drunkenpandaren (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
drunkenpandaren) wrote2008-05-04 02:43 pm
drunkenpandaren) wrote2008-05-04 02:43 pm
Its not Much, but it's something
I wrote a little bit of this. Always planned to do so a year or two ago, but it never came out till now.
The Grim Adventures of Mays Hughes
Written by Shaun Garin
Set in Twelve Wishes Universe
=====
Hughes was, to be honest, ready for his death more or less.
Prying into things that he shouldn’t be, considering the nature could very well get him killed so fast, it would make the head spin. But when the bullets tore into his chest and the world began to go dark, he felt like he was falling.
Falling…
Falling some more…
And then… an irritated voice cut into his thoughts.
“Hey, mon, you getting up or not?”
Mays tried to squint in the gloom of the shadows. Then, a white bleached skeleton face popped up right in front of him, rapping Hughes on the forehead with the end of a long black-shafted scythe. “C’mon mon, I haven’t got all day,” demanded the skeleton in the black robes.
“Huh? What?” Getting to his feet, Hughes found himself standing in the middle of a large throne room. Simple, dark, somewhat gloomy and a little cold, there sat two people with a third standing next to them.
The first was a reddish skinned woman, elegant but she had the look of a fighter around herself. Vibrant and healthy as well, if the toga was anything to go by. The second was a grey skinned man with a flaming head of fire for hair, dressed in grey and black colors. The third was a man, pale with sallow skin and carrying a scythe similar to the one who had woke him, long black raven wings folded behind himself.
“Finally, you woke up,” groused the flame-haired man. “Hey, names Hades, lord of the dead, how’reyadoin?”
Hughes tentatively shook Hades’ hand. “Er, fine, I suppose? Where am I?”
“The underworld,” replied the woman who stood up, adjusting her toga a little. “You died just recently and we had Grim here bring you down directly to us. Not many people proceed with the proper burials and all, and you’re something of a special case.”
“Bluh?” inquired Hughes, not quite finding the words to even made a normal comment on the situation.
“Sheesh, and you’re head of intelligence,” snorted Hades. “Look pal, bubsy, Hughes, my man. You have the DUBIOUS honor of becoming apprentice to Captain Gloomeister over there.”
“That’s Thanatos,” stated the winged man and Hades shot him a look.
“Look, the point is: do you want the position or not?”
“Wait, hold on a moment,” stated Hughes, feeling overwhelmed. “I died, now I’m in “HELL” or the Underworld or whatever you call it, and now you want me to become apprentice to…?”
“Thanatos,” stated Thanatos, spreading his wings. “God of Death, Reaper of Souls, the ferryman who shuffles people off their mortal coils.”
“Yeah, dat guy,” stated Grim.
“As position to Thanatos, you will be responsible for overseeing death in your immediate area,” said Persephone, the woman standing besides Hades. “Grim is pressed with OTHER duties at the moment, so his position here is unavailable thus far.”
“You will be allowed to return to your family,” added Thanatos, as if to sweeten the deal. “As a Reaper on the Mortal Lands, you will be charged with following around people when their time comes. Then, you must reap them, and deliver them to Charon the Ferryman.”
The words “Return to your family” snagged Hughes like a fishermans hook, and he literally spun, eyes wide. “I can return to them?” exclaimed Hughes, not quite ecstatically but still happily. “What’s the trade?”
“The trade, is that you will be forever in eternal service to Thanatos,” stated Phersephone. “You were marked for reincarnation yes after your death, but your devotion and service to your friends and your family, has given you a chance to become a god’s hand. Will you accept?”
“I…” stammered Hughes. Then, Grim tapped him on the shoulder, handing him a photograph. Looking at it, it was a rare picture, taken by not Hughes but Roy. It showed him, Elicia and Gracia, in a loving pose while Elicia played with blocks. “Thanks,” said Hughes and Grim nodded. “I will! I will become your servant!”
Thanatos nodded as he struck the floor. “By the power of the God of Death, I accept your offer!”
