Gnywgeygcfnygncuyewgfcyreyvnerfyngreimvgf! Meh, I got nothin'. I hope you enjoy chapter seven.
A Grim Apprenticeship
Chapter 7: Anarchy!
A bright light appeared from below as Grim fell towards the Underworld. It grew larger as he came closer, until he finally fell through it and collided with the ground. Grim got up slowly and rearranged some of the bones under his robe, which had been dislodged during the impact. He looked over to his left, where Hoss lay on the ground with his face smashed up against a rock.
They both stood on the outskirts of the Underworld, a vast wasteland of boulders and solid rock littered with endless tunnels and caverns. There were no fires or pools of magma like there were in the center of the Underworld, so the temperature was below freezing.
"Where is everybody?" Grim wondered as he realized that they were the only living things around for miles. The outskirts weren't usually inhabited by many creatures, but Grim always used to see a demon or two fly into one of the tunnels back when he spent most of his time in the Underworld.
Hoss didn't say anything. He would look behind his shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one else was there and he kept raising his chainsaw-crossbow every time they turned a corner. Hoss had a sixth sense for supernatural activity, so naturally he was on high alert as he treaded through the home of all things supernatural.
They kept walking for another hour before they reached the gates of the Underworld, which rose hundreds of feet into the air. Grim had helped build it thousands of years ago out of the twisted, black metal that was abundant in the area. The gates still stood as a monument to the power of the realm, but the three headed beast that usually guarded it was absent. In his place was an empty reception desk positioned right in front of the gate.
Grim walked up to the desk and looked at the empty chair behind it. He brought his hand up and rang the silver bell on the corner of the table. A tiny gremlin emerged from underneath the table after the ringing stopped and looked up at them with a frown.
"What do you want?" The gremlin rudely asked.
Hoss pushed Grim to the ground before he could answer and stepped up the gremlin with a scowl on his face. He picked up the gremlin with his metal hand so they could see each other eye to eye.
"Me and 'Wacko Jacko' here want into this joint, got it little man?" Hoss uttered one of his corny one-liners. The gremlin didn't look intimidated as he dangled from Hoss' hand.
"I told you, I'm the Grim Reaper!" Grim shouted.
The gremlin eyes widened when he heard that and he looked up to see Grim standing behind them.
"The old reaper?" The gremlin thought out loud. "This should be interesting…" He grinned mischievously as he broke free from Hoss' grip.
He jumped down from the desk and walked a slight distance away from them. It looked like he was going to open the gate himself, but instead he put his hands on both sides of his mouth and began to shout something.
"HEY! OPEN THE GATE YA FRIGGEN MORONS!" His voice had a raspy sound to it.
There was silence for a while, but someone (or something) must have heard him and the sound of machinery being operated could be heard. The piercing sound of metal scrapping against metal reverberated throughout the place while the two massive doors gradually opened.
"Follow me…" The gremlin said with that same evil smirk as he walked through the gates with Grim and Hoss trailing behind.
He led them into the flaming center of the Underworld, where all the demons were gathered. Hoss looked stunned as he stared ahead with his mouth opened slightly. He had dealt with the supernatural for most of his adult life, but what he saw was overwhelming him.
To Grim, this was something he had seen many times before. Everything looked the same as it had been when he ruled the Underworld, with the exception of the two thrones in the center. Grim already knew who those thrones belonged to.
"I think you're going to like this." The gremlin said as he turned towards Grim and winked. He started to make a path through the mass of creatures for Grim and Hoss to walk through.
As Grim passed by all the creatures pointed and stared at him, whispering amongst themselves. Grim felt humiliated, as if he were being paraded in front of an unruly mob (which was pretty close to what was actually happening). He avoided the thousands of staring eyes and continued to follow the gremlin deeper into the crowd.
The low, rumbling sound of a horn being blown appeared and all the creatures went silent. The horn's echo lingered a few moments longer as all the creatures backed away from the two thrones and pressed up against the walls. Grim noticed a stone ledge all the way across from him and saw two giant trolls sitting on top of it, pounding on equally large drums. The ground shook with each drumbeat as two groups of minotaurs marched onto the platform where the two thrones sat. They were the reaper's bodyguards; each one armed with a large spear. They looked like disciplined soldiers as they lined up on each side of the path that led to the thrones.
All the creatures stared silently at a cavern that went through the ceiling, as if they were anticipating something to come out of it any second. Grim watched as the inside of the cavern started to light up, the same way a subway lights up when a train passes through (like that analogy?). A rattling sound was audible and appeared to be coming from inside the cavern. The noise became louder and louder until a flying chariot emerged out of the opening and soared downwards. It was the Grim Reaper's chariot; made out of the same material as the Underworld gates and lined with spikes. The base of the chariot was shaped like a giant skull (like everything else), supported by two heavy wheels that were also lined with spikes. The chariot itself was pulled by six flaming horses that flew around in circles before landing on the ground below.
