#reaper arc

[thesoleilandluneshow]

Episode 15: Lune's Strength

(Tw: Fighting, blood, gore)

"You feel it too, Pieces?" Cancer asked, "What Lune is doing?"

"I'm aware," Pieces replied, "He's broken quite a few of our laws by doing so."

"Will we have to hold trial? You know as well as I do that, he'd never abuse his powers unless absolutely necessary."

...

"We will have to see what has gotten him to act so recklessly before we decide on punishment."

~-~-~

(I'm bad at writing fight scenes so forgive me-🍵)

Scythe was no longer cocky or bold. He tried several times to escape but none of them allowed him that privilege. Ironic how he was now in the same situation that he put all his victims through. He was too weak to slip off into the shadows, angrily slashing at them, growing sloppy in his fight.

He did manage to slip away once, heading in the direction that Soleil had escaped with Umbra. Lune blocked his path with a barrier and Crimson got the drop on him once again, digging his claws into Scythe's back and bit down hard into his neck. Scythe screeched as Crimson tore out a chunk of flesh with his teeth, muscle and veins stretching and breaking as Crimson pulled his head back.

Scythe tried everything he could to throw off the Bloodmoon, but Crimson would just move right out of his reach and take another slash or bite out of him. Crimson spat out each chunk of flesh, and each one landed somewhere on the forest floor with a sickening squelch.

And then Salem...

Scythe had managed to grab her in his fist, raising her off the ground. Salem clawed at his hand with her one free arm. You could hear her endoskeleton and casing breaking with as Scythe tightened his grip, metal and silicone tearing and twisting and snapping into pieces as Salem screamed.

Crimson growled biting into the open wound on Scythe's neck, viciously tearing out more veins and muscle. Scythe roared, dropping Salem. Lune swooped in and caught her before she hit the ground.

As Scythe writhed and roared, Crimson dropped down from his back immediately darting to where Lune was standing with Salem. Dark blood coated their mouth and teeth, like a hungry lion that had just finished eating its prey. His eyes softened, going from the animalistic fury from just seconds before to concern and fear once he reached Salem.

"Salem?" Crimson whispered, taking Salem as carefully as they could from Lune's arms.

Salem whimpered and cried out at the sudden movement. Crimson held her close, shooting a glowering look over his shoulder with a growl at the cryptid that was struggling to get back up without staggering.

"Get her back to the house," Lune commanded, "I'll finish things here."

Crimson didn't need to be told twice. Lune knew that the only thing Crimson cared about more than anything else was Salem and the thrill of the fight. With Salem injured, that thrill was the least important thing on their mind. Crimson took off running, trying to be as careful and as fast as he could with Salem in his arms.

"Good... I didn't want you to get hurt when I do this."

It started off as small blue sparks that circled around his body, growing larger as he turned to face the monster standing just feet away.

~-~-~

"You're going to be ok," Himari said, finishing her examination of Umbra's injuries, "A few scrapes here and there, definitely a low battery, sore throat, and dehydration from crying."

Umbra leaned further against their husband's chest; legs draped across his lap as they sat on the medical bed in the basement. They had finally stopped crying but the black streaks down their face remained. They felt exhausted, absolutely drained. Soleil refused to let go of them the entire time.

Reaper was nowhere in sight.

Soleil pointed that out almost instantly.

Himari looked confused, turning back to where he had been previously standing to find him gone. A look of surprise and hurt crossed her face. He didn't even say goodbye or that he was leaving.

"I'm glad he's gone. I hope I never see him again," Soleil said.

"Don't be so hard on him, Soleil. He was a great help with Scythe," Himari replied.

"He probably got us into this situation. I'm not trusting him even if my life depended on it."

"..." Himari didn't reply to that, "Anyway, I'll probably have to call Twyla to come take a look at Umbra's back. It's the worst injury and I fear that I may only injure them more if I tried examining it."

"... I haven't checked in with Twyla in a while. She's still with Cyrus."

"They still haven't found Crescent?" Himari asked, surprised.

"It's gotten complicated. We might have to intervene."

"One situation at a time. If Twyla is still out on the mission, I'll have to call for whoever was left in charge. I recommend not moving from this bed until they get here with a proper diagnosis."

Himari stood up from where she was knelt.

