Raging Demon Reaper

Disclaimer: I don't own Grim Tales.

ChosenJuan- Here you go, one chapter, hot off the platter. And don't worry, you'll be seeing more and more hints of Junior's paternal family as time goes on. And I will stay cool!

nightmaster000- She probably will, knowing me.

Brandon Storm- Probably, and thanks.

Cf96- Yes, yes it will be.

Somonerandome- Despite what my profile might look like, I never abandon a story.

Blood Brandy- Likely in any timeline of GT.

detrametal- Yeah, it was a weird thought, but than I realized that Minnie would love games for all the wrong reasons. XP And yes, Lord Traitor is someone to envy at times. As for Psedu-RDR, eh, I think you guess are missing the point of it: Its a Junior that had the cloning ability and some other RDR features, but none of the emotional/family issues. And yes, I'm awareofmy story count.

coldblue- Thanks! Always love these!

1) Hehe, I like those ideas, that's for sure.

2) You are right about Aku going for a cunning and dangerous route, but no, the revealing family bits won't be his stunt.

3) We'll see. And possibly

4) ...Yeah, that's actually a damn good discription.

5) Very possible.

6) Could be that, or her just sucking at small talk. And yes, that could be another boon of showing him the site.

7) No, Coldblue, this is where I must make this absolutely clear: Here, as in all of my stories, Junior has ALL of Minnie's memories and knows her inside and out. I always thought Bleedman downplayed that, so I refuse to. And I am still a bit annoyed/at odds with Minnie's personality shift.

8) Well, considering the clones, he probably has more than a few ways he could keep a...guest of that nature underwraps by keeping Minnie preoccupied.

9) Bingo.

10) Maybe one day. Or maybe she'll take after Grim as Junior takes after Mandy, and she'll end up his bitch on a leash. XP

11) Hmm, feeding him Mojo Jojo...have to look into that. And true on the Catgirl thing.

coldblue-

Grim Junior mysterious siblings: Bingo all around. No one in this story has the whole picture at this point, which is part of the fun. And yes, Mandy wasn't the only one busy. She's a celibate compared to him if we're judging them by child numbers.

Grim Junior dealing with his family and how his family doing: Yep, everything is cooling down except in the most dangerous rift between Mandy and Junior. Despite the mistrust, Junior is finding a peaceful coexistence with Grim Senior. Mandy? Not so much. Yes, Grim is getting some of his old spunk back while his kids bond- Minnie is already flirting the line, pun intended. And yes, Junior and Mandy had a moment- and even that was strange. As for Jade Chan, maybe

BOLD Author Notes on the Lighter Alternative Universe of "Raging Demon Reaper": Kind of planning to do all of them. Some things Junior gets into on purpose, other's he stumbles into, and a few he's dragged to. And I like hearing fans opinions on my plans.

Questions

1) Yes and No. She is going to play a large part in an upcoming arc, I'm just not sure when that will start yet. Things are very fluid with this plot sometimes.

2) That is something for me to look into plotwise.

3) Hadn't thought that out too much at the time, but not a bad idea when/if I come back to it.

Omegas Prime- Funny how life works sometimes. And good to hear! If my fans die, I perfer laughter...I perfer you NOT dying, but still. XP One of them didn't- apparently forgot or didn't see the Shadowkahn Queen episode. Have not that anime despite wanting to. Depends on who the Farmer is, eh? As for the siblings- most of them are going to be a thorn in each other's side at somepoint, part of being brothers and sisters. Yes, you are right aboout the fight. And don't worry, you'll got a new dose!

DPSS- Always glad to hear from you.

1. Eh, she's a loose piece that will either be straightened out or thrown out later.

2. Yes, yes that are.

3. Don't worry, its no where near triple digits. And yes, I would be.

4. And his younger brother is the devourer of afterlives.

5. For good reason too.

6. Curiousity, perhaps? Or...her sucknig at small talk, I suppose.

7. ...The answer to this is a resounding yes.

8. Possible, but we're all prone to stupid moments.

9. ...Yeah, I'll be honest, fighting was his suggestion, more or less. He keptit vague so that he could stil take credit if they did something else.

10. Very likely.

Aros001- Yes, you are right on one. And no, its not Mojo Jojo. Hilarious thought though.

1. Yes, that's who she is, but most fans lean more towards her stint as the Shadowkahn Queen

2. True, btthe plan is a bit more subtle than that.

3. He's a bit like Zeus, but not quite to that level...which might just be because of his disappearing. Yes, I will comfirm, Gaz is another one of his 'conquests'. Good guesses on the rest.

4. Yes, yes it has.

5. True.

6. Slave, no. Fuck? Eh, debatable with her. But you do raise good points.

7. Very true. Something that others are noticing.

8. Hehe, nice all around

9. A. Mandy. B. Underworld.

10. True. A little help wouldn't hurt either.

11...I'm not even sure how to respond to that.

Could be a mix bag of the three.

Malbatorus- Eh, I'm leaning to yes on the AU myself, but not for a while probably.

Remzal Von Enili-Well, glad to give you a wonderful

Al Baker- You are right on so many levels

Regular Speak

Thoughts and Flashbacks

Demonic or Animalistic Speak

Demonic or Animalistic Thought

All the skill in the world is nothing against true power.

MiniMandy didn't understand those words of her mother for the longest time. Her mother was a human without any inherit abilities yet she was able to conquer Death and rule the underworld. If that wasn't skill, than what was? What was this 'power' that her mother spoke of?

Her brother taught it to her; Even if he didn't realize it.

Junior had no practice with a sword beyond his brief time wielding the Sword of Tengu. When they started training with melee weapons…when she first stood before his incarnation with swords pointed at one another, she could see all the flaws and openings in his stance. In fact, there was no stance or style. He was just holding the sword in her direction. Even with her new body, she was sure she could outduel him in a pure sword fight.

*Thud*

Minnie groaned as she slumped off the pillar, her grip tight on her rapier. While her body didn't recognize pain as much as flesh and blood would, she did feel disoriented from being thrown across the room.

*CRASH!*

Minnie's head shot up as she saw Wrath crouched vertically on the pillar, his clawed feet securing him to the now-fractured stone. In his hand he held a Nergal-generated Kopis, holding it as if to slash at her.

"I am the show off, how?" Minnie asked flatly, jumping forward as he leapt down the instant the last syllable was on her tongue. She rolled out of the jump, spinning around to block the strike aimed at her neck. The force of the blow alone pushed her several feet back.

