CHAPTER 4 (From Apocalypse)
I sat in the waiting room, with a heavy weight of burden on my shoulders.
Man, Hamunaptra is going to be PISSED.
The clock was ticking, and each tick was a tick closer to my utter doom.
I sighed.
What the hell was going on? Why the fuck had Zappa Harrison been on two seperate Great Beyond lists?? What was the fuck-up? How where and who had fucked up?
Minka had gone back to the Mansion for the night, as there weren't any more appointments for this evening.
Some of the bigger places stay open until about ten or eleven at night, but Hamunaptra's place is quiet from the hours of eight PM until the next morning at nine AM.
See, we need our playtime as well.
If somebody dies during the night, well, you can rest assured that it was a complete accident. Not supposed to happen. But we're not totally heartless. If you pass on during the night, your soul doesn't wander like a ghost. Since there's such a great number of nighttime passing incidents, we have a program for them.
Their souls go to Oberon, the master of the night, and he keeps them until the next morning, where we sort of split them up and fit them in between appointments.
We wouldn't be able to do that if it weren't for Oberon.
So all you night time deaths out there, you'd better sure as hell be thanking Oberon. He doesn't HAVE to do what he does. Oh no.
He used to be a Great Beyond, but he decided to retire to being a stray roving night time Maker-type guy. He popped in occasionally and was mysterious and weird, but I sorta liked him none the less. He was pretty interesting.
Very very weird.
And then I heard the sound of a Final Destination from Hamunaptra's office, and there was a lump in my throat.
There was a few moments of silence, and then footsteps.
The door opened, and Hamunaptra was staring at me.
I winced, and didn't make eyecontact.
He sighed and leaned against the doorjam, arms folded.
"Well." He said.
Hamunaptra was about six and a half feet tall. Real slender and Egyptian looking. His hair was black, hanging straight down to his shoulders and then some. He had very straight bangs as well, with chunks of gold in them. His crystal green eyes were lined with black. He wore black and gold pants with gold sandals underneith a black patent leather vest.
His arms had tribal tattoos and jewelery. Hamunaptra was big on jewelery.
I sighed.
"Apocalypse..." He began.
I fell to my knees, bowing at his feet.
"I'm sorry, Master, please..." I whispered, near crying. I don't cry easily, but I had never ever ever disappointed Hamunaptra in my life. I had never messed up before, not even once, not even a little. I knew that Armageddon did a lot. He lost souls and even broke the Vials of Lifesand before death.
Ragnarok got in trouble a lot, and so did Judgement Day.
But I had never gotten in trouble before.
Never.
Not even once.
I was on the verge of terror as I prayed for forgivness.
Hamunaptra sighed. "Come into my office."
I stood and he was already inside. I sighed and timidly walked in behind him.
"Shut the door." He instructed.
My heart leapt into my throat. He had beaten Armageddon before. He wasn't going to hit me, was he?
I shut the door and turned around, eyes about the size of saucers.
He was looking out the window, his hands clasped behind him.
"My only girl..." He started, shaking his head. "Apocalypse, you've never done anything like this before..."
"I know." I whispered. "I didn't mean to... Let me explain, please..."
He turned and looked at me. "Yes?"
"The soul in question, Zappa Harrison..." I began. "His name was on two lists. Yours, and Hell's. Chicanery wouldn't let me take his soul. He argued with me until he finally gave up and left in huff, and by then it was too late. I didn't mean it... It was a weird sort of circumstance."
Hamunaptra sighed. "Two lists?"
"Yessir." I said. "It was very very odd."
"That's impossible." He said.
"Call Hell." I said quickly. "Have him check the records, he'll tell you-"
Hamunaptra raised his hand and I fell silent. "I'm not saying you're lying." He said, turning back to the window. "I'm just saying you're not telling the truth. I'm just remarking on the oddity of the situation."
I nodded.
He sighed. "We have to find his Ghost." He said. "If the circumstance really is all that bizaar, something might be wrong. We can't just let him run about."
"I tried to get him." I said. "But he ran away before I could catch him."
Hamunaptra nodded. "I'm still quite disappointed in you."
I lowered my head and stared at the ground.
His disappointment was crushing.
There were footsteps, and suddenly, Hamunaptra's soft hand was on my cheek, lifting my face to make eye-contact with him.
