Perfect Harmony, the Soul Resonance; Fight the Bewitching Beast

A little boy and girl run down an alleyway blacker than the night sky.

Panting and choking back tears, they weave left and right through the dense city of Las Vegas. They try everything they can to evade their pursuer but every time they stop to catch their breath they hear the monster lumbering behind them. At one point, the little girl collapses and tumbles into puddle made from a leaky pipe. Her beautiful white dress was now stained and smelled like a wet dog.

"Bonnie!" The boy cries out and runs back to help his sister up.

"I wanna go home!" She cries. "I'm scared! I'm tired! I hate this!"

"Well get back home, Bonnie. I promise! But to do that we have find a way to get away from that monster!" The boy pulls Bonnie to her feet. They hear a rumbling noise coming from down the ally.

"It's the monster!" The tiny girl squeaks. "What do we do, Christopher!?"

Christopher scans the thin alleyway, squinting, straining to see through the dark. He spots a ladder leading up the side of the building next to them and lifts Bonnie up and onto the ladder. She grabs hold of it and starts to climb, despite her fear of heights. Christopher grabs the ladder as well and clambers up after Bonnie.

On the roof, Bonnie and Christopher survey the city. "We've been running for so long," Bonnie mumbles. "I've lost my sense of direction."

"Me too," Christopher agrees. He then turns away from the bright light of Vegas and heads back over to the ladder they climbed. He reluctantly peaks over the edge of the building. Down below, hunched over in the ally, is the monster.

The beast looks somewhere between a frog and an ape. Its body is grey and covered with rough bumps and boils. Its hind legs fold inward toward the beast's body at the knees. Both feet have 4 toes, each one tipped with a long, dagger-like spike. The creature balances itself with its front fists. The head is horribly misshapen, the mouth is filled with razor sharp fangs, the nose is pulled up toward the beast's scalp, and the eyes are blood red. Hearing a soft panting noise with its pointed ears, the beast jerks its head up to the source of the nearly inaudible noise.

"Christopher?" Bonnie turns around to see her brother transfixed at something down below. "Christopher!?" She runs over to her brother and looks down into the alleyway.

Bonnie stares into the pair of oversized eyes looking back up at her. In an instant, Bonnie looses herself and can no longer see anything else in the world but the red of those eyes. That's the power of the Orgog, the Bewitching Beast.

Christopher and Bonnie lean over the edge of the building. They stretch their torsos far over the apartment roof. Their hands slip and they plummet from the ten story, red, brick building. The children don't scream, they're completely unaware of their peril. Orgog opens its jaws, baring its fangs at the children.

Two figures clothed in black cloaks leap through the air with amazing grace. One grabs Bonnie out of the air and the other grabs Christopher. The kids are whisked away from the gaping mouth of Orgog and safely laid on the ground on the other side of the beast. The figures turn and face the monster. Each of the figures have a cloth tied to their heads that covers their eyes.

"So, this is Orgog, the Bewitching Beast?" The man with the blue cloth mutters.

"You think this guy is on Lord Death's list?" The other one asks straightening his white cloth.

"You mean this child eating monstrosity?" A voice calls from the other side of the Bewitching Beast. Orgog turns around and glares down at a third cloaked figure with a red cloth covering his eyes. "I don't even need to check our copy of the list to tell we have our 33rd soul standing in front of us."

Orgog grumbles at the figures that have disturbed its meal. "Oh, are you wondering why you don't have us under your spell?" Red bandana taunts. "It's a simple tactic really. These bandanas are thin enough to enable us see enough of you without us falling under you curse!"

While Orgog is busy staring down at the confident man, the two figures behind it attack. White bandana's arm glows and changes shape. In a flash of golden light, the figure's arm is replaced with a golden blade, curved forward like a scythe. The second man's arm flashes a bright blue color and becomes a white scythe blade. Together they swing their scythe-arms at Orgog and cut an "x "into its back. Blood spurts out of the wound they created and soaks the men's black cloaks. Orgog reels back and lets out an earth shaking roar. The men jump out of the way before they get trampled, flash their arms back to normal, and join the man with the red bandana.

"Damn it! That bastard stained our cloaks!" Blue bandana yells.

