Hey~o! It's October, how about a little Grim Tales?

The veritable guillotine had been hanging over them all through the night. He noted that Minnie kept an especially tight hold of him whilst they laid together, her sleep troubled by brief nightmares. By the time his alarm went off, Junior had gotten maybe an hour of actual rest. His sister did him the courtesy of sleeping in an extra half an hour, confining him to the bed.

They weren't in a hurry to start the day. The pair dragged themselves to Junior's bathroom – Minnie having packed most of her "essentials" into the now shared space – mulled about their morning preparations, and then they just sort of stood staring at the door to the hallway, noting the visible crack running down the lower middle of the barrier.

Their mother had said she'd "speak" to them at breakfast. It was not a talk they were looking forward to.

After five solid minutes of glaring at the threshold, Junior finally turned the knob and swung the thing open.

They took another two minutes looking silently at the wall on the far side of the hallway…

The actual trip to the dining room was somewhat of a trek. Not just because the castle was a massive maze of long corridors, but also because they'd mistakenly gone to the more "modest" space used for "family sit-downs." One of the skeleton guards had swiftly corrected them, directing the duo towards the more lavish hall where guests were typically received. This drew a sharp intake of air from Minnie and lead to her brother having to walk her to their destination hand in hand.

For this, she would forgive her mother of one past transgression…

The "Grand" Hall was a cavernous space rife with Gothic architecture. Pretty typical of the castle itself, lots of embellished forms, dark surfaces, and plenty of pointed bits decorating the room. The one bit of true color in the hall was the crimson, gold trimmed rug that spanned the length of the room, running directly under the long, oaken table that dominated the center.

Peeking into the room, the siblings were treated to a… shockingly-but-not-shockingly sparse setting of dining utensils. Considering this was a venue meant to entertain over two dozen people being used to host a mere four, the scene was numerically to be expected. But considering this was likely something orchestrated by their mother, having a grand feast presented purely for the sake of appearances was a rather anticipated outcome. As it was, there were simply two seats adjacent to each other, sitting at the near end of the long table, a pair of plates and their associated utensils resting before them.

A bit further along the length of the dark counter, still closer to them than the far end of the table, was a massive, covered dish. It must have been at least big enough for Junior to fit completely inside of it; Minnie likely could – and would probably be happy to – squeeze herself into the space with him. Both of the children couldn't help but lock their gazes onto the shining steel dome, a touch of warning tickling the back of their minds.

"Good morning you two."

Mandy sat at the far end of the hall, the opposite head of the table. She was still clad in some periwinkle sleepwear that left very little to the imagination, mainly by the virtue of being essentially see through. Her lack of bra was blatantly on display. That neither of her children reacted spoke less of an inability to see over the distance between them and more to the utter lack of shame their mother showed on a daily basis. She pitched a pale blue cup of steaming liquid, definitely coffee, to her lips for a long sip.

The Grim Reaper stood just to her left, half an arm's length behind the back of her seat. The personification of Death stood straight and tall, his imposing size towering over his seated spouse. His arms were crossed behind his back, the curved blade of his signature scythe jutting out, notably to the side opposite his wife. A blank expression covered his pale features.

Junior had a sinking feeling that settled firmly above his pelvis, where he assumed most beings kept a stomach. Minnie's grip on his glove clad hand increased to near painful levels, but any nervousness she felt hardly showed on her face. She had a lot of practice keeping up that stoic mask.

The sister marched forth, affecting a confident nonchalance. Junior did his best to match, the image slightly miffed when he stumbled across the scarlet rug. Grim's muffled chuckles echoed briefly through the massive space, Minnie re-balancing her brother's fumble with seamless poise. They reached their seats in quick order.

"Mother. Father. Good morning."

"Yeah, mornin'."

Mandy rolled her eyes at their obvious show of "enthusiasm." Grim merely nodded in greeting, his jaw curving into an easy smile. Junior took up his fork and knife, laying his arms across the table as he flatly stared down his mother on the opposite end. The Bitch Queen eyed him back, leering over the rim of her cup with nary a care for her son's distaste. Minnie kept her gaze low, centered on her plate with an occasional glance towards her brother.

