Alright peoples, here's the next chapter. This story will hopefully change direction by the end of this chapter, so the whole story won't be about Billy and Mandy trying to decapitate people anymore. I would say that this chapter is the halfway point of the story, but I'm not entirely sure about that because I really don't know how many chapters there will be. Now, before I make this any longer: Enjoy chapter four.
A Grim Apprenticeship
Chapter 4: Two Stories About One Story
It looked like a peaceful afternoon in Billy and Mandy's neighborhood. Children played carelessly in the middle of the street, their laughter the only sound that could be heard. None of them noticed the two messengers of death walking behind them with their scythe blades gleaming in the sun.
This time Mandy walked ahead of Billy, her scythe pointed forward. Billy followed a short distance behind her. Spending this much time reaping with Mandy was a dream come true for him, and he wore his usual stupid smile, but he was a little troubled by Mandy's recent behavior and he wanted to keep his distance. Mandy continued to move quickly ahead of him, she had gotten a taste of what it was like to be a reaper and now she wanted more. As she walked she thought about who their next unfortunate victim should be.
A familiar and intimidating voice made Billy and Mandy stop in place, "What do we have here, guys?" The voice belonged to Sperg, the local bully that tormented Billy constantly. He was a very large and muscular kid who wore a red hat and had a heart-shaped tattoo on his arm that read, 'Mom'. He was followed by two of his idiot friends, who served as his sidekicks.
"We better get out of here Mandy, Sperg likes to give wedgies on days like this." Billy whispered to Mandy, already afraid of what Sperg might do to him. Mandy said nothing, instead she just glared at Sperg, not at all intimated by the bully.
"It looks like we got a couple of dorks who want Halloween to come early this year!" Sperg jeered at Billy as he walked closer, not noticing Mandy's piercing stare. Billy smiled weakly and his whole body trembled as Sperg tugged on the sleeve of his robe, "This dress of yours looks pretty comfortable, but I bet I can still give you THE WORST WEDGIE OF YOUR LIFE!"
Billy squealed like a pig as Sperg lifted him up by his underwear, hanging him above the sidewalk. Billy's face turned red and tears welled up in his eyes as Sperg lifted him even higher. Sperg's mindless friends laughed uncontrollably at the pathetic creature that dangled helplessly by his pants. Mandy watched the spectacle with an expressionless face; once again Billy was too much of a wimp to defend himself.
"Leave the boy alone, Sperg." She said blankly.
Sperg looked taken aback for a moment, not used to being challenged by other 'weaker' kids, "What'd you say to me, punk?" He asked aggressively as he dropped Billy on the hard ground.
Mandy turned towards Sperg so he could get a better look at her face from behind the dark hood of her robe. When Sperg realized who it was he froze in fear. He was terrified of Mandy, especially her unflinching stare. In fact, she was probably the only thing that kept him from punching Billy's face in on a regular basis.
"I said leave him alone or I'll grind you up and feed you to the homeless." (I don't know what that means).
Huge drops of sweat trickled down Sperg's face as he stared back at the frightening girl, who was made even more frightening by the large weapon she held in her hands. Sperg's lips trembled as he tried to speak, but no sound came from his mouth. He tried to look away, but there was some kind of evil aura that surrounded Mandy that made it almostimpossible for him to break free from her gaze. His eyes strained to look downwards, where he noticed the reaper list that had fallen out of Billy's robe lying on the ground. Desperate to find something to divert his attention away from Mandy, he hurriedly picked the paper up and brought it closer to his face.
"Reaper list? What do you need a reaper list for?" Sperg asked Billy (whose face was still implanted in the ground) as he kicked him in the ribs. "I think I'll keep this for myself." Sperg stuffed the paper in his mouth and began to noisily chew it up before swallowing. He wiped the drool off his face before he turned back to his friends, letting out an obnoxious laugh while they all walked away.
Billy finally pulled his face off of the concrete ground and stood up on his knees, "Thank you Sperg!" He shouted in fake appreciation, not wanting to say anything insulting that would make Sperg even more violent. He picked up his scythe and got to his feet, with no help from Mandy, who stood next to him.
"I guess we better go home now…" Billy said with a sigh. He sounded depressed, which was very rare for him.
"You're just going to let Sperg push you around like that? Do you want to be a pathetic weakling for the rest of your life?" Mandy raised her voice. She was tired of Billy's cowardice.
"But Mandy, Sperg's the biggest, meanest, and strongest kid in school! Alls I got are these little wimp muscles!" He replied, pulling the sleeve of his robe up to reveal his skinny arm, which barely had any muscle on it at all.
"We're getting that list back, even if we have to go into that thug's house." Mandy said, ignoring Billy's excuses.
"How are we going to take on Sperg all by ourselves?"
