Ugh… this was awful. Now Eliza knows? Kazuki didn’t seem to have planned this out, he would have told him otherwise.

Archius noted that Eliza was continuing to glance at Jasyme… Jasyme, for her part, was simply chowing down on the complimentary bowls of rice they were provided.

The three were seated down at a restaurant, though it wasn’t just any standard restaurant. Nor was it just high-end.

Archius glanced out of the dividers separating their seating area from the rest of the restaurant. It was empty. Except for the guards stationed around the room, and the chefs and servers within the kitchen.

“So… awkward?” Archius muttered, jabbing at the weird atmosphere in the room. Kazuki stepped through the divider into their reservation booth, followed by one of his guards, wearing ornate but practical black armour.

He turned back towards the guard. They didn’t wear a helmet, probably someone special then? Scars covered his face, as Kazuki told them, “Keep the perimeter up, Orion. I don’t want a single word of what happens here to be released to the public.”

Orion, the captain of Kazuki’s Imperial Guard detail on Lautrasia, nodded. “Not even an interweb whisper,” he said.

“If you get even a whiff of any assassins, bounty hunters, criminals, you tell me, instantly. Do blood tests on the staff you pass. You can fake a face with a scrambler. You can never fake blood,” Kazuki ordered.

“Of course, my Prince,” Orion clicked his heels, bowed, and turned. He walked off with Kazuki’s orders.

“Took you long enough,” Archius said to Kazuki. “So, how’d it go?”

“The manager of the restaurant owes my family a lot, especially after the war. He said it’s on the house,” Kazuki said, sitting down beside Eliza. “I have a company of my grandfather’s best with us. There won’t be any interruptions. I’ve made sure of that.”

Eliza was fidgeting with her own hands beneath the table, Archius could tell by simple process of elimination. Yet even with the addition of Kazuki, the mood hadn’t changed between the three of them. And Jasyme was completely oblivious to it, though for his purposes that was a good thing.

He glanced towards her. “If you keep eating rice, you won’t have enough room in your stomach for the actual courses,” he said. She looked up at him, the earring jingling slightly.

“You rarely provide me with a blank cheque to eat whatever… I will not forgo this opportunity!” she said, as she went back to digging into the rice. Archius glanced at the two seated opposing him. A serving drone, with a nice bow-tie, served four drinks.

And of course, it gave Kazuki apple juice.

“Kaz?” Eliza asked inquisitively, noting down his non alcoholic drink, served nicely in a glass cup.

“I’m a light drinker,” he said.

Archius interjected, “More like a light-weight drinker. Trust me Liz, best for all of us if he doesn’t drink alcohol…”

Kazuki nodded, looking at Eliza as he sipped on his juice. “There must never be another ginsei-root ale incident.”

Archius raised his own cup in agreement. He’ll toast to that! Archius then gestured towards Eliza. She noticed a little too late, frantically grabbing her own drink and raising it up, clashing it against Archius’ as some spilt.

The alcohol got on Jasyme’s blouse, as she stopped munching on the near infinite supply of bowls of rice, noting the stain on her clothes. “Oh…”

“Ah!” Eliza paused, immediately slamming her cup down. “I’m sorry, I’ll go… I’ll go get some napkins.”

Eliza was about to stand up as Archius interjected. “No. It’s fine… right?” He looked towards Jasyme.

She cracked a smile at them all, nodding her head. “It’s fine, it’s not everyday that I get to eat out, is that the same for you… E…Elia?”

“Eliza…”

Fuck… Archius glanced at Jasyme, seeing the cogs and tubes attached to the back of her skull fluctuate in frequencies. He ‘accidentally’ nudged her, causing Jasyme’s dark green hair to cover the tubes. Eliza’s smart, and he isn’t giving her even a sly chance to find out anymore.

Archius looked towards Kazuki. He was drinking his cup of juice, ignoring everything that was going on. Several drones hovered over the dividers, with plates and plates of food.

Placing them all down, Archius noted a high amount of seafood… Probably freshly caught as well. He was willing to bet on it being the highest quality fishes caught today.

“Kazuki, bring Jasyme to the toilets,” said Archius, giving Kazuki a hidden wink.