She gritted her teeth as she saw him charging at her with a reverse grip on his sword. At the last minute, she rose to block the swing and counter with a spin-dodge to strike at his back. However, the minute the blade made contact, she knew something was wrong; the curved edge of the blade slid right off her rapier without resistant or force, 'A diversion!' She realized, as he spun and swung his axe tail at her head. She barely moved back enough to dodge it. The tip of the blade ran across her nose...and phased through it, leaving only a green line of ectoplasm to prove her 'wounding'.

It was a handy trick for training Junior figured out, leaving a trail of ectoplasm on whatever he went through with intangibility.

"Thou seemed most determined to claim mine head today, Master," She joked with a strained smirk.

She was more skilled than him: She could block every sword swing, she could predict almost every movement he was about to make and she could even get the blade out of his hand a few times.

But it didn't matter. His strikes could overwhelm her, there was always an extra movement she couldn't see coming, and his claws were more than suitable stand-ins until he retrieved his primary weapon.

His power outpaced her skill.

And it stung, a bit.

Wrath grunted as he kicked his feet at her, to her surprise. She moved her rapier to stop the bladed feet...and realized her mistake far too late as the toes clamped tightly on the weapon. Her eyes went wide as she frantically tried to pull the weapon loose.

She barely even noticed the axe-tail slice and phase through the top of her head. Normally, this would be when the match was over, but Minnie was too far into the fighting to register that. So when Wrath released the weapon, she again tried to strike at him.

Wrath abandoned any pretense of swordsmanship right then, dematerializing his sword into tentacles, as the blade came at him. He didn't even flinch when it ran him through, just staring at her evenly. Minnie blinked as she realized what she had down, staring into Wrath's red eyes as he reached up and grasped her shoulder, using it to slam his forehead against hers.

When one couldn't talk with more than single grunted words, they tended to get creative in getting a message across. And nothing knocked sense into someone like literally knocking it into them.

"Oi, Brother, pirthee, teach thine copies the art of speech with haste and spare me such abuse," Minnie requested as she rubbed her forehead in pain. She blinked as she opened her eyes and saw an ecto-cut on her wrist. Looking down at herself, she took full stock of her 'injuries' from her spar. There were several nicks and cuts along her sides, both ankles had been marked in the same instant, her left arm would have been removed in a true battle, her abdomen had a stab in it and out the back a time or three, her hair had more than a few green tips to show her close calls, and her right leg had been half way cleaved off.

All in all, if it had been Nergal blood, she would have been a fourth as bloody as when she had been ripped apart.

Wrath sported a few wounds as well, but hardly any would be crippling to most beings. They wouldn't even slow Junior down if they were real.

*CLAP*CLAP*CLAP*

"Not bad, Mins," Junior said as he stepped away from the sidelines along with...another Wrath?

"Thou say that, but...," Minnie said, looking blandly down at her green covered form as the 'Wrath' next to her walked over to Junior and refused with the original in a mass of Nergal limbs.

"Minnie, you were taking on about..." Junior paused to look up, doing a mental count, "Nineteen clones stuffed into super one."

"Nineteen?" Minnie asked with a blink, looking at Wrath curiously.

"Forty-nine," He growled out in answer to her silent inquiry.

Minnie paled a bit at the prospect of fighting the real Wrath, more than twice as powerful as what she just fought, before shaking it off, "Still, mine performance leaves much to be desired. Not only twas I unable do significant damage, I became lost amongst the fighting, continuing to strike even after the match was through," Minnie lamented in self-disappointed.

"You are your own worst critic, you know that right?" Junior asked blandly, "All the same, this does raise another issue."

"Hmm?" Minnie asked with a head tilt, wondering what he meant.

"As strange as this is to say to a girl, you need more weight," Junior pointed out, gesturing to her ragdoll body, "Even if you were strong enough to hold the strikes back, you won't be able to hold your ground. Meaning you either need a heavier body or something that will, in one way or another, keep you from getting tossed around all over the place," Junior explained offhandedly.

"...Thank you for not making the ragdoll quip," Minnie said with a sigh.

"It felt too implied to be said," Junior answered with a small smirk.

"This seems like an issue I twould not be able to solve with mere training," Minnie mused thoughtfully.

"Unless you want to style yourself around dodging and deflecting, you're right," Junior confirmed with a shrug.

"I shalt look into a solution on mine own if ye do not mind, Master Junior," Minnie requested respectfully, "While I am grateful for thine tutelage, I do not wish to trouble ye for every minute facet and issue I come across."

"You're never trouble for me, Minnie, but I understand," Junior answered with a nod with a smile,

"Still, if ye don't mind my inquiry, Brother? Ye claimed this was training for ye as well?" She asked in interest.

"More like an experiment," Junior answered, looking at Wrath, "I've been trying to figure out the significance of my Wrath body. The forms the clones take are their default Nergalized forms, so I was wondering why does Wrath's default have a tail- along with why it is ridiculously more powerful than the others," Junior explained offhandedly.

"So thee desired to make sense of the more complex nature behind thine replicating ability," Minnie summarized with a raised eyebrow, "Hast thou deduced anything?"

"Yeah, the tail is a marker of a power-status thing. If a clone naturally has it, they have the power of at least nineteen regular clones. At that point the phrase 'More than the sum of their parts' comes into play, granting them some overall increase in power and abilities," Junior explained thoughtfully.

"Interesting. Though, it nearly sounds more of a species characteristic with thine description," Minnie noted curiously.

"We'll figure that out when I have kids," Junior said bluntly, to Minnie's slight surprise and interest, "Still, it felt odd having another clone like Wrath," He mused, Wrath nodding in agreement.

"Mayhaps it is likened to getting accustomed to a new limb?" Minnie suggested.

"I can see that," Junior admitted, stroking his chin, "So, Mins...? Call it a day or you want to train with your bow some more?"

Minnie sighed, a bit tired, "Brother, I twould rather not spend the next hour attempting to put down seven clones. I beat six on a matter of luck!" She exclaimed with a shiver. Being lucky, it turned out, with Junior's training was in fact the opposite: If you lucked through one stage, the following was likely to rip you to shreds…figuratively, thankfully.

Junior couldn't help chuckling. He had to admit, he was enjoying some of the perks of this teacher thing. Like seeing his sister squirm...'Fook, am I turning into Helga?!' He thought in horror, "In that case, shall we play a game?" Junior asked with a grin.

Minnie stared at him for a moment, studying his face a moment, "Tis that a reference?"

