After a grueling trainwreck of a train ride, filled with the wailing of thousands tormented souls… Okay, just crying children and one tormented soul: me! That lasted for over three hours, it was late morning when I finally reached the address Eli gave me. Don’t know what I expected, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t a small suburban home, with a simple signboard “PIII - repairs'', like peeee, pie, oh wait it’s one of those fancy numerals, P three, don’t really know what that means though.

“Well I don’t really see how a repairman’s going to help me here, at least more than a closet full of spare guns does.” - I muttered as I rang the bell.

Loud thud resounded from inside, followed by sounds of clattering objects - like something just fell.

“Coming!” -Young girl’s voice shouted from the house. “Who the fuck, comes at this hour, there shouldn’t be any appointments.” Same voice whispered, probably thinking I couldn’t hear; to be fair a normal person probably wouldn’t.

After some more clattering, and what I can only assume were more overturned objects, the door opened.

In front of me stood a short girl, probably around thirteen, with olive skin and very long and very curly auburn hair, tied down with some kind of cable into a low ponytail. She wore an oversized black T-shirt of some band like a dress, over denim shorts. She looked like she just woke up. “If you are selling something, don’t waste your time. I don’t need it", she said and proceeded to close the door.

“I’m looking for Pan, Eli sent me, told me she can help with a problem of mine” I said quickly, before she closed the door. “Is she home?”

“You are talking to her!”- the girl responded, visibly irritated.

“But… You are… Youn…” I stuttered, but she interrupted me.

“I age gracefully, it’s a family thing”, she said in an automatic kind of way, like she was tired of explaining it repeatedly.

“You say that Jackson brat sent you? To help with a problem.” - Pan said with an ounce of curiosity in her voice. “If it’s him who sent you, I assume it isn’t another broken music player or other mundane crap. Cause for the love of my grandmother, if you are another floozy pants of whom he wants to get into…”, she started raising her voice.

“No, he doesn’t have a shot and he knows it”, I replied holding a giggle. “I have a gun problem, or is it guns. Well it’s kinda a long story”, I said scratching my head.

“I don’t do guns, they are boring, go bother those nuts downtown.They will gladly sell you their overpriced peashooters. Even engrave something fancy…”, Pan started rambling, obviously discouraged. I interrupted.

“Eli said you owe him for the samples as he phrased it. And if it is what I think, you also probably owe me, since he wouldn’t put his hands on those if I didn’t liberate them from previous owners.” - There, I said it, maybe now this rude person would at least try to listen to my problem. Not that I have high hopes for some repairwoman from the suburbs. She does dabble in those materials though.

Girl’s or woman’s, hard to say, expression changed, while she seemed mildly curious when I mentioned Eli. Her eyes were wide open and focused on me now. “You must be Lilith, should have said that from the beginning. Eli told me stories about you, including your heritage”, she said slowly, accentuating the last sentence. “And If I am correct in my deduction, your father was Bale, or as he was known before meeting your mother Bael”, she spoke with a smirk on her face.

I was stunned.

“How? Who? Where did you hear this? The only people who know my father’s name are me, my sister, and Dia. And they both have enough reason to not tell anyone.” - I started panicking.

“Relax, he was an old friend of my grandmother. When Eli told me about you, I just connected the dots. I mean how many half-devils can there be, your dad’s kind isn’t really known for good relations with humans…”, Pan replied calmly. “Get in, we probably have a lot to talk about. And I am not one to enjoy the morning breeze on my bare legs”, she said as she went inside and beckoned. I had no choice but to follow.

Considering all the knocking sounds that Pan made before opening, I kinda expected this place to be messy, but boy oh boy, how I underestimated the possible limits of one.

Gravity defying pyramids of food containers, drink cans and bottles, most of which were extra strong energy drinks; clothes scattered everywhere.

“You are lucky I expected clients today, so I organized a bit”, said my host. “Normally I come here, only to grab food deliveries, and greet clients. I spent most of my time in my workshop downstairs so it tends to get a little bit messy”, she continued.

This is organized? I pondered a bit. If either Eve or Dia caught me leaving something not where it's “supposed to be” they would nag for hours. I wonder what would they do if they saw this.

“Do you want some tea, or coffee?” - Pan paused for a while. “Oh wait, I ran out. Probably should buy some before the scheduled client comes. Can you do without?” - she asked seemingly lost in thought.

“Yeah it’s fine, I didn’t haul myself here for coffee.” I replied. “Can we get down to business? I don't mind talking, but I’d rather leave it for after dealing with that”, I said as I unwrapped a small bundle, which contained my recent pair of guns, or what’s left of it anyway. Curious thing: I remembered triggers breaking off, but when I picked them up at Eli and Dia’s advice, they had cracks and singed spots all over. Not to mention a swollen barrel. “I need something to replace those, something that hopefully won’t share the same fate. Eli seemed convinced you may have the answer. Though I doubt it.” I muttered the last sentence to myself.