“I Persephone, oversee this pact as queen of the underworld and goddess of rebirth,” added Persephone.
“And I Hades, yadda yadda yadda.” finished Hades, earning a smirk from his wife and a face palm from Thanatos.
=====
NEW STUFF!
=====
Tap, Tap, Tap
Roy finally looked up from his paperwork, an irritated expression on his face. No doubt it was a bird or something pecking at the seed that one of his men had planted in order to draw the winged rats, otherwise known as pigeons, to his window.
Spinning around, one hand brushed aside the curtains, the other preparing to snap his fingers that would spell doom for one soon-to-be crispy bird…
The Furher’s Office was ROCKED with a high pitched girly shriek of fear as the entire wall blew out from the force of one self-proclaimed Flame Alchemist.
Immediately, his men were in the room, Hawkeye at the forefront with her gun out in front of her. “FURHER?!” she demanded, busting in.
“Geez, Roy!” proclaimed Hughes, looking completely and one hundred percent irritated, as well as crispy around the edges. The entire picture window was sizzling around him, the casualty of a high powered alchemic fire. “I knew you cared for me, but I didn’t think you could hit a pitch THAT high--OW!”
Hughes forehead rocked backwards as Hawkeye drilled his forehead with a bullet. Several more bullets rocked the room as Hughes yelped out “OW! OW, why are you shooing me?! Goddamnit, that hurts!”
“…” said the rest of the men. And then Roy, who had finally stopped panicking, looked down at Hughes who was now getting pistol-whipped by a now frantic Hawkeye.
“That’s enough,” he said, gently removing the gun from Hawkeye’s hands, helping the hyperventilating woman off Hughes’ chest. “If you shoot him any more, he’ll have to file for death again.”
“Tell me about it,” growled Hughes, painfully getting to his feet and sweeping the bullets from his body, shaking the one between his eyes free with a toss of his head. When he picked up the huge gleaming scythe however, more guns were bared. “WHOA! No shootie! It’s me; Hughes!”
“Hughes is dead,” stated Fallman.
“NO KIDDING!” proclaimed Hughes, groaning. “Look, can we start at the beginning here?”
Two hours later, twenty donuts and ten cups of coffee later, and everyone was staring at Hughes like had grown a second head. “…. so… you just wait for someone to die?” inquired Falman.
“That’s it right?” added Havoc. “You didn’t come back to reap us all, right?”
“I could, but that would be breaking the natural cycle,” stated Hughes, tossing the scythe up and down like it was a toy. “This thing is imbued with so much magical voodoo, I could do anything with it! Almost anything.”
“What CAN’T you do?” inquired Breda curiously.
“Um…” pondered Hughes. Then he pasted a happy grin on his face. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW!”
Everyone fell over.
=====
“You okay with this?” inquired Roy as the men stood at the door; Hughes in his death’s robes, Roy in his official outfit of office. They stood at the door to Hughes’ home and Hughes’ hand was poised to knock. “I mean, you have been dead for at least a month.”
Hughes nodded. Then, he knocked.
The door opened to Glacia as she was juggling a few things in her hands. “Roy? Is that you?”
Hughes’ breath caught in his throat. She was so tired looking, but still so beautiful. “Gla--” he started but then, was tackled headlong by his daughter.
“DADDY’S HOME!” Elicia half-sobbed, half-laughed as she hugged her father with all her worth.
“Elicia, my cute little daughter!” proclaimed Hughes on his back as Glacia looked over her load, face white. “Glacia!”
Trembling, Glacia looked at Roy. “This… this isn’t a joke, is it? This is a joke!”
“I’m afraid not, and I’m glad it isn’t,” said Roy gently as father and daughter played on the ground. “By some means, unknown to Alchemy, Hughes is back. He’s real Glacia, and he’s here to stay. Forever.”
“Daddy, what’s this?” inquired Elicia, hands grabbing for the scythe.
“Ah, ah, ah, this is DADDY’S scythe,” chided Hughes. “Don’t touch okay, pumpkin? I’ll make you a teddy bear with it though!”
