I find myself standing outside of Tagert’s office door, unsure of what to do next. Whether I should enter immediately, knock or I should ask someone else as to what I should do. I look around for a moment, taking in the situation. The room is quiet, unlike the bustle of activity of over a month ago. There’s only one person in the room, being the white-haired woman I saw when I first came to the CPO. She’s watching me with unconcealed curiosity. She meets my eyes and shrugs. “Are you Elmira?” She asks me.

I nod. “I am, do you have something for me?”

“No, Director Tagert does, though. Go through, he’s waiting for you.” I guess there’s my answer. I slip in through the set of double doors, walking into Taget's office. His set of armor is in the same place it was last time, clean enough for me to see my own reflection if I were to look into the polished steel. I guess it’s part of the reason why he’s called Mirror Knight.

I avert my eyes, and look toward Tagert’s desk, where he is sitting, with some paperwork and pieces of metal. Objects like large medallions and mechanical bands. I approach him, and he sits up in his chair, turning a page toward me. “Sit,” he grumbles. I take a chair, moving it up to his desk and then sit down in it and sweep my tail over the edge of the seat. He places a pen on top of the page. “Do you know what a contract is?” He asks.

“That depends. I know it’s a deal between two parties, but you’ll find that there’s no binding agreement between Demons like that. You can’t control me through methods like that.”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s not exactly what this contract is for. Yes, it’s to tell you what you are meant to do and how you should act, but it also informs you about what you will gain by performing the things on the contract. It’s mutually beneficial.”

“Oh.” I lean forward and look at the page. It’s got long paragraphs of words, and I’m just about to start reading, but it’s Tagert who dictates it for me.

“The contract is, in spite of the many lines of legal jargon and pointless assurances, quite simple. The goal is to provide you with payment when you help us. This payment can be used to purchase goods and services. You’ll be paid a portion of the cost of the job you do and you can use that to buy… Whatever Demons like to buy.”

“Payment-”

“On top of that, you have an allowance, to keep you fed and well-dressed. It’s all to make sure you safe and healthy while you’re in this tower. He withdraws something out of a drawer and then places it down in front of me. It’s a dark blue card, with a few numbers and the words Taurus Bank written on it. “This is loaded with the allowance you did not receive over the time you were here. I think you’ll find it’s sufficient enough to buy a lot of that which you need.”

“What’s this?” I ask, picking up the card.

“A bank card-.” He winces, as if finally realizing that there’s no such thing in my world. “Do you know what money is?” I nod. I was about to spout something sarcastic, but I’m not about to start a pointless rhetoric to take with Tagert right now. “Well, on there is a specific amount of money. If you want to see exactly how much, you can ask Kaiden to help you. That card can be used at any store.”

“How?”

“You swipe it. I’m sure you’ll be assisted by someone when that time comes.” I exhale and nod. “Right, I’ll continue. With the payment for jobs and your allowance, there will also be times where you will be contacted for sponsorships or signings and other things like media presence. In the case you accept deals like that, we will take a portion of the funds, some of those funds we take will go toward insurance and the rest will be used to fund the organization.”

“So you take part of someone’s hard work?”

“Yes, but in exchange, we stand behind them. They are part of our team and we will make sure they are kept in a safe environment as long as they hold firm to our beliefs.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Then they’ll be dumped in a VEC. It’s very difficult to get to that point and out doubt our interests are that different. Anyway, think of us as your managers. We’ll keep you safe, and exchange, you do jobs for us. You’re the face of our company and we’re behind the scenes.”

“I don’t think I’d make for a great face of the company.”

“You’re one of thousands. Though you might find yourself being liked better than you think.”

I snort. “What’s the chance of that happening?”

“With the Demon attacks, quite low I’m afraid. But I’m hopeful.” He leans forward and taps a thin line at the bottom of the page. “Print your name and then sign.”

“With honorifics?”

“If you have a title bestowed to you, yes.”

