John walked around their property, around the tower, accompanied by Onyx and Gerald. The metal man became practically inseparable from the guy ever since the latter returned from the Lower Plane.

After their recent meeting, Alexandra volunteered to make new attire for everyone, with the brand of the Black Onyx Brotherhood on the back so they could be easily identified by enemy and allied forces alike. If they wanted to spread their influence like they said, such a thing was key. Gerald happily shared his design ideas with her. A simple black diamond on a larger purple diamond background. It was both elegant and very eye-catching. Simple to remember too, so that was a big plus for the new group.

While she worked, the rest were busy doing other things. Thener managed to convince Adam, Olivia, and Bram to help him with the research effort. Promising to give their weapons a look about a possible upgrade worked like a charm to get people on his side. Everyone had heard about the creation of the Eclipse, so even though they had never seen it, they were all curious about this mystical new metal.

Thalza, meanwhile, decided to busy herself elsewhere.

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“I suspect the Drow probably know about the Formations here. Increasing numbers of them have been breaking through and attacking the base in recent weeks.” John explained as he carved a new design onto a flat stone with his finger. He then flipped it around and stuck it in the ground, covering the traces with loose gravel and sand.

Onyx did the same. They were simply checking the perimeter for the broken Formation stones. Those were swiftly made and were as such of low quality, requiring them to be often repaired or replaced.

Gerald took a handful of smaller flat stones and burned a design into the surface with beams from his eyes before giving the rock a drop of his blood as ink to activate the inscriptions.

The stone instantly burst into flames before crumbling apart.

“Don’t bother.” John said and handed him a new piece of rock. “Save your power for important things, this garbage can’t hold a charge for more than a few weeks anyway.”

[You didn’t consider making a permanent Formation?] Gerald probed and focused on a new stone.

John waved his hand. “Too expensive. This is temporary anyway. Just until the Drow stop attacking.”

[That could take years…]

John gave him a knowing look. “True. But now that you are back, we can be more aggressive. I was thinking about going out to the front lines to stretch my limbs. What do you think?”

[Fighting the enemy on their turf? I don’t know…] Gerald said sarcastically as his signature grin made its appearance. He was also itching for a fight. He turned to his metal companion. [What about you?]

Surprisingly, for once Onyx refrained from jumping into a fight at the first opportunity. “Let’s wait until Alexandra makes us the clothes. We can’t let some nameless nobodies take all the glory.”

Stolen story; please report.

[Heh, true…] Gerald smirked and then hummed a song. He was in a good mood. [Oh, but we can set up the stage, don’t you think? We should prepare the battlefield for our epic entrance, right?]

“Oh? What do you have in mind?” John asked. Instead of answering, Gerald slowly laughed.

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Deep underground, in a room specially built for it, Thener and his new colleagues were busy dissecting the remains of a Slob. The Brotherhood’s new researcher wasted no time in studying the monster with the help of Adam, Olivia, and Bram. They had to be careful not to contaminate the samples, and at the same time avoid getting the nasty bodily fluids on them.

Just as they were in the middle of a discussion on how to best proceed, Thalza entered the room, turning to Olivia. “Can I talk to you?” She asked.

Olivia looked at Thener.

“Go ahead, we’ll be fine here. I’ll take a look at your gear later.” The man answered.

“Thanks, doc.” Olivia waved her hand and then went out with the Drow. After a minute of silence, as the two were walking down the hallway, Thalza finally spoke.

“Lady Widowmaker, I…”

The larger woman cut her off. “Olivia! I told you, my name is Olivia. And I am a human, not a Drow, even if I do look like one. If you can’t respect that, then we are done.”

Thalza spun around and lifted her hands in a pleading manner. “No, please! Forgive me, it was an honest mistake, I didn’t mean to offend you! I… You became an icon for many during these last few decades. A lot of Drow looked up to you… I did…” She quietly added.

“Yeah, well…” Olivia scoffed. “The last three decades felt more like one, thanks to your people. Considering I was in stasis most of the time unless I was needed for a job.”

“Did that really happen?” Thalza asked wide-eyed.

“Of course it did!” Olivia shouted. “Didn’t Gerald tell you already? I thought he did.” She added.

Thalza lowered her head. “I… didn’t believe him. The things he said… They didn’t sound right.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Are you sure he did not implant your human memories?” She lifted her head. “He has a lot of weird abilities, can he be trusted?”

“Oh, for fuck sake!” Olivia rolled her eyes. “No, he did not implant memories in my head. The other three confirmed it, and though it might not look like it, this is my real face, even if it was somewhat changed when they added the traits of a Drow. As for whether he can be trusted, you tell me. You two spent a lot of time together in the Lower Plane, or so I have heard.”

“Yes… Well, we were in the same area…” Thalza answered vaguely.

“And? Did you ever hear him tell a lie?”

“…No.”

“Well, there you go then. That should give you confidence he told the truth, no matter how strange it may be.”

The Drow wore a thoughtful expression and didn’t say anything.

“You are still not convinced.” Olivia sighed.”Fine… What do you want then? To see my memories?”

Thalza shook her head. “I was wondering if it would be possible… to see for myself. The place where you were… created.”

Olivia stared at her with a piercing gaze, wondering if the Drow before was being serious, or if she had a few screws loose in her head. “You are joking, right? That place is in the middle of the Drow territory. Probably one of the most guarded places on this continent. If we went there, it would be a bloodbath.”

“Oh… Well, others don’t have to go with us, if it’s so dangerous. We could probably sneak in since we look this way and-”

Olivia interrupted her. “No, I think you are misunderstanding something. It would not be dangerous for us. We would be the ones killing, and we would have to kill a lot of Drow. Are you sure you are fine with that?”

Thalza nodded. “That’s fine. Nobody has to really die. The soldiers all have a few spare bodies so that when their vessel is destroyed-”

“No.”

“No?”

“Thalza…” Olivia looked the Drow in the eyes, unsure if she should tell her. “When things… When people die around us, they don’t wake up. I’m not sure exactly what Gerald mentioned, but when we kill, we…”

Thalza covered her mouth as her eyes went wide in horrid realization. “You… devour the Soul.”