Grim Tales: Complex

by Aros001

After an attack on his family Junior returns home after many years. Though he has his own reasons for staying away he finds he keeps getting drawn back. Because someone is trying to get him back. Rated M for language, fights, incest (because Grim Tales), and some (maybe) small lemon-ish bits.

33. Father and Son

Part 33: Father and Son

Flipping the pink sheeted mattress up over the bedframe, Eris gave another groan, letting it go and allowing the cumbersome king-size to flop back down.

"Come on, come on. She's got to have a bottle of good stuff hidden around here somewhere." The Goddess of Chaos muttered to herself, peering around the room to see which section of it she hadn't ransacked yet. The previously hung paintings on the wall were now down on the floor and well over half of Mandy's closet had been turned inside out. "Whiskey. Tequila. Expensive wine. I'd settle for rubbing alcohol at this point. There's no way that smoking is that girl's only vice!"

Looking over her shoulder, Eris finally addressed the only other…"people" in the bedroom.

"I don't suppose any of you can make yourselves useful and help me look?"

"Brains…."

Of the small group of zombies, three just stood there slack jawed and staring with unfocused eyes while a fourth was repeatedly walking into a wall.

Eris sighed. "Figured as much."

Without the Brain-Eating Meteor Jr controlling them, the zombies that'd been the first spear in their invasion of Grimskull were now completely useless. They had no ability to think for themselves and not enough brainpower without a steady intake of literal brains to even take verbal orders. They were never meant to stay around permanently but at this point it wouldn't be long until they'd completely fall apart, probably by some of them just tripping down some stairs.

Walking around more, Eris finally gave a pause when she heard the floor shift slightly underneath her heel. It was a loose tile and Mandy certainly didn't seem like the type to allow such shoddy workmanship to stay in her own room, so…

Eris bent down and flipped open the tile.

"Oh! Dionysus Vineyard! 800 BC. This is a good year." She chirped as she excitedly pulled the bottle out of its little square slot in the floor. The cork hadn't even been popped yet. Mandy must have been saving this for something special. Quite the shame for her then.

Eris shook up the bottle, delighted to see that it still had plenty of bubbles fizzing around in it. Her half-brother made good stuff. And just when she was about to break it open, she started hearing an odd noise. Like the rumble of an engine, and it sounded to be getting closer.

Out of sheer curiosity, Eris looked towards the window.

Seconds later and the underside of a car zoomed right past the glass, barely even a glimpse of it to be seen before it was gone.

At that, Eris just rolled her eyes. "Of course he made a sports car." She grumbled as she popped the cork off. She supposed she should be happy Timmy liked to play around too much. That cockiness might give Junior an opening to hit him with some real damage.

She raised the bottle up above her head to down it greedily.

And then the room exploded.

Starting with the zombies and then the walls, everything became consumed by igniting flames.

Eris's vision cleared up fairly quickly. Her godly physique was completely unharmed but everything around her was either ash, cracked plaster, or a mix of the two. The hand above her head held nothing but air now, the glass bottle having melted away before the wine inside had even finished boiling away into the air. Not a single drop had ever touched her lips.

A few seconds later and a fireball shot past the now cleared window frame; the burning skeleton inside completely single-minded in his pursuit of the car.

Slowly, Eris lowered her hand back down.

"…aaaaaahhhhhhhhh. Dicks."

---

Defying all sense of gravity, the car swerved with ease to dodge every last fireball that was thrown its way as it continued to climb up the castle's walls.

"Whoa, kiddo!" Timmy called back as bricks flew up around him, taking out one of the side-mirrors. "I get wanting to make up for lost time but you're only supposed to be trashing my car when you're a teenager. You're old enough to where I might have to actually make you pay for any dents."

It was difficult to say whether Junior was ignoring him or if he genuinely couldn't hear the quipping over the speed of the passing wind and the roar of his own flames. Regardless, the only response Timmy was given was the swing of Junior's arm, as from within the Demon Reaper's sleeve whipped out an incredible length of chains. The blinding hot iron caught up instantly and speared its way through the vehicle's trunk. Grabbing hold tightly of the length and pulling sharply, the car was yanked back, high up into the air.

The curse of the Ghost Rider flowing through chains that connected them, the car ignited, becoming consumed in hellfire as more chains burst forth from the interior, binding Timmy's arms and legs.

Much to Junior's irritation, it didn't seem to bother Timmy that much.

"Beep." Timmy made the noise for it as he pressed the button that was in convenient reach of his finger. Or perhaps it'd appeared because that's where his finger was?

With a rocket thruster on its base, Timmy's seat was ejected from the car, the force sending him skywards while the vehicle was pushed away back down to the earth.

All wasn't lost yet. His body was still tied down to that chair.

…Oh. Never mind. He just turned those chains and chair into a swing set. One light as a feather apparently, as its metal frame floated gently towards the ground.

"Nice try, kiddo, but you're sadly going to have to get a lot more specific than that if you want to catch a magical beasty like yours truly." Timmy called down to Junior as he kicked himself back and forth on the swing. "It didn't work but your mom had the right idea with that green box of hers. It's no lamp but you'd be hard pressed to find something better at containing magic than Smoof. Save for maybe a butterfly net if it has wings."

Junior, in response, used the burning car at the end his chains like a wreaking ball, whipping the ton of metal and popped tires at his enemy.

Timmy dodged by transforming the swing set into a big purple slide. The twisty spiral kind, naturally. Within a hair's breadth Junior's attack passed over that brown tuft as Timmy rode by the seat of his pants downwards; arms up in the air and a deliberate "Weeeeeee!" until the slide's end deposited him right inside the fallen Still Impressive, allowing him to disappear within its depths.

"You won't get away!" Was probably what Junior said. His speech was so slurred by consuming rage it was difficult to say if actual words were even an option for him right now. Regardless, the sheer heat of body was enough to propel him down into the hole that'd been created to follow after. In contrast to the God of Magic's whimsical entrance, the Burning Demon Reaper's was considerably more violent. Not only did the slide melt into goo by him simply passing by, the force of his impact from diving in caused the massive ship to groan heavy and be pressed further into the landscape, with the resulting shockwave that pulsed outward causing the ground it passed over to rapidly dry and crack.

In the area that the wave approached were the onlookers.

"We gotta help him!" Manny rushed forward to try and join into the fray.

"Manny, no!" Mandy quickly slammed the staff of Scythe 2.0 into the ghost boy's chest, harshly knocking him back and onto the ground behind her. The very second his mouth opened to yell at her about why she did that, Mandy's arm and half her face became ignited in flames.

"MOM!"

"Stay back!" Mandy snapped at him again, using her weapon to forcibly keep some distance between them, her body wincing horribly as she forced it to power through the pain. "I'm immortal, remember? I'll be fixed up whatever's done to me but you won't be. This fight's too much for you, so don't be stupid."

As the shockwave finally faded, the flames subsided, though the main reason for that was that Mandy's arm had already been completely reduced to ash and had nowhere further to spread. As for her face…well…Manny didn't have quite the stomach to look directly at that. Be it before or during her muscles restringing themselves over partially melted bone.

Manny heard a snap of fingers from behind, though it was not directed at him.

"You and you." Drax gave orders to Bubbles and Buttercup. "Pick up Empheles and bring us both to the caste. I'll need to set up a brand-new lab there since that damn thunder god trashed the Still Impressive, and who know if we'll be able to salvage anything after this." He remarked, looking over to the fallen ship and the various unsettling noises he could hear even from this distance. "It's time I think of installing pain receptors with a higher setting in this idiot." He added as he gave another kick to Empheles.

The ragdoll slaves did as they were commanded, Buttercup shoving her way past Jack like she wasn't even aware he was there. Every effort he'd made to reach her had fallen on deaf ears.

Bubbles alone was strong enough to lift up the damaged cyborg and carry him over her shoulder, with considerable ease given how bulky he was. As Buttercup seemed like she was about to act as Drax's own ride, Manny held up his palm to the group.

"You people aren't going anywhere!" He made clear, a ball of ecto-energy flaring to life within his hand in warning.

Her default programming kicking in, Buttercup stepped in between Drax and Manny to keep her master protected, though Drax in turn just gave an annoyed roll of his eyes.

"Oh, wise up, brat! Game's over!" He snapped at the teen. "The moment Timmy showed up the rest of us basically became irrelevant."

"So, what? We're just supposed to let you go?" Manny barked back. "You attacked our home! Your…your stupid robot killed Charles! You think we're just going to let you get away with-!"

"Manny, quiet."

"But, mom-!"

