10.

I wait for Scarlet outside my more-of-a-closet room.

It's exactly one hour when she strolls down the hall, carrying dark folded clothing in her hands. She, herself, is wearing a bright red suit with bright red lipstick to match and her dark hair is smoothed back into a stylish ponytail . It's like looking at a completely different person in comparison to what she looked like earlier.

"Here," she says, handing the clothes to me. "Change into these. They're great material, breathable and easy to move in. They don't tear easily either, which is a bonus, unless of course you're nabbed by a Demon." She gives me a knowing wink. Great, everyone's talking about my naked fiasco. She sees the look on my face and chuckles, "Oh, don't worry. Everyone thinks that it was ballsy. I don't think I would have even thought of that, and I'm practically a nudist."

"Good to know."

"There's actually a bathroom down the hall," she points, "so off you go, quick. We have a lot to do. I can't believe they're relocating you so fast, but Copper's being impatient. Probably wants to get back to what he and Black were working on."

I repress a snort."Black the Black?"

She grins. "I know, right? But what's worse is that there is a Shade out there named Orange. Can you imagine?"

For the first time since waking up in that basement, I laugh, a sincere genuine one. She smiles as I do, and I realize that I like Scarlet.

"When you're done changing, I'll take you to the training room. Don't expect anything fancy, it's just downstairs. Lots of rats."

"Wonderful," I drone, heading toward the way she had pointed.

Sure enough, there is a scummy little bathroom tucked away at the end of the hall.

I go in and quickly began to change, but stop when I catch sight of myself in the mirror.

Slowly, I bring a hand up to my face, touching it gently, as if I need to see that this is in fact me. A stranger, really.

I didn't expect to look like this, didn't feel like this, but the girl in the mirror is beautiful and strong. I am muscular, toned all over. I flex my arms and turn around to look at my bare back, watching the muscle roiling under my skin. I'm not huge by any means, but I look like an athlete.

Had I been an athlete before becoming Ebony?

I lean into my reflection, balancing my weight on the sink, and examine my eyes. They are a dark brown, full of depth. My skin is a rich, healthy caramel and my hair is a curly, glossy black. I smile at myself, feeling... proud, I guess? I hadn't expected this. I was so busy trying to survive before that I never really gave a thought towards my appearance.

"You done admiring yourself yet?"

I startle, almost hitting my head against the mirror.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."

Suddenly, I feel a bit excited for training. Excited to see what this body can do.

"You're going to find that most activities will be second nature to you and that your level of skill will be significantly higher than average."

"Man, was I like, an Olympian or something?"

"Or something. But listen, you still need to train regardless. I am not content with maintaining your state now, I want to make you into a Titan, into something indestructible. So, you'll not ease up just because it's easy for you -- maximum effort -- got it?"

I nod, knowing he is watching me.

Maximum effort, huh? With a body like this, maybe if I really try, I can live through what's coming. Whatever that may be.

"That's the spirit. "

***
Scarlet takes me down to the basement of the building, and I see why she warned me.

It smells like month old cheese down here, and there's beat up equipment everywhere, some for working out and others... is that an axe I see? Whoa whoa, am I going to axe murder someone?

"Not yet."

"Not EVER."

"You talking to Copper?" Scarlet asks me. "He seems a lot more chatty with you than he normally is with his Blacks."

"We argue a lot, that's all. I won't be his puppet."

Scarlet smiles a bit, looking thoughtful. After a minute she says, "You know, Ebony, while I really appreciate your tenacity, it won't help you out in battle. You need to work with Copper, not against him. He's gonna keep you alive, help get the job done right."

"He won't work with me. He wants me to be a yes man, not a partner."

She shakes her head, her ponytail swishing around her neck. " Well, all I know is that Copper is the best. His Blacks are the most successful, and they live the longest too. You wanna live, right?"

I cross my arms over my chest. "Of course I do. You think I want to be here? I didn't volunteer for this."

She only smiles, then walks over to the back wall, the one with different weaponry strung up all over it. "First thing's first. You need to find your weapon, what one you feel more comfortable with, what one is suitable for your build and strength."

"I have to harm people with it?"

"Only people who are asking for it."

"I don't want to kill."

"Really?" she says, tilting her head at me. "Well here's some news for ya -- the Necro Proxy will want to kill you. And as we speak, they are taking the souls of innocent people -- men, women, children -- to feed their Demon Hordes. They take away people's lives so that they can become more powerful. They have no regard for any life but their own."

I stare at my feet, not sure what to say.

"Look, if you don't want to kill, you at least have to know how to defend yourself and your Swatch. Come over and just take a look, hey? You might be surprised."

Hesitantly, I move towards the wall, taking a look at what there is to offer. I don't even know what to call most of these things. All of them look complicated and deadly.

Slowly, I lift a long weapon with a ton of spikes at its end, immediately surprised at how heavy it is.

"That's a morning star. A good weapon for up-close combat. You bludgeon with it," Scarlet explains, and my stomach plummets.

With shaky hands, I put it back. "What about anything offensive?"

"You can't be offensive. It's not what your missions call for."

"I'm the one choosing, remember?"

Scarlet moves me over to another section of the wall, one with an entirely different arsenal. It's filled with different sized and styled bows, lances, and pole weapons.

"I would suggest at least a poleaxe. A Lance or a spear is a one time deal, you throw it and it's gone. An axe is most likely to cause some damage. I would pair it with a Warhammer or something."

"Why are these items so... archaic?"

Scarlet pulls a bow and arrows off the wall, then pulls an arrow from its quill. It glints at me. "This is forged by silver. Bullets rarely work on Demons, you need specially made weapons to fight them. However, you will be provided with a hand gun for dealing with Psychics. Our goal is to kill Demons though. If we can, we capture the Psychics who work for the N.P. and try to... persuasively convert them."

"I don't want to know."

She nods, placing the bow and arrows back up on the wall. "So, what do you think? What will you choose?"

I turn to the wall, feeling nauseous. If I am to kill someone, no matter how deserving, I want to make it quick with as little suffering as possible. "Which do you suggest would take a head clean off?"

Scarlet's brows raise, and she walks over to a large, deadly looking axe. "This would be it. Can you swing it is the question though."

"Well, I'm going to have to."

"Great. Now that you have your weapon, it's time to learn how to properly use it. You're gonna need practice with a gun too. You ready?"

I gulp, "I suppose."

Scarlet heaves the thing off the wall and throws it at me. I catch it awkwardly, avoiding it's blade just barely.

"Alright, here we go then."