Shun

I was taken aback by Dan's sudden scream and stared at him, not knowing what had come over my friend. He was still curled up and holding his sides, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Tears were starting to flow freely from my friend's eyes and he looked up at me and the two Reapers that were accompanying me. "I-I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't-" he was only able to stutter out half of his sentence before he lowered his head and started to cry.

Grim tapped his fingers together and walked over to Dan, throwing his cloak over my friend's shaking shoulders. "What's wrong with him?" I asked Death, confused as to why Dan was like this. Death glanced down at Rogue, who was still sitting on the ground and unable to do anything, and let out a sigh.

"I was able to see when your friend showed up that he was under the influence under Rogue's control. And with that kind of power being put on a new Reaper, there's no telling what kind of psychological damage it did." My eyes shifted from Death to Dan.

Grim was trying to help calm him down, but with each advancement, Dan flinched back and away from the older Reaper. A sudden resentment towards Rogue started to build up inside of me. He had done this to Dan, damaged him and turned him into something that he was not, nor was ever supposed to be.

I found myself holding an injury on my left arm; it had been inflicted on me by Dan while he was under Rogue's command. Grim left Dan's side and joined Death and I. He told us, "It looks like all of Rogue's control over him has worn off since we subdued that psychopath."

Grim cut a look towards the chained Reaper, who, in turn, spit on the ground in front of us. All Grim did was narrow his eyes at the Reaper, and turn back to us.

Death placed a hand on my shoulder and told me, "He'll be fine. When we take Rogue in to the Council, I will also take your friend and inform them of his condition. From there, they'll start repairing the damage done to him from Rogue's power, and instruct him on how to be proper and true Reaper, seeing as that is the world he's been sucked into now."

Death then began to explain to me what exactly made Dan and 'illegal' Reaper. It had to do with the fact that he wasn't supposed to die, along with the fact that he wasn't given a choice, but forced to become one by Rogue. Also, Rogue was not one of the few Reapers that were allowed by the Council to turn the deceased into Reapers.

Grim gave me one of his twisted smiles and said, "Your friend will be better in no time, little Reaper." I knew that they were telling the truth, but it still bothered me that this happened. Did it have something to do with one of the arguments that we had? If it did, then I was the reason that Dan left the mansion and fell into Rogue's hands.

I bit my lower lip, then sighed. Blaming myself wasn't going to help anyone, so I decided it was best to push those thoughts out of my mind, and just be thankful that things hadn't turned out worse. I then started to walk towards Dan and stood in front of him.

He looked up at me, tear-stained eyes that could have only belonged to somebody that was damaged. "I-I sorry, Shun. I-I d-didn't mean t-to hurt anyone. I didn't w-want any of t-this!" he shouted and started to cry again. I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

There was no telling what all Rogue had made him do. I extended my hand out to Dan. His watery eyes found their way back up to me, then to my hand. I smiled sadly and said, "I know. Now, get up." Dan sat there for another minute or so, then took my offered hand so I could help him up to his feet.

He pulled the cloak that Grim had put on him tighter, as if shielding himself from the cold that didn't exist. I walked back over to Grim and Death with Dan following behind me, and asked a question that had been troubling me for a while now.

"What about Alice? You haven't taken her soul yet, right, Death?" I wasn't going to protest the taking of her soul any longer. Death had told me that it was painful for a soul to stay trapped in its body after death. And if it was never removed, then the soul would escape and have no choice but to wander around Earth with no cause.

I didn't want this for Alice, no matter how much it pained me to know that she'd be gone. Since the initial shock of her soul being taken away had worn off a while ago, I was ready to come to terms with what was planned out from the first day of her life, maybe even before.

"That's right. She almost slipped my mind. We better get a move on and collect her soul," the Reaper said flatly while brushing a lock of his shaggy, brown hair out of his face. Dan's eyes had widened, and they began to dart between Death and I. "Wait? What? Alice is….Dead? How!" he snapped and grabbed a hold of the collar of Death's shirt.

Grim shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "Bad idea." Death narrowed his eyes down at Dan, and I quickly stepped in before things got out of control. "Alice was supposed to die today, and I was the one supposed to Reap her soul. But I refused and Death has been trying to get to her all night," I informed him.

Dan looked as if I had just slapped him in the face. "Alice can't be dead!" he snapped. "There's got to be something that one of you can do! Turn her into a Reaper if you have to!" he shouted at Death. I stared at Dan in disbelief. "You can't possibly really want that for her?" I asked. "It's not a way of life that she would want."

Dan ran a hand through his hair. Perhaps he wasn't thinking clear after all that he had been through the past couple of hours, so I wasn't holding anything against him. Death crossed his arms over his chest and said, "He's right. Besides, if I were to turn her into a Reaper, she'd be an illegal Reaper, since she died when she was supposed to. If I were to commit such an act, I'd be no different than that low-life over there."

He motioned towards Rogue with his eyes. Grim then began to snicker, which slowly turned into a mad laughter. Dan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wh-what's so funny?" Grim held up his index finger and purred, "There is one thing that might be done for the little ginger."

