by Wesley Brown
“I think we need to discuss your anger problem,” Blink said, walking toward Reaper with his hands up.
“What anger problem?” Reaper asked as he sheathed his sword. “I am not angry. I may be bitter, but not angry.”
“What do you have to be bitter about?” Blink asked.
“I have been walking for hundreds of years, often without talking to a single person.”
“You have me.”
“How often did I see you in the last few hundred years?” Reaper asked.
“If you included the times on your way here…” Blink thought for a moment. “Dude, like a bunch. Now, if you won’t mind coming back with me.” Blink took Reaper over to the nearest entrance. “Alright, do you know what time it is?” Reaper shook his head. “Hmm. It’s a quarter to nine. That means you’ll have limited light. You need to be able to find and kill it before dusk. If you don’t, it will be expecting you and it will run away.”
“I have one chance to do this—that’s what you are saying.”
“Exactly,” Blink said. “Off you go. Good luck. I’ll be waiting up here until dusk. If you aren’t back by then, I’m leaving so it doesn’t come up and eat me.” Reaper’s eyebrow went up in response. “It’s a reasonable fear.”
Reaper walked down into the hidden city, shifting his eyes to see into the dark depths. He didn’t even bother with the first level—there was far too much sunlight for a creature that could die from the exposure.
Reaper continued down deeper into the darkest parts. Concerned about the time of the day, he set a trap. He cut open his right hand and let the blood drip onto the ground. He wiped the remaining blood off and hid. It took a little time for anything to show up, and Reaper almost left his hiding place from boredom. Just as he started to move, he heard it. At first it was faint, but the sound grew louder as the creature drew closer. It was sniffing around for the puddle of blood. Reaper looked out around the corner he was concealed behind. The creature looked human. It had thin, stringy gray hair and a pointed nose. Reaper strained to see the creature, it wore dirty brown rags. Its finger nails were sharp and yellow.
The creature got down on its hands and knees and started to lick Reaper’s blood off the ground. Reaper stepped out of his hiding place with his sword drawn and slowly approached the creature. He took the sword up to cut its head off. It would die, quick and painless, without even knowing what happened to it. Suddenly, the creature turned, hissing as it extended its hand. A bright red cloud flew toward Reaper, tossing him across the chamber and slamming him against the wall. He struggled, but could not move.
The creature wiped its hand across the blood as it stood, then walked toward Reaper with its hand still extended. It licked the blood off its fingers with its sharp tongue and lifted its upper lip, revealing two white canines that were at least twice as long as a normal person’s. The creature hissed at Reaper, its spit showering him, its breath gagging him. Reaper turned his head and coughed. The creature bared its fangs further, preparing to take a bite out of him, but then something strange happened. Its canines were turning black—then the rest of its teeth, followed by its skin. Yellow spots appeared, then grew. As they grew, they turned black.
The creature dropped Reaper and fell backwards, shrieking in pain as it tried to brush the spots off. Reaper stood watching, confused. The creature was rotting from the inside out at an impossible rate. Its organs turned to dust and ash came out of its mouth as it tried to scream. Finally, it was dead. There was hardly even a skeleton when it was over.
Reaper blinked several times, then went to grab his sword. As he reached down to pick it up, he saw the smear through the blood. He chuckled at first, but the more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed. He was still laughing when he got to the surface. Blink stood ready to fight as the echoing laugh reached him. When he saw Reaper emerge from the dark while laughing, he frowned with confusion. Reaper walked straight past Blink, who simply turned his head, following Reaper’s progression. Blink’s mouth slowly opened. He wanted to ask Reaper what was going on, but he was dumb as an animal. Finally, after a few moments of stuttering to form words, Blink spoke.
“Uh, hey man.” Blink cleared his throat. “Um… what exactly is so funny?”
Reaper kept laughing, as if Blink’s question made the situation even funnier.
“You,” Reaper got out, but couldn’t speak. He bent at the waist, laughing so hard that he held his sides.