"Quiet." She repeated again and on instinct he obeyed. His mother was not one to let a third time be without consequences.

Drax gave a sneer at the boy's compliance. "At least someone around here has at least a semi-functional brai-!"

A gunshot rang out and Drax's eyes rapidly blinked as they found Buttercup suddenly in front of him, having intercepted Mandy's bullet with her head.

The compacted bit of metal falling away harmlessly from the ragdoll's invulnerable skull, Mandy holstered her gun, folding her arms and turning her attention back to the battle. "It's a lesson in patience, Manny." She informed him simply. "Throw enough distractions in the way, someone's going to let their guard down. It's only a matter of time."

Manny and Drax could only look back and forth between each other. Jack supposed they had every right to be confused. Was she talking about Drax…or Timmy? It was certainly easier to believe they could take down one over the other, because that other really didn't seem like he viewed even Junior as any threat to him.

Case in point, though it was hard to see from where they were, a modest wooden door appeared on the hull of the Still Impressive. A turn of the handle and out walked a whistling Timmy, not a scratch or mark on him as the banging continued on within the ship. Apparently Junior was still looking for him.

Humming and partially scat-singing to himself, Timmy rifled through the pockets of his jacket, digging around only his face lit up, having found what he was looking for. Pulling it out of an opening that was far too small for it, Timmy drew forth a big black bomb, its fuse already lit.

Throwing the practical bowling ball back into the ship, Timmy slammed the door shut with haste, plugging his ears as he hid behind its frame.

5!

4!

3!

2!

….!

….?

Timmy took his fingers out of his ears. He turned to look back behind him.

The spaceship was given a leap up into the air and Timmy himself sent on a ride via the door as the explosive force blasted it off its hinges and into his body. It carried him for quite a few yards back before it finally came to a stop, crushing him underneath its heavy frame to the point that not a trace of him was visible.

And with a turn of the knob, Timmy opened it up again like he was simply exiting a cellar, not a bit of harm on him to indicate anything had happened.

"WHOOOOOWEE! That wakes you up!" He laughed as the door vanished behind him. The ship had certainly seen better days but it was still (technically) in one piece. He knew his bomb wouldn't be enough to destroy it, and most certainly not Junior. Just a good way of getting his attention. "Hey, kiddo, you found me yet?"

Timmy waited for Junior to come bursting out of the Still Impressive, charging at him again like a wild animal…but that moment oddly never came. He could certainly hear plenty of banging and violent clangs of metal, possibly from whatever his bomb may have knocked loose, but the encounter he was expecting seemed to be getting further and further away. Where was the fire?

Then…all the echoes coming from within the ship suddenly ceased.

"Hm?" Timmy felt his head unintentionally cock to the side in confusion. He leaned in, hand over his ear like a funnel. He was maaaaybe hearing a little something? What was he doing in there?

Timmy's body then gave a start as a roar rumbled through the earth; the reverberations carrying through the mountains even after it was done.

Another roar came, this time Timmy able to tell that it was coming from within the ship. But it wasn't like the fury he'd heard from Junior before. While it most certainly felt like the breath of a giant beating down against the land, this still had an air of being more inhuman, more artificial, more like…

"An engine?"

Upon that revelation came the third roar, only this one didn't stop and fade away. It stayed deafening. Continuous. At the roar's start, fire burst forth from the Still Impressive's back end, spreading forth and consuming the rest of the ship.

Rocks fell and ground collapsed in upon itself as the spacecraft slowly regained its ability to take to the air, this time fueled by a different sort of unearthly power. Timmy could only watch as the bulky construction turned its way to facing him, the very sky quaking under its weight. From out of every tear in its metal hull inflicted upon it this day spewed a jet of fire like exhaust, but none so intensely as at the ship's front. Upon its initial crash in Skarr's battle against Billy, the ship had struck down with so much force that not even a sea of yogurt, no matter how much fruit at the bottom, could have prevented such devastation to its nose. But it'd worked out, oddly enough, or at least for Junior in regard to an aesthetic he would have liked. All that metal that'd been ripped away left behind an opening that was not unlike a massive pair of open jaws. This, along with the constant boom of the engine that was directed out through it, most certainly gave the feeling of the God of Magic being stared down by an actual monster blotting out the sky.

"OH, THAT IS F**KING COOL!"

A second after Timmy gave that exclamation a geyser of dirt and stone exploded up from where he stood. The Still Impressive had no more torpedoes left from its assault on Grimskull but Junior's own literal firepower proved sufficient in filling its cannons.

Sufficient in killing Timmy though…?

"Wonder Womaaaaaaan!" The magically charged twerp sang as the back of his wrists blocked and deflected every shot of the relentless volley sent his way. The force of the incoming blasts decimated the ground around him but Timmy himself showed no such strain. Just the slightest adjustment of the angle and he was even sending some of the shots back, tearing more scars across the ship's body.

Despite the distance away from the battle, Drax still cowered behind Bubbles and Manny and Jack (though they were more subtle about it) did the same, with Empheles' bulk offering as extra cover for the Powerpuff's already invulnerable form.

"Uh…sir?" He called out from over the booms of the various ricochets, some landing unnervingly close. "You do remember there are things inside the ship we still need, yes? The ragdolls?"

"Hm? Oh, shoot, that's right." Timmy realized what he was doing and quickly put his arms away, his careless defense having been turning the Still Impressive into a more hole-filled mess than it already was. Though he still wasn't one to just let himself be made into swiss instead. Upon contact with his body, each blast of cannon fire burst instead into a cloud of falling flower pedals. Within a few shots and Timmy was already up to his shins in, admittedly, quite a pleasantly smelling pile.

Clearly getting nowhere, the onslaught did not cease but only so that Timmy would not move. The flames of the exhaust outpouring at full force, the ship charged down at the man; the imitation mouth now looking to eat him like it was real deal.

Opening his own mouth wide, an enormous pair of buck teeth jutted out from Timmy's gums like the spade of a shovel breaking through earth.

The two clashed, the Still Impressive striking Timmy at full speed.

What happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object? In this case, the force keeps moving and the object does not. An impossibility, until you look at the bizarre context.

As an overcaffeinated beaver would with a chunk of log, Timmy's rapid jaws shredded through the very center of the Still Impressive. Two halves of the same whole passed by both Timmy's right and left and kept going, their momentum barely slowed thanks to Timmy's clean cut.

His tongue tasted open air as Timmy finally chomped his way through the end of the ship. The halves carried on through the air for several more yards but eventually, with too much of the power that kept them afloat now escaping into the open sky, gravity took hold and they crashed down, turning over onto what was left of their shells. The once mighty craft brought down by such heavy damage, yet almost contradictory the damage was so minimal the lab was likely still well intact.

In spite of this good news, all Timmy could do was look down his face in disgust.

"You know, while I have absorbed magic from fairies, I do try to avoid doing so. After all, any one of them could be my old godparent for all I know." He remarked offhandedly as he placed his thumb under his buck teeth, pushing up and restoring them to normal size. "Unfortunately, it seems that only the Tooth Fairy's magic is effective enough to fix chompers like these. I've had the giant things since I was a kid and while I can hide them for a bit, I lose concentration and BOOP! Out they pop again. It really ruins my dramatic moments."

Speaking of which, an explosion of flame burst open the hull of the fallen craft and once more Junior was upon Timmy; white-hot metal claws lunging directly for his face.

Timmy simply took a dip to the left and avoided the swing. And as Junior continued his flurry of attacks…

"Swing. Left. Dodge. Pivot. Right. Nope. Uh-uh. Try again."

Timmy called out every move as Junior made them and avoided each just as easily. He danced around the attacks yet barely moved two steps outside of the circle his footsteps traced along the ground.

Junior's teeth bared themselves more and more with his growing frustration. He was being toyed with!

In a move that finally got Timmy's attention, Junior stomped his foot into the ground. Literally into it; burying himself up to the ankle in broken stone and overturned dirt.

Not even seconds later and numerous black tendrils burst themselves up like weeds, ensnaring Timmy's legs and gripping tight. The thorns along their surface, just like all of Junior's other attacks, gave no indication that they'd managed to break through skin. But as long as they could hold Timmy still, that was enough, as Junior struck again at his now bound target.

Timmy in response…grabbed his own ears.

He pulled…

And tore himself in half like a piece of paper.

The metal claws met nothing but air, and their owner with confusion. The paper comparison had been accurate. There was no blood. No guts. No viscera of any kind. The two halves that had been Timmy just fluttered to the ground limply, having been peeled away to reveal nothing within.

