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Description
Weiss woke up to a cold metal floor and an overwhelming ringing in his head. He couldn't see anything, and his first thought was that he had somehow gone blind. In a moment of panic, he thrashed about on the floor for a moment, scraping his belt buckle against the floor. As a shower of sparks flew into the air, he relaxed, but only briefly. He was trapped in a small, dark, metal room, and as he felt around it, he found it was completely empty. The only interruption in the smooth metal of the walls was a notch running along the height of one wall. As he was examining it, the wall slid open, pouring harsh white light into the room, stunning him. He stumbled backwards and fell on his back, pain shooting up his spine from the impact. As he slowly regained his vision, he saw that a man in a featureless mask and a long, white cloak stood before him. He panicked as his first thought was that he had been cornered by a Soul Collector, but then the man spoke.
"Weiss Wakefield?" His voice was deep but flat, and although he wore a mask, he spoke with a disturbingly clear tone.
"Wh-Who are you?" Suddenly, the memory of Penelope's scream came back to him.. "What have you done with Penelope?"
"We have her," the man said, expressionlessly.
"I swear, if you lay a single finger on her-"
"Your girl will be safe, for the time being. However, she is not the topic of our current conversation."
"She will be until you tell me where she is!"
"Wakefield, I would advise you not to argue with us. Miss Materas did... but I believe she won't be doing any arguing with us for a very long time."
Weiss got to his feet, in an attempt to bring himself to the level of the man. However, he found that he was considerably shorter than his captor, and the white mask staring down at him intimidated him, throwing him off of his guard.
"If you've finished being uncooperative," said the man, "I must ask you a few questions."
Weiss responded with silence.
"Good. Is it true that you are aware of a creature known as the Evil Eye?"
The question surprised Weiss. He thought that he, Manfred, and Penelope were the only ones left who knew about it.
"Y-yes," he stammered. "I am."
"I see. And you are aware of the significance of this creature?"
"The significance?"
"Let me reword the question. You have seen the power of the Evil Eye firsthand, have you not?"
Weiss's mind went back to the carnage of the battle with the Eye, and how he had barely made it out alive. "Yes," he said. "I have. Why are you asking me?"
"Because, Wakefield, I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition? You locked me in a cage, and you won't tell me what you did with my friend! Why would I make any sort of deal with you?"
"I needed to assure an uninterrupted conversation with you, Wakefield. I couldn't give you the chance to escape before we could talk. Your cell provides both of these functions. As for your girl... her circumstances are different. I can tell you no more about her without compromising us."
"What's this... proposition? What does it have to do with the Evil Eye?"
"When you utilized the reactor within the Materas Laboratories, you believed that you had been transported to another world. Is this correct?"
"Yeah..."
"You were wrong. You were not transported to another world, rather, you moved forward in time a considerable amount."
"What? No! There's no way that was the same world!"
"It was indeed. It was this world after it had been ruined by the Evil Eye. As it stands, you will be completely unable to do anything about the inevitable coming of the Eye. However, I am part of a group that has the potential to change the flow of time. We will be able to stop it."
"And you want me to join, is that it?"
"You have demonstrated your ability many times in the recent past, Wakefield. It is our leader's belief that you would be a valuable addition to our organization."
"Well, tell your leader that I'm not interested."
"Are you sure? Would you rather stand idly by while the world falls into ruin?"
Weiss sighed. "I've had enough of this. I'm not some sort of hero, or warrior, or whatever you think would make me valuable. I just want to forget all of it and move on with my life, not get tangled up in something that I don't even believe is really true."
"That is... unfortunate. However, it is your decision, foolish or otherwise."
"Really?" Again, Weiss was surprised. "It's... that easy?"
"Of course. I am not an unreasonable man, Wakefield. You may leave, if you've made your decision." The man in the mask stepped away from the door. "Head down the hallway. At the far end you will be blindfolded and escorted out of the building, back to your home."
Weiss warily exited the cell into a long, white hallway. "It sounds like Penny made the same choice I did. She'll be brought home the same way, won't she?"
