Case #7-Zach Reaper vs Himself

"Alright, Zach, what's the mission today?" Evelyn asks as she and Raiden follow me out of the school.

"My first Case…" Raiden whispers to himself.

"Here, let me check," I reply as I pull out my phone. And once I do, my eyes widen.

"What, what's the matter?" Evelyn asks as she hops onto her tippy-toes to read over my shoulder.

"Come home, NOW!" Evelyn narrates, reading the top message, "Who's…Douchebag?"

I sigh, "Douchebag…is the contact for my Father."

Raiden's eyes widen, "Your father…you mean the Grim Reaper?"

"Who else would it be?"

"So…no case today?" Evelyn asks.

"No case. You two…are coming with ME."

***

"Hey, dad!" I call as I enter my house. Well…my castle in Purgatory. "I'm home."

"Ah, Zach, there you a-" my dad begins to say as he steps out of the kitchen while wiping his hands on his apron. But when he lays eyes on Evelyn and Raiden, he pauses, "Um…who are these two?"

"These are my friends."

"My names's Evelyn!"

"N-nice to meet you, Mr Grim Reaper Sir!"

"I believe I summoned for YOU," my dad nods to me. "Not you AND your friends."

"Well…they're part of my team now."

"Your team? You mean that Reaper's Paranormal THING?"

Gasper floats into the room, "Oooh…you're in trouble!"

Raiden peers up at the ghost and raises an eyebrow at him. Gasper waves at Raiden, causing the wizard to flinch in fear."

"Shut up, Gasper!" I hiss.

"Huh?" Evelyn asks. "Who are you talking to?"

"Not now, Evelyn!" I snap, causing her to flinch.

My dad looks Evelyn up and down, causing her to tense up, "Zach, is she…human?"

Evelyn rigidly extends a hand to my dad, "UM! NICE TO MEET YOU, MR GRIM REAPER, SIR!" He doesn't take it.

I look away with a nervous chuckle, "Um…no…"

"Yes, yes she is, Zach," my dad sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "I can SMELL IT."

I turn to Evelyn with a fake gasp, "You lying BITCH, you told me you were a witch!" Evelyn recoils.

"Oh lord, Zach, what will I ever do with you…" my dad sighs. "If God-"

"God Shmod!" I shout, causing Evelyn to gasp. "You say this every time I do something wrong, but God never punishes me! And neither do you!"

"Fine," my dad replies as he looks away and sighs. "I can't control you, all I can do is teach you. I don't advise you to drag other people into your Reaper affairs, but as long as you go to this exorcism, then I can overlook it."

"Exorcism…?" Evelyn asks. "Those are real?"

"Everything you've seen and that's what you ask about?" I ask as I turn and peer over my shoulder at Evelyn. "It's another one of a Reapers' duties," I explain. "To aid as a bodyguard for priests performing an exorcism. And they may be rare, but it looks like we've got another one."

Evelyn gulps.

"So where will this exorcism take place?" I ask.

"You know where," my dad answers.

"Yeah…" I reply. "I guess I do…"

***

"Meeting your dad was, um, nice!" Evelyn says as we walk out of my house and begin heading towards the Church (after I change into my Reaper "uniform" and Raiden throws on his cloak).

"No it wasn't, it was scary!" Raiden cries, earning him an elbow to the rubs by Evelyn.

"You don't need to lie to me," I reply. "I'm sure my dad can be nice, but I've never seen him be. To me, at least." I pause. "Well…he was, but then I grew up."

"What do you mean?" Evelyn asks.

"I just can't bring myself to love a man who would subject his son to such horrors," I explain as I keep moving. Evelyn and Raiden frown. I killed the mood.

"So, who's Gasper?" Evelyn asks, trying to lighten the mood.

"Huh?" I ask.

"You were talking to someone, and you mentioned the name "Gasper." But it was only us there," Evelyn explains.

"Oh, that's right," I reply as I stick a hand into my pocket. "You can't see ghosts."

"Gh-ghosts?!" Evelyn shutters.

"Here," I reply as I whip out a pair of glasses and hand them to Evelyn. "Put them on."

"Glasses…?" Evelyn says to herself as she slides them on.

"Those are special glasses," I reply. "Turn around."

Evelyn does as she's told, and her eyes widen as the cozy, suburban home begins to fade, replaced by the sprawling Purgatory castle. And as that happens, Gasper begins to fade into view.