Junior's head and eyes jerked around every way they could turn. No way was this the end of things. His enemy had made an escape, strange as it was, but he was still around. So where did he go?

That's when Timmy's arm popped out of Junior's sleeve.

"He went that way!" The arm pointed to the right.

Another arm popped out of Junior's other sleeve.

"No, he went that way!" The arm pointed to left.

"Hmmmmmmm…that way!" The arms crisscrossed to point in opposite directions.

"RRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

What little patience Junior could be said to have did not last long. The ignition that blazed out of his arms, his collar, everywhere there was an opening on his body; it was amazing the sheer force of it all did not send him flying. Perhaps it was because of the very molten earth he was creating that his feet were slowly sinking into. He kicked the inferno emanating from his core as high as it would go, determined to drive Timmy out and away by any means.

And then a firetruck landed on him. Falling from the sky to squash him flat.

"Hup hup hup hup hup!" The doors opened and out marched at least seven Timmys in single file, each carrying a length of hose that connected back to…somewhere. It certainly wasn't the truck. By the time Junior managed to flip it off him, the Timmys had lined up like a firing squad; six nozzles pointed right at his face.

"Would a Don't cross the streams reference work here or would that be a bit of a stretch?" The remaining seventh Timmy, the one wearing the fire marshal's cap, asked. "Eh, whatever. Light 'em up!"

The many cranks turned at once and Junior was floored by the plume of scalding steam that erupted from his body, triggered by the direct impact of tons upon tons of pumping water. The world was pure whiteness all around, the fog so thick a knife wouldn't be able to pierce it, let alone make any attempt at cutting through. Junior had been knocked back several feet, if he had to guess, and now could not move. The pressure from the water's continuous blasts was too great. Forget him drowning if it weren't for him not having lungs. It was a miracle his bones weren't shattering.

"Get it? See, it's ironic. I'm saying light you up when we're really cooling you dow-…hm?"

It was a subtle change at first. One quite impressive for Timmy to have even consider in such a chaotic landscape as the one he and Junior were creating. The pressure of the air was getting heavier, weighing down on him. It wasn't enough to impair him but the change was caused by the rising temperature. The many hims could feel the vibrations inside their hoses. Water boiling on the inside like a tea kettle.

"Is that cloud getting closer?" One of the Timmys asked, commenting accurately on how the steam seemed to be encroaching on them. It was growing thicker, yes, so that easily could have been the reason.

Except…there was that light poking out through the steam. One growing brighter. And brighter. And bright-

"Oh shit."

The water was being stopped increasing feet away from Junior's face, pushed back by the wall of pure heat emanating off his burning body. The air rippled before him like a mirage, not a single drop able to make it through before it was turned to vapor and then eradicated even further beyond that. There was no blackness to be seen from his jacket, nor any features to be made out across his surface. What stood there was just a mass of hellfire, willing and able to turn an entire ocean dry in its refusal to be put out.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

It was a howl that was as far from human as the creature who made it. The steam was blown away as the inferno consumed everything in its place. The hoses exploded in the Timmys' hands, fire bursting from the torn rubber to consume all but one, whom managed to throw his away just before its detonation, feeling the intensity of the flash even through his sunglasses.

"Well…that didn't work." He noted dryly to himself, before feeling a new mass of pressure carve away at the ground and pass by just a few inches to his left. A near miss.

Even if he couldn't see Junior's exact features it wasn't hard for Timmy to piece together what he was doing. Fireballs the size of boulders crashed into the landscape all around him, liquifying whatever they touched in an instant, until the molten terrain and burning gas caused all in immediate sight to resemble the surface of the sun. Under normal circumstances Junior's ability to sense souls probably would have given him better aim. But Timmy's relationship with existence was a tad bit complicated and thus he didn't provide as easy a target. The Demon Reaper was having to opt instead for more of an American method. Fire enough shots and eventually he'd hit something.

"So, cooling him off didn't work." Timmy pondered to himself, pulling out and opening up an umbrella to shield himself from one of the fireballs that had indeed found its way to him. The umbrella went up in seconds; plastic, wire, and all. But Timmy himself was unharmed and he tossed away the dust in annoyance.

But then, a light of inspiration struck him.

"So maybe what I need to do instead is heat him up!" He declared, a wide smile coming across his features at his own idea's brilliance.

Finger pointed ahead to the largest concentration of flames, Timmy fired off a bolt of magic.

Junior felt the fire as though it were a part of himself. Even with the inferno that consumed all in sight, his head turned instantly towards the unnatural change in the flames. It was moving towards him, being crafted out of the orange and red blurs as it went. His hand was held out, ready to strike this latest attack down.

And from out of the fire emerged…his mother and sister?

In golden metal bikinis and red loincloth.

And nothing else.

As they held each other tenderly by their bare areas of exposed skin.

"Urk-!" All thoughts had completely failed him. The shock of the sight had miraculously broken through the rage of his mind, replaced by…something else. Something a little harder to process.

"HA! Leia bikini outfit gets them every time." Timmy laughed to himself, getting exactly the reaction he'd hoped. The hellscape still burned around him but it bothered him none. He just stayed back and let his magic do its thing.

The two women had been crafted out of fire. It was no surprise that they could tread their way towards Junior on bare feet with no harm. In fact, soon it was Junior himself who started to feel a bit warmer than he could handle. Specifically, when both the "Minnie" and the "Mandy" each helped themselves to an arm to hold, pressing themselves up nice and close on both his sides.

"Thee will be gentle with us, yes, beloved?" Minnie cooed against his neck.

"I most certainly hope not." Mandy said with far more firmness, making clear what she wanted and what she wanted now.

Was the Underworld spinning right now or had Junior's eyes simply been knocked loose within his skull? He was having a tremendous amount of trouble seeing straight at the moment. Couldn't imagine why.

More figures (and what figures they were!) soon made their shapes solid out of the fire. Mimi. Chi. Ikra. Even Daniella. All clad in the same fanservice-inspired outfits that showed off generous amounts of cleavage and thigh. How they each managed to squeeze in and find a different spot on Junior to…well, squeeze…was somewhat impressive in its own right.

And as for Junior himself…well, it was quite the high whine that escape his mouth the moment his teeth parted. Like a train coming to a swift stop. It was surprising there was enough moisture left in this air to create the steam that escaped his agonized form.

"You know, it's a shame we're not a comic like the source material." Timmy commented aloud to Junior, himself, and the annoyed author, who asks that he not so casually break the 4th wall. "Can you imagine how popular this image would be? Alas, our audience will have to settle for using theirs."

Timmy continued rambling on even though he was pretty sure Junior wasn't hearing a word of it. From the look of things all of Junior's focus was on entering a blank state of consciousness; a go-to for trying to tune out the impossibly soft press of the chests consuming his elbows and above.

---

"Damn fire." Manny griped, hand held above his eyes to cast some shade, as if it would help. "I can't see a thing in there. Can you?"

"Not a one." Mandy replied, the same arena of flames blocking her line of sight.

---

Timmy had taken some liberties with this Harem Jutsu. Junior wasn't so far gone, on one end or the other, that he couldn't take notice of something that obvious. There was Mimi for starters, decked out in the Red she'd long been freed from; lobster claws, tail, and all. Timmy had probably figured it'd make for a more erotic image than the heavily pregnant human with two missing hands. That Junior had once had a crush on her as a child when she looked closer to this didn't hurt much neither. But more significantly, there was Minnie.

Taller. Her hair was longer. And her skin…there were no stiches. No blemish or discolor from chemicals and preservatives. This was not the body of the eternal ten-year-old. Minnie… Minnie looked her age. This is how she would have looked if she hadn't… If she hadn't been…

Junior's arm slipped out of her hold but did so very gently. He forgotten all about his burning form, his metal claws. His hand reached up to her face, like he was lost in a trance. He just wanted to touch her, to know that she was really there.

His hand trembled, his fingers slowing to a stop just before they would have graced her skin. He couldn't bring himself to do it, even with Minnie's soft smile, such a beautiful one, etching its way into his heart and giving him permission.

"Because you know why she doesn't look like this."

The voice was his own, yet somewhat adjacent. In the back of his mind yet separate from it. Regardless, it spoke the truth.

His fingers closed back into his palm; "Minnie" looking at him with such hurt eyes as his hand receded.

The scene replayed in his head, just as it had so…so…so many times.

"I didn't ask for your help."

"I was doing just fine on my own, ok?"

"I had everything under control. I could've taken those jerks on myself. You didn't have to come barging in here and show off your stupid dance!"

"So now you got super cool demon powers, big deal! Just because I don't have my own powers doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face!"