"I told you, Wakefield. Her circumstances are different."
"What?" He stopped and turned around. "I'm not leaving without her! Where is she?"
"Penelope is with us. She won't be joining you."
"No way! She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't do something like that without me..."
"Her choice was different. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us at the time of your capture, her prostheses are equipped with a GPS locator system. She automatically mapped out her way here, and would be easily be able to find us if we let her go. As we cannot alter her internal circuitry, she had little choice other than to join."
"Y-you can't do that!"
"We certainly can. Any potential threat to our security will be immediately neutralized. On that topic, as you and the girl have a close bond, we cannot allow contact between you, lest she reveal confidential information." There was a pause. "That is, if you deny our request."
"You knew the whole time, didn't you?"
The man's voice took on a barely-noticeable victorious tone. "That's confidential information."
Weiss was torn. The last thing he wanted was to join this organization, but it would be even worse if he left Penelope in their hands. If he left now, he would be completely alone... and that thought terrified him. He wouldn't know what to do with himself, and the guilt, he was sure, would drive him mad. Although he was loath to the idea, he felt that he had as little choice as Penelope had.
"Alright. I'll join. But I won't like it."
"Enjoying yourself is not a requirement. Please head to the other end of the hallway and proceed up the stairs. There you will be briefed on your duties." The man paused as he watched the boy walk away. "Oh," he said, "one more thing. Welcome to the Cosmic Alliance."
"Yeah, whatever."

Weiss walked down the hall, his heart already heavy with regret and anticipation. It was entirely possible that he had just made the worst decision of his life. The dull grey walls and bare fluorescent lights seemed to agree with him. His heart sank even further when he saw the stairs: they spiraled into the ceiling, almost steep enough to be a ladder. With a sigh, he began to climb.
At the top was another hallway, which went off in two different directions. Great, thought Weiss. He never told me which way to go. He took the a left-hand turn. This hall was more of the same. There were no signs anywhere, in fact, there were no distinguishing features on the walls save for an occasional locked door. These were, of course, unmarked. Finally, after what seemed like at least an hour, he came across a huge room with rows and rows of folding chairs, and a podium at the far end. A projector screen displayed the words "DAILY BREIFING" in giant block letters at the front of the room, with a clock counting down from five minutes below it.
Weiss sat down in a chair and waited for the briefing to begin. Gradually, the other seats began to fill in with men and women of all ages. Some seemed to be enthusiastic and excited, while others kept to themselves. Some were even crying. The noise level rose to nearly a deafening roar as the room filled with people, but there was an instant silence when all of the lights in the room shut off. A spotlight appeared on the podium, where the man in the mask suddenly stood.
"Greetings." His voice boomed from hidden loudspeakers into the room. "You have each chosen, or have been chosen to join the Cosmic Alliance. I am Cosmic Agent Angel, the leader of this organization. As of now, you will all be taking orders from me. These are not negotiable. Failure to comply will result in punishment, ranging from ration limitation in mild offenses to execution for major breaches of security."
"You can't do that!" someone shouted from the crowd. "That's murder!"
"On the contrary," replied Angel nonchalantly, "I can do whatever I want for that very reason. Just like every single one of you was ignorant to the Alliance's existence before I contacted you, the law is blind to my actions. As long as this remains the case, you need not fear for your life."
Damn, thought Weiss, how arrogant can you get?
"It is our goal," Angel went on, "to eradicate evil in this world through any means necessary. I do not believe in the value of the small. It is the greater good that must be the priority at all times, and this fact influences my decisions at all times. For example, some of you may have previous military background, and you be familiar with the concept of 'No Man Left Behind.' This will not be tolerated, unless the survival of said man is vital to your mission.
"Normally, I do not recruit this many Agents at once. However, current circumstances have required massive action on my part." The projector lit up the screen behind Angel, showing a television news story. A distraught reporter was giving the story from in front of the White House. The ticker at the bottom of the screen displayed the words "President and Cabinet Taken in Reaper Strike."
