Chapter 5

"MANA!" Sayoko shouted into her communicator. "HELLO! Is anyone there!" She tried several more times, before shutting the lid. She turned her head and was silent for several moments, refusing to look towards Asuka or Arael.

"We have to get you to Terra 2," Sayoko said, hurrying off down a hall, "Now."

Asuka glanced at Arael, then followed.

"Where are we going?" Asuka asked.

"Ever heard of the Reapers?" Sayoko asked.

Asuka frowned, "Farmers?"

Sayoko paused and looked back at Asuka.

"Grim Reapers."

"Oh."

"They collect the dead," Arael stated, "Do they not?"

"Correct." Sayoko replied as she started walking again. "Though we are locked out and in, the dead keep arriving, meaning……."

"The Reapers still function." Arael stated.

"Yep."

"How come I've never heard of them?" Asuka asked, "I thought I knew everything!"

"I didn't learn about them for almost 40 years." Sayoko replied, "When I did, it was for an inspection."

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2040

Seattle, Washington, USA

Sayoko Morisato, Goddess First Class, Type Two, Unlimited, stared out the small window on the crowded plane. Somewhere behind her, a baby began to scream, cuasing many on the plane to groan. Sayoko closed her eyes and sighed.

'Why Mom said to take a plane, I'll never know.'

Upon landing, Sayoko moved quickly through customs, mostly due to her previous status as an Eva Pilot. A bit later she checked into a hotel, then went out to see the sights.

The next morning she took a taxi out to an address her mother had provided. When the cab had stopped, Sayoko stared in disbelief at the place.

"'Der Wafflehous'?" Sayoko said, reading the sign.

"Best waffles in town." The cab driver said.

"Yeah right." Sayoko paid the driver then went into the restaurant. She found a seat at a booth near the window. A moment later a waitress came over with a menu.

"Good Morning." The Waitress said, "What can I get you?"

"I'm actually supposed to met someone here." Sayoko said. She checked her notes. "You know a Rube Sofer?"

"Yeah." The waitress replied, "He and his friends eat in here every morning. In fact, he should be in here anytime now."

"Thanks." Sayoko replied. She then handed the waitress back the menu. "Apple pancakes and some orange juice."

"Be right up." The waitress replied.

Sayoko smiled, then once the waitress had left, opened up her bag and pulled out the files on the five reapers and proceeded to read up on Rube Sofer.

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Rube entered the restaurant and moved to the usually booth in the middle of the room. There, he set his day planner off to the side and pulled out his newspaper. So far it had been a normal day, but Rube knew it would change. In the usual package of names to Reap, he'd gotten a letter informing him that there would be an audit of his group today.

The audit itself didn't bother Rube. He'd been through one before in the 1980s. What bothered him was how his people would handle it. Roxy and Mason had both been in the 80s audit, and while Roxy had been alright, Mason had just barely squeaked through. Daisy had been a Reaper for almost as long as himself, so he assumed she'd get through the audit fine.

George was the only one that worried him.

She'd been against being a Reaper since day one and within weeks of becoming a Reaper had cuased multiple problems. Messing with people's fate, ignoring a Reap appointment, constantly being near, around, or interacting with her family even though they didn't recognize her, she'd cuased Rube several sleepless nights as well as a lot of explaining to the higher ups.

Now the auditor might bring it all back up again.

Rube hadn't been this stressed since Second Impact.

Rube had barely started reading his paper when a woman sat down in front of him. She had brown hair, bright blue eyes, and strange tattoos on her face. She also appeared to be Japanese.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"You were told to expect me." The woman said.

Rube raised an eyebrow. "You're the auditor?"

"Call me Sayoko." The woman replied, "I'll just sit over there. I want to see how your people react not knowing I'm here."

"Alright." Rube watched the Auditor walk back to a booth near the window. He also noticed from the corner of his eyes the small demon-like creatures known as Gravelings, the ones that set people's deaths in motion. He wondered exactly what their presence here foretold.

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Twenty minutes later, Roxy arrived in her police uniform, followed shortly thereafter by Daisy, Mason, and George.

"I still don't see why you're so bloody pissed off." Mason said with a british accent. He was dressed as he normally was, looking like a homeless person.

"You threw up in the living room." Daisy replied with a southern accent. She was wearing a light sun dress.

"So?"

"It was on the couch!" George said. She was dressed in a blouse and skirt. "You know how nasty that is?"