"Boo!" Gasper says with a smile as he appears in Evelyn's sight line, causing her to shriek and fall to the ground on her butt, the glasses falling off her face.

"What-what was that?!" Evelyn cries as she scrambles to stand up and put the glasses back on.

"Sorry for scaring you!" Gasper laughs as he floats above Evelyn. "Didn't expect that! I'm Gasper, nice to meet you."

Evelyn's eyes widen as Gasper sticks a hand out to her, which Evelyn tries to take, only to pass right through him.

"Oh, right, I always forget," Gasper chuckles.

"What…what is this…?" Evelyn asks.

"This is my childhood friend," I answer with a smirk. "Gasper."

"So this is the Evelyn that I've heard so much about, eh?" Gasper asks, causing me to blush. "She's cute! And this is Raiden, I assume?"

"Shuddup!" I snap.

"Er…yes," Raiden replies.

"Gasper, here, is a ghost," I explain as I walk over to Gasper then turn around to face Evelyn and Raiden.

"Nice to meet you both!" Gasper pipes up.

"But why is Gasper still in purgatory and not in Heaven or Hell?" Raiden asks.

"Well you see, I don't have any memories," Gasper answers as he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. "And no one knows who I am, either! So until they figure out my identity, I can't be sent to Heaven or Hell!"

"Crazy…" Evelyn marvels.

"Either way, Gasper, I'll give you a better introduction later!" I say with a wave as I begin walking away. Evelyn and Raiden trot after me.

"Yeah, see you later!" Gasper replies as he floats away.

***

"Alright, we're here," I say as I stop before the large, sprawling gothic medieval church standing before us,

"Woah, what a church," Evelyn remarks. "Is this, uh, for prayer?"

"What else would it be for?" I ask.

"I know it's a dumb question, but this church just looks so-"

"I'm kidding," I interrupt. "This church isn't open to the public. It's for Priests to perform exorcisms only."

"You don't sound like you're kidding today, Zach," Raiden replies. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just tense today," I answer. "I always am when I have to deal with my father."

"Well then, shall we go in?" Evelyn asks as she walks through the front gate of the Church, and Raiden follows. But they pause when they notice me not following them.

"What's wrong?" Evelyn asks as she turns to face me.

"Oh, you want me to come, too?" I smirk as I stick my hand outwards, and the second my fingertips graze Church soil, Holy energy begins zapping through my entire body, as if God themself is striking me down.

"What's the matter, Zach?!" Evelyn cries as I retract my hand away, smoke flowing off of my body from my powerful shock therapy.

"I'm not allowed to enter Church grounds," I enter. "I'm a Reaper, I'm evil. Only humans and Gods can enter Church."

"But God created you to reap souls?" Evelyn asks. "How are you evil?"

"Messed up, right?!" I reply.

"So how are we supposed to complete this mission if you can't enter the Church?" Raiden asks.

"Don't worry," I answer. "Someone will come for me."

And then, as if on cue, a short, chubby, bald priest both wearing and holding a giant gold cross fixed to a chain hustles over to the gate.

"Oh, sorry I'm late, Mr. Gri-" the priest begins to say, but when he lays eyes on me, his frantic jog slows to an apprehensive crawl.

"M-Mr Zach…" the priest asks. "What are you doing here…?"

"Nice to see you too, Gabriel," I sigh. "My old man sent me. Couldn't make it today."

"Oh no, and why not?" Gabriel asks.

"What, you'd rather my dad were here?" I grumble.

"N-no, of course not!" Gabriel stammers. "I'm just conereced for the well-being of an old friend! He has been reaping for over a hundred years now."

"But he looks so young…?" Evelyn whispers to Raiden.

"I can hear you," I reply, without even turning around. "The Head Reaper doesn't age. So until I take over my dad's duties, he's gonna look more like my older brother than my dad. And when I'm the Head Reaper, I won't age either. Well…and then my dad will strat aging again."

"Excuse me, Mr Zach," Gabriel asks as he looks past me to Evelyn and Raiden. "But who are your two friends here?"

"Evelyn and Raiden," I answer, pointing each one of my friends out. "They're my partners in crime."

Gabriel raises an eyebrow.

"Fighting," I add. "Fighting. Jeez…so sensitive. Why does everyone think I'm a hooligan…?"

"Hello!" Evelyn says with a wave.

