Shrouded Dreams
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!! Did you think that I would leave you all
hanging?
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Death looked at the boy the fates had said was one of the chosen two. He still didn't believe
it. But if they really were the ones he was looking for, then he had no choice in the matter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So what exactly is the big disaster?" said the girl. She had woken up at the boy's screaming
and had to be calmed down before he could continue.
"You all know that every heart has a small portion of evil in it, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, 23 years ago, a dispute started between some powerful forces in the ethereal plane.
Basically, someone had died that was so evil, he scared Satan. Heaven didn't want him, neither did
Hell. So I got stuck with him. I had him chained to a wall in the deepest pit in the underworld, just
past the river Styx. Now here's where it gets bad. An all out free-for-all started on what should be
done with him. Hell suggested that Satan devour him, as per regulation. Heaven suggested
retribution, redemption, forgiveness. I suggested we have Cerberus rip him to pieces, and the Fates
thought it wise to just keep him chained until Judgement Day. Naturally, this started a big hoopla,
and while we were so busy arguing, the soul escaped somehow. So now he roams the earth, trying to
convert people to his order. If he succeeds, he'll become a god and do something that will destroy
everything."
"What?" asked them both.
"He'll have proved everyone wrong. He was originally trying to become a God in the first
place, but we intervened, and told him that it was impossible. If he pulls it off, we are wrong, and
that means that everything we ever did was all for naught. This means, in essence, we'll have no
control, and the world will crumble in on itself. You see, keeping this world functioning is like
running a machine. It's very precise. If one cog on a machine fails, the entire thing fails. If there's
one slip-up in making the world turn, it collapses. And proving that God, Satan, the Fates, and
Death are wrong, unhinges it all."
Somehow, they must have understood, or they were simply just looking like they
understood.
"In any case, you two have to come with me for awhile."
"Where?" asked the boy.
"To the other side. Specifically, the Underworld. There, you can speak with the fates, and
learn about what's been going on in greater detail, while I take care of some business."
"No way. I am not going to the Underworld, not for anything!" said the boy.
Deaths eyes suddenly became solid black, as if they were not there at all. His face became
gaunt and pale, and when he spoke, he spoke with a hollow voice.
"You will follow me to the depths of Hell if I tell you to."
A portal opened directly behind him. A river could be seen just beyond.
"Now go."
Suddenly, Lizzie and Gordo were sucked in...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When their eyes had refocused, they saw a great plain spread out before them, with a river to
their right. They looked at the river and saw a dock. Death was on the dock, preparing a boat. They
walked to him.
"Are we dead?" asked Gordo.
"No. I just transported you to the other side. You are not dead. But your not alive either."
"Not alive?"
"Right. Your in a sort of stasis. Coma, if you will. And if your wondering about how long
you will be gone, don't be."
"Why?"
"Because time works differently here than it does there. One year here, is about 5 seconds
there."
"So where are we going?"
"To my office. I hope to find some information from my eyes and ears, and to meet with the
fates. And to get there, we have to go by boat."
"And I guess this is the river Styx?"
"No. It's a minor river that leads to Styx. But, yeah, the idea is the same. Take Styx to the
building."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As they floated down the river, questions went through the two lovers heads. Questions that
only Gordo was brave enough to ask.
"So how is this guy going to become a God?"
"Evil resides in every heart. From a small portion, to over half. This man is going to try and
gather all of the evil in the hearts of his followers, absorb it, and use the new power to dethrone
God."
"That's it?"
"Not quite. Once he becomes God, he'll spread his evil throughout the universe, changing
everyone into the evil they possess. He'll eventually become strong enough to absorb evil just by
coming within range of it. Basically, he'll start an apocalypse. Or begin an age of darkness that will
never end."
"Wow."
"Yeah, that's what I said."
"And the Fates believe that we can stop him?"
"No, they believe you two can stop him. I'm just training you, prepping you. You have to
fight him yourselves."
"Oh."
The ride passed in silence for awhile longer before Gordo gathered enough courage to ask
the one question he had been thinking.
"Death, since you know when everyone dies, when is it our turn?
He turned and looked at the couple, with a strange analyzing look in his eyes.
"No one knows the time they cross the bridge, save for Death."
Though cryptic, the answer was obvious: Your not allowed to know.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometime passed when they soon rounded a bend. The landscape had been the same for
awhile, but once they turned, it changed. Instead of great fields, a giant Japanese castle loomed in
the distance.
"So your Japanese?" asked Gordo.