"It's not like I haven't thrown up before!" Mason replied.

"Yeah but this wasn't your normal puke." George said, as she sat down next to Daisy in the booth. "What the hell did you eat last night?"

Mason sighed, "It was my Reap, alright? He was some guy who lived off the bloody land. Only way I could get close to him was to share a rabbit with him."

"Those chunks were a fucking rabbit?" George asked.

"I imagine so." Mason pulled something out of his pocket. "I got the foot if you want it."

"Why the hell do you have a dead animal foot with you?" Roxy said.

"It's lucky!" Mason replied.

"Not for the rabbit." George muttered.

"Are you all done?" Rube asked.

"I am." Mason said, putting the foot back into his pocket. "What do you have for me today? A Celeb Reap?"

"If there is one, Rube will give it to George." Roxy said, "He's got a sweet spot for her."

"Hey!" George shouted, "I don't ask for the damn things!"

Rube let out a sigh as his people argued amoungst themselves.

"Hey!" Rube finally shouted, "Knock it off."

The other Reapers went quiet.

"Today's different." Rube began, "It's audit day."

Roxy, Mason, and Daisy all groaned. George looked at them confused.

"Audit day?" George asked, "We get audited?"

"Every fifty years or so," Rube explained, "The higher ups send someone to make sure we're doing things right."

Mason turned and looked at George.

"They have huge files on us that have everything we've done in there."

George's eyes went wide. "What do you mean 'everything'?"

"He means everything." Roxy said, "Mason here got chewed out last time by the auditor because he went and got high before he went on a Reap."

"I needed a little pick me up!" Mason protested, "I can only handle so much! The bugger went and got squished by a train."

"Depressing." George muttered, "So anything we've done is under the microscope."

"That sums it up Pumpkin." Rube said.

"Great."

"So when is this over rated Reaper coming?" Mason asked.

"Soon." Rube replied, throwing a glance to where Sayoko was sitting and watching.

"Good." Mason said, "The sooner the fucking auditor gets through the sooner we can relax."

"You plan on getting high again." Roxy said.

"Why the fuck not?" Mason asked, "That basterd up there lets us do his dirty work, then sends someone to tell us what we're doing wrong!"

Rube glanced over at Sayoko to see that her eyes had narrowed and seemed to have taken on a glow.

"Uh Mason….." Rube began.

"I mean aren't you sick of it?" Mason asked, "We've been Reaping for over sixty years!" He glanced at George. "Well forty for you. But we still don't get paid!"

"Get a job!" Roxy growled, "The rest of us have."

Mason snicked, "Right. Like I'm going to get stuck in a dead end job. I think if we do his dirty work, the big basterd could at least pay us for it."

"Mason……." Rube said again.

"No Rube! Seriously! George feels the same way! Don't you George?"

"Leave me out of this."

"Oh I see. Now you're siding with 'daddy' over there. Come on! Even you said the big basterd upstairs should……"

Mason was cut off as lightning struck a power pole outside the restaurant. The lights flickered inside the building, before returning to normal.

"I think someone is rather annoyed with you Mason." Daisy said.

"Oh he has no idea." Everyone turned to see Sayoko standing before their table. Rube sighed before turning to his people.

"This is Sayoko, the auditor." Rube said.

"Oh I think I ought to give you my complete title." Sayoko said, glaring at Mason. She held her hand up, empty. A quick flick of the wrist, and several small cards appeared in her grip. She handed them out to those seated, who quickly read the print on the card. Mason gripped the card tightly as he read his. George was the first one to look up.

"Goddess?" she asked, "Why do you have the title of Goddess?" George then turned to Rube. "You didn't tell me we could have titles! I could be Empress George!"

"We don't have titles." Rube said. He glanced at Sayoko. "You were never a Reaper were you?"

Sayoko shook her head.

"I am Sayoko Morisato, Goddess First Class, Type Two, Unlimited." She said, "My domain is the present."

"Hah!" Mason shouted, "You can't be a Goddess! There's no such thing as….."

Sayoko's eyes flared white. In a flash, Mason vanished, cuasing everyone at the table to jump.

"Not that I mind the silence." Roxy said, "But where did he go?"

"Oh," Sayoko said, "He's probably at around 40,000 feet and falling."

Daisy's eyes went wide.

"You really are a Goddess?"