Death closed his eyes and said firmly, "No. We're not going to do that, Grim." My interest was now stirred, and I asked, "Wait? Do what? What are you two talking about?" Death sighed and was about to tell me, but Grim jumped in and spoke instead.

"You both died before your time, meaning that there should be your remaining time left in something like cold storage. Take that, and give it to the ginger girl, and she'd have however much time the donor had left. But when that time runs out, there's nothing else that can be done for her," Grim said with a wide smile while twisting a lock of his dirty and blood-matted hair.

What I could gather from what Grim just told us, whatever days I had left, could have been given to Alice in the form of new life. I then faced Death and asked, "Why can't you do that? Tell me!" The Reaper cut a cold glare towards Grim, who only waved in return.

"In the eyes of the Council, she'd be considered as deceased, meaning that her records would be stamped as completed. If she were to receive the remainder of your life, whatever happens after it's given to her, will never go down in the books, making it like they never happen. And among other things, it's just a huge and complicated hassle to go through. Also," he hissed and turned to look at Grim.

"The Council informed us years ago that we were not to let anyone know about this little exception to the rule so Reapers wouldn't start giving their remaining years to loved ones. We can't afford people coming back after death. It would gather too much attention in some aspects."

Grim snaked his way up to Death and poked his arm with a blackened fingernail. "Aw, now, Death. Don't ya think you could make this one exception for the little Reaper? He just doesn't want to lose his friend. I'm sure you've been in this boat as well."

Death narrowed his eyes at the older Reaper, and I could see that a nerve had been struck. I took a step forward and looked Death right in his eyes. "Please. This one time. It's all I ask. Give her whatever's left of the years I had. Please, Death."

Normally, I would have hated sounding like I was begging and desperate, but these were different measures. There was a chance that we could have Alice for a little while longer, get to hear her sing-song voice another day, and be graced by caring and concern when it was needed most.

Death sighed and said, "Fine. But this is the absolute only time I'm allowing this. Grim, if you ever utter this to anyone ever again, I'll-" Grim cut the Reaper off mid-sentence and said, "But, Death, there's a bit of a problem we must first see to. It's the small matter that the little Reaper has no days left."

My eyes widened, and I turned to meet his gaze. "What? Why don't I have any days left?" I asked, confusion and anger starting to form inside.

How could I not have any days leftover? Grim placed one of his long fingernails on his lower lip and said smoothly, "You see, the days are good until the day that you are supposed to die for real. After that, they run out. Probably should have mentioned this earlier. So, let's say a Reaper would have lived seven years if he had not met an untimely death. When he reaches the day he was meant to die, those days are no longer good."

I stood there, utterly dumbfounded. "When….When was I supposed to die then?" I asked, hoping that they'd give me my answer and not tell me it was some kind of classified information.

Grim intertwined his fingers together and said, "You were supposed to die in the subway on the day of that train shooting. You were going to get into a fight with your friend over there, and decided to leave and go back home, but could not since your car was meant to break down earlier in the week instead of being totaled in that wreck. Thus, you were to board the train when the gunman appeared, and die from a bullet wound."

His lips curved up into a twisted smile when he said, "I know this because I was the one that was going to Reap your soul that day. I heard all of the moments of your death. But, as you can see, you didn't die when and how you were supposed to. So, here we are!"

He clapped his hands together and jumped up. I wasn't sure how I should have taken this news, but it didn't matter now. I had already died, and had been given a new life because of how I met my end. What was really important, was figuring out how to give Alice her life back.

Dan took a step forward and said, "What about me? Do I have any days left that I could give Alice? I mean….I feel like it's the least I could do, after all that I have done." Death and Grim exchanged a look at each other. "You had more than plenty of years left when you died. In fact, you were meant to live a long life," Death said in his monotone voice.

Dan took in a deep breath and said, "Then give Alice my remaining days. It's not like I need them anymore." Death nodded. "If you're sure, then when we go back to the Council, I'll make the needed arrangements. In fact, we need to get going now."

Death's scythe appeared in his hands, and he swung to blade, tearing open a portal. Inside, I saw the castle that housed the Reaper Council. Grim's eyes lit up with the sight, and he jumped through the portal without a second thought. Death then motioned for Dan to go through.

My friend hesitated for a moment, then started towards the portal. Before going through, he turned to me and said, "Wish me luck, buddy." I smiled sadly and nodded. He then vanished through the portal.

Death, holding Rogue by a chain connected to his restraints, said to me, "You're lucky, you know that, Reaper? I suggest you stay here. If you show up in front of the Council, they'll realize that you escaped."

I told Death that I was aware of that, and watched as he went through the portal and pulled Rogue along behind him. I stood there for a moment, then gathered my thoughts and went to find the hospital Alice had been taken to.

chapter title based off the song Funeral Song by The Rasmus. decided i'd go ahead and update this one since i'm a bit stuck on my zombie fic (i know what will happen, it's just transitioning into it). so, read, review, and other things. ~Copperpelt~