Junior chuckled a bit at that, "Just something granddad John used to say," He answered mysteriously, "Now come on: You'll probably have a lot easier time killing me in the virtual world than in the real one," Junior teased.

Minnie pouted, and if Junior was being honest, it was rather cute.

Why did it have to take such a wrong turn in their unlives for him and Minnie to find this comfortable point with each other?

As they headed out, Minnie blinked as she realized she never noticed Wrath disappearing, but shrugged it off: Junior and Wrath loved to disappear on people, she believed.

Ten second after the double door had closed, an identical door on the opposite side of the room opened, revealing Lord Pain. Leaning lazily against the pillar nearest this door was Wrath himself, making Charles stiffen as he held back the urge to jump back when his eyes met those crimson eyes.

While Pain looked all patched up, his hands were still bandaged under his gloves and he would admit to himself that his hands weren't quite as steady as they use to be, yet. He wouldn't be surprised if Junior, and therefore Wrath, knew this.

Charles held a scowl as he looked down at Wrath, as if trying to convey the simple message: I know.

Wrath rose an eyebrow before giving his reply.

*thud*

Pain went wide eyed as his head swiveled to the right and saw, leaning against the other door, on the outside where he had been spying, one of Junior's regular clones. It didn't even look at Pain before dissolving into a mass of tentacles, swimming around the door to rejoin with Wrath.

Pain got the message loud and clear: I knew you were there and I don't care.

The royal guard captain didn't really know why he thought the prince would. After all, it was just him training his sister. While the Queen would likely not be fond of them keeping secrets, there was little to actually be upset about. Still, he didn't like the way things were looking. It was beginning to get easier and easier to see why the guards and soldiers were (not so) secretly talking about what the Prince would be like when he was on the throne.

Before when they talked about it, it was just in humor, wondering which of his parents he would take after in several centuries. Now, it was an honest question, and it was referring more to the immediate future.

Pain himself had only one question: Did Junior not care because he wasn't planning anything and thought they were acting like fools, or did he have plans and find their actions foolish all the same?

Charles didn't like either option.

He bit his lip as Wrath turned to walk away, across the wide training room to the other side. It was a rather deceptive action, Junior making it seem like his guard was down when in fact his multiple eyes saw everything.

The captain would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to try bashing Wrath in the head with his currently-absent mace. The boy had matched him move for move, spitting onto all his own years of battling under his mother's reign, and was going to make him watch helpless as he devoured the soul of the woman Charles served, Junior's own mother, right before his very eyes.

It was so, so easy in Charles' head to emotionally separate Wrath from Junior. Wrath was a silent, grunting, animalistic brute whereas Junior was like his mother-cold, domineering, and unrelenting- dashed with some kind spots for his sister and glossed over with a silver tongue. The two may look alike, but Charles worked with skeleton guards that looked identical to most: He was use to identifying completely different beings with very similar features.

Boarder of Grimskull Territory and Land of Tainted Souls.

On the fringes of Grimskull territory, neighboring the Land of Tainted Souls, was...something of a settlement. It's prime residents were demons, resembling komodo dragons the size of bulldozers, except with curled goat horns covered in spikes and bodies covered in patches of black-grey 'scales' that were formed from lava mixed with their saliva. Due to the cooling nature of their insides, they needed VERY hot substances to remain warm. Hence why these large creatures took comfort in the extreme heat of a lava-river running through the 'town'. It was mostly a bunch of caves created by the Lavodos, as some dubbed them, to keep near their source of warm and comfort.

It was rather strange to watch a herd of large reptiles create these structure either by splashing large amount of magma out of the stream and then spitting on it, or skipping the middle man by taking mouthfuls to deposit as the walls of their new home.

Alongside them lived a platoon of Mandy's Caci: The flaming-wielding descendants of Cacus, Son of Vulcan. Most wore their armor, but those ride of some or most of it at times revealed that a Caci almost looked like a human except for being extremely tall with uniformly burnt-brown hair, glowing eyes and veins on their bodies that resembled magma. Oh, and the more carnivorous teeth, but that was normal of most giants of divine descent.

They had been stationed here by Queen Mandy. Primarily to keep watch over the boarder to HIM's domain, also to harvest some of the saliva from the Lavodos. And due to their nature, the Lavodo welcomed the small(to them) burning creatures to live alongside them, and build shelters along their caves. Plus, while mere beasts, the Lavados knew of the Red One, having left their volcanic homelands to get away from that particularly nasty demon.

Ever since the Battle of Halloween Town, the Queen had them on high alert, keeping an eye on anything HIM might try. The Tempter had many servants and forces, but few that could take on a few dozen Caci and their reptile friends without alerting Mandy or Grim of something happening.

Still, all this talk of a Demon-Reaper, a Clone Army, and all of it being the Prince himself? It was getting more than a few of them on edge. As the lineage of the Roman-Greek gods, they knew well how this would likely end: a civil war between the current ruler and the now VERY powerful heir. That Prince Grim II had somehow become a supposedly impossible mix of Demon and Reaper had them raising more than a few smoking eyebrows, wondering where truth ended and rumor began.

Sergeant Canus growled in his throat as the Lavados started to stir with unease. Some growled and others just looked tense. While these things were by no means tame, they did serve as excellent watch dogs. All the many years in HIM's domain had given them an instinctive ability to sense certain things.

Like something nearby wanting to kill them.

But what could have gotten this close without being spotted? They had at least four soldiers with goggles that detected various things that could be invisible, including ghosts, all watching from the larger unnatural caves. So if this thing was invisible, it wasn't by common means.

Wordlessly, he nodded to his corporal, as they all ignited their arms into flames, waiting and watching for their foe to make the first move. They all waited, fearless and boiling for the fight to come...

They all snarled in alarm as one of the Lavados screamed inside its cave, spasming wildly and demolishing its home in a flurry of panic and pain while the Caci and other Lavados stepped away from the creature that screamed in utter torture.. As it reared back, the Sergeant and others got a good look at the problem. On its underbelly, the great retile now sported a giant, bloody hole in it, its entrails starting to ooze out.

But by the screams, it was sickeningly clear that their foe was IN the Lavado, ripping it to pieces. The poor beast, blood pouring from its mouth, let out one last tortured roar, almost begging for help, before it slumped over, dead.

Beast and soldier alike eyed the corpse cautiously, watching for any movement, any hint at where they should strike. All of them tensed as they saw the throat bulge slightly, the mass moving upwards towards the snout until the jaw was trembling.

Every Lavado tensed to charge and every Caci raised their inflamed arms, ready to strike...

