The hours of darkness were darker than ever tonight. It seemed like it had been forever since the last new moon. As the only nocturnal creature in the Glade of Dreams, Grim Reaper had a hard time not being homesick. He was used to the constant hours of gloom back in the Land of the Livid Dead. Ever since it was taken over by hostile nightmares, he moved up a level to the Glade and became the portal keeper. He was perfect for the job, considering he had a firsthand experience with what was down there. Reaper sighed, letting his ruby fangs hang out of his mouth. He had to admit, even though he was a nightmare himself, he had friends up here, although many others didn't trust him. Reaper froze. He heard something. Someone was coming.
Reaper stood up, blocking the portal to the Land of the Livid Dead with his scythe out in front of him. Then out of the tree's opening walked that Magician. Ales Mansay. Reaper let down his guard a bit. Just a Teensy. He thought. The Teensy said nothing, but rather continued forward. Reaper watched with curiosity until the Magician got a bit too close. "Ales, step back. You can't go in here. It's too dangerous." Reaper slurred through a mouthful of large ruby fangs.
The Magician stopped and looked up, bearing a very smug look as he put his hand on Reaper's scythe, pushed it down, and used his other hand to shove an orb of black magic straight into his face. Dazed and confused, Reaper was thrust out into nothing. When he reopened his eyes, he was standing just where he had been, except time appeared to be stopped and the portal to the Land of the Livid Dead was a frozen pool of light in the suspended darkness. Bewildered and angry, Reaper looked in all directions for his attacker, raising his scythe in a defensive stance.
"Looking for someone, old friend?" Ales' voice sounded behind him. Reaper whirled around to face the Magician, an irate glare on his face. "What are you doing, Ales!? How dare you attack the Portal Keeper!" Reaper exclaimed. "Calm down, Livid. I'm only stopping time so I can speak with you uninterrupted. You are a nightmare, yes?" Ales asked calmly. Reaper flinched at the word 'nightmare.' He had not been called such a thing ever since he abandoned the Underworld to guard the portal. "I have shed that title." Reaper retorted.
"Yes, but you have not shed your nightmarish powers. If you comply with me, you could return to your home world. No longer would you be forced to guard this doorway. The Glade would be no more, and you could go home. Back where you belong. The only thing you have to do is open the portal to the Land of the Livid Dead for me." Ales explained. Reaper's red eyes widened. "You wish to destroy the Glade?! Fiendish! Traitorous!" Reaper exclaimed, baring his ruby fangs. "Don't pretend like you don't want to. You can't separate a nightmare from its haunts without some homesick in between..." Ales spoke.
Reaper grasped his scythe tighter, as if he were imagining it were the Magician's neck. "No. I will have no part in your treachery. I won't allow you to pass. I am no longer a nightmare. I serve Polokus and his creations." Reaper snarled. "Well, what a shame. It really is too bad you wouldn't abide by my requests..." Ales said, shaking his head as he walked towards the Portal keeper. "You wish to fight me?" Reaper growled. "You could call it that." Ales said softly. "Fool. With me gone, the Portal to the Land of the Livid Dead will close, and you will never get through." Reaper said. "I do not intend to dispose of you, just put you into submission." Ales said, smirking evilly.
"Then come forward and face me. You will not leave here alive, traitor." Reaper growled, dashing forward. Reaper felt a bolt of satisfaction at the way Ales stumbled as he dashed towards him. Ales was not expecting him to strike first. His satisfaction quickly dispelled, as Ales darted out of the way, causing Reaper's ruby jaws to snap on empty air. Reaper thought quickly and swung his scythe around in an attempt to strike Ales mid-dodge, but ended up slicing through the air where Ales had just been. "I see you are light on your feet-" Reaper was interrupted by a sudden barrage to his backside. Reaper let out a roar of pain, but quickly recovered and spun around only to see Ales' shocked face.
"Fool! Dark magic has no effect on nightmares! Best reconsider your strategy!" Reaper growled, swinging his scythe and making contact with Ales' small body. The Dark Magician yelped out, sending waves of confidence flowing through Reaper. Ales staggered back, a single hand on a gash oozing blood across his body. Reaper let out a small, satisfied laugh. Dealing pain to others and enjoying it was one way to tell a nightmare from the common rabble. "Repulsive bastard..." Ales panted. "I'll have to use other means..." Ales growled under his breath, summoning lightning into his blood-stained hands.
Reaper tensed, ready for the attack. Instead, Ales used a quick diversion to distract Reaper for a mere moment while he sent a spear of electricity through Reaper's slim body. Reaper hissed in pain, baring his ruby fangs at nothing. When he saw Ales, the Magician had a severely resentful look on his face, and he no longer appeared calm. Something about Ales' expression made Reaper laugh out loud. "Look at you. You're nothing." Reaper choked, grinning maliciously. "Oh, I'm glad you think so. I just happen to know what makes your breed tick, nightmare." Ales spat out the word 'nightmare' like poison.
"Oh really? Show me. Show me this so-called power." Reaper snapped, starting to bleed black blood from his mouth. Ales curled his fingers around the lightning spear for a moment, then extended his hands outwards at a jerking pace, causing the lightning that was impaling the Livid Reaper to intensify, causing the Portal Keeper to let out a snarl of severe hurt. Ales would not stop. He relentlessly increased the force of the lightning until he was barely keeping control of it.
