Conflict And Contracts

........................Joat...............

"Was that your big one-liner?" I ask as I stare at the demon.

“What's wrong with it?” he replied.

“Well, everything. I mean "miss me?", that just sounds stupid,” I say as I walk toward him. I gave a brief glance at Discord before looking back to the demonic reaper, “And you also brought the God of Chaos? What’s wrong, the little reaper can't handle his own problems?”

The demon gave a slight growl as he tightened his grip on the large umbrella he currently held in his clawed hands. I smirk in satisfaction when I saw that my insult had upset him. The demon gritted his teeth as he slowly turned and faced Discord.

“Thank you for helping me find this rat,” the demon said with a hint of anger in his voice, “but I would like to deal with him personally.” Discord gave a slight shrug.

“Suit yourself," he replied before disappearing in a flash of bright light.

A slight chuckle escaped my muzzle as I saw the demon turn to face me. “So, are you ready to get your ass kicked a second time?” I asked as I readied my gauntlet. The demon just continued to stare at me, those red orbs in his empty eye sockets looking straight into my being. “Well, are you just gonna stand there?” I asked.

He gave a slight grin before tossing down the umbrella, letting the bright light of the sun wash over his demonic skin. The crimson orbs in his eyes grew dim, but he continued to smile.

“So, you’re just gonna stand there and weaken yourself?” I asked in confusion. “Fine by me. It will make this second ass kicking so much easier.”

The demon just continued to stare before slowly backing into the shadows of the Everfree.

“Where are you going!?” I shouted, still confused. Suddenly, the faint sound of chain links grinding against each other echoed throughout the area.

I didn't even have time to react before a long, black chain shot out of the trees and coiled around my torso. “Crap!” I muttered before a hard jerk sent me flying into the shadow of the forest. It only took a few seconds before my face slammed hard against the trunk of a large tree.

The impact left my lungs empty of air and my head swimming in pain. The demon who had been standing a few inches from the tree gave a slight chuckle as he slowly began to wrap the excess chain around the tree, fastening me face first to its trunk.

I shook my head, attempting to rid myself of the throbbing pain that pulsed through my skull while the demon began to dig through the pockets of my tattered jeans.

“Hey! Watch where you’re grabbing there chief!” I say as he reached into my front pocket.

“Where is it?" he growled.

“Where is what?” I asked while still trying to shake the pain and dizziness from my head.

“The fucking watch!” he yelled.

“Oh, that old thing? I traded it for a bottle of hard cider.” I joked. Another growl escaped the demon’s lips before he tightly grabbed my ears and bashed my face into the tree. Pain once again overtook my face. I felt a bit of blood start to trail down my muzzle.

“Where is it!?” he shouted again as he gave a hard tug on the chain that currently held me against the tree. Seconds later, it dropped to the ground.

I quickly spun around to to try and land a punch on his demonic face, but my vision was still a bit fuzzy from being slammed into a tree trunk a few times. I only succeed in losing my balance and giving the reaper a chance to counterattack. He quickly grabbed my arm and gave it a hard twist, bringing me face first into the dirt.

“Oh, I’m sorry, were you planning to hit me?” The chain that had held me to the tree moments ago slithered through the dirt and coiled back around my body, once again restraining me. I slowly sat up and looked into the reaper's eyes. Anger began to build up inside me as a red aura began to form around my body. I let out a growl of my own as I felt strength run through my body.

The demon was not amused. He quickly raised his boot and delivered a hard kick to my face. “Don't think hulking out will help you escape. I doubt you could break those chains,” the demon said as he slid a hand into my jacket pocket.

“Ah, there it is,” he said with a satisfied smile as he slowly lifted the silver pocket watch from my jacket pocket. He began to open his coat and stare at the rusted old watch that currently stuck out of his bare chest. The exposed object seemed to beat as if it was the creature’s heart. It seemed to pump his veins full of dark energy; the foul smell of it burned my nostrils. There was a long pause before he quickly placed the silver watch in his own pocket, leaving the rusted one in his chest.

“I still have some time to kill,” he grinned as the long handle of his scythe formed in his right hand.

“What do you say doggy? Do you wanna have a little fun?” he asked in a sing song voice. “I’m sure you’re just begging to get loose and punch my teeth down my throat.”

“Fuck you,” I growled as the dark red aura around me grew thicker. I tried and tried to free myself from the chains, but they remained tightly wrapped around me.

“You know, I could just flat out kill you,” he said as he gave his scythe a quick twirl, "but where’s the fun in that?” He chuckled as he knelt down to undo the chains, but stopped and gave a sinister grin. “That red aura could pose as a problem for me, seeing as it helped you kick my ass the first time, so how about we even up the playing field a bit?”

Pain shot through my left leg as the reaper dug his claws into the calf of my leg. I grit my teeth in pain as I felt him tear into my leg, my anger continuing to build as he did his work.

“Come on doggy, let's play,” the demon mocked as I felt the chains uncoil and set me free. My rage continued to grow as I slowly stood up. Pain shot through my leg, demanding that I lay back down, but the adrenaline caused by my anger helped me ignore the pain.

“Aww! Is the little doggy mad?” he mocked again. Without hesitation, I quickly charged the demonic reaper. I brought my gauntlet back, readying a punch.

The demon quickly swung the scythe, attempting to strike before I could gain any ground. Reacting quickly, I reached out and grabbed the blade of the weapon, managing to hold back the attack. The demon quickly stepped forward and leaned into his attack, adding more weight and strength, bringing the blade closer to my face. The pain in my leg grew worse as I strained to hold back the reaper's blade.

A large, sharp tooth grin spread across his face as he brought the blade closer, only inches from my face. “Come on doggy, surely you can do better than this.”

“Room for one more?” A voice asked out of nowhere. The demon and I both turned to look at the source of the voice, completely ignoring each other and finding ourselves staring at a tall skinny figure with long red hair. He wore what looked to be a dark red pair of pajamas and a large, strange object on his back. We both stared at him in confusion. He returned our confused look with a slight smile before removing the dark sunglasses he was wearing, revealing his empty eye sockets.

“Well, it appears I have gained your attention,” he said, chuckling slightly before casually pulling the strange object from his back and aiming it in my direction. It gave off three strange pew sounds. As it did, I felt a stinging sensation in my chest. I looked down to find three darts stuck into my flesh. The demonic reaper jumped back as the darts hit me before trying to charge the stranger, but the stranger quickly aimed the object at the demon before firing three darts into his chest.

The world around me started to spin and everything began to fade. I looked over to the demon to see him collapse before the world went black.

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait i haven't really been in the mood for writing and i know sad i wasn't going to put out a new chapter until i had redone the previous one but figured i would go ahead and give you guys another chapter sorry its so short