All the creatures exploded into a frenzied applause as the chariot's wheels touched the ground, creating a shower of sparks. Grim had been a part of countless ceremonies just like this one, but he had never seen the creatures of the Underworld react this way before. Hoss stared blankly at it all, it was simply too much for his mind to handle.
The end of the ceremony seemed rather anticlimactic as Billy clumsily fell out of the chariot while laughing like an idiot. Mandy's entrance was far more dramatic as she slowly opened the chariot door, taking her time while she stepped down to the ground. Her black hood covered most of her face, but Grim could still see her evil expression. She walked between the two lines of bodyguards, inspecting her 'soldiers' as she passed by.
Billy ran up next to Mandy as they made their way towards the thrones. He slowly reached over and held her hand as a stupid smile appeared on his face. Mandy's expression didn't change, in fact she didn't even look over at Billy, but she obviously didn't appreciate his kindness. She tightened her grip on his hand until the sound of bones cracking could be heard, then she smacked it out of the way and sat down on her own throne. Billy shook his crushed hand and smiled again before he jumped up on his throne.
Two demons flew in with Mandy's scythe in their hands, which they handed to her. Two other scythe carrying demons hovered above Billy, who was occupying himself by picking his nose. The demons looked at each before dropping the scythe on Billy's head.
The entire Underworld was dead silent, (Get it? Dead silent? Huh? Huh? Get it? 'Cause it's like, the Underworld, so it's like, there's a lot of dead people in there. Yeah!) waiting for one of the reapers to speak. Mandy motioned to her bodyguards, who rushed over and grabbed Grim and Hoss. They dragged the two over to the reapers and threw them on the ground. Mandy raised her hand again and the guards backed away.
"It's good to see you again, Grim." She cynically greeted him. "I was wondering when you would come to visit us."
"It's time to stop playing games, you little monster!" Grim yelled as he lifted himself up off the ground.
As Grim approached the thrones, Mandy calmly pointed her scythe at him. Some kind of strange, translucent rope materialized at the tip of Mandy's scythe and floated towards Grim. As it moved closer, Grim noticed that the 'rope' appeared to be in the form of a serpent, complete with fangs and a forked tongue. The snake wrapped itself around his body, binding his arms. Two more snakes appeared and drifted towards Hoss, who didn't try to struggle as they tied his hands and feet together. Grim realized he wasn't in a position to bargain as he glanced over at Mandy's heavily armed minions, who surrounded him.
Mandy brought her scythe back to her side and continued speaking, "I'll admit I enjoyed humiliating you day after day, but I think I'll get the most satisfaction out of watching you bow before me." Mandy rarely every smiled, but she couldn't help but give Grim an evil smirk.
Billy sat slumped in his chair, still emphatically picking his nose. He pulled his finger out and rubbed it against the bottom of the throne before sighing loudly. There was something else on his mind and he wasn't paying attention to Mandy or Grim.
"If only Grim were still alive…" He said forlornly.
"I'm right here, you idiot!" Grim shouted.
Billy perked up when he heard Grim's voice, "HEY GRIM!" He exclaimed as he waved his hand. "Why you tied up like that?"
Mandy elbowed Billy in the face and turned her attention back to Grim, "I wasn't joking, Grim. You're powerless here without your scythe. You will kneel before me." Her voice became darker with each sentence.
"I gots half of the scythe right here!" Billy shouted as he threw his old scythe in Grim's direction.
Grim closed his eyes as the scythe swung closer to his head, preparing for the worst. He opened his eyes shortly afterwards to see the weapon floating out in front of him. The scythe began to move by itself as if it were possessed, first circling around Grim and then cutting him free with a series of rapid strikes. Grim grabbed the tiny scythe with both hands, trying not look at the dried snot that covered the handle and blade or think about how it got there.
Mandy was furious at Billy for giving Grim the scythe, but she maintained her cold demeanor.
"Half a scythe won't get you very far, Grim." She said calmly, though she tightened her grip on her own scythe.
"I found the other half, too!" Billy shouted once more as he tossed the other half of the scythe at Grim, who caught it with his empty hand.
Grim almost dropped the scythe in disgust when he brought it up to his face. The blade smelled horrible and seemed to be attracting a swarm of flies.
"What did you do to this thing, Billy?" Grim asked while trying not to vomit.
Billy shrugged, "I found it in a big pile of mud that Cerberus left behind!"
Grim honestly didn't care about what Billy had done with his scythes over the past week, he was just glad to have them back. He held the scythes in each hand and smashed them together so that they merged into one.