"No. When I was alive, I lived in Japan and studied their culture and history. I really liked
their castles, so when it was my turn to be Death, I turned the castle into this."
"Your turn?"
"Yeah. You see, Death is like a position as well as person. I'm the 151st Death. Each Death
can make the castle look like whatever they want. They also can do a lot of other stuff. The guy
before me, was a clown in his life, so his castle was a fun house. Literally. He had all sorts of weird
shit."
"So the position is passed on from spirit to spirit?"
"Yep."
"How?"
"I don't really know. When I died, the fates asked me wether I wanted it or not, and as I
wasn't thinking clearly, I accepted. I guess it's just at their decision."
They pulled up to a dock at the castle and got out, only to pelted by a little boy with burn
marks on his face. He was about 10 years old.
"Your back!!! I missed you so much, Dave!!!"
Death/Dave was struggling to get the boy off of his neck so as to prevent from snapping it.
"I missed you too, Jack. Now get off before you break my neck! You know how hard it is to
get it back in place!"
The boy obliged.
"So what did I miss while I was gone?"
"Nothing much, Dave. Rodney got his hand stuck in the copier. It's all inky. And Jeff got bit
by Cerberus."
"He was trying to feed him wasn't he?"
"Uh-huh. Oh, and Rachel want's to talk to you about getting a new sound system for the
meeting room."
"What? I told her I was going to order one when I got back. Why is she asking?"
Jack just shrugged. He suddenly noticed Gordo and Lizzie for the first time. He pulled Dave
down to his mouth.
"Who are they?" he whispered.
"Friends of mine." Suddenly, creepy old piano music started playing from somewhere in the
castle. As it continued, Dave groaned and mumbled something inaudible. It was beautiful until it hit
a sour note.
"C FLAT YOU JACKASS!!!"
"THANK YOU!!!" yelled someone in the building.
"Marcus is still learning that song?"
"Yeah."
Dave turned toward Lizzie and Gordo. "Marcus is a piano player and my assistant. He's
been playing that song for about two months now."
They nodded. This was all too weird for them, but they continued into the building with
Dave/Death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how was it? Did it make you smile a little? Did it make you cringe and go "What's
wrong with him?" Or did it make you want more? Well, there is more coming! So stay tuned! Later
days... kikiki... mamama... kikiki... mamama...
I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!! Did you think that I would leave you all
hanging?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Death looked at the boy the fates had said was one of the chosen two. He still didn't believe
it. But if they really were the ones he was looking for, then he had no choice in the matter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So what exactly is the big disaster?" said the girl. She had woken up at the boy's screaming
and had to be calmed down before he could continue.
"You all know that every heart has a small portion of evil in it, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, 23 years ago, a dispute started between some powerful forces in the ethereal plane.
Basically, someone had died that was so evil, he scared Satan. Heaven didn't want him, neither did
Hell. So I got stuck with him. I had him chained to a wall in the deepest pit in the underworld, just
past the river Styx. Now here's where it gets bad. An all out free-for-all started on what should be
done with him. Hell suggested that Satan devour him, as per regulation. Heaven suggested
retribution, redemption, forgiveness. I suggested we have Cerberus rip him to pieces, and the Fates
thought it wise to just keep him chained until Judgement Day. Naturally, this started a big hoopla,
and while we were so busy arguing, the soul escaped somehow. So now he roams the earth, trying to
convert people to his order. If he succeeds, he'll become a god and do something that will destroy
everything."
"What?" asked them both.
"He'll have proved everyone wrong. He was originally trying to become a God in the first
place, but we intervened, and told him that it was impossible. If he pulls it off, we are wrong, and
that means that everything we ever did was all for naught. This means, in essence, we'll have no
control, and the world will crumble in on itself. You see, keeping this world functioning is like
running a machine. It's very precise. If one cog on a machine fails, the entire thing fails. If there's
one slip-up in making the world turn, it collapses. And proving that God, Satan, the Fates, and
Death are wrong, unhinges it all."
Somehow, they must have understood, or they were simply just looking like they
understood.
"In any case, you two have to come with me for awhile."
"Where?" asked the boy.
"To the other side. Specifically, the Underworld. There, you can speak with the fates, and
learn about what's been going on in greater detail, while I take care of some business."
"No way. I am not going to the Underworld, not for anything!" said the boy.
Deaths eyes suddenly became solid black, as if they were not there at all. His face became
gaunt and pale, and when he spoke, he spoke with a hollow voice.
"You will follow me to the depths of Hell if I tell you to."
A portal opened directly behind him. A river could be seen just beyond.