I take up the pen and write down my name. Lady Elmira then I sign off, an E-shaped like an M on its side and an M, one on top of the other the whole thing completed without lifting a pen. I push the page forward once complete and Tagert picks it up and then reveals a second page. He pushes it back.

He clears his throat. “Here’s either the most fun part of this procedure or the most agonizing part. Depending on what kind of person you are. The next thing you will write down is what you will be called on the job, so lovingly called Hero name.”

“I- You mean like Janus, Hercules or Gates?”

“Exactly. Now, I’ll go through some examples so you can understand how it works. Most people choose something that’s similar to their powers. For example, I’m Mirror Knight and I deflect attacks. Bolts has a body that discharges bolts of electricity. Necro can summon bones from somewhere. Chains can form chains and Salvo is, like his namesake, a master of explosives. You should choose something that best suits your power.”

I place my chin on my palm and stare down at the page. I spin the pen in my hand for a few moments, considering my options. “Gates is named Gates because she specializes in summoning gates and moving around fast?” I wonder out loud.

“Exactly.”

“Then- Should I just go with Demon Lord?”

“Not exactly original, nor would it be considered wise. Just because you have revealed yourself to be one, doesn’t mean you should parade yourself around as one. It’s better to leave everyone blissfully unaware of your status to avoid poor judgment and chaos as a result of fear and paranoia.”

I lower my head. His statement isn’t false, in fact, he’s completely correct. I tap my fingers on the table for a few moment and then stop and lower my hand. “If Gates is called Gates because she’s good with gateways. I’ll be called Elementalist because of my simple control of the elements.”

Tagert looks impressed. “Fair enough. That sounds acceptable and dramatic enough for a hero name. I approve wholeheartedly.” He pulls the sheet of paper back to his side of the table and he writes something down. He then moves it on top of the other page and he uses a small contraption to hold the two pages together like they were one item. He then drops it into a drawer and he picks up one of the large medallions sitting on his desk. He raises it into the air, turning it between his thumb and forefinger. On one side, there’s the CPO emblem, however, it’s missing the letters beneath the emblem. The letters are instead on the other side of the medallion, making it seem like a collectors item.

“What’s that?” I ask him.

He places it on the desk in front of me, just like he did the papers. “It’s a- pager- for lack of a better word. It allows us to contact you with tasks that we need you to complete.” He leans over a phone on his desk and moves it in front of him. He presses a few buttons and leans back.

The medallion suddenly erupts into a series of high beeps in rapid succession. Between the inner part of the coin and the rim, there’s a dark red color, that flashes with the beeping. Tagert leans forward and presses one of the faces of the coin. The beeping stops and the red color is replaced with a light green. A slow male voice which pronounces each word very strongly comes through. “This is a test. This coin will allow you to receive jobs and to complete them with ease. You can, of course, deny the jobs, if you don’t wish to do them. Each job will have a short description and the team that you will be a part of. To accept a job, please press in the heads, side of the coin. This is depicted by the emblem of the CPO. To deny a job, please press the opposite side, depicted by the words CPO. To accept this message, please press the emblem. This message will now repeat.”

I press in the emblem. I understand how to use it, it doesn’t seem all too difficult. I pick up the medallion and turn it around in my hand a few times. “So is this mine now?”

“Mhm,” Tagert responds. “Another thing you can use it for is identification. It’s proof that you’re employed by the CPO and it’s an ID that is recognized by government organizations such as the police or other enforcement groups.”

“Right… So I guess I’ll learn its uses as we go along.”

“Correct. It has a lot of your details recorded and it might be a good idea not to lose it. In the future, your mental, psychological, and physical health will be recorded in the medallion. Speaking of which, we’ll have to organize an appointment with the psychologist.”

“The what?”

“They listen to you and your problems and they come to conclusions as to what is going on in your head and whether you need to be medicated. Considering your… Situation, I would find it both intriguing and helpful for you to speak to a psychologist. It would benefit you and us. Perhaps it will allow us to understand Demons better.”

“That doesn’t sound- pleasant.”

“Sounds worse than it actually is. I promise. It will help to speak to someone about the things that make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I don’t think anyone has time to listen to every single thing that makes me feel uncomfortable.”