“What? What? Spit it out,” Blink said, desperate to find the answers.
“You. That is what you are afraid of?” Reaper fell onto his side laughing.
“What is funny about it?” Blink asked, now getting mad. “Everything I had on the creature in there said it was a real vampire—that’s scary stuff. It’s not funny,” Reaper snorted and howled. “Dude. Are you crying?” Reaper took in one deep breath and let it out, then sat up and wiped his eyes. He sighed and continued to chuckle.
“That thing died by licking my blood off of the ground.” Reaper was still laughing, but it was getting a little more under control.
“I-it did?” Blink asked.
“Poof.” Reaper tossed his hands and brought them down slowly, wiggling his fingers. “Ash.” Reaper bit down on his lips, clearly holding his laughter in.
“He turned to ash?” Blink asked.
“Ash,” Reaper repeated, nodding.
“Was there an epic fight first?” Blink demanded.
“No, it licked the blood I put on the ground. I was going to cut its head off, but it threw me across the room, and then it died.”
“Well, cool, I guess.”
“Disappointed?” Reaper held up his hand to Blink.
“A little.” Blink pulled Reaper to his feet.
“There will be other fights,” Reaper said, and gave Blink a hard pat on his back. “What comes next?”
Blink reached into his bag and pulled out the orange-ridged eyepiece. He put it on and turned the dial clockwise. Reaper watched with interest as he saw Blink’s eyes move, but nothing was there from where Reaper stood. All he saw was Blink’s eye moving behind the orange lens.
“I’ve got it,” Blink said.
“You have the next mission?”
“I do, and I don’t think you’ll like it.”
Reaper wrinkled his chin and nodded once. “Go ahead.”
“It’s in Japan,” Blink said.
“Never heard of it.”
“You have now.” Blink paused. “It’s Specter—he’s up to his old tricks. It’s his classic M.O.”
Reaper gave Blink that confused look.
“Modus operandi. That’s cop for something you do so much that you’re predictable. As far as what a cop is, it really doesn’t matter right now, so let’s focus on the current mission,” Reaper shut his eyes and nodded. “Japan is an island nation. One of my personal favorite places to go is Ashikaga Flower Park.”
“Why am I going there?” Reaper asked.
“Specter is going to imbue several men with very dangerous powers,” Blink said.
“Which way?” Reaper asked.
“It’s that way.” Blink said, pointing east. “Why?”
Reaper began walking east, toward Japan.
“I will not waste time,” Reaper said.
Blink followed to continue the briefing. “I’ll give you a little history, I guess. This time in Japan is the beginning of what is known as Feudal Japan. It’s a very popular time. You only need to be here for a short time, though. Your mission is to stop Specter from giving that power to anyone—it’s too dangerous. To protect the future, you can’t let that happen. If you should fail to stop this from happening—”
“The world will come to its end,” Reaper interjected.
“Well, maybe. I don’t know,” Blink said. “What I do know is if plan A fails, we switch to plan B.”
“What is plan B?” Reaper asked.
“You kill every single person who gets that power,” Blink said sternly. “I me
an it, man. Not one can live, and maybe knock Specter around a bit. This time, I’ll get you some better transportation.” Blink disappeared, and Reaper kept walking. Six feet later, Blink reappeared with a horse, the reins in his hands.
“What is this?” Reaper asked.
“This? This is Pete. Pete is a horse,” Blink said.
“What is Pete the horse doing here?” Reaper asked, a single line wrinkling his forehead. “I told you what happened to Perseus.”
“You can’t compare Pete to Perseus,” Blink said. “Perseus was your friend; he was your buddy.”
“He was like a son to me,” Reaper said. Blink’s words died and swept away, like ash after a forest fire.
“Reaper… I’m sorry, man,” Blink said. “Look, you don’t need to use the horse if you don’t want to. I just thought it might be nice, since you walk everywhere.”
“I am good walking. Thank you.” Reaper stomped off.
“Cool. Well, I guess I’ll see you later,” Blink said. Just like that, he and Pete were gone.
