Misadventures in the Multiverse

Chapter Twenty Seven

The Reaper entered a large room with another version of himself. "Brothers! Our reputation has been put on the line. This battle decides everything. Remember who we are fighting for. For the Empire!" He tells them. All of them salute him ready to take on anything that lies ahead. Someone who looks like The Reaper with nice blonde hair stands inside a large immaculate building. He is wearing the garb a pope normally would wear. "Your Eminence. Filthy heretics have arrived at our doorstep." an attendant says to him. He sighs looking a little sad, but unsurprised. "Send all the non-combatants away. We will defend the church for the good of the Multiverse, even if it costs us our lives."

The ship The Reapers arrived in lands outside. All of them go out to meet the army waiting for them. The Reaper steps forward as does The Pope. "So you have returned at last. I doubt It's to become a follower of our ways again. So why are you here." The Reaper stays quiet slowly pointing at him. "Your body." He says to him. "Oh? I see, and you couldn't just take it over like the countless other versions of us you've taken over. Have you ever felt remorse for that?" The Pope would say with anger in his words. "My only job is to serve The Empire." The Reaper answers. "The Empire that tortured you? Tramples all around the Multiverse without care. Can't you see despite your crimes you're a victim in this too?" The Pope says trying to reason with him. "I didn't come here for a sermon." The Reaper says pulling out a multi-tool, and transforming it into a sword. The Pope's men draw their weapons as do all the other Reapers. "Very well. We will give you exactly what you want then." The pope says pointing the staff he has forward, directing his army to charge.

The armies begin to clash The Reaper's doubles have a clear advantage slaughtering everyone in sight. The Reaper slashes at The Pope he blocks it with the staff using his skill with it to brush along the blade, and wack him in the head. The Reaper retaliates using a knife he concealed in his offhand to stab him. The Pope staggers backward The Reaper cutting his head off without a second thought. The Reaper's numbers are overwhelming the army almost none of them remain. The Pope's body rises into the air attaching his head completely healed. "What were you hoping to gain from this? No matter how many times you cut me down I'll rise again!" He twists his staff opening it to reveal a sword hidden inside. He cuts The Reaper's head off just as he had done to him. Another Reaper simply takes his place resuming the fight.

"If you cut me down two more will rise in my place." The Reaper says one of them slicing his arm off while the other one stabs him through. The Pope knocks them away attaching his arm back on pulling the sword out from his chest now using both of them to slice the Two Reapers into pieces. More joined in lunging at him as it would seem all rust The Pope had from fighting had fallen off as he quickly disposed of them. Even still all that remained on the battlefield was The Pope and thousands of Reapers. They all start to dog pile on top of him weighing him down. At first, it looks like they finally got him down for the count, but no. He broke out killing all of them with precision, and ease with a few gaping wounds that closed up faster than they appeared.

"How many lives are you willing to throw away to try, and take me down? In the end, it's all fruitless. You can't beat me." The Pope yelled out to all of them. They kept attacking him even though every one of them that grew near dropped like flies. "My unwavering conviction has no equal!" A Reaper clashes with him holding his own. "You arrogant old man. You will see soon enough what this gets me." He says before he is run through with a sword. Seven Reapers surround him cutting him to pieces even still he rises from the ground completely fine. The only hint of damage would be his clothing which was barely on him now with the damage they had sustained.

The Pope's heart suddenly burst he felt weak. The Reaper's numbers were dwindling but still in the hundreds at least. "What have you done?" The Pope asks still able to keep up with them all the same. Slowly he grew weaker. "You have dug your own grave." One of The Reapers said. The Pope's eye started to blacken like it would burst open. He fought it trying to get it to stop knowing what it meant. "No, you... With every death, it became easier to try, and get inside my head." The Pope says understanding that he might have just become his own undoing. Even still he fights for control, but inside his mind, thousands of Reapers have entered grabbing onto his inner self they all pulled him down into the darkness. The Reaper steps forward within his mind. "You were formidable we will put your body to good use." The Reaper said. "I'm not like all the other versions of us. You can't completely get rid of me I'll always be here in the back of our shared mind ready to take back control." The Reaper started to walk away. "That I am well aware of." He says while walking. The Pope cries out. "It doesn't have to be this way. You can still change!" He says trying to reason with him one last time as he's pulled completely into the darkness.

The man thinks back to a moment in the past seeing a much younger Reaper before him that he looked down long happily. He wondered how it had gotten to this point. The Pope's eye burst open bleeding all over like he is crying blood. He slowly rises as the blond hair changed from blonde to black. The Reaper had truly taken this body for his own. He smiles wiping the blood away from his eye as one of his other selves hands him an eye patch which he puts on. "Now no one can stop us." They light the church on fire get inside their ship and leaving not looking back once.