Canus felt a creeping dread come over him and his comrades as his flames died out against his will, the Lavados whimpering in confused fear as they sensed something amiss.

The jaw snapped open, and Sergeant stared into icterine orbs as the figure emerged. The small...thing stared at them in an almost confused way. Its head twitched and its claws danced against a nonexistent surface, as if trying to tap the air and calm its nerves.

Sergeant Canus never got a chance to attack the creature.

His neck snapped before the 'battle' even started.

Grimskull Castle

"For the love of father's scythe, Brother! Ceased with your incessant teleporting!" Minnie yelled, practically snorting steam as her Mileena character took more damage.

Why the hell did her brother keep picking Shinnok!?

"Oh don't even start, Miss Knife-Spam!" Junior countered with a grin, 'Honestly, she's probably going to beat me at this once her fingers get faster...and memorizes some of these combo moves,' He mused as he finished her.

"FINISH HER!" The game declared, prompting a smirk from the demon-reaper.

"Doth. Not. Even. Dare," Minnie said with a seething glare.

It was already too late as the sorcerer summoned up a giant, skeleton hand to grasp Mileena...and use its thumb to snap her head off and spinning into the air, and caught by Junior's character.

"Well, you said I was insistent on claiming your head, so...," Junior trailed off, blinking as Minnie stared at him blankly, "Mins?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Said ragdoll tackled him, landing them both on the floor as she wrestled her skeletal brother..

From the edge of the computer desk, Stephanos chirped loudly in a manner that was very similar to the chanting of "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Due to surprise and lack of effort, Minnie soon found herself pinning Junior to the floor, glowering in his face. Red eyes looked up at her in bewilderment and confusion, "...Hmmm, video games really do bring the animal out in ya, Sis," He noted idly.

Minnie stared for a moment before her eyes slowly calmed, blinking as she realized what she had done...and that she was pinning her brother to the floor, straddling his chest. She quickly scurried off, murmuring an apology. Stephanos gave a low, mocking call that Junior knew was his way of saying "Boooo! Booooo!"

"Pheww, I thought you were going to give me a loogie or something," Junior said with a chuckle as he sat up.

"Truly, I apologize, mine brother. I hath no recollection of what came over my mind...," Minnie said, still a bit shocked.

Junior grinned as he patted her on the back, "That was a game rage, or rage quit," Junior answered sagely, "When a gamer gets overly frustrated with a part of their game, they are sometimes prone to fits of rage over their continued and seemingly futile efforts."

"...Do all of them attack their siblings?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but then again, most players don't know or meet in real life when it comes to online games like this," He elaborated with a shrug, "...By the way, next time you do that, I'm not going to let you pin me," He informed, just a tiny bit annoyed.

Minnie looked sheepish, "I shall endeavor to control my...game rage, Brother. Perhaps it would be best if I switch to Dante's Inferno to...relieve some stress," She mused.

"Probably be a good idea," Junior admitted, "Where are you again?"

"Somewhere in the realm of Greed," Minnie answered as she moved to switch the games.

"Weirdly long ass level," Junior muttered in remembrance, "At least it's not as trippy as that mirror place in Gluttony."

"True, but I took great offense in their defacement of Cerberus's character, even if the original poem refers to him as a Great Worm," Minnie said with a huff.

"Yeah, never got that one either," Junior admitted with a shrug, "...Though, it made me think of a Nergal-Cerberus, to be honest," He mused, Minnie pausing with the disk half-way to the slot.

"...Thine mind conjures most disturbing images, Brother," Minnie noted with wide eyes before inserting the game.

"You're thinking about it though," Junior accused with a grin.

"...Very," Minnie admitted with a sigh, ""By the way...what tis a loogie?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A glob of snot and spit. SOME siblings will try to...deposit it in each other's face as a mean joke," Junior explained awkwardly.

He only answered because he saw Stephanos starting to type it on a search engine. Seriously, how did that bird even get an Undernet page open without him noticing?

Said bird glared at his fun being ruined, turning with a huff as he erased the words from the search engine.

Minnie stared with wide eyes, "Spit and snot...," She whispered with a shiver as the imagery...

Her pinning her elder brother, hacking up a disgusting glob and puffing her cheeks...only for Junior to flip the tables with annoyed ease. Looming over her as his tentacle secured her nubile form below him. He slowly smirked in the manner of a shark as his long, snake-tongue slithered out, bits of demonic saliva dripping out over her...

"Minnie! Minnie! Get your damn head out of the gutter!" Junior called, shaking her back and forth furiously by the shoulder.

"W-what?" She asked, blushing as she came back to her senses, staring blankly at her annoyed brother.

"Look, I get it, you want to hump...my...bones..." Junior started to scold, trailing off as his eyes got wider and wider.

"Brother?" Minnie asked, still blushing, but now very confused.

"Something's wrong," Junior answered bluntly, turning to the door at an urgent pace.

Minnie looked to the crowned-eagle, who looked just as bewildered as she did. He motioned with his wings for her to follow the hybrid prince. As she ran to catch up with his form, marching down halls, his Nergalized tail suddenly sprouted out as he appeared to become increasing bothered by something.

"Brother, pirthee, what is it? What has thou sensed?" Minnie asked in concern, scowling as he growled noncommittally. She shook her head in annoyance and began taking stock of their path...and of their company.

Minnie was increasingly surprised as several servants were following the same course as Junior: skeletons guards, surviving Tikbalans and even Lord Pain himself. Albeit, all of them gave Junior a notable berth, the skeletons giving him uneasy glances while the Tikbalans gave him mixes of glares and fearful looks. Charles seemed to be the only one unbothered, walking along with his mallet over his shoulder and a brief case in the other hand.

"Charles, mayhaps ye know what this is about? Mine brother tis most uninformative," Minnie requested with a curious scowl.

"There has been an attack at the border, young Mistress, sensed by Master Grim," Charles answered neutrally, glancing to Junior's back, "Both Master Grims, it would seem."

"That's not a bomb, is it?" Junior asked, not looking over.

"The Queen's Sniper Rifle," Charles answered with a smirk, "In case someone or something tries to slip over the edge of our territory."

"She's going to be disappointed," Junior muttered, getting odd and suspicious looks from the group.

Before anyone could comment on that, they arrived at the double doors of yew to the study of the Grim Reaper. The Prince didn't even stop to knock, opening the door with a tentacle to continue his path unbidden.

Mandy rose an eyebrow at her son's entrance and presence, but the already-scowling Grim didn't look at all surprised by his heir's arrival.