But… he wasn’t so eager. “Why?” he asked.

Despite his dead exterior, he looked quite relaxed right now… Probably since they have a guard detail with them. Looking to his right, Archius could see Lautrasia’s capital, a sprawling metropolis that seemed to rival Anagora, with neon lights blaring in the Trasian Language. It was an island representing both Trasian spirit and the technology of the new.

The Imperial Palace loomed in the distance, a large architectural bastion, a fortress of old blended and new… Archius found it rather jarring, in a lovely architectural way - though couldn’t really describe it, simply noting how many battlements and towers it had… It was residence of Kazuki’s family.

“Just, can you do it for me, please?” Archius smiled at Kazuki, placing his hands together as if praying.

Eliza was already eating the food, chowing down as Jasyme did the same.

‘Is it because of Jasyme?’ Kazuki asked, silently messaging Archius.

Archius nodded. ‘It is,’ he said, in a similar silent manner over the uplink. ‘I don’t want Eliza thinking the wrong things.’

‘What? The truth?’ he asked. ‘Even Jasyme doesn’t know that.’

Archius’ eyes skidded towards the other two. Jasyme was messily eating a whole jura-fillet, as Eliza ate in a more refined manner, a napkin around her neck…

Looking back at Kazuki, he dropped his facade, showing Kazuki not a face filled with spite, but a solemn face of regret… Everything that has led up to now was simple cause and effect. And he will never let himself befall to what Jasyme and others have become… mere fleeting memories.

‘Just… do it for me, please?’ he asked nicely.

He had a hard time maintaining his face, as he immediately snapped back to his default, neutral face. Smiling, he nodded at Kazuki. He hated manipulating his only friend left like that, especially with such a rare face.

But, it was a face Archius knew Kazuki would never forget. Kazuki put down his cup. And without even a change in facial muscles, Archius could tell by the mere glancing of his eyes that he had agreed to it.

Standing up, Kazuki looked towards Jasyme. “Your blouse. Come with me,” he said. He shimmied his way out from behind Eliza’s seat.

“Wait… shouldn’t I be—”

Archius spoke up. “Jasyme, you’ll get a cold if your clothes are wet, you can go with Kaz, right?” he asked Jasyme personally, giving her a comforting smile.

This, however, he did not have difficulty maintaining. He’s practised it well to the point of perfection, and sometimes: passion outweighs practise.

Jasyme stopped eating, wiping her mouth with her sleeves, as Archius rolled his eyes, grabbing his own napkin and wiping the sauce around her lips for her. “Hmm?”

Kazuki tapped Jasyme on the shoulder, before placing his hands in his pocket. He walked out of their booth, smooth, low-jazz hanging throughout the air. “Come on, you heard Archius.”

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“Alright…” Jasyme stood up, somewhat confused, as she followed Kazuki out, the machines attached to her scurried along with her, trailing behind.

Leaving only him and Eliza in the booth. She tried to ignore Archius, simply maintaining her eyes on the food. Archius sighed, looking at her.

“No way avoiding it?” Eliza asked, her eyes glanced off to the side. “I’m sorry for prying…”

Archius shook his head. “No. We’re both adults, let’s deal with it here and now, no misunderstandings, got it?”

Eliza nodded in turn. “So… where should we begin?” she asked. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m rather shocked…”

“At what?” Archius asked.

“Jasyme… she’s from Máwt, right?” Eliza asked, dragging her head back towards Archius. “I haven’t met many people from Máwt, but those that I did know had similar features… Olive-bronze skin, green hair and eyes. And a bell earring…”

“You are correct,” Archius said.

Maybe Eliza’s already put the pieces together. In some way, that was for the best, but Archius needed to control the narrative. His agenda must be maintained… If that was the case, then maybe their investigation really does need his full backing and support.

And of course, Eliza doesn’t disappoint. “You’re from Máwt, aren’t you?” she asked, “And she—”

“Choose your next words very carefully,” said Archius. Despite the cautionary threat, he simply maintained a basic, never-ending facade of neutrality.

