CoCo

Chapter 24

The fall down into the dark abyss seemed eternal. Their entire lives flashed before their eyes. They were so filled with terror. Their vision started to blur, but they refused to lose consciousness, fearing that they would never wake again.

The nightmare fall had ended. They had hit rock bottom. Surprisingly, the landing did not hurt. The trio lay there face down on the floating rock platform they had landed on. Conker was first to stir. He lifted his hand and looked around. He recognized this place. They had made it to Hell.

"This is it, guys," Conker said, shaking CoCo and Kriplespac. "This is the place."

CoCo and Krip stood up and looked around in awe.

"So, vhere is ze Grim Reaper?" Kriplespac asked.

"I'm right here!" said a familar high-pitched voice. Gregg emerged from the darkness. CoCo and Kriplespac were not sure what to think of him. They did not expect the Grim Reaper to be so short and to have that kind of voice.

Gregg immediatley recognized Conker.

"Oh, no, not you!" Gregg complained. "How many times do I have to tell you to piss off!" Gregg turned his attention to CoCo and Krip. "And who are those two idiots?"

Conker approached Gregg. "They are my friends."

"Hmmm, hard to believe that you actually have friends," Gregg said. "And how did you pricks get down here anyway? None of you are dead."

"It's a long story," Conker said.

"Well, whatever," Gregg snorted. "What do you want? Why are you here? And make it quick, I'm kinda busy."

"I came here to see my girlfriend, Berri," Conker said.

"You have a girlfriend?" Gregg laughed. "I can't believe a greedy bastard like you is able to find a girlfriend. She must have been really stupid! If you're looking for her down here, then she must have desered to die!"

"Shut up!" Conker shouted, very angry. "She is not stupid and don't you dare say that she deserved to die! It was my fault she died, and I've come to get her back. Let me see her now!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Gregg said. "What did you say her name was? Berri?" Gregg pulled out an ancient book. "I have lots of Berris listed here in my Death Records. How did she die?"

"She was shot to death," Conker said. "She was shot to death by an asshole named Don Weaso. He shot her like 50 times."

Gregg looked in his records. "Oh yes, I remember her." He snapped his bony fingers and the apparition of Berri appeared.

"Berri!" Conker exclaimed and he ran towards. He jumped, attempting to glomp her, but he fell right through her. Gregg laughed at Conker's failure.

Conker quickly got back on his feet.

"Oh Conker, I missed you!" Berri's ghost said.

"I missed you too, babe," Conker said back to her. He looked into her ghostly eyes. They shared a quiet tender moment.

"Okay, visitation time is over," said Gregg, clapping his hands. "Go home, now."

"No, wait!" Conker said. "I've come to bring her back to life."

"You what?" Gregg said, his jaw literally dropping his shock. He picked it up and put it back on. "What makes you think that I'm gonna let that happen?"

"I've collected all these tails," Conker said. He pulled a bundle of them out of his pocket. "Can I trade these in for her life?"

Gregg laughed loudly. "No, no, no, no," He chuckled. "It doesn't work that way. You see, I made that deal for you only. Those tails only work for you. You can't just use them to bring back other people." He laughed some more. "Just how stupid are you?'

"Well, can't you give Berri the same deal you gave me?" Conker insisted.

"Um, hello, she doesn't have a tail, dumbass," Gregg spat. "And besides, she was shot 50 times. You said it yourself. I bet that even you don't have enough tails to make up for a death like that. She is dead. Permanantly dead."

"C'mon, Gregg, please!" Conker begged. "I killed all those zombies for you! And Count Conkula! Doesn't that help anything? Please! You've gotta bring her back! There must be some other way!"

Gregg thought about it. "Well, I suppose there is a way..."

"What is it?" Conker asked. "Please tell me!"

Gregg nodded. "You must trade in another life to bring back Berri's life. The life of an-"

"Oh, that'll be so easy!" Conker interuppted. "I'll just kill Don Weaso!"

"No! You didn't let me finish!" Gregg snapped. "It must be the life of an innocent. It has to be a sacrifice. Killing Don Weaso is an act of revenge and is not powerful enough to bring back Berri. No, it must someone who is innocent and somebody that you are not willing to give up! It has got to be the ultimate sacrifice!"

Conker thought about it. "Hmmm, I don't know any innocent people...I would gladly give up anybody for the life of Berri."

"Well, then allow me to make a suggestion," Gregg said. "If I brought Berri back to life, would you plan on having children with her?"

The question make Conker blush. He wringed his tail and kicked the dirt. He looked up at Berri's ghost. Her eyes sparkled.

"Well, I...I...uh...Yes actually," Conker said, bashfully.

"Good," Gregg snickered. "I'll bring Berri back to life, but you must do one thing for me in return."

"Anthing!" Conker said.

"You will have a child with Berri and you will sell your child's soul to me."

"What?!" Conker and Berri said in unison.