"Mother, Father Grim," Minnie greeted as she entered with a nod to each of them, which was returned.

"I take it you sensed the attack as well?" Mandy asked, looking pointedly at Junior, who nodded, "And your sister?" Mandy continued with a raised eyebrow as Charles handed her the case.

The soldiers and guards would later swear Mandy's eyebrow kept twitching when a second, fully Nergalized Junior phased through the floor without a care in the world. Even as the warriors of Death tensed, Wrath ignored them and handed Minnie a bow, a quiver of arrows and a rapier, "Umm, thank ye, Brother Wrath," Minnie said awkwardly as she took the weapons and applied them to her person.

"You plan for everything now?" Mandy asked coldly.

"Learned from the best," Junior answered with a small smirk, "Dad, would you do the honors? Teleporting isn't my forte yet," Junior pointed out to the Elder Death.

His father nodded as he tapped his scythe on the floor...and a sphere of black smoke expanded out to engulf them all.

"...Going for style points?" Mandy asked with a raised eyebrow at the new form of teleportation. Despite the likeness to smoke, it didn't affect anyone's breathing and she could clearly see the their entourage, looking around in only vague surprise.

"Eh, I'm bored wid slice-portas, an dere's too much green in de undaworl dese days," He mused offhandedly, still eyeing Junior oddly, who rose an eyebrow in return.

'...Well now, what are you hiding bone bag?' Mandy wondered, glancing at Minnie, who had noticed the exchange as well, but shrugged to show her lack of answer.

Wrath, meanwhile, stared evenly at the group of skeletal and horsemen soldiers, both obviously not thrilled with his presence, "Awkward?" He growled out, smirking as some of them blinked or deadpanned at his question. Pain just shook his head, choosing not to acknowledge that inquiry.

Another second, and the orb of mist dissipated in an instant, giving them a clear view of the barren terrain and red skies their land was known for.

Mandy scowled as she realized where they were, "You brought us right inside the camp?" She asked in minor annoyance. It would have helped to know that in case there were enemies nearby.

"Whoever did this is long gone," Junior answered bluntly to Mandy's curiosity, "I don't know about Dad, but everyone was pretty much dead when I sensed it," He elaborated.

Mandy hummed as she scanned the area. Most of the make shift dwellings were destroyed, same as most of the caves. The area was covered in dead reptiles and pyromancers, "Skeletons, form a perimeter and keep an eye out. Tikbalans, go search for survivors and any clue as to who our interloper is," She ordered swiftly, the two groups nodding in obedience before heading off, "It?" She questioned, scowling as she looked between the two reapers, Charles standing near her and Wrath at Minnie's side.

"...Bunch of souls started vanishing," Grim answered vaguely.

"So, another soul eater?" Mandy asked, glancing to Junior as Charles opened the case, "You didn't invite anyone like that over on that website, did you?" She asked with a narrowed gaze, even as she assembled the rifle expertly.

Minnie and Grim blinked now, sharing a confused look each, 'Website?' they wondered.

"No, Mom, I didn't order a anicubus," Junior answered, wiping a hand over his face, as many eyebrows went into the hairlines- even if Grim didn't have either of those..

"Had to ask," Mandy answered with a shrug, as she strapped the long range weapon onto her back, "Minnie, stay near your brother: one of him, at least. Grim, do your Death-stuff. Junior...," She trailed off, looking to him, "You're with me. Charles, you stay with Grim," She decided, getting a few odd looks for her decision, but no one seemed willing or wanting to question it.

Junior nodded for Minnie to stick with Wrath while he walked with Minnie towards one of the destroyed caves. Feeling a bit awkward, Minnie looked to Wrath and motioned for them to head off as well, towards one of the dead Lavados.

"...Master, what is going on?" Charles asked curiously.

"Somedin weird, or somedin bad, Charles," Grim answered with a scowl, looking to the captain, "Charles, I know me wife. I know she had ya some surveillance on Junior," He said pointedly, Charles not reacting under the intense look, "Would ya be certain ya have ya kept track of his clones?"

Charles felt a cold chill run down his spine at what his king was implying. He thought that Junior had been behind this? "We...have kept track of the young master, and of the clones...," Charles answered carefully.

"ALL of dem?" Grim stressed before Lord Pain could gather his wits, "Are ya sure ya know abou ALL de ones he made?"

"...No," Charles admitted with a scowl, "You...believe the prince did this?" He asked, being careful not to look around or act too suddenly. Now that he thought about it, the carnage did have a similar ring to it. The small claw marks in everything- be it armor, flesh, or stone- the overall and near pointless destruction, and the missing souls? Not to mention Junior had several abilities that would allow him to sneak in- or he, as the Prince of the Underworld, could have just walked in and surprised them all.

"I dink dat a lotta souls are gone, and it feels similar ta de Demon-Reaper snackin," Grim answered carefully.

"...And you haven't shared this with the queen?" Pain asked with a raised eyebrow.

"At de momen, it's all too strange. I don't dink Junior's out ta ova drow his moder and me yet, bu even if he was, he wouldn't do it now. He'd be too smart for dat: He's still figurin de powers out and Mandy is too on alert," Grim mused, "Howeva..."

"However?" Pain prompted curiously.

"It migh jus be Junior trainin and experimentin, bu not knowin dese were ours," He pointed out, "Assumin, again, its Junior at all."

Pain hummed to himself, watching the Prince walk with the Queen, both at ease. It could be a trap, but...,"...She already knows, doesn't she?" Pain asked with a sigh.

"Abou me suspcions? Mos definitely. I dink she's already made up her mind on which she believes as well. Plus..." Grim smiled just a tiny bit as he looked over to Wrath and Minnie, "I don't dink Junior would have brough her along if he was up ta somedin," He pointed out. Charles still looked troubled, but at least content with the doubt that the prince was up to something in line with regicide today.

Still, if it wasn't Junior, what did attack here?

With Mandy and Junior

"Something is bugging you," Mandy commented as they slowly walked about, scanning the area for clues and working out what happened in their heads. Her eyes spied a Caci corpse, it's armored torso featuring several punctures and the face caved in with rocks around it.

In her mind's eye, she imagined a dark, featureless figure. Its clawed feet clung to the armor while it repeatedly bashed the head in with a rock, breaking the make shift weapon in its hands. A Lavado charged from the side, but the assailant ripped the helmet off the warrior before throwing it into the eye of the beast, likely damaging it...

"...This feels a bit like me," Junior admitted, looking at a Lavado with a missing eye, some very deep cuts in the ground near it, "Feels a bit like walking through Halloween Town again..."

