“And what about you, Eliza?” asked Archius, leaning against the glass wall to the roof-balcony. Nihara immediately shot a look towards him as he was standing right beside her. Took her long enough, he thought. Eliza immediately shook Kazuki off her in a mild panic..

Nihara looked up to Cyrus, who abstained from drinking himself. “Wheere the fuck did you come from?” Nihara asked aggressively.

Archius chuckled, shrugging as he took Nihara’s drink downing it before giving the empty can back to her. “I climbed up the walls. Yes, all fifty floors.” snapped Archius, he turned towards Kazuki. “You left that out of the equation.”

“Hmm. I did. Cyrus, deal with that,” ordered Kazuki. Cyrus nodded, taking Nihara with him as he stormed past Archius, onto the balcony… Leaving only him, Kazuki and Eliza here.

Perfect. Now that those two are gone, he can do his little game with Eliza, with no distractions. Kazuki should have been doing things that he had told him. Eliza’s dedicated, but she’s far too dependent on Kazuki. And Kazuki’s acting more irrational by the day, he’ll need to provide them with the best chances possible. He slowly walked towards them across the room.

“Liz, you talk about Kazuki killing your next lead, but the opposite is true for you.”

“Huh?!” Eliza pointed at herself, confused.

“Do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?” asked Archius, slowly grabbing onto the revolver on the table. Kazuki remained unflinching, simply crossing his arms.

Eliza took a step back as Archius slowly raised the muzzle towards her. “Archius… what are you talking about?” Eliza asked. Pathetic, Archius thought.

He started to advance as she backpedalled to the wall. Kazuki stepped to the side as Archius moved past him. Kazuki wants to achieve something and so does Eliza: they’ll need his help. Last time the two started a whole fucking war, but this time? he’ll make sure that things are kept on a leash.

“What are you going to do?”

She froze at the muzzle, placing her hands up as she started shaking. She’ll need to do better than that. He slowed, twisting the revolver towards him as he grabbed Eliza’s left hand, the revolver was ambidextrous… He made sure she was comfortable as he pressed the muzzle to his chest. Then, he slowly wrapped her fingers around the grip and the trigger, ensuring her index finger knew where it was.

He looked at her without the facade, causing her eyes to shrink in fear at his true self, a simple fragmented being - barely human in heart. “No one knows what might happen. Your safety is directly linked to the success of the AGENCY.” said Archius.

He wasn’t wrong, but it was misleading. Sure, Lilly, Quinn and Claire will be sad if she died: but they’ve been through worse. But Kazuki? He relies on Eliza. Mentally or physically, he couldn’t care less.

“Hey… I… I’m just the pen-pusher, anyone can do my job,” Eliza’s lips shook as she spoke, barely able to get her words out as her hands shook the handle - scared if she accidentally pulled the trigger. But she was objectively right.

Archius chuckled. “A good one at that, so much so that you nearly solved the AGENCY’s logi-problem in the High-Table Oversector alone. Plus… Kaz will get sad if you die.”

“Don’t drag me into this,” said Kazuki. Eliza shot a look towards him as he looked away… How amusing, he always did bring out the best reactions, even if his face was so banal and bland - with the exception of his old burn marks and that new cracked skin beside his lips.

Leaning in, Archius lowered his voice to just above a whisper. “If I was mind-snared and was an inch away from killing you, would you pull the trigger?” asked Archius.

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She frantically nodded her head. Was it her speaking, or was it her survival instincts, or was it panic? Archius raised an eyebrow, showing even more malice in his face, trying to promote her to kill him. “Then do it.”

Eliza frantically shook her head, her bloody eyes staring into his soulless husks. She tried to let go of the revolver, but Archius gripped her hand with crushing force. He wanted her to pull it. She won’t know that it’s lighter than usual, she’s no contractor - the one time where such a trait was preferable, but then again they wouldn’t be in this situation if she was one. Maybe that’s why Kazuki has her on, a new brain perhaps? But her sensitive nature to violence is a problem, sadly one he can’t solve without Kazuki getting mad at him.

But violence was normal, and this sheltered girl knew, but never experienced a proper scrap. And as Eliza’s face started to scrunch. She closed her eyes as she increased her breathing. Snap. Archius heard the snap of the receiver. He immediately let go, with Eliza dropping the revolver onto the floor, breathing a sigh of relief.

That wasn’t all he had for her. Eliza can be easily manipulated, shower her with praise and she’ll bend under the pressure. She needs it, like how Kaz needs his exospine, though ‘need’ is too strong a word. Hmm, no: it’s a want.

She wants affirmation.

“Hmm. Don’t listen to the saying: hold fire till you see the whites of their eyes; it’s easier to kill stickmen than real men.” She wasn’t ready, but at the same time she was better than he anticipated. “Remember, Eliza, we do what we do because we must. Kazuki sacrifices blood, and I sacrifice my time and effort. So whenever you hesitate, remember what must be done…”

“Alright…” Eliza trailed off, not exactly understanding Archius’ words, his motivation, because in this galaxy filled to the brim with shit, someone must do the dirty work. It just so happens that that it’s his turn.

He lowered his voice, “You did good.” She nodded, a hidden smirk creeping onto her face. Archius raised his voice. “I guess you guys really do need some help.”

“Huh?” Eliza looked up to him, trying to walk past him as she fell onto the sofa. Kazuki patted her on the back.

“Come on, it’s obvious, isn’t it.” Archius loosened his shoulders, slowly picking up his revolver before turning to the two of them. He showed its empty cylinders, before chucking it onto the table, it phased through the holographic display.

He smirked, showing Eliza and Kazuki the face he wore in university. One of pure bliss and life, it must have given Eliza some level of calm - seeing something so old and familiar. “I’m coming to ensure you two rascals don’t accidentally get yourselves in trouble, plus who knows what fun little adventures we three can get up to.”

Such a convenient excuse.

Eliza’s no contractor, but maybe that was an advantage, Archius thought… A possible liability, maybe, but he even said it himself… For the amount of time she spent in the AGENCY, she made a good handler. And an even better logistician, he pondered… For now, he’ll help; for now: he’ll accept her.

Archius held up fake happiness; sure, he was going to help, but he’ll see if he can get Kazuki to loosen his lips a little bit, he was the guy he had a hard time getting a read on the most.

Eliza shot a look up at Kazuki. He said nothing. Archius winked at the two of them, trying to ensure that they were cool with the idea. Maybe he can pry a secret or two from them… more so on Eliza’s part.

She nudged him. He slowly looked upwards, groaning audibly in frustration as he looked back down. And finally, he gave a simple nod. “Fuck you…”

He chuckled, smiling. “Fuck you, two.” jested Archius.