Silence persisted for about a minute before Junior's lack of patience got the better of him. "Are the servers not gonna come and make a plate for us?"

Their mother blinked at the question, then kind of drifted her cup towards the covered tray in the middle of the dining table. "You're food is already prepared, you'll be making your own plates today."

Junior growled in irritation, scanning the sheer expanse of space between their chairs and the middle of the table. His sister looked a little put off as well, though her gaze was now held on Mandy herself. Their mother simply took another draw of her morning beverage.

As Junior grumbled a string of complaints and childish insults, making to jump out of his chair and make the journey to the center of the long table, Mandy threw up her free palm in a halting gesture. The son of Death almost ignored the command, years of compliance to his parents causing his steps to stumble instead. He paused as the Queen of the Underworld began to speak.

"Don't bother getting up, your meal will be more than happy to come to you."

The look of "what-the-fuck" etched across the skeleton boy's features quickly fell to abrupt shock as the rounded lid of the enormous dining tray burst from its resting. More pressingly, it came careening straight for him.

Minnie tore a chunk out of the table as she erupted from her seat, lunging across the wooden surface and lashing out with a swift sweep of the arm. Brackish tendrils surged through her flesh, quickly forming into a broad blade that clattered against the polished steel of the platter cover. Junior hopped up onto the table behind her as the rounded lid was knocked towards the corner of the dining hall.

And then Minnie, quite literally, got egg on her face. The fried yellow substance splattered against her features in an obnoxious spray, the force enough to stagger her stance. She was taken similarly off guard by a follow-up blast of home fries and a single length of charred sausage whapping into her forehead.

Junior got a look at their assailant from around his sister's frame and-

"What is that? What is that!? What in the Hell is that!?"

He would have gone on if not for the slab of ham that slapped him right across the mouth.

What pulled itself from the serving dish by four of its "adjustable limbs" was an abomination of breakfast proportions. The yolk yellow creature was an amorphous mass made mostly of the fried, scrambled food. From its various limbs, the writhing entree clawed its way across the long table with gnarled claws made of blackened sausage. Several gaping orifices opened and closed across its body, the chewing maws marked by jagged strips of burned bacon that served as teeth. Bubbling vocalizations that could be taken as either barks of wrath or pleas for release intertwined in mind numbing cacophony.

But perhaps the most hideous aspect of this creature was what it represented. It was a messed up breakfast. … what kind of witless, mad animal managed to mess up breakfast!?

A pair of the "mouths" facing the siblings opened wide and launched a barrage of charred tater tots towards them. Junior tackled his sister out of the way as the storm of starch barreled through. A few struck the table and dug actual grooves out of the thick wood. The young skeleton popped to his feet, summoning his scythe in a wide slash that parted an eggy arm reaching for the duo.

A set of daggers stabbed into the Eggbomination, their hilts formed from slithering tendrils and dark scales, the steel holding a notable jade gleam. Minnie's left arm flashed forth, shooting a third knife into one of the mouths. The entire beast quaked upon impact, squealing from the sudden rush of agony. In her right hand, Minnie grip tightened around the handle of her saber.

Junior tore past her side, his weapon trailing behind him as the living breakfast focused all its rage upon the young reaper. He sent two quick slashes into the set of sausage tipped limbs stretching towards him. The third arm saved him the trouble and detached itself, the "fist" rocketing towards him too quickly for the boy to avoid.

Minnie swung in front of her brother, slicing the scrambled missile to pieces. The Eggbomination's fourth strike, arcing down from above, caught the blonde right across her brow. Her skull was wrenched downward from the impressive force, her vision going black for the briefest of moments.