"Did ya miss me Jody?" Grim asked tenderly. "Daddy's here for you now." He held the scythe close and kissed the blade.
Mandy grabbed Billy by the nose and pulled him over to her throne, "After I destroy Grim, I'm going to eviscerate you and strangle you with your own intestines until you squeal like a pig." She was so enraged that her voice was shaking.
"Awwww, you're my best friend too, Mandy." Billy said cheerfully.
Mandy growled angrily before kicking Billy back into his throne. She lifted up her scythe and turned towards Grim, who had finished reconciling with 'Jody'. Not another word was spoken as she fired a blast of energy at Grim, which knocked him backwards into one of the minotaur bodyguards. Grim looked up at the bodyguard and smiled weakly before it sent him to the floor with the end of it's spear.
Grim recovered quickly and returned fire, but his shot ricocheted away from Mandy before it got too close. Mandy was obviously protected by some kind of force field.
"Hey, that's cheating!" Grim shouted rather childishly.
"You're just jealous because my scythe is better than yours is." Mandy replied.
"Satan, Mandy's not playing fair!" Grim cried.
A black portal appeared in the middle of the floor and the Prince of Darkness emerged in an eruption of flames.
"Be nice to Grim, Mandy." Satan scolded before disappearing into the abyss.
Mandy ignored the devil and fired a bolt of lightening from her scythe, which electrocuted Grim and knocked his scythe out of his hands. He collapsed onto the floor as smoke drifted from his charred bones. Grim lay half paralyzed on the ground, but he still had enough strength to try and reach for his weapon. Before he could grab the handle, Mandy's foot landed forcibly on his hand, pinning it to the floor.
"It's a shame I have to kill, you Grim." Mandy said as she tapped his skull with her scythe blade. "You could have been useful for something…"
Grim painfully looked up at Mandy and noticed that half her face was visible, while the other half was veiled in shadow, much like that scene from Star Wars Episode Six: The Return of the Jedi. That conveniently reminded Grim of his Jedi knight powers and he lifted up his head as strength returned to his bones. He hadn't spent countless years of his life watching Star Wars, training at the Jedi Academy, and stalking Mr. Lucas just to get beaten up by some bratty, nose-less little punk. He extended his other hand towards his scythe and concentrated deeply. The scythe slowly lifted off the ground until it levitated into Grim's hand, just in time for him to block Mandy's scythe, which was about to cleave his skull.
Grim and Mandy were deadlocked; both of their scythe blades crossed in front of their faces. They stayed like this for quite some time, neither one daring to look away from the other. It was actually rather awkward for the spectators, who watched in confusion as both combatants remained silent.
Finally, a small creature stepped forward, "I have a solution to this problem that will decide who gets to be the Grim Reaper once and for all…" The creature had an annoying, nasally voice.
The creature was barely a foot tall and closely resembled something that Billy might pull out of his nose. Everyone in the Underworld, including Mandy and Grim, stared at the creature with a surprised expression.
Billy walked up to the thing and stuffed it into his mouth before it could finish it's proposal. He vigorously chewed the creature like a wad of gum before swallowing it whole. As Billy digested the poor fellow, his stomach made a number of loud gurgling noises, which he silenced with a belch that was even louder.
The Underworld's attention had shifted entirely over to Billy, who wiped the slime off his lips. He wore a satisfied expression as he used his scythe to pick his teeth clean. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he threw his scythe down on the ground.
"I got an idea, dudes!" He shouted in excitement. "How about we go back to Endsville and have a reaper contest: who ever reaps the most peoples gets to be the Grim Reaper FOREVER!"
"Billy, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." Grim said with a frown. "Let's do it."
"That's fine with me." Mandy said as she lifted up her scythe blade and allowed Grim to stand back up.
Mandy opened up a huge portal with her scythe that swallowed her, Billy, Grim, and a few other spectators. The Underworld was quiet again after the portal disappeared. The creatures and demons of the Underworld looked at each other, but not a single one spoke. Each one wondered the same thing: 'What just happened?'
Uhhhhhhh, make it stop! Whoa, this is first time I haven't used any of those line divider things since chapter 1 of Mandy's Addiction...
Response to Anime master Inu's review: Ew? What the hell is that supposed to mean:) Just kidding, I just want to know what you're referring to when you say that. I mean, I didn't really like that chapter, but I would still like to know what part of it made you say 'ew'. Anyways, thank you for the review (and your first review as well.)
Response to almostinsane's review: Crap, I knew I should have capitalized the 'him' when I referred to God. WHY DIDN'T I DO IT? Well, I'll remember to capitalize that if God appears in this story again. Thanks.
Thank you for reading.