Armageddon and the Antichrist

Chapter 1

"Ah, Cardinal, there you are."

"Good morning, Sister," Copia replied with a polite bow.

"I'm glad you're here. I need your assistance today," Sister Imperator replied offhandedly as she dealt with the bustling workers bombarding her for her opinion on various matters. Copia never really cared for all the commotion, but it was a nuisance that came with his job.

"What can I do for you, Sister?" Copia clasped his hands together behind his back as he awaited her answer.

Sister Imperator finally took her first good look at Copia, "You look terrible. Have you been sleeping?" He hadn't, though he wasn't entirely sure why. Not wanting to answer the question, he waited patiently for her to continue. She brushed his silence off with a wave of her hand and a roll of her eyes. "Never mind that anyway. I need you to do something important for me today. I have somewhere to be outside of the Ministry today and can't attend to my duties here. You will have to fill in for me," a boy tugged on her sleeve and showed her a color swathe, "Yes, that will do just fine." The boy nodded and hurried away.

Copia's eye's widened in surprise. "Fill in? But, Sister, you know very well that I've never handled things on such a large scale, and this close to the tour nonetheless."

"That's exactly why I need your help, C. Things are very hectic with the tour and other various merchandise and media matters to attend to. I can't do it all by myself." She braced her hands against her lower back and leaned back with a grimace.

Copia ran his fingers through his hair. If he had known what this job entailed he would've thought twice about accepting. Oh, who was he kidding? He couldn't get enough of the thrill of leading the band. The power he held over people was mesmerizing to him. He just wished he didn't have to sacrifice so much. His brothers. His free time. His sleep. But now was his chance to show what he could do. To show Nihil that he wasn't such a disappointment as he believed.

"All right, Sister. I'll do it. Just tell me what to do." Sister Imperator clapped her hands together and smiled before patting Copia on the cheek.

"That's my boy. Unfortunately, I seem to be running behind. No need to fret though, my assistant will be more than glad to assist you. She's the girl with the black hair standing over there with the clipboard." Copia looked to where she was pointing and found the girl she was speaking of. Her back was turned to them and she was helping what looked to be a stage manager figure out where he was supposed to take the clothing rack.

Sister Imperator cupped her hands around her mouth. "Darling! Come here please." The girl turned around and Sister beckoned her over with her hand.

The girl turned back to the stage manager and seemingly gave him an apology before making her way over to them. Copia couldn't help but admire the way she walked. Her hips subtly swayed as she calmly sauntered toward them.

"May I help you, Sister?" Her voice was soft but not in a shy way. In a way that convinced you that she knew when she needed to raise her voice and when not to. Copia couldn't help but regard her as elegant and in control of herself, which was crazy because this was the first time he was meeting her.

"Yes, I will be popping out for a bit and I need you to help the Cardinal here run things smoothly while I'm gone."

The girl's gaze shifted to Copia and he tensed, hopefully not noticeably, as she looked him over. She hadn't had many encounters with the Cardinal but she admired him as much as any other official in the Ministry. In her opinion, the Cardinal was already well on his way to becoming Papa. He had the signature white eye, the confident arrogance that almost every former Papa carried with pride, and the devilishly good looks. But that last part wasn't necessarily important.