“YAY! Daddy’s the best!”
Glacia’s eyes welled up as Hughes got to his feet. “Glacia, I--” he started again but then was tackled by an armful of sobbing woman. Roy nodded, backing away respectfully as Hughes smiled. “Thanks Roy.”
=====
“This sucks,” proclaimed Ed, leaning on the wall of the Rockbell household. “This is going to take forever for Winry to fix my arm.”
“Cheer up brother,” grinned Al. The latter was back in his human form and was eating sweet strawberries with cream. “At least we’re done with the whole thing.”
“Yeah,” stated Ed.
“Scuse me boys, but where’s Old Man Henkle?” inquired a voice. The pair stiffened as they looked up at the amused twinkling eyes of Hughes, the latter carrying a big scary scythe. “Ed, Al! I almost didn’t recognise the pair of you!”
“MAJOR!” exclaimed Ed, echoed by Al’s “HOLY--!” “You’re…!”
“Alive? Yeah, mostly. Ah, there he is!”
Hughes fell into march behind Old Man Henkle, the eldery man coughing hard. The old man looked up at Hughes who was carrying the scythe, and then stated, “So… they sent a new one? You don’t have a funny accent, do you sonny boy?”
“Afraid not sir, Amestrian born,” grinned Hughes. “Don’t worry sir, I’ll help you along.”
“Good, good,” coughed Henkle. “Ed, Al, help me with my groceries. Little Paula would like to see the pair of you before I pass on tonight.”
“Pass on? What does he mean, Hughes?” inquired Al.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m Death. Or at least, a Death Apprentice,” stated Hughes blandly, making Ed trip in surprise.
“Death’s Apprentice?!” demanded Edward loudly.
“Yeah, pretty much,” grinned the new Reaper. “I’ve been sent here to help the Old Man Henkle pass on. He’s been avoiding it for years now!”
“Hah!” laughed Henkle, letting out another wet cough. “I just did it to annoy that weirdly accented death that keeps coming around!”
“That’s Grim for you,” nodded Hughes.
“Where is that rascal anyhow?”
“He’s busy. Something to do with being a Friend For Life to two kids,” stated Hughes.
The Grim Adventures of Mays Hughes
Written by Shaun Garin
Set in Twelve Wishes Universe
=====
Hughes was, to be honest, ready for his death more or less.
Prying into things that he shouldn’t be, considering the nature could very well get him killed so fast, it would make the head spin. But when the bullets tore into his chest and the world began to go dark, he felt like he was falling.
Falling…
Falling some more…
And then… an irritated voice cut into his thoughts.
“Hey, mon, you getting up or not?”
Mays tried to squint in the gloom of the shadows. Then, a white bleached skeleton face popped up right in front of him, rapping Hughes on the forehead with the end of a long black-shafted scythe. “C’mon mon, I haven’t got all day,” demanded the skeleton in the black robes.
“Huh? What?” Getting to his feet, Hughes found himself standing in the middle of a large throne room. Simple, dark, somewhat gloomy and a little cold, there sat two people with a third standing next to them.
The first was a reddish skinned woman, elegant but she had the look of a fighter around herself. Vibrant and healthy as well, if the toga was anything to go by. The second was a grey skinned man with a flaming head of fire for hair, dressed in grey and black colors. The third was a man, pale with sallow skin and carrying a scythe similar to the one who had woke him, long black raven wings folded behind himself.
“Finally, you woke up,” groused the flame-haired man. “Hey, names Hades, lord of the dead, how’reyadoin?”
Hughes tentatively shook Hades’ hand. “Er, fine, I suppose? Where am I?”
“The underworld,” replied the woman who stood up, adjusting her toga a little. “You died just recently and we had Grim here bring you down directly to us. Not many people proceed with the proper burials and all, and you’re something of a special case.”
“Bluh?” inquired Hughes, not quite finding the words to even made a normal comment on the situation.
“Sheesh, and you’re head of intelligence,” snorted Hades. “Look pal, bubsy, Hughes, my man. You have the DUBIOUS honor of becoming apprentice to Captain Gloomeister over there.”