"I think the best thing we can do right now is to clean up and get some rest," She said, "It's not ideal with the current threat but as long as we stay down here, we should be ok."

"... I don't know how he got passed out barriers. Nothing should've been able to," Soleil murmured to himself.

"When you designed the barriers, it was to hold up against the strongest thing we've faced. At that time, it was the Dark Stars," Umbra replied in their hoarse voice, "Whatever Scythe is... he's stronger than them."

"...I don't like that at all."

"I'll leave you two alone, give you a chance to clean up and get all doting on each other," Himari said, "I'll examine the girls for any injuries and call HQ."

The couple nodded in reply as she turned to leave, shutting the door behind her, separating them from the main area of the basement in this small private space that Soleil had originally intended to be a cell, but Umbra convinced him when they said that they didn't want to be so close to any enemies in their own house. So, he changed it to a private medical room with an attached bathroom.

"I want to shower," Umbra muttered, "I want to eat. I want to sleep. But I can't stop thinking about how he's still out there and Crimson, Salem, and Lune are out there fighting him."

"I have faith that they'll come home soon."

Soleil wished he believed that wholeheartedly. If Scythe was stronger than the astrals...

Soleil threw that thought away faster than it popped into his head. They'll be back. They'll come back alive and this whole thing will be over. He had to believe that.

"I'll help you take a shower," He said, "I don't want you moving too much if your back is damaged."

"Thank you," Umbra muttered in reply.

~-~-~

Lune looked down at the smoldering crater, expecting to find the dead body of Scythe laying beyond the smoke. All he saw was the blood and chunks of flesh and bone that was left of him.

He was obliterated.

Nothing but little bits and a crater where he once stood.

Lune's wings folded inward, his form shifting from the intense amount of power he had used. Two pairs of wings sprouted out of his back, tearing the silicone flesh and left oil bleeding down his back, turning his clothes black as it soaked into the fabric.

Slowly that power dissolved, fading away almost painfully. His casing burned, like pressing your hand against ice for too long then touched something remotely warm. a lingering stinging pain that stayed far longer than wanted.

The second his feet touched the ground, he crumbled. Face first into the dirt as nausea crept through his insides, adding another unpleasant burning to the back of his throat.

"I think I overdid it..."

(...one more episode for this arc :) - 🍵)

[sworn-protector]

There was a drifter passing through that little valley...

[the-anime-haven]

Gintama Stills for Every (Canon) Episode → [281/316] “Farewell, Reaper”

↳ “When people sin and degenerate into demons, the only beings capable of turning them human again are humans. That's why I have no right to cut you. A demon has no right to cut a fellow demon.”

[ffdelightfuls]

“DIMENSIONAL RECORD: GRIM ADVENTURES OF KND” Bruce noticed what appeared to be him and his siblings on the screen, evilly announcing their evil plans (as one does) before the boy known as Billy showed up on the screen. As Bruce was about to walk away, something happened in the “Cartoon”. Through a series of foolishness, the DC and Billy had become some horrid amalgamated skeleton monster. This caught Bruce’s attention, after watching a bit more he worked out how this happened, a presumably supernatural scythe was put in the delightfulizer with them....... It occurs to Bruce that David had recently found a very similar scythe recently...

[thesoleilandluneshow]

Episode 16: Arc Finale

It was agonizing having to wait so long.

Crimson had come down into the basement with an unconscious Salem right after the two nurses from HQ portaled in, earning panic screams and rushed preparations as they set Salem down in the medical bed. Soleil moved Umbra to the cozy corner where their kids were patiently sitting, trying to distract themselves with a board game that remained untouched. 

“I don’t think Salem would mind you hanging out in her corner,” Soleil tried to tease.

Umbra only hummed in response as they settled into the nest-like space with the thick curtain canopy hanging over it. One of the nurses came over but Umbra stopped her before she could kneel down next to them.

“Focus on Salem,” Umbra said, waving off the nurse that came to attend to them, “I can wait.”

It took over an hour. 

It took over an hour. Umbra was still in pain, Lune still hadn't returned, Crimson and Soleil were getting increasingly more distressed, and Himari was trying to distract them as the girls tried to Candyland but failed to focus on the game.