"How do you do?" Raiden smiles.

"More polite to a priest than my old man…" I grumble. "Well…I understand."

"Maybe if you grew up a little and focused on your Reaper duties instead of playing with your little Occult Research Club, then we won't think you're a hooligan," Gabriel explains as he turns his nose away from me.

I growl at Gabriel.

"Err…Mr Zach, sir," he hastily adds.

"Hey!" Evelyn snaps. "Reaper's Paranormal, we're not some silly club!"

"Evelyn, don't yell at a priest," Raiden sighs.

"That's why I'm here," I say. "For my Reaper duties. He didn't say it, but by sending me here instead of going himself, my dad's implying that he's getting ready to retire. So I'm here to fulfill my duty as a Reaper, for…the third time…?"

"Second time," Gabriel replies. "Second."

"Well then," I say as I clap my hands together. "Let's begin."

"Take this," Gabriel says as he hands me the cross he's holding, and I snatch it out of his hands and throw it around my neck.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Evelyn asks.

"This is a special cross," I explain. "It allows for evil creatures to enter churches. Dangerous in the wrong hands. That's why there's only one in existence."

"Special glasses and special crosses…" Evelyn mutters to herself under her breath. "How does any of this stuff work…?"

"And your friends-" Gabriel begins to say as he looks Evelyn and Raiden up and down. "They can enter?"

"Human and wizard," I answer, and with that, Gabriel leads us into Church grounds.

Gabriel leads us through the front Church gardens, into the Church, through the main floor, and down a long, winding stone basement covered in moss and torchers, where Evelyn, Raiden, and I earn glaring stares the entire journey. Mainly myself.

"And here we were," Gabriel announces as he unlocks a giant wood door, stepping into a cramped room in the basement packed tight with dozens of priests. Pages of the bible have been ripped out and glued all over the walls, ceilings, and floor of the room, to the point where it made the room actively smaller. In the center of the room is a blood-soaked man with eerie black veins writhing around and snarling viciously. He's bound by chains and has a hood over his head. Evelyn and Raiden gag at the sight.

"Woah," I say as I turn around in a circle. "No one told me that this was a big one."

"A huge one," Gabriel replies. "He's possessed by a powerful imp."

"Imp?" Evelyn asks. "What's that?"

"A spirit," I say as I turn around to face Evelyn. "They possess humans and make them do terrible things. They get off in it."

Evelyn gags.

"Not like that," I snort. "Not literally. They just find it fun."

"Alright, let's begin," I order as I turn to face the priests again and snap my fingers in the air. "I haven't got all day."

The priests murmur in agreement as they take their positions. Gabriel takes up his cross and joins the masses of creepy old guys.

"Take a seat," I whisper as I turn and peer over my shoulder at Evelyn and Raiden. "This is gonna be a while. But don't worry, nothing bad ever happens at these."

Evelyn and Raiden gulp.

Evelyn and Raiden watch in amazement as the priests begin reciting the Bible. As they do so, the possessed man begins snarling and writhing around even more than before, like a very pissed off fish out of water. As for me, I close my eyes and lean against a Bubble-smeared wall. I'm tired. My head hurts.

But then, one of the priests howl in pain as blood explodes from their pores, as well as their eyes, ears and nose. The priest then falls to the ground, clearly dead. Evelyn and Raiden scream as they grab on to one another.

"Shit!" I cry as my eyes snap open and I grab onto my sickle-sword. "Me and my fat, sexy mouth!"

More priests scream in pain as their blood is sucked dry before limply falling to the ground. One by one, the priests are being murdered by the imp possessing the man.

"Zach, what's happening?" Evelyn cries.

"Don't worry, it's alright!" I shout over the screams of pain. "I won't let it hurt you two!"

"Zach!" One of the priests cry as they grab my shoulders and shake me desperately. I recognize their voice to belong to Gabriel. "Kill that man!"

"You want me to do what?!" I snap.

"If you kill that man you force the imp out of his body!" Gabriel explains. "And from there, you can reap it!"

"I know how it works!" I snap. "But I won't do it!"

"The lives of dozens of Priests are more important than one lowly commoner!" Gabriel replies, causing Evelyn's eyes to widen.

Swiftly, I draw my sickle-blade and swing it towards Gabriel, which flinches in fear. My blade stops mere centimeters before Gabriel's throat.