Reaper walked far across all terrain and in all weather. He stayed mad for a long time. One day, he literally broke into a run to get away from the past. His mind wandered to a strange place. It was not a dark place, but it would be dangerous for anyone to stay in for long. His already impressive running speed increased. With each step, the ground shook just a little more. Soon enough, there were foot-shaped holes in the ground behind him. He didn’t even realize what he had done. Without thinking, Reaper had tapped into the strength of fallen adversaries. Some were superhuman, while others were not, but it all gathered in him. His legs were surrounded with an extraordinary light orange aura. It was as if there were a small fire on each leg. Overcome with a burst of adrenaline, he jumped over a massive boulder, clearing it by several yards. It took no effort; he felt like he was flying. He jumped again, then ran faster and jumped farther, again and again until he was leaping a mile with one push.
Then he fell. No, he cratered, scattering rock and dirt and splintering every bone in his body. He lay in a heap, wracked with intense pain, while his body regenerated itself. He didn’t try jumping again. Reaper walked the rest of his way to the coast of China. From there, he was able to get a job on a fishing boat. He took the life raft when they were out at sea and used it to get to Japan. He washed up on the shores of modern-day Nagasaki. As he pulled the stolen life raft onto the sand, Blink stood behind him.
“You stole a boat?” Blink asked. Reaper dropped the boat in the sand and turned to Blink.
“I borrowed it.”
“So you plan to give it back?”
“No, I plan to never see them again for as long as they will live,” Reaper said with bitterness in his voice.
“You can’t possibly still be mad at me. It’s been, like, seven years,” Blink pleaded.
“No?” Reaper snapped. “Why? Why can I not be mad?”
“I wasn’t trying to replace Perseus, I just thought you might like faster transportation,” Blink said.
“If I did, do you think I would have been walking everywhere?” Reaper asked. “I am growing tired of you thinking for me. Tired of you and your future.”
“Hey!” Blink snapped back. “You seem to not realize how important the future is.”
“Then tell me, future-man, what becomes of my son?” Reaper clenched his jaw.
“Perseus will be called Cerberus, and he will be a villain,” Blink reluctantly let out. Reaper screamed and punched Blink, who spun once as he fell to the ground.
“I told you,” Blink spat. “I warned you. I said that was how he would be seen in the future. I told you not to take him to Mount Vesuvius. But you didn’t listen!” Blink and Reaper exchanged looks of rage. Neither blinked as they glared into each other’s eyes.
“Leave me alone.” Reaper headed toward land.
“Reaper, you don’t even know what you’re doing or where you’re going?” Blink called.
“Where do I want to be?” Reaper asked. Blink rolled his eyes.
“You’ll wanna find Mount Fuji,” Blink said. “The rest shouldn’t be that hard, but if you can’t take it, just let me know,” Reaper turned back in fury, but Blink was already gone.
After he figured out the language, he was able to find Mount Fuji much easier, though it still took some time to get there. Reaper traveled up north toward Mount Fuji by the southeast side of Lake Biwa, and got lost for a significant amount of time. By the time he felt like asking for directions, he had overshot Mount Fuji.
His new directions led him south between Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. Blink never appeared to see Reaper before the fight. When Mount Fuji came into view, Reaper was surprised and confused to find Blink still missing. As he drew closer, his concern for Blink’s location grew.
One night, Reaper spotted a large fire near the base of the mountain. At that time, he could not have known what he was walking into. He cautiously proceeded toward the burning light. From a distance, he realized something was off. The blaze was not one single fire—it was instead a group of men dressed as samurai standing close together. Their armor varied slightly from one to the next, but all had two details in common: each had two horns extending out from their masks’ foreheads, as well as sharp fangs poking out of the mouth. The other similarity was the insignia on their breast plates: a dragon with a human skull.
