(Craftex contest submission) chapter 5: Pretentious
Pandora is once more silent as she too engages. Thanatos slices her enormous scythe to which Pandora does a swift jump FORWARD, ending right in front of Thanatos, their sheer difference in size being quite prominent at such close range! Thanatos’s eyes widen. Pandora grabs Thanatos’s shoulder, lifting her from the floor with ease in a single moment, before Thanatos can react, letting her go. Thanatos floats in confusion for another single moment before seeing Pandora’s leg hammering down onto her, Pandora having swung her entire body down, balancing perfectly on one leg, smashing Thanatos into the floor, stepping on her. “Your weapon is ineffective at such short range, Young One.”
Thanatos grits her teeth feeling Pandora applying more pressure onto her stomach. “Kah! Y-you think so huh!? MAKARIA!” She calls out, Pandora raising her leg to stomp down again however as she stomps down she finds that her foot, or rather a chunk of her leg has been severed Thanatos launching up with a swift double kick to Pandora’s chin sending the giant woman tumbling back. Thanatos lands, holding Makaria which seems to have shrunk a little the spike on the opposite end even having detached.. MAKARIA: SICKLE & KNIFE MODE! “How’s this for short range!?” Thanatos runs forward while Pandora’s open leg fires out several wires to grab her severed leg, Thanatos slicing them to pieces before they can reach their target. Pandora strikes towards Thanatos the death goddess smirking as she easily twirls aside. “You’re not so fast without your counterweight to your punches!” She stabs Pandora in the arm, pulling herself up and wrapping the sickle around Pandora’s neck, yanking it back making her head go flying as well, Pandora’s body swiftly grabbing hold of Thanatos’s weapons with her bare hands.
Humanity gasps at the display of ruthless dismemberment from Thanatos. “She’s all cheerful but she’s a killer!” “She’s dangerous!”
Hypnos yawns. “Hey so like… I know Pandora’s heart is her weakness… but how’s Thanny supposed to get there when she just keeps putting herself together?”
Charon pokes her chin. “Perhaps she could find some way to permanently stop those wires…”
Nemesis scoffs at the idea. “The wires that are basically Pandora extending her soul? That’s only possible if she kills Pandora.”
Charon rolls her eyes. “I don’t see you thinking up any better ideas!” The two siblings butt heads a little.
Meanwhile down in the audience of the gods Nyx and Erebus are watching as well. “My little girl. She’s bleeding. I hope she’s not hurt!”
Erebus meanwhile writes something down on her noteblock. “This fight has already been going over schedule. She had better wrap this up soon. You truly should keep her on a tighter leash, Nyx.”
Nyx snaps a few more pictures of Thanatos’s smirk as she presses down on Pandora’s hands. “Nuuuu my baby deserves all the freedom she wants. The same with her siblings!” His eyes widen as he looks at one of the photos he took seeing Pandora’s leg has moved. “Oh no! THANATOS!” He calls out as Pandora’s severed leg Pandora’s leg comes flying back towards the two of them, Thanatos’s ear twitching as the gods’ audience gasps, the young death goddess setting her feet on Pandora’s chest kicking her back as Pandora’s leg returns to her.
The puppet body spinning and dragging her foot along the ground until she bumps against her head, picking it up and popping it back on backwards, the wires filling it up again, causing her to blink before spinning it back to Thanatos. “You’re really REALLY starting to piss me off!” Thanatos yells engaging again with a light jump causing her to float midair as she swings at Pandora almost at eye-level with the gothic woman. Pandora spins and deflects, now able to twist her upper body independently from both her lower body and her head. Suddenly Pandora does a full twirl, knocking Thanatos’s knife-swing out of the way and in doing so Pandora assumes a striking stance her wrist twisting multiple times, as if winding up a gearspring. She strikes Thanatos dead on, her wrist spinning and spinning at impressive speeds. FOUETTÉ DE PÉCHÉ She hammers Thanatos into the floor once again, Thanatos letting out a wrenching scream, before Pandora’s eyes widen and she leaps back.
Thanatos pants and grits her teeth getting back to her feet, blood dripping from her stomach. “That was a really REALLY strong one. I definitely felt that one. But it came in… handy,” She says with a wink as Pandora looks to her hand which is now missing.
