Reaper-Dragon
NOTE: Deleted and Reposted this Chapter now that the email notifications are fixed.
A very loud whistle caught their attention looking down to see their parents down at the edge of the graveyard.
"Well, time to see how this goes," Junior said, suddenly nervous but unable to put it off.
Minnie landed gracefully and without effort, her wings vanishing even before the toes of her shoes touched the ground.
Junior, however, landed much more harshly. Not crashing, but making a very loud impact with the ground as he hit, landing in a crouch in front of Mandy and Grim.
The dust cleared as Junior rose and looked between his mother and father. "Hi?" he tried sheepishly.
"Junior, what happened?" Mandy asked evenly.
"...Are you mad?" Junior asked nervously.
"Annoyed for now, the rest depends on your answer," Mandy explained.
Junior looked to Grim, who was torn between looking curious and shooting annoyed stares at Junior's wings. Seeing he'd get no help from his paternal figure, he returned to his maternal one. "I got kidnapped. Bunch of kids with a walking bathtub. They told me they just wanted to hang out, but I guess they were work for this Boogie Man-"
"Bag of bugs one?" Mandy asked simply, getting a nod. "Why hasn't your brother dealt with him?"
"It's his town, Woman, I'm not telling him what to do with it," Grim muttered.
"Anyway..." Junior continued after a silence. "After telling me some story about how he used to work with Dad, he said he wanted to...well...cut me open to see how "Death" worked, I guess?" he explained, still a bit confused by how that would work at all.
Grim gritted his teeth at that while Mandy took a single breath. "Continue."
"Right, um, he had me strapped down to a table and I just...broke free? Next thing I know, I have dragon powers. Minnie shows up to help, and -" Junior paused as a rather loud crash was heard, causing him to turn around and glancing at the burning flame of the clubhouse turning to cinder in the far distance. "I burned the place down, yeah."
"Is Oogie Boogie dead?" Mandy asked pointedly.
"I mean, he was on fire, and his bugs were spilling out," Junior answered with a shrug.
"Then as far as you know, he's still alive," Mandy countered with a hum. "Still, it's good to see you can take care of yourself, somewhat."
"I...okay? That's all you have to say?" Junior asked in bewilderment. "Is someone going to explain why I have dragon powers?"
"Yer Mom fooked a dragon," Grim answered bluntly.
The family was silent as Mandy gave her husband a glare.
"Ya did, woman," Grim reminded levelly.
"I...so...wow, that's going to be stuck in my skull for a while," Junior said, trying to erase that unwanted mental image to no avail.
"Thine sentiments are shared, Brother," Minnie said with a grimace.
Junior blinked, looking to Minnie again. "But if Minnie has Nergal powers, that means...Mom fooked Uncle Nergal?"
"He figured that out faster than I thought,' Mandy mused as Minnie stood there awkwardly
Junior stood there and slowly processed all of that before turning his head up and let out a frustrated sigh in the form of a column of fire.
Mandy promptly took out a cigarette and used the flames to light it.
Once his frustrations were vented for the moment, Junior looked back at his parents. "Okay, I just have...one question that is bothering me."
"Only one, boy?" Grim asked in amusement.
"Only one I'm willing to ask," Junior clarified. "Why isn't Minnie a reaper?"
Minnie perked up in shock as she looked to her brother.
"I mean, I get why we both have powers, but how come she's not a reaper?" Junior asked, looking to Mandy. "Did Mom just want at least one fleshy child?"
"Honestly, reaper children are a lot less hassle than "fleshy" ones," Mandy answered. "And the short answer is, she needed to be alive to be born with a Nergal."
"And I didn't need one for dragon powers...?" Junior asked in confusion.
"Eh, dat has mooch more ta do wid who yer moder fooked, rader dan wha she fooked," Grim explained gruffly.
"Okay, I guess," Junior accepted awkwardly. "So, umm, what now?"
Mandy casually glanced back to the town clock. "Mm, it's about time to go home, so there is that."
"Firs, we need ta hava talk wid Jack abou dose kids ya mentioned," Grim said as he and Mandy turned to leave.
"Try not to get kidnapped again," Mandy advised before following after Grim.
"That felt...underwhelming," Junior said awkwardly.
"Twas much the same for me," Minnie assured. "Mother and Father Grim were rather blunt and casual about the entire incident, Father Grim wanting to end the conversation with all quickness. Uncle Nergal and Grandfather Nergal were to whom I needed to address for further inquiries."
"Did they at least tell you how to turn your powers off?" Junior asked, raising up his clawed hand. "Cause as cool as this is, I don't exactly want to live with these all the time."
