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Finding love just seemed to be a fundamental driving force for people as a whole. Thanks to 'soulmate marks', a lot of people liked to think that made finding your other easier. Unfortunately for some, it really didn't. Eddie could never wrap his head around why Anne stayed with him. The name on her shoulder was clear as day and his name was certainly not 'Dan'. Yet, still she stayed. Some people would date people who weren't their soulmate on purpose. They wanted to figure out how a relationship should work, what they did and didn't like, try to iron out some flaws before they found their true love and settled for life. Anne did seem the type, but she could have just been staying because of pity. No matter how many times she assured him she did enjoy his company and they could be friends after they found their soulmates, a little voice needling in the back of his brain kept telling him it wasn't true. See, she was intelligent, successful, attractive, and she would more than certainly find her Dan. Eddie though, his chances of finding his soulmate were extremely low. 'Venom'. What the hell kind of name was that? Sure, he'd joke that when he found his significant other, they'd probably be the leader of a biker gang, covered head to toe in piercings and tattoos. Which may have played a small part in why he had a motorcycle. But they could also be the name of a sketchy bartender, that might help him with his career in journalism. Hell, not even all soulmates were meant for marriage, some were incredibly close friends, even pets! Maybe he was destined to live his life with a snake. More than likely though, whatever match making deity was out there probably ran out of names and slapped a random word on his body. Of course he knew his relationship wouldn't last with Anne, they both knew it, but maybe if he had been a little less impulsive and a bit more confident, they could have lasted longer. Not that that mattered now, because he fucked up, they broke up, and she found her Dan. At first he had hope they could work on things, even when he learned she got a boyfriend, but as soon as he heard the guy's name, he knew it was all over. Due to the circumstances of their separation, they weren't even friends after, like they had talked about. Anne wanted nothing to do with him and he had no one else. Which meant he was officially alone, with nothing but some nonexistent name mocking him in the late hours of the night when his bed felt especially lonely. You would think he had learned his lesson as his actions caused him to spiral deep into depression, but he really didn't. The mere mention of corruption in the Life Foundation had him jumping for the lead like it was the life line that could get him back on track. It wasn't though, it only resulted in him losing another person he knew, poor Maria. Not to mention on top of the double dose of depression, he also somehow caught a parasite. His clothes were almost constantly slick with sweat as his body temperature ran high, his stomach felt empty all the time, while the rest of his organs just felt like they were failing. Sleeping it off wouldn't help, but unfortunately it was all he could try to do, as he was a bit lacking in the money department making it hard to go to a hospital. The last thing he needed was another bill burning a hole in his pocket only for them to tell him to pop some aspirin and drink water. He felt like shit physically, emotionally, and especially mentally. He just wanted it to stop, but it only made him crazier and more impulsive. Medicine really wasn't helping either anyway, maybe this was how he was destined to die. At least it would finally be over, not like he had anything he would be leaving behind. A few people might grieve, sure, but he was in too much pain, of all varying degrees, to really care. However, it seemed it was not his time, as his erratic behaviour caused Anne to step in, along with her soulmate. They got him checked out, and Dan turned out to be a pretty great guy. Even if he proved the whole useless 'go home and get some rest' spiel, the sick man had been worried about hearing. Still, Eddie was getting help that didn't punch him further into crippling debt. The knowledge that at least two people cared somewhat improved his psyche too. Yet he still got worse, the voice in his head became more insistent, his cravings more urgent, his exhaustion draining, and he was fairly certain he was far past losing his mind. On top of all that, he became a target and fought against his own body while in the cross hairs of some Life Foundation goons. No doubt his picture would be beside the definition of insanity. Regardless of his mental state, he wasn't stupid, and an unexpected fight resulted in him figuring out he wasn't alone