"Why do you always have to be such a showoff?!"

And then…

"Brother! Help me!"

And then…

An arm. A leg. And entire bottom half. They fell to the floor one after another.

And then…

And then…

And then…

The smoke that billowed off Junior's body dyed itself blacker. His exposed teeth crunched against themselves. And the fakes all around him…they did not last. One by one the smoke poisoned the illusion, causing the women to turn sickly. They fell to their knees, hands on their throats as they choked on the such vile exhaust. And Junior gave not a care.

"Ohhhhh, I think I made an error." Timmy's said, surprised at the high regret coming from his own voice. It wasn't that he didn't think he could still handle the situation, but…

To say that he'd only succeeded in making his son mad wasn't quite accurate. Whatever emotion he had triggered in him was undoubtably a bit worse.

Junior turned his head slowly and Timmy felt it. Through the flames, through the smoke, through the magic that hid him, he felt it.

That single eye staring at him. Devoid of humanity.

It was enough to make Timmy's body move on its own, and both men had found to their surprise Timmy's instincts causing him to appear right behind Junior.

"Hrm?!" The startle brought Junior back from the brink, as Timmy grabbed him by the back of his jacket.

"I'd have preferred to do this without going on the offence, kid." He said, almost as if apologizing. "But…"

Timmy held Junior up above his head.

"SHAZAM!"

Not a cloud in the red sky and yet down came the fierce bolt of lightning, striking Junior square in the chest. He'd felt the burn of electricity before but this was on a completely different level. It'd cut straight through the armor of fire and sent its painful surge coursing throughout his body.

"SHAZAM!"

Another verse same as the first. The roar of agony the lightning forced out of Junior echoed throughout the mountains.

"SHAZAM!"

As lightning does, the third strike could only be seen as a flash, too fast for the eye to keep up with beyond that. But even a monkey could learn from experiencing the same trick three times. Junior did not need to see it to know what was coming again. He only needed to be quick enough to react, and upon reaching behind to grab Timmy by the wrists and throw him in front of himself, Junior proved he was, with the God of Magic taking the full brunt of the bolt that was intended for him; the strike so powerful dirt and smoke exploded up in a cloud around them.

"Got you!"

A very noticeably muscular hand then reached out from the smoke to grab him by the face.

"Correction. I've got you."

The blow that followed next shook the Domain of Death. When the bubble of air created by the shockwave reached its limit and finally burst, the flames that had just seconds ago consumed the area found themselves snuffed out. All that was left was a steaming crater of glass, and in its center Timmy Turner, with his fist pointed skywards.

---

…Meanwhile…

"There must be a mistake. I demand you check again." Skarr said, folding his arms indignantly and making clear he had no intention of leaving.

"Sure." St. Peter drolly said, though only taking the barest glance down at the open scroll on his podium, as the results weren't going to change no matter how many times he looked. "Still not on the list."

The angel noted with some amusement how the top of Skarr's bald head reddened in his annoyance. "I demand to speak to whoever's in charge here. Sure, I understand I haven't lived a perfect life but you're really going to deny me entrance just because of a few minor hiccups?"

"You were literally a general in an organization dedicated to enslaving mankind that had Evil in its name. That's less a hiccup and more of a deliberate loud blech during an expensive play. Still not on the list."

"But we never succeeded! Con Carne was harmless in the end, and once we were bought out I happily retired."

"Intent matters. Still not on the list."

"But what about that annoying neighbor boy? Surely there must be some compensation points for having to deal with him."

"There is. Billy's the entire reason why I'm even talking to you right now and telling you you're not getting in instead of just leaving you in Purgatory in eternal uncertainty." St. Peter told him this as evenly as he had everything else, but his eyes still kept a somewhat fearful watch over his surroundings. Any minute now that big nose could pop up beside him like a shark fin and begin his nonstop chatter about Dinobonoids or whatever else caught his short attention span. Each minute he didn't see him only made his worry increase and even for an angel such stress was not good for one's heart.

"This is outrageous!" Skarr fumed. "Who has the right to judge me for the life I've led?!"

"Let me check. That would be..uh…yep, that would be God."

A slimy green eyestalk peered its way over Skarr's shoulder. "Skarr, stop holding up the line."

"Do not start with me, BEMJ." The general jabbed his finger at the meteor. "I wasn't even supposed to have died at all. Morg and Drax assured me that I was immortal. My entire part of the revenge plan hinged on that and I was still murdered by a bunch of strawberries and a hammer! You have no idea how it feels to have your dreams so thoroughly dashed."

"I WAS EATEN ALIVE!" The alien yelled back, too traumatized to even sing about it.

As the two former allies continued their bickering, soon turning their yelling to the rest of the line behind them as the crowd started calling for them to get a move on already, St. Peter silently reminded himself again and again that patience was a virtue and waited for the arguing to fizzle out. …Though still feeling some temptation to press a certain button hidden under his podium that would call one of the archangels. A winged being with a flaming sword tended to be quite the crowd calmer.

"It's not my fault you tried to steal a brain from the brainless and compromised your…your…"

Skarr started to trail off, BEMJ confused at first as to what had brought about such change, until he finally took notice of what Skarr already had. The slime that made up a good deal of the alien's body was slowly boiling; bubbles rising up to the top and popping at the surface.

All around the line of deceased souls the cloud covered seemed to be getting thicker, though the reality was that it was steam rising up from heavenly landscape. Many started to tug their collars and fan themselves as what had minutes ago been quite a pleasant temperature was now getting increasingly thick with humidity.

And then there was that odd thing in the background…

"What the devil is that noise?" Skarr asked. Something drawn-out and continuous but growing increasingly louder.

His question was then immediately answered as the screaming fireball burst up through the clouds, his momentum finally slowed enough to land with a harsh crash on the fluffy floor.

Junior held his aching head as he slowly rose back to his feet, the wobble in his legs giving hints as to how dizzy the long yet quick journey had left him.

"Cheap-ass, pink shirt wearing, magically-charged, bucked tooth MOTHER FUCKER!"

The explosive flare of flames out of the Reaper's body was blinding as he dove back down with all his hate through the clouds from whence he came.

The once unruly crowd was completely silenced. By some miracle he hadn't even noticed any of them. If he had…

Skarr turned back to St. Peter.

"I'd like to go to Purgatory now."

"Two, please." BEMJ's tendril created two fingers for him to hold up.

---

Hand above his eyes, Timmy continued staring up into the sky.

"…Jeez, when is this kid coming back down?" He said, not seeing even a lick of fire anywhere. "See, this is why, even though I love my buff bod, I don't use it that often. Really hard to control my own strength."

Conjuring a sewing needle into existence, Timmy poked at his own bicep, pressure escaping his over-muscled body like air from a balloon until he was restored to his original pre-Shazam physique.

He was surprised then to hear a set of footstep walking up closer to him.

"You know, there's only so many times I can literally zip your mouth closed and it'll still be funny." He called back to her, but she was too good to take the bait.

"What exactly is it you're thinking is going to happen here, Turner?" Mandy asked him bluntly. She still stood some distance away, likely prepared for when the battle would start up again, but still much closer than anyone else dared to get right now. Even his own servants like Drax stayed well in the safety of his ragdoll creations.

"I was thinking I was going to come in here and take away everything that's ever had any meaning to you and ruin your life like you did mine." Timmy turned to her with a bragging shrug of his arms. "Then maybe I'd reward myself afterwards with a nice bowl of Lucky Charms. I'll leave it to your imagination whether I'm referring to the cereal or the little trinkets. In my case both would be considered magically delicious."

At that response, Mandy simply closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. For the briefest second there, Timmy could have sworn he'd seen a smirk, though she would deny she was capable of any such happy expression. "You really don't see it, do you? You haven't changed in the slightest."

"You know, there was a time when I found your sheer outright arrogance kind of hot, in like a tsundere kind of way. Now it just feels kind of petty."

"Says the little boy going to all this trouble just because the mean ol' Bitch Queen broke his heart and stole his lunch."

Timmy took in a sharp take of air, needing to hold it in for a moment in order to do the same with his anger. "Oh ho ho. Yoouuuuuu…!" He wagged his finger at her. "Oh, you still know how to get under a guy's skin somethin' FIERCE, don't ya? I'm gonna need to have Boogie look back through Grim memories because I genuinely don't see how anyone could put up with you for so-hold that thought."

He cut himself off, taking just a few steps forward.

The meteorite that was the Burning Demon Reaper struck the earth with explosive force, right where Timmy had been standing.