Crimson was kicked out of the room because he got protective and angry every time Salem crashed. He had slid down the door, leaving claw marks in the wood as he whimpered like a wounded dog. The nurses eventually got her stable, doing a remarkable job of repairing her like she had never got injured. They recommended rest though, as was normal when you were nearly crushed to death.

Umbra was next.

It was a simple thing to fix Salem. She was fully animatronic. 

But Umbra? 

Umbra was part of a new experimental line at the time. 

They were animatronic but built to be as bio-organic as possible in a mechanical body. It was to make them a better fighter in their dimension, make them stronger, faster, more organic. The perfect fighters. It was the reason why their healing process had taken years and they still needed a cane to walk. Most of the parts they needed were extremely rare to come by and their body was so complexly made that no one but their creator really knew how to fix them.

It took technicians, mechanics, surgeons, and mages to even attempt trying to heal them when they were rescued from the virus and they still couldn't figure out how to do so. Magic can only heal if the mage knows what they’re healing. They had a very rough blueprint now but it was just a stepping stone. 

Unfortunately asking Umbra’s creator what the hell he was on when he made the Fury’s Rage crew wasn’t in the cards. He died in a house fire years ago and everything burnt with him, including Umbra’s blueprints. Even more unfortunate that this guy ironically hated computers when it came to storing things. There was no file or anything that could have been recovered, even by Salem. So, they were left with whatever they could come up with through multiple examinations.

Soleil was hoping that the damage wasn’t too bad. That it was something they can easily heal and Umbra would be fine.

Soleil didn’t like the furrowed brows on the nurse as she examined Umbra’s back with her scanner. Umbra squeezed his hand tightly and she carefully poked at the cracks in their fleshy silicone. They squeezed their eyes shut, obviously in pain but not saying it out loud.

“I feel a fracture here.”

She softly prodded a spot on Umbra’s lower back.

“There’s another here.”

She prodded another spot.

Umbra winced in pain, biting their bottom lip to prevent making a sound as they squeezed their husband’s hand tighter.

“Darling…” Umbra whispered, their voice so small and low that Soleil almost didn’t hear it.

“Can you stop poking them like that? You’re hurting them.”

The nurse jolted, yanking her hand back as if she’d been burnt while stuttering an apology. The other nurse, an older moon model, seemed unfazed. She didn’t look up from the scanner.

“They have a few fractures to their spine. Luckily they’re small and can be healed with a quick spell,” The older nurse said, “No need for surgery.”

Umbra let out a shaky breath, burying their face into a pillow. They said something that was muffled by the pillow which Soleil immediately knew was “I don’t know how much more of this I could take.”. Something they said every time they were examined.

Himari knew these nurses better, having worked with them many times. She knew that neither of them were magic users. She turned to Charlie, who was sitting on the floor around the untouched game of Candyland with her sisters, trying really hard not to stare too long at Umbra.

“Charlie.”

Charlie flinched like she was caught.

“I think you should help Umbra,” Himari said, “This whole thing is already a mess and HQ isn’t very happy about it.”

Charlie wanted to help. She wanted to be out there in the fight or helping find Himari and Mama but was told to stay home. She was a Puppet. This was her dimension. She was supposed to protect it and the people in it, including her family. How can she do that if she was excluded from those decisions?

“Ok, I’ll try,” She said in a small voice.

Himari smiled softly as Charlie stood up, taking Himari’s hand, and they walked over to the fort in the corner.

“If I may,” Himari interrupted the nurses’ conversation, “We happen to have a mage here already. Would you mind allowing her to help?”

The nurses looked at Charlie, looked at Himari, and looked back at Charlie. The older nurse sighed.

“Alright, it’d save us a phone call.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your work here today,” Himari said.

“We’ll be leaving right after. We have to make sure the spell works.”

“Of course.”

Himari guided Charlie in front of her as the nurses stood and moved off to the side. Charlie knelt down next to Umbra, small hands hovering nervously over their exposed back. Charlie could see the cracks like angry dark veins on their back from when they hit the wall. 

She felt so defenseless when she saw that happen. She knew she had the power to save them. She was ready to send that monster halfway across the universe before Keiko grabbed her. She felt that she would have prevented them from being taken if they had given her the chance to. 

“You’re ok, Charlie. You’ve done this before,” Soleil told her.