“Oh, that’s curious, how long did you use those? You clearly didn’t maintain them for all the years…”, Pan started as she glanced over the guns.

“Years ? Don’t make me laugh, they were brand new. That is until the job last week, when they broke on me.” I replied with irritation. Who does she think she talks with, if this was only the maintenance problem I wouldn’t be here. Dia drilled it into me after the first pair broke.

“Oh, that’s… Fascinating. Follow me. I need my tools to check those up.” - Pan replied, visibly surprised, as she went in the direction of the staircase.

Downstairs, another surprise awaited: the workshop. After the mess upstairs, I expected this place to be some kind of junk world filled with all kinds of bits and parts. To my surprise, it was… pristine, like some kind of high tech lab; every little thing had its place.

“Oh, sorry for the mess here, I was late tinkering, didn’t have time to clean up.” - What…mess…here… What’s wrong with this girl? I was shocked. Then she took the bundle from me, and put it on the desk.

“Give me a sec. I need to grab a few things.”

Soon after, she was examining the weapons. “Hmm… interesting… Oh! That's… Unnatural”, Pam was muttering to herself for a while. “And, you really say they were new… Like, a week ago?”

“Yes, they were” -This exchange repeated like five times.

“Yes… That might be it then”, she said as she straightened her head and looked at me.

“I don’t think I can help your case.” - There, it has finally been said, as expected.

“Yeah as I thought. It’s fine, nobody could figure it out anyway. I’ll just buy guns in bulk. Don’t min…” - Then she interrupted.

“Oh, I meant, I can’t help you right now, I have neither the tools nor the materials to do so. But I did figure out the cause… Or at least I think I did.”

I was aghast, someone finally figured it out. Impossible.

“So, what’s causing this ?” I asked, still in disbelief.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“We still need to test it, but I have a suspicion that it’s because of the supernatural energies you push into the guns”, Pan started.

“What, I am not using those on the guns? Why would I…” - she cut my rant in half.

“Not consciously, you don’t. But my grandma passed most of what she knew to me, and most… how’d she called people like you? Oh, right, most Awakened tend to tap into their powers unconsciously, to aid in certain tasks. The effect is more common when heightened emotional states are involved. Like in combat for example.”

But it doesn’t make sense, I’m not only calm in most of those situations, but I also consciously hold back. How could I omit this? “You said it’s to quote help with the task. Why does it destroy the weapon though? Should it not reinforce it then?”

Pan pondered for a second. “I think, and bear with my speculation here, there are two reasons. For one, the infernally tuned energy tends to be quite forceful and intense, to the point of being destructive, which most man-made materials cannot handle for extended periods of time.”

I interrupted her. “That would align with what dad taught me about human weaponry. Still I feel it goes against your energies helps actions idea”.

She frowned. “I was going into that. Do you understand how guns work ?”

Dumb question. “Of course, you squeeze trigger, bullet shoots out, something about gunpowder and explosion?” - Never really dug into that to be honest, as long as it works, I thought to myself.

“Yeaaaah. You are a real gun spec”, Pan said sarcastically. “To put it simple, everything important is actually in the ammo. The gun basically needs to serve two functions: hit the primer to initiate the explosion, and have something to direct it along with the projectile. Rest is mostly for convenience’s sake, like ammo delivery, safety, repetition etc. You're still with me?”

I got lost in thought, but it clicked with me. “Are you trying to say that the energy does help, but not the gun itself, but the bullet’s explosion?”

She raised her brow. “Oh, you are smarter than you let off. And yes, that’s what I meant.”

That… explains a lot, but leaves me with a huge problem. “So is there a gun that could handle that?” - I asked reluctantly, knowing the answer.

“No.” - Pan said, as I hung up my head down.

“Knew it…”

“Not right now at least, but I have an idea how to make one.” - Pan added and I became ecstatic.

“If you do, when can you do it ?” I asked.

“As I said. I’ve neither the tools nor the materials. Weapon like that needs special living alloy, and the only thing on this plane capable of producing it is my grandma’s Box.”

“So, where is it, shouldn’t you have such a thing on yourself? Especially being a memento of your grandma…” I started, then she burst into laughter.

“Ha ha, did you think my grandma is dead, or something? She has it on herself”, Pan grabbed her stomach as she continued laughing.

I quickly replied - “I mean you said she knew my dad when he was going by his Hell name, that would mean she must be way over hundred. Since he met mom when escaping Hell, and he was by then imprisoned for his previous excursion a century prior” - I tried to figure out the exact numbers but Pan interrupted.

“Oh, my granny’s ancient, like literally ancient. Yours isn’t the only special family around. You would be surprised how many of those there are. But my family’s story is for another time.” - She said, still beaming. “I need to personally go to her place for the alloy, and since I cannot use the Box, I will have to wait until she does all the rough shaping too. It will take weeks, just to make the parts.”

“But it can be done. How much?” - I asked, fearful of the price for such an endeavor. I mean dad and mom accumulated a small fortune but I would rather keep it intact for Eve’s sake. Well, my job pays good, but isn’t really a reliable one.

