Mandy sat in her office. She'd managed to make a nice little empire in the last ten years. The world didn't know it yet, but she was ultimately in charge. It didn't matter who ran what company, what city, what COUNTRY. Trace it all backwards through the underground channels, and eventually it all came back to her.
But it wasn't an iron fisted rule...nor was it for the betterment of mankind. She enjoyed watching the human struggle, as wars were fought, and any number of other events occured. Watching humanity scurry like so many ant colonies, knowing how easily she could bring it all to an end with a few well placed words...
"Is this what it's like to be a god?" she asked herself as she stared at the latest reports. She glanced down at her schedule. She remembered she had that appointment with the Prime Minister day after tomorrow...
Her schedule had changed. For tomorrow, everything after the 2 pm appointment had been wiped clean.
2 PM - Joe Black
Everything after that on her schedule had been wiped clean. She checked with her assistant. "Miss Bell, did you alter my schedule for tomorrow, putting this appointment with Joe Black in at 2?"
"Umm...I must have, Miss, because it's in the system. ...you also seem to have approved my leave request, starting tomorrow at 1."
Mandy sighed. "Tell you what, cancel all other appointments except the one with Joe Black for tomorrow...and take the whole day off. I don't want to see anyone in the office tomorrow, is that clear?"
"Yes, Miss, I'll see to it, and thank you."
Mandy walked to the window. "Grim..." she whispered, "...you always were the dramatic sort. I guess you've decided it's my time, huh?"
THe Grim Reaper did not use doors, or hallways. He had his own way of getting places. He appeared in the hallway outside Mandy's office door at exactly 2 PM. He knocked on the door.
"Come in, Grim," she said from inside.
He walked through the door. He didn't need to open it. Such boundaries were only somewhat real. He was the penultimate reality, and this partial reality held no true power over him.
Inside the office, he halted. Mandy stood there, leaning against her desk. She was dressed in a long, flowing, black evening gown and dance shoes. She had brushed her hair back to hang straight down her back. She hadn't put on any makeup, but everything about her exuded a dark aura of unearthly beauty.
She noticed his staring. "I figured I should dress how I wanted to be laid out...since this is my end, after all. Rather dramatic gesture with the schedule. Joe Black?"
Grim nodded. "A cliche name, I know, but it suited the purpose. Mandy...before we continue with this...there is something I must ask you. But before I ask you, there are questions of yours I must answer. I feel, after all this time, you deserve answers to all the questions you've asked me over the years."
Mandy nodded. "So...now I learn what this is all about, do I?"
"Yes." Grim waved his scythe at the wall, and it dissolved and image appeared there. "It all derives from the story of one cursed human...by the name of Ranma Saotome. It is the story of how he left the mortal coil."
The images showed a Japanese boy of 16 years of age, with blue eyes and black hair done in a pigtail. Grim told the story as the images showed it.
"Ranma Saotome was a martial artist. He had trained all his life towards one goal: to be the best. This was not his dream, but only what his father had told him to do. THis had led him to several hurdles...the Cat Fist madness, the Jusenkyo curse...and of course, numerous romatnic entanglements not of his own choosing."
Mandy snorted. "Most guys would find it heaven to have girls like that throwing themselves at them."
Grim nodded. "Ranma was not most guys. He genuinely cared about everyone around him. A gentle soul, forged in combat into little more than a weapon...without a purpose. He could not see a future with any of the girls that sought him, but no one would listen when he wanted to find a different path. In the end, he was slowly being driven insane."
"Is this supposed to be a sob story? Cause honestly, it strikes me as more amusing than sad."
Grim nodded. "From the outside perspective it is on the ridiculous side. But in the end, he could not accpet his lot in life. He sought a way out, but he only knew how to fight. SO he sought his way out that way...seeking an opponent that could best him...one that could kill him."
"But he didn't find one, did he?" Mandy had been watching this story with interest. She knew what it was like to be trapped in a role not of your choosing. How often had she rebelled against the 'good little girl' image her parents had tried to cram her into...while they'd been alive.
