Rumia got a good rest today.

  Relatively speaking, at least. She didn’t have a guard watching her every moment of her sleep, so she actually had a bit of energy going into her job. She wanted things to be different this time, and not just another day of boring paperwork.

  It was another day of boring paperwork.

  As she walked back and forth sorting through bureaucratic papers though, she kept her chin high. Yuzu wouldn’t be entering her room anymore, and she had some cool tools from Amethyst. The mindnumbingness of the paperwork didn’t bother her that much as a result, because there was movement being made.

  “Your spirits seem to be higher, are you getting used to the work?” Rebecca asked, over her shoulder. The one of two pairs of eyes that were constantly watching her at this time.

  “Oh. I guess I just slept well today,” Rumia responded. “I should be getting paid soon, right?”

  “Yes, yes, you will,” Rebecca said. “Quite well.”

  Rumia was happy with that. Maybe she could buy some more weapons from the underground store, and things would be better. She also needed to grab some castle food for Amethyst as well. A lot of things to keep in her mind.

  “Ah, before the end of your shift, there was one more thing I needed to do,” Rebecca said, getting up from her chair. “Both of you, follow me.”

  Rumia looked up from her paperwork with a bit of intrigue. Normally, Rebecca would just leave her in the office under Yuzu’s eye, but this was different. She couldn’t say no, though. This could reveal something, and she had to remain vigilant for those opportunities.

  Rebecca left the office, and so did Yuzu and Rumia. Yuzu walked behind Rumia, drilling her stare into the back of the glowing girl’s head as they walked. It was a little bit uncomfortable, and Rumia could tell that her guard knew she was looking for something. But, there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

  “Where exactly are we headed?” Rumia asked Rebecca, as they headed deeper into the castle. Eventually, a barred gate appeared before them.

  “PASCAL!” Rebecca called out, and the glowing girl manifested in front of her.

  “How can I help you, governor?” PASCAL asked politely.

  “Access. The other two will gain temporary access as well,” Rebecca responded. PASCAL nodded before opening the gate that they stood before. They were far beyond the normal bounds of the castle, and heading in somewhere far more deep.

  Rebecca reached into her pocket and pulled out a light. A flashlight. With it, she began to walk downwards.

  “We’re going to meet a friend that has moved here recently. Yuzu, you’re familiar, yes?” Rebecca spoke.

  “Are you speaking of Kaos?” Yuzu answered.

  “Yes. The extraction from Verdant has been successful, and now the jester is under the most secure system that Lunasa has ever known,” Rebecca responded. “Far safer than anywhere else he could be, at least.”

  Most of this was going over Rumia’s head. She didn’t understand the importance of what exactly the other two were talking about.

  “Your friend, Adelyn, I believe, had dealt with him temporarily. I do have to thank her for that, at least,” Rebecca said. “But she also made me realize he was far too dangerous to keep out there.”

  “Adelyn?” Rumia looked up at her. “She knows this person?’

  “Fought them, yes. You seem to have a very powerful friend. But regardless, having such a threat under my control is safer for everyone, I’d think.”

  “But,” Yuzu asked. “Why are we going down there now?”

  “Just a system’s inspection, that’s all. I need someone to take notes for me, and who better than my newest personal assistant?” Rebecca answered, giving Rumia a pat on the head. She took out a notepad and a pen and handed it to Rumia, as they reached the bottom of the stairs. Down the stone corridor they walked until Rebecca suddenly stopped.

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  “PASCAL. Add us to the whitelist for now,” Rebecca commanded.

  “Two factor authentication,” PASCAL said while appearing in front of them. “Please allow a full-body scan of your person.”

  Rebecca and Yuzu both put their arms out, and suddenly a laser grid formed around the both of them, and Rumia as well. Rumia got a bit nervous, but the laser harmlessly passed through all of them.

  “No chaos magic detected,” PASCAL stated bluntly. “You all have temporary access.”