“That’s Thanatos,” stated the winged man and Hades shot him a look.
“Look, the point is: do you want the position or not?”
“Wait, hold on a moment,” stated Hughes, feeling overwhelmed. “I died, now I’m in “HELL” or the Underworld or whatever you call it, and now you want me to become apprentice to…?”
“Thanatos,” stated Thanatos, spreading his wings. “God of Death, Reaper of Souls, the ferryman who shuffles people off their mortal coils.”
“Yeah, dat guy,” stated Grim.
“As position to Thanatos, you will be responsible for overseeing death in your immediate area,” said Persephone, the woman standing besides Hades. “Grim is pressed with OTHER duties at the moment, so his position here is unavailable thus far.”
“You will be allowed to return to your family,” added Thanatos, as if to sweeten the deal. “As a Reaper on the Mortal Lands, you will be charged with following around people when their time comes. Then, you must reap them, and deliver them to Charon the Ferryman.”
The words “Return to your family” snagged Hughes like a fishermans hook, and he literally spun, eyes wide. “I can return to them?” exclaimed Hughes, not quite ecstatically but still happily. “What’s the trade?”
“The trade, is that you will be forever in eternal service to Thanatos,” stated Phersephone. “You were marked for reincarnation yes after your death, but your devotion and service to your friends and your family, has given you a chance to become a god’s hand. Will you accept?”
“I…” stammered Hughes. Then, Grim tapped him on the shoulder, handing him a photograph. Looking at it, it was a rare picture, taken by not Hughes but Roy. It showed him, Elicia and Gracia, in a loving pose while Elicia played with blocks. “Thanks,” said Hughes and Grim nodded. “I will! I will become your servant!”
Thanatos nodded as he struck the floor. “By the power of the God of Death, I accept your offer!”
“I Persephone, oversee this pact as queen of the underworld and goddess of rebirth,” added Persephone.
“And I Hades, yadda yadda yadda.” finished Hades, earning a smirk from his wife and a face palm from Thanatos.
=====
NEW STUFF!
=====
Tap, Tap, Tap
Roy finally looked up from his paperwork, an irritated expression on his face. No doubt it was a bird or something pecking at the seed that one of his men had planted in order to draw the winged rats, otherwise known as pigeons, to his window.
Spinning around, one hand brushed aside the curtains, the other preparing to snap his fingers that would spell doom for one soon-to-be crispy bird…
The Furher’s Office was ROCKED with a high pitched girly shriek of fear as the entire wall blew out from the force of one self-proclaimed Flame Alchemist.
Immediately, his men were in the room, Hawkeye at the forefront with her gun out in front of her. “FURHER?!” she demanded, busting in.
“Geez, Roy!” proclaimed Hughes, looking completely and one hundred percent irritated, as well as crispy around the edges. The entire picture window was sizzling around him, the casualty of a high powered alchemic fire. “I knew you cared for me, but I didn’t think you could hit a pitch THAT high--OW!”
Hughes forehead rocked backwards as Hawkeye drilled his forehead with a bullet. Several more bullets rocked the room as Hughes yelped out “OW! OW, why are you shooing me?! Goddamnit, that hurts!”
“…” said the rest of the men. And then Roy, who had finally stopped panicking, looked down at Hughes who was now getting pistol-whipped by a now frantic Hawkeye.
“That’s enough,” he said, gently removing the gun from Hawkeye’s hands, helping the hyperventilating woman off Hughes’ chest. “If you shoot him any more, he’ll have to file for death again.”
“Tell me about it,” growled Hughes, painfully getting to his feet and sweeping the bullets from his body, shaking the one between his eyes free with a toss of his head. When he picked up the huge gleaming scythe however, more guns were bared. “WHOA! No shootie! It’s me; Hughes!”
“Hughes is dead,” stated Fallman.
“NO KIDDING!” proclaimed Hughes, groaning. “Look, can we start at the beginning here?”
