UPDATE: I have changed the story rating from K+ to T. You will know why by the end of this chapter. I made this decision because the story is going to contain some things that I don't think are appropriate for younger readers (nothing too bad, I just don't think it's appropriate for a K+ audience). I might be overreacting, but I want to be safe and I've been worried that some of the content in previous chapters wasn't necessarily appropriate for a K+ rated story either. If you are under the age of thirteen and you are unhappy with this decision, please let me know and I will do my best to ignore you. Honestly though, maybe I'll try to make a 'K+ friendly' ending to the story (though I don't think that many people under 13 read this). Enough of that serious crap, time for the next chapter.

A Grim Apprenticeship

Chapter 9: Schism

The creatures of the Underworld were still crowded around the two thrones, just as they had been before. They all looked bored and restless, but none of them spoke a word.

One of the demons flying above was becoming impatient, "So…when do you think they'll be back?" He asked, hoping to get a response from one of the many creatures standing motionless below him.

There was no answer, but one of the minotaur guards asked another question, "Do you think we're supposed to do something while they're away?" The other minotaurs looked at each other, but didn't move or speak.

A large portal appeared and all the creatures knew that their agonizing wait was over. Cerberus was the first one out of the portal and the crowd backed away quickly to make room for him. The dog was followed by the three reapers, who were than followed by Hoss, who stumbled out of the portal just before it evaporated. The entire Underworld remained silent, even with the arrival of the reapers. Mandy looked down at the ground with the same expression she had when God intervened with her plans only a few minutes earlier. Grim looked very solemn, unsure of his fate as a reaper. Billy sat on the ground, trying to clean his ears with his scythe blade.

The entire Underworld watched them in confusion; they had been expecting a loud, triumphant return from the two young reapers.

"Well, what happened?" One of the demons screamed, unable to contain himself any longer.

Mandy slowly turned to look up at Grim, "I'll tell you what happened. Grim lost the competition." She spoke slowly and quietly, her voice almost shaking. She wasn't going to let anyone else find out what happened back in Endsville.

There was a chorus of cheers around the Underworld after the announcement of Grim's defeat.

"Hand over your scythe, Grim." Mandy said quickly with her hand outstretched in front of her. "You don't have any other choice."

Grim glanced down at Mandy, then up at the innumerable creatures that stared at him in anticipation. His eyes frantically shot from demon to demon; Mandy was right, he didn't have any other option.

"Was I really that bad a Reaper?" He asked sadly as he realized the hopelessness of his situation.

The resounding 'YES!' from the crowd told Grim once and for all that his time as the Grim Reaper was over. He closed his eyes and extended his scythe towards his successor.

The loud shouting of an overexcited creature could be heard, "OH YEAH! Grim is about to give Mandy his scythe! All hail Mandy, lord of the Underworld!"

A second creature shouted back, "All hail Mandy? Billy's the one who should be lord of the Underworld!"

"Are you kidding me?" The first creature bellowed. "This place would fall apart if that moron were in charge!"

"Maybe the old Grim Reaper should be in charge." Suggested a small worm-like creature. Apparently, no one else shared his viewpoint and he was pummeled by the surrounding crowd.

Grim and Mandy stared wide-eyed at what was happening in front of them. They both stood still, each one had their arm still extended forward.

"Billy may be an idiot, but at least he isn't a conniving little dictator!" Was the retort of yet another creature.

"He made me clean his toes everyday!" A hovering demon screamed. "I can't even eat anymore…" The demon clutched it's face and began to sob, while other demons came over to comfort him.

Every creature in the Underworld began to take sides on the issue of who should rule the Underworld. Demons, bodyguards, and many other creatures formed two separate groups that hurled insults and threats at each other. Within seconds, two factions had formed; one supporting Mandy and the other one supporting Billy.

The opposing factions edged closer, their bickering becoming louder with each step forward. Each side chanted one last 'All hail Billy/Mandy!' before charging into each other.