"I didn't say that this was going to be easy!" Gregg giggled. "Allow me to explain..." He got out an ancient projector and his demo movie projected itself on the rock wall. Gregg waddled over to it. "You see, bringing Berri back to life is not going to be a walk in the park. In exchange, I want your child's soul. Now, this does not mean your child will die when born. It means that your child become my personal servant. It will wander the earth forever, collecting damned souls and doing the devil's dirty work. This child will be incapable of feeling any emotions, except for hate and anger. Your child will not love you, no matter how much you care for it. It will not care about you, either. It will stay with you long enough until it is able make it on its own. It will become angsty and fercious. One day, it will rebel against. When this happens, you must let it go. Do not try to stop it. It may kill you. Your child will come to me, and I will give it its first task." Gregg showed them images of a seemingly innocent baby squirrel becoming a monster. In the demo, the demon squirrel is shown killing its parents. This greatly distrubed Conker and Berri. Especially Berri.

"Also, there is more," Gregg continued. "The birth of this child will curse your family. Forever."

"What kind of curse?" Conker asked.

"It depends," Gregg said, yawing. "It all depends on how the child decides to torture you. It could be a curse of eternal itchiness..." He showed them an image of miserable-looking squirrels scratching themselves until they bled. "Or it could be eternal hunger or thirst..." Another disturbing image showed starved squirrels. "Or it could possibly some sort of sadistic thing they make up...Like making your eyeballs bleed everytime you see the colour red." He showed them a graphic image of blood spewing out of the eyes of an unfortunate squirrel.

Conker could not take it anymore. "Spirit! Show me no more!" He exclaimed. "I cannot bear to think that my child would do such a thing!"

Gregg turned off the projector. "Very well. But there is one more thing I should tell you. This child will cripple Berri's reproductive system after it is born. You will not be able to have another child together. In the end, this child will be the death of you both. When your time comes, it will deliver your souls to me."

Conker did not know what to do. It was a difficult decision to make.

"Conker, honey, don't do it!" Berri warned. "It is not worth it! Please, promise that you will, like, live your life without me." Her ghostly hand touched his cheek. "You are a strong, brave squirrel. Don't mourn over me. One day, we will, like, be together again. I love you."

Conker nodded. "I love you, too. Okay, I won't do it."

"Wait!" CoCo blurted. She and Kriplespac had been quiet this whole time. Her sudden outburst made everyone jump. All eyes turned to her. "I am already pregnant, take my baby instead!"

"What?!" Conker, Berri and Kriplespac said in unison.

Kriplespac grabbed his wife's arm. "Vhat are you doing?" He whispered to her.

But, CoCo ignored him and shrugged him off. She approached Gregg.

"I want to sacrifice my unborn child's soul in order to bring Berri back." She stated firmly.

"Hmmmm..." Gregg thought about it. "Well, I suppose that would work. A mother sacrificing her own child to revive a friend...Now that is the ultimate sacrifice!"

"CoCo! You don't have to do this!" Conker shouted.

"Yes, I do!" CoCo insisted. "Conker, you and Berri were the only two friends I ever had. You two were always there for me, you stood up for me. You were the bestest friends anybody could ever ask for. I loved you two more than I loved my own family. You were like the brother and sister I never had. I envied you. Everything seemed to work out so perfectly for both of you. I wanted what you had. And, eventually I did get what I wanted. I have a loving husband and a son. But now, the tables have turned. Conker, you lost everything that was dear to you. As you friend, I feel that I should return the favour. You helped me all those years ago. Let me help you. This is my way of saying thank you."

"But vhat about me?" Kriplespac cried. "Don't I get a say in zis?"

CoCo looked at her upset husband. She wrapped her arms around him. He started to say something, but she put a finger over his lips.

"Shhh, I know what you're thinking," CoCo whispered in his ear. "This is crazy and absurd. But I must repay the debt I owe to my friends. I know that you have lived a full life and that you want to settle down to a peaceful family. You and me have been through a lot together. We can handle whatever this demon baby throws at us. Please understand." She kissed him gently on the cheek. Kriplespac was speechless, but he did not say a word. He respected CoCo's honor to her friends. He gave her the nod of approval.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Conker asked.

CoCo nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. You deserve a second chance." With a stern look on her face, CoCo nodded to Gregg. He pulled out a scroll. It was a contract.

"Just sign here," Gregg said, pointing to a blank line at the bottom of the contract. "Hey, you need to sign this, too." He was talking to Kriplespac. Krip joined CoCo and signed the contract. Once they had both signed it, the contract burst into flames. Gregg snapped his bony fingers and Berri ceased to be a ghost. She was back in her own flesh and blood. She reached out and held Conker's hand. Conker almost cried with joy. It had been a long time since he held her hand.

"Okay, that's done and over with," Gregg blurted. "Now piss off!" A portal had appeared. The two happy couples took each others' hands and walked towards the portal.

"Bloody squirrels are more bloody trouble than the bloody cats are," Gregg mumbled as they exited.

The four friends stepped out onto the grassy fields of Windy. It was a glorious sunny day. Berri was very happy to be able to breath again.

"CoCo, what you did back there was truly honorable," Conker said. "I promise that I will never take advantage of life again. I realize now that life is precious. I don't ever want to lose the people who I care about ever again. I promise to be a more responsible squirrel. Thank you so much."

"Yes, thank you, CoCo," Berri said with a smile. "We are, like, so grateful."

CoCo blushed. "You're welcome."

"Now, who is up for a celebration at my - i mean - our place!" Conker said, cuddling Berri's leg. They all laughed and headed up to King Conker's castle to share a good time together.