Seeing as Mereria and most of the Umbra were gone, Nef had seen a perfect opportunity to ask a few things. Since they'd looked into that computer in Aren, he'd been trying to figure out what he was missing. Whatever it was, it felt like it was right in front of him, something painfully obvious, but he just couldn't figure it out.

So, he'd thought the best way to figure it out was to talk to the remaining Umbra, inviting them to sit at the table. And they had been happy to talk, most likely because they weren't used to anyone taking an interest in them. Nef had started with the basic, innocent questions like how old they were—they had only given him the number of centuries—what their favorite color was, and so on.

He wasn't great at social interactions, but he knew very well that if he'd started by asking about their boss, he would get nowhere. Soon enough, Alor and their mom had joined in too, which only made the atmosphere in the room more relaxed.

"So, how did you end up working for Mereria, anyway?" Nef asked, trying to ease the five remaining Umbra into the topic of Mereria without asking about her directly. If his memory served, the Umbra were called Jol, Rena, Nerol, Kearis, and Serik. Nef didn't remember which one was which.

Two of the Umbra exchanged an uncertain look at the change of topic, but the other three seemed happy to share.

"Well," started who Nef assumed was Nerol, "I actually used to be one of Enor's soldiers, but I couldn't take the pointless slaughter of innocents anymore."

Nef's eyebrows reached his hairline at how casually those words had been said.

"Oh, really? Me too," Jol said, grinning widely. Nef blinked as they all joined in, claiming that the reason they'd joined Mereria was the same as Nerol's. This was certainly an interesting development.

Nef looked at his brother who was frowning at the Umbra with suspicion in his eyes. Alor seemed to have picked up something off here as well, then.

"You've never spoken to each other about this?" Nef's mother asked, surprise in her voice. That was a good question, but not as important as some of the other ones swirling in Nef's brain.

"Not really," another one answered, but Nef wasn't going to dare try to guess what her name was. "We usually work alone, and the less we know about each other, the better. In case we are captured, and interrogated..."

The Umbra looked down sadly, folding her arms. Why did Nef feel like that wasn't the only reason the Umbra weren't supposed to talk to each other?

"Right, so you don't know anything about each other?"

They all shook their heads, and Nef wanted to yell at them. Didn't all of this seem even a little suspicious to them?

"Well, congratulations. Now you do," Nef told them. The Umbra looked at each other, and their expressions brightened. It seemed Mereria didn't care that much about intelligence when it came to her soldiers.

Actually, Nef completely understood that. Having smart people as soldiers would only lead to trouble. He didn't even have to think of an example of this—he was using his intellect to cause trouble this very minute.

"But..." said Jol, looking very unsure once more. "We shouldn't know things about each other. To protect each other."

"How do personal things like this endanger any of you?" Alor asked, most likely before Nef could say something sarcastic that would no doubt go over the Umbra's heads. "And besides, if you really used to be Enor's soldiers, Relioth should already know that, so there's no point in not telling others about it."

Jol stared, looking like her mind had just been blown, and Nef really wasn't sure what to get out of that. Had none of them really figured this out yet? Then again, with the kind of punishment they could get for breaking the rules and being used to this system for hundreds of years, maybe it made sense that they avoided even thinking about this stuff.

"But if that's true," another Umbra Nef didn't know the name of said, "why did the Commander forbid us from sharing anything?"

And that was the question, wasn't it? There had to be a reason behind this because it didn't really make sense as it was. Maybe sharing these facts would make the Umbra realize something Mereria didn't want them to realize?

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"No idea, but since she's not here, you can say whatever you want," Nef said, trying to look supportive. The Umbra didn't seem to want to talk, though, despite their recent realization. Thankfully, Alor continued the conversation before the silence could become awkward.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, how long did you spend with Relioth before you switched sides?"

Jol opened her mouth, seemingly eager to share, but then she closed it again. There was something akin to dread in her eyes all of a sudden. In fact, they all were either disturbed or angry for no good reason.

This was all very familiar. Rayni had become furious whenever she came across something that had been deleted from her mind. And she had said that seeing Mereria had been disturbing for her back in Aren....

"Uh, excuse us for a minute," Nef told the Umbra and got up, hoping Alor and their mom would follow him. Not that he particularly wanted to talk to his mother, but she had been with the Umbra for longer than them, so her knowledge might come in handy.

They ended up going outside because Eternals had super hearing, so there was nowhere to hide without them eavesdropping. Nef breathed in the cold air, realizing that he hadn't been outside in a while. Not counting the car trip to get here. He would probably be cold in this weather, but the Umbra armor, whatever it was made of, was keeping him nice and warm.

"Okay," Nef said, running a hand over his mouth as his brother and mother watched him. "I think the Umbra never worked for Relioth."

"What?" his mother exclaimed. "That's ridiculous."

Alor didn't say anything and just kept looking at Nef with a grim expression.

"So, you're telling me it's all a coincidence?" Nef asked, folding his arms. "The fact that they all have essentially the same reason for joining Mereria. The fact that they can't remember how long they worked for Relioth. Or that they're not supposed to talk about it, even though there's no reason for that rule."

"Not to mention how weird it is that Mereria is as old as Relioth, and the Umbra barely put together a thousand years," Alor joined in, finally taking Nef's side against their mother.

"Yeah, thanks, that too," Nef said, nodding at his brother. "How are Eternals born, anyway?"

If anyone else had asked that question, or if Rayni were present, a stupid joke would have followed, Nef was sure of that.

"That wasn't exactly one of the questions I had when I met Mereria," their mother scoffed, but she was starting to look doubtful.

"But it's very valid," Alor argued, scratching his chin. The guy really needed a shave. In fact, Nef did too, now that he thought about it. "Where do Eternals come from? They don't have bodies, right? So they can't...um...."

Nef snorted as Alor's face went red.

"Right, so seeing as Eternals don't have most of the characteristics of living organisms," Nef said, receiving a confused look from both his mom and brother. "I took a semester of biology as a dare. Anyway, they're pretty unnatural—I mean, they don't die of old age or change, or anything, so let's assume they're not born, but made. Which would kinda explain why we saw Mel and Rayni with those tribal tattoos on their faces."

"How would that explain it?" Alor asked, frowning and wrinkling his nose.

Nef sighed. Right, he sometimes forgot his brother was a little slower than him. "If it's possible to transform living organisms into Eternals, then Mel and Rayni on those photos are the original Mel and Rayni."

"Then why would they have bodies that look the same?" their mother asked, just as skeptical as Alor. That was a good question Nef didn't yet have an answer to, but he could guess.

"Cloning? I don't know, but it's pretty suspicious that they are alive and look pretty damn mortal in those pictures."

"The Umbra don't possess living people," his mother added, nodding her head. However, she looked almost crushed. That certainly wasn't what Nef had wanted.

"Right," Alor said, apparently oblivious to his mother's change of mood. "So, they were either killed after those photos were taken, or it's really them." Alor paused, clearly having trouble taking it all in. "So, what you're saying is that the Umbra working for Relioth are false memories or something?"

"Exactly," Nef confirmed, happy that his brother was catching on. "It would fit. It's a way for Mereria to guilt them into helping her, but if they talked to each other about it, they might realize it's not true, so she made sure they wouldn't talk."

"Well, we need to tell them, then," said Alor, and Nef shook his head.

"They won't believe us. We need Mereria to tell them. And I'm pretty sure Rayni can make that happen after what she managed today."

In fact, the way Mereria treated her soldiers might have something to do with all of this. If she really had the ability to create Eternals, she wouldn't have to treat them nicely.

"Mereria told me they didn't deserve any kindness after what they've done for Relioth, and I just believed her," their mother said softly and emotionlessly. "I don't even know why. I usually don't just blindly trust anyone."

Nef's eyes widened. "Mom, why did you even decide to help her, again?"

"I..." She just looked from one son to the other, not knowing what to say. "The EFP was after me."

"That doesn't explain why you helped her, though," Nef argued, ignoring Alor gesturing to him to stop.

"She wouldn't..." their mother protested weakly, not even able to finish the sentence.

"I think she did," Alor said gently, trying not to upset her, although Nef would argue that that boat had already sailed. But Nef had enough to think about right now, so he didn't say anything. Mereria had actually made their mother help her against her free will. It seemed they all had a bone to pick with her.

When she returned. If she returned.