Friendship The Ties that Bind and Gag Chapter 1: Sparking Disaster, a grim and evil fanfic

Grim Tales of Billy and Mandy

Friendship; the Ties that Bind and Gag

Notes: This is a side story to the one I posted a few days ago. This story is about the first time Mandy's time was "up" and Grim decided to let her live. So far it hasn't turned deadly, but we shall see. If you've read this before, please check it out again; the intro has changed for a darker feel. Not finished; more to come

It's easy to imagine bad things happening to those who have done us wrong. The idea of them getting exactly what they deserve can delight the heart on a particularly bad day. We all tend to think like that at one time or another, and for the Grim Reaper, his most peaceful dreams were those involving the demise of Billy and Mandy. He'd been bound to them through a stupid bargain for too long, and every day seemed to drag on longer than the last. But what would happen if he got what he wanted?

'Some day, it will be their time', he thought to himself. Grim was standing in the midst of Billy's back yard. There seemed to be some commotion going on, and laughter ringing in his hollow ears. 'A party?' Amidst the sea of smiles, fire rained down from the sky. Panicked party guests ran for cover, and Grim searched the chaos of the moment for something familiar.

Billy and Mandy were there, something snapped, Mandy was in trouble. Grim's nonexistent heart and mind raced. What should he do?

Mandy's eyes had a glimpse of horror in them before she sought out Grim, "Help me! Grim! Help me!" Grim was frozen in place. His mind was in mid-battle, to help or stand by. An hourglass, glowing a terrible green grew in the background as the fireball hit Mandy square on. "GRIM!" She yelled in sheer terror. "Grim help me! Please! Grim! We're friends! Grim...!"

Grim didn't budge, he was fixated on the moment. Mandy's face changed to a pitch black skull with glowing red eyes. Her hair turned to blood red horns, and her voice became deep as a devils'. "Friends don't let friends die, Grim." The newly spawned Hell-Mandy arose, devilish wings sprouting from her back, a blackened bony form making its way toward Grim. It was enough to make one's skin crawl, that is, if you had any skin. "Friends don't do this! Grim!..."

"Grim...! Griiiim!" a voice called.

"AHH!" Grim woke up from his nightmare, "breathing" heavy, and quickly reviewing the events of the dream.

"Hi Grim!" Billy called. It was his voice that had awoken the bringer of Death.

He was relieved, and disturbed at the same time. A dream about Mandy's death should have brought him comfort. Surely, that was the case. But it wasn't. 'Friends don't let friends die, Grim. Friends don't let friends die, Grim.'

"Come on Grim! You don't want to be late for the party!"

"What party?" Grim said in a dubious tone.

"The Fourth of July Party Duh! Mom and Dad have been planning it for weeks" Billy said smartly, then began picking his nose.

"Right..." Grim looked around at the room he was in and wondered for a moment, "Say Billy... Where is Mandy?"

"Oh, she's downstairs waiting for us! So let's get going!"

Grim looked out the window, and sure enough, Mandy was waiting for them, looking up at them sourly. "Hello! I haven't got all day you guys! Move your dead bones down here, both of you!" She demanded. With a greeting like that, Grim was satisfactorily assured that his vision was simply a dream, he'd never be rid of Mandy, he sighed. No, he was quite sure they'd all be tethered to each other for quite some time. Still, something bugged him about the dream that just wouldn't let him be.

And so, some day came and went...

It was a typical day in Megaville, the new hometown for Billy and Mandy for the last three years. The sun was shining, the birds were singing... And Billy was stuffing marshmallows up his nose.

"Ueehhhww! YUG! BILLY!" Mandy cried in disgust.

Grim echoed her sentiments, "Good Lord, man! Those don't belong there!"

Billy just smiled in his usual vacant way, and there was a gulping sound, as the marshmallows bypassed his mouth to get to the stomach. He giggled insanely. "That was good... Let's do it again!"

Joyfully, he reached for another bag of marshmallows before Grim stuck his scythe between them. "That's quite enough young man! Now you gonna' eat like a regular person or not at all." Grim then took a few of the puffy sugar coated deserts and stuck them to the end of his Scythe, along with a chocolate bar and graham cracker. Mandy did likewise with a skewer.

Before long, the group were making s'mores over an open fire in the back yard. Billys' parents were hosting a block party and it seemed the whole block really had come over. Mandy was annoyed by being around so many people, Billy was just oblivious to the whole thing. Grim hoped someone would choke on something so he could have a little action, but the s'mores weren't bad.

"Billy?" Grim looked over at the boy with an unusual calm, yet concerned look.

"Yes Grim?"