Umbra peaked over their shoulder, offering her a soft smile, “I trust you, Spider Monkey.”

Small shaky hands finally lowered, hovering just above the injury, but refusing to actually make contact. A green glow circled her fingers.

~-~-~

“You want to explain what you were thinking, Lune?”

Lune had woken up still on the forest floor with Pieces, Cancer, and one of the healer astrals standing over him. He felt sore, no longer feeling that icy burning. 

He groaned as he sat up.

“Do you know how serious this is?” Pieces asked, “You broke several laws, probably attracted the attention of mortals to this location, and killed someone.”

“We’re going to have to hold a trial to see if we should let you continue being an astral,” Cancer said, “This is not ok.”

“I’m sorry but I wasn’t going to allow Scythe to hurt my family again.”

Pieces and Cancer froze.

“What did you just say?” Pieces asked, “The name?”

“Scythe?” Lune replied confused, “He’s the guy that was stalking us the entire time.”

Pieces and Cancer turned to each other, a look of horror on their faces. 

If they had known that it was Scythe, they would’ve acted sooner. They would’ve taken action when Soleil told them about the stalker months ago if they had known who it was. But how could they have known? Sythe made it impossible for them to find him. 

He had been evading them for years. They’ve had a vendetta against the cryptid, swearing to make him pay for taking the lives of their friends and younglings. 

Lune was the one to finally face him, one on one, and kill him.

“This changes things,” Cancer said quietly, “We have to be sure.”

Pieces nodded in reply.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Lune asked.

“We’ll have to have a meeting with the council about this,” Pieces said, “You have still broken our laws and definitely alerted the mortals…”

They could hear sirens blaring faintly in the distance, getting louder by the second.

“Shit,” Lune cursed under his breath.

The last thing he needed right now was to be arrested. He was already facing the idea of no longer being an astral.

“We’ll talk about it later,” Cancer said, “I’ll take you home.”

~-~-~

“You didn’t think I’d allow the astral to have the pleasure of killing you, did you?”

Scythe didn’t have the energy to fight back. 

There they were, in the ruins of a Mega Pizza Plex. Scythe was chained down to the colorful padded floor, bleeding heavily and grunting in pain. Reaper circled around him like a vulture.

“You really think you can, Basileus,” He bit back, “You’ve never had the guts. You couldn’t even save your own mother.”

Reaper stopped behind him, not daring to look at the monster that was supposed to be his father.

His father never treated them kindly. It was either toughen up or be eaten. There was a time where Reaper would’ve never given into that animalistic nature. He wasn’t like his brother, who would jump at the opportunity to hunt and devour anything he could get his claws on. 

It was his mother that kept him as mortal as possible. He still needed to consume souls and his mother was a bounty hunter. She’d collect the souls of her victims to ensure that he ate, knowing full well that Scythe and his brother pushed him away like the runt he was.

After Scythe killed his mother, he had been forced to fall in line or be the next meal. He spent countless nights sleeping with one eye open before he finally ran away.

“I know that I can’t kill you, even now as you’re already at death's door…” 

Scythe let out a breathless laugh.

“But I’m not the only one you’ve f*cked over.”

Scythe’s smile faded, wiping his head around to see that Reaper had disappeared.

…

That’s when he heard it.

The merciless insane laughter, the screeching sound of metallic claws dragging across the walls, echoing throughout the ruins of this old daycare. He saw the piercing red eyes gleefully arched in the dark before he saw the rest of his large, reptilian body creeping through the shadows.

“Artem. Artem, my boy. You wouldn’t kill your father now, would you? You wouldn’t do that.”

Scythe grew more nervous and fearful the closer this huge monster with half a crescent mask and rows of long needle-like teeth crept closer and closer. Artem’s laughter grew louder and even more unhinged. 

…

Reaper hid behind a broken sign nearby, listening to the sound of his father’s screams, the breaking of bone, and the tearing of flesh as his brother tore him apart.

“Cannibalistic bastard,” He muttered with a grimace before turning away and taking his leave.

[thesoleilandluneshow]

Episode 14: The Plan

"I can't believe that you're actually suggesting this, Himari," Soleil said.

"But it will work!" Himari bit back, "Lune has come a long way in his training. I'm not asking you to let him do it alone, but this is the best option we have currently."