"I already told you, we're doing things my way now." She wiped off her scythe blade with her robe and started to walk in the direction Sperg had gone in.
The two reapers found themselves standing in front of a large apartment building in the heart of Endsville. The featureless brick building was block shaped with small, identical windows lining the walls. Mandy opened a large, steel door in the front and stepped inside the apartment (Billy needed to be convinced before he stepped inside). The inside of the apartment wasn't as bland as she had thought it would be, but the paint on the walls was starting to chip off and fall onto the worn-out rug that covered the floor and stairway. Neither reaper spoke a word to each other as they walked up a few flights of stairs that led them to a narrow hallway. They were soon standing in front of Sperg's apartment door, which was colored an off-white.
"Alright, just leave the talking to me, Billy. And try not to look like an idiot." Mandy instructed. Billy nodded nervously.
Mandy quietly walked up to the door and loudly knocked on it. There was silence for a moment, then the sound of footsteps could be heard coming to the other side of the door. The sound of a loud bolt being unlocked appeared and the door slowly creaked open, revealing one of Sperg's friends looking through the small crack in the door. Mandy pushed the door open with her scythe, knocking the kid out of the way and onto an old dirty couch in the corner. Sperg sat at a small table in the middle of the living room, surrounded by bags of food and wrappers. Sperg's mom didn't appear to be home and the entire room was littered with trash. Sperg's expression was a mixture of fear and confusion as Mandy stepped inside the apartment with her scythe drawn.
"Hey kids." She said. Her voice retained her usual sinister tone, but there was something very different about her personality. "How are you guys doing?" Mandy asked almost cynically. Sperg and the kid on the couch didn't answer, and even Billy looked shocked at Mandy's behavior.
"Am I stupid, or did I just ask a question?" She asked impatiently.
"W-we're doing okay." Sperg stammered, not sure about what was happening.
Billy strolled past Sperg and into the kitchen, where he started to open the kitchen cabinets. His face lit up when he found a box of his favorite cereal on one of the shelves. He pulled the box and ripped the top off of it before stuffing the cereal into his mouth and crunching loudly.
"Do you remember our good friend Grim?" Mandy asked Sperg. She ignored Billy, who continued to eat noisily in the background.
"I sort of remember him…" Sperg answered shakily, trying not to make eye contact.
"Very good." Mandy changed the subject,"It looks like we interrupted your lunch, what are you eating?"
"Hamburgers…" Sperg replied.
"What kind of hamburgers, Sperg?"
"Bacon cheeseburger…I think."
"No, I mean from what restaurant?"
"M-Mad Cow Burger."
"I've heard they have good burgers there. Does it taste good?"
"Pretty good…"
"I don't usually eat hamburgers, but can I try some?"
"Yeah…sure…."
Mandy walked over to the table and picked up one of the burgers. She slowly brought it to her face and took a small bite out of it. Billy stared at Mandy with his mouth opened wide, causing bits of soggy cereal fall from his mouth to the floor.
"That's not too bad." Mandy said as she put the burger back down on the table. "Do you know what they call a quarter-pounder with cheese in France?"
Sperg looked even more confused by the random question, "I don't know…" He answered.
"They call it a Royale with cheese. Do you know why?"
"The…metric…system?
"That's right, the metric system. You're smarter than you look, Sperg" Mandy replied. "What's drink is that?" She wondered as she pointed towards a plastic cup on the table.
"It's orange soda."
"Orange soda is pretty good. Can I have some to wash that food down?"
"Yeah…"
Mandy reached over and grabbed the large drink, which she took a sip of, "That was just what I needed." She said as she gently placed the cup back on the table.
Sperg tried to apologize, "We're sorry about what we did to Billy back there…we were just joking around and-"
Before Sperg could finish talking Mandy pulled out her scythe and pointed it at the kid that still sat on the couch. Bursts of green light emitted from her scythe and hit the terrified child, knocking him backwards with each shot fired. The boy's body was enveloped in a green glow and he appeared to be paralyzed, as if he were frozen solid. Billy put his box of cereal away and stepped into the living room; he had never thought anything like this was going to happen. Sperg started to hyperventilate as he watched his friend sit motionless on the couch.
"I'm sorry, Sperg. Did I break your concentration?" Mandy asked coldly. "I think you said something about 'joking around'?"
Sperg started to sweat profusely again. He was too scared to speak.
"So you were done speaking anyway. Then let me say something: Where did you put the list?"
Sperg still couldn't speak, he was hyperventilating too much.
Mandy couldn't control her temper any longer and she tipped the table over, splattering food and drink all over the floor and walls. She slowly approached Sperg, who still sat in his chair, covered with spilled food and soda.
"What country are you from?" She asked in a loud voice.
"What?" Sperg was finally able to speak but he looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
"I've never heard of a country called 'what'. Do they speak English there?"
"What?"
"Can you even speak English?"