"Yep." Sayoko replied, "Born and raised." She glanced at her watch. "That should be enough." Her eyes flashed again, and Mason reappeared in the booth, screaming.

"You can shut up now." Roxy said.

Mason looked at Sayoko wide eyed.

"You…you…you……"

"Now I expect you're done calling my grandfather a 'basterd'," Sayoko said with a slight glare. "let's get this audit done."

"Yippee." George muttered.

Sayoko started to pull a file out of her bag when a strange smell reached her noise.

"What is that?" she asked.

The others sniffed around. Then Roxy leaned over and sniffed Mason.

"Jesus Christ!" She shouted, "What the fuck did you do?"

"I was falling from the bloody sky without a bloody parachute!" Mason shouted.

"You wet yourself?" George asked, trying to move further from Mason. Daisy also scooted further from him.

"YES!" Mason shouted, "I pissed myself are you happy?"

Sayoko just shook her head as she flipped open the file.

"Roxy Harvey."

Roxy raised her hand. Sayoko was quiet for a moment, then looked up over the file.

"You cuased someone to miss their appointment?" she asked.

Roxy gulped and sunk in her chair slightly. Rube turned and looked at Roxy.

"When did you do that?" he asked.

"Just a bit after George joined up." Roxy replied.

"Not like I had a choice in joining up." George muttered.

"Right." Sayoko paged through the file, then closed it. She then pulled out a huge thick file.

"Mason."

"THAT'S MY BLOODY FILE!" Mason shouted.

"Damn." George said, "It's like a foot thick!"

Sayoko opened it and read through a few pages. Her eyes snapped up several times, glancing Mason over.

"Did you really steal the underwear off a corpse!"

George, Daisy and Roxy all stared at Mason in shock.

"It's not like they were going to use it." Mason stated.

"Ewwww." The three female reapers muttered.

"Ok they weren't going to use it," Sayoko said, still reading, "but what were you going to do with ladies underwear?"

"I uh……" Mason stuttered, getting glares from the women.

"Daisy," George said, "We are so counting our panties when we get back."

"I agree."

Sayoko went through a few more sheets, then closed the file.

"That is some of the most disgusting, despicable, perverted….……" Sayoko shook her head, "I'm glad I only have to put up with you for today."

"Lucky you." George muttered, "We get him for our entire afterlife."

Sayoko went through Daisy's, then Rube's files. Then she pulled out the last file.

"Georgia Lass."

"George." George said, "I go by George."

"George, right." Sayoko read over the file, muttering a few 'un huhs', 'ohs', and 'mmhmms'. She then looked up at George. "Been busy haven't you?"

"Yeah well…….." George muttered.

Sayoko looked at Rube. "Part of the Audit includes going on a pick-up."

"You mean she's gonna come along for a Reap?" Mason asked.

"Not with you." Sayoko growled.

"Who did you have in mind?" Rube asked.

Sayoko pointed at George.

"Me?" George asked, surprised, "Why me?"

"You're about the only one here even close to my age. Anyway…….." Sayoko looked back at Rube.

Rube pulled out his day planner and opened it up, revealing several post-it notes. Sayoko's mouth dropped.

"You…..they….." she stuttered, "You give out death on POST-IT NOTES?"

Rube shrugged, "They're hard to lose."

"Right….." Sayoko sighed, then looked back up at George. "Well come on. Show me how you do it."

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Minutes later, George and Sayoko were walking down the street.

"Hey," George said, "why did you choose me?"

"Told you." Sayoko replied, "You're the closest to my age."

George frowned. "But you're a Goddess."

"Yeah, so?"

"Goddesses are like thousands of years old."

Sayoko chuckled, "I'm only forty. I was born a year or so after second impact. My Mom is a goddess, Dad was a mortal."

George blinked, "Wow."

"Gets better," Sayoko added, "I was the fifth child, the pilot of Eva 4."

George's eyes went wide.

"An Eva pilot? Holy shit! I..…uhh…..I mean….."

Sayoko waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. I've heard worse."

"But you're a goddess," George said, "It just doesn't seem right to be swearing around you."

"Like I said, I've heard worse. Think of me as a new age Goddess."

"Ok."

George and Sayoko walked in silence. Then the Reaper looked up.

"What's it like?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Heaven." George said, "What's it like?"