"Moon, there are children here! Don't use that kind of language!" Red bandana scolds.

"Get focused, guys! Reaper, we'll turn back into scythes for you!" White bandana exclaims.

"Sure thing, Sun! Let's take this guy!" Red bandana, Reaper, pulls off his cloak while White, Sun, and Blue, Moon transform into a ball of golden light and a ball of blue light. Their cloaks and bandanas fall to the ground. The glowing orbs fly into the sky drawing Orgog's attention away from Reaper. Then the orbs that were once Sun and Moon each transform again into golden bladed and white bladed scythe. Reaper catches the scythes in each hand as they fall back to the earth, the golden one in his right, the white in his left. Each scythe has a flat surface opposite the blade that serves as a hammer.

Reaper is wearing a sleeveless jumpsuit that's dark brown on either side of a multicolored stripe running vertically through the middle. The colors in the stripe bounce and shift like a lava lamp. Reaper's hair is chestnut brown and flat on his left side. On his right side, the hair spikes off to the side. His big silver combat boots are studded with small glass domes that also display a colorful light show.

Each of his scythes are 6 feet tall (a foot taller than Reaper) and the scythe blades extend 3 feet outward. The scythe hammers are a foot long and the faces are 2 feet by 2 feet. Overall, Reaper's weapons are very large and powerful.

"Orgog, the Bewitching Beast," Reaper says. "We're here for your soul!"

Reaper grunts as he throws Moon, the white scythe, at Orgog. The blade gets lodged in Orgog's stomach. With two large, muscular arms, the blood-soaked beast reached down and grips the shaft in an attempt to pull it out. Before it can, Reaper swings Sun, the golden scythe, up at Orgog. The blade cuts through Orgog's fingers, slicing the middle and ring fingers off like butter.

Finishing the back-flip, Reaper swings the scythe again.

"Go Hammer Scythe!" He yells. During this swing, the hammer of the scythe collide, forcing Moon deeper into the beast's body. Orgog howls in pain.

"This was a bad idea guys!" The white scythe yells with Moon's voice.

"Why is that?" Reaper yells, barrel-rolling away from Orgog's flailing fists.

"It stinks in here!" Moon complains.

"It will be all worth it when we're death scythes!" Sun yells from the golden scythe, his blade deflecting a blow from the beast.

"You know it's really not that bad once you get used to it!" The white scythe exclaims. "Hit me again!"

Reaper chuckles at his friend. Orgog slams his fist into Reaper sending him flying. The Bewitching Beast grabs Moon again in a second attempt to pull him out.

"Owowowow!" Moon cries out. Orgog pulls Moon out and throws him back at Reaper. Then, the beast turns back to its original prey. The white scythe clatters on the concrete in front of Reaper. In a flash of blue light, Moon appears where the scythe once lay. "What was that!? We had him and lost the chance to kill him!"

Moon's once flawless white jumpsuit was randomly spotted with the monster's blood. His white hair and bandana are also stained, but when Moon runs his hands through his curly locks, most of the dried blood came out. He runs his hands down his jumpsuit removing the blood from it as well.

"We've done this 32 times before! What's wrong with us!?" Reaper grumbles.

"I'll tell you what wrong!" Sun yells and he flashes back to human form. Sun's clothes remain intact unlike his partner. His short, blond hair and yellow-orange jumpsuit have no stains, marks, or tears. "Our plan failed because you two lost your focus. You two need to pay attention to every move our opponent makes. I think you guys are getting cocky since we've been so successful so far in collecting our 100 souls."

"You know, you're brother's right," Reaper says to Moon. "You need to practice focus."

Sun transforms into his golden scythe and hits Reaper over the head with its hammer. Reaper cries out, "Damn it! Sorry, sorry, we need to practice focus."

Sun changes back to human form and nods his approval.

The children scream behind the men. They turn and see the behemoth towered over its victims, ready to sink it's fangs into them.

"Okay, let's do this for real this time!" Reaper yells. Sun and Moon flash and turn back into Reaper's demon weapons.

"Hey asshole!" Moon yells at Orgog. The beast turns back to the trio.

"Language, Moon!" Reaper scolds.

"What? The kids are unconscious again!"