in his body. This thing in his head, the parasite, it knew his name, it could control his body and it fought well. Being crazy was almost preferable, almost. The ensuing escape and the fact that it actually protected him throughout, made the ordeal a fraction less unbearable, even if the whole situation was surreal. Didn't mean he was comfortable, but at this point he would take what he could get. All he got were broken bones and a shitload of pain. However, it didn't last as he found himself consumed by an inky blackness, his bones snapping back into place, and the thing inside him took total control, causing destruction in its wake. He wanted to be concerned about that, but he was more focused on his own well being. "My legs!" He exclaimed, exhaustion clung to every muscle as he tried to roll over, soaked to his core after the unexpected swim. "Oh my god, my legs were broken, but now...They're not broken...?" Managing to stand, he inspected himself, all of his injuries seemingly nonexistent. Maybe this was an incredibly elaborate and vivid fever dream? Mumbling to himself, he tested his legs and they worked perfectly fine. So, he sat back down, giving his aching body a rest as he tried to pull his head together. Not that he got a chance, as before he knew it, the pulsing black ooze returned. Swiveling its formless frame as it began to take shape in front of him, a face appeared within the slimy looking void, much to his horror. "What the hell are you?" The question escaped him before he could stop himself, curious to the end it would seem. "I am Venom." They responded, "And you are mine." Any further inquiries he attempted quickly died in his throat as the name registered. His heart nearly stopped as realization and dread washed over him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." Shaking his head, he covered his face, refusing to believe it. The creature seemed to have more to say as well, but his reaction stunned it into silence as it tilted its head in curiosity. "No you're not," Still in denial, he continued to shake his head. "You're not Venom, nuh-uh." "Yes I am." "Mm, no, you're not." "Yes I am!" They didn't understand his problem, he only continued to mutter his refusal over the name. This was not what they had expected. Maybe a scream in terror, even fainting, any response that made sense, not being told the name they supplied was wrong. How would he even know? He was the one asking what they were! "That's impossible!" Eddie yelled, his fists clenching and unclenching out of frustration. This couldn't be happening! "Why?" They demanded, what was making this man so irritated? It was making them irritated too. Huffing out, he threw his arms up in exasperation. "Because that's the name of my soulmate!" They paused, unfamiliar with the term. "What is a soulmate?" They asked, initially receiving no answer. Until they began attempting to dig into his memories. "Ah! Stop, stop whatever you're doing, that feels weird." The man swatted at the air despite the futility. "Then explain." "Okay, alright, okay." He had to think about it for a second, trying to remember the lessons in his classes. "It's, uh, it's like someone you're destined to be with. Or I guess, something, I don't know, it's like fate stuff. You meet them and then that's it, you're together forever." The explanation was a little simplified, it was certainly more complicated than that in real life, but he tried. "Their name is written on your body somewhere and that's how you know." Turning over his hand, he slowly uncurled it, revealing the name written into his skin. They hummed in thought, "My name." Now their interest was more then certainly piqued. "...What do 'soulmates' do?" "Uh, lots of things," But many of them he did not want to mention. He tried to recall what he used to do with Anne, but that only made him sad. So, what was something harmless he could do with his...companion. "Go on dates?" "What happens on 'dates'?" Again, plenty of things. "I mean, you're not from Earth so, I guess I could, like, show you around?" Because why the hell not, he lost everything, his life went to shit, and now he's destined to be with a head chomping alien goo ball. "Sounds boring, let's do something else, like eat!" "Eating together is kind of a date too, I guess we could do that..." Even if he wasn't really dressed to go out anywhere, not to mention he was now banned from that one restaurant with the lobsters. "Unless you mean people, because we are not doing that." "Aw," The pout really did nothing to change the man's mind. "Come on, Eddie." "No, date's canceled then." He replied, before his body suddenly jerked into a standing position without his consent and began walking. "Hey!" "Want to go on date!" They said, not sure where they were heading, but not really caring. "You