"As many of you have heard," said Angel, "The President has been taken by Reapers. His seat has been left open and will be filled in an emergency election." The projector now showed a photo of a normal-looking man in a suit. "This man, Michael O'Connor, is vying for that position. We are responsible for making sure he does not succeed, under any circumstances."
"Why not?" asked the man who had shouted out before.
"That information is on a need-to-know basis. Further questioning will be punished. Moving on, you will each proceed through the door to my right for your assignments." Angel turned and left the stage, leaving through a door in the back. Everyone else sat there for a brief moment, stunned at the abrupt briefing. A few people got up and went through the indicated door, and soon everyone was up and cramming themselves into the hallway.
It almost reminded him of school: the people moved at a slow crawl, each pressed tightly together as they tried to move. At the end of the hall, a bored-looking woman handed out paper cards to the newly-recruited Agents, giving them their positions and assignments. From there, they entered a door on either side of the woman.
After a few minutes of creeping down the hall, the person next to Weiss tapped him on the arm. He looked to be his age, perhaps a bit younger, and he was grinning like a maniac.
"Isn't this exciting?" he asked, a bit too cheerfully for Weiss's tastes. "We're going to be Cosmic Agents! We're going to be, like, superheroes! We get to rid the world of evil!"
"Wow," said Weiss, feigning the same excitement. "You're right! I hadn't thought about that!" He sighed. "They've already got you totally indoctrinated, don't they?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You really think we're doing the world any good? If you ask me, this is one of the shadiest places I've ever been to."
"Well, why did you join, if not to fight the forces of evil?"
"I'm... doing it for someone else," replied Weiss, trying to ignore the boy's ignorant demeanor.
"Really? Well, I suppose that's a decent reason." After a while, the line stopped-there was a holdup at the end.
"Well, looks like this is going to take a while," said the boy. "We might as well get to know each other, huh? The name's Tim." He grinned, extending his hand to Weiss, who shook it unenthusiastically.
"Weiss. Why do we need to know each other?"
"We might be partners! I mean, we are pretty close in line, and they usually just put the closest two together... at least if they're the same rank. I hope I get Gamma, don't you?"
Weiss stared at Tim blankly. "What are you talking about?"
Tim returned the stare with one of surprise. "Are you serious? Rank's one of the first things they explain in basic training!"
"You went through training?"
"For weeks! What have you been doing?"
"I was just... thrown in here."
"No way!" Tim groaned. "Alright, I guess I have to explain it to you. That lady up there is handing out cards to assign our ranks. From lowest to highest, the ranks are Epsilon, Gamma, Delta, Beta, and Alpha. Well, I suppose there's Angel. He's kind of his own rank. Anyway, new recruits get Epsilon, but if Angel notices anyone really talented in basic training, he'll bump them right up to Gamma. I think I've got a pretty good chance, but you... Well, you didn't even have training. You'll be Epsilon for sure."
"Great... that makes me feel a lot better about this whole thing..."
"Cheer up, Weiss! If you're any good, you'll make it into Gamma in a few months. Epsilon work does suck, though, from what I've heard. It's mostly paperwork, and schlepping stuff around when the base moves."
"The base... moves?"
"Every Saturday night. Gammas and up get to leave the base for the night, while Epsilons do the legwork. This base is pretty nice, actually. Sometimes it's a really spooky old abandoned building, and we all have to carry around flashlights and stuff."
"Why bother doing that every week? It sounds like a pain."
"It reduces the chances of us being found out."
"That's... thorough."
"You don't know the half of it! Everything Angel does revolves around secrecy. If anyone finds out we exist, there'll be hell to pay."
"Yeah, I got that impression from the briefing."
"Well, if anyone found us out, we wouldn't-"
"Next!" The woman who was handing out cards suddenly stood before them, angrily yelling at them. "What's your name, kid?"
"Tim Pegg," he said, the excitement creeping back into his face.
"Pegg, Pegg..." The woman searched through the cards. "Ah, here you are. You've been assigned Gamma rank. Congratulations."
"Yes!" Tim laughed and did a little dance in front of the entire line.
"And your name?"
"Uh, it's Wakefield."
