The Life Game

Found

"You all know your job and yet none of you have succeeded in finding life!" Edge clenched his fists a bit tighter, felt his magic humming. "There are thousands of you and only one of them and you can't even find them!"

Maybe these scraggly old dust bags should go look themselves if they weren't doing a good enough job. It was their whole idea in the first place.

Edge felt an elbow meet his side lightly and he glanced down at Red who held a sharp look as he gestured up to Asgore. Someone was going to be dust soon, if the look in his eyes had anything to say about it.

"All of you are worthless! Only able to take the lives that Life creates! Thats good for nothing if you can't stop new life from happening!" Suddenly one of the other robe clad shadows was being lifted into the air and a trident suddenly being trusted through their chest. Dust curling to the ground and shadows dispersing into the air. "Worthless all of you! And if I don't see Life begging at my feet by the end of the month, this will be all of you!"

Asgore disappeared in a bout of smoke and then everyone was scrambling, pushing each other over as they rushed to get looking, no one else mattered if they could find Life and be in Asgore's favour.

Edge really didn't care much for the competition, he had "lived" long enough to know this happened once a century, that there was more than one being considered as Life. Just like there was more than one being considered as Death and just like every other year he would just have to bring another one to Asgore so him and his brother would continue to "live". Then the process would restart in another century

"have any ideas?" Of course Red would ask him, he was the one to find Life every other time. Somehow he had a knack for finding Life.

"Not yet, keep looking and hopefully something will come up." Edge let the dessert air pull at him, whipping him through the air and towards life.

-o-

Time was ticking, it always was, and Edge had to wonder if someone invented it just to spite him.

Life wasn't easy to find, never was, and now with a shortened time it would only be harder. Even if Edge had been searching since the last time this happened, had scoured over every possible inch of searchable space... except maybe...

Edge travelled quickly, back to his home in the desert and began his search anew. Some times Life was crafty and would hide where Death wouldn't think to look, to touch. Sometimes they hid in oceans, or clouds, mountains and ice fields. Sometimes you found them completely surrounded by life and sometimes you found them completely surrounded by death. It really depended on how smart they were and how good they were at their jobs.

So maybe one was smart enough to hide in plain sight, to hide in the place Death always was but would never be brought to. They very place they liked to reside. Death's own personal desert.

Sometimes him and his brethren liked to keep the oases around, just for a change of scenery or a place to enjoy life without anyone knowing. There was one Edge knew of that no one visited, that was on the very edge of their home, and so full of life he was surprise Asgore hadn't come to destroy it himself. Maybe he liked to keep it as a reminder of his hated sister.

He stopped just at the edge of where dessert sand started to freckle into grass, where the trees hung down think vines to create curtains and Edge could hear a voice.

Edge closed his eyes for a moment, considered and summoned his sword to his hand. With a careful hand he pulled the vines out of his way, watching as they shrivelled against his touch and took one decaying step into the clearing.

There a form crouched over some flowers, talking sweet nothings to them as if they were his lovers. Edge decided he wasn't going to think much, and just acted.

He was quick to strike, a hand curling along the top of their throat and his sword placed at the base, ready to trap the soul of Life until it could be brought to Asgore to destroy. However, those eyes that were staring back at him made him freeze in the next second.

Edge always had rules for himself to follow, and he followed them to the tee. One, never leave anything alive, two, never think about it, and three, never look it in the eyes.

Yet here he was breaking the most important one, by looking into a set of honey coloured lights so much like his own. They seemed to hold the world and all his attention. A cruel smile curling the lips of something that should never look so devilish. Robes of honey and white folding and dirty. An air of complete and utter renounce on their face.

"what? not going to finish the job? or does your king want that job all to himself?" Life drawled the blooms below his crouching form growing bigger.

Edge brought his blade closer, effectively shutting the skeleton up and leaving his own mind in confused disarray.

He should just do his job, get it over with and hand them over to Asgore. To live another century, to stay off of Asgore's rage list and on everyone elses'.

"you should really hurry up, you might hurt my feelings if you don't."

"You think I care about your feelings?" Edge growled out, tightening his grip and surly leaving a smudge of black that usually occurred when Death and Life touched. The flinch that the skeleton gave only confirmed such a thought. "You could dust right now and all I'd do would be to find another of your kind and get them for Asgore."

"oh ho, so you know of the others, alright then kill me, do it and try to find someone else." Edge would have done, maybe, if he knew he had the time, which he didn't. This would be his only chance, and he had to take it.

"But where's the fun in watching you met Death so kindly." He twisted the skeleton and pinned them to the ground, the sword pressed firmly to their vertebrae and drawing a dribble of golden marrow against black bone.

"apparently not here." Those lights looked away from his own and he felt himself relaxing marginally, his resolving tightening. "so can we skip the kinky foreplay and just get to the act."

Edge flinched back a bit at that while also tightening his grip enough to get the other being to hiss for air and more marrow to flow.

"Maybe I will."

He lifted his sword ready to strike down, and yet they waited for him to strike. They waited, and waited, and waited. Eye light locked on one another the entire time, until Edge was stumbling back until his shoulder crashed into a tree and he was leaning against it for support. The more he leaned the more it crumbled and the more he hoped Life would just disappear along with it.

"what first kill?" Life questioned horsely from behind him, the idiot staying just where Edge left him instead of fleeing.

Edge had to clench his teeth, divert his inner panic into pain. His whole life was to end Life and he was failing at it, couldn't even capture this Life like he had done so many times before. What was wrong with him.

A soft crunch of dead leaves and he was pointing his sword once again at Life's throat, one still leaking marrow and black. All because of him.

"hey now, watch where you point that thing." The skeleton carelessly pushed the blade aside with two fingers and took another step forward, leaning in towards Edge. "wait a minute... crimson lining?"

Life was suddenly falling backwards himself, true fear now flashing across his face. Just like someone facing down Death should.

Of course Edge knew his reputation in all manners of the universe. The only reaper with a red lined cloak, one of the only two skeleton reapers. He was greatly feared by most just for all the times he made Life kneel at his feet and now this skeleton realized it.

"red death, i..." Life pitter out, eye lights shrinking as the realized what their fate would be and it only bashed a bolder through Edge's wall of resolve.

"Don't... just don't." Edge brought his sword up again, glaring at Life and piecing together his resolve as he did. "it won't save you anyway." He brought the sword down just wanting to end this all before it could get worse. 

A/N: Something I literally just thought of yesterday while I was rereading reapertale. This will likely be only a few chapters and I'll likely have it finished really soon. I hope you guys enjoy.