He saw a grey figure grab the large reptile by the snout. Using every bit of strength it had, the image dug its talons into the stone...and somehow reached far enough to stab the Lavado in the throat three times, one hitting the spine.

"Just a bit," Mandy admitted, "You would be a bit more messy. Not to mention there'd be plenty of green Nergal blood," She commented, raising an eyebrow at a stab in the ground, plenty of blood around it.

...A spear of some sort hit the soldier in the gut, pinning him to the ground...

'So where did the body go?' Mandy wondered.

"True, though, something else is bothering me," He admitted, eyeing the spot she was looking at, spying some indents and a splatter of blood that gave him the rest of the picture.

Junior would have grimaced before Halloween Town, at the vivid image of the Caci being impaled on the long, spiked tail before being hurled into the river of lava.

"Oh? Do tell," Mandy prompted curiously.

"There are no scorch marks," Junior pointed out as they came to a stop near the lava river, "A whole group of flame wielders near a burning river and not one sign of using fire anywhere?" Junior pointed out.

"..." Mandy didn't comment for a moment.

"You didn't notice that, did you?" Junior asked with a hint of smugness.

"I'm a bit distracted," Mandy said absently, "There are too many parts of this to pick apart at once."

"Like?" Junior asked curiously.

"Like who the other guy was," Mandy answered, glancing over to the body of the sergeant, his neck snapped, but no other signs of battle around him. Junior blinked as he saw it as well.

They both perceived a white silhouette that snapped the neck of the officer. Yet, no one seemed to attack him. The being that jumped from the head of a dead Lavado, on the other hand, seemed to be the one the Caci and Lavados were trying to kill.

"...What the fook?" Junior commented with narrowed eyes.

"I know, it's strange," Mandy murmured in agreement, "Caci aren't easily intimidated, so the reasons why they wouldn't attack someone don't bode well."

"No, not just that," Junior said, looking around more intently for a moment, "...Some of the souls weren't devoured," He said in confusion.

"They weren't?" Mandy asked in surprise and interest. Soul eaters tended not to let food go to waste, so why were their souls spared this? More importantly, "What happened to them?" Mandy asked in intrigue.

"You'd have to ask Dad to be sure, but I think they were just...sent on their way," Junior speculated with a frown, "A soul eater with a small appetite, Pyromancers that don't use their flames, and someone I can't quite summarize yet," Junior paused to blink, "And Minnie may have just made it odder."

"Hmm? How so?" Mandy asked.

"She was counting the corpses of the...," He paused, gesturing to the big, demonic reptile.

"Lavados," Mandy answered simply.

"Right, those. She thought there would be more for some reason," Junior commented, raising an eyebrow at her, "How many Lavados and Caci were here?"

"...Fifty Caci, last report I read said about fourteen of the big guys," Mandy answered, narrowing her eyes as she saw where this was going, "I'll go get a head count. You go snoop around, see if those Demon-Reaper powers come with any new sense-abilities," She ordered offhandedly, turning to leave.

"...Why didn't you think I did this?" Junior asked curiously.

"Because you came along," Mandy answered bluntly, never looking back.

"...Is this the "I need a drink" feeling? If it is, I can see why," Junior mused to himself with a sigh.

Mandy, meanwhile, headed back to Grim, "Charles, go get a head count. I want to know how many of the Caci and the Lavados are unaccounted for," She ordered. The captain saluted before going to complete the task given, "How bad is it?" She asked to the Reaper of Death.

"Bad. Whoeva did dis has some skill wid necro-energies. I can't getta trace yet of who got eaten, who moved on or where ta, or even WHA did dis," Grim said with a scowl.

"Could it be HIM?" Mandy asked curiously.

"Naw. HIM can do mos of dat, but his powers can't help stainin whaeva he messes wid, if only a tiny bit," Grim explained, "Besides, HIM doesn't have too many dat eat like dis."

"...What do you mean 'Like This'?" Mandy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Grim sighed in thought, "Usually wid soul eaters and stealers, I can still sense de souls. Most jus feels like dere all cramped up in one place and oders feel like dey moved on to someplace I'm not familiar wid- since I don't know many demonic stomachs- but there are some that just feel...gone," Grim answered ominously, "An most of dese feel gone."

"And how many beings do you know that give off that feeling?" Mandy asked evenly.

"Not many...unless ya wan ta get technical," He answered pointedly.

"...Junior didn't do this," Mandy said bluntly.

Grim rose an eyebrow, "...I feel like I jus got role reversed. Wha makes ya so sure?" He asked curiously.

"Call it mother's intuition," Mandy retorted with a smirk before frowning, "Though, he might be the cause of it still."

"Whatcha mean?" Grim asked in confusion.

"It's not even a full month yet, suddenly there's another soul-eater that has a similar feeling?" Mandy pointed out, "My bet is either Junior drew something else out with that battle of his, or someone is already messing with his powers from some demon-reaper bits," She mused curiously, "The fact that someone else was here makes me think the latter."

"...Someone else was here?" Grim asked in surprise.

Mandy nodded simply, "Someone killed the Sergeant early on. I'm guessing he or she killed the ones that tried to contact for reinforcements while this soul-eater had dinner," Mandy mused, "...Grim, why would something that eats souls not eat all of them?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Grim shrugged, "While dey are bottomless, some can only absorb a given number of souls in a day, especially in de younga or weaka cases. Oders have a...perference, a picky taste. Wha it is exactly here I coldn't tell ya widou findin de souls dat weren't eaten," He mused.

"..." Mandy stared at him for a moment, or rather through him, as her mind went into overdrive.

"Wha is it, Mandy?" Grim asked in concern.

"The other guy was a professional. At what, I'm not sure yet, but he knew enough to fool you. And almost Junior too, for what that's worth," Mandy answered idly, "But he left most of the work to the less skilled, the more frenzied soul eater. That speaks of either the little being his pet or...his student," Mandy theorized as Grim went wide eyed, "Sounds familiar, eh?"

"...You think HE is sending a new student at you?" Grim asked, in shock and rage at the thought of That Man.

"Any other circumstances? Yes," Mandy answered with a sigh, "But after being missing all this time, I'm not so sure. He'd make some great big declaration that he's back-"

"-like single-handedly reducin a town to cinder an rubble?" Grim added on blankly.

Mandy actually looked stunned for a moment before frowning, "That's too cryptic, even for him and even if Junior looks just like him."

Grim sighed, rubbing a hand over his skull, "I really hate that guy, Mandy. An I really don't like not knowin where he is."