Lines of advancing creatures collided together as the battle began. Minotaurs plunged their spears deep into the mass of fighting creatures while lumbering trolls crushed their foes with large clubs. The vast majority of creatures without weapons used their teeth, claws, and fists to maim one another.

Grim, Billy, and Mandy were pushed aside as the fighting intensified. They all tried to dodge the wounded demons that fell from above. Grim watched one demon's slow descent from a stalactite on the ceiling to a pool of magma on the ground. The demon sizzled the moment he touched the fiery liquid.

Meanwhile, the fighting between the creatures of the Underworld had appeared to wake Hoss Delgado from his stupor. The glazed look in his eyes disappeared and he shook his head vigorously. His muscles bulged as he tried to break free from the rope tied around him. In a few seconds the rope was ripped to pieces and Hoss was free. He attached his chainsaw to his right hand and jumped right into the middle of the battle. The roar of his weapon could be heard above everything else as he swung it in every direction, dismembering any creature that got too close to him.

Cerberus was the last one to join the melee. All three of the dog's heads plunged into the multitude of creatures and brought up a mouthful of demons as more of them were trampled by his paws. One of the dog's paw was about to do the same to Billy and Mandy, but Grim instinctively pulled them out of way and saved them from harm.

"Thanks, Grim!" Billy exclaimed with a huge smile. It was evident by the scowl on Mandy's face that she wasn't as grateful as Billy was.

Billy, Mandy, and Grim had been watching the Underworld civil war for hours and it didn't show any sign of stopping. Mandy and Grim appeared to be utterly bored as they rested their heads against a boulder and stared vacantly ahead. Billy held a large bucket full of popcorn in his arms, his face already covered in butter and bits of kernel.

"We all knew this would happen eventually." Mandy said dully.

Grim nodded his head in agreement, but kept his eyes in front of him. It looked like all three of them were watching TV in Billy's living room instead of an epic, supernatural battle.

"I don't want to be ruler of a dump like this." Mandy said as she stood up. "Especially if I'm not the most powerful being in the Universe." She looked up as she finished speaking, though it was impossible to see the sky through the miles of rock that formed the ceiling.

Billy wiped the butter off his mouth (splattering most of it on Grim's robe) and jumped to his feet, "Yeah, it was getting boring around here anyway."

Grim's face brightened up at the sound of those words, "Really? I can be the Grim Reaper again?" He stood up, but ducked down again to avoid being hit by a demon that had been thrown in his direction.

"If that's what you want." Mandy replied. "I don't really care what you do." She hadn't intended to make Grim happy, it was something she didn't normally do.

Grim squealed with delight, "Did ya here that Jody? We got our old job back!"

Mandy massaged her temples as Grim continued to hug and kiss his scythe.

Grim brought his scythe away from his mouth and cleared his throat, "I would thank you two, if you weren't the ones who stole my job in the first place." There was some resentment in Grim's voice, but he quickly relaxed. He was the Reaper again and that's all that mattered.

"Don't think I'm doing you a favor, bonehead." Mandy snapped. "I just didn't want to spend eternity with Billy."

They all ignored the battle a few yards away from them as they walked towards the Underworld gate. They had almost reached the exit when one demon realized that they were trying to leave.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" The demon yelled, causing Billy, Mandy, and Grim to turn around.

The demon was loud enough that the entire Underworld could hear him and the other creatures immediately stopped killing each other (with the exception of Hoss, who was still slaughtering demons in the background). Many of them were missing limbs or eyes, but they didn't worry about those injuries. The only thing they cared about was why their leaders were trying to escape.

"The kids have resigned as reapers of the Underworld." Grim proudly announced. "They don't want any part in this."

The demon snickered, "Yeah right. Why should we believe you anyway? I would like to hear your explanation for why the great and all-powerful Billy and Mandy would suddenly decide to call it quits."

"He doesn't need to explain anything." Mandy said as she threw her scythe to the ground. "We quit."

A shocked murmur ran through the crowd as they turned their eye(s) toward Mandy's scythe, which had begun to vibrate. A yellow glow emitted from the weapon before it disintegrated in a burst of smoke. The same happen to Billy's scythe, which he still held in his hand. He cringed as the scythe exploded and covered him in the dust that it left behind.