Grim shook his head. "Not among the mortal realms. And so he delved into the darkest magics...and summoned Death." The image showed Ranma performing the ritual, and the Grim Reaper appeared before him. "He demanded that the Reaper end his life, since nothing else would kill him. He'd tried to end his own life, but his survival training was too deeply ingrained, and his healing factor too strong." The image of the Reaper shook his head. "But the Reaper refused. He said it wasn't Ranma's time yet...that fate had other plans for him."
The image of Ranma attacked the image of the Reaper. "Ranma couldn't take it. All he wanted was to escape...but he seemed cursed to be trapped in a world that didn't care about him at all. He fought the Reaper with his bare hands. The fight went on and on. Eventually, the Reaper attempted to strike him down to end the battle, and Ranma did not block."
In the image, the Reaper swung his scythe...and it bounced out of his hands off Ranma's neck. "It failed. Death could not take Ranma, no matter how much Ranma wanted."
The image of Ranma stared in disbelief...then his face contorted in rage. He snatched the scythe off the ground. "And then...he did the unthinkable." Ranma swung the scythe back over his shoulder...and swung it through the Grim Reaper. The edge glowed blue, and the reaper fell to pieces, bones and a skull bouncing away before dissolving. "He slew Death."
Black energy swirled around Ranma's image as the scythe in his hands glowed. "And thus he discovered what fate had in store for him. The Reaper had grown soft over time, and Azrael had decided it was time for a new one...one who would have eternity to temper human darkness, compassion,and fury into a Death the likes of which the univers has not seen in this turning of the Clock of Eternity!"
The image faded, and Grim threw back his hood...revealing a face of Asian descent, with hardened features, crystal blue eyes, and long black hair hung straight down his back. "I am that Death. I am that Grim Reaper. I am the one once known...as Ranma Saotome."
Mandy stared at her old friend in shock. Now it all made sense: his almost human mannerisms, the ungodly fury, the sheer power of his emotions, and how easily he fought without the scythe. Death...was human.
"How long...have you been Death?" Mandy asked, curious.
"Chronologically, 30 years. Subjectively, several eternities." He smiled. "TIme doesn't mean the same as it used to...since Death has no more hold over me. After all...I am no longer mortal."
Mandy nodded. "So why tell me all this now, when I'm about to die? So I can take the secret to my grave? I wouldn't have betrayed your trust in earlier years, Gri-Ranma-...what should I call you, now?"
He shrugged. "Grim or Ranma work just as well. I think, though, I prefer Grim. Ranma was a boy trapped in a life not his own choosing, while Grim is a man capable of making - and enforcing - his own decisions." He reached into his robes. "I came here today...because orders have come down from Azrael. Today, your ties to the mortal coil are severed...one way, or another. I have told you all of this...because I have an offer for you...and a request."
Mandy looked at him. "I'm listening."
"Mandy...you have been my only friend for a long time...and I do not think the world would be bearable for me without you. And I know you would chose to live given the option, would you not?"
Mandy nodded slowly. "I have to admit...I've grown rather fond of you over the years myself, Grim."
"Then I ask you, let us make forever last for eternity." He pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a ring. "Mandy...marry me."
Mandy gasped in shock. Despite everything, she had never expected this. "Grim..." She was speechless.
He decided to let actions speak, he lifted the ring out of the box and held it out to her. She hesitantly extended her hand, and he slipped it onto her finger. "...I do..." she whispered at last.
The ring glowed, and there was a sound of shattering glass. Mandy looked over. Her hourglass had shattered, but then it reformed. It was now shaped of shadows and gold, instead of glass and wood. It contained no sand. She turned back to Grim.
He smiled. "You are now a true immortal, love. My eternal bride." He extended his hand to her.
She took it...and was surprised when he pulled her into a waltz. Music played from nowhere.
"Grim?"
"We have all the Time in Infinity now, and since you're already dressed for dancing..."
She couldn't help it. A small, slow smile graced her face ever so breifly.
