CENTRAL CITY OF ELDORA 

✬ 14 DAYS BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE OF MACHINA KEY ✬

It had been hours since the results were known. The paper didn't change its words. Nor did the crumples disappear despite him smoothing it out for the fifteenth time. Reality was what it was. He sighed, tossing it on his bed. As it landed without another mark on its battered body, reality remained as what it was. A Trader. Surely, his luck hadn't been that bad. But as always, he was thrust straight into having that belief challenged.

It wasn't a surprise that surprise hadn't sparked in him. Humorous. Bitter humour would be a rather apt description for how he felt. The creaky springs of his bed frame accompanied his every shift on his sheets as he moved to lay down on his back. Smacking a hand on a cool, metal sphere of his bedside lamp, one that Mother had made for him, artificial light followed soon afterwards and moved patterns of faux stars covering every inch of his ceiling. Darkness became the perfect canvas to mimic the night skies he missed. Pity that Eldora did not allow such a view.

Expanses of gold and gears, black and greys followed by shades of brown dominantly created a sense of class among its people. But greens and navy blue with slight shades of reds and yellows bleached by white balls of gas one called stars were a better colour palette to Ares' taste.

His favourite Octans constellations moved along the area of the dark canvas. Gears moved Hydrus to allow Chamaleon to take its place. And on and on it went. Until all names of the specific clustered stars were recited in the quiet of his mind.

Mother often said, 'If one can be the stars, then imagine how interesting it must be. Because while they look close, they are really far apart from each other. But nevertheless how far they are, they still remain locked as a pattern to be named as one constellation.' The irony was palpable. Because here he and his sister were, stuck in this city while their parents were far from this plane of reality. Somewhere he couldn't reach. And yet, if one were to think of the Elos, people would still remember them as one family.

Far away but nevertheless still locked close together by name.

He huffed a breath, sitting. And speaking of locked... Capella had hidden herself in the bathroom for far too long. He should see if she was fine. Walking to the closed door, he knocked twice. Each sound was left unanswered. Knocking a few more times resulted the same. Trickles of worry budded in his chest then. Surely, she wouldn't be crying this much, right? Before he could muster the courage to check if his assumption had been right, the grey door opened to reveal his sister dressed to leave.

Brown gloves with multiple small belts holding them in place, and her entire outfit from her chest to her feet in a similar fashion, she was definitely going somewhere. She tugged at her chest-cropped dark-grey jacket to cover the thin straps of her top. Her eyes revealed a determination he recognised. It was often followed by trouble. But no words needed to leave his mouth for her to grab his wrist and keep their gazes locked.

"Get dressed," she said. "We're leaving."

"What?" He thinned his lips when she tightened her grip on him. "Capella..."

The mere mention of her name acted as a sharp razor cutting invisible ropes on her body for her shoulders slumped a moment later. Unwrapping her fingers from his wrist, she took a step back. Her posture remained rigid. Remained strong. He was not getting out of this, not now. Her mind had been made up. At the upturned corner of her lips, a stark contrast from the fear crawling on her features hours ago, he braced himself for whatever she had in mind.

"If we're to be separated" —despite her clear attempt at keeping her voice strong, they wavered at the end— "then I want to see the stars one last time before tomorrow calls for us."

To their secret place away from the constant movement Eldora offered. A tempting offer.

"It's quite a distance," he said. "Four hours on foot distance."

"There's a tram running from midnight to four in the morning," she said. She had figured everything out. No objections would reach her now, it seemed. "Get dressed. I think we owe it to ourselves just this once, don't you think?"

He supposed that was true. Changing his clothes, however, was still a hassle. With finicky buttons and belts, he quite liked how he looked now. Instead, he donned a knee-length black jacket and grabbed a hat before thinking twice and dropping it on his bed. The less he stood out, the better.

Walking down the streets of Eldora where gas lamps illuminated wet ground, the very few houses in their neighbourhood were dark. Lacked of life.

That changed when their journey led them into the heart of the city. Women and men alike in dark clothing, some with gold intricacies on their bodies resembling their class passed by them. Turning gears in a few cars followed by more steam coming from the top of their spouts at the front of their hood had Ares coughing. Tugging at his dark-brown gloves before wiping a finger at the bottom of his nose, he sidestepped when two children jumped into a puddle of water on the road.

Glancing at the bottom of their feet, he stopped for a brief moment at the moving gears and springs. A line etched into the see-through material lit in constant yellow. Not too bright. Enough to indicate that Machina was working still. Keeping Eldora breathing. Keeping the steam engines running and aiding in creation of more modern electricity into homes and shops. And to more important buildings like Eldora's government building and Eldora Monarchy Hall.