"Y-Yes…."
"You understand what I'm saying?"
"Yes…"
"So where did you put the list!"
"What?"
Mandy raised her scythe and pointed it at Sperg's head, threatening to sever it, "Say 'what' again. I dare you to say that word again! Say 'what' one more time!" Sperg started wetting himself as the scythe blade got closer.
He tried to explain, "I picked it up…."
"Go on…"
"Then I put it in my mouth…"
"Did you give Billy a wedgie?"
"What?"
Mandy kicked Sperg's chair, sending him crashing backwards. Sperg grabbed his right and winced in pain as he lay on the floor.
"I have something memorized that I want to share with you Sperg: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." Mandy recited the passage as she pointed her scythe at Sperg (all of this was too much to handle for Billy, who was staring blankly at Mandy)
Mandy's scythe fired the same green light from before at Sperg, this time Billy joined in to help by firing at Sperg with his own scythe. Sperg lay frozen on the floor, not dead, but definitely incapacitated at that moment. Billy giggled after he finished firing. Mandy pointed her scythe at Sperg and hit him with a beam of red light, which slowly levitated the reaper list out of Sperg's stomach, through his mouth and into the air. Mandy looked at the soggy ball of paper, which was dripping with salvia, and threw it at Billy's face, where it stuck. Billy didn't seem to mind as he pulled off the list and shoved it back into his pocket, then licked his own face clean.
"Let's get out of this place" Mandy said as they moved towards the open door leading down the hallway.
Suddenly the bathroom door on the wall next to them swung open and Sperg's second friend rushed out. He held a large dart gun in his hands, which he pointed at the two reapers at pointblank range.
"TAKE THIS YOU FREAKS!" He screamed as he repeatedly fired the dart gun at Billy and Mandy, who flinched at the incoming darts.
The boy stopped screaming after he had shot ever dart at the intruders. A look of dread appeared on his face as he stared in disbelief. Every single dart had missed it's target, instead sticking harmlessly on the wall behind the reapers. Billy and Mandy looked at each other, than at the wall behind them, them finally at the shooter; both of them were just as confused as he was. Sperg's remaining friend gulped nervously and slowly lowered his dart gun. Billy and Mandy pointed their scythes in his direction, taking their time while they aimed at him. All the boy could do was stand there and watch as they continuously fired at him, freezing him where he stood.
"Those darts almost hit us, Mandy!" Billy exclaimed. "Did you see the size of that thing?"
"We were pretty lucky…" Mandy replied, she was speaking in a monotone voice again.
"That wasn't luck, Mandy! That must have been our guardian angel protecting us!" He shouted.
"Yeah, whatever." Mandy muttered as she started to leave.
"Don't leave Mandy! What happened here was a miracle!"
"It had nothing to do with any of that stuff. Things like this just happen sometimes."
"I'm not leaving until you admit that this was a miracle." Billy said stubbornly.
"Fine, Billy. It was a miracle. Can we leave now?"
Billy smiled, content with Mandy's insincere response. He followed her out the door and into the hallway, leaving Sperg and his two friends behind.
They walked down the stairs, out of the building, and onto the sidewalk.
"THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER! Where'd you learn all that stuff from, Mandy?" Billy asked in excitement as he tugged on Mandy's robe.
"Don't touch me." She said flatly, pushing Billy into a telephone pole. Though she answered his question anyway, "I saw it in a movie once."
"Maybe you could teach me to be like that." Billy suggested.
"No, Billy. You're a spineless idiot." Mandy replied.
Billy giggled loudly, "Yeah, you're right."
Whoa, that was kind of weird. Just so you know, that whole scene in Sperg's apartment is based off of a movie, which is why the dialogue was different (though I changed a lot of the dialogue to fit the story and characters). It may seem strange, but I chose to do this simply because the earlier chapters of this story reminded me of that movie, so I decided to write a chapter based on it. I think this chapter is too long because off that, but oh well. I said the direction of the story would change in this chapter but…yeah, I lied. That should happen in the next chapter.
Response to almostinsane's review: I LIKES DISTURBING AND SCARY! Seriously though, you're right, that last chapter was a little darker than usual. I made it that way mostly because I wanted to try something different, something that portrayed Billy and Mandy in a more sinister way. Ultimately my attempt at this was meant to be comedic, not to freak people out. I actually liked writing chapter 3 because I could take the show 'to the next level' as far as content goes. I'll admit that I enjoyed portraying Billy and Mandy as a duo of insane murderers who terrorize their hometown. The rest of the chapters probably won't be as morbid as chapter 3, although this chapter was pretty dark as well. Like I said earlier, I would only write something like that if I thought it could improve the comedy and overall content of the story. Time to take a deep breath; anyway, thanks for another awesome review.
And Thanks to you for reading (and maybe even reviewing!)