"Oh. Ummm, I am not sure if it'll work for ye as it did for me, but in mine expereince? Tis a matter of making thine form want to change," Minnie started, holding up her arms and clenching her fists. "Make a fist and tense thine body. Think of ye art now and then focus on how ye use to be. Then, slowly relax yourself, release thine fist..."
Minnie paused and waited to see what Junior would do. He skeptically followed her instructions, his entire skeleton going stiff as he closed his eyes before letting out a breath.
The scales fell off with a series of clinking noises, dissolving into dust before they touched the earth while his wings and tail refolded into themselves. Junior reached inside his own shirt and ribcage, feeling nothing. "Huh. Okay. I think that did it," he decided as him and Minnie starred at one another.
"Shall we purview the party and see if there are anything left to consume?" Minnie offered with a smile.
Junior sighed before smiling tiredly. "Minnie? I'd love to."
Minnie beamed as they ventured back to town, side by side.
"So, does the ballerina thing help with fighting or does the demon thing help with dancing?"
The following days were so infuriatingly normal, Junior almost wouldn't have believed he ever had dragon powers if not for the occasional belching of fire. Beyond that, he had horrid tutoring lessons with Helga and Minnie, ate dinner with the family, and played video games. He hung out with Minnie more often, but that was about it.
And then it happened.
"Fos ausul!"(What the hell!) Junior cursed as he found himself trapped in the middle of a hallway by a metal cage. "Dammit, who forgot to tell me about a new trap?" Junior muttered. "Hey, can anyone out there! Neeed some help!" he called out, his voice echoing through the corridors, telling him just how empty it was. "Great."
Junior scowled as he paced back and forth in the cage. He was probably stuck here until someone stumbled across him and let him out. He'd normally be frustrated and embarrassed by this kind of mess up. After all, his mother made them memorize where all the traps were and weren't. But he didn't care right now if he looked stupid or anything.
Right now, he just needed to get out of this cage. Why, he didn't know, but it was starting to make him angry.
"What is wrong with me?" Junior muttered, wiping a hand over his skull, not even noticing the claws form in his hand again. Out of frustration, he went up to the bars and tried to physically lift the cage or bend the bars. But they didn't give. He knew they wouldn't, but he felt the urge to try.
He gritted his teeth as he almost pulled his finger bones off from the strain. Why was it so important he get out? He didn't know, he didn't care, he just wanted out!
He reeled his arm back and punched the bars. His hand stayed in one piece, but there was a small dent in the metal. Glancing down, he found that both of his hands were claws now. With a snarl, he pulled his arms back again to slash at the metal. To a new-found animalistic glee, pieces of metal began to be clawed off. In less than a dozen swings, he found himself a good opening and leapt through it.
He gave a primal, toothy grin as he breathed the free air. So caught in the moment, he forgot about the other traps in the hall. Like a suit of armor coming to life and attacking him with a halberd.
He noticed it only at the last second, raising his arms to block it. The impact brought him to his knees in surprise, but the blade did not cut his scales. A reptilian growl was in his non-existent throat as he used his other hand to slash off the weapon-end of the staff, leaving the automaton defenseless. Without a second thought, Junior leapt at the armor, causing it to fall on its back as Junior start to slash and claw mindlessly at his foe, ripping the empty helmet off. Seeing nothing, he instinctively breathed in deeply-
-Only to find himself hit rather harshly on the noggin.
"GAH! Bo wah naak hin-!"(Fly to eat your-!) he yelled at the new offender, only to calm instantly as he saw who it was. "Mom?"
"Hm, no blind rage mode. Good to know," Mandy observed, possibly in praise.
"Did you just punch me in the head?" Junior asked, rubbing his aching skull.
"Were you about to just set fire to our castle?" Mandy countered, hand on her hip.
"I...okay, maybe, so...fair," Junior admitted with a groan as he got off the destroyed suit, feeling strangely light headed, even for a reaper. "Sorry, just...not sure what that was about."
"That, Junior, was your inner dragon," Mandy informed, looking towards where Junior had ripped himself out of the cage.
Junior looked to it as well, but it felt so surreal. It just happened, but at the same time, it almost felt like it didn't. "Inner...dragon?"
"Come with me," Mandy instructed, turning without another word as she left the hall.
Junior looked at the mess one more time before following her to, of all places, the library. "So, we're finally talking about my dragon powers?"
"I wasn't putting it off for no reason," Mandy assured as she pulled out a book, taking a seat at a table as Junior sat next to her. "I was getting your fathers to agree about your training."
Fathers, plural. That was still hard for Junior to wrap his head around somewhat. "And that involved setting me up for a trap, why...?"