Standing in front of the samurai was a tall, dark figure. It was clear to Reaper that this dark figure was Specter. He stood before his soldiers, rallying them. Reaper thought that he had caught them just in time. But little did Reaper know that one of Specter’s samurai was watching him from the shadows, preparing to strike. Instead, Reaper watched and waited to strike, completely unaware of the man who crept up from behind. By the time Reaper thought to check his six, it was too late. His head jerked over his shoulder, only to be knocked back the other way by a powerful blow. Reaper actually felt the pain as he crashed to the ground. For the first time in a very long time, his brain rattled from an attack. He passed out, but only for a moment. When his eyes opened, he was being dragged by his ankle down a path that divided Specter’s samurai. The samurai that pulled Reaper flipped him over his head and dropped him at Specter’s feet. Reaper coughed, spewing dust, then looked up at Specter and slowly rose to his feet.
“My Reaper, welcome,” Specter said. “Have you come to join?”
“Join what? What are you doing here?” Reaper asked.
“I am building a new force. These are my Dreadites, my Oni,” Specter said with distinct delight.
“You know that whatever you have planned, I will not let you succeed,” Reaper said.
“You say that like you believe you can beat me,” Specter said, and Reaper winced and looked away briefly. “Oh.” Specter began to laugh. “Oh, that is good. I am proud of you, Reaper—you came to face my men and I alone this time. You came with no support. As I recall, the last time you faced me, you had help.” Reaper bared his teeth. “And at another volcano, this must be hard for you. Or does that fuel your desire to see me dead?”
“The only motivation I need is the knowledge that you still breathe,” Reaper said.
“I remember when you were smarter than this,” Specter said. He threw his fist into the air. “My Dreadites, to me!” Reaper turned to the samurais, who now rushed him. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened. He did not feel ready for this fight. Reaper reached for his sword, but it was too late. Well over a dozen armored men with flaming heads were soon beating him while Specter watched, amused. Two men held Reaper’s arms and forced him to his knees. The burns and bruises healed as he was brought back to Specter. “I have wanted to do this for centuries.” Specter threw one hard punch after another. He left space between each blow so that the next one would not mask the pain of the previous. Reaper gasped and coughed up blood, which ran down his chin.
“You know I can take any punishment you can deliver,” Reaper said.
“Is that right?” Specter asked with a cocky to
ne. Out of thin air, the staff with the white skull on it appeared. He held it out toward Reaper, and the eyes and mouth lit up even brighter than they already were. A red light surrounded Reaper, and he began to scream. “Do you believe you are strong enough to live through this?” hissed the Specter
“Yo! Step away from the Reaper!” Blink called out in Japanese. The torture stopped, and everyone looked over at him. He was dressed as a stereotypical ninja, with the notable distinction of the glowing blue quantum wrist cannon on his arm and the orange eyepiece. Though the original purpose of the wrist cannon was designed for space travel, Blink’s had redesigned it and turned it into a powerful matter destroyer. He fired a blast, and Specter’s Dreadites were thrown. Reaper smiled, then rose to his feet.
“Kill them both! Either they die, or I will see that all of you and your families die!” Specter shouted, and his Dreadites charged. Then Specter, alone, retreated.
“Reaper, stop him. I’ll hold them,” Blink called. The Dreadites kept their focus on Blink. They only saw the wrist cannon. They assumed that this weapon and its wielder were more pressing than Reaper. Blink, feeling slightly overwhelmed, reached for the sword on his back. It was the same sword that the older Blink had used against Specter. It had properties that weakened magic. As Blink faced off against the remaining Dreadites, Reaper chased down Specter. Once Reaper had caught up, Specter stopped, as he felt that there was no point in running.
“Face me, Specter. Let us see who is the better,” Reaper said. “Or are you too cowardly to fight me? You would rather hide behind your illusions and lies.”
“I have not lied,” Specter said. “You could have had your family—you could have had everything, been a god, but you choose to be a gobbling servant. I am disappointed.”
Reaper’s sword turned back into the scythe. He gripped it with both hands, and a little grin came upon his face. “Funny, I thought you were proud.”
