Katherine waited as the elevator took her up to the top floor of the Eterna company building located in one of the tallest buildings in Everfall. It had been a few hours after the heist at the private library. She was recovered by other members of The Void and was put into medical care in one of their vehicles. No lasting injuries were found, but due to the results of her security, she was sent to meet with the head of Eterna shortly after. She knew she failed, and whatever awaited her would be her punishment. 

The elevator beeped and opened its doors to a pristine office floor. Everything from the desks, shelves, and decorations placed about were void of dust. It’s as if everything was frozen in time. 

“Hello there! What a pleasant night this is”

Sitting in the office chair playing with an old fashioned stopwatch awaiting her was a man in his thirties. His black hair contrasted his pale face. He dressed professionally with a black suit. 

“Good evening, Mr. Eterna, sir.” said Katherine

“Ah you can drop the formalities! We’ve been over this haven’t we?” he said eccentrically. 

“...I assume you’ve called me here due to tonight’s incident? That was a complete failure on my end as a member of The Void. I’ll accept any punishment you have for me with complete obedience.”

The man closed his watch and laid it on his desk.

“You want to know something, Katherine?”

“What is it, sir?”

“You bore me.”

Katherine had no response to this.

The man stood up from his chair and began to stroll around his desk, “When I agreed that you would join The Void, I expected someone with a lot more fire in them than you. It’s like I’m talking to a robot everytime I see you. Well, I guess that’s incorrect. A robot would actually do what I asked of it.”

A sweat rolled down Katherine’s face.

He continued, “Managing The Void has become suuuuch a drag. When you said you would work hard to become someone worthy of leading it, I believed you! I really did! And what’s even better, we’ve found the target we’ve been looking for after all this time! Talk about incredible luck!”

The man picked up a glass sitting on his desk, “But unfortunately, it seems you weren’t quite capable of doing the one thing I wanted most. Killing the one who has the Starlight Gift…!” He gripped the glass so tightly and with such force that it shattered. The pieces fell to the ground and blood trickled down his hand. He didn’t wince even a little at the pain. In this moment, all life was sucked out of his face, leaving only a cold and bleak expression.

He was quick to revert back to his more casual demeanor, “Perhaps everything would be easier if we got your sister involved. It’s not like she’s doing much is she?”

Katherine’s eyes widened, “That’s not part of the deal we made! You promised she could live a normal life as long as I did whatever you asked!”

“See, the thing about promises is that they aren’t always kept. Even by those you consider family. You’ll grow to learn that the older you get.”

“I’m begging you! Don’t bring Chloe into this! You’ve already done enough to her!”

“Oh we could’ve done much worse, I guarantee it. My lab only stopped the experiments because you offered to join The Void instead.” 

“Then let me take her place.”

“Hm? What do you mean by that?”

“Connect me with the stone! Let’s see what powers it will grant me!”

The man covered his mouth with his hand as he thought this over.

“How interesting. You were against doing those experiments yourself originally. Yet here you are offering yourself up.”

“If you insist on having a lab rat for the stone, then this is my only choice. With whatever ability it grants me, I’m sure it will become vital in eliminating the girl as well as the rest of those thieves.”

“You sure you’re not gonna end with little to show like the other girl? Truth be told, I’d like it more if the stone’s powers were connected to as few people as possible.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get results. No matter how grueling it may be!”

The man gave a big hearty laugh after hearing this, “Now THAT’S the kind of fire I’m looking for!” He then placed his hand on her shoulder. “Alright, I’ll get the lab ready for your testing. Assuming we get something out of it, I’ll send you back out there. Based on the files stolen, I think I know where they plan on going next.”

Katherine’s head began to cool. It seemed things were going in a favorable way despite her failures.

“I want you to remember one thing, however.”

The man held the previously shattered glass in front of Katherine’s face, except it was now back to its original unbroken state. She looked back to see all the shattered pieces on the floor were gone. She had no idea how this could be explained.

“In my family, we don't run away from challenges. We uphold the orders we’ve been given. My faith in you is like this glass. It was destroyed, but now it’s repaired! Try not shatter it again, will ya?”

“I…I won’t”

“Good! Good! Now get out of here! Every one of us needs some rest every now and then.”

Katherine exited his office through the elevator. The whole encounter with her boss created a massive pit in her stomach that only seemed to grow after she left. 

It’s okay, Katherine. She thought to herself. You’ll fight even better next time. Remember who you’re doing this for!

 

***

 

Luna was a bit hazy as she woke up. She thought she was in her own bedroom, but the feel of the couch she slept on made her realize that she was at Aurora’s place with her thief attire still on. She remembers how everyone agreed to go to sleep as soon as they all made it back in one piece, but Luna guessed she didn’t have the energy to make it back home. She hoped Henry wasn't worried about her. Although he’d probably be very gentle about it if he was.

“Man you sure are a deep sleeper.”

Beside the couch Luna slept was a familiar face.

“Huh, Chloe? You’re up already?”

