The air cracked as two men formed from what appeared to be shards of shattered glass. They had visited this place many times in the past, but this was the first time either of them had seen a world after it had been consumed by the darkness that was now plaguing mankind. The creatures had released a sort of smoke into the atmosphere that darkened the landscape of a planet to something more to their liking. Below, what was once a young but vibrant community of humans was now a hellscape of broken walls and blasted streets.

“This has to stop,” Tobias said, looking at his oldest friend with pain in his eyes. “First Earth, now here as well? Why do they want to destroy us so badly?”

“It’s truly odd to see the shoe on the other foot, isn’t it?” Benjamin said, metallic eyes refusing to turn away from the scene down below. “For so long, we were the aggressor. And now – for the first time – we are threatened by a people that can fight on our level.”

These unknown creatures had come to earth no more than a year ago. And on that visit, they had kidnapped two-thirds of the populace before they were stopped by an elite group of soldiers led by an even more elite group of commanders. Even then, that level of loss left Earth – and by extension, humanity – decimated. Since that fateful day, mankind had lost ten of its fifty planets to the black creatures that were simply being referred to as ‘the scourge.’

Even now, a year later, very little was known about these creatures. It was known that their bodies were formed of thousands upon thousands of tentacle-like strands that could separate and reform on command. It was also known that unless they were killed with extreme heat, they would pull themselves back together and rise to fight again. And worst of all, it was known that their bodies absorbed light to a degree that would kill any other race they had come across in the thousand years that Benjamin Hargrave was alive.

“I don’t think being able to ignore most of our attacks truly constitutes being on our level; but I will grant that even without that advantage, they are generally very skilled opponents.” Tobias replied, “Though, Albert and Theresa both believe that we can create something that can ignore their natural advantage. Do you think it’s possible?”

“Isn’t that why we’re here?” Benjamin said, “To capture and interrogate one of these things?”

Tobias simply nodded in reply and pointed in the direction Albert indicated was their equivalent of officers’ barracks. “After you.”

Hargrave’s metallic face broke into a rictus grin as he disabled the inhibition chip and prepared to let loose in a way that was impossible around other soldiers. But he and Tobias were special, they were members of the seven Unranked Officers. Their power was second to no other in the Allied Human Forces, or any other being for that matter.

Around him, a pair of glowing crimson sabers materialized in midair while a second pair formed from rods that he held in his hands. As he increased the Light draw from the miniature star implanted in his chest, his body took on a deep crimson aura reminiscent of blood. Giggling madly to banish the screaming shadows, he ran toward the enemy barracks.

It was good to experience freedom, once in a while. Long ago, they all helped Benjamin recover from a mental injury that time simply would not heal. The seven of them had designed a chip that was first implanted in his brain, and in every steel cast body he’d had since - The inhibitor chip. While active, it would identify and repress any memory that could be seen as too traumatic. Without it, every memory of every battle for a thousand years flooded his mind, quickly breaking the calm and releasing the madness inside.

It was a good thing. After all, it was the madman who had fought all those battles, not Benjamin. It was Hargrave who had unmatched prowess with a blade, Benjamin was simply an engineer that had to occasionally defend himself. He had to remember that the two were separate, otherwise, it would mean that he was the one who had massacred entire cities.

Hargrave sent the two free-floating blades ahead, transforming them into hammers and shattering the doorway a fraction of a second before impact. Inside, a black-shelled Scalador looked up in what he hoped was fear. These were not the creatures that had invaded earth, but he would enjoy its death anyway.

Benjamin didn’t have long to study its expression. The chitinous armor around the creature’s face was making an expression, but Hargrave truly did not care. Before the weak Benjamin could stop him, Hargrave had practically diced the creature as if he were a chef preparing food. Pulling a thermal disc from his shoulder, he threw it onto the still twitching body and watched as it burned.

“Ben!” Tobias called from behind. A quick glance showed the Possessor controlling no less than ten drones that were ripping their enemies apart, “There’s no time to admire your work, Keep moving.”

Ah, that’s right. Nobody knew about the line that separated Benjamin from Hargrave.

He tore through another set of doors, rushing down the hallway and sending his blades into every door along the path. That foolish friend of Benjamin’s had told them what their target looked like. Even if he hadn’t, Benjamin’s memory would serve as a perfect reminder. Once he found his enemy, it would be time for the real fun to begin.

Annoyingly, neither Tobias nor his drones fell too far behind. This meant that once they found the creature, no accident of Hargraves would be able to explain his execution of the enemy commander. In fact, the madman had to admit that the Possessor’s ability arguably allowed him ever more power in terms of destroying the enemy.

The last doorway fell, inside stood a creature made of a twisting mass of tentacles. While they appeared to be the race they worked with, a simple shift of will would allow the body to reclaim its natural squid-like shape. It currently stood about nine feet tall, with no face other than a wide toothy grin. Knowing what it could do would intimidate most soldiers, but not him.

Hargrave activated the gate in his chest, appearing behind the creature and swinging a two-handed sword in a direct path for what appeared to be an arm. A lightning flash later, the limb was on the ground, and its twin quickly joined.

“Ben! Control yourself.” Tobias yelled, casting his mind into Hargrave to reenable his restraints. As his friend’s madness slowly faded, Tobias took the opportunity to imprison the enemy creature inside a special containment unit that was as close to impenetrable as could be built. “We’ve won, friend.”

He fell to his knees as the bloody aura faded. After just a few seconds, everything from weapons to simple memory slipped away. The last thing to fall away was the smile, now that Hargrave was suppressed again, only Benjamin remained. While still dangerous, he was at least sane enough to handle day-to-day life again.

“Thank you for the assist, again,” Benjamin said, a genuine grin returning to his face.

There were times when Tobias was afraid the real smile would be washed away forever, much as it had been in the early years. “Of course, sometimes I don’t know how any of us keep up with you. But then I remember what it takes to bring you back from the precipice. Shall we go before the entire planet is looking for us?”

“They already are,” Ben said with a laugh as he stood and placed one hand on the prison. Gesturing to himself, he asked, “When are you going to get one of these modules?”

“Why? I have you to be my taxi around the universe?” He replied with a smirk, “Until you are unable, there is simply no need for me to have a personal gate,”

With a sigh, Benjamin grabbed his friends’ arm and activated the device. A split second later, the only evidence that the pair had even been on the planet was the trail of bodies left by a man long past his breaking point.