come back from Check-out so they could finally leave. The abortion had been a complete success, as evidenced by the small skeleton child resting in Mandy's arms.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" She said to herself. Her plans for the day had already been taken off track when she went into labor and she didn't feel the need to waste any more time in this damn hospital. She could never allow her enemies to believe she'd have a moment where she was vulnerable.

Her eyes quickly darted down to the movement in her arms. Grim Jr (as Grim had named him) was finally waking up. He blinked a few times and looked up at his mother with his wide vacant eye sockets.

"What?" She said (everyone knew she had no patience with kids and she felt no real need to prove them wrong).

The small child lifted his tiny hand up to her, reaching out as far as it could go.

Mandy took a moment, unsure of what to do. She looked around, but there was no one to pass the kid off to. Finally she begrudgingly held out her hand to him to see what he'd do. Junior grasped one of her fingers, his infant hands not having any real pressure to them. Junior gripped it and smiled happily at his mother.

"Stupid kid." She thought, and slipped her finger out of his hand. He then stuck his hand back out to her again, not wanting to be apart from her.

Mandy sighed and gave him back her finger, to which Junior grabbed again and smiled.

It proved to Mandy how little he had yet to learn, as in his ignorance he was the only creature in all the world that was genuinely happy to see her. A strange feeling, to say the least.

…But she slowly she found that she didn't mind and that as moments crept on the baby seemed less and less irritating. Perhaps even…pleasant…

And it was only later that night Mandy realized how much things had truly changed. She realized that in the hospital she had smiled back at the child, just for a moment, and reality had not crumbled like before.

…Things had changed…

…She had changed…

Mandy spoke quietly, her words struggling to get out through the blood. "Don't…regret… I never did…not…about…"

She used what little she had to lift her head up and kissed him on the forehead.

"I'm proud of you, son."

The queen's body fell limb on the ground.

Junior was alone in the room. In the still quiet.

Every emotion it was possible to feel burst through him, his mind and soul feeling like they were about to tear apart.

He stayed in that room and had no choice but to let himself feel it.

How long he stayed in that room until he got back up is unknown, just that he eventually did. He ripped the scythe from the lifeless corpse. Even the blood of someone as important as her left no stain on the powerful blade.

He left the room and walked on until he reached the front of the castle, where the servants and guards of the queen gathered. All were shocked to see the return of the one they once called their prince and even more shocked to see him with the weapon their queen had not let go of since she claimed it. The collected confusion allowed Junior his moment to speak.

"Anyone still loyal to my mother…get out."

A deafening silence followed, like all the servants expected their former prince to be struck down on the spot for his blasphemy.

As the minutes crept on it was made ever clear that the impossible had happened.

One servant finally got to their knees and bowed. Then another. And another. And then the rest.

Death had ended life and now the true heir has taken the throne.

Author's notes:

Hey, thanks for reading this story. This whole story was inspired by two thing. The first is that one scene in Grim Tales where Junior does actually stand up to Mandy to protect Mimi. I liked how she seemed legitimately proud of him for it and I liked the idea that Junior might be one of the few who could or would stand up to her. The second thing that inspired this was that in Grim Tales Mandy is immortal because Grim won't reap her soul, so possibly the only person who can kill Mandy is Death, meaning that either Grim or Grim Jr can possibly kill her.

If you liked this story please be on the lookout for the sequel I'm writing to it titled Grim Tales: Empire of Death, where it'll be what happens now that Junior has the reigns of the kingdom. Hopefully it'll be good and explain a bit of what happened during Mandy's war with Him.

As always don't hesitate to post your thoughts about this story because I always appreciate feedback, positive or negative. Thanks again!