For a second, Tagert smiles, though it passes as soon as it appeared. “Maybe, but we’ll have to see. I’ll try and organize an appointment for you. Just spend some time going to speak to them.”

“Right. Is that all?”

“I believe so. You may leave unless you have more to speak about with me.”

I shake my head and stand from my chair. I place the medallion in the pocket. “Thank you.” There’s no specifics I can go into, just a vague thanks will have to be enough for him. I walk out of the room, exchanging a quick glance with the old woman, and then enter the elevator to make my way back to my room.

The others are all seated around the table when I arrive. This includes Kai, to my honest surprise. I swallow, nervousness making me unsure of my promise. I’m on the cusp of regretting what I said, but a promise is a promise and I’d like to at least be trustworthy after making the error to conceal information about myself. I carefully sit amongst them at the table, placing my palms down on the table.

“Did Tagert yell at you, you like kinda- Sullen,” Walter says.

I wonder whose fault that is… I lean forward. “No- It’s just- Talking about my- Did Gabbie tell you?” Walter gives me a short nod. I breathe out, a long, deep sigh. “I see. I guess- I don’t know where to start. Maybe from the beginning, but all that is a blur, the start just seems like every day and the time now seems almost like a blessing in comparison. It’s hard to look at the darkness in the light. Does that make sense?”

“Yes, it’s harder to see shadows,” Kai murmurs. “But if you can start from the start, then that’s the best place to start. It is, after all, the start.”

I nod in agreement, however, the rest are looking at Kai, surprise not hidden on their faces. His face goes red and he looks down at the table. Thankfully, they don’t say anything. “Then, I guess the start would have been moving from here to the Demon Planes. I was definitely born here, there’s no doubt about that, and I’m more Human than most other Demons, but I’m unsure about whether that makes my potential better or worse. It’s why I am unique- at least.”

“How so?”

“I spoke a bit to Gates and Mattie about it. But I’m the only female Demon. I’m the only woman in a race of millions of Demons. This creates a distinct feeling of pressure, a weight that far outweighs that of the title of Demon Lord. But I was born here and I was immediately taken from my Mother, by Sebastian, though I have yet to ascertain whether that is true.”

“Why aren’t there other female Demons?” Gabbie asks.

“I think it’s because they just can’t have female children. I honestly don’t know all of the details. That’s why they’re forced to come here and why both my parents were Humans. My Father, Satan, controlled a Human's body and then I was born like-” I tilt my head to punctuate the point.

“Right…” Gabbie mutters. “And if you were born Human?”

“Probably would have been left alone. I wish I was left alone.” I shake my head. “Anyway, I got taken from my Mother and forced into the Demon Plane to continue my growth. It allowed my Father to keep an eye on me and to foster my growth personally. For a Demon, my life was paved for me. Demons like to fight for superiority, to prove that they are stronger than the others, however, my Father and my brothers refused to let others contend against me. To press me and to allow me to become combat capable, they were afraid my identity would be discovered and in that case, that a Demon would take the initiative to…” I trail off.

Walter has a dark look on his face. “Don’t- I need to know, what would they do to you.”

I shake my head a few times. “Walter, figure it out. She’s the only female Demon and the other Demons traverse planes just to have a relationship with Humans. What do you think they would do to a girl in the Demon Plane?”

“I was kind of hoping that she would at least deny that fact. That she would desperately disprove my creepy way of thinking. That this would turn into a joke or something.”

I shake my head. I can feel sweat drip its way down my back. My foot is tapping uncontrollably, a spasm as a result of my fragile state. Even now, it’s just reliving my nightmares. “No jokes. It- Knowing Demons, it would have happened. I was forced to, in the end, train with my brothers. They held back, but they still left me battered and bruised. Broken bones and flowing blood. It was- unpleasant. But I know how to fight at least. For what was planned for me, for what is planned for me, knowing combat doesn’t mean anything.” I stop.