"Trust me Grim, the feeling is mutual," Mandy said with a glare at nothing.

"Oh, I doubt you HATE him," Grim commented in annoyance.

"I was talking about the other half," Mandy shot back without pause.

With Minnie and Wrath

"...Brother, doth though think we shalt end up like that in the coming eons?" Minnie asked blankly, watching the King and Queen of the Underworld snip back and forth at each other. Over what, she couldn't hear, but it almost looked like playful banter with the edge of cold personalities.

"Too. Late," Wrath growled out with a smirk.

Minnie glared at her brother, getting a very suspicious feeling that he was implying their roles were the reverse of their parents. However, as this was Wrath, getting an elaboration on that would be a hard and one-sided effort.

Turning her eyes back to the landscape, she hummed in thought. There were less than a dozen Lavados, but there appeared to have been several more caves than that, even if most of them were destroyed. It was possibly that some had been abandoned due to a decreasing population, but that almost felt too simple at this junction.

She looked down and saw a Caci: His chest armor ripped open, a hole where his heart was, his eyes stabbed or gouged out, and...

She paused, glancing to the head of the dead Lavado she was using to confirm something: low and behold, the spikes on the Lavado's horns matched the coloring and shape of the things jabbed into the soldier's arms.

Whatever had come here was ruthless, yes, but...there was something off about it to Minnie. There seemed to be too many unnecessary wounds, some she even suspected were post-mortem. Even a sloppy, newbie killer tries to be effective. And why attack this point? Was it a distraction, trying to keep their attention here and suspecting HIM, anyone's initial guess? Or was there some other reason for this attack?

Minnie blinked as Wrath growled in his throat, taking a step closer to her, the horns on his head wiggling in displeasure. She followed his glaring gaze out past the area, squinting into the distant as she tried to see what had ups-

"Mother!" Minnie yelled, catching everyone's attention as she pointed to the border.

Mandy didn't even really need to be told what it was, turning and aiming her sniper rifle in one fluid motion.

Low and behold, there was His Infernal Majesty, walking towards them with an even waltz, "Charles, call for reinforcements," Mandy ordered evenly.

"Belay dat," Grim ordered quickly, feeling Mandy's desire to glare at him but unwilling to look away from her scope, "He's an astra projection," Grim informed with a frown.

"Right you are, Grim," HIM informed, appearing right in the midst of them.

The end result was his false-self getting shot by a sniper rifle from Mandy, a deathly energy blade from Grim, two tikbalan spears, a few magic rounds from the skeletons, and no less than seven arrows from Minnie.

The red devil blinked as he looked at the arrows, then at the glaring ragdoll on top of a dead demon-reptile. At that given moment, he might have actually believed she killed it, "Well, aren't you all jumpy today," He noted casually, his cane over his shoulder.

"What do you want, Kare?" Mandy asked with a scowl, raising an eyebrow at him and lowering her weapon, "And are you wearing pajamas?" She asked at his light blue clothes, complete with a night cap. Yet he still had those glasses.

The devil shrugged his shoulders, "I WAS taking a day off, and then I hear that there was an attack near my border. I take a peek over here and the Demon-Reaper seems to be having a snack," He explained with a yawn, glancing around before calling out loudly, "Seriously, Junior? Did you just get hungry and decided to get something spicy?" He asked, looking around for the Prince, knowing the one with Minnie was just the Head Clone.

"Wha makes ya dink he's here?" Grim asked evenly.

"I've met the boy in spirit, Grim, literally. It is very-" HIM paused as a pebble passed through his forehead, turning around to see Junior standing on a small hill, the lava river behind him, "-distinctive."

"HIM. I'd say it's been awhile, but I could have gone another month or year without seeing you," Junior commented neutrally.

"Definitely your mother's charm," HIM grumbled with another yawn, "So, Junior, what is this? Doesn't look like you're starting a rebellion. I think I would have known if this outpost was turning against Mandy, so...what, wanted something spicy? Cause those Lavados are actually very cold on the inside," HIM asked nonchalantly.

"Wasn't me this time," Junior answered with an annoyed eye roll.

"Really?" HIM asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, so you can leave now. Astral projection or not, this is my side of the border, HIM," Mandy said snippily.

"And I have as much right to know if I have a rouge soul-eater gobbling up souls near or possibly in MY realm, Mandy," HIM retorted evenly, "Besides, anyone with enough skill can project themselves with a false image, so this isn't HIM for all you really know," He pointed out smugly.

"He's technically righ, ya know," Grim muttered in irritation, Mandy making a sound of annoyance in her throat.

"Let him stay," Junior called out, getting surprised looks from everyone, "His astral projection, at least. We could use the input."

"Junior, in case you forgot, HIM is our enemy, despite the lack of open war," Mandy pointed out coldly.

"No, Mother, he's YOUR enemy," Junior countered with emphasis, his mother glaring now.

"Trouble in Tartarus?" HIM asked with a smirk toward the Reaper and his wife.

"Not de bes time fer dis, Son," Grim pointed out, eyeing HIM with a scowl.

"Don't really care, Dad," Junior retorted evenly, "Unfortunately, whoever did this covered their tracks like maggots cover a carcass. And as we've all already concluded, there is a fifty-fifty chance The Man in Red is involved in some way. So, take whatever he says with a grain of salt and see where it leads to," He pointed out, pausing as he and his mother stared down, "Unless you have a better idea, Mother?"

HIM just turned his eyes between the two sides with a smirk. Those two could cooperate, it seemed, but they obviously still had issues that flared up on subjects. Good, he'd hate to think Mandy had managed to pulled off a miracle and actually patched things up with Junior.

"Fine," Mandy all but snarled, "Grim, you stay with HIM's apparition. Send him off if he tries anything. Charles, keep an eye on Minnie. Junior...," She said lowly as she stalked towards him.

"Brother...are you sure this is wise?" Minnie asked with a scowl. from her spot on the dead demon's corpse, watching as her brother's true/main body traded words with their mother that, though no one could hear, seemed very cold by their expressions.

"Yes," Wrath answered, almost snarling it out to Minnie's small flinch as he eyed the scene like a lion over its prey, or an alpha over an interloper perhaps.

Either way, if Wrath was any hint, the rage was rekindling in Junior.

She blinked as Wrath jumped off the dead beast and landed loudly on the rocky ground, a growl in his throat as he rose from a crouching position. He lurked forward, unfortunate guards and soldiers moving out of his path with all haste.

