The elevator descends from Heaven. Mania lugs in her arms an impression of early 21st century Times Square drawn by the late Tiziano Vecellio, and she bumps Maddie's head by accident.
"Where should we hang this? Besides the water cooler?" Or the empty gallon drum, anyway.
"Oh, neat. That one's from the early 21st century! I really liked those years a lot. Vecillio did a great job with this one!"
Maddie walks over to the cooler, gently pushing it aside to make room for the painting.
"Yeah, this spot looks good. I think it'll be a nice addition to the apartment. Really livens it up a bit, you know?"
A chilly voice says, "This is an office building."
Mania slides the painting onto the floor, and her hands pose like gnarled claws. She searches cubicle after cubicle, which causes a minority of imps to get back to their dull work.
"Who the Hell are you?"
"Gideon. You're correct to assume you're in trouble, Magdalena Neale. Colloquially Mania. There are Rules."
A person stands in the hallway leading to the elevator. Their physical form could be seventeen years old or it could be seventy. They're holding a gray blob that shivers in their white gloves. They nod at Maddie when she stares. An imp grins by Gideon's knees, too.
Maddie stares at the figure, shock and worry on her face.
"G-Gideon? What are you doing here?"
Even with her limited knowledge of Hell, Maddie isn't clueless. Gideon is the overseer of Hell, and their presence here is most likely a dire issue.
Maddie detects a strange aura from Gideon. It's extremely powerful, but not demonic. It's clouded and obfuscated, making it impossible to determine what they truly are.
"Please don't harm her. I'm just trying to help her, please..."
Mania's voice lowers and she backs into a glass wall. The scenic view of crimson rock sprawls behind her.
"—Fuck. I didn't mean it, Gideon, whatever I did. I'll work you with you here. Level with me."
The Demon of Fate walks toward Mania. They then appear in front of her without so much as a blur or whistle. They points backwards at the imp that came with them.
"Your imp of your servitude Jase Bush reported your visitations in Heaven. This reached me. Your Spatial Elevator Interference ability has a remarkable oversight. Kuma and then I were unaware of the infrastructure in Heaven permitting this loophole until Now. You abused it."
Maddie continues to watch, her fears now confirmed.
"It's my fault! I was only trying to show her heaven so she'd finally let go... I just wanted to help get her out of here. Hasn't she suffered for long enough?"
Maddie gives Gideon a pleading look, deeply concerned for her friend and partner.
Gideon turns their attention to Maddie. Mania closes her eyes, and she cries while muttering swears. Her power and wealth are Chance cards and Monopoly money to Gideon.
"You're of Good Intention, Angel Maddie. Understand Magdalena understood her transgression and agreed to pursue it to a logical extreme. There are now consequences."
The jiggling mass in their hands leaps up and assaults Mania's wrists and ankles, plummeting her to the floor. The four components condense into metal clamps that lock her free movement away. And Gideon teleports her elsewhere.
They continue, "You're an excellent Savior."
"What? I'm doing a good job? You just shackled her and took her away! She's barely gotten anywhere with actually helping her, she's still arrogant and stubborn. I feel like I've failed in every regard."
Maddie looks sadly at where Mania used to be, tears in the corners of her eyes.
"How is this doing excellent? Will I even get to see her again?"
"Her aura is weakening. Her confidence is shrinking. Her focus is shifting."
Gideon presents Maddie another gray blob. It morphs into a common GPS and navigation instrument accurate to the millimeter. It registers Mania's location.
"She was once Unsalvageable."
Maddie's fear is now replaced with curiosity at Gideon's words.
"How do you know all of this? What even are you? You don't seem to be a demon..."
She takes the GPS, looking down at the screen intently.
"How long is she going to be there? I'm assuming I'm allowed to visit her, right? You wouldn't be giving me this if that wasn't the case."
"I know all of Hell. She will reside there for fifty years. Yes, visit her."
Gideon presses their fingertips into the glass wall. They're listening somewhere.
"This has been interesting, Angel. Are you aware that she holds a deep affection for you?"
"I- think so? She acts pretty mean to me but deep down I can tell she really appreciates the effort I put in to helping her. I just hope it's enough. Fifty years is a long time, but I suppose it's just a drop in the bucket for all of us. I'm going to go visit her soon, then. You probably have a lot to do if you're the overseer of hell, so I guess I'll get going."
She walks towards the elevator, still looking at the GPS. Perhaps she hasn't looked up for fear of making eye contact with the entity in the room.
When Maddie is gone, Gideon takes Mania's purse from the carpeted floor. They open her black appointment book.
"There is less to do than this. Deadlines are a mortal creation."
--------------------
Her tears have transformed to pain. The mortal demon struggles with her restraints. She dangles from her spread out wrists, and her ankles are locked as well. Despite twisting her sweaty wrists and pulling away or pushing against the rock wall, the shackles are unmoving.
She screams out into the opening of a larger cavern. Its magma is the only light source reaching into her cold, dark tunnel. The ceiling rests a few meters above her, and the tantalizing floor mere inches below. There are no voices in this place of the underworld other than her own.
She won't be able to do anything here. She can't even wipe her damn nose.
