Callie was staring at the man in the black cloth covering hard. Her  eyes were hard and cold as permafrost as they bored into the dark form.  "So that was what? Some kind of test? You ATTACK my boyfriend just so  see what I would do about it? Because if that's the kind of place this  is we have no interest in staying. We have enough to worry about dealing  with our enemies, we don't need attacks coming from our allies too."  Her teeth were gritted as she hissed out the words, her voice dripping  with barely controlled rage.

The figure of The Nothing  raised it's hands. Apologies. It was a necessary deception. You know  better than I how much of hypocrite he is. Research wasn't trustworthy  when it came to you. It was far too likely that your might be hiding  your true self like he does. That said, he would never attack someone  two ranks higher than he was for the sake of a loved one, much less one  that wasn't even actually hurt. I'll be happy to compensate your  boyfriend for any distress I might have caused, Calliope, and I  apologize for the necessity of my deception. I assure you, neither of  you were in any danger."

The irony of him saying that, not  knowing he'd almost been...hell, who knew how Zeke would have killed  him, but whatever had almost happened to him wouldn't have been  pleasant. I stepped up to put a hand on her shoulder, and I felt the  muscle under my fingers relax as she allowed herself to unclench once  she knew I was safe. "Fine. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that I  buy that. How the hell do you know my name? It's incredibly bad form to  dig into someone's civilian life like that."

He let out a  deep, rumbling chuckle. "Of course I know your name, little girl. I was  there when your mother picked it out. Amelia always enjoyed the old  stories, and Paul was willing to agree to anything that sounded  pretentious." His voice was wistful, though there was an undercurrent of  bitterness to it that I wasn't really sure how to read.

Callie's  eyes narrowed. "Ok, that's it. Who the fuck are you? I knew you might  have known my dad, but knowing my name, my mothers name, all of that is a  step too far. If you really are just his nemesis then I'm seriously  disturbed by how much research you've done. I'm absolutely not willing  to let some E ranked asshole run around with complete knowledge of my  loved ones without some explanation, especially not one with a grudge.  Even if I'm sure it's deserved."

There was a shifting in  the bandages, and they all slid away, exposing the face of...a guy. Not a  guy I knew. Black hair, blue eyes, strong jaw. The usual. Callie looked  like she was about to fucking explode when she saw his face, so I  decided to take her mind off it the best way I knew how. "It's you!" I  gasped dramatically, pointing right at the now unmasked man in the robe.

It  was so out of nowhere, even Callie, who had been about to have a  meltdown, paused and turned to look at me quizically. "You...you know  him?" Her voice sounded uncertain, and a little guarded, which made me  curious as to who the hell this guy was. But luckily it was only a bit  of hesitation. She wasn't actually suspicious of me.

I  just shrugged. "No. But that was such a dramatic reveal moment I assumed  whoever he is, he must be someone shocking. Plus, I figured it would be  harder for you to be angry or upset if you were confused at my  nonsense." I shrugged widely. She just stopped, staring at me and  blinking dumbly for a second, before finally dissolving in a wave of  giggles, laughing so hard she almost fell over as she planted her hands  on her knees. There was a slight hysterical edge to the laughter, but at  the very least she wasn't having a panic attack. After a minute she  finally calmed down and stood up again.

She stepped up to  me and kissed the cheek of my mask. "Never change sweetie. The reason by  the way, that I freaked out, is that my the man standing over there  looks literally identical to my father. With a second to actually think  about it, I'm positive it's NOT him. Just the brief interactions we've  had with him make it unlikely. For one thing my father would never speak  ill of himself, even as a deception. He values his reputation too much  to allow anything to sully it, even if doing so would benefit him in  some way."

The man laughed. "Yes, that does sound like  Paul. My name is Alexander Reynolds. I'm your Uncle. Paul is my  identical twin brother. One of the reasons I cover my face. Partly to  avoid being associated with that bastard, and partly because people are  idiots and one out of every pair of Ascendant twins always gets typecast  as the evil one. Since Paul already has a reputation as a hero and is a  member of the Unity, I'd have to deal with all that evil twin  recursion. Easier to just keep the whole thing a secret to avoid the  hassle. "

I felt my jaw hang open, but then I thought  about it. I...kind of did expect one twin to be evil. In fact, evil twin  was the first thing that popped into my head when he told us his  identity. Callie recovered faster than I did. "Ok. That's...big. Not  sure how it matters here though. Why would you invite me here? Is there  some kind of problem you need help with?" Her voice was shaky and  uncertain, and I could see this information had shaken her deeply. I  didn't blame her. She'd wrapped lots of her identity up in her dad, even  if it was negative, and finding out he had a twin brother must be wild.