Timmy turned back to him. "Kiddo, you have no idea how glad I am that you weren't around for that part just now. No matter how old they are, it's rarely healthy for a kid to see their parents fighting like t-"

With a roar, the most powerful volley of hellfire yet erupted from Junior's body and mouth, consuming Timmy point-blank as the diagonal pillar of flame stretched its way back up to the sky.

When the attack finally relented, all that was left was a thoroughly overcooked corpse.

Nothing to keep it balanced, the completely blackened body tipped over, shattering upon impact with the hard ground. There was nothing even slightly pink or soft to convey that the tumbling bits and scattering ash had once been human. The only thing that set it apart from, say, the remains of logs in a bonfire…

…was that they kept moving.

The ashes spread out much further than physics should have allowed and then made even further mockery of such laws as they started twisting and turning in whatever directions they felt the whim to. Even in his vengeful state Junior's eyes darted all around the scene before him in utter confusion, not understanding what was happening until it was finished.

A beautifully done 20-by-20 foot self-portrait that Timmy had used the negative space between his own ashes to draw himself, still constantly moving and re-adjusting as if he were a real person, deciding to go with the classically annoying trifecta of double finger-guns, a wink, and a click of the teeth.

The clacking quiver of his jaw made apparent this had done nothing to quell Junior's temper. A tail bearing the blade of an axe sprouted up from the base of his spine and with one mighty sweep he banished the ashes to the winds.

And then Junior found himself wrapped around the hood of a DeLorean as it came barreling on through.

"I say this still counts thanks to the magic of good cinema." Timmy called out from the passenger seat, stepping on the gas and causing sparks to fly as the clunky old car hit 88 miles per hour.

---

One blast through the tunnel of time before the Delorean came to a sudden and complete stop, sending Junior flying off the front. His journey through the air was not long, thankfully…and somewhat unthankfully, as his stop was brought about by a face-first collision with a door. He was somewhat surprised at the door's sturdiness, given that he didn't just smash right through. But peeling his face away from the wooden frame and Junior saw that there was nothing on the other side for him to go on into. The door was attached to nothing; simply floating weightlessly in the air, surrounded by countless others that littered the sickly green vastness.

"The Ghost Zone…?" This was a place that couldn't be mistaken for anywhere else. The atmosphere was rich with ectoplasm, like walking through a mist of slime for anyone else but somewhat rejuvenating for a creature that fed on souls and spirits such as himself. Of all places, why had Timmy brought him here?

An explosion rocked the disconnected landscape, Junior immediately turning to ready himself, certain it was another attack.

A fireball crashed into one of the many other doors surrounding Junior's. The blowback was intense, nearly knocking his hood off as many of the doors were sent flipping away. Still, it wasn't enough to obscure his vision. Something was moving around inside where that fireball had landed; burning alive and yet basically unharmed.

Junior's claws were at the ready, able to feel the creature's sheer aura of violence pulsing off its body. It likely would attack the very moment it saw him. It'd be easier if Junior could make out more of its body. It was bipedal but that was about all he could tell. Its face and hands were completely smothered in roaring flames, masking what exactly it was. All Junior could really make out was the creature's clothes; a long, black, hooded jacket. Something that practically screamed edgelord. And-

…Wait a minute.

…Was that…him?

With a growl and an annoyed shake of his head to nurse off the impact, the new arrival looked to his left.

It was at that moment that two Grim Jrs met. …For the first time…? Depends on your point of view.

Given the matching pair of wide eyes the other Junior was just as baffled he was. They moved their arms in sync, like looking into a mirror. This couldn't be real, could it?

A flash of green across the sky and finally arrived what had sent the other Junior this far out.

"You slowin' down on me, kiddo?" Dan asked, struggling at least a little to put on the breaks with how much the crown and ring were overclocking his speed. "Didn't think I hit you that hard. What's say we aim for 1954 Japan next? Take some thunder away from the king of the-…huh?"

It was then that he finally noticed the two confused Junior's looking up at him.

"…What, are you copying my Ghost Multiplication now? I mean, don't get me wrong, that could be kind of fun too, but with how much it divides up your power-"

And suddenly, a wild Timmy appeared, grabbing both Juniors by the ankle.

"PUNCH BUGGY!"

Swinging the burning Reapers like ragdolls (the traditional non-Franken kind), Timmy walloped Dan from both sides, like a time-paradox sandwich.

As the most powerful ghost in the universe was left shaking and ringing like an old Saturday morning cartoon cat, Timmy lifted up the Juniors so he could get a better look at their dizzy, spinning skulls.

"Uhhh…" His head darted back and forth between the two of them. "Screw it. You." He dropped one and kept hold on the other. "Here's hopin' you're my Junior, huh?"

With no indication to act as the trigger, Timmy transformed the entirety of his body into an old post-mounted mailbox; little red flag and everything. The entirety…save for his arm, which stuck out from within the box and proceeded to drag Junior likewise into the impossibly narrow space.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not given every other impossible thing the God of Magic had managed to pull today, Junior felt no pain as his body was squeezed through the opening like he was made of rubber. But the back of the box was not where his journey stopped, no no. Despite how it appeared from the outside, on the inside there was no back. No ending to block his way. Instead, Junior was dragged all the way through, until eventually he popped out of…another mailbox.

Being expelled rather rudely, Junior tumbled across what was definitely solid ground this time. A cobblestone street, in fact.

The surrounding buildings certainly seemed to match the theme. Lopsided, rickety old houses and homes. Drained of all color save for black and the dim lights in the windows. It had a very long-ago feel to it. Lived in and yet abandoned, but still with that feeling tickling the back of your neck that any moment now something could jump out at you from the dark corners.

It was the air of the place. It put you in a mood. The atmosphere was creepy, almost gothic in its feel. Almost…

Halloweeny.

"Ahh, f**k."

The sudden rumble of a giant's falling foot confirmed it. Looking up, it wasn't hard for Junior to spot what loomed over the houses. Layers upon layers of teeth and spikes. Predatorial green eyes where joints should be. The creature roared from its stomach at it continued its pained rampage.

The creature Junior himself had once been. The Demon Reaper Beast.

And above that was Dan…again.

…Firin' his laser.

It was a searing blaze of green light that overtook all Junior saw. Honestly, he'd felt far worse than this particular Kamehameha blast from Dan over the years. It leveled the surroundings and would knock the Demon Reaper Beast down to size if he recalled correctly. He was pretty sure he could hear someone yelling "MY TOWN!" over the roar of destruction. But for Junior himself, this was the equivalent of a hard punch. He felt it sure, but such energy barely penetrated the armor of fire. It simply knocked Junior back.

…Right into a phone booth, where Timmy was inside waiting for him.

"Seriously, kid. You and that guy are making me nostalgic for the old times I had with Danny."

When Junior attempted to throw a punch was when he was slammed into the top of the box; Timmy having pressed a button on the keypad and prompting the booth to drop through reality.

They landed with a crash at their next destination, allowing Junior to have his face be welcomed by the floor. Peeling him off it, Timmy held Junior by the back of the coat and dragged him outside.

"Hey, Tim."

"Sup." The other Timmy Turner directly behind the two said. They were back in the Domain of Death, directly outside Castle Grimskull. Not precisely back from where they'd left. Maybe a few minutes before? Junior wasn't exactly paying attention to the time when he'd Riderfied the Still Impressive.

Speaking of which, it certainly looked a lot bigger from this angle, down on the ground. The engines thankfully not as loud as when he was directly inside the thing. You could almost hear yourself think over the roars.

Similarly, you could hear the cannons being filled.

A geyser of dirt and stone exploded up from where he stood. The Still Impressive had no more torpedoes left from its assault on Grimskull but Junior's own literal firepower proved sufficient in filling its cannons.

It hadn't hurt Timmy before. It wasn't doing anything to the Timmy that was holding him up as a meat shield. But Junior himself? It was an interesting experience, being riddled and rattled by your own attack.

What must the past Junior be thinking as this was going on? He stopped his onslaught eventually but that'd happened before too. Once he was done being juggled by the blasts, Junior was allowed to fall, right into the waters of a hot tub.

Timmy pulled the cork out of the base (Junior was pretty sure hot tubs didn't have plugs like that) and rapidly the water began to circle and drain, taking Junior down the pipe with it.

Popping out the other side he went, smacking back down onto the hard ground he did, seemingly right back from where he'd just left. But, given the shredded remains of the Still Impressive and the lack of an extra Timmy, Junior actually was back in the present this time.

"You'd be amazed how much you can get away with as long as you follow Clockwork's basic rules." Timmy commented as he walked around from behind him, watching casually as Junior wobbled up to his feet. For all his power, the Burning Demon Reaper was starting to get worn out. "You ready to listen now? I've got plenty more references to throw at ya."

