He should've realized that last use of his power during dinner would be the que when the Death Horseman would try and break free, he had felt them appear on his body and around him like a costume one wore on Halloween. And not, with his mind cast adrift in the sea of sleep and unconsciousness, he met his old compatriot that shared his body. The man was similar to his more ethereal form, black robe with hood draped over a pale body and a half skeleton mask was set onto his face while in his hand was the Reaping scythe that Grim would have.
The moment the Death Horseman took his form in Grims mind that he lunged right at Grim. Grim grabbed the figures hands but like most of these, the figure had gathered plenty of strength to try and win this fight for his body and such while this Horseman had the strength and speed as he would have in the normal world, Grim felt like was fighting in molasses 40 leagues under the ocean and its his strength strapped to that of a child. But he fought still against this would-be killer as he knew that the moment his body was in this things control it would be all over for his love and his brothers.
The Horseman laughed, a haunting and creepy laugh as he pushed Grim into the floor and easily began to overpower Grim and get Grim still held onto what he could of his body to ensure that this thing would not take his body.
"Lord give me-" began Grim but the Death Horseman just laughed again and said in a haunting voice, "Your god has no power here in your mind!"
"He has power over every-" began Grim but then the figure tossed him hard through the void as they stood up and looked at him spinning uncontrollably through the nothingness of Grims mind.
"How many times have we done this?" Asked the Horseman as he walked closer. "How many times have you tossed me back? But not this time, I want out! Want to experience the world! I want to ravage it!"
"It's not time yet... our existence on the world is fleeting.... you will have you chance." Croaked Grim as he managed to look at the figure and stop spinning through the void.
"I dunno... fleeting times usually means only a few days... you've been on the Outside world for nearly a month." Said the Horseman. "To me... that sounds like your up to something."
Grim groaned as he managed to anchor himself down and finally stand up in the void as solid "ground" finally was beneath him but he simply said to the Horseman, "That's because our missions are in two separate places and teleporting an army from one place to the other is what I like to call neigh impossible."
"Bah!" Said the Horseman as he blew the whole thing off with a wave. "You only wish to forestall your inevitable time down in Hell."
Partially true, Reaper had to admit, given that he didn't want to leave Shino again and have her wait an untold amount of years for him to return to her for only a few hours. He knew it was hard on her to keep going without him and he knew it was getting harder on him to keep going in the fight without her. But still, he shook his head as he said, "The journey will end in Hell when we take the gates back from the Fallen. It is only a matter of both time and luck that we can end these problems to the Surface before going back."
The Horseman shook his head. "Your a fool to believe that it will happen soon over later."
"And your still as nearsighted as ever." Said Grim.
The Horseman flew at Grim and slammed a fist into Grims gut and Grim was wracked by the pain spreading through his body as the Horseman said, "I think it's time you took a back seat and let me handle the world for a little bit till you know what it's like to be in my position."
But then suddenly a bright flash turned the dark black void white and both Grim and the Horseman glanced around as Grim watched a small portal of light slice itself into existence as a white robes figure walked in.
"Wha-" the Horseman didn't get the words out, he was immediately thrown back and then disappeared from the mind.
Grim managed to stagger to his feet as he then watched the figure walk over with their bright robes and blonde hair as they simply shook their head lightly to Grim before saying, "Come here, my child."
Grim couldn't help but cease standing as he crumpled to the ground while he watched his mother with her blue eyes go and bend down to hug him, kissing his head.
"Oh my child, how hard you fight to keep that thing at bay..." Said his mother with an almost song-like voice. "How you must be so tired.."
"Mother." Said Grim as he managed to not joke up with weeping. "How?"
"Your brothers and girlfriend noticed you didn't wake up." Said his mother as she cupped his face to look at hers. "So I'm afraid I need you to wake up for work, my dear boy."
And before Grim could say something to her, he suddenly woke up as he felt something slapping his face hard.
The sound of the slap was so loud, several soldiers and Ashigaru looked at the tent as Conquest, Pestilence, and Starvation did their best to not exchange glances as they had formed a circle around Grims unmoving body in a prayer circle that was an attempt to help get Grim back to them. He had been found that way by Shino as she had been desperate in her attempts to wake him and now she was freaking out so much she was using physical force to wake him up.
It seemed like this slap did something as suddenly the brothers heard Grim give a long moan as he turned and Shino immediately tackled him to the ground as Conquest, Pestilence, and Starvation stood up to help him up.