The woman searched through the cards. "Weiss?"
"Yeah."
"Let's see here..." She paused, looking incredulously at the card. "What? This can't be right..."
"Oh, come on," said Tim. "You know Angel makes those himself. There's no way it can be a mistake."
"Weiss Wakefield," she read, "Alpha rank."
"What?! That's not possible!"
Weiss couldn't help but smile at the look of dismay on the overly-excited boy's face. "Hey," he said, "You said it yourself: Angel never makes a mistake."
"Yes, well, that's certainly true," the woman said, stepping aside and opening a door behind her. "You and the other are to recieve direct briefing from Angel in a few moments at the end of this hall. Would you kindly proceed so that we can continue with the assignments, Mr. Wakefield?"
"Sure," he said. Not wanting to spend another minute with the chipmunk-like boy, he hurried to the small room at the end of the hall. It was, for the most part, more of the same: gray walls and ceiling, bare pipes hissing steam into the air, a pair of bland lockers, and a pair of cots. What was unusual was the girl sitting on one of the cots. She turned around at the sound of his footsteps on the metal floor, grinning ecstatically at the sight of his face.
"Weiss!" Penelope cried. "It's you! You're the other Alpha!"
"Other Alpha? What are you-"
Before Weiss could finish the sentence, Penelope ran into him, tackling him into the other cot with a slightly overenthusiastic embrace.
"They told me you wouldn't come back," she said, nearly in tears. "They 'predicted you were going to deny their request.'"
"I promised, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I couldn't possibly leave you here alone, not with these people."
Penelope held him for a moment, then got up and brushed herself off. "Sorry if that... hurt a little. I was worried about you."
"You were worried about me?" asked Weiss, noticing something strange as his friend stood above him. "Are those... bruises on your face? And your arm, too... God, what did they do to you, Penny?"
"She needed a bit of persuasion." Angel was suddenly standing behind them. "She didn't quite take us seriously when we told her that she couldn't have both the knowledge of this base's location and her own life. I don't think we'll be having that problem anymore, will we, Ms. Materas?"
Penelope was silent, staring at the floor defiantly.
"All of the belongings you will need are in those lockers, including your uniforms. I will return in precisely six hours to assign you to your first mission. Please change into the uniforms before then. In the meantime, you are not to leave this room. Do you have any questions?"
"You beat her?" Weiss asked indignantly. "Penelope is a completely innocent girl! You can't-"
Angel grabbed Weiss by his collar, pulling him close and speaking in a whisper. "I don't think you understand, Wakefield. There is absolutely nothing I cannot or will not do. Morals and ethics are of no consequence here. I needed both of you to join, and I used the most sure technique. You had better get used to my way of doing things, because they are not going to change. Be ready to leave in six hours." He tossed Weiss to the floor, turning and leaving the room as he sprawled out on the floor.
"Weiss!" Penelope crouched next to him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Weiss groaned. "I'm sorry, Penny. This is my fault…"
She grinned. "It's okay. We'll be fine, won't we? We've both been through worse."
"I know, but this just isn't fair. You just don't deserve any of this."
Penelope laughed brightly, despite the pain she was in. "I think you're wrong, Weiss," she said. "This is going to be fun."
Weiss stared at her, stunned. "Are… you feeling okay?" he stammered.
"Yes! I've never been better!" She giggled, spinning around on one foot and landing rather ungracefully on her bed. "You know," she said, "I've just realized something."
Weiss smiled, realizing that she really was going to be fine. "Oh yeah? What's that?
"Can't tell you. It's a secret, but don't worry. You'll figure it out soon, I hope." Penelope turned over in her bed and threw a cover over herself. "We'd better get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning!"
And with that, she fell silent. Weiss sat silently for a moment, then decided that Penelope was at least trying very hard to appear asleep. He collapsed on his own bed and instantly regretted it-it was closer to a few pieces of plywood than any bed he'd ever slept in.
Adaptable, he thought, tossing and turning, as he slowly fell asleep. That's what she is. Adaptable, and a bit strange.