"It's a long shot," Salem said, "Even if we aren't able to kill him, we can weaken him enough to sneak past him and grab Umbra."

Salem and Crimson had been watching from a nearby tree as Soleil had shot the blaster between Reaper and Himari, keep an eye on Reaper in case he attacked. Imagine their shock when the fragile geisha bolted out in front of the bounty hunter and started defending him.

Honestly this whole situation was absurd in Salem's opinion.

Himari having a stalker that has a purely lustful interest in her, lying his way through every interaction and she's fallen for it. She knew Himari was no fool. This was a woman who seen war and lived with nightmares. The same woman who doesn't believe in true evil and remains gentle and kind when most wouldn't be.

Salem had always wondered what Himari's story was. She only knew the basics.

Himari was a geisha, head of her household, that sacrificed herself to save her maiko to the ruthless demanding warlord that sought her as his bride. Just like many others. Though she was his favorite. Eventually Charlie accidentally ends up in her dimension, scaring the shit out of everyone because they believed she was some kind of yokai before stumbling into Himari's chambers to get away from the guards. She scared Himari too, who couldn't understand a word she said. Himari said that it was the fact that Charlie was just as scared as she was that calmed her down, hesitantly reaching out to wipe her snotty face with a rag. Charlie liked to tell that part of the story a lot. Of course, the guards found out where she was, and Charlie grabbed Himari's hand without thinking. Madame Puppet had finally managed to figure out where Charlie went and opened up the portal to go get her. Least to say that she was not pleased when Charlie fell through with Himari.

Himari fell pretty hard too. She ended up breaking her arm, and she means this quite literally, right off as she had used it to cover her head from the fall. This long-jagged crack that sliced through Himari's arm and broke it off. She still has the "scar" from it, put back together with gold. Himari also had a large crack or two on her legs from that fall that was given the same treatment.

Her magic had adapted much more thanks to Madame Puppet's teaching, so she wasn't as fragile as before and eventually learning about the stuff they have to deal with in their line of work.

Himari knows full well that it was not wise to even engage in Reaper's little game in the first place. Salem knows it, Soleil knows it, everyone knows it. She knew what Lune thought about it already, as he was very vocal about it when he found out about it, but he could never stay mad at Himari. No matter what she did. She heard the girls gossiping about it in hushed conversation over dinner, thinking it was both "creepy af" and "romantic"... Maybe she should tell Soleil to keep them from watching those Disney princess movies. Umbra hadn't been out of their room all night and most of the next day. They were also very quiet during their argument.

Salem could only guess that they were drowning in the guilt of knowing about Reaper and Himari and not telling Soleil sooner. They probably blame themselves for causing this whole mess. Despite all the work they've done to get better and heal from their trauma over the past four years, that was one thing they could never stop doing. They could never stop blaming themselves.

And Soliel?

He was going to keep all those feelings locked away deep inside. He's not going to tell Himari his true feelings about it. He's not going to tell her how crazy and dangerous it all was. If anything, he was going to let it stew inside him until he does something he regrets.

"She has a point," Lune spoke up, "We hit him with everything we've got. We can rescue Umbra and hide out in the basement or a bunker until we can come up with something else."

"Our main mission right now is to rescue Umbra," Himari said, "Defeating Scythe can come later."

Soleil obviously wasn't going to let this happen. Salem watched how his claws dug into the sleeves of his jumpsuit as he had his arms crossed and eye twitching in irritation. He also kept his gaze trained on Reaper, who was still standing behind Himari, as they both kept glaring at each other in an unbreaking staring contest.

Salem shifted closer to Soleil.

"Umbra is terrified right now," she said in a hushed voice, "You know it as well as I do. They can't run away, even if they had the chance. Scythe isn't going to let them even have the thought of escape or rescue because he's feeding off their terror before he feasts. This might be the only chance we have to get them back alive."

Soleil froze, eyes finally leaving the bounty hunter as he turned to look at her.

"Umbra needs you."

She knew that using his fear of losing Umbra against him wasn't the best thing to do but if they were going to pull this off, they needed him on board.

"I can't believe I'm allowing this," He grumbled through gritted teeth, "But it's for Umbra."

"Then we're in agreement," Salem said.