Determined in spite of himself, Junior gave a low growl, holding out his hand to spawn a new scythe to his palm. His arm feeling too heavy to swing the weapon on its own, he held its staff with both hands for support.

Timmy, in response, could only give a sigh. A point of his finger and the scythe was transformed into licorice. The black kind that no one eats and that wrap around your arms like thick bandages to keep them tied together, as was happening to Junior.

"Kid, seriously, I'm running out of options here." Timmy said as Junior wrestled to escape the binds. "I tried talking, I tried not hitting you, I tried hitting you, I tried to avoid violence, I violently threw you through time, I tried jokes to lighten the mood, I tried fanservice…" He counted them off on one hand, sprouting a new finger with each after he ran out of the standard five. "I could give a crap about anyone else but fighting really isn't what I wanted to come here and finally meet you for."

Junior finally ripped the licorice apart, though his freedom left Timmy about as concerned as he'd been throughout. Which was to say, any concern was all somewhere else and not over this fight.

"What do I even have left to try? I've already shown you a lot of what I can do. …But maybe…and not in the right way…!" His expression brightened like the lightbulb that went off in his head.

And suddenly, he threw his pointed finger to the air and what appeared…was that a saxophone? Point to the other side with his other hand and a drum set appeared.

"Junior! I don't think you quite realize what you got here!"

Naturally, both instruments started playing by themselves as he spoke.

"So, why don't you just ruminate,"

Timmy gave Junior a light shove, enough to get him to fall backwards. But his rear never hit ground, instead suspended in the air by the seat of an unseen chair.

"Whilst I illuminate"

He continued, the music becoming more prominent as he started glowing.

"the possibilities!"

The music swung into rhythm!

"Well Ali Baba had them forty-!"

Timmy's head went flying from his shoulders.

The music stopped. The effects faded. Junior's seat became just air and he landed with a thud.

Without dignity, the God of Magic's body flopped to the ground.

Junior looked up from where he sat.

"I never could stand musical numbers." Mandy said simply, wiping down Scythe 2.0's edge with a piece of torn cloth.

To say Junior's brain was still catching up with reality would be an understatement. Frankly, she was probably the only one who really understood what had just happened. Far off where she should have been Drax was on the ground cursing obscenities over his freshly broken nose as Bubbles played nurse to him. Jack was doing his damnedest to just barely keep Buttercup distracted from going after Mandy. Manny was looking back and forth between where his mother had been and where she was now, just as lost as his older brother. Nobody had stopped her before when she approached Timmy because she clearly wasn't a threat. This time, apparently, she'd found the right balance between her own quickness and everyone's collective distractedness to finally make her move.

Too much of Timmy's focus had been on Junior. He hadn't even noticed her sneaking up behind him to land that killing blow.

…A blow that wasn't hers to make.

"What?" Mandy asked, noticing the death glare Junior was giving her.

Like an animal Junior gave a low growl as he stood, suddenly grabbing Mandy by the front of her shirt. Yet if he was hoping to get any further reaction from the queen, the most she gifted him was a stare down. The fact that she could stand this close to him without being reduced to a pile of ash showed how much the fight with Timmy had taken out of him. The flames that cooked away at his body had dimmed considerably and what remained, well…they were dim enough that the shadow that cast overhead became quite noticeable.

"OH MANDY. I'M DISAPPOINTED IN YOU."

Mother and son both looked up, but to say that they saw much was up for debate. Was it the body or just the hand alone that was blotting out so much of the sky? The palm that seemed to stretch on for miles reached down to them like the moon coming to Earth; its entirety a glowing pink matter that was certainly not flesh and, as the two could attest to, gave off no light.

"VERY. DISAPPOINTED."

And the hand closed around them.

---

No light.

No sound.

No smells.

No ground.

No air.

No thought.

He couldn't hear his own thoughts.

Where…?

What is…?

Dark.

Dark.

Darkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdarkdar-

---

For a creature that did not possess lungs, it was quite the impressive gasp Junior took in, falling to his hands and knees as existence faded back to his senses. He didn't know what that was, it-it-it was like…like he was just gone! Like for a minute he just didn't exist, he was just-! Just-!

"Hhn-! Hn-!"

He felt it welling up his throat and he couldn't keep it back. His cheeks puffed only for a minute before Junior's vomit hit the ground.

"I….I can't win."

He felt a hand rub his back.

"Easy there, kiddo. Take it slow." Timmy said, regular height and form once more; doing his best to be comforting.

It had the opposite effect and Junior flung himself back, away from Timmy's touch. He had never moved like this before, not since he'd been a kid, since before he'd had power. Crawling his way backwards. Out of fear.

Junior threw his hand forward to attack, just to do…something! Anything!

…But no flame was summoned. Nothing came out.

No. It was more than that. The burning at his core…that constant pain he'd become so used to that he didn't even register it anymore…it was completely absent.

"Tell me…" Timmy spoke, regaining Junior's attention as he slid his sunglasses back onto his face. Like a match tossed onto dry wood, the man's bones ignited beneath his skin and consumed it such like paper. His jacket and all other clothes remained unsigned but now, it was he who was the burning skeleton. "Does this look as cool as I think it does?" He asked, glasses gleaming as he gave a thumbs up.

In a panic, Junior threw himself at Timmy, though the man easily kept him fended off. "Give it back!"

"Hmmm…no. No, I think playtime has gone on long enough. Time to put the toys away." Timmy replied simply, the flames going out and his flesh returning.

The Rider's power having been removed as his third layer, Junior had reverted back to his simple Demon Reaper form. However, that black flesh was looking a bit paler than usual. His body was trembling and was having trouble keeping the form going, from more than just exhaustion. Was he going through some odd type of withdrawal?

"I don't understand! I need it!" Junior yelled at him, certainly not hurting the comparison.

"Yeah, yeah, I know all about your little deal with Kare about the Red. I'm really going to need to have a talk with that guy. About a few things, actually." Timmy said with a small note of annoyance at the smarmy red devil. "You weren't even supposed to be here during all this. Not that I'm not happy to see you!" He quickly added on, like he was genuinely worried about offending him. "You know how it is. You have plans, you plot your revenge, you get this whole siege ready to go and it just seems like everyone is just determined to ram themselves elbow deep up your-"

Junior grabbed Timmy by the collar, his patience completely at an end. "I'm serious!"

"Hi, serious! I'm dad!"

In his agitated state, it took Junior the very long minute before those words properly registered to him.

"…What?" Was the only appropriate response.

Timmy rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Not exactly how I wanted to tell you, but I saw an opportunity and, well…"

Junior's mind was skipping along its track, trying to catch up to the present. It genuinely felt like he was hallucinating with how much of a whiplash he'd just experienced.

He heard a long, belated groan.

Junior didn't know if only he had been the target of whatever that emptiness was Timmy had put him through or if his mother was truly made of just far sterner stuff. Either way, looking towards her now he saw no signs of the same trauma. Just her pinching the bridge of her nose, shaking her head slowly with her eyes closed in just the sheer utter disbelief that THAT was how Timmy decided to do it.

"I can't believe I ever had sex with you."

"Best night of your life, right?" Timmy tossed that smug comment back her way.

Junior's head went back and forth between the two. "So…all this is because…and he's really…"

"Ah? Ah? You're seeing the resemblance now, huh?" Timmy laughed as he took off his sunglasses, closing them up and using them to gesture between their faces, mostly the matching hair. Were Junior in his human disguise, he'd have at least one blue eye to mirror Timmy's two. "I'm just thankful you didn't inherit my big beaver fangs too, though I suppose you guys could probably afford a better dentist than my family could when I was a kid. I'd say less evil too, but…" He motioned at the Underworld around them.

Junior still at a loss and Mandy apparently not going to stop him this time, Timmy couldn't contain himself anymore, wrapping Junior up in another tight hug, just like before everything had become so chaotic.

"Again, this really wasn't how I wanted to do it, but, hey! I'm here now! Seriously, you have no idea how long I've waited to finally meet you!" He said, holding his son by the shoulders with affection as he looked upon him with pride. "I know I've missed out on…well…a lot of years. You're, like, what? Almost thirty now? Can't exactly do piggyback rides or read you stories before bed. Unless you're open to…nah. Nah, best we close that book before we start it. But…drinking! Yeah, we can do that! We can get drinks, catch up. And catch! You're never too old for that! We can have a game of catch. I'm sure there are at least a few zombie heads we can use as the ball. Huh? What do you think?"