One that would not be possible without the help of Underground Central City of Europium. Peace in exchange for technology and nuclear. And he would be meeting the infamous enemy nation on his first mission.

A hand touched his arm. "Are you alright?" Capella asked, her voice soft.

"Yes," Ares said, nodding. "Come along. We don't want to miss the tram."

His twin sister took a flitting look at their ground before her eyes dimmed to a few shades darker. She would be in charge of keeping Machina running and the city breathing tomorrow. They both were to travel on two different paths. And Mother's words couldn't be more truthful than now. They weren't quite different after all. The stars and the Elos.

The dark skies remained the same when they entered a narrower path, separating them from the main crowd. A small station with rusting gates greeted them. Having to grab a brass lever, Ares turned it into a counterclockwise motion three times as the gears attached to the locks unlatched its teeth and parted the gates. Squeaky hinges irritated his ears as they pushed through. An automaton at a ticket booth woke up with blinking eyes when Capella neared it. Hands on the cool metal counter, she smiled.

"The next tram to outskirts of Eldora," she said.

The automaton nodded once, turning its head to show half of incomplete face with moving parts. When a metal hand placed two solid coins with copper dented in with '2' on the surface, Capella scooped them up. In return, she gave it a thin, silver card.

"You've topped up your travelling card?" Ares asked, eyebrows raising when his sister nodded. It dawned on him a realisation he should've known. "You've been planning this."

"I hoped this trip would be with joy," she said after she thanked the automaton. A gesture he had yet to understand. It was not as if the broken thing could differentiate between a rude human being and a polite one. "But alas..." She handed him a coin. "At least it can be our consolation prize, can it not?"

Wordless at that, he stood next to her to stare at an abandoned building in front of them. There were no other people here. It wasn't an uncommon sight. Since steam trains had been introduced and nuclear fusion aircrafts had been invented, people preferred them for faster mode of transportation. Yet, there was something calming about long tram rides. Maybe it was a nod to the past to the quickly changing present.

Caressing the uneven surface of the coin, he tilted his head up to look at the sky. Still black. And a few puffs of smoke continuously streaming up from a factor nearby was the reason for it.

"I would've thought you would be speaking more," Capella said, nudging his arm. "You've been so quiet since you found out about your field."

His heart throbbed once at the reminder. "I've come to accept the decision. I can't change what has been decided."

She was quiet just for a moment. "I will keep you safe." When their eyes met, it was to the same burning determination as before. "You're my brother. I will not have you be treated like a scapegoat. We'll go see Massimos tomorrow."

"What can he do?" Ares sighed. "He's not the government."

"He is not," she said, "but he always had our backs. He also works with the employment department. Maybe if we can make a case, the outcomes might change."

Ares doubted it. Massimos might care about them, but he was not a miracle worker. Not that Ares minded, he didn't care about the older man. He never will. 

It just couldn't be refuted that numbers changed its shape in his head and certain letters were hard to differentiate from others. Reading was a feat and calculations ached his body. And yet, like a fool he still aimed for Engineering. Burning gas and oil and everything in between to waste light were all for naught. While the disappointment remained lingering in his veins, there was a sharp sense of resignation. The conclusion couldn't change when the predictors remained the same. And he was that predictor. By logic, the outcome would remain.

The disagreement must've shown on his face because his sister touched his wrist. Her fingers wrapping around his hand, the squeeze on his fingers was a non-verbal encouragement. Ares tightened his grip on hers. He kept his hopes low, nevertheless.

From a distance, the deep clucking sounds of wheels turning and chains rattling followed by short spouts of more smoke caught his attention. On two tiny rails, a square tram was nearing them. Only when it stopped short with a sharp shrill that the Elo twins got on it. Shoving the coin into his pockets, they moved to sit closer to the back. Taking a seat near the windows, Ares leaned his temple against the cool glass. Capella remained pressed against his side. And he was grateful for her presence.

"You will be worshipped for taking care of Machina," Ares said, catching her eyes from the reflection.

"I don't know the first thing about how to take care of it," she said. "Fixing broken gears of a clock hardly constitutes to me being capable of maintaining Machina's condition."

Ares frowned, turning his head to face her. "You cleared that exam under thirty minutes. Rare have completed it under sixty. Let alone thirty."

Capella shrugged. "It wasn't a difficult assessment."

Right. When he had taken the test, he barely had managed to get the escapement part of an old clock working. Flexing his fingers, the failure tasted bitter on his tongue. His quiet had been reply enough for his sister didn't prod the topic anymore.

"Would Mother and Father be proud of us?" she asked.

The question was with heavy-implication of a present they wished they had. He leaned into his seat, keeping his gaze now at the moving scenery. Would they?

"I don't know," he said, honestly. "But I believe Mother would've been encouraging at least."

"She