"I don't care if that imp kills one or one thousand of you…" I growl. "I don't kill people…got that? You guys signed up for this…you should know what you were getting into."

Gabriel whimpers as he looks at the blade of my sickle-sword then back up to me.

"Dammit," I grunt as I retract my sickle-sword away from Gabriel's throat. I look down at the heavy cross hanging from my throat then back up to the priests, who are fighting so desperately to save one another.

Just like how I am.

I take a deep breath in…then out.

"Don't give in!" I order, causing Evelyn's eyes to lighten up. "Just keep praying! Drive out the imp, and then I'll slay it for you!"

"Right!" The priests reply as they begin to pray louder.

Gabriel gives me a small nod. I give me a nod back, and then he turns to join the rest of the priests.

The priest continues praying and the man continues howling. More and more priest fall to the ground in bloody heaps as the man beings writhing, but then, the possessed man rears to the sky and lets out one last mighty scream -this one, more human before- as a dark black-and-purple gas bursts from his body before taking shape, forming into an imp. The now formerly-possessed man drops to the ground and begins sobbing.

"They did it!" Evelyn cheers.

"Alright, Raiden, let's go!" I order as I draw my sickle-sword and charge. "It's Reaping Time!"

"R-right now?!" Raiden asks as he frantically pills out his spell book and wand. "O-okay!"

With a roar, I swing my sickle-sword towards the imp with all of my might, and the imp attempts to duck into another body to dodge, but I shove the old man out of the way, and the imp is left defenseless.

"What can imps do?" Raiden calls to me while flipping through his spell book

"Nothing!" I answer as I continue frantically swinging my sickle-sword towards the imp, who dodges all of my attacks. "Nothing in this form, at least! But when they possess humans, they gain tremendous power."

"So we can't let it do that!" Raiden finishes as he stops on a specific page. Raiden then begins twirling his wand through the air, as the wind around us picks up. "Nubes Carceris!" Raiden shouts [Cloud Prison] as he aims his wand at the imp, and the air around the imp begins to pick up, forming a tornado around the little critter, and preventing him from escaping.

"Evelyn, get all of the priests outta here!" I order as I charge Raiden's tornado.

"R-right!" Evelyn stammers as she begins helping the wounded priests up and leading them out of the basement.

"I can never use my true power with people watching…" I whisper to myself. "Raiden, hit it!" I then shout.

"I can't use two spells at once!" Raiden cries.

"Ah, man, that's fine," I reply as I leap into the air. "A lightning bolt would have been cool, but I'll do it myself!" I raise my sickle-sword high into the air above my head as it begins glowing with purple energy. The imp looks up to face me. "DON'T YOU DARE THINK ABOUT POSSESSING ME!" I roar as I swing my sickle-sword down to the imp with all of my might. "A MONSTER OF DEATH!"

"SOUL HUNTER!"

My Soul Hunter slashes into the imp in an explosion of purple energy, who lets out a howl of pain as it's cleaved in half

"And now…SOUL HARVEST!"

My entire body begins to glow a dim blue color as I plunge my hand into the imp's chest. "Your soul is mine, bitch!" I roar as I rip my hand out of the imp, yanking its soul out in the process. The imp drops to the ground then disappears in a cloud of dust. I slip the soul into my messenger bag.

"H-he defeated it…" one of the priest stammers as they lift their weakened body off of the ground.

"He saved us!"

"Zach Reaper killed the imp!"

"He's a hero!"

"M-mr Zach!" A bloodied Gabriel stammers as he rushes over to me and takes my hands, causing me to cringe. "You saved us…how can we ever thank you?!"

"THANK ME?!" I ask. "I'm not doing this because I want to, I'm doing this because it's the cards I've been dealt and I gotta make the most out of it!"

***

"Zach…" Evelyn begins to say to me.

"Yeah?" I ask, without pausing.

"You're a good guy."

Now, I pause.

Evelyn and Raiden continue walking, and eventually, they pass me. As for me, I look to the ground as a faint smile washes over my lips.

"Thank you, Evelyn…" I whisper.

"Hmm?" Evelyn asks as she spins around to face me and begins walking backwards. "Did you say something?"

"N-no!" I stammer as I look up to face Evelyn, and a blush creeps across my face. "Nothing at all."

"I think he did say something," Raiden says to Evelyn, causing the girl to laugh as she turns around and continues walking.

"Thank you…"