"Don't feel so downhearted, my only girl..." He said softly, smiling. "It is not the end of the world. You're still the best Maker under my employment..."
I smiled, suddenly overcome with joy.
His kind eyes softened. "You're perhaps the best Maker in all of the Underworld."
My eyes widened.
He smiled.
"Oh, Master." I said, turning my head downwards. "I wouldn't go that far."
He lifted my face again, making eyecontact with me. "Don't sell yourself short, my only girl..." He said softly. "Your skills are quite exceptional."
I smiled and blushed.
I stared deep into his eyes and we stayed like that for a few moments.
His hand was a warm and pleasent presense on my face, and suddenly I wanted to nuzzle it, kiss it, lick his fingers and up his wrist, up his shoulder, to his neck, and then-
"Lord Hamunaptra sir!" We both jumped, startled, as the door banged open and frantic footsteps entered the office.
I turned and his hand suddenly, regretably, fell away from my cheek.
Harmony stood in the doorway, tears streaming down her face as she panted, absolutely frantic with a million different emotions.
Harmony was about five feet and three inches tall, with slightly tanned skin and honey-brown hair that hung to her waist. Her wide honey brown eyes were trembling with horror. She was wearing her nightgown instead of her ballerina angel get-up.
Her nightgown was lacey, flimsy, and clingy. It had spagetti thin straps and a v-cut chest line, clinging all the way to her waist, where it cut off just below her crotch. She wore feathery little slippers and clung to her halo, her knuckles absolutely white with some fear emotion.
"Lord Hamunaptra..." She wimpered.
Hamunaptra stepped past me and pulled Harmony inside, gently closing the door behind her.
She collapsed in tears onto him, and he hugged her close.
I suddenly felt jealous.
"Shhh, what is it, Harmony?" He asked softly.
"It's..." She looked up at him. "It's awful, it's so awful..."
"What is it??" I demanded.
"Charity..." She whispered.
"What about Charity?" I demanded. "What happened?"
"Charity..." Harmony sniffed. "Charity was attacked, she... she..."
"She what??" I demanded.
"What happened, child??" Hamunaptra demanded.
"She was attacked..." Harmony said softly. "And raped..."
"WHAT?" Hamunaptra and I cried out in unison.
"She's okay..." Harmony whispered, crying softly. "Hell-sama saved her..."
"Lord Hell?" I whispered.
Harmony nodded. "But there's something worse..."
"What could possibly be worse?" Hamunaptra asked.
"Lady Heaven..." Harmony whispered. "Lady Heaven has disappeared. Nobody knows where she went... And Hell won't return Charity until Lady Heaven is back..."
"Why not?" Hamunaptra demanded.
"He says Charity's healing..." Harmony sniffled. "And he doesn't trust her alone without Lady Heaven around to protect her..."
"What's he worried about?" Hamunaptra said. "Is he worried that her attacker will somehow magically find out that she's a Maker, then know exactly what that is, and then come and find her again?"
"I don't know..." Harmony wimpered. "I'm just the messanger..."
Hamunaptra sighed.
"But the entire Mansion's in an uproar!" She said. "It's awful. We're all absolutely terrified white, and so Lord Hell sent over a few Monsters to keep an eye on us and make sure we're safe for now..."
Hamunaptra's eyes narrowed.
"I think I need to have a word with Lord Hell." He said.
He turned to me and place both hands on my shoulders.
"Apocalypse..." He said. "Look, there are many many things happening at once..."
"Yessir." I nodded.
"We still need to find that Ghost." Hamunaptra said. "But now we must also find Lady Heaven and deal with Lord Hell..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry to ask you, but could you please please go to Tir Na Nog and Val Halla and inform them as to the situations as of late?"
I nodded. "Yes, master."
"Come, Harmony." Hamunaptra said, putting his coat on. "You return to Heaven's Mansion, and I shall go and deal with Lord Hell."
With that, they were gone, and I had a mission.
I sighed and got my waist jacket out of the closet.
Off to Val Halla, and then Tir Na Nog's. I really didn't want to go see Tir Na Nog. He frightened me.
But Hamunaptra had ordered me.
That meant he trusted me with this, and that was good.
He wasn't quite so mad at me any more.
And that was all that was important.