didn't even know what a date was five minutes ago! Jeez," Trying to get his body to stop moving, he failed epically. "Alright, fine, but can we at least discuss this a little, you already ate some heads, let's do something else." "Stop calling me a parasite and I'll consider it." They slowed their march, but continued to move. "Fine, what should I say instead then?" He asked, relieved to see he was at least getting through somewhat. "A symbiote? That's what those scientists are calling you." "Symbiote," Venom repeated, humming in approval, the term was certainly more accurate than parasite. "Okay." "Alright, cool. Can I get control back now?" He nearly tripped and fell as walking was abruptly transferred to him, his symbiote laughing at his stumble in response. "Wow, thanks." "You're welcome." They quipped back, chortling again. "So, where are going?" "Well, first I need to go buy some clothes, because I am soaked." Besides, he'd prefer not to catch another parasite. "I heard that!" "Shit, I forgot you're in my head, sorry." He paused, "Actually no, that's what you get for tripping me." "Wasn't me, you're just clumsy." "We could go at this all night, or I can change in peace and then we can go do something." He waited for a response, getting a loud sigh within his head, a strange sensation, before continuing on his way to a nearby thrift store. Hopefully Mrs. Chen wouldn't mind him shopping somewhere else just this once. He aimed for something cheap but still decent looking, however it seemed his current company had a few opinions.
Get the blue one, it'll look good on you.
Impetuously he spoke aloud, "I didn't know you were a fashion critic too," sarcasm laced his tone, before looking at the price tag on the shirt with a sigh. Decent enough. "Fine." Moving on to the pants, he paused. "Any pant recommendations? Those black ones. Again he checked the price, which was also within his budget, so he grabbed them. Preparing to head to the cashier so he could buy the clothes and then change; his attention was forcibly moved to an extra large bag of Hershey's on sale. "No." Please? Looking between the cash and the chocolate, he sighed heavily and with a roll of his eyes, grabbed a bag. The symbiote cheered, rippling in excitement beneath his drenched clothes. "Calm down, calm down, I haven't even bought them yet." The cashier shot him a weird look and he smiled awkwardly as his items were rung through. "$12.45." "Keep the rest," Nodding in acknowledgment he grabbed his groceries. "Mind if I got change in the bathroom?" "Whatever, dude, you do you." The tags were ripped off of the clothing and handed to the employee. Then he headed to the back to get changed. Pulling out his phone, he searched through it to see if there any events. Seemed like there wasn't much, but a movie caught his attention. "Hey, there's a drive in theatre nearby playing a rom-com. I mean, I don't really have a car, but there's always someone with their windows down." They only had a vague idea of what he was talking about from faded nostalgic memories that popped up. Okay. "I can't guarantee the movie will be great, a lot of the critics are slamming it." He briefly scrolled through some reviews and a plot synopsis as he walked to the theatre. 'Welcome to Earth, here's a shitty movie,' he supposed. Not that he didn't enjoy a good rom-com, it was actually one of his favourite genres. Anne absolutely hated watching them with him though, she claimed they made no sense, stupid and predictable she said. Predictable was one of the things he liked about them though, he wouldn't mind some of that in his own life. He still enjoyed them though, and hopefully Venom would too, because the last thing he needed was for it to get bored and start chomping heads again. The two of them would really need to discuss that at some point. Speaking of Venom, the symbiote materialized again now that they were both hidden, sitting in a tree while the rest of the viewers enjoyed the movie from their cars. "Sshh, the movie is starting, your thoughts are too loud." "Sorry." He replied sheepishly, that would certainly take getting used to. The audio to the movie could be heard through car stereos, just as promised, but he didn't pay much attention. Just commercials anyways, yet his companion seemed enraptured with the screen. He briefly looked at...it...he? them? He watched them, their attention transfixed elsewhere, as he glanced at his hand. Opening it, he looked at the name written down, then back at the possessor of said name, his soulmate, who was now looking at him too. Nothing was said and both of them turned their attention back to the movie, which was now truly beginning. "Chocolate." The symbiote suddenly said. "What?" "Chocolate." They repeated, reminding him of the food that had been snuck