Footsteps echo through the tunnel leading into the cavern. Soon after, a familiar, faintly glowing figure appears around a bend in the tunnel. Maddie steps into the chamber, a worried look on her face.
"Hello, Mania. I'm sorry about all this... it's really my fault."
She walks closer to Mania, pulling out a simple handkerchief and water bottle from her purse. She gently wipes Mania's face and then holds up the water bottle to her.
"Would you like some? I can actually get you any drink you want, but I think water is probably best for you right now."
The assault on her emotions continues with Maddie's arrival. She twists her wrists again and closes her eyes while Maddie cleans her face.
"Fuck this. Who cares, just break these things and get me out of here. Here's your chance to really help me. Come on, secretary."
She sighs.
"I'll pass on the drink, thank you. What the Hell am I going to do with Ulterior Incorporated and my pathetic clients? Shit, how am I going to walk on the ceiling? Gideon can't be fucking serious."
"You're being tortured in a jail cell cavern deep in hell and all you can think about is your clients? Are you really so independent if that's all you think about? Can't you let go for a moment, please."
Maddie methodically moves across her body, wiping the sweat from her wrists and neck in an attempt to relieve her at least a little. She finishes and then gives her a small kiss on the cheek.
"I know this is going to be awful, but this is part of your penance. Maybe you should use this time to reflect a bit, instead of spending the whole time thinking about when you'll get out. Just try if for me, okay?"
Mania chews the inside of her cheek.
"Fine. I guess it's fucking literally jail now. That crap you said before about my afterlife being punishing rather than my reward with a few stipulations... It's still crap, though. I'm just being temporarily punished for something that's completely unrelated to my business with mortals. Maybe I get out in five years?"
She leans toward Maddie after the kiss. Her right hand stiffly waves.
"I like thinking about my operations. But—okay. Maybe it's time I figure out how I'm going to entertain myself for now like I'm a goddamn child in the DMV. Maybe I'll think about how we can clean up the break room. It's—well, honestly, a lot of time to think, you're right about that... Hey, uh, Maddie, can you stay here? I'm just used to you, for lack of a better word. I don't fucking have anything for you to do, but..."
She becomes unreadable, and she then looks away.
"Of course I'll stay here with you. I can't be here I'll the time, but I'll make sure to look after you and keep you company whenever I can."
She sits on a glowing outline of a chair, conjured by her angelic magic. Debating something for a moment, she sighs and finally speaks again.
"This isn't five years. This is going to be fifty years, you know. It's literally hell, after all. But I'll be here for you, okay? I'll help you get through this."
"Fifty years? You can't be serious. Tell me you're kidding! What the fuck?"
She bows her chin.
"You're right, then—this is your fault. You've ruined everything. How am I supposed to actually believe you're here for me if you let this happen? I'm in agony, you asshole! People up there are going to live their whole lives without me fiddling with a damn thing. Hell, my company will probably become nothing more than a historical footnote. I'll probably lose my muscle memory for cursive. In fifty years maybe they'll push socialism led by machines and aliens, I don't know. There will be some unfathomable mess to clean up and nothing I can start with until after I stare at you for half a century. Thanks!"
She whips her pale hair forward. It drapes over her face.
"At least in a real jail there's always the electric chair."
Maddie steps back a bit in response to Mania's hostility.
"Well, maybe this'll be a good opportunity for you to let go. If this will be as catastrophic for your business as you say, then maybe your business isn't worth the effort. Do you really enjoy being forced to work, every day and every night tormented by your punishments? In a way this is a break for you."
Maddie steps back up to her, looking into her eyes with her usual sincerity.
Mania sneers.
"Oh, darling, how could I have been so wrong and you so right? Oh, my greed! You're so wise, I'll just open a goddamn pet store next time, stock some fucking twenty-pound bags of kibble. Now that'll be worth it."
A strand of hair catches in her mouth, and she blows it away.
"Naturally. So, Secretary, if this is a break for me, what am I supposed to do instead? Meditate and chant? And reflect on what? I know who I am. Give me something better to work with. Come on."
"You know, I don't know what you're supposed to do. But maybe just try to think about something other than your business for half a second. Or half a century."
She wipes Mania's face again, sweat already building up from the infernal chamber and Mania's agitation.
"I really am just trying to help you. Do you want me to bring you something to do? Or just sit and talk to you? I can stay down here chatting for quite a while, if that would help."
"Well, what I said before is even truer now—it's a lot of time. I'll think about things. Obviously."
Mania sighs. Her eyes shine in the moody shade.
"The least you could do, you old bitch, is bring me a television or play some music—much better than staring at nothing. And, yes, I'd like you to be here, didn't I tell you that already? Please talk to me often, got that, yeah?"
She continues, softly, "Maybe you're still here for me after all."
"I really don't know how I'd get a television working down here, but I can certainly bring some music, as well as myself of course."
She leans over to Mania to give her a soft kiss on the lips.
"I'll come back soon, dear. Sorry you have to endure this."
She turns away, getting ready to leave the chamber.
"Thanks, Secretary, but I'm the sorriest sucker here."
Mania fidgets with her shackles and watches Maddie leave.