Description
Weiss woke up to a cold metal floor and an overwhelming ringing in his head. He couldn't see anything, and his first thought was that he had somehow gone blind. In a moment of panic, he thrashed about on the floor for a moment, scraping his belt buckle against the floor. As a shower of sparks flew into the air, he relaxed, but only briefly. He was trapped in a small, dark, metal room, and as he felt around it, he found it was completely empty. The only interruption in the smooth metal of the walls was a notch running along the height of one wall. As he was examining it, the wall slid open, pouring harsh white light into the room, stunning him. He stumbled backwards and fell on his back, pain shooting up his spine from the impact. As he slowly regained his vision, he saw that a man in a featureless mask and a long, white cloak stood before him. He panicked as his first thought was that he had been cornered by a Soul Collector, but then the man spoke.
"Weiss Wakefield?" His voice was deep but flat, and although he wore a mask, he spoke with a disturbingly clear tone.
"Wh-Who are you?" Suddenly, the memory of Penelope's scream came back to him.. "What have you done with Penelope?"
"We have her," the man said, expressionlessly.
"I swear, if you lay a single finger on her-"
"Your girl will be safe, for the time being. However, she is not the topic of our current conversation."
"She will be until you tell me where she is!"
"Wakefield, I would advise you not to argue with us. Miss Materas did... but I believe she won't be doing any arguing with us for a very long time."
Weiss got to his feet, in an attempt to bring himself to the level of the man. However, he found that he was considerably shorter than his captor, and the white mask staring down at him intimidated him, throwing him off of his guard.
"If you've finished being uncooperative," said the man, "I must ask you a few questions."
Weiss responded with silence.
"Good. Is it true that you are aware of a creature known as the Evil Eye?"
The question surprised Weiss. He thought that he, Manfred, and Penelope were the only ones left who knew about it.
"Y-yes," he stammered. "I am."
"I see. And you are aware of the significance of this creature?"
"The significance?"
"Let me reword the question. You have seen the power of the Evil Eye firsthand, have you not?"
Weiss's mind went back to the carnage of the battle with the Eye, and how he had barely made it out alive. "Yes," he said. "I have. Why are you asking me?"
"Because, Wakefield, I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition? You locked me in a cage, and you won't tell me what you did with my friend! Why would I make any sort of deal with you?"
"I needed to assure an uninterrupted conversation with you, Wakefield. I couldn't give you the chance to escape before we could talk. Your cell provides both of these functions. As for your girl... her circumstances are different. I can tell you no more about her without compromising us."
"What's this... proposition? What does it have to do with the Evil Eye?"
"When you utilized the reactor within the Materas Laboratories, you believed that you had been transported to another world. Is this correct?"
"Yeah..."
"You were wrong. You were not transported to another world, rather, you moved forward in time a considerable amount."
"What? No! There's no way that was the same world!"
"It was indeed. It was this world after it had been ruined by the Evil Eye. As it stands, you will be completely unable to do anything about the inevitable coming of the Eye. However, I am part of a group that has the potential to change the flow of time. We will be able to stop it."
"And you want me to join, is that it?"
"You have demonstrated your ability many times in the recent past, Wakefield. It is our leader's belief that you would be a valuable addition to our organization."
"Well, tell your leader that I'm not interested."
"Are you sure? Would you rather stand idly by while the world falls into ruin?"
Weiss sighed. "I've had enough of this. I'm not some sort of hero, or warrior, or whatever you think would make me valuable. I just want to forget all of it and move on with my life, not get tangled up in something that I don't even believe is really true."
"That is... unfortunate. However, it is your decision, foolish or otherwise."
"Really?" Again, Weiss was surprised. "It's... that easy?"
"Of course. I am not an unreasonable man, Wakefield. You may leave, if you've made your decision." The man in the mask stepped away from the door. "Head down the hallway. At the far end you will be blindfolded and escorted out of the building, back to your home."
Weiss warily exited the cell into a long, white hallway. "It sounds like Penny made the same choice I did. She'll be brought home the same way, won't she?"
