SailorRaybloomDZ's Rayman one-shots

Diego's journey to the Land of Livid Dead

Originally posted on December 30, 2014

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It was windy and cold in the Blue Mountains. The group of Uglies were traveling from far away searching for some place to spend the night. Everyone was close to one other so nobody could get lost. One of the Uglies was called Diego. He was a kind gentleman, always nice to his friends and family members, but sometimes unsure about opinions different than his own. Although he wasn't the oldest in the group, he was the unluckiest one as he was very ill. He could barely speak and slowly started to get weaker and weaker.

Soon the group managed to find a small cave where they could stay for the night. Everyone was preparing to go to sleep, but Diego couldn't stop coughing. The youngest one of the group started to feel worried about his uncle, he came to him.

"Uncle Diego, are you alright?"

"Yes,... I am..." answered Diego, trying to hide his pain in the neck.

"Isn't it one of the scary ghosts that my grandpa was talking about? He said that as soon as they catch you, you'll start to feel bad."

Diego knew he was slowly feeling worse, however he didn't want to worry his only nephew he used to play with very often. He just said quietly: "Don't worry... I will be alright... The important thing... is that you... are safe... with your... family... Just remember... stay strong... never let... anyone... hurt... your... feelings..."

His voice was slowly disappearing as he couldn't speak anymore. The worried child wanted to cry and hugged his uncle very tight.

The next day, the group of Uglies prepared to leave. The misfortune of Diego touched everyone, especially his young nephew. However they couldn't stay at the same place any longer, they had to move on. Each one of them said goodbye to the poor member and they left the cave.

Loneliness... coldness... darkness... nothing was happening in Diego's mind... He had nothing to feel, nothing to touch, nothing to see... as if nothing existed... The nothingness didn't last for long, as Diego could feel the ground, hear the wind, but what did he see as he could open his eyes? There was someone standing in front of him holding a magical scythe as he was doing some magic. He had no skin, he was just a skeleton in a cloak. Diego got scared realizing he was in front of someone dead.

"You don't have to worry Diego." The person talked to him. "I haven't come to harm you."

This shocked the unsuspecting Ugly. "Wh-who are you? How do you know my name?" asked Diego with a much better voice.

"I am Grim Reaper, I can read your past. Looks like your illness put you to death."

"DEATH?! You mean I'm not living??"

By looking at his hands he finally noticed he had no skin anymore... he was a skeleton! When Grim Reaper approached the even more worried Diego, he began to beg to him.

"Please turn me back to what I used to be! I can't stay like this! I have brothers and sisters who need my help!"

This didn't stop Grim Reaper from taking Diego's hand and forcing him to leave. "It's not possible anymore. You couldn't live any longer. It's nice to hear about your family, but they already know you are dead. Now stop resisting, you must go to the Land of Livid Dead where you will stay forever."

Diego didn't like the idea of going anywhere without his fellows but rather with someone who is pushing him to it. He still begged, tried to make promises, escape from him, nothing worked. At last he had to accept the fact his life just ended and he had to live as a skeleton.

They both walked through forests and meadows, Grim Reaper was the leader of the journey, Diego had to follow him. He was very nervous as he wasn't sure about the place they were going to visit and feared the Grim Reaper himself.

"You don't have to worry Diego. I'm just taking you to a place where you should feel better."

"I don't think so... You forced me to follow you no matter how many times I begged you for mercy. If you really can read my past, you should know I have a nephew... he was the one I cared about the most. What shall he do without me? Who shall play with him now? Don't you feel sorry for him?"

Grim Reaper didn't show any sign of emotion. His serious stare was probably the main reason Diego was afraid of him. "Do you want to feel terrible again? With a sore throat and tired eyes? The answer to your second question is not you of course. I can't feel sorry for anyone. My job is to take everyone who dies to the Land of Livid Dead."

"I guess you're right..." said Diego, "I think all of that makes you a very cruel person. I regret not being strong enough to survive so I wouldn't meet my dreadful fate."

They came to what looked like a sleeping creature on the ground. It was actually a dead bird. Grim Reaper was about to use his powerful scythe, but Diego couldn't look at it. He stood in front of him blocking his way to protect the creature.

"Step aside," he ordered, already prepared.

"Please at least leave this bird alone! It doesn't deserve to live like I do."

Grim Reaper started to think how to convince Diego to realize the meaning of his job. "Fine. Tell me, what would you do with this bird if you were in my place?"

The dead Ugly didn't expect this kind of question. What would he do? Is there any medicine to bring people back to life? "I... I wouldn't transform this bird into a skeleton... There must be some way to-..."

"May I remind you that this bird can die over and over if you revive it?"

Grim Reaper didn't mention the great god Polokus who could make immortal creatures. He had already wasted most of his power to create them as well as creating places for the creatures to live in. So there was nothing that could make the bird live forever.

Diego had no answer for the question he was given.

".....I give up. I don't know what would I do..."

He stepped aside letting the wise leader turn the bird into the skeleton. Once that happened the bird could move and look around. With the ability of reading the past, Grim Reaper managed to speak with the creature to assure it it's safe with him.

Diego still didn't understand the point of visiting the Land, so he asked, "Why can't I stay here?"

Grim Reaper looked at him and answered: "Remember when you first saw me? Weren't you scared?"

"... Yes, I was..."

"Not everyone can stand the look of the livid dead. Nothing lasts forever. People have to change paths once at a time, so is going to the Land of Livid Dead. It's like saying sentences. You want to end the talking about nothing but happiness and start to think about more important things like taking care of your fellows."

There was something true about it. Diego loved his family of course, talking about nothing but life without problems isn't really the way to spend time. Life itself is like a sentence, it has an end, the length depends on the theme - the things we do.

"First I really thought you were cruel, but now when I think about it, you are actually very wise. You do your job fairly and you know how to talk with people when reading their past. I am sorry for calling you cruel, I hope you are not offended..." said Diego trying to look respectful towards the leader.

Grim Reaper took Diego to already mentioned Land of Livid Dead. Diego's expectations were scary, however he was satisfied as soon as he got used to his new life. He had a good relationship with others and he also found a new friend who was a skeleton dog named Pam Pam.

Sometimes we won't know about certain things quite well unless we try them.