Eliza froze for a moment, before continuing. “I was… going to ask if she was there, when the bombs fell…”

“She was not,” Archius said. “But I was.”

“Huh?” Eliza’s face turned from concern to surprise, her crimson eyes staring at him. Slowly, Archius let his face slip. He needed to provide some level of emotional attachment, a dosage large enough to get Eliza to fall in line.

“You said back during the Loyalist Op that you don’t want things to be fake, right? Asked Archius.

Eliza nodded, silent.

“Well then, no more lies, right?” He asked, maintaining his strained face. “I became a CRIS asset after the virus bombings, basically adopted into it. I worked with Kazuki, and before you say anything: Jasyme’s not in the know - so don’t talk about it around her. As far as she’s concerned, me and Kaz are just good friends that pop by to her garden ever so often, understood?”

“Is… this about something before we met?” Eliza asked. “I remember something about that being said back then…”

Oh yeah, Archius thought, that waitress at the restaurant… Well, given that there was a shootout right after that, Archius was both surprised - and impressed - that Eliza could even remember any details about something so insignificant like that.

“Yes, Jasyme and I were both from Máwt, and during high school, we spent some time in the show-bizz industry…” He let off a hollow chuckle, betraying the façade of neutrality. “Didn’t quite go as planned, did it, Archius?”

He was asking himself a very blatant question. Of course it went sideways, without realising it Archius had just let a little more emotion trickle into Eliza’s dosage. Well, it’ll help either way. Such a small comment like that probably screams to Eliza.

Eliza asked, “But… what happened?”

“Careful now,” Archius said with a sly gaze. “But Jasyme’s the reason why I control the flow of everything. My failures back then made me realise that the only way to achieve my objectives is through control.”

He remembered back to the past, how the CRIS attached him to destroy Clandestine from within. Kazuki was just supposed to be a tool for him… But Archius felt some reprieve knowing that Kazuki, even after the dust settled back then, helped him stand up.

“Sorry,” Eliza said. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this, you never seemed like the guy to…”

He needed one last boost of emotions to seal the deal with Eliza. “I’m telling you this so you won’t pry and misunderstand, Lizzie, we’re friends, really! So… can you do this for me?” he asked with a vulnerable look in his eyes, sparking with fear.

Eliza couldn’t resist it. Amazing. To his surprise, Archius’ heart was aching. This time, it was not the who: it was the what.

“Don’t pry...” Archius repeated in a low voice. Only he could hear it. Low, but angry, and venomous.

Archius could see his reflection in Eliza’s eyes. He looked pathetic, a person unable to control the outcomes of situations around him. Well, no more, he thought, he’ll control all of it - until all is under his clasp.

As always, the mission comes first. Regaining control of himself, Archius snapped the gates shut.

“I understand,” she said. She slowly smiled. What was she smiling for? “Thank you for trusting me… I doubt I’d remember either way, so I won’t be telling people.”

Archius smirked, allowing himself to fill the role of the social engineer once again. “If you had to, I’d be sure it was a good reason.” He’s done it, his mind thought. He’s gotten Eliza to stop prying. Control has been achieved, and she remains the good little pawn that she is.

Sure, it did cost some information, but those sacrifices should make Eliza feel too awkward and uncomfortable to confront him again - she’s the most sensitive of people, yes, but also the most understanding.

“I know it’s hard to talk, but thank you, Archius, for trusting me.” Eliza rubbed her hands together. Oh no... Is she going to say something stupid?! “Friends and family are kinda thickle for you, isn’t it? I... barely knew my mother before she died. Died giving birth to my younger brother and... Well...”

Archius placed his head on his hand, leaning against it. “Spitting image of his father, yes?” he asked. Eliza nodded.

“Indeed,” she said. “Always shouted at him, telling him how... pathetic he is, that he... robbed the galaxy of my mother...”

Oh, such a typical case of being a neglectful father, Archius thought. Love of his life died and now he blames his kids, what a shame, he thought. Though apparently Eliza’s mother was a genius or some shit.

“I remembered seeing some Delnetic gear over in the baazars over back in Kastenor,” Archius said. “I guess some are still in circulation, though that was a long time ago.”

Eliza didn’t say a word.