"Do we need a guess at what was happening?" Asked Pestilence.
"Take one, enlighten me." Croaked Grim as he managed to stand up as Shino was hugging him very tight just as they watched Shino's father and brother walk in formal clothing as they had worried looks.
"We heard the Death Horseman was still asleep and not waking. We feared the worst." Said the brother.
"Almost did happen.. but I had some help." Said Grim as he tenderly touched his cheek.
"And that was from waking up?" Asked Shino.
"I'm afraid it seemed like my plight was tended to by... my mother."
The other brothers glanced at one another as Pestilence Asked, "Did she say anything?"
"Only that she needed me to wake. Couldn't talk with her much." Said Grim sadly.
"Still can't arrange a date to meet her or your dad, huh?" Asked Shino as she clapped her wing.
"Oh don't worry. When I send reports I send letters asking what she thinks of you. Can't remember anything of what she says but they always speak of how promising you are to her."
But then Grim sighed as he said then, "But had she not intervened... it would immediately have left me powerless to stop the other guy from leaving this earth scarred and burning..."
And then he managed to stand up, body joints popping and settling back into place given he had been sitting against the cot of the tent, and as he stood up and managed a small stretch, he then looked to everyone and finally said, "Alright... we have work to do... so I think its time to get moving.
The whole army began to move within a few hours of Grim waking up and finally getting the corps all together to march. Ammo was getting sparse too and the brothers ere doing their best ration everyone's ammo and explosives since if they ran out it would come down to melee and hand-to-hand combat and although going into a fight with only a sharpened spade and a bayonet seemed appealing to Conquest, his soldiers would be less cordial about it all and immediately try and get ammo somehow.
And he didn't need another LA Riot happening in somewhere other than LA.
Still, with such little ammo available to them at the moment, the fear and worry for some of the other corps and his own was pretty apparent as he made sure everyone had at least a full clip on them if not a second one. Artillery was hit the biggest as without a lot of shells, they would lack the necessary 'oomph' to their bombardments that they would conduct.
But there would be some hope where they would be heading and Conquest remembered the place well, even right down to when fire and lead shot was being spat on two opposite sides and when fire and brimstone was all he could see around him in the fields and in the woods, around the picket fences and amongst the dirt roads.
It would be quite a reunion for him and Grim and he could see it too on his brothers face as for a moment he saw him back in a wool uniform with a rifle and bayonet standing on the edge of a blood and body-ridden battlefield but then the moment was gone and his brother was back in his military uniform. Shino was next to him in her red armor and with her naginata as she had her mask on while she tried to give "love pecks" to Grim as a way to mess with him in a flirty, loving way and he could tell even from here that it was making his brother wonder what he would do to get back at her.
But then Conquest got a call and as he brought his satellite phone out as he brought it out and thumbed the button to accept the call as he said, " 'Ello?"
"Hey Um... babe? Are you okay?" Came the voice of the girl he was in love with and he immediately said, "Bodil! Oh my goodness Im fine but what about you?"
"I was getting worried... um, I heard there was some crazy stuff happening in various parts of the country. I heard Antifa is back at it again in the south."
Conquest gave such a big sigh at the word "Antifa", that Pestilence and Starvation came over as Grim's girlfriend had kinda cordoned Grim from his brothers so she could spend more time with him and mess with him but as the two brothers of his came over, he looked at them and said, "I may leave when we get back to deal with some troublemakers."
"Who could possibly be causing trouble?" asked Starvation.
"Antifa. Pestilence you may want to make a plague out of them one day." said Conquest as he went back to his phone.
"Even I don't hate anyone enough to give them the Antifa virus. That's cruel even for me." said Pestilence quietly.
Conquest then went back to his call with a simple, "Yeah I think we'll be fine even with those idiots running around in wherever they are. Besides, even if they appeared near you, I'd be there to stop them."
He knew his girlfriend was smiling when he said that as she had a much more happy voice now while saying, "I hope your coming soon."
"I'll be visiting Pennsylvania soon. And then we'll be on our way to New York where you are at." informed Conquest. "So whatever you do don't fret too much and above all-"
"Don't go out with any of these other guys, I know." His girlfriend laughed at her little joke as Conquest was forever worried about his girlfriend being taken away by some guy.
"I love you." she then said.
"I love you too." said Conquest as the call hung up.