But Minnie didn't resist this. In fact, she went with the momentum, collapsing forward in a practiced motion. As the girl sunk into a forward roll, Junior vaulted clear over her, both palms on the shaft of his weapon. A slab of grease laden ham smashed into his left shin, nearly knocking his feet out from under him. A few awkward skips kept him moving, a sloppy twirl dodging a javelin like straight with sausage knuckles. Junior sprinted closer, clearing the distance in three steps, his scythes blade carving through the tabletop in his wake.

The Eggbomination unleashed a final chorus of howls as the Prince of Death dragged his blade up through the table and into the breakfast mass. It fell silent as the reaper's scythe cleaved its form neatly in twine. The beast's body stayed steady for a moment longer before deflating like a punctured parade float.

Minnie stomped into frame right beside her sibling, sword raised and gaze hard. Her glowing emeralds flared hot as she stepped in front of Junior, watching the parted monster for any further activity.

Slow clapping drew the boy's attention to the far side of the dining hall. Their mother sat lazily against the high back of her seat, sluggishly applauding the "display" she had just borne witness to. There wasn't so much as a hint of emotion on her face, her expression leaning heaviest towards boredom if anything.

Grim was reserved but did little to hide a satisfied smirk. He stepped back from his wife's chair, turning towards her and presenting the kids with a side profile. Mandy pitched her seat back, standing whilst maintaining her unenthused applause.

"Satisfactory," the Bitch Queen intoned, strafing out and moving towards her husband. The claps ended as she linked arms with Death, the black robed figure staring stoically into the shadows as Mandy turned back to her children, "but I expect improvement. Rapidly. Next time won't be so generous."

This dragged Minnie's glare off the "finished meal" and onto her mother. Her beaming emeralds joined Junior's pitch black stare in a united front against the woman. Mandy rolled her eyes, a bit of humor shining through as Grim began to lead her towards the hall's exit. Partway through, their mother perked up and tossed out one last comment.

"And next time we share a meal, please finish your food."

Junior's hand shot up, fingers splayed in that "the hell you talkin' about" gesture. He was utterly unprepared to have his ankle wrapped in sausage digits and his weight yanked out from under him. Minnie let loose a bestial snarl as one half of the bisected Eggbomination hoisted her brother up into the air. She backpedaled swiftly as the other half snatched at her all along her body, saber flying as she worked to cut herself free.

The frankly childish chortles escaping Mandy, muted as they may be, only broadened Grim's smile. Husband and wife marched through the main doors of the room, not looking back as the portal swung shut and the renewed sounds of combat faded into the background.

Wow, a brief fight sequence. If you've ever read some of my other works, you know how foreign that is to me. Working on making my action scenes less bloated.

But yeah, a small taste of our budding dynamic duo fighting back to back. Well, mostly Minnie covering for Junior so he can get in range to do damage. Gotta start somewhere, young skelly-boy.

The whole thing with the Eggbomination (love that name more than I have any right to) is based on a "life lesson" imparted to me by my mother: any "diner" that fucks up breakfast needs to be shut down. Really… how? How!? The hell do you fuck up eggs!?

I also just really wanted something that amounted to a literal food fight. Basic… but enjoyable.

The first of many tests issued by Mandy. Yeah, this is the kind of person who messes up breakfast… She is certainly having a spot of fun here taking her children to task as such. I suppose it is an improvement from shooting and then garroting your daughter then using misdirection to sabotage your children's familial bonds. With the Queen of the Underworld, you take whatever progress you can get.

Grim stands by much the same way he does in canon. He's definitely the softer parent in the household and would rather see his kids be kids, but he also understands the need for harsh lessons given the general atmosphere of the Underworld. Here, I like to think he's a tad more at ease with Mandy's "re-direction" in the kids' "education." At least they're allowed to rely on each other now, a small but significant victory. The reaper probably isn't used to getting a lot of those, so as usual, he doesn't try to press his luck.

Thinking of doing a time skip, if not next time then very soon after. Just long enough to say that the siblings have been through their fair share of their mother's "trials," so maybe a few months time. Set them up for a power boost once we start getting into a more… canon setting.