Minnie decided that rekindling was too light a word, mayhaps, as she slid down the side and quickly treaded after him. Her right hand rested on her rapier as her other gripped her bow.

The pair waltzed past the trio of Grim Senior, Lord Pain, and HIM. The Reaper of Death sighed and rubbed his head as he watched Kare smirk at Minnie, who was staring him down with a damn good impression of her mother's glare, while Wrath seemed to mostly ignore the subtly tense and glaring Charles.

"Lots of trouble in Tartarus," HIM mused as he watched the pair go off, "She trails after him like a shadow. Or like a dog after her master. Hmm, are those lines in the sand I see being drawn?" He said with a cruel, teasing voice.

"Shut it Pajama-Man," Grim snipped, his scythe glowing ominously for a second in warning.

HIM rose an eyebrow, "Oh? Does Junior take so much after his real father that he coaxed Death out of his boney shell?" He asked coyly.

Charles looked ready to throw his mace in HIM's intangible red face...when an eerily red, but low powered beam shot through HIM's false-form. The devil blinked as he and his surprising companions for the moment turned to look at the Bitch Queen and the Demon-Reaper. Both were still staring each other down, but Junior's right arm was pointed to him in the shape of a cannon.

Kare, apparently, decided not to push his luck for the moment, "Okay, one old Underworldian to another?" Kare asked, looking at Grim and Pain curiously, "I'm not the only one that thought THIS was Junior, was I?"

Grim traded a look with Charles before nodding, "We had dat suspicion as well, bu drew it dat ou fer a few reasons," He said, deciding to leave out that "We" included Mandy.

"Strange," HIM commented idly, "We may have a new player in the game."

"Or an old one," Grim said pointedly.

HIM rose an eyebrow as silence reigned for a few seconds, "If he was back, I would have known, and so would the entire afterlife," he answered calmly.

"Unless, Lord Traitor has decided you're no longer worth his time and cuts you loose," Pain countered evenly, suppressing a smirk.

"Funny, coming from you, Lord Pain," HIM said with a chuckle as he titled his glasses to look Charles in the eye, "You traded one master so easily for another, and then decided to serve both when the opportunity showed up."

"Keep your forked tongue to yourself," Pain said quietly, gripping his palm tightly.

But the devil pressed on, "Tell me, if Junior had been in full awareness of himself on Halloween, would you have just traded your old loyalty for a new one? After all, you do seem to serve the bigger fish whenever it suits you," HIM dug into the royal guard, who was now rigid and trembling with rage at the accusation.

"I would gut you like a fish...," Charles snarled to himself.

"If Junior doesn't gobble you up for that stink eye of yours, Boy," HIM retorted mockingly as Pain went wide eyed.

Grim, oddly enough, looked unimpressed with both of them, "Are ya bod quite done?" He asked uncaringly, "Kare, assumin I trus ya wor on de matta, wha do ya sense out of dis mess? Any idea wha de soul eater in question was afta or wha it was feelin?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, give me a moment. This isn't that easy, this far away," HIM commented, bowing his head in concentration, raising it to take a whiff of the air, "...Well, they covered that as we-" HIM started in disappointment, stopping midway in surprise.

"...Okay, if yer shocked, it can't be good," Grim said with a frown.

Junior and Mandy

The Stare Down never seemed to falter. Both parties were obviously annoyed at each other for old and new reasons that, honestly, everyone wished had stayed buried a bit longer.

One skeleton soldier, either finding his bravery or losing his common sense, approached the duo that was now uncomfortably silent. No one knew what had been said between the Queen and Prince, and this particular underling still was not stupid enough to pry.

"Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you going to get the headcount from David?" Junior asked evenly.

The Skeleton didn't know whether or not now it was creepy or sweet that the Prince knew every name of every guard in the castle as if they were each radically different.

Mandy scowled deeper at the apparent loss of a staring contest as she turned to her minion, "Report," She ordered frostily.

The skeleton, David, gulped as he collected his thoughts and nerves, "My Queen, we've completed our search. There were no survivors. Of the fifty Caci warriors and fourteen adult Lavados, eleven Caci are missing completely, as are six Lavados," He explained, quick and clear.

"Even with one or two thrown into the river, that's still pretty high," Mandy mused, quirking an eyebrow, "How does one just take six giant beasts, with a near-dozen other corpses? And why only those?" She mused to herself.

"..." Junior didn't say a word, merely scowling at nothing.

"NOW you have nothing to say?" Mandy asked with a raised eyebrow.

With that, Junior looked up at her with a frown that told enough.

Slowly, as if reading each other's minds, they turned toward the river of lava, only a few yards away from them.

David looked between the two in confusion, not sure what was going on, "Ummm, M-"

*ROOOOOOAR*

Sans two crimson eyed royals, everyone turned to the noise in shock. There, pouncing out of the magma was a Lavado, molten rock dripping from its head and body.

Only this Lavado was missing its hindquarters, completely cut away to leave a disgusting trail of slowly-scorching organs and blood leaking from the massive wound into the river. Its maw opened wide, sickly colored eyes looking down at the Bitch Queen and the Demon-Reaper, standing side by side.

In that instant, however, Grim couldn't help noticing just how unimpressed and unsurprised his son and wife looked.

End of Chapter

There we go, fifteen chapters...damn this thing hascomefar. And yes, the Grim Clan are back in trouble again, with HIM once more playing witness while the Clan is having trouble getting along and trying to figure out who/what attacked- and how it connects to Junior, because they are sure it does. And we get to see HIM in PJs...I couldn't resist.

So, to keep this short, we have potential new foe or two, with many guesses for who is behind this: Lord Traitor, HIM, Junior himself, or other players- new or old- that they haven't taken into account yet.

And the bigger question becomes the motive of the attack, with missing bodies and spared souls.

Oh, and Junior is making more Wrath Clones while Minnie got her ass handed to her in real and virtual life. Don't worry, her thumb speed will increase...and does Minnie WANT a loogie now? Odd girl indeed.

Lastly, that...vision thing that Junior and Mandy did? Its just thier way of fairly accurately figuring out what happened in a given area. Not always right, but gives them a general idea most of the time. Mandy's is better than Junior's in most ways.

Now onto the QTP: Who are the two behind the attack? Could it have really been Junior himself? What was the purpose/meaning of the attack, the missing bodies, and the spared souls? Why does it "feel" like the Demon-Reaper? Will Charles ever get over his issue with Junior's Wrath? What did HIM sense? What were Mandy and Junior arguing/talking about? Why are they unalarmed by the Lavado that just popped up? Why does Junior and Wrath seem so upset now?