The  Nothing, or rather, Alexander, gestured for both of us to sit down. I  realized he'd managed to nullify Callie's shadows perfectly earlier,  protecting not just himself, but the desk he sat at as well. Callie  looked like she might protest, but finally decided to take her seat,  gesturing for us to do the same. It was a testament to how much she  hated her dad that I was pretty sure she had to actively resist the urge  to refuse to sit just because this guy looked like him.

Once  we were seated Alexander leaned back, steepling his fingers. "To answer  your questions, no. I have nothing I need help with. Rather, I heard  you were poking around down here and simply wanted to warn off any of  the other forces who might take an unhealthy interest. The Beast Lord  Garden and Sanctuary Hall have lots of theoretical power, but they  aren't exactly considered scary. Which is stupid because the Peace Lord  is a monster, and fighting Melinda is the same as battling a pair of E  rankers at the same time. Still, I won't deny that they're far from the  biggest threats down here. My interest in you serves to dissuade some of  the cockier forces, or some of the newer E rankers who haven't seen  them cut loose."

We nodded. It was easy for people to  underestimate support powers. Having literally the ultimate support  power, and a teammate with one that was only slightly less amazing, I  was well aware of that phenomena. Callie opened her mouth to speak, then  paused before she finally responded. "That's...kind of you. But how did  you even get here? You and my father clearly don't get along, but  you've been in Rajak much longer. Hell, why bother hiding your face in  the first place for all those years before he showed up."

Alexander  averted his eyes in discomfort. "Well, for one thing, I've always  preferred full coverage. Just as a matter of principle, it provides  better protection. For another I didn't want my face being used to track  down my family. I may not like Paul, but I don't want him dead." He  paused. "Ok, that's not entirely truthful, I often want him dead, but  I'm aware that it's a bell I can't unring. Plus he has you and your  brother, and despite what you may think, losing a parent isn't anything I  want my niece and nephew to endure. As for how I got here? I had  someone in the WCP who owed me a favor. They have their own channels.  Once Paul and Amelia got married...well, Velan didn't feel as welcoming,  so I left before you were born."

Callie's face was a mask  of confusion and warring emotions. I could vaguely guess what her mind  was spinning on. The idea of another person who might have been there to  help make their lives easier, someone to keep her father in check. But  even upset she was smarter than I ever was. She calmed down pretty  quickly. I supposed she must have seen some of his reasons for not  staying, even if I didn't. Well, aside from the obvious pain in his  voice when he mentioned her mother's name.

She  stayed silent for a minute or two before sighing. "So...what now? I  know who you are, and apparently you're scary enough that we'll be left  alone by most people. Are you going to extend me an invitation to join  your faction now?" Her voice was light, but I could sense a tension in  her as she asked the question. I wasn't actually sure how she was  feeling about this, and I couldn't tell if she was either, but however  she was feeling, it was obviously important to her.

He  shrugged. "I can. If you like. I'd be happy to teach you. I've spent  years honing my ability, and I know plenty about it that would allow you  to increase your abilities with it exponentially. Hell, you probably  don't even have the Shadow Manipulation Mastery Skill based on what I  just saw. Until your manipulation abilities reach at least the Minor  level you're going to be losing out on more than a little power  efficiency."

Callie  froze. "Wait...Shadow Manipulation can become a SKILL? I mean...I guess  anything can become a Skill, but I hadn't really considered it to that  level. Does that mean all my training and effort has been so sloppy and  ill defined it doesn't even rate a Minor Skill designation? That's..."  She look devastated, and I couldn't blame her. She had put so much work  into her ability, and finding out there was a literal Skill that defined  how well she was progressing and she didn't have it yet must have been  rough.

Still,  she collected herself quickly. "But no. Thank you for that information,  but I want to step out of his shadow, no pun intended. Taking shelter  in yours so I can beat him isn't a solution. If you were able to beat  him then you would have already. You two are probably pretty close in  strength. I can do this on my own, or at least my team and I can. I  appreciate the good intentions though." She stood up, clearly needing to  get out of here and process this. "I'll pass your regards to my  mother." And with that, she turned and fled the room.

I  gave him a nod and chased after her, Jessie hot on my heels. This had  been a huge day for Callie, and I didn't like the idea of her running  around in that condition. She was clearly too upset to think straight.  As I gained on her I wondered about everything we'd been told today.  Eventually though, I put it out of my head and focused on triggering  Seek Hidden to track down my girlfriend. However she wanted to handle  this, I needed to find her first. Then we could have a long talk about  all this. I had a feeling aside from venting, she had some wishes she  would need granted. I was happy to oblige.