  “Atta girl,” Rebecca said, before heading down further into the corridor. “We should be free of those security measures from now on, though obviously they are still active.”

  Rumia was getting a bit more nervous the further they walked, so she decided to ask a question. “What exactly do you need all of this security for? Is he that dangerous?”

  They stopped at a metal door, with a hallway to the side. The door was labeled with various “DO NOT OPEN” signs, and was most likely protected even further by PASCAL. Rebecca led them down the side and into a more secure, glowing, control room. Holographic screens lit up around them and began to flash images.

  “Someone to talk to!”

  A weird, distorted face appeared, squishing against the screen. He was pressing his face against the cameras.

  “Excuse me? How do you know about these cameras?” Rebecca asked, calm, but with a concerned voice.

  “Well, I can’t see them, but I can definitely make an educated guess! I’ve been repeating that routine for a while but the only voice that came back was the robot. But I kept trying and trying until someone came!”

  “Huh…?” Rumia was confused at the antics, but Yuzu grabbed her shoulder.

  “Relax, he can’t actually see us. That metal absorbs his magic, and we’ve given him no points of contact to the outside world. He can only hear us,” Yuzu explained.

  “I see… and, uh, what kind of magic does he have?” Rumia asked back.

  “Only the best, most wondrous, most fulfilling… CHAOS MAGIC!”

  Kaos began to fly around the dark sphere he was in, creating random items, and sparks of energy. They began to get absorbed after touching the walls, but he kept on sparking out random reactions like an unstable power plant.

  “Yes, we get it, you like to show off. Kaos, we’re going to be keeping you here for the foreseeable future. Your immense… potentially even infinite power and energy can work well for our city’s future. That is, if you can cooperate with us,” Rebecca said.

  “Does cooperation mean fire, flames, and ashes?” Kaos responded.

  “No.”

  “Boo. What kind of a show doesn’t have a grand entry? Are you really just gonna keep me here with this boring robot for eternity?”

  “Yes. Until you can use your powers for the betterment of our city, our country. It is the safest thing to do.”

  “God. Another thousand years locked up in a damp cell, I taste the outside, want to meet all of its new people and… blip. Back to solitude again, whatever. I’ll wait another thousand years if I have to.”

  The jester crossed his arms as he floated in the air. He began to boredly slam himself against the wall over and over again out of frustration, breaking every bone in his body before stretching them back into place.

  Rumia was disturbed by this man, and felt pretty uncomfortable.

  “So, PASCAL is the security here? What do you need him for?” Rumia asked.

  “As said, he could theoretically be a useful resource. It’s just… he isn’t particularly stable enough for anything yet. But we’ll work on calming him down,” Rebecca answered.

  “We went through a lot of effort to transport him from Verdant to here, so I hope it’s worth it,” Yuzu sighed.

  “Trust me, Yuzu. When have I ever been wrong?”

  Rebecca reached over for the button to dismiss the screen of the inmate. But, as she did so, the jester began to speak.

  “The soul is never wrong. But all you know that there is something way bigger coming, and I know I’ll get my chance then. A performance’s production can only go so well with the talented team behind the work, and everything is being put into motion.”

  Rebecca rolled her eyes and dismissed the screen, turning off all of the holograms in the room. Rumia looked around, took a deep breath, and tried not to think about anything the crazy person she just met said. She wondered how Adelyn managed to deal with such a character.

  “Regardless, it seems like the systems are working fine. We shouldn’t have to worry about him as long as PASCAL is active, and even then that ball should keep him contained so that her going offline for a bit shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s get some noodles. There’s a spectacular soup place also in the castle, and I’d like to support it,” Rebecca said, nonchalantly. Yuzu nodded quickly, as the two of them began to leave.

  Rumia was still a little bit stunned at what was said by the jester, but she decided to shake it off. She didn’t have time, or brainpower to worry about what this guy was planning on doing. She had one goal and one goal alone.

  And perhaps, she had just gotten a little bit closer to it.