"Grim wanted to be sure your inner dragon was really awake. Or, rather, he wanted to keep you from meeting your other "uncle" as long as possible," Mandy said derisively. "As for the trap, it's part of what makes you a dragon."
"And you're giving me a book on dragons or something?" Junior guessed.
"No, on reapers," Mandy answered, passing him the book.
Junior took in it confusion and read over the page. "Blah, blah, a reaper is created by reaping an baby that was aborted or died in...the womb," Junior said slowly, blinking. "Okay, that is...a bit of a mind fuck. Why is it important that I learn that now?"
"It's important because it goes into how you came to be," Mandy explained as she took the book away. "Yes, I fucked a dragon, and was pregnant with you. Then Grim turned you into a Reaper, his heir. However, despite that, your soul is still that of a dragon. A Dragon of Death, but a dragon none the less. And that, Junior, is important."
"Okay, that is...sounding really cool, "Junior admitted with a touch of boyish wonder. "But you still didn't answer my other question?"
Mandy nodded in agreement. "Having a dragon soul comes with a few perks. One is you can speak draconic, or Dovahzul."
"I can?" Junior asked in surprise.
Mandy rose an eyebrow and asked, "Dreh hi mindoraan daar?"(Do you understand this?)
"Do rahlo, druv fund Zu'u ni?"(Of course, why would I not?) Junior countered, letting the silence came over them as he processed what just happened. "Okay, so I can speak Dragon. What else?"
"You basically have dragon culture implanted in your skull from birth, so you don't have to worry about accidentally offending any you meet," Mandy informed. "And, finally, as for why I dropped a cage on you?"
Mandy leaned down and Junior leaned back in surprise as he found himself having an intense stare down with his mother.
"You hate being locked up, don't you?" Mandy asked knowingly. "You always have at least your window unlocked. And whenever you feel stuck in one place, you hate it. You get angry, until you get out. Until you at least have a way out."
Junior didn't say a word, knowing she was right.
"Dragons hate to be bound," Mandy finished as she pulled back. "You rail against capture and defeat. It's probably part of why you have such problems with Minnie. You feel "stuck" when compared to her."
"Really?" Junior asked in surprise.
"I don't know," Mandy answered with a shrug. "Everything else is fact though. You've never felt truly bound and helpless, until Halloween. That's why your dragon woke up. Which means, you can start training."
"I'd...like that," Junior admitted awkwardly. "So does this mean I'm going to meet my...bio-father? Dragon-Father? The one that isn't Dad," Junior asked.
Mandy nodded curtly. "He lives in another world and bringing him to the Underworld isn't a good idea, supposedly. So, Grim is taking you to him."
"Taking me? How long will I be gone?" Junior asked curiously.
"Calm down, Grim actually grows a spine when you're involved," Mandy waved off. "You'll be able to come back home a day or two every week. Consider it your weekends off."
"Oh. Alright," Junior accepted as they set in silence. "Why didn't I...know about any of this before though?"
"Same reason Minnie didn't know from the beginning," Mandy answered evenly. "Grim didn't want either of you to know until you had to. Old Bone Bag seems to think you kids will drop him as a father at the first chance you get."
"What? Why, Dad's awesome. Heck, I'm pretty sure Minnie thinks that more than I do sometimes," Junior mused.
Mandy smirked. "Yeah, your sister does seem to like you bone heads more than anything. Ironic that she feels safest around the King of Death and the Prince of Death."
"Naw, I think she feels safer around Pain," Junior mused.
"He changed your diapers for both of you brats, that's expected," Mandy reasoned.
Junior shook his head fondly at that. "Okay, so...when am I leaving, exactly?"
"Tomorrow if your father doesn't drag his feet," Mandy answered. "Any other questions or are you done?"
"Just one. Can Minnie come?"
Mandy raised an eyebrow. "For your training?"
"No. I mean, if she wants to, I guess, but I just meant to meet this dragon uncle I have," Junior answered. "I mean, I know Uncle Nergal, so it seems kind of fair she meets this one too...unless he eats demons or something?"
Mandy snorted with a ghost of a smile. "Another time, Junior. I pretty sure both of your father's want some one-on-one time with you."
End of Chapter
Yeah, I'm using Skyrim for the dragon language. It's got a very thorough translator online, so I went with that. But yeah, Junior is oging to meet his dragon father in another world. No, this isn't skyrim or any other established setting. I'm mixing and mashing my own world together. There will be some OCs, but mostly Xover characters I think.
Fun fact? The orignal title was going to be "Mandy Fooked a Dragon" but I'm pretty sure the titles and sumamry have to be mostly PG.