Timmy's smile stretched out as wide as his anticipation. Without the glasses on, his expression certainly did seem sincere. Eyes were the window to the soul, after all. And the emotion Timmy saw overtaking Junior's soul through his own eyes…

"Are…you…out…of YOUR MIND?!" Junior practically screamed as he shoved Timmy away.

"Kid? Kid, what's-"

"You attacked our home! My brother and sister almost got killed multiple times because of you! Charles WAS killed by one of your damn minions! And you want to just…what?! Have a fucking father-son barbeque?! That's what you think is going to happen now after all you've done?!"

Timmy waved his hands in front of him, trying to calm Junior down. "H-hey! Whoa, whoa! Kid, I…I'm not the bad guy here. She is! She's the one who kept us apart for so long!" He pointed at Mandy.

"Sure did." Mandy stated, not caring enough to even give a shrug.

"See? She even admits it! Junior, I didn't want to have to do all this. I really would have rather met you as a child."

"And that makes it okay?!" Junior yelled, the spittle practically flying from his lip. "Do you have any idea what we've been through?! All of this…! Just because you wanted to meet me?! I'm the reason that you hurt my family?! That my dad…that he's…!" His eyes were starting to burn. But not with fire this time. "Your stupid Boogieman…!"

It didn't take much thought for Timmy to get who he was talking about. It was Boogie showing up that'd started the fight between them after all. "Kid, hey now. I get that you're upset but he wasn't even your real-"

A punch to the face interrupted that flow of words.

"This is better than The Tawny Show." Mandy remarked to herself as she continued to just let the drama play out before her.

Timmy was on the ground and on his butt, rubbing his cheek. It didn't hurt at all but that something so simple had knocked him over after everything else he'd tanked was certainly the clearest indication of how distracted he was.

Junior grabbed him by the lapel of his jacket, throwing all the weight of his exhausted body into another punch. It reached Timmy's face. It connected. But it didn't feel like what a hit like that should, and Junior would certainly be someone who'd know. It didn't hurt either of them when it landed and Timmy's head was not knocked back in the slightest. There was a solid presence Junior was feeling at the end of his fist but all the force transferred was simply neutralized.

And yet, he kept the blows coming anyway.

"What did you really come here for?!" He screamed at Timmy with another thrust forward of his arm. "You thought I would just jump for joy at getting to meet my "real" father? You expect me to believe that?! You expect me to believe that YOU believe that?! What is it you actually want?! What did you think was going to happen here?!"

He couldn't say how many punches he'd given. Honestly it was somewhat impressive he had any more he felt he could give. But regardless, for whatever reason, during one of the times he pulled his fist back before sending it at him again, Junior looked down at Timmy's face and it was…hurt.

Not physically. It was the eyes. Looking at them, all he could see going on inside Timmy's head was hurt. Confusion over why he was being attacked. Almost like…

"You…really don't understand…do you?"

Junior felt his fingers loosening, freeing Timmy from his hold. His arm became heavier and heavier, losing the anger that had seconds ago kept it going.

It wasn't a lie, or a bluff. The slow, cautious…ignorant relief that spread across Timmy's features only further confirmed that.

Timmy genuinely didn't understand why things hadn't worked out the way he wanted. Why Junior was so angry instead of happy to see him. He didn't understand. He couldn't.

"You're insane..." Junior spoke slowly, all that rage in him before being replaced with such emptiness. All this harm, all this destruction…Charles…dad… All in the name of a madman's delusion.

Quick as it came, Timmy's relief started to leave with the same speed once he realized the sheer despair filling Junior's own face. "H-hey, hey. Kid? Kid, no, no. I am not insane, I'm not crazy." He got back up to his feet in a rush, trying to encourage Junior's limp form to do the same. "I came to see you because I care! I'm your dad! We…we're supposed to be together! You're supposed to be happy to finally meet me, after she kept me away! I get it's a lot to process but… Right, that's it, you're still having a hard time believing it! Makes sense, it's a secret that's been kept from you for most of your life. Of course you'd have a hard time accepting when it's just suddenly sprung on you like this!" He just kept going, so unaware of how desperate he sounded. "Mandy! Mandy, you're the one who hid the truth from him. Tell him the full story now. He'll believe it more if you tell him."

"I told you this wasn't going to work." She replied simply, checking her nails as she did so.

"Mandy, tell him!"

Being put on the spot…yes, Mandy was indeed a petty enough person to deliberately drag it out as long as possible, feigning like she was wishy-washy about whether she should say anything or not.

Just as Timmy's scalp was about to pop from frustration, Mandy did finally open her mouth.

…And then blasted Junior with Scythe 2.0.

Timmy gave a visible start; one of the few genuine moments of being taken off-guard he'd had since he'd arrived. There was nothing left where Junior had stood just seconds ago. He was gone. Vanished!

Not even looking Mandy tipped Scythe 2.0 behind her back, shooting out another of the same energy bolts out the tip and hitting Manny square in the chest where he stood so far away. Like with his brother, Manny disappeared.

Mandy then turned the weapon towards herself, pointed right at the underside of her chin. But Timmy had finally regained enough focus to act, upon her in an instant and shattering the technological scythe into shards of glass with a violent swipe of his hand.

He grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up into the air one-handed. He was done playing. "Where did you send them?"

Mandy…was not intimidated.

"You have the magic eyes." She said simply, not even struggling to breathe with his hold on her. She wasn't going to give him even that much satisfaction. "You tell me."

Timmy scowled, in part because she was right. He didn't need her to tell him. It was a pain in the ass but he could find them on his own.

His head turned, looking off into the distance, but a much further distance than even the furthest speck in the horizon of this wasteland. Timmy pushed his vision to stretch out, checking the furthest corner of the Underworld. He wasn't as familiar with Dan's kid but the feeling of his own he'd come to know very well over the years after checking in on him so often. He just had to try and reach out for that same presence again.

When the Underworld showed no signs, he tried the Ghost Zone.

When that failed, he tried the mortal realm.

When that failed, he tried the realms above that.

So on and so on he scroll through the rolodex of all the dimensions he could think of. Until…

"…!"

He turned his head back to Mandy.

"You sent them there?"

She said nothing in response.

"…You really are a bitch, you know that?" No wonder she didn't care if he knew. There was nothing he could do about it.

Before she could say, do, or even think anything else that'd frustrate him further, Timmy gave a turn of his hand and Mandy was transformed; now a crystal ball that rested within his palm.

It was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo…so tempting to just smash it against the ground. But…no. He wasn't going to let her off that easily.

He tossed the ball up in the air and had it float beside him as he walked, hands held together behind his back.

"Drax." He called over, getting the startled scientist to jump and immediately come to attention. "Salvage what you can out of the ship and set up a lab in the castle. I want us to be able to say working on Ragdolls again as soon as Morg gets here."

"Uh…y-yes. Yes, sir." Drax easily complied, handkerchief in hand to keep the plug on his still bleeding nose. There was nothing of the father who'd been speaking so desperately to his son just moments ago. This wasn't the God of Magic he was most used to. That one was relaxed and confident, always seeming in control, probably because he was. But Drax had seen this side of Timmy at least a few times before, enough to know not to be argumentative. "Bring everything you can carry up to the castle. Now." He ordered the Powerpuffs.

In Bubbles' case, that included Empheles' bulky form, swinging it over her shoulder to carry across her back. For Buttercup, that included what could be referred to as reclaimed property.

He had put up a good fight, but in the end the once great samurai was contained by the hold of his former student, his now broken limbs resembling little more than sacks of meat; no Nergaling around to fix them up again.

"You won't get away with this." Jack assured Drax, a deep warning in his tone.

"Will you shut it, fool?" Drax warned him back, though his own was a quieter voice, coupled with a harsh air of self-preservation. "Can't you see that he's in a mood?" He was mouthy and he did enjoy working for the God of Magic…but that didn't mean there weren't times he'd prefer not to have his attention.

From where she still stood, within Mandy's burned-out bedroom, Eris leaned with a grumble against the windowsill as she watched Timmy walk away from the devastated battlefield. Not a scratch on him. "Well…I suppose there's always round 2. Whenever that'll be." She wondered where else Mandy might have hidden the booze.

Timmy felt it before it even appeared. The tear in reality that soon made way for a scythe portal to open beside him. It had to be a bit bigger than the kind Grim would make, as it was a hulking franken-form that'd be lumbering out of these things now. Within two steps and Boogie was before him again. Not that Timmy stopped walking. The most acknowledgement he gave to his bowing servant was the momentary curious glace at his face. Junior hadn't touched the left side, so the eyepatch was surprisingly still holding in place. The right… Well… At least it'd finally stopped melting. He still had some skin and muscle hanging on, droopy as it may be. Grim didn't even have eyes so the skin hanging over Boogie's probably wouldn't impair him much.

