Last time on: The Grim Adventures of Lincoln and Lucy...
Luan laughed as she clasped her hands, "Lynn is in for a banging practice!"
Lynn held up a stick of dynamite with a lit fuse, "Hey, who replaced the ball with a stick of dynamite?"
Leni gasped in shock, "Oh-em-gosh! Tucker is actually Flip?"
Flip pumped his shotgun, "And now that you know my secret, I can't let you live!"
Lily pushed herself up and cracked her knuckles, "Lily no hear bell..."
Lincoln held Stella close, then dropped her, "Wait, none of this happened in the last chapter!"
Scream and Tell: The Conclusion
The elevator doors opened and the goth kids braced themselves for the afterlife.
Their faces full of confusion when they saw what looked like the waiting room of a dentist office with seating that stretched beyond their eyesight.
"Huh? This is the Underworld?" Lucy asked.
"It's where new arrivals get sorted out." Grim told them as he led the group to the front desk where a very bored dark haired humanoid wearing a golden wreath was going through paperwork.
"Take a number and wait like everyone else." he spoke without looking up.
"They got you working the front desk again, Zagreus?" Grim asked.
The clerk looked up, "Oh, Grim, hey...you trying to get your paycheck early again?"
Grim shook his head, "No mon, just taking these kids on a little tour."
Zagreus looked over at the kids, "Is this one of those 'scare them straight' things?"
Grim grinned a bit, "Someting like that."
Morpheus cleared his throat, "Uh, forgive me for being blunt but shouldn't we be going? This fine...uh, deity seems to be very busy."
Zagreus sighed and slumped back in his chair, "Yeah, there's been so many people being born and then dying that we've been backed up since the 16th century with cases."
"Don't you have the authority to judge souls as fast as you can?" Haiku asked.
"I wish, I'm not exacty supposed to be a judge here. Plus, Standards and Practices felt that giving mortals ten minutes to plea their case was too harsh and eventually it led to needing four years to process each case on average. People live way longer than they should."
Persephone looked around, "This isn't the sort of place I'd like to stay at for too long." she remarked.
"I know, right? I don't want to be here either. Most souls end up heading back to the surface to do who-knows-what."
"That would explain the large spike in hauntings." Boris remarked.
"So...what happens after someone is finally judged?" Lucy asked.
"They go through one of those doors there." Zagreus pointed to three doors labeled "Saints", "Sinners", and "Jehovah's Witnesses".
Grim walked up to doors with a smile, "Care to see what fate has in store for you?" he asked the goth kids.
Grim opened the "Saints" door to reveal a golden staircase with trumpeters blowing their horns. All the goths hissed.
"Too bright!" cried Lucy.
Grim shut the "Saints" door and opened the "Sinners" door, revealing a long highway made of fire and brimstone.
"Oooooh!" the goths cooed.
"Thought y'all would like that." Grim shut "Sinners" and opened up the "Jehovah's Witnesses" door. There was a large desert with nothingness for miles. Then a giant sandworm arose and made a beeline for the door.
The door was shut by Morpheus, "I think none of us wants what's behind this."
Grim rubbed his jaw, "You know, kid you're smarter than you sound."
Morpheus rolled his eyes, "I get that a lot."
"Grim, is this really all there is to this place?" Lucy asked, "A bunch of waiting and then eternal judgment?"
"For mortals, yes. For supernatural beings like meself, there's a whole lot more to it." Grim knocked on the wall a few times and a fourth door labeled "Staff Entrance" appeared. He opened it to reveal a parking lot with a lot of hot rods with impressive decals.
"Wow. Which one is yours?" Haiku asked.
"Oh, I don't keep mine here." Grim put two of his finger bones to his teeth and inexplicably whistled.
A chariot with four-hundred burning horses pulled up in front of the group. A sleek black velvet coach box was carried and opened up as if beckoning the goth kids.
Wouldn't it be awesome if you could see it? Of course it would, but this is in written format. Doomed to not get as much attention as creepy fan art.
Anyway, Grim and the goths got into the coach. The chariot started to pick up speed as it raced around the Underworld. Dante and Persephone looked out the window in awe while Boris, Haiku, and Lucy sat with Grim.
"Where are we going next?" Boris asked.
Grim magicked up a clipboard, "Well, I just let me chariot run around the Underworld as I check to see if there's any souls to reap."
"This is amazing and all, but couldn't you do that anywhere?" Haiku asked.
"The chariot is for the aesthetic, mon. Can you imagine writing your namesake just anywhere?"
"Well, Haiku is more a nickname. My real name is-"
"Hold that thought! We got something!" Grim showed the kids the clipboard with writing being burned into the pages.
"Tyler Johnson - Gazpacho food poisoning."
"Food poisoning? What a sad way to go." Lucy commented.
Grim shrugged, "Yeah, well, mundane deaths are more common than mortals would like to believe." Grim held up the clipboard and it vanished, being replaced with his scythe. He tapped the floor of the coach with his scythe and a portal appeared, dropping him and the goth kids through it.
...
Grim and the goths appeared outside Lynn's Table. Lucy quickly taking notice, "Uh oh. Did this person die at dad's restaurant?"