Soleil was going to be the distraction, the first of them to approach, with the rest of them hiding nearby. Himari will go back to the house with the girls. It was likely that Scythe would pick up her scent if she was too close, putting her in danger once again. Unfortunately, that meant that Reaper would be the one ensuring that she was safe while the rest of them went to face Scythe.

None of them wanted him anywhere near Himari but they also did not want him to be near them when they take on Scythe, in case he really was working with him. They also couldn't let Himari go back alone. Their hands were tied.

Begrudgingly, they had to allow Reaper to have their trust with Himari as both groups turned to start heading off in the directions they needed to go. Soleil hung back, keeping his gaze on Himari as long as he could before they vanished out of sight. Reaper seemed to have the same idea, looking over his shoulder as the group walked away. Both shooting dirty looks at each other.

~-~-~

"You don't think that little gun of yours can do anything to me, do you?" Scythe chuckled, "How cute~"

Umbra watched in terror as Soleil kept the gun aimed right between Scythe's eyes, standing his ground as the creature took slow, heavy steps towards their husband.

"No," They croaked out, "Please."

It was hard to see anything with the tears in their eyes, colors blurring together as they tried to keep their pleading gaze trained on their husband.

"There's no point in negotiating with you."

*Bang*

Umbra couldn't tell what was happening. There was a loud sharp sound, like the blaster was fired, followed by a piercing, animalistic screech. Umbra flinched, trying to turn their head away as if it would help muffle the sound, a small, strangled sound left their mouth. Something between a gasp and a scream.

Then there was yelling.

"Now!"

There were a flash of bright light and more screeching followed. They could barely make out what was happening through their tears. They could hear Salem yelling, seeing a blurry blob of blue and red jump onto a large mass of black and the monstrous roar that followed as it tried to shake it off. The blue and red blur held on to its back, jabbing something silver into the mass.

Umbra panicked when arms wrapped around them, a yelp crackled out of their throat as they squirmed.

"It's ok, Honey. It's ok, you're ok."

"S-Soleil?"

"Soleil, run! Go!"

Soleil slipped one arm behind their back and the other under their knees, scooping them off the forest floor. Umbra choked on terrified sobs as Soleil took off running, ducking around the fight.

Lune waited until Soleil was out of sight with Umbra to step out from where he was hidden.

He wasn't going to let this end with Scythe escaping or with them retreating. For months this monster had been lurking around their backyard, studying them, hunting them, kidnapped a member of their family, attempted to take another, planned on killing them.

This should've been over months ago.

And Lune was going to break about ten astral laws just to end it.

[thesoleilandluneshow]

Episode 13: Let the Battle Begin

(Tw: blood... it's pink but yeah, talks of torture, and cussing)

Himari woke up with a start, gasping as she bolted upright like she had just woke up from a nightmare. It took her a minute to register the grassy ground and crunchy leaves beneath her as she realized that she was outside.

Reaper: "Oh, I didn't expect you to wake up so soon, My Lady. It's barely been a day."

Himari: "You're bleeding."

Reaper touched his edge of his faceplate where the most obvious of his wounds was. He winced as his fingers grazed the open wound.

Reaper: "Yeah. I, um, I got into a bit of a fight with Scythe."

Himari: "What? What happened?"

Reaper: "The bastard tricked me. He told me to go get you out of his territory if I didn't want you hurt and then he tried to make a deal for your soul."

...

That would've killed her.

She was made to be a human sized doll, made mostly of porcelain and soft fabric, completely hollow on the inside. She had to be delicate and pristine but soft and flexible enough to perform her duties as a geisha. She was made to perfection, as well as many others.

The only reason she was alive was because of the soul magic that had been used to animate her. She wasn't robotic like Soleil, Lune, and Umbra. She wasn't a ghost like Charlie. She wasn't organic like Momo and Keiko. She was made of magic. She was nothing more than a bundle of magic in a useless fragile body.

Without it, she wouldn't be...

Reaper: "I didn't do it. I couldn't do that to you. Himari, please believe me."

Himari: "... I believe you."

She would've been dead by now if he had.

Reaper's shoulders dropped, finally relaxing as he let out a sigh.

Reaper: "I'm so sorry that I got you into this. I only took you because I thought it'd keep you safe."