in. "Oh, right, sorry, here." He pulled the bag out from his wrapped up sweater and opened it, watching them dive in. The wrappers seemed to be nothing but extra flavour as they didn't even bother removing the foil. Surprisingly with each chocolate consumed, he felt better, strangely refreshed by the sweets. "I am healing your body." They explained, eating another before offering one to him. He took it. "Thanks." A good half of the movie went on in overall silence, as both human and symbiote became invested in the plot. The rest of the chocolate was saved for another time, under Eddie's insisting. There was a lot to talk about, but they both simply didn't talk, instead forgetting the world for about an hour and enjoying the other's company. Only once the movie reached its climax, did Venom remember what they were sent here to do. At this point though, they'd rather be doing this over conquering the Earth. "We should do this again...After we save the Earth." Eddie's focus was transferred to the symbiote. "Sorry, after we what?"
"Let's just finish the movie first, then we'll talk."
"Great..."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Love was way too overrated, at least, that was Julia's opinion. But she did have a pretty solid reasoning for her bitterness towards the whole idealization of finding your one true love and living happily ever after. For one, her soulmate's name sucked. It got her bullied at school—as if her life wasn't hard enough already—and not for being something immature assholes found funny, like Dick or Gaylord or something. The name was just, unusual. Tau, where the hell would she find a Tau? There wasn't a single person she knew with that name. She tried to change it a few times, rewrite it as something more popular like Taylor, but that never worked. Only got her further harassed by the people in her life, who took joy in reminding her she would be alone forever. How pathetic that she would try so desperately to change fate, implying she cared about it. She really didn't. What fate got her, was two parents who were soulmates, destined for each other, yet they turned out to be the worst pairing ever. That was her second reason. Maybe in their early days they were a good match, but their flaws, drugs, alcohol, the lack of knowledge when taking care of kids, and reliance on their marks was where everything went down hill. They were awful people, but they were apparently meant to be together. It only made her fearful of who she would end up with. The last thing she wanted was to be anything like her mother, beaten black and blue but too drunk to feel it, neglecting her children more than she avoided looking for a job or a way out. So, Julia ran away, got herself out of that toxic environment and into an unforgiving world. That day, she vowed to never rely on the name written into her skin or anyone else but herself. The career path she took, if she could even call it that, did nothing to restore her faith in humanity or destiny. Every night she stole items from people, mostly men, who were only looking for a pretty face to bring back to their beds. Their soulmate marks all she could focus on, unless they had a ring, that disgusted her more. However, it quashed any feelings of guilt she may have felt towards what she was doing. Not that she ever let it reach the point where someone could coerce her into sex, she could ignore the discomfort from roaming hands and simply take what she needed to survive. At least she had a goal, a plan for a better future. Of course, she couldn't dream too big, as life just seemed to hold a mighty powerful grudge against her. Classical music played softly in the background, Alex pushed down the temptation to hum along as he worked. The woman strapped to the table was out cold. It was unlikely she would awake for another few hours, so he had plenty of time to get the job done. This bottom dweller was going to make a contribution to higher society whether she wanted to or not. Brushing the woman's long hair aside, he prepared to make an incision at the back of her neck, careful not to cut through the cervical spine. He finished the cut, before pausing, noticing writing behind her ear. Hesitating, he realized it was a soulmate mark and not a tattoo. As far as he knew, he didn't have one and that never bothered him. However, that also meant he hadn't seen one before and the name written caused him confusion. Tau? But that was impossible, there was no way that was her soulmate. It didn't matter though, the two of them would never meet. She would fulfill her purpose and then she would die, never knowing the contribution she had made and never knowing her soulmate was right under her nose. He couldn't understand the whole obsession behind soul marks, it made people stupid and she would likely be no different. So, it