Her eyes dart around the arena to find it however her eyes fall onto a large amount of shards lying around instead. “You… eviscerated it using my spinning strike?” Thanatos grins holding out the sickle and it starts spinning all on its own in her hand.
“I diiiiid~ Can’t retrieve what’s totally gone, can you? Even if you can collect the pieces-” She springs forward, Pandora suddenly finding herself on the defensive stepping back in her elegant steps as Thanatos swings the shredding knife and sickle. “There’s no way you can even reassemble it while dealing with ME!” She yells with a cackle.
Pandora however remains calm, dodging each strike with the same pinpoint precision she has been using until now. She kicks again, Thanatos flying back, reassembling her scythe in midair, stabbing the back spike into the ground, using it to spin herself back around launching her scythe at Pandora who simply steps aside, Thanatos jumping into the air to catch the rebounding scythe, however as she holds out her hand to catch it she suddenly Pandora towering in front of her, the Queen of Sin having jumped in the air to intercept. “Do you believe in karma, young one?” She asks as Thanatos strikes at her opponent, Pandora striking back with her stump, the hollow inside catching Thanatos’s arm inside of it. The death goddess’s eyes widen as Pandora spins them both around. PAS DE DEUX! Suddenly Makaria comes flying past, as the two fighters land solidly back on the ground. A god has to jump out of the way of Makaria as it crashes into the audience, bouncing itself back towards Thanatos.
Makaria embeds itself into the ground next to Thanatos as the death goddess screams in pain suddenly! A gut-wrenching scream as she grabs hold of her arm. “AAAAAAAH!!!!” She pants and screams as blood drips from her arm. Pandora reaches into the stump and pulls out Thanatos’s forearm, nearly to her elbow. “That’s… that’s MINE! GIVE IT BACK!” She yells, panting before Pandora crushes it in her palm and the audience goes silent. Thanatos trembles, Pandora assuming her calm pose again.
“I told you, young one. This is no place for one such as you,”
Thanatos sits in silence for a moment. “This… this isn’t fun anymore. I’m done with this game…”
The audience pipes up again. “We still believe in you, Thanny!” “You can crush her without an arm! Or even with the other tied behind your back!” “Go Thanny!” “You’re still way cuter!”
“SHUT UP!” Thanatos screams. “You fanboys. I’m not going to be cute from now. I’m going to KILL you, Pandora.”
The audience falls silent once again having been yelled at by Thanatos. “What…?”
Hypnos and Charon both gulp and move a little closer to Nemesis on their seats. “Oh boy here we go…”
Thanatos grabs her scythe, and in that same moment, Pandora strikes her again, sending Thanatos tumbling back. “You’re not going to get away with that, you horrendously ugly BITCH!” Thanatos yells gripping Makaria tightly.
Nyx frowns with a worried look. “Oh no my little angel! Her arm! Erebus!”
Erebus simply writes something down. “Surgery to have that arm replaced will be quite expensive. But it is within our budget. So long as she wins…”
The audience gulps. “Is it just me or… she’s not being very cute… anymore…” There’s a deadly silence around the arena.
“I don’t deserve this,” Thanatos mutters gritting her teeth. “YOU should be happy you get to fight ME! I earned this! Feel the weight of YOUR sin!? Shut up with your pretentious garbage. You’re just like him!” Thanatos says looking down at her scythe.
Erebus fixes her glasses. “That girl… this again?”
-Ancient Past-
Thanatos is standing on the giant stage of Heaven’s grandest amphitheater singing her heart out, her siblings behind her as she sings her song, the rainbow lights flooding down onto her as countless gods fill the seats, or rather are standing from them to jump and cheer to the sound of the heavy beats. As they finish, Thanatos tosses her fist in the air and strikes a cute pose. “And don’t forget everyone! Die for me~” she says making a little heart over her chest to the sound of uproaring applause. Nemesis, Hypnos and Charon all get their fair share of cheers as well of course, but nothing like what Thanatos is getting. As the group exit the stage Thanatos hears her favorite sound from the stage.
“EN-CORE! EN-CORE!” Thanatos grinning happily and looking to Erebus and Nyx standing at the exit to the stage. Erebus looks at her watch and nods as the manager of the next performer comes up to talk to her. Thanatos smiles as she jumps back out on stage for another song, her siblings joining with equal smiles.