Grim smirked, "Just don't order the gazpacho." he said as he led the kids inside.
As soon as they entered, a shriek rang out inside the restaurant. A plate was thrown at Grim, and it broke as it hit him in the face.
"It's Death himself! You'll never take me alive!" yelled Scoots as she jumped on her scooter.
"I'm not here for you, Scoots." Grim said as he pulled out a shard that got into his skull.
Scoots pumped her fist in the air, "Alright! I beat ya again, Sunshine! So who's the unlucky sap that bit it?"
Boris pointed at the table Scoots was at, "Uh, your plus one by the look of it."
Tyler, Scoots young ripped hunk of a boyfriend, had his now discolored head on the table with his tongue out and irises replaced by cartoonish X's.
Scoots did a double take at Tyler's fresh corpse, "Huh, I thought he was just sleep- er, he's just having a nap! That gazpacho he had put him right to sleep!"
Grim walked up to the table with his scythe out, "You don't get to sweet talk your way out of another's death, Scoots. We've talked about this."
"Wow, a fresh corpse and we get to witness the Grim Reaper in action. Best. Day. Ever." Haiku said in an even voice with a straight face.
"Honey, is that you?" asked Kotaro, Lynn's Table's only waiter, as he approached Haiku.
Haiku greeted with a nod, "Hello father. My friends and I are accompanying the Grim Reaper on his soul collecting."
Kotaro laughed, "Sounds fun! It's great that you kids have such imagination..." he then noticed Tyler slowly decaying. "...say, Tyler doesn't look too well. Is he okay?'
Scoots gave a dismissive wave, "He's fine, he's just sleeping."
"Oh look! Turkey vultures!' Dante pointed at the open window above Tyler. Two turkey vultures were eyeing the body and putting on bibs.
Scoots shut the window, causing the birds to fall back. "Like I said, he's fine!"
Kotaro rubbed his chin, then shrugged, "Well, if you say so."
"Mr. Haiku's father, may I recommend you phone a morgue? That man is dead." Persephone informed.
"Haiku? Oh, my daughter's nickname! It's cute but her real name is-"
"Kotaro!" yelled Lynn Sr. from behind the chef window, "Quick, you need to cancel that gazpacho order! I just found out that the bell peppers I used were meant to be recalled!"
Kotaro quickly turned back to Scoots and Tyler's table, "Oh no, didn't Tyler order the gazpacho?"
Scoots shook her head, "Nuh uh, he doesn't even know what gazpacho is! NOBODY KNOWS WHAT GAZPACHO IS!" she started to yell.
"Isn't it some sort of Spanish soup served cold?" Morpheus asked.
Grim groaned, he pulled out an odd-looking hourglass with Tyler's name on it, "This is getting too ridiculous! Look, Tyler's time has run out! It's time for him to go, his soul will grow foul if it stays in his body for too long!"
Scoots shoved Grim back, "No way, José! I lucked out on finding love at my age! I may never find it again!"
Kotaro walked up to Tyler's corpse and pulled out a small corked jar of teal liquid, "Desperate times..." he pulled off the cork and held up the opening to Tyler's nostrils.
Tyler then coughed up gazpacho onto the table. He took a deep breath, "Wow! What was that funky stuff?"
Kotaro corked the bottle, "You don't want to know. Let me get you some water...and paper towels."
As Kotaro left, Lucy looked at the hourglass Grim held, "Oh look, a lot more sand was added to his hourglass."
Grim looked at it being filled with sand and frowned, "Oh great, looks like he's going to live a long and healthy life...well for now anyway." he put the hourglass back into his cloak.
"Did...did Haiku's dad just bring that man back to life?" Boris asked.
Grim shook his head, "It's more I was delayed for too long and gave him ample time to survive. Hanging around you kids is making me lose me edge."
"Aww..." moaned the goths as they looked down in shame.
"Oh come now, it's not all your faults. Scoots is also a tough customer to deal with."
Scoots chuckled, "You bet, skinny!"
"So wait...I almost died from eating gazpacho?" Tyler asked, "That's a sad way to go."
Scoots elbowed him a bit, "It was bad gazpacho, toots. But don't worry, it can't hurt you now."
"It probably didn't help that I'm allergic to bell peppers."
"Wait, why would you order something you're allergic to?" Haiku asked.
Tyler shrugged, "Well, I thought if I ate it fast enough, it wouldn't take effect!"
Grim tapped his jaw, "...you know what, I believe we'll be seeing each other again soon."
...
Grim and the goths (would make a good band name) left Lynn's Table and stood around on the curb, "And well, that's all there is to me job to be honest." Grim told them.
"May we please tag along another time?" Lucy sincerely asked.
Grim took out his clipboard again, "Maybe, given the chaotic nature of life and death, and mankind's advancement in health, it could be long before- ooh, another name!"
Grim read the words that were burned in, "Huh, looks like Lynn was caught in a dynamite blast."
Nobody said a word for a moment.
"...could you not reap her?" Lucy flatly asked.
Grim shrugged, "Eh, sure. I mean, you own her soul."