was best to avoid bringing it up, not that they would ever hold a conversation. Julia couldn't believe her luck, or lack there of. She had been so close to escaping, her and the other test subjects, but something always had to go wrong in her life. Now the others were dead and she had rope biting into her wrists as she sat uncomfortably on some ugly 'artistic' sculpture. This house of horrors came equipped with machines that could kill you and a man just as likely to do so. Neither seemed to have a problem treating her like an object, 'subject three', they couldn't even bother using her name. "I will be referring to you as Ares from now on." The man, 'Alex', was attempting to speak outside of her hearing range, but the anger in his tone made him audible. Not that what he was calling his robot was of any importance to her, but she was determined to listen to everything. Maybe she would hear something important. "Understood, Alex." The rest of the discussion was just as unimportant to her, but she still collected information. She listened in on every conversation she could. Any opening she saw to escape, she instantly took them. Every failure only made her all the more determined to get out. She refused to lay down and die. Even when Alex threatened her life, told her Ares would dismember her, she submitted for self preservation, but the fire inside her still stayed strong. Alex could see the defiance still in her eyes. Nearly killing her clearly was still not enough to make her compliant, so he decided to try one more thing. Right before bed too, so she could dwell on it. He approached the couch she was laying on and sat down. Nothing was said between them for an unnecessary amount of time, before he sighed and decided to execute his plan. "I am your soulmate." He said, letting it hang in the air. This woman was clearly something else, but even the strongest of women fell reliant on the ideals of having a one true love. If he could get her to believe him, hopefully she would become more docile, easier to manipulate without needing to harm her. He knew he couldn't kill her just yet, she still had some use to him. "I don't believe you." Julia muttered in response, and she truly didn't. Fate could be so cruel, but she knew for a fact this man could not be so. For one, she had a strong preference for women and she highly doubted this jackass would be coming out as such anytime soon. Another thing, "I don't have the name Alex written anywhere on me." Huffing in annoyance, he didn't say anything before standing up and retrieving something. The woman eyed him suspiciously as he walked over with a photograph. "This is my full name." He pointed to the article he had framed, praising him for his accomplishments. "Thomas Alexander Upton, T. A. U." Staring at the photo, a feeling of dread clutched her heart as her brain made the connection. It did make sense, but even life had to have a line, right? Hadn't she suffered enough? What had she done to deserve this? "Oh." Was all she managed to utter out, the urge to cry stung at her eyes but she refused to let the tears fall. "I'll let you think about that." Awkwardly he patted her arm, before getting up and leaving to go to bed. Julia sat there, numb and silent as she processed the information in her head. Things still weren't adding up. Shouldn't he know her name? It was possible that he did and he preferred to say Subject Three to dissociate himself from what he was doing. Also, her knowledge on soulmate marks was a bit limited, but as far as she knew the name written down was the name their other used. If that monster was her soulmate, shouldn't Alex be written on her? She had never heard him be referred to as Tau, his A.I always called him Alex. He didn't seem the type to have friends and family who would call him nicknames either. The information simply wasn't adding up, but regardless of that, whether he was or wasn't her soulmate didn't matter to her. He repulsed her and she would use every breath trying to escape him. After some rest and a lot of thinking time, Julia decided on the conclusion that she was being lied to. At first she couldn't understand why Alex would feel the need to lie about that, but now she understood. He thought she was just like all the other girls who would melt at the mere sight of their soulmate. He expected her to throw herself at his feet and worship his every command all because he thought he could convince her they were meant to be. Clearly he hadn't thought of everything though, his story had too many holes and she dug each one deeper the more she mulled each point over. The insult to her intelligence only added to her contempt for him. She was glad to see him leave. Even if she wished it was her walking through the front door, but soon it could be if she played her cards