"Now go."
Suddenly, Lizzie and Gordo were sucked in...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When their eyes had refocused, they saw a great plain spread out before them, with a river to
their right. They looked at the river and saw a dock. Death was on the dock, preparing a boat. They
walked to him.
"Are we dead?" asked Gordo.
"No. I just transported you to the other side. You are not dead. But your not alive either."
"Not alive?"
"Right. Your in a sort of stasis. Coma, if you will. And if your wondering about how long
you will be gone, don't be."
"Why?"
"Because time works differently here than it does there. One year here, is about 5 seconds
there."
"So where are we going?"
"To my office. I hope to find some information from my eyes and ears, and to meet with the
fates. And to get there, we have to go by boat."
"And I guess this is the river Styx?"
"No. It's a minor river that leads to Styx. But, yeah, the idea is the same. Take Styx to the
building."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As they floated down the river, questions went through the two lovers heads. Questions that
only Gordo was brave enough to ask.
"So how is this guy going to become a God?"
"Evil resides in every heart. From a small portion, to over half. This man is going to try and
gather all of the evil in the hearts of his followers, absorb it, and use the new power to dethrone
God."
"That's it?"
"Not quite. Once he becomes God, he'll spread his evil throughout the universe, changing
everyone into the evil they possess. He'll eventually become strong enough to absorb evil just by
coming within range of it. Basically, he'll start an apocalypse. Or begin an age of darkness that will
never end."
"Wow."
"Yeah, that's what I said."
"And the Fates believe that we can stop him?"
"No, they believe you two can stop him. I'm just training you, prepping you. You have to
fight him yourselves."
"Oh."
The ride passed in silence for awhile longer before Gordo gathered enough courage to ask
the one question he had been thinking.
"Death, since you know when everyone dies, when is it our turn?
He turned and looked at the couple, with a strange analyzing look in his eyes.
"No one knows the time they cross the bridge, save for Death."
Though cryptic, the answer was obvious: Your not allowed to know.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sometime passed when they soon rounded a bend. The landscape had been the same for
awhile, but once they turned, it changed. Instead of great fields, a giant Japanese castle loomed in
the distance.
"So your Japanese?" asked Gordo.
"No. When I was alive, I lived in Japan and studied their culture and history. I really liked
their castles, so when it was my turn to be Death, I turned the castle into this."
"Your turn?"
"Yeah. You see, Death is like a position as well as person. I'm the 151st Death. Each Death
can make the castle look like whatever they want. They also can do a lot of other stuff. The guy
before me, was a clown in his life, so his castle was a fun house. Literally. He had all sorts of weird
shit."
"So the position is passed on from spirit to spirit?"
"Yep."
"How?"
"I don't really know. When I died, the fates asked me wether I wanted it or not, and as I
wasn't thinking clearly, I accepted. I guess it's just at their decision."
They pulled up to a dock at the castle and got out, only to pelted by a little boy with burn
marks on his face. He was about 10 years old.
"Your back!!! I missed you so much, Dave!!!"
Death/Dave was struggling to get the boy off of his neck so as to prevent from snapping it.
"I missed you too, Jack. Now get off before you break my neck! You know how hard it is to
get it back in place!"
The boy obliged.
"So what did I miss while I was gone?"
"Nothing much, Dave. Rodney got his hand stuck in the copier. It's all inky. And Jeff got bit
by Cerberus."
"He was trying to feed him wasn't he?"
"Uh-huh. Oh, and Rachel want's to talk to you about getting a new sound system for the
meeting room."
"What? I told her I was going to order one when I got back. Why is she asking?"
Jack just shrugged. He suddenly noticed Gordo and Lizzie for the first time. He pulled Dave
down to his mouth.
"Who are they?" he whispered.
"Friends of mine." Suddenly, creepy old piano music started playing from somewhere in the
castle. As it continued, Dave groaned and mumbled something inaudible. It was beautiful until it hit
a sour note.
"C FLAT YOU JACKASS!!!"
"THANK YOU!!!" yelled someone in the building.
"Marcus is still learning that song?"
"Yeah."
Dave turned toward Lizzie and Gordo. "Marcus is a piano player and my assistant. He's
been playing that song for about two months now."
They nodded. This was all too weird for them, but they continued into the building with
Dave/Death.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So how was it? Did it make you smile a little? Did it make you cringe and go "What's
wrong with him?" Or did it make you want more? Well, there is more coming! So stay tuned! Later
days... kikiki... mamama... kikiki... mamama...