“Ya know, I was actually there watching your presentation,” Archius said.

Eliza raised an eyebrow. “Wait... I didn’t see you in the crowd, though?!”

Archius shrugged. “Big crowd?” he suggested, hiding the fact that he had a face scrambler on. He didn’t want to make an active appearance back at uni, raises too many questions for him to deal with.

Flicking through his holophone, Archius read through a few dozen messages from his university assets, though they’d call themselves his friends, whatever those things are.

“You better shove your success in your father’s face,” Archius said. “I’m betting on it! Why’d you think I hooked my wagon to your zira-beast?!”

Eliza chuckled at his out of the place remark. “Oh, shut it! How come you’re always able to spin things positively?” She jokingly remarked. Her smile grew, as she let off a small laugh under her breath.

∗ ∗ ∗

Stutters... Quivering... Kazuki’s hand was acting weird.Taking out a pill of Halolazil, Kazuki threw it into the air. Opening his mouth, he caught it and swallowed. The stutters in his hands faded…

After what felt like forever, Jasyme was finished drying her clothes. She swung the door of the toilets open, exiting out into the hallway whilst humming a tune. Kazuki took a deep breath.

He glanced at her, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed…

“You good?” Kazuki asked.

Jasyme nodded. “I believe so!” she remarked in an all too jovial manner. Her ‘death’ didn’t hurt Kaz as much as it did Archius, but even Kaz could be caught off guard. The voice stung. It clashed against the sight of all the metal machines attached to her back and limbs.

Knowing is one thing Eliza is good at. She must know the links between his own cybernetics and Jasyme’s. That alone may be a source of disturbance for her. But that doesn’t matter…

He walked alongside Jasyme the two arrived back in complete silence. He’ll have to ask Eliza later. But now? Time for some food.

Or so he thought.

He allowed Jasyme to sit down first, before stepping through the divider. Only then did Archius stand up, grabbing and dragging Kazuki back out. “Alright, Kaz, come with me to the toilets!”

“But… I already went,” Kazuki said.

Archius made up random excuses. “Oh, come on! The girls in high school do this all the time!” He kept dragging Kazuki away, until they were alone, in the reception area of the restaurant.

He glanced to the side, seeing a large waterfall display, with various fishes swimming about in a pool. The music still played.

“What?” Kazuki snapped.

Archius dithered for a moment. Then, he said, “Okay… it’s done. Eliza knows”

“Everything?”

“No,” Archius interjected immediately, before Kazuki could even say anything else. “She’ll think it’s enough, and that’s all that matters.”

“So you lied to her?” asked Kazuki. “Or did you tell her the truth?”

Archius leaned against the wall opposite Kazuki, side-stepping out of the way as he nearly pressed against an art piece, hovering on a pedestal.

“Both,” Archius said. “Nothing we can do about her, can we?”

Maybe. One day, Kazuki knows he’ll get things done. “She still lives.”

Archius nodded.

“You’d do anything to protect Liz, wouldn’t you?” Archius asked.

Kazuki didn’t give him an answer… Archius will link the points together quickly. But saving Eliza? He’ll do that at the drop of a heartbeat. Through blood and steel, he’ll accomplish it, despite who he is.

Don’t forget who he is? He’s a killer… That’s who he is, Kazuki half-heartedly stated. Saving Eliza typically comes at the cost of lives. Heroes save people… He’s merely the Contract-Breaker.

Archius took out a pack of cigarettes as he sighed. “I’d break my back if Eliza was in danger, too, ya know? Metaphorically, of course, I like having my back… and looking at you… yeah.”

Cigarettes… Kazuki remarked, “We’re indoors.”

“Oh, yeah?” Archius looked around. “We are, aren’t we?”

“Did you forget?” Kazuki sarcastically rolled his golden eyes.

But what Archius said next would stick. “Sometimes, forgetting is a gift…” he said. That it is, Kazuki thought. “Jas’ still alive, I’ll light an Aspen Grey to that.”

That fact alone reminded Kazuki of his failures. So many rely on him. Jasyme did. Victoria… did. The AGENCY needs him… He cannot fail his people.