A Tale of Two Brothers: Volume I

Chapter VIII - Truth

Erwin walked down the stairs to the club and approached the door. Walking up to the door, the bouncer tried stopping the German from entering, however, Erwin glared at him which caused the bouncer to cower and allow him inside. Erwin entered the club and was hit with the ungodly aroma of arousal and the deafening sound of the loud club music.

"To hell with this infernal music!" Erwin seethed while the music blared through the speakers and into his ears. He walked up to the dark end of the bar and caught the attention of the bartender, "Luci!"

The bartender looked up from the drink she was making and smiled at the sight of the German, "Be right there, hon!" She shook the cocktail before serving it in a glass and giving it to a patron. She walked over to the German who's bright yellow eyes were glowing in the dark, "You're back so soon? This is a rarity." She softly smirked and grabbed a glass, setting it in front of the German.

"I'm not here for drinks; I'm here for information." Erwin pushed the empty glass back towards the woman, "I'm looking for a farmer who's been raising dairy cattle; was hoping you could lead me to him?"

The bartender raised an eyebrow and placed the glass back, "Dairy? What for, may I ask?" She cleared the spot next to Erwin's seat and wiped it down.

"I'm looking to see if he could sell me some milk."

Lucian chuckled lightly, "Milk? I wouldn't have taken you for a milk drinker now."

Erwin was becoming impatient with her questioning, "Just tell me where he is." His eyebrows furrowed as his orbs began changing color.

"Okay, okay, relax." Lucian held her hands up defensively, "I'll mark his farm on your map. His name is Elias; bit of an oddball, that one." She took Erwin's wrist tablet and marked the coordinates on his map, "Say: what do you need milk for anyway? Do you have a kid I don't know about, hm?" She smirked sarcastically.

Erwin stared into the green eyes of Lucian with a knowing expression.

Lucian's eyes widened, "Oh."

"Yeah." Erwin tilted his head down slightly and glared at the bartender, "You didn't hear that from me, got it?" His voice was direct and firm in his articulation.

"My lips are sealed." Lucian mimicked a zipper across her mouth.

"Good." Erwin leaned off the bar top, "Thanks for the information." He turned from the bartop to leave.

"When will I see you and that pretty kitty of yours again?" Lucian smirked as she called out to the departing German.

Erwin ignored her words as he flipped her off which caused her to chuckle before going back to her work.

The German hastily made his exit from the club and shook his head to shake off the feeling of being in there, "Scheiße, I keep forgetting how much I hate that place." He walked up the stairs and checked the time to see it was close to the afternoon. After checking the time, he felt his stomach growl, "I should get something to eat, but not here." He grimaced at the fact that the food served throughout the tower was genetically made.

Erwin walked up the steps and reached into his pants pocket to grab his wireless earbuds. Taking the custom molds out of the case, he placed them in his ears to listen to some old world rock and roll. He walked through the shopping mall district towards the tram station and as he arrived, the tram was pulling into the station.

The German boarded the tram and took his seat at the back of the car. The tram departed the platform with Erwin closing his eyes and resting the back of his head against the wall as sleep took over his body.

Flashback to five years ago on a tragic night...

Two bots were back to back in the arena breathing heavily as their casings were dented and leaking oil as chunks of metal had been ripped out of their plating from the excessive torture. Countless dismantled bots laid about the metal floor of the arena as a thick layer of oil coated the ground from the amount of disassembled bots.