Himari: "... I'll forgive you for that. It wasn't the right thing to do, but... you did save my life."

He looked away, refusing to meet her eyes.

Himari: "You know Scythe, don't you?"

Reaper: "... Unfortunately."

Himari: "So you know how to defeat him."

Reaper: "...No. Himari, no."

Himari: "I can't just abandon my family. They're in danger too."

Reaper: "I will not put you in danger, Himari. Not again. I almost lost you."

Himari: "I would've been in danger even if you never showed up. Scythe has been here for months. It would've been only an amount of time before he came for me and my family."

Reaper: "... Even so, it'd take a god to defeat him. I barely escaped that fight alive."

Himari didn't get a chance to reply when something fast and bright zipped between them.

"Get the f*ck away from her!"

Reaper pulled her up off the ground and she stumbled as he shoved her behind him.

(I forgot to give Soleil a blaster so pretend he has one here-🍵)

Himari: "Soleil? Lune?"

Soleil: "You asshole! Where the f*ck is Umbra?!"

Reaper: "What makes you think I have them?"

Himari: "Soleil-"

Soleil: "You think that I don't know what you are? You think that I don't know that you're working with that monster?"

Himari: "Soleil, wait, I can-"

Reaper, growling: "And if I was? If I wanted to kill Umbra, I would've done it years ago, with my own bare hands. I don't need someone else to do my dirty work."

Himari, under her breath: "Reaper!"

Soleil: "You-"

Reaper: "What? You think you can kill me? You think that little blaster of yours is enough to kill me?"

Soleil, raising the blaster and aiming it at Reaper: "I'll gladly try."

(Damn it! I forgot the blaster here too-🍵)

Himari: "Soleil Elio Astera!"

Soleil flinched like he had been burned, quickly lowering his blaster as Himari darted out in front of Reaper.

Soleil: "Himari? What are you doing?"

Himari: "Reaper saved me!"

...

Soleil: "What?"

Reaper was just as shocked as everyone else. Himari was defending him? Why? He didn't deserve it.

Himari: "Scythe was going to eat my soul too! Reaper saved me!"

Soleil looked around Himari, fixing a judging glare at the cryptid behind her. Reaper glared right back.

Soleil: "Did he now?"

Himari: "Yes! And he also gave me an idea on how we can defeat Scythe."

Reaper blinked.

Reaper, muttering: "I did?"

~-~-~

Umbra: "No! No! Let me go! Please!"

Scythe watched Umbra struggle to get out of the shadows that bond them, amused at their pleading.

Normally, he'd let his prey feel like they had a chance at escaping. He'd change the atmosphere around them just enough to make it seem like it was in the middle of the night when really it was daytime. Maybe add a thick fog to prevent them from seeing in traps or logs or sudden drops. Then he'd just chase them through the woods for what felt like hours, feeding off their fear as they ran around in circles.

Eventually, his prey will tire and try hiding instead. But that's when he'll strike pulling them back into the darkness and viscously tear into them.

It was delicious, tormenting an already tortured soul in their final moments, drowning their soul in fear like a tender meat with a good sauce.

He, however, learned very quickly that his usual method of torment wasn't going to work on this on. This one could barely stand without assistance on a good day and that made the chase no fun. So, until he could figure out how to tenderize his meat, he had them tied up with bonds made of shadow. Bonds that wrapped around their pinned arms and torso, earning a satisfying scream every he made them tighten, squeezing them so hard that he could hear their casing start to crack.

It would've been nice to have that pure soul of Basileus' "mate" as dessert, but he supposed that'd have to wait. Basileus had managed to lay a good blow on him before slipping away, taking his "mate" along with him into the shadows. Perhaps he taught his boy all too well.

He did really doubt that Basileus had taken a liking to her out of actual love and concern. Their kind didn't do such things. There was no reason to get so attached to just one person. It brought nothing but misfortune.

Umbra, quieter: "Please... I want to go home..."

Scythe's grin widened as they watched the black tears stream down their prey's face.

Maybe this was tormenting enough for this one's soul.

"Hey dickhead!"

Soleil: "Give me back my partner!"

[thesoleilandluneshow]

Episode 12: Deeper and Deeper

It was still early in the morning, barely sunrise. It was unlikely that anyone was awake, but Reaper didn't want to risk it.