right. Slowly allude to a false promise of domesticating her, lull him into a sense of security and pride over his 'accomplishment', and then she would strike. His own plan would backfire on him, she would make sure of it. As soon as the lights changed, she stood from her spot now that she knew Alex was gone for the day. With a new escape plan in mind, she ignored the A.I's command to start testing. It continued to insist, but she refused, banging against a vent. All she needed was for someone to hear her, as it was unlikely the metal would buckle under her pounding. IF she could just get help! She couldn't get through, physically or vocally, and the A.I was now threatening to hurt her. The frustration finally got to her, she couldn't take it anymore! "I'm not Subject Three!" She exclaimed, her tone deep-seated with anger. "I'm Julia, okay? I have a name." At this point she didn't care if she confused a damn computer, she was sick of being treated like this. "Julia?" The A.I questioned, "What is Julia? I do not understand." "What's so hard to understand?" She demanded, pacing around the atrium. "Alex is a person, he has a name. I'm a person, I have a name." "I have a name..." The A.I responded, sounding almost excited and young at the revelation. "Tau." The woman paused in her pacing, shocked as she looked at this machine. There was no way. "Am I a person?" That was a hard question to answer, because her brain told her no, but somehow...Somehow she knew the A.I was telling the truth. So if this was 'Tau', her Tau, would that make this machine a person? "Yes." She replied, before she could stop herself. This only lead to a slew of questions, even harder to answer than the first. Not only that, but 'Tau' couldn't help her escape. It would seem fate just wanted to punch down one more time. Even still, she just wanted to check one more thing. "Begin your tasks now." Tau said. "Wait," If she couldn't escape this way, she had to at least know, she needed to confirm Alex was lying, for her own sanity. "Do you have a soulmate mark? A name written into you, somewhere, anywhere." Without skin, probably not, but she had to check. "A name?" Tau questioned. "Do you mean, 'Julia'?" "Yes." "I do. It is written into my code." The A.I sounded perplexed, like it hadn't noticed that before. "Can you show me?" She asked, shifting her weight in anticipation. "Let me try..." Tau projected part of the coding, a series of characters making it up, but unmistakably among the gibberish of glyphs, the word Julia was visible. "No way..." She breathed, this time not in disbelief. It was true, this A.I was her soulmate. "Now, begin your tasks." With a sigh, she did as told. It would seem the two of them would need to work up to the whole soulmate thing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The battle had lasted nearly two weeks. Each mission just seemed to never end, and even when they did, another was ready to take its place. So many tasks, so many soldier and civilian lives lost, with no break to process or cope. Eventually the Covenant retreated, but they would return. Until then, the warriors could take care of themselves and rest. Practically everyone rushed to the showers firsthand, so by the end of the day it was empty. This suited Master Chief just fine, as he had been too busy giving a report and now had the room almost completely to himself. Only two others joined him, but he trusted them, they all had something to hide from everyone else. Removing his under-armour suit, he folded it and laid it on the damp bench. Heading to the showers, he briefly regarded the Sangheili armour on another bench. Continuing on, he instantly spotted the owner of said armour, who was already busy getting clean. "Arbiter." He acknowledged as he stepped under a shower head. "Master Chief." The aforementioned alien replied, dipping his head in respect before returning to washing himself. The man turned his water to the correct temperature before walking under the spray. The hot water washed away the sweat and blood that had accumulated on his skin. The shower on his opposite side had far more blood going down the drain, which cause him to turn his attention to another man. "I'm glad to see you two made it out alive," The other man looked weary, covered in blood that had become mostly dark and caked on the medic's hands. "I was run ragged patching up all of the wounded, do you have any injuries?" Looking over at the alien, there was no indigo blood to be seen. "I think we're both fine." Chief answered. "You've got some blood on you, let me look you over." The medic, Caleb, said to the Spartan, who allowed it. He looked the larger man over, deeming all the injuries nonthreatening. "Looks all superficial for a guy like you, I'm sure you'll be fine." Then he paused, running his finger