For a while, I consider why I’m telling them this. It’s a lot of information and a lot of it isn’t glamorous. I could just be subjective and avoid talking about emotional subjects, avoid the things that make me both nervous and scared. The feeling of chills down my back and memories of torture and bruises. The things that made me into what some might call a recluse in this world. My excuses in this world. Sure, my appearance is a big reason why I don’t go out, yet it’s not even the biggest reason. It’s more because I’m used to it. It’s what I would have done in the Demon Plane and it’s what I do now anyway.

In the end, I said I would share it with them and even if I’m nervous, I need to jump into the deep end. For my sake and for the feeling of comfort in at least one place. “Even though I wouldn’t have needed to fight for the position, I would have inevitably become the second most important person in the Demon Plane, being only second to my Father. I was to become his queen. He was raising me to be passed around by his own decision and to replace the Humans of this world.”

“You- You alone? You wouldn’t be able to survive, would you?” Walter mutters.

“Demons are far more durable than you give them credit for. Especially a full grown Demon Lord. I wouldn’t die from something like that, as much as I would want to at that point. No, I can’t live like that. I can’t just be my Father’s slave. Having a semblance of power is no better than having no power at all. I wouldn’t even have the power to make my own decisions. So, I took my decision when I could. I escaped with the help of Lucifer and- here I am.”

“Well, shit,” Gabbie mutters. “I expected it to be a slightly less… Extensive.”

“I wouldn’t call it exciting. I’m not as adventurous as you think I am. It was a steady schedule of pain and fear. I was told that the outside world is dangerous. I was beaten by my brothers and to end it all, to encourage my growth my Father would inject his power into the septagram on my back. An experience that was-” I shake my head. If I move my head more, it might actually come off. “Incredibly unpleasant. Uncomfortable and pain worse than when I was being beaten by my brothers. Every time it was unique and every time it seemed to be- unending.”

“You seem incredibly composed,” Gabbie says. She doesn’t seem composed, she’s grimacing and her knuckles are turning white from gripping too hard.

“I’m not. Not at all.” I feel my shoulders slump. “I’ve been having nightmares about stuff like this that have been leaving me a wreck. Less recently, but I don’t want to talk about any of it. I’m just scared that something will happen, even though it’s unrealistic to expect these things.” I managed to speak through the whole thing without interrupting myself. I’m both proud of myself and appalled at myself. I give up trying to talk and place my head on the table, breathing heavily into the wood. It feels like I’ve got splinters in my body, I feel both fragile and emotional, but I try to remain composed even though I’ve failed in the best part of it.

“Sorry for forcing you to explain it all. I didn't know it would be so hard,” Gabbie mutters.

I hear a chair scraping against the ground and I feel hands on my shoulders. “You’re not alone, you don’t need to hide and you can make your own decisions when you’re amongst friends,” Kai’s hushed voice mutters. It’s so quiet, I doubt the others can even hear it, they might not even notice he’s talking. “I too used to be alone. It was just me and my brother, but it’s here where it will all change. The first step is being clear and the second step is being a part of us. Being such close friends that we can be considered family. Leave your old life behind and at least Mattie and I will make sure the world welcomes you.”

“Elmira,” Gabbie says. Her voice is stronger, but I know she’s trying to shift the subject, though it’s for the best. “I know it won’t mean as much as you telling me what happened to you, I can at least share something with you.”

I raise my head from the table. I’m not sure about the look on my face, but I’m sure it’s quite grim. “Mm,” I manage.

“Well, my parents are still alive and they allowed me to grow up the way I wanted to and when I was younger, I wasn’t really a- girly girl. That is, I didn’t like the things other girls of my age liked even though that’s changed a little now. I got myself involved in activities that many would consider too adventurous for girls and even difficult for boys. Martial arts and sword training are some. The sword fighting came later.”

“Way later,” Walter adds.

“Yeah, after I met Walt who had his power by then. But I was pretty well trained in martial arts and then got involved with fencing. I did pretty well at it-” She pauses as Walter scoffs. “Really good. I was a national level fencer, at least for people of my age. Turns out there weren’t that many fencers in middle school. Anyway, it’s around that time my Vigor reared its ugly head.”