“Oh, money isn’t an issue here. Grandma would murder me if I took money from your family. She claims she owes a lot to your old man, something about ending her eternal slavery, she never goes into detail though. There are two things I would ask of you, a favor and blood!” - Pan said with a menacing grin.

“What, you said your family owed mine, and now you want to hurt me?” - I started backing up, but she burst into laughter again.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself with that joke. I need a few samples, mostly for engraving. Weapons like that need something to direct energy and attune with the user” - she started explaining herself.

“So how does that work exactly, and why blood?”, I asked with suspicion.

“If you create a specific patterns for energy to follow, you can force it into specific effects. Ever heard the term magic circles? This works on the same principle, though I prefer the term energy circuits, since they don't really need to be in the form of a circle, that’s just traditional use…”

Is she kidding me? Magic circles? “What now? You are some kind of wizard? When did this become a fantasy?”

“Said half-devil. And I prefer the term thaumaturge; I am still a craftswoman, and wizards are more, let’s say, direct”

“Wait, you are saying they still exist, like, in these times?“ - That was too much even for me. “Yeah, as I said your family isn’t that special. Well it kinda is, but that’s only because devils don’t really mingle with humans, not because it’s supernatural. Can we go back to the topic now?”

“Yeah, I think I will need more time to process what you told me. Might as well learn what’s the favor.” - I replied, still recovering from the sudden revelations.

“It’s nothing much. I want you to test this”, Pan said as she unwrapped a pair of halfgloves with metal plating. The metal itself had this peculiar wavy pattern, it was d something. I recall Eve mentioning it when she bought her new knives. Riiiight, damascus, that’s the name. Though the one on the gloves was much more irregular than the knives, it also had this peculiar iridescent undertone.

“They are quite nice, but what’s so special about them?” - I asked.

“After attuning them to you, they are meant to absorb and store kinetic energy, then unleash it in compressed bursts. I made them under grandma’s instruction with the techniques I mentioned before. Kind of a graduation project. But I never had anyone Awakened who could use them.”

“What about yourself, you are thaumaturge, shouldn’t you be able to use them?”

“Being a thaumaturge doesn’t mean I’m Awakened. I know how to make things for energy users, not use them. Technically with my lineage I could, but I’d rather not, at least not for the next ten years.”- She explained.

“That’s… specific”, I pointed out.

“Let’s say I peeked into a box that I shouldn’t peek into, and the way I look is something more than good genes. But that’s enough on that”. Pan seemed irritated for some reason, but I decided not to dig deeper. Everyone has their demons.

“So do I just put them on, or there’s some magic word?”

The girl groaned: “Really, after all the explaining? Never mind, they need attuning, but after that you just put them on, they should pull the required energy naturally. Give me your finger here.” - She explained, as she pulled my hand over the gloves.

“Ouch!” - I hissed as she pricked my finger. “What was that for?”

“I told you I need blood”, she squeezed a few droplets onto the gloves. It looked like it just sinked into the metal, which soon turned jet black, only the iridescent sheen was left from its original look. “Now put them on”, Pan hastened me. And I complied, putting the halfgloves on my hands. They were a perfect fit, like I wore them for years. As soon as I put both on, faint reddish patterns shown on the metal’s surface, they looked like some kind word electronic circuitry. I admired my hand for a while.

“I told you - circuits suited better”, Pan said with a grin.

“I do have to agree here. Those are beautiful, but I doubt I’ll have the opportunity to really use them. I am trying to keep a low profile here. And kinetic blasts aren’t really discreet you know”, I was a downer here, but after last scolding from Dia, I didn’t really want to start wrecking stuff now.

“They should also help with your gun problem a bit.”

I perked up a bit.

“Really? How?”

“Gloves should use up most of the residual energy that you normally squeeze into the guns. So it strains them less. It’s not a perfect solution, so in your place I would just bring some spare ones.” - Pan pointed out with a smile.

“Thanks, I’m glad it’s gonna do anything.” - I really was, some guns broke on me the moment I shot a bullet. Having something that helped a bit was a godsend.

“Now, that’s out of the way, let us talk your guns specifications. Since it’s going to be a lot of work. I’d rather make them to your exact preference.”

We talked for the next few hours: about my combat style, which arm do I prefer, rate of fire, caliber, weight up to even any ornamentations I would want. It was deep into the afternoon when I left Pan’s place after discussing every detail of my hopefully last pair of guns. She said it will take at least six months for her to reach her grandma, and make them. I suppose I will have to haul spares with me for now.

I pondered while going for the train station, when my phone rang. It was Dia!

“We found the supplier, we raid them tonight. I want you there with me. Rate as for the usual high value target”, she said briefly.

“Sweetie, I would protect your ass even for free. And you know it. I’ll be at the station in a few hours, I’ll ask Eve to bring my spares. Love ya”, I replied as I rushed onto the train station.