"I told you, Wakefield. Her circumstances are different."
"What?" He stopped and turned around. "I'm not leaving without her! Where is she?"
"Penelope is with us. She won't be joining you."
"No way! She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't do something like that without me..."
"Her choice was different. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us at the time of your capture, her prostheses are equipped with a GPS locator system. She automatically mapped out her way here, and would be easily be able to find us if we let her go. As we cannot alter her internal circuitry, she had little choice other than to join."
"Y-you can't do that!"
"We certainly can. Any potential threat to our security will be immediately neutralized. On that topic, as you and the girl have a close bond, we cannot allow contact between you, lest she reveal confidential information." There was a pause. "That is, if you deny our request."
"You knew the whole time, didn't you?"
The man's voice took on a barely-noticeable victorious tone. "That's confidential information."
Weiss was torn. The last thing he wanted was to join this organization, but it would be even worse if he left Penelope in their hands. If he left now, he would be completely alone... and that thought terrified him. He wouldn't know what to do with himself, and the guilt, he was sure, would drive him mad. Although he was loath to the idea, he felt that he had as little choice as Penelope had.
"Alright. I'll join. But I won't like it."
"Enjoying yourself is not a requirement. Please head to the other end of the hallway and proceed up the stairs. There you will be briefed on your duties." The man paused as he watched the boy walk away. "Oh," he said, "one more thing. Welcome to the Cosmic Alliance."
"Yeah, whatever."

Weiss walked down the hall, his heart already heavy with regret and anticipation. It was entirely possible that he had just made the worst decision of his life. The dull grey walls and bare fluorescent lights seemed to agree with him. His heart sank even further when he saw the stairs: they spiraled into the ceiling, almost steep enough to be a ladder. With a sigh, he began to climb.
At the top was another hallway, which went off in two different directions. Great, thought Weiss. He never told me which way to go. He took the a left-hand turn. This hall was more of the same. There were no signs anywhere, in fact, there were no distinguishing features on the walls save for an occasional locked door. These were, of course, unmarked. Finally, after what seemed like at least an hour, he came across a huge room with rows and rows of folding chairs, and a podium at the far end. A projector screen displayed the words "DAILY BREIFING" in giant block letters at the front of the room, with a clock counting down from five minutes below it.
Weiss sat down in a chair and waited for the briefing to begin. Gradually, the other seats began to fill in with men and women of all ages. Some seemed to be enthusiastic and excited, while others kept to themselves. Some were even crying. The noise level rose to nearly a deafening roar as the room filled with people, but there was an instant silence when all of the lights in the room shut off. A spotlight appeared on the podium, where the man in the mask suddenly stood.
"Greetings." His voice boomed from hidden loudspeakers into the room. "You have each chosen, or have been chosen to join the Cosmic Alliance. I am Cosmic Agent Angel, the leader of this organization. As of now, you will all be taking orders from me. These are not negotiable. Failure to comply will result in punishment, ranging from ration limitation in mild offenses to execution for major breaches of security."
"You can't do that!" someone shouted from the crowd. "That's murder!"
"On the contrary," replied Angel nonchalantly, "I can do whatever I want for that very reason. Just like every single one of you was ignorant to the Alliance's existence before I contacted you, the law is blind to my actions. As long as this remains the case, you need not fear for your life."
Damn, thought Weiss, how arrogant can you get?
"It is our goal," Angel went on, "to eradicate evil in this world through any means necessary. I do not believe in the value of the small. It is the greater good that must be the priority at all times, and this fact influences my decisions at all times. For example, some of you may have previous military background, and you be familiar with the concept of 'No Man Left Behind.' This will not be tolerated, unless the survival of said man is vital to your mission.
"Normally, I do not recruit this many Agents at once. However, current circumstances have required massive action on my part." The projector lit up the screen behind Angel, showing a television news story. A distraught reporter was giving the story from in front of the White House. The ticker at the bottom of the screen displayed the words "President and Cabinet Taken in Reaper Strike."