Reaper went far enough into the woods where he wouldn't be easily seen but close enough where he could run out into the forest of concrete and brick if he needed. He was careful not to drop Himari as he stepped over fallen logs and kept an eye out for pitfalls or any lingering shadows.

He didn't know how big Scythe's hunting ground was, but he figured that he'd be hanging around the neighborhood for a while.

Oh, how wrong he was.

He should've noticed the large shadow moving carefully under the brush before it slithered across the dirt like a serpent. It darted out in front of him and Reaper stumbled back as it began to take form, towering over him.

Scythe: "Well, well, well, I didn't think you actually had it in you."

Reaper: "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Scythe: "You think that I wouldn't have recognized your scent? Or the scent of the pure soul you had with you?"

Reaper held Himari closer, turning his body away as if he was trying to hide her from Scythe's lingering gaze.

Scythe, chuckling: "You've changed. I thought you didn't care so much about your mates."

Reaper took a cautious step back, tail swishing anxiously.

Scythe: "I'm not going to hurt her. Although..."

Reaper felt his heart sink, and he tightened his grip on Himari. Himari remained asleep, barely stirring or twitching in her sleep. There was nothing to indicate that she was still alive other than how warm she was and the rhythmic beating of her core that he could feel pressed against his arm where he held her.

Scythe: "Let's make a deal."

No.

Scythe: "You allow me to take her soul and I'll leave her alive. Not a ray on her head will be harmed and you can keep your little plaything."

Reaper looked down at Himari. Himari with her eyes closed and unaware of what was happening around her. Sweet kind Himari that hadn't flinched at his hand or shunned him away when things took a turn.

This deal would leave her alive but at what cost? Her life span will shorten, leave her constantly sick and drained, become barely a husk of her previous self. Her life would change drastically and he'd be the blame.

She'd become this emotionless, unresponsive, sick doll that will float around like a ghost for however long she has left before she dies.

No. No way. He's not doing that to her.

Reaper: "Over. My. Dead. Body."

...

Scythe: "So be it."

~-~-~

Salem and Crimson had found tracks leading from the house into the woods and called Soleil and Lune to join them. There were two sets of tracks that went in the same direction. These big, unnatural prints of some creature and smaller, normal boot prints.

Salem: "Crim and I are already following the tracks. If Scythe and Reaper are both there, we don't have much time left to save Himari."

Soleil: "Alright, we're on our way. We'll-"

A shrill scream cut through the call, causing it to glitch. More screams followed.

Soleil: "Umbra? Umbra! What's happening?"

Umbra: "He- re- He's he-

The call kept glitching out, cutting off whatever Umbra was trying to say.

Soleil: "Umbra!"

Umbra: "Girls, run! Get to the basement!"

Charlie raised her hands, aiming her magic at the large shadowy monster that had torn off their back doors, shattering glass and splintering wood and it forced its way through their defenses. It ignored the pain the barrier caused. Charlie could see the energy surging through it like electricity and heard the bloodcurdling screech it let out.

Charlie didn't get a chance to shoot as Keiko scooped her up in her arms and darted towards the basement door.

Umbra kept themselves between the creature and the girls, holding their cane up like a sword despite their weak trembling legs. The creature found it amusing.

Umbra: "Soleil, please."

Soleil, on the call: "I'm coming. I'm almost there."

Umbra screamed as the creature grabbed them, slamming them against the wall. The back of their head hit the wall hard, and their vision began to swim.

Soleil: "Umbra!"

Momo: "Mom!"

Keiko: "Go! Go! Hurry!"

Keiko shoved the plant girl towards the basement door, hauling a squirming Charlie in her arms. The door slam shut just as the creature's hand slammed against it. Umbra would've been relieved if the creature didn't immediately turn back to them.

Soleil arrived just in time to see the creature leaving out of the giant hole that it had made in the back their house, stepping over the rubble of their back porch with Umbra screaming and kicking in its grasp.

Soleil: "Umbra!"

(Ignore the background I forgot to change it-🍵)

The creature melted down into a large shadowy puddle, drowning Umbra down with it., cutting off their screams. The shadow moved before Soleil could reach the porch, darting around him and slipping away into the woods.

Soleil: "Bastard!"