He was likely in a considerable amount of pain though.

Timmy should probably do something about that.

…Later.

It took Boogie a few seconds to realize his master was just walking past him. When he finally did, he, like Drax, knew better than to make any fuss over it, instead simply getting back up to his feet to follow after. A few steps behind, naturally.

"Master, I can go after them." He offered, the Grim Reaper's scythe within his hands and at the ready. "Just tell me where they went and I'll-"

"Don't bother." Timmy interrupted, not even turning back to look at him.

Boogie then nearly gave a tumble as the earth gave a sudden shake. It was like the sound of tearing paper, only louder and uneven. Just behind him Boogie spotted the ground cracking open. He hopped to get out of the way of the splitting earth and thankfully it did not follow him. He wasn't a target. Rather, the cracks spread past him, zigging and zagging their way to encircling the outer perimeter of Castle Grimskull.

There was no pause between when the circle completed and when the sectioned off earth began to raise. Rocks tumbled and dirt fell in storms over the side. Though Boogie did not go over the edge with them the quakes where still too much for him to be able to hold his balance and down onto his hands and knees he went.

"We could get there easily but then we'd be as trapped as they are." Timmy continued speaking undisturbed, like he didn't even feel the rising earth. "Worse even, since at this point they'd get out before we would."

Miles and miles up it went until finally it came to a stop. Pulled up by its roots from the fissure, Castle Grimskull sat atop a mountain of floating dirt; an island in the sky.

"For now, we have no choice but to wait. My son will come back to us on his own." He said, heading his way inside his new castle. "In twelve hours."

---

Manny blinked a few times, more than a little lost as to what had just happened. He had felt the impact against his chest but it wasn't exactly like it'd hurt. It took him a moment to even figure out what had changed. His mother, the God of Magic, everyone save for himself and Junior had just vanished while everything else remained in place. He was still at the castle's grounds. Or so it seemed to him, anyway.

"Junior, do you know-…" His words trailed off, finally taking notice. Junior was standing but with a hunch, hand clutching his chest as breathed harshly in and out, like he was hyperventilating. "Junior! Hey, man, what's wrong?!"

"STAY BACK!" Junior immediately snapped at Manny, stopping him from taking another step closer. He was wobbling, barely keeping his balance. A million thoughts were racing through his head with as many emotions attached, none of which could be described as positive. His dad, his mom, his…apparently real dad! He wanted to lash out as much as he wanted to pass out. Was he…was he having a panic attack?

Manny had a bad angle on it from where he was. It could be just a trick of the eyes, but…up Junior's neck…was that redness spreading? Like a weird sunburn?

It was then, from out of Junior's shadow, that something burst from the ground.

No…that wasn't right. It was from the shadow itself!

It looked like a ribbon at first that wrapped itself around Junior's arm but too wide for that to be accurate. When another sprung froth to restrain the Reaper's other arm just the same, Manny was able to get a better view. They were lengths and lengths of old parchment, endless writing and symbols on one side that he couldn't make out a word of. Almost like…scrolls?

Whatever was going on Junior obviously had not appreciation for being bound like this. The parchment was strong. Enough so that he couldn't tear it with his arms' struggle alone. But a blade might be quite the different story and though exhausted from his fight with Timmy it wouldn't take much effort to spawn as new scythe.

It did however require concentration and that was not something Junior could manage right now. His face grimaced horribly, clenching his teeth just to avoid screaming. The scrolls…they had to be just paper. And yet it felt like a branding iron being held against his arms where they kept him bound, even through the sleeves of his jacket.

Thinking fast, Manny threw a ball of ecto-energy. Either cutting through or simply burning it, either would be better than letting whatever this was continue.

But before it ever reached Junior the ball was caught. By Manny's shadow.

"Please, restrain yourself. For once."

Manny's eyes were wide. Blackness that should only exist in the 2D confines of the floor or a wall or anything similar was instead standing right in front of him, having risen up from the dirt and now holding the sparking green sphere in its hand.

With hardly a move as its signal, the energy dispersed. Possibly absorbed by the shadow as the darkness started fading away to reveal its true features.

Features, that was to say, that were Manny's own.

"Wha…what-?" Manny could only take a few steps back, at a loss over the exact clone before him.

The copy rubbed the back of his head, clearly trying to think of the best way to explain things. "I understand this must all be confusing to you. Admittedly it'd be less so if you'd ever bothered to pay attention to anything other than combat, but here we are." He voice was the same as Manny's but his tone was irritatingly judgmental and pretentious. It reminded him of someone actually.

Having let himself be distracted for too long, Manny snapped back out of it when shots upon shots fired up like rockets from Junior's shadow. Dozens of scrolls had emerged and unrolled in an instant, descending upon Junior in a flurry of discolored white.

Around his legs, chest, back, neck, wherever else that could be bound, it was done so. Agony ripped through Junior's body, having never felt pain like this, but this time the scream he wanted to give could not be released. The parchment covered his mouth, gagging him as he was yanked downward, now pinned in place against the ground.

"JUNIOR!" Manny tried to shove his way past his copy. The other Manny made little attempt to stop him, perhaps because he knew there was little need for him to do so.

"Relax yourself, brother. I mean him nor you any harm."

Manny slid to a stop. That voice… It was Junior's, but not the one who was tied up.

After some seconds of his eyes flicking around to try and find the source, the owner of the voice simply appeared for Manny to see. Like with his shadow, this man emerged from Junior's own, just as the scrolls that were clearly his doing had. But unlike Manny's copy, whom would be indistinguishable from any ghost duplicates Manny could make, this copy of Junior was so different it was amazing Manny could still tell it was supposed to be him.

His form was coated in near all white instead of black. He still had a hood but it was not part of a jacket. What he wore were robes, just as long as Junior's usual outfit, but their fluff and fabric, the gentle look to them, made him come off almost like a priest.

The biggest difference, his face, or that is to say, the lack thereof. There was no Nergal bits or flesh of any kind to cover up those bare bones and the skull that poked out of the hood's opening. Perhaps it was because his eye was on the wrong side, occupying his left socket instead of the right.

When he looked down at the restrained Junior, his expression was one of sadness. Almost pity. But when he looked over at Manny (the both of them, in fact), he was sure to given him a smile of warmth to put him at ease.

"Welcome, little brother. Welcome to the Shadow World."

As the scrolls continued to wrap around him, their crinkles drowning out whatever was said next in the conversation, the burning pain Junior experienced did start to fade…along with everything else. His strength was plummeting fast, to the point his eyes struggled to keep their lids open. He wanted to sleep so badly.

It took all the will he had left just to take in what little scenery his eye could view with his face pressed against the ground. Two Mannys. The one who looked concerned and confused was probably his. Another him, only in white, saying something to Manny, probably get him to stop trying to attack him. Maybe this was all just Timmy screwing with him again.

And…a third him. A third Grim Jr, this one squatting down to look at him.

"For crying out loud. If it's not one thing, it's another, right?" The Junior clad in all red said, his shrug of Well, what can you do? undercutting any real annoyance he had.

How could he hear him, even this close? In fact, why did it seem like the others couldn't? Manny kept looking over at him…but only him. Like the only Juniors he saw were him and the white one.

The red Junior gave a few light playful smacks to what little of the real Junior's face there was for him to do so, just to get back his attention. "Let's chat when you wake up. Savvy?"

That grin was the last thing Junior saw before he faded out of consciousness.

---

Author's notes: I'm feeling a bit under the weather (don't worry, it's nothing major or virus related) but that's why this chapter doesn't have my usual comment replies. I just wanted to get this chapter out as soon as I could since it has been WAY too long since I've posted something. Rest assured, I do ALWAYS read what you guys post and comment for my stories and I'll be trying to be back to replying to things next chapter like usual.

Part of the delay is that a character who can do anything like Timmy is both very easy and very hard to write about. There is so much that he can do and that's fun to imagine him doing but translating all that into just written words is a bit difficult. One of my original ideas was that he was going to be having a big and full Friend Like Me musical number, but unfortunately this website doesn't allow musical notes to show up and so what I did write for that just read awfully and simply didn't work. The story plays like a movie or TV show in my head but what works visually doesn't always work when it's just written down.

QTP: What is wrong with Timmy? Why did Mandy send her sons to the Shadow World? Who or what is the red Junior? And can Grimskull be taken back?