"You're supposed to roast the marshmallows, not your nose!"

"Oh, thanks Grim!" Billy beamed, "Hey, do you smell something cooking?" After a moment of wondering what the appetizing aroma was, he realized it was his nose. Panic set in, "AHH! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch! GRIM! Putitpoutputitoutputit... OUT!" he flailed his arms and ran around like the idiot he was. Mandy sighed, watching him run back and forth past the buffet table. She idly picked up a pitcher of ice water and Dumped it on the boy in one of his frantic passes. "Thank you Mandy!" Billy thought nothing more of it and began stuffing himself with hot dogs, potato salad, and whatever else was in his reach.

"Don't mention it. Please." She collected a glass of pink lemon-aid and went back over to Grim. "You're no help."

"Well, I would have, but my s'more was at a critical stage. You see Mandy? The marshmallow is lightly toasted, and the chocolate just starting to drip."

Grim and Mandy both flashed each other a brief smile. It was one of those moments, they both agreed on the humor of the situation and had no witty comebacks for the other. Grim offered her half the s'more and she accepted graciously. There had been other moments like that, though few and far between.

"'Dis is going to be a wonderful Independence Day Celebration eh Mandy?"

Mandy smiled wryly and sipped her lemonade. "Sure will Grim. It's the pyromaniac's dream come true. A holiday where you blow stuff up for fun." There was still daylight out, so it would be a while before they were able to start lighting fireworks.

Since it was still hot out, a number of people chose to cool off in the pool. Billy was no exception. "Look at me guys!" he shouted as he belly flopped into the water from a branch overhanging the pool. There was a hard smack against the water and Billy floated there a moment, bubbles escaping his nasal passages before he sank in.

"Should I help him?" Grim asked after a moment.

Mandy seemed to consider it for a moment before responding. "Yeah, might as well."

Grim plucked the boy out of the water using his scythe, as if for a fishing trip. Billy took a big gasp of air and started swimming, suspended in the air, until Grim set him back in the water. Mandy also joined him in the pool, while Grim watched from the sidelines.

Tiki torches were lit as it started to get dark out, and that's when the festivities really began.

"Time to Limbo!" Billy's dad called, as they set up for the event. "How low can you go?" He began dancing like a dork, and Billy joined him, yelling "Limbo! Limbo! This'll be great!"

"Limbo contest?" Grim exclaimed in horror. His face suddenly changed to a sour look, his eyebrow ridges pursing together unhappily. "No one said anything about a limbo contest...!"

"Not afraid are you?" Mandy looked over at her 'friend', and smiled, remembering the bet they'd made.

"Me? Perish the thought!" Grim laughed heartily. "Say... you wouldn't want to make a little wager on--"

"No." Mandy cut him off.

Grim was disheartened, but thought about it a moment and came up with an idea. "Okay! How about this... if I win, I get a week off from chores and you and Billy wait on me hand and foot."

"And if Billy or I win?"

"'Den I'll..." He paused, they already had him at their command, what more could they want?

"You let me be death for a week."

"What?" Grim looked puzzled now. Her? Death? Hah! A pip-squeak preadolescent child, wielding his scythe? No one would be afraid of death ever again if that happened! Then again, the girl may have been small, but she was rather sadistic. Maybe she would make a good reaper?

"You heard me. I get the whole nine yards, cloak and scythe."

"Mandy... Being Death is a big responsibility. You have to make sure you know that it's your victim's time, you can't just go beheading people or reaping their souls before their time, it just doesn't work that way. And just what would your parents t'ink about it?"

"The same thing they think about you hanging around me, that it'll be my death." She looked over at the limbo bar, everything was set up, and a line was starting to form. "Does it really matter? I've always wanted to try that scythe out, and this is my chance."

Grim could tell she was sincere; this was Mandy we're talking about after all. Then again, if she was the grim reaper for a week, she wouldn't be demanding things of him. And if he did win, she couldn't. Either way, it looked like he would get some rest from the two of them. "Deal!"

For a bag of bones, Grim certainly was lose and limber. One after the other, people tried their hand at limbo, the bar going lower and lower with each pass. Billy was one of the first kids out of the game - his nose snagged the bar.

Meanwhile, a few of the adults were setting up fireworks for the big event. It was almost dark now, though the party was louder than ever, with chantings of "How low can you go?" Another guest at the party took interest in the fireworks too, and a devious smile spawned on his face. 'What's a few extra sparklers matter?' He took fireworks of all sorts, especially rockets, and added them in with the piles the grownups were working on. Then he grabbed a few firecrackers and a lighter and crept away unnoticed.