"Shut up!" Sun yells. The golden blade glows and changes shape. Sun's naked torso sticks out of the blade. "Idiots!" He hits Reaper over the head.

"Ow! Sorry. Focus. Got it!" Reaper says as Sun turns back into a scythe blade. He quickly jumps out of the way of Orgog's surprise attack. Reaper counterattacks with a downward cut with Sun. The blade cuts of Orgog's thumb. With a twist of his wrist, Reaper swings his golden scythe around so the blade is behind him in a ready position to be swung again. He then spins Moon around his body and launches it back at Orgog's stomach wound. The beast sees this coming and knocks the blade away.

"Crap! I don't think our original plan is going to work any more!" Moon cries out.

"Then I guess we're going to have to jump to plan B!" Reaper calls as he lowers Sun. He quickly dashes over to Moon and lifts him up. "This may kill us but we'll have to perform our special move despite the fact that Orgog may not be weak enough for it to be effective."

"I don't think doing this will hurt us, Orgog is severely wounded," Sun points out.

"Then what are we waiting for!?" Moon yells. "Let's kill this fr… uh… monster!"

"Good boy," Reaper smiles at Moon and Sun's reflections in the scythe blades. "Get ready to play your hardest!"

Reaper ducks under Orgog's punch. Closing his eyes and taking deep breaths, Reaper continues to swiftly evade the incoming attacks.

"We've done this several times before," Sun says. "We'll be fine! Just don't get hit until we're ready."

"Let's get ready to perform," Moon cheers.

"Soul Resonance!" They all shout in unison.

Sun and Moon approach a large concert grand piano in their Duet Concert Stage. They flick back the tails on their gold and white trench coats as they take their seats at the brown bench in front of the keys; Moon on the upper register of the piano and Sun on the lower. Moon cracks his knuckles as he and his brother reaches over the keys. They slam down on the first chord of the tune they are about to play.

As Reaper jumps out of the way from another one of Orgog's attacks, his scythes begin to glow, the streams of color trailing behind.

"Good job you two," Reaper smiles as he continues to avoid Orgog. "I felt that chord. Keep it up."

Moon and Reaper continue their song as lights illuminate the darkness around them. Blue and golden spotlights spins around the piano as their playing picks up tempo.

The meister deflects Orgog as the beast swing both arms at him. He pushes them away with such force that the Bewitching Beast is knocked off balance. Reaper holds the scythes in front of him, with both blades pointed away from him. He closes his eyes as the flourishing notes ring through his head. Reaper takes note to the tempo and time of the rhythm. The way his partners play makes the sound rattle through the air around them. After taking a deep breath, Reaper feels his heartbeat sync with the music. His soul is in perfect harmony to the wonderful symphony being performed by the demon weapons.

"Nice," Moon smiles. A sour note escapes his fingers. He and Sun wince at the flat sound that breaks through the melody.

The white scythe stops glowing.

"Moon!" Reaper yells. "Careful! If one of us looses our focus we're dead."

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Moon yells as he quickly scrambles to find where he should come back in.

Sun, with his eyes closed, says, "Stay calm, feel the rhythm. Match your wavelength to that."

Sun stops his scrambling fingers and pulls them away from the keys. He listens closely to the music his brother is making. He can feel the focus and precision in every key he hits. With that, Moon continues the song, harmonizing with what Sun plays.

Reaper ducks out of the way of a second attack as Moon begins to glow again in his scythe form. The meister smiles as the music runs through his soul once again. He holds the glowing blades out to his side as charges at the beast.

"SOUL REAPING SCISSOR!" Reaper declares as he swings his scythes inward. Both blades cut through Orgog's sides. When the blades touch in Orgog's center, Sun stomps on the second petal beneath the piano to make the sound vibrate. Two sharp beams of white energy expand outward. Reaper pulls himself into a handstand, still holding onto his scythes. As the note vibrates through the resonating meister and weapons, the energy from Orgog's center, passing under Reaper and soaring over the unconscious children. The Bewitching Beast is cut in half.

Sun and Moon step away from their piano, turn, and bow to an invisible audience.

Orgog's severed torso falls from its body and vaporizes into black smoke. Reaper jumps back from the rest of Orgog, pulling his scythes with him. From the limp lower half of Orgog, a red, wispy orb floats up. The orb is coated with bold, hexagonal plates. The lower half of the beast vaporizes as well.