"No! This isn't over! I won't be beaten so easily!" Reaper exclaimed through howls of pain. The Reaper slowly held his scythe above his head, then swiftly brought it down onto the lightning spear, causing an startlingly dazzling burst followed by the shrieks of dispelling electricity. After the sparks had gone, Reaper appeared to be barely standing, gripping his scythe with a weakened grin that displayed his ruby fangs while a pool of black nightmare blood gathered underneath him.
Ales let out a very quiet gasp of alarm. "Impossible. Just...impossible..." Ales stuttered, his gash staining his purple tunic red. Reaper let out a crowing laugh. "I can't believe you thought it would be that effortless. I thought you were smarter than that. I was mistaken. You're pathetic. " Reaper spat, his voice sounding shaky. Ales' expression in a moment shifted from shock into something a bit more supercilious "Reaper, how could you be so naive..." Ales said, narrowing his beady black eyes. "You think me juvenile? Ales, you are much more irrational than I thought..." Reaper said, circling Ales, not taking his eyes off him.
Ales grinned. "Oh, yes, my friend. You think me finished with you? No, no. I will force you into submission, Reaper, and you will open that portal for me." Ales spoke strictly. "Not without a fight, I won't." Reaper growled, holding his scythe at his side as he shifted into a battle crouch. "So be it. Prepare yourself." Ales said bleakly, pulling a sword composed of black energy from his sleeve. Reaper's eyes lit up with amusement as the Dark Teensy drew his weapon. "Ah, the coward chooses to clash blades rather than hold a hex in hand." Reaper chuckled devilishly. Ales did not respond, but rather charged forward, striking three times with the impressive speed of his thin blade. Reaper blocked each of them with the wide staff of his scythe.
Reaper immediately parried with a swift bash with his scythe that sent Ales backwards. Ales snarled, then dashed forward for a second wave of attacks. Reaper raised his scythe for a block, but was instead thrown off by Ales attacking above rather than below. Reaper grunted with distress as he felt the sting of Ales' shadow blade meet his pale skin. Then he felt the warm rush of his blood over the nip. "You're flowing out nightmare concentrate, Reaper..." Ales said smugly. "It's nothing but a scratch." Reaper retorted, tearing across the time-frozen bark of the tree, raising his scythe and swinging it down onto Ales. To Reaper's aggravation, the Dark Magician had teleported out of the way before he could strike.
Before Reaper could remove his blade from the thick bark, he once again felt Ales' blade meet his flesh. Then he saw the tip of the fiend's blade in front of him. Reaper had been ran through. Turning his head, Reaper realized that his scythe did meet its mark on Ales down his ribs, and it was bleeding heavily. "You bastard. Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be to hide from the Glade?!" Ales barked. "Hmph. You deserve this, Ales. I never wasn't enjoying the moment where I got to see you bleed. To see you weak. After all you've lied, it isn't called hurting someone drastically, it's called justice." Reaper chuckled, wincing every so often at the pain in his chest. "True words spoken by a nightmare." Ales panted, pushing his blade further and adding a bolt of lightning magic to the blade to increase his damage output. Reaper hissed in dismay. "Now, you're going to follow my commands. Word for word." Ales began. "Never!" Reaper spat, baring his fangs.
Ales' beady eyes flashed with interest at Reaper's movement. "Your teeth. Skeleton Teeth of ruby, yes?" Ales asked, grinning evilly. Reaper froze. "W-what's it to you?" Reaper stammered. Ales smile grew larger as he sauntered forward. Reaper watched him, virtually unable to stop him from doing anything now. Ales stood in front of the Livid Reaper with a grin, then suddenly struck with a forceful blast of magic that shuddered through Reaper's skull, knocking each and every one of his precious Skeleton Teeth out of his mouth along with small splashes of black blood. Reaper let out a shriek of agony as his ruby fangs clattered on the ground. Ales let out a malicious laugh as he stepped forward, gathered each of the blood soaked teeth and turned each of them to ash with his dark powers. Reaper only watched helplessly.
"You'll open the portal now, won't you?" Ales asked spitefully. Reaper glanced up with a look of anguish, then closed his eyes, letting tears stream out of his eyes and down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that now covered his lips. "Oh?" Ales mused. "Are those tears? Nightmare tears?" Ales said, chuckling quietly.
Reaper didn't respond. "Oh, this is just too good to be true. I've gotten a nightmare to shed tears." Ales laughed out loud, rubbing his blood stained hands together. Reaper sighed, his voice cracked with lament. "Now. You'll open that portal." Ales said, dealing one final blow of magic to Reaper. He parted his jaws, but no sound emerged from them. Then, a shrieking of power nearby signaled that Ales had succeeded. "Ah, yes. The Land of the Livid Dead." Ales said, pleased with himself. "Oh, and to make sure you don't go spoiling my secret..." Ales said, snapping his fingers and letting a single wisp of black smoke enter into Reaper through his mouth. Reaper convulsed for a moment before his eyes went blank and he stood up, not seeming to know where he was. Ales raised a hand and time began flowing as normal as he strode self-confidently into the Land of the Livid Dead.
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