"As many of you have heard," said Angel, "The President has been taken by Reapers. His seat has been left open and will be filled in an emergency election." The projector now showed a photo of a normal-looking man in a suit. "This man, Michael O'Connor, is vying for that position. We are responsible for making sure he does not succeed, under any circumstances."
"Why not?" asked the man who had shouted out before.
"That information is on a need-to-know basis. Further questioning will be punished. Moving on, you will each proceed through the door to my right for your assignments." Angel turned and left the stage, leaving through a door in the back. Everyone else sat there for a brief moment, stunned at the abrupt briefing. A few people got up and went through the indicated door, and soon everyone was up and cramming themselves into the hallway.
It almost reminded him of school: the people moved at a slow crawl, each pressed tightly together as they tried to move. At the end of the hall, a bored-looking woman handed out paper cards to the newly-recruited Agents, giving them their positions and assignments. From there, they entered a door on either side of the woman.
After a few minutes of creeping down the hall, the person next to Weiss tapped him on the arm. He looked to be his age, perhaps a bit younger, and he was grinning like a maniac.
"Isn't this exciting?" he asked, a bit too cheerfully for Weiss's tastes. "We're going to be Cosmic Agents! We're going to be, like, superheroes! We get to rid the world of evil!"
"Wow," said Weiss, feigning the same excitement. "You're right! I hadn't thought about that!" He sighed. "They've already got you totally indoctrinated, don't they?"
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"You really think we're doing the world any good? If you ask me, this is one of the shadiest places I've ever been to."
"Well, why did you join, if not to fight the forces of evil?"
"I'm... doing it for someone else," replied Weiss, trying to ignore the boy's ignorant demeanor.
"Really? Well, I suppose that's a decent reason." After a while, the line stopped-there was a holdup at the end.
"Well, looks like this is going to take a while," said the boy. "We might as well get to know each other, huh? The name's Tim." He grinned, extending his hand to Weiss, who shook it unenthusiastically.
"Weiss. Why do we need to know each other?"
"We might be partners! I mean, we are pretty close in line, and they usually just put the closest two together... at least if they're the same rank. I hope I get Gamma, don't you?"
Weiss stared at Tim blankly. "What are you talking about?"
Tim returned the stare with one of surprise. "Are you serious? Rank's one of the first things they explain in basic training!"
"You went through training?"
"For weeks! What have you been doing?"
"I was just... thrown in here."
"No way!" Tim groaned. "Alright, I guess I have to explain it to you. That lady up there is handing out cards to assign our ranks. From lowest to highest, the ranks are Epsilon, Gamma, Delta, Beta, and Alpha. Well, I suppose there's Angel. He's kind of his own rank. Anyway, new recruits get Epsilon, but if Angel notices anyone really talented in basic training, he'll bump them right up to Gamma. I think I've got a pretty good chance, but you... Well, you didn't even have training. You'll be Epsilon for sure."
"Great... that makes me feel a lot better about this whole thing..."
"Cheer up, Weiss! If you're any good, you'll make it into Gamma in a few months. Epsilon work does suck, though, from what I've heard. It's mostly paperwork, and schlepping stuff around when the base moves."
"The base... moves?"
"Every Saturday night. Gammas and up get to leave the base for the night, while Epsilons do the legwork. This base is pretty nice, actually. Sometimes it's a really spooky old abandoned building, and we all have to carry around flashlights and stuff."
"Why bother doing that every week? It sounds like a pain."
"It reduces the chances of us being found out."
"That's... thorough."
"You don't know the half of it! Everything Angel does revolves around secrecy. If anyone finds out we exist, there'll be hell to pay."
"Yeah, I got that impression from the briefing."
"Well, if anyone found us out, we wouldn't-"
"Next!" The woman who was handing out cards suddenly stood before them, angrily yelling at them. "What's your name, kid?"
"Tim Pegg," he said, the excitement creeping back into his face.
"Pegg, Pegg..." The woman searched through the cards. "Ah, here you are. You've been assigned Gamma rank. Congratulations."
"Yes!" Tim laughed and did a little dance in front of the entire line.
"And your name?"
"Uh, it's Wakefield."