Two hours later, twenty donuts and ten cups of coffee later, and everyone was staring at Hughes like had grown a second head. “…. so… you just wait for someone to die?” inquired Falman.
“That’s it right?” added Havoc. “You didn’t come back to reap us all, right?”
“I could, but that would be breaking the natural cycle,” stated Hughes, tossing the scythe up and down like it was a toy. “This thing is imbued with so much magical voodoo, I could do anything with it! Almost anything.”
“What CAN’T you do?” inquired Breda curiously.
“Um…” pondered Hughes. Then he pasted a happy grin on his face. “I DON’T EVEN KNOW!”
Everyone fell over.
=====
“You okay with this?” inquired Roy as the men stood at the door; Hughes in his death’s robes, Roy in his official outfit of office. They stood at the door to Hughes’ home and Hughes’ hand was poised to knock. “I mean, you have been dead for at least a month.”
Hughes nodded. Then, he knocked.
The door opened to Glacia as she was juggling a few things in her hands. “Roy? Is that you?”
Hughes’ breath caught in his throat. She was so tired looking, but still so beautiful. “Gla--” he started but then, was tackled headlong by his daughter.
“DADDY’S HOME!” Elicia half-sobbed, half-laughed as she hugged her father with all her worth.
“Elicia, my cute little daughter!” proclaimed Hughes on his back as Glacia looked over her load, face white. “Glacia!”
Trembling, Glacia looked at Roy. “This… this isn’t a joke, is it? This is a joke!”
“I’m afraid not, and I’m glad it isn’t,” said Roy gently as father and daughter played on the ground. “By some means, unknown to Alchemy, Hughes is back. He’s real Glacia, and he’s here to stay. Forever.”
“Daddy, what’s this?” inquired Elicia, hands grabbing for the scythe.
“Ah, ah, ah, this is DADDY’S scythe,” chided Hughes. “Don’t touch okay, pumpkin? I’ll make you a teddy bear with it though!”
“YAY! Daddy’s the best!”
Glacia’s eyes welled up as Hughes got to his feet. “Glacia, I--” he started again but then was tackled by an armful of sobbing woman. Roy nodded, backing away respectfully as Hughes smiled. “Thanks Roy.”
=====
“This sucks,” proclaimed Ed, leaning on the wall of the Rockbell household. “This is going to take forever for Winry to fix my arm.”
“Cheer up brother,” grinned Al. The latter was back in his human form and was eating sweet strawberries with cream. “At least we’re done with the whole thing.”
“Yeah,” stated Ed.
“Scuse me boys, but where’s Old Man Henkle?” inquired a voice. The pair stiffened as they looked up at the amused twinkling eyes of Hughes, the latter carrying a big scary scythe. “Ed, Al! I almost didn’t recognise the pair of you!”
“MAJOR!” exclaimed Ed, echoed by Al’s “HOLY--!” “You’re…!”
“Alive? Yeah, mostly. Ah, there he is!”
Hughes fell into march behind Old Man Henkle, the eldery man coughing hard. The old man looked up at Hughes who was carrying the scythe, and then stated, “So… they sent a new one? You don’t have a funny accent, do you sonny boy?”
“Afraid not sir, Amestrian born,” grinned Hughes. “Don’t worry sir, I’ll help you along.”
“Good, good,” coughed Henkle. “Ed, Al, help me with my groceries. Little Paula would like to see the pair of you before I pass on tonight.”
“Pass on? What does he mean, Hughes?” inquired Al.
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m Death. Or at least, a Death Apprentice,” stated Hughes blandly, making Ed trip in surprise.
“Death’s Apprentice?!” demanded Edward loudly.
“Yeah, pretty much,” grinned the new Reaper. “I’ve been sent here to help the Old Man Henkle pass on. He’s been avoiding it for years now!”
“Hah!” laughed Henkle, letting out another wet cough. “I just did it to annoy that weirdly accented death that keeps coming around!”
“That’s Grim for you,” nodded Hughes.
“Where is that rascal anyhow?”
“He’s busy. Something to do with being a Friend For Life to two kids,” stated Hughes.