"Green," Sayoko said after a moment, "Lots and lots of green. Fields, forests, it's very lush with plant life. In the middle is the main city. It was divided up between the religions, but everyone mixes with everyone else now. In the center of the city is the main complex where most of the major offices and such are located. Also there is the building that houses the world computer."

George blinked. "A computer? The world is run by a computer?"

"Yes."

"Damn." George muttered, "Go Bill Gates."

Sayoko narrowed her eyes.

"We do NOT use windows."

"Oh." George frowned, "Because that would explain why I got killed by that toilet seat."

Sayoko shook her head. "I didn't think you'd want to talk about it."

"Hey it was a shitty day." George replied, "I got a job that sucked filing, and then I got killed by the Mir toilet seat. Course then I got stuck with this job."

"We all have to do things we hate sometimes." Sayoko replied, "I was supposed to drive a married couple apart once."

"Supposed to?" George asked, "Why?"

"The guy married an alien."

"O.K." George muttered, "We have Goddesses AND aliens."

"You haven't heard the half of it."

"Tell me. We've got plenty of time till the Reap."

"Alright then."

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2574

"So how'd that reap go?" Asuka asked.

"Alright, I guess." Sayoko replied, "Poor guy, survived a car crash with a concrete truck, only to drown in a chemical toilet that had also crashed."

Asuka stared at Sayoko in shock.

"I assume we are to meet this George?" Arael asked.

"Yep." Sayoko replied.

"If you do not mind, what is this favor she owes you?"

"When someone becomes a Reaper, they stay on the mortal realm." Sayoko explained, "They can see and even meet people they used to know while alive, but those people do not recognize them. Externally, the Reaper looks like someone else. George couldn't let her family go, she was only eighteen when she was killed. So she kept going around her family, got in trouble several times for it. The favor I did was this: her mother was dying in the hospital. Her younger sister was there by her mother's side. I found out what was happening and got George. I then allowed her family to see her as she was."

"Well that was nice of you." Asuka said.

"George kinda grew on me." Sayoko said, "I even let her take her mother to Heaven. Afterward, she thanked me and said she owed me. Now I'm going to call in that favor."

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Asuka and Arael followed Sayoko to a level of Heaven they had never been to or even seen before. Hell, Asuka didn't even think Heaven went down this deep.

"Very few know of this place." Sayoko said softly, "Be sure you keep it that way."

Sayoko led them down a hall and into a large room. Hundreds of people worked about here, some at terminals, some pulling large books off of shelves, others copying down various items from the books. None paid any attention to the new arrivals. Sayoko grabbed one person as they hurried past.

"I'm looking for Georgia Lass."

The person pointed, "Over there."

Sayoko spotted George and walked over. George was leaning over a book, reading lines with a ruler, and copying names onto another smaller book.

"Hey George." Sayoko said.

George looked up at Sayoko, then over at Asuka and Areal.

"You know you shouldn't really be in here."

"I know." Sayoko said, "But I'm here about that favor you owe me."

George's eyes widened for a moment. She then turned and called out.

"Frank! I'm going on a break!" George then looked back at the three. "Come with me."

They entered a small office off the side of the room.

"What do you need?" George asked.

"We've got problems." Sayoko said, "Gates are sealed and we can't get on the mortal realm."

"Yeah, we heard." George replied, "So……"

"The dead still get in." Sayoko said, "I would like you to reverse it, and send Asuka and Arael here to Terra 2."

George whistled, "That's a hellova request."

"It's important George." Sayoko said softly, "My son, and many others are in danger."

"Hey I'm not saying I won't do it." George replied, "It's probably a good thing you're only sending these two, any more might set off alarms. Besides, I do owe you."

"Thanks George."

Sayoko's communicator then beeped. The Goddess picked it up and flicked it open. A small image of her mother appeared.

"Where are you!" Belldandy asked.

"Handling that thing you don't want to know about." Sayoko replied.

"Well that thing had better move faster." Belldandy said, "The Demons are attacking Terra 2 again."

Sayoko looked up at Asuka, Arael, and George. George motioned the two to follow her, and led then out of the office. Sayoko waited until she was alone, then looked back at her communicator.

"They're on their way." She said.

Her mother bowed her head.

"I pray they arrive in time."

Sayoko looked back towards the door.

"So do I Mom."

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Author's notes:

The Reapers are from the Showtime series 'Dead Like Me', which lasted only two seasons.

Obviously I don't own that show either.

Very good series. I recommend watching it.