AUTHOR'S NOTE: Back again (hopefully fairly soon after the last chapter)! As of now my writer's block is mostly gone. I really gotta get this story done! I've got another story in progress and a few ideas that I don't wanna start posting until this is done and The Phantom of the Genetic Opera has at least been updated. I'm taking on too much at once!

In her review laura101 observed that I don't seem to like Kirsty Cotton much. I really don't to be honest. She kind of annoys me and I feel like Pinhead should have dragged her sorry ass into a torture chamber a long time ago. You opened the box, bitch! No exceptions! But that's just me…

I've also noticed that Weaveworld isn't in the books section of , so this story isn't listed as a crossover.

Chapter 4: Seeking Assistance

"So where are we?" Victoria asked.

They were standing in a damp alley in the middle of the night. A light drizzle was falling on them.

"Liverpool," Pinhead replied nonchalantly.

"England?" Victoria said, seemingly surprised.

"What other Liverpool is there, love?" Pinhead chuckled.

Abraxas began to hum something that sounded suspiciously like "Eleanor Rigby." Acheron soon joined in.

"Exactly," Pinhead said to his sons.

"Smartasses," Victoria mumbled. "So where exactly are we headed?"

"There," Pinhead said, pointing toward a door at the end of the alley.

"Who are we going to see?" Acheron asked, suddenly looking a bit nervous and involuntarily drawing closer to Abraxas.

"No need to be worried," Pinhead reassured. "She knows better than to cross me."

He pushed open the door without bothering to knock. The room the cenobites stepped into was dimly lit and sparsely furnished. A series of symbols were carved or painted on the walls.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Surgeon?"

A woman suddenly appeared from another room. She was extremely attractive, her high forehead only enhancing the beauty of her face.

"We seek your wisdom, Incantarix," Pinhead replied.

The woman came to stand before them, showing great interest in Victoria and the twins.

"I had heard rumors, but I didn't think it possible," she said, shifting her attention to Abraxas and Acheron.

"Our world has been threatened, Immacolata," Pinhead stated.

He recounted the encounter with the demon and its interference with Leviathan.

"They have come to take back what's rightfully theirs," Immacolata explained. "They controlled your world first, but your god took it from them. They aim to avenge their fallen ruler and regain control of Hell. They've already made their first move. Your deity is dying."

Pinhead's eyes widened and he exchanged a worried look with Victoria.

"What can we do?" Victoria asked. "How do we stop them?"

"You can't," she replied. "The damage is done. Leviathan will die and they will be free to take over. That will spell the end of your kind for they'll surely dispose of you, as you did to them."

"But they are all dead!" Pinhead exclaimed. "I was there! I remember killing those whom Leviathan had missed!"

A knowing smile crossed the Incantarix's lips.

"But did you kill them all?"

A look of horror suddenly crossed Victoria's face. The culprit had been among them the whole time.

"Angelique," she said.

"I should have killed her when I had the chance," Pinhead said, clenching his fists in fury.

"You can't expect us to just stand around and wait to die!" Victoria cried. "There must be something we can do!"

"Leave the Labyrinth," Immacolata said. "Hide out somewhere until your deity dies. Once his power over you is broken you will become human again. There's no reason to fight for something that can't be changed."

Pinhead looked down, silently resigning himself to his fate. Acheron's eyes grew huge and he grabbed his brother's hand.

"But we were never human," he gasped. "What happens to us?"

"You cease to exist," Immacolata replied without a single hint of emotion.

Victoria burst into tears.

"You can't expect me to run and hid and watch my sons die! There has to be something we can do to save them!"

"There's nothing I can do," the Black Madonna replied. "This is beyond my power. Your sons' existence alone baffles me."

Acheron had begun to sob. Abraxas held his brother securely against himself, trying to offer what little comfort he could. Pinhead stared blankly down at the floor, his dark eyes taking on the blank bottomless look that concealed his emotions.

"You could also search for an answer in Quiddity, Surgeon," Immacolata suddenly said.

"Where?" Victoria asked.

"The Dream Sea," Pinhead replied. "It is said that life itself began there. Every human being visits it thrice in their lifetime, in their dreams: the night one is born, the first night one sleeps beside one's love, and the last night of one's life. There is powerful magic contained there, but it takes strong magic to even reach its shores."

"You forget to whom you speak, Surgeon," Immacolata said. "I will open a door, but I must do it in your world, for the barrier is thinner there. It will take some time and will be dangerous. Even as we speak your enemies assemble against you and slowly invade your plane of existence. I will require protection."

"You shall have it," Pinhead said.

"As your deity dies, your powers weaken," Immacolata explained. "I thank you for your kindness, Surgeon, I know it's not characteristic of you, but I cannot depend on you fully."

Acheron jumped as a ghastly presence nudged against him. A semi-transparent nude woman was moving around him, accompanied by a grotesque looking old woman.

"The Magdalene and The Hag shall accompany me," Immacolata said.

"They are her triplet sisters," Pinhead explained to a confused, and somewhat uneasy, Victoria. "She strangled them in the womb."

Victoria grimaced. Pinhead opened a door in the wall, the Labyrinth appearing beyond seeming as eerily quiet as it always did. The Chatter Beast appeared out of the mist. He sniffed cautiously at the Black Madonna and her ghostly sisters.

"Come quickly," Pinhead said, looking from side to side. "We must stay out of the open."

The party moved quickly and quietly. They were about to turn a corner and enter the center of the Labyrinth when the Chatter Beast let out a soft growl. Pinhead stuck out an arm.

"Wait!" he hissed.

"Are those hooves?" Victoria asked.

A series of sharp clopping noises pierced the silence. The group cautiously peered around the corner. Angelique stood in the shadow of Leviathan, looking off into the opposite corridor toward the sound. Four demons appeared out of the mist; each was armored and sat atop a demonic steed. The first demon rode atop a vicious looking white horse and was clad in pearly white armor. A bow and quiver was strung across his back. The second demon was clad in bronze armor and had a large sword strapped at his side. His mount's mane and tail were aflame. The third demon was dressed all in black and held a set of scales in his right hand. His glossy black horse was thin and sickly looking, but fearsome nonetheless. The final demon was dressed in silver and carried a scythe. His semi-transparent steed appeared to have flesh made of pale green mist with the complete skeletal structure showing through.

"Things are worse than I thought," Pinhead whispered. "She has summoned The Riders."

"As in the Four Horseman?" Victoria gasped. "Like Book of Revelations?"

"Yes, my love," Pinhead replied. "I fear we may have less time than I thought."

ENDNOTE: So this whole story's turned into a Clive Barker mash-up. Quiddity is also an invention of Barker's and features in the three Books of the Art (The Great and Secret Show, Everville, and Sacrament). All of Barker's worlds seem to fit together, even when not explicitly stated.

Now I'm not a particularly religious person, but the Book of Revelations always interested me because it reads like a horror story. It's full of monsters (but it's supposed to be true?). The Riders and Satan (who's briefly alluded to) appear as just that, monsters. I'm not pressing any religious views on anyone (I don't really have any). The Riders signify the end of times and that's basically what they're doing in the context of this story. They show up when the shit's about to hit the fan. And it is Hell after all.