Nemesis riffs his guitar and the swoon of the noise silences the crowd’s cheers for an encore. “IF YOU FUCKERS WANT MORE! Let me hear some NOISE!” He yells and a roar blasts through the crowd making them start up their encore.
The Children of Night finish the encore Thanatos waggling her finger. “Now now. No SECOND Encore please! I have to go get my pedicure!” She calls out and everyone nods as she exits greeting the next performer up. A younger boy, with blonde hair, set in two braids and a bun at the back, dressed in more baggy white clothes. “Warmed them up for youuuuu, Makaria~” Thanatos says, giving a little jump and high-fiving the fellow idol.
“Thanks, Thanatos! Is your voice okay? You sing VERY loud,” He says with a smile and Thanatos pokes her lips.
“Yep! Juuuuust fine! La la la!”
“Great! I’ll join you later. I have to perform now,” He steps onto the stage and Thanatos’s eyes widen as he grabs the mic at what she hears… nothing? Complete silence. It always amazes her how he can silence a crowd simply by existing. He’s a good idol! He starts to sing and the crowd sways along with his melody. “Oh Blessed Death, come close and seeeeeee~ The peace I bring, the souls I set freeeeee~ Fear not the night, nor Dark’s embraaaace~ In my arms, you’ll find your graaaace~” Still nothing but his voice echoing out in the amphitheater. Not until he is done. A somber but sweet song. As he steps back from the mic and bows the crowd erupts in the usual cheers and excitement before he goes for another few songs of his.
As he finally steps off-stage, waving goodbye to the crowd he sees Thanatos waving him over, the two idols getting to the backstage where Erebus is talking with Makaria’s manager. “How was I?”
Thanatos smirks. “Ehe~ Pretty good but not as good as me!” She says proudly and Makaria laughs.
“I don’t think we can be compared. Your songs are all rather loud compared to mine. I’m not here to be ‘the best’ anyways. It’s all about sending a message to the crowd.”
Thanatos shifts in her seat. “No no no! It’s about being adored by a crowd right!?” She says excitedly and Makaria laughs again.
“I guess that is one way to look at it too. I just want someone to feel something from my music. Then I can die happy,”
Thanatos scoffs and giggles. “Well, we’re death gods so we’re NOT dying!”
Makaria nods. “I guess not anytime soon. But anyways. I will see you at the next show. I’m really glad to have other idols like you around!” He dusts himself off and wanders to his manager.
Thanatos looks after him. “Me too!” She yells. However…
-A few years later-
Thanatos is standing on stage, just finishing a performance. She is sweating, holding up her hand and the crowd cheers as always. She and her siblings skip off the stage, Thanatos stopping halfway as always. “...??” She looks confused back as she hears no cheers for an encore? Why not??? She sees Makaria stepping towards her, holding up his hand.
“Good performance like always,” He says waiting for the high-five. But Thanatos just walks past him. “Bad mood… Sorry?”
A few people in the crowd cheer as he steps onto the stage. “KYAAAA! There he is!” “Makariaaaaa! Over here!” They cheer and he gives a little wave.
Thanatos glares at him from off-stage. “That’s why…?” She says Charon crossing his arms.
“Yeah Makaria has been getting very popular in the Death Idol space recently.”
Hypnos pokes her lips confused. “I guess he’s a pretty-boy and it’s different?”
Nemesis and Thanatos both cross their arms. “Well I don’t like it! But nothing to do about it. He’s your friend anyways, Thanatos.”
“Yeah… he is,” Thanatos says with a sigh.
Some time later Thanatos, Nyx and her siblings are standing at the entrance to their manager’s company. Nemesis tugs his dad’s sleeve. “Hey pops… what are we waiting for exactly?”
“I… am not sure. But I am sure my dear Erebus has some good news!”
Erebus enters the building, fixing her glasses. “I have good news.”
“See?”
“I would like to introduce you to our company’s newest talent. He was not cheap given his growing popularity however I am confident in this investment. I assume he needs no introduction?” She steps aside as Thanatos locks eyes with Makaria.
“Hey everyone. Pleasure to be working with you,” He says with a gentle wave. … Nothing is meant to last. Death comes for everything eventually.