Miss Planner learned about Black Smoke's plan to recruit the former Animal Brotherhood members almost immediately, and she promised him her full support. She got him in touch with a special liaison from the recruitment division, a formerly homeless man named Michael who'd been converted into a fanatically loyal Chosen One through the teachings of the Sages.

Michael was the perfect candidate to help get the ex-Brotherhood members on board. He had a lot of experience dealing with the Pit's street gangs, and he knew how to talk to them. Michael's dedication to following orders was unmatched and he had a simple and direct way of thinking that Miss Planner valued very highly. Per Miss Planner's request, the Sage of Death agreed to help Michael as well when he wasn't too busy.

"Cough. Cough. Michael, I've got a new one for you. This one's... a little feisty. Hahaha! Tell him your name."

Black Smoke dragged a young man into the recruitment division's main office, a skinny man who looked like he'd survived a horrific beating. His face was wrapped up in bloody bandages, and his arms hung limply by his side.

"Ugh... my name is Guilty Shadow. I was a member of the Animal Brotherhood with Death Smoke here, and he told me... he'd kill me if I didn't join the Chosen Ones."

Black Smoke hit the back of Guilty Shadow's head hard.

"Grrrggh! It's Black Smoke now! Not Death Smoke! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't make me.... bring Black Wolf back. Cough."
"Sorry, sorry! Uh... it won't happen again, Black Smoke," whimpered Guilty Shadow.

"Hahaaahh! Good. I'll leave... you to it, Michael. Make sure this punk doesn't run away. Cough. You're a good man."
"Thank you, Black Smoke. I'll take good care of him," said Michael, his voice pregnant with concern for the injured young man.
"Haha. You bet you will. Cough. See ya later. If he tries anything, let me know."

Black Smoke left the room and headed for the exit. He turned around at the door and shot Guilty Shadow another vicious look.
"Cough. Make sure you get my name right next time... punk."

Guilty Shadow shuddered. Michael held his hand out towards the chair across from his desk, prompting Guilty Shadow to take a seat. The skinny gang member was trembling slightly and had his head down submissively.

Michael smiled at the frightened man. He spoke slowly and deliberately, trying to calm him down.
"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask some questions about your past... and then I'll give you a job, okay?"

Guilty Shadow looked up, confused. Michael continued to smile gently.
"What type of work have you been doing since the Brotherhood fell apart?"

"Ugh. I was working in construction for about a year, but then my friend got me a job at his bar as a bouncer. I have the power to make people feel an intense sense of guilt, basically paralyzing them. I can also put them into a few different intense emotional states... um, not as effectively, though."

Michael jotted down a few notes in his black ‘Animal Brotherhood' notebook.

"How do you control your powers? Do they come naturally to you, or did you have to train yourself? Or did you get training from someone else?"

"Oh, uh, no. I think my powers developed the way they did... because I've always had the ability to affect people's emotions. I had a rough childhood, and I learned very early on to try to find ways to get what I wanted without fighting... really, I had no other choice. My powers are very easy to control... but I try to use them as little as possible. Once I put someone into an altered state of mind, I can't put them back to normal."

"How old are you?"
"Twenty-four."

"Okay. And what made you decide to join the Animal Brotherhood in the first place?"
"My parents were murdered when I was sixteen. There wasn't a lot left for me after that... so I joined the Brotherhood to get revenge on the person who killed them. It didn't exactly go according to plan, and things got pretty bad before we managed to get rid of him. The Brotherhood was a lot of fun, while it was still around. We were kind of like a big family that protected each other and helped each another out."

Michael nodded and wrote more.

"I want to put you in a position where you'll want to stick around. Just so you know, Black Smoke is in the research division. The Chosen Ones have a production division, security division, distribution division, and a recruitment division, too. What do you think?"

Guilty Shadow thought about his options. After a few moments, he shook his head.

"Ugh. I'm not... I don't think... a good fit for... any of those jobs, I guess. I mean... I used to be able to make money with my abilities, but I haven't done much lately. I've just been... hanging out at the bar, getting drunk every day."

Michael smiled. He reached over to his desk drawer, pulled out a bottle of whiskey, and poured a drink for Guilty Shadow.

"Maybe this'll make you feel better. Drink this."
"Ghost Wolf... pounded me pretty good. Do you have... a straw or something?"
"Here you go."

Guilty Shadow slowly moved his lips to the straw and sucked the entire thing down. He coughed violently, but Michael just kept smiling at him.

"That should help you feel a little better."
Guilty Shadow continued to cough. Michael wiped his tears away with a tissue.
"Cough! Cough. Thanks, Michael... I needed that. I was feeling kinda down. You know how it goes..." Guilty Shadow said, trying to smile.

"I understand completely. Now, let's talk about your job."
"Oh... right. Umm... I'm not sure what to say. What are you looking for? As long as I can pay my rent... I'll do whatever you want. If there are some open spots in the security division, I could probably handle those. I'm pretty fast. I'm a lot stronger than I look, too..."

"I'd like to see how you do in the distribution division. They're responsible for connecting with customers, guarding and selling our product, and making sure everything gets shipped and sold."
"Ugh. Yeah... that makes sense. Uh, I can do that."

"We have a lot of openings right now, so once you learn how everything works, you can move around freely in the organization, okay? I want you to come back tomorrow morning and we'll get started on some training. Is that alright?"
"Yeah... yeah, sounds great."

"I have something for you here, Guilty Shadow. It's our uniform... you can wear whatever you want, but this might help you fit in a little bit more."

Michael reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a black cloak, the symbol of the Chosen acolytes. The hooded cloak had a tiny gold skull on its front.

"Uh... wow. This looks really nice. Can you help me put it on?"

Michael slid the cloak over Guilty Shadow, who struggled a little as he tried to get his arms through the sleeves. After he managed to get his arms through, Michael tied a white sash around his waist with a firm tug.

"Wow... this feels weird."
He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out. He felt like he was suffocating, but it wasn't bad at all.

"I think it fits pretty well."
"Thanks, Michael. Ummm... you know, even if Death Smoke is forcing me to do this... I don't feel that bad about it. There are a lot of people out there who would kill to be in my position, so I guess I should thank him."

Michael chuckled and gently patted Guilty Shadow on the shoulder.

"I know how you feel. Don't worry about it. I think you're going to love it here. Getting this job and becoming a Chosen One was the best thing that ever happened to me. I've got more friends than I knew existed, I'm doing what I want to do with my life... I have the power to make a difference. Tomorrow, I'm going to introduce you to a very wise man known as the Sage of Death. He'll tell you how you can make a difference, too."

Guilty Shadow shivered a little in his cloak.