A dark red glow, similar to the one from Billy and Mandy's initiation ceremony, surrounded them until the entire area was colored blood red. Strong gusts of wind appeared out of nowhere as green flames erupted from the floor of solid rock. Grim looked around nervously as a sudden earthquake began to create large cracks in the walls and cause rocks to fall from above. All of this ended with a flash of bright lightening, which struck the two reapers and stripped them of their powers.

The white light faded, revealing Billy and Mandy, whose robes had been taken and replaced with their regular clothes. Billy quickly adjusted his red hat, which sat lopsided on his head.

Grim rose to three times his normal height, casting a dark shadow over the other creatures. He let out a deep, sinister laugh while flames kicked up around his feet. He could feel strength return to his bones as he looked down at his minions.

"That's much better." He said as he lowered himself down.

Grim looked up at Cerberus and gave him a nod. Cerberus apparently understood Grim's gesture and gladly shook off the machine strapped to his back. The machine tumbled off his shoulders and landed in a pit of magma, much to Mandy's chagrin. She watched as her precious invention slowly sunk into the bright red liquid before forming a pool of melted steel.

"Don't worry about those Grim Reaper tattoos, they wash off with water." Grim said to Billy and Mandy.

"We already know." Mandy replied. "We found that out when Billy accidentally licked his off." Billy opened his mouth and pointed to the dark, skull-shaped smudge on the tip of his tongue.

Grim stared at the smudge for a moment before turning towards the grouping of creatures, "I want all of you to listen up! From now on, ever last one of you is going to treat me with respect!"

"Ummm….no, we're still going to make fun of you behind your back." One of the demons replied.

Grim angrily mumbled a string of inaudible words, before turning his back on the crowd. They had never respected him anyway, even before he met Billy and Mandy.

"Let's just go home." Grim said with a frown as he continued walking to the gates. At least everything seemed back to normal.

Hoss Delgado was still fighting demons while all this was happening and he hadn't been paying attention. He grabbed one demon by the neck while he sawed another creature in half with his chainsaw. Something caused him to turn around and notice Grim and his 'friends' right after he had uttered another corny one-liner. He threw the choking demon against a boulder and jumped in front of them just as they approached the gate.

"What do you want now, Hoss?" Grim asked drowsily. He felt too tired to yell or get angry.

"I told you I was keeping my eyes on you…" Hoss growled as he pointed his finger (errr…chainsaw) at the Reaper.

He charged forward, causing Grim to recoil fearfully. Instead of attacking, he handed Grim a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Grim asked in confusion.

"I'm taking you to court, pal." Hoss answered.

"To court? What did I do?"

"Everything you need to know is on that piece of paper." Hoss quickly explained before turning his attention back over to the top half of the demon he had sliced in two. "I see you trying to crawl away, you little devil monkey!" (tee hee. Devil monkey) He ran towards the screaming demon before Grim could ask another question.

"What's it say, Grim?" Billy asked excitedly as he tugged on Grim's robe. Mandy also looked curious.

Grim's eyes bulged after he finished reading the paper, "I'M BEING CHARGED WITH CHILD MOLESTATION!"

Oh man, Grim's being charged with child molestation. What does this mean? It means frogman ran out of ideas and had to make up some stupid crap so the story would be longer. That's what it means. So, yeah…that's why the story is going to be rated T. Like I said earlier, I may be overreacting, but I think this story deserves the teen rating. Unless you don't find anything inappropriate about the Grim Reaper going to court for child molestation. If you don't think it is, well, you're entitled to your own opinion.

Why'd I do it? I came up with the idea quite some time ago and I thought it was at least somewhat humorous. In my opinion this story was the best place to put it. Anyway, this isn't the last chapter, you've probably already guessed that. I thought chapter nine would be much shorter than usual, but it turns out it isn't (which I think is a good thing). This story will be concluded with the next chapter.

HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHA ONE MORE CHAP-TAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Thanks for reading.