“And Vigors can’t play at a national level. They are considered to have an unfair advantage. Especially when it’s Gabbie, whose power does actually give her an unfair advantage.”

“Thank you, Walt,” Gabbie grumbles. “I was crushed. It was the worst thing that had happened in my life. I wanted to keep doing what I loved and with my power, I felt I couldn’t. I was pretty stupid.” She shakes her head and grins. “I loved the idea of being a hero and I kinda thought that ambition was unrealistic. It took me a while for me to refocus my aim from the feeling of defeat by fate to a new goal that was kind of the wish from when I was like five. I still get to use my skills from being a fencer and I like the idea of helping people. Though there’s not a day that I wonder how it turned out that my thoughts when I was five were more accurate than my thoughts when I was thirteen. Did I miss anything, Walt? Or you think you can point out anything you know better than me.” She’s being sarcastic, and I can see her annoyed glare at Walter.

He grins nervously. “No, that’s pretty much it.”

“Your turn Walt,” Gabbie says, giving Walter a sharp glare.

He looks around, both avoiding locking eyes with her and trying to skirt around the issue. “It’s not like I have anything interesting to talk about.”

“So, become the pathetically average one.”

Walter groans as if conceding to the insult. “Same as Gabbie, my parents are still alive, but I try not to talk to them as Gabbie does to her own parents. My life wasn’t really difficult, it was boring but there was a lot of pressure. As Gabbie said, I got my Vigor pretty early, which is abnormal, it tends to show up during puberty. Or at least during times of major development. See it activates DNA strands, but I’m not going to get into the biological nature of Vigors, but it resulted in a lot of pressure from people around me.”

“And popularity,” Gabbie interjects. Walter grimaces and I see Gabbie sneer. “Don’t like it when the shoe’s on the other foot, do you?”

“Anyway. Considering my Vigor showed so early, there was an expectation that either it would be more powerful or that I would get more experience with it. In the end, I was a complete disappointment. My Vigor is strong, but it’s only if I can touch someone which means in most cases I’m trumped by any other real threat. Not only that but when I met Gabbie, in a martial arts class, which was supposed to help me learn to use my body better for my ability, I showed no real development in my skills. I’m just not that great at martial arts.”

“You’re alright.”

“Not good enough for my parents. Anyway, with time, my popularity faded and I kept getting pressured by my parents to do something more and that pressure kept resulting in failure and mistakes. A horrible catch 22. So I left, I managed to contact the CPO and because I was old enough, I managed to get into their Junior program which offers a place in the tower. And now I’ve got back my confidence and I’ve got closer friends than those who cared only about my future.”

“And that’s pretty much it. I joined the team later because I knew Walter, I figured it would be easier to get along. Kai was here before both me and Walt. But he’s shy and he doesn’t really talk about his past. If you want to speak to him about it then you should ask him. Though he hasn’t told us, but I assume it’s not great, either that or he’s been spending a lot of time with his brother and there’s just not much to tell.”

There’s a pregnant pause, a long period of time in silence. Mostly it’s Kai confirming their thoughts, but the rest is no-one really having anything to say. I appreciate their attempts at making me feel comfortable, I really do, but after both explaining my story and hearing theirs, I’m not in the condition to continue talking. It’s just far too much work for me. It’s like stepping out of that cage into a new world and I’ve had that experience before. It’s exhausting. I stand up and comb my hair back.

“Are you okay?” Gabbie asks, there’s a faint worrying sound to her voice.

I shrug and close my eyes. “I appreciate it all, sharing your past with me. I do, really. But I’m not sure it takes away from the bad in my life. I know you now, but it still took a lot out of me and hearing your stories won’t be a quick fix to all my woes. Don’t take this all as an excuse, I definitely appreciate it all. Just-” I exhale. “It’s a lot to come back to. Kinda want to take on a throng of Demons now.”

“Fuck, no. I’ll take the emotions,” Walter gasps.