The woman searched through the cards. "Weiss?"
"Yeah."
"Let's see here..." She paused, looking incredulously at the card. "What? This can't be right..."
"Oh, come on," said Tim. "You know Angel makes those himself. There's no way it can be a mistake."
"Weiss Wakefield," she read, "Alpha rank."
"What?! That's not possible!"
Weiss couldn't help but smile at the look of dismay on the overly-excited boy's face. "Hey," he said, "You said it yourself: Angel never makes a mistake."
"Yes, well, that's certainly true," the woman said, stepping aside and opening a door behind her. "You and the other are to recieve direct briefing from Angel in a few moments at the end of this hall. Would you kindly proceed so that we can continue with the assignments, Mr. Wakefield?"
"Sure," he said. Not wanting to spend another minute with the chipmunk-like boy, he hurried to the small room at the end of the hall. It was, for the most part, more of the same: gray walls and ceiling, bare pipes hissing steam into the air, a pair of bland lockers, and a pair of cots. What was unusual was the girl sitting on one of the cots. She turned around at the sound of his footsteps on the metal floor, grinning ecstatically at the sight of his face.
"Weiss!" Penelope cried. "It's you! You're the other Alpha!"
"Other Alpha? What are you-"
Before Weiss could finish the sentence, Penelope ran into him, tackling him into the other cot with a slightly overenthusiastic embrace.
"They told me you wouldn't come back," she said, nearly in tears. "They 'predicted you were going to deny their request.'"
"I promised, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did. Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I couldn't possibly leave you here alone, not with these people."
Penelope held him for a moment, then got up and brushed herself off. "Sorry if that... hurt a little. I was worried about you."
"You were worried about me?" asked Weiss, noticing something strange as his friend stood above him. "Are those... bruises on your face? And your arm, too... God, what did they do to you, Penny?"
"She needed a bit of persuasion." Angel was suddenly standing behind them. "She didn't quite take us seriously when we told her that she couldn't have both the knowledge of this base's location and her own life. I don't think we'll be having that problem anymore, will we, Ms. Materas?"
Penelope was silent, staring at the floor defiantly.
"All of the belongings you will need are in those lockers, including your uniforms. I will return in precisely six hours to assign you to your first mission. Please change into the uniforms before then. In the meantime, you are not to leave this room. Do you have any questions?"
"You beat her?" Weiss asked indignantly. "Penelope is a completely innocent girl! You can't-"
Angel grabbed Weiss by his collar, pulling him close and speaking in a whisper. "I don't think you understand, Wakefield. There is absolutely nothing I cannot or will not do. Morals and ethics are of no consequence here. I needed both of you to join, and I used the most sure technique. You had better get used to my way of doing things, because they are not going to change. Be ready to leave in six hours." He tossed Weiss to the floor, turning and leaving the room as he sprawled out on the floor.
"Weiss!" Penelope crouched next to him and helped him up. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Weiss groaned. "I'm sorry, Penny. This is my fault…"
She grinned. "It's okay. We'll be fine, won't we? We've both been through worse."
"I know, but this just isn't fair. You just don't deserve any of this."
Penelope laughed brightly, despite the pain she was in. "I think you're wrong, Weiss," she said. "This is going to be fun."
Weiss stared at her, stunned. "Are… you feeling okay?" he stammered.
"Yes! I've never been better!" She giggled, spinning around on one foot and landing rather ungracefully on her bed. "You know," she said, "I've just realized something."
Weiss smiled, realizing that she really was going to be fine. "Oh yeah? What's that?
"Can't tell you. It's a secret, but don't worry. You'll figure it out soon, I hope." Penelope turned over in her bed and threw a cover over herself. "We'd better get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning!"
And with that, she fell silent. Weiss sat silently for a moment, then decided that Penelope was at least trying very hard to appear asleep. He collapsed on his own bed and instantly regretted it-it was closer to a few pieces of plywood than any bed he'd ever slept in.
Adaptable, he thought, tossing and turning, as he slowly fell asleep. That's what she is. Adaptable, and a bit strange.