A Single Element Stories [Rating Varies]

[AWA1997]

The Snap (Part 2/3) [PG-13] (NW)

Spoiler:

(5 Days After Maddox’s Birth)

Madeline had gone out to have a relaxing spa day while Life and Death took care of Maddox. As Life held the baby, Death smiled and played with his gloves. He sat down on the bed and let Life play mom for a while. She was the mother of essentially the entire human race, so if anyone knew how to take care of a baby, it would be her.

Life stood up and began walking around the room, playing with the kid as she let her restless legs wander. As she paced around the room, she misjudged her footing and tripped over the big, black, three headed dog on the ground. She stumbled and dropped the baby.

When Death saw Life drop Maddox, he threw himself off the bed to try to catch the baby. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about his powers hurting the kid now that Neko had made him a pair... of... gloves... that he wasn’t wearing!

It was too late, by the time Death realized his mistake, he had already touched Maddox, the baby had already gone limp, and Death’s power would prevent Life from reviving the kid, even if he took his hands away instantly. “No...” a soft whisper came. “Not again... why... why does this have to always happen to me?”

“Death... I’m... I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to... I mean... um...” Tears began flowing down Life’s cheeks. Something inside Death snapped. “Why Life!?” he cried. “Why couldn’t you watch where you were going!?” He laid the baby on the bed and got in Life’s face. “Why weren’t you paying attention!?” Life stumbled back. “Death, I didn’t mean to drop him!” she continued backing up.

As she was backed into a corner, she blurted out, “Why did you have to dive for him?!” “Because I wanted to save him!” “But I could’ve revived him if you hadn’t!” “If you would’ve just watched your feet, revival wouldn’t have been necessary!” “Well if you would’ve worn your gloves, at least it would still be possible!” “Excuse me for thinking you, the mother of the human race, would be able to properly care for a child, without dropping him, and that I wouldn’t need my gloves until it was time to change him or something like that!” “It’s not my fault that Cerberus was in my way!” “So now you’re blaming my dog, who is two-thirds your height on all fours, for you not seeing him?!”

As Death got angrier, his flesh seemed to boil and melt off his bones, leaving the form of the grim reaper in his place. Life whimpered and shrank back, curling into a ball, horrified of the vision of the monster before her. Death, however, was unaware of this change, believing her to merely be shrinking away from his wrath.

Before Death could continue his yelling, Neko walked in. “What the hell is... oh... oh no...” She grabbed Death and pulled him away from Life. “Death! Stop it! Don’t you see that you’re terrifying her!?” “Did you see what she did!?” he snapped. “Maddox is dead because of her! I was actually getting to be a real father to one of my kids! I reacted like a real father would! Because of her negligence, my son is dead, and even she can’t fix it this time!”

As Death ranted to Neko, Life teleported away. “I understand, Death, but you getting angry like this won’t help.” “No, but maybe it will teach Life to pay attention!” Neko sighed. “Just breathe, Death. I understand your anger, but you need to handle this differently.” She walked up to him and began massaging his back. He still had skin lower down on his back, and she worked her way up as his flesh reformed, attempting to relieve his stress by force.

As she worked, the anger left, leaving him with only his sorrows. Death hugged her tight, sobbing into her. “What am I going to do, Neko?” He asked. “I just took away Madeline’s chance to be a mother, and unlike Life, I don’t think she’ll give me a second chance to give her a kid now that I’ve killed him.” He shook with tears. “But that’s not even the worst part... how am I going to explain his death to her? I never saw her so happy as when she held him, and now I’ve taken that joy away.”