“Right,” I murmur. I walk over to the fridge and pull it open, looking through the few items within. I withdraw something that’s typically a breakfast food, from what Gabbie has told me, a small tub of yogurt and I take a spoon from the drawer. For now, I’m not all that hungry, same reason as before, but with a mix of I just don’t want to have a full meal right now. I pull off the top of the yogurt tub and throw it in the trash before slinking toward my room. “I’ll probably get an early night. Hopefully, I’ll be in a better mood tomorrow.”

“I’m really sorry for forcing you to speak about something you’re uncomfortable with,” Gabbie says.

I wave my hand in a dismissive motion. What’s done is done and while it wasn’t nice to talk about it I did want to show them I trusted them. The pain of my past will pass, the trust of my friends is not so easily earned back without some sacrifice. Right now I might not think it’s worth it, but in the future, I have no doubt that it will be worth it.

I retire to my room, taking the yogurt with me and shutting the door before settling at my desk, slowly eating the yogurt with my mind wandering a little. Perhaps I’m just a little drowsy after it all, I yawn seems to confirm this analysis. Thing seems to activate suddenly and I stare at it for a few moments in impassive surprise. It doesn’t move, it just sits there with its lights cycling. “Elmira.” a voice comes out of it and I nearly jump out of my chair, my voice catching in my throat. My previous guise of emotionless glare discarded in the jolt.

The voice belongs to Kai, I should have immediately recognized it, but it still keeps me on edge. “I didn’t realize you could talk through Thing,” I say, accusation lacing my tongue.

“I designed Thing so we could talk in private if the need arose. It arose.”

Accusation turns to both agitation and embarrassment in an instant when I learn of what else he could have done with Thing that I didn’t know about originally. My face goes red, a mix of anger and shame. “You haven’t got a camera in that thing do you?”

“A camera-?” It doesn’t quite click yet. “Oh, God, no! I haven’t been spying on you! I promise! I didn’t put in cameras, only sensors! I swear to God! I wouldn’t dare infringe upon your privacy, I wouldn’t…” He trails off as if there’s nothing more that he can say, but he’s said enough, enough to at least disarm my original shame. Relief washes over me, though it doesn’t quite disband my anger. At least it’s one step toward trust. “If you want, you can put a blanket over Thing just in case.”

“Could you not have told me about it before it became a sudden shock?” I say, my voice is a little shaky, trying to get a handle my emotions.

“I forgot. I’m sorry. Anyway,” he’s changing the subject, which is fine, I imagine he’s just as ashamed as I am. “I wanted to talk about my family. I want to tell you about them, but I also want to tell you that for it to mean anything it can’t be me who tells you about my past and my family. For me, it will come off rather dispassionately, because I didn’t really know my parents. Go talk to Mattie. I’m might tell you- No, because it’s you, he’ll tell you.”

“What do you mean because it’s me?”

“Because he likes you. Because he wants to see you safe and happy because it’s important to him. If he believes it will help you, then he’ll do anything.”

“What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Would he sacrifice everything for you?”

“He already did-” He leaves the statement to hang in the air for a moment. “Just ask him. You’re probably closer to him than just a friend."

“What does that mean?” I ask. “Do you mean-”

“I don’t want to say anything about that, but I promise you it’s not the first thing you think about. Just- just ask him when you get the chance.” He leaves it at that, and I see Thing shut down again. I throw my hands in the air in exasperation.

That was perhaps mildly cryptic. I stand up from my desk and approach my bed and drop down onto it. I place my hands over my eyes. So Mattie thinks of me more than just a friend, but the first thing I think is not the way he thinks of me. Thing is, what’s the first thing I think of when I consider mine and Mattie’s relationship?

Author's Notes

Chapters like this always feel odd when I write it. The same feeling you get when you're listening to a conversation you really shouldn't. Like I shouldn't be privy to the personal information of people, and for some reason, this applies to characters I created! In any case, it seemed to go well and it helps move over to the entire focus of this arc. No, not Sathanus, but rather, Mattie, or Janus. Next chapter should be really fun.