"The soul reaping was a success," Reaper pants as he holds lowers himself and his partners. "You two can turn back now." Moon and Sun reappear next to their meister. Reaper removes his red bandana.

"Soul number 33!" He grins. "And look at that, It's a kishin egg."

"It's awesome!" Moon adds. "Just think, if we had let Orgog continue eating souls…"

"It would become too powerful for anyone to stop it," Sun concludes Moon's sentence.

Reaper walks over to the beast's soul and, grabbing the soul by its wispy tail, Reaper lifts the soul up and inserts it into his mouth. The meister swallows it whole, "Nice and safe!"

"You know it's really nice having you as our meister," Sun compliments. "Especially you being a rare soul keeper! It makes storing our collection so much easier."

"Holy shit!" Moon yelps. "Reaper! Spit that out! It just came to me that Death only has evil humans on his list! Orgog wasn't on the list at all!"

The shifting colors on Reapers stripe accelerate and glow brighter. Then they slow down and the glowing diminishes. "Damn it! Too late! It's already stored in my soul!" He groans. Reaper points towards the glowing stripe on his body. "Quick, one of you reach into my soul stripe and remove the soul!"

"Wait a second!" Sun holds back Moon as he approaches his meister. "It was a kishin egg. We don't need to worry, Death wants us to collect those."

"But this came from a monster! Death doesn't want those right?" Reaper says.

"Reaper, we're fine!" Sun tries to calm his freaked out meister.

"Moon, look what you've done! You've gotten us all confused!" Reaper wags a finger at his partner.

"Sorry, this is our first monster," Moon shrugs.

"Never mind! But I don't want to run the risk!" Reaper says. "We need 99 evil human souls and I don't want to be disappointed when we get everything we need and then have to start over because of this one conflicting soul! Get it out!"

Suddenly there's a second flash from the stripe. Then a third flash, a fourth, fifth, sixth. Reaper's soul stripe continues to shine over and over again. The strange phenomenon finally stops.

"I've never felt anything like this before!" Reaper gasps. "That wasn't just one soul I stored. It was 20!"

"20!?" Sun gasps.

"Well actually 23," Reaper clarifies. "But still, somehow Orgog had 22 human souls, good and bad in his own!" Reaper holds his hands over his belly and presses them slightly in. "I really feel sick! I've never taken in more than one soul at a time!"

"What should we do?" Moon asks.

"What can we do?" Sun shrugs. "Reaper, can you tell how many of those souls belonged to good people?"

"Give me a second. And stay quiet! You know this takes a serious amount of concentration!" Reaper states as he shuts his eyes. The soul keeper's consciousness floats down from his head into the darkness of his body. He sees a clear orb floating out in the middle of the emptiness, his soul.

Inside his soul, several smaller particles drift lazily around. Nearly every soul is a kishin egg, red and decorated with hexagonal plates, but Reaper notices that out of the 55 souls he has stored in his own, two are pink, one is yellow, and two are blue. Those souls are definitely not kishin eggs.

Reaper opens his eyes again, "I counted 5 non-kishin souls of the 22 we got from Orgog.

"That many?" Sun asks. "I thought there would be more innocent souls?"

"It makes sense," Moon says. "We're in Vegas, a city overflowing with crime!"

"Since we're all confused, we'll pretend Orgog's soul is no good and Lord Death won't accept that one," Reaper continues. "That leaves us with 49 kishin eggs. And it really doesn't matter how many good souls there were, there's no way for use to return those ones anyway. Their bodies are gone. So really we have 54 souls!"

"Reaper's right, you know," Moon agrees. "The only reason Death doesn't want us to take the souls of innocent people is because he doesn't want demon weapons turning into demon swords instead of death scythes. I mean, it's not like we killed those 5 innocent souls. We won't turn evil if we consume them, right!?"

Sun takes a moment to contemplate their situation. He then makes his decision, "Corvis Reaper, this better not get us in serious trouble with this!"

"Sun Tucker, we've been ditching school for the past 9 months," Reaper imitates. "We're already in big trouble!"

Moon and Sun chuckle in agreement.