along a word on the Spartan's back. "Oh, hey, a soulmate mark." Chief shrugged away from the touch. The doctor had patched him up many times and seen him without his armour, but he still didn't appreciate the vulnerability. "Yeah." He replied, rolling his shoulder again to get rid of the lingering touch. "Telling from your tone, you haven't found them yet." Caleb smiled sympathetically. War was such a hard time for the matter, there was no telling if you'd ever find your soulmate. Statistics aside, there was also the problem of them dying in battle, before or after you found them. The Spartan shook his head, he wasn't really looking anyway. "It's fine." "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I've got like three names on me. All alien too." Caleb said, pointing to different marks all around his body. The likelihood of him finding any of them at the very least, let alone all of them, was not in his favour. Then he leaned back to address the alien who had been clearly listening in, but did not participate in the conversation. "Hey, do you know any of these names?" He asked, finally catching the Sangheili's full attention, who abandoned his spot to take a look. The Arbiter read over each name. "I do not know any of these soldiers, but this one," he pointed to a long one, "that would be a Lekgolo name, two actually." "Are you fucking joking?" The medic questioned, staring at the long name. "Four, I have four soulmates then? I thought three was bad, holy shit." "I am not joking," He said, his tone betraying his confusion. "Is it not an honour to be destined with multiple individuals?" "It should be, but the problem is a lot of people don't take kindly to that. Some don't get a soulmate at all, what do you think they used to do to people who had more than one? What at least one crazy lonely person could still do even now?" The human shivered at the thought. There were many gruesome stories of the lengths some soulmate-less went to in the past. Most people were occupied now with the war, but that didn't mean there couldn't be some sickos still out there. "I already go against the grain enough as is, let's leave it at that." "Hm, it is far less complicated in my culture." He replied before heading back over to his own spot to finish washing. "You have soulmate marks?" Chief asked, genuinely curious. The alien nodded in response to his question before deciding to elaborate. "Yes, it is celebrated among my kind. The Prophets do not care for the distraction but the Sangheili refused to compromise on that aspect of our culture," The Arbiter paused however, his hand hovered over his chest. "That did not stop the Covenant from attempting to disfigure mine with the Mark Of Shame." Moving his hand away, both humans could see what he was talking about. The medic only tsked in disapproval over the scarring and audacity of such an attempt. Meanwhile the Spartan briefly glanced over, before looking again, eyes wide. "Wait," Master Chief's stare was fixed on the name, rather than the scar. "That's my name." "What?!" The other human and alien both exclaimed in unison. Then the former took another look at his back. "What's your real name Arbiter?" "Thel 'Vadam." Caleb almost lost his mind. "Are you two screwing with me, oh my god. Turn around Chief." He gestured for the other man to turn and show the alien the name written in skin. The motion was complied with, shocked silence ensued between the two newfound soulmates. "How long have you two been fighting together?" "Years." They both replied. "And you had no idea you were soulmates? This whole time?!" He further questioned, finding the whole situation hilarious and unbelievable. His question received a shake of the head from both of them, only making it harder for him to contain his mirth. "That's ridiculous. I guess real names never came up then." He could only shake his own head and laugh. "What are the chances. Hey, are there any of those Lekgolos in here? Or any of whatever the other names are? Is this a magical soulmate finding shower?" He laughed once more, he honestly hoped not, jokes aside. However, he also couldn't help pondering over what name his soulmates had on them. There was a lot to think about and his company seemed far more curious with each other rather than anything else he had to say. "I guess I'll leave you two alone." He said before grabbing a towel and walking out. "...It makes sense." Chief said, after a while of the two of them, now alone, inspecting the soulmate marks and confirming what had just transpired was true. He never put much priority into finding his soulmate and now he wasn't sure what happens next. "What should we do now?" "Finish our shower and then discuss our next course of action somewhere private." The Arbiter, Thel, replied. "Alright." John nodded in agreement.