“Woke up a bit before you. Just left my bedroom a minute ago.”

“I think those bedrooms have become more than simply guest rooms. What time is it?”

“Looking at the oven clock…five minutes until noon.”

“Is that so? Well, excuse me as I go back to sleep.”

“Hey! I know you’ve already got enough hours!”

Before Chloe could force Luna off the couch, Melody soon entered the living room.

“Good morning, everybody! Or should I say good afternoon since it’s about to be noon? Good whatever it is!”

“You’ve sure got energy no matter the time,” said Chloe.

“Of course! Last night was absolutely exciting! Aren’t you all still pumped?”

“I want to sleep for another hour so if you two don’t mind,” Luna said.

“I didn’t come here just to bug you, Luna.” Chloe said.

She used my actual name? 

“I figured this would be a good time for me to explain everything last night. Y’know the whole thing about knowing who that sniper was.”

Luna’s drowsiness drifted away as she sat up to give Chloe her undivided attention.

“Wouldn’t it be better if Aurora was awake too to hear this?” interjected Luna.

“Nah. She’s already known for a while. Melody too.” replied Chloe.

Luna gave a look towards Melody who nodded in agreement to what Chloe said.

“The truth is...she’s my sister, Katherine. Our mother was engaged to the head of Eterna, Dominic Eterna, when we were both pretty young.”

Luna was familiar with this name. It was pretty easy to look up online that he’s the CEO of the Eterna corporation, but there were also no records of him having any daughters, so Chloe’s information came as a surprise.

“While my mother loved him a lot, I never once saw him show even a sliver of love back. He was hardly ever around and the way he treated her was so dismissive. I don’t know what my mom saw in him, but looking back, it frustrates how he threw away all that love.”

A realization struck Luna, “So this is why you’re upset about my situation with Aurora.”

“Probably. In all honesty I was likely projecting more than I had any right to. I’m sorry abou-”

“Don’t apologize. Like I said before, you really didn’t say anything wrong.”

“If you say so.”

“So this all makes you a daughter of the Eterna family?” Luna asked.

“For whatever that’s worth, I guess so. I prefer using my mother’s last name. Calling myself an Eterna makes me feel sick.”

“I see…” Luna pondered this.

“Long story short, when mom passed away over a year ago, Dominic could do whatever he wanted with us. This is when my experiments with the stone began. My memories of it are blurry, but I just remember what looked like massive labs and a lot of pain.”

“So that’s where your enhanced abilities come from.”

“At first, nothing came of the experiments and they were ready to put me through another series of them, until Katherine intervened. She offered to do whatever Dominic asked if it meant I could be free of those experiments. It was only some time later than I noticed how weirdly strong I was.”

“Does Mr. Eterna know about this?”

“If he did, I’d probably be back in those labs for another round of hell. Only everyone on this team knows about my abilities. I guess invisibility has been added to my list of powers thanks to you though.”

“Invisibility?” Melody innocently asked.

“We’ll explain that in a group meeting,” replied Luna. 

“Anyways,” said Chloe. “That’s basically the gist of it. Katherine’s been put to work as a soldier for Dominic’s stupid army while little ol’ me gets to live a life disconnected from her. That sure sounds fine and not completely messed up, right?” 

“And that’s why you’re in this group, isn’t it?” asked Luna.

“Bingo. If this whole heist goes well, me and Katherine will have enough money to run away from everything Eterna related while also giving that pathetic man a big middle finger in the process. Sounds like a win-win.”

“That is, if our operation continues to go well.” 

“Always have to sound logical, huh?”

The three girls sat amongst each other in a moment of silence. They all knew the weight of Chloe’s story and why she’s here. It’s really not that different from why Aurora formed this team or why Luna agreed to join. There was more than one person here who had someone close to their heart as they put their life on the line.

Luna became curious as to why Melody was here but she wasn’t quite sure how open she would feel about sharing her own story. Besides, Luna knew asking would only be a distraction on something she became settled on doing.

“Alright then, it’s only fair that I share my own past with you two,” said Luna.

Melody gasped, “Does that mean…”

“You’re gonna…” Chloe followed.

“Finally tell us about you and Aurora!?” they said in unison.

“Did you two practice that!?” Luna said while now being perplexed.

“Doesn’t matter!” yelled Melody.

“Give us the goods!” yelled Chloe.

“Alright, alright. I didn’t realize you two wanted to know so badly.”

“Before you tell us though,” said Chloe. “We should probably make sure you’re actually cool with doing this. I mean you were against it only a night ago.”

“I recall you being the one to say we should have a better talk and I agreed to it, didn’t I? Even if you believe I’m throwing away whatever love Aurora has for me, you should at the very least understand why.”

This was partially the reason. Luna also just wanted to finally be able to tell this story to someone. A story she’s kept close to her chest for seven years. A story she kept hidden from even her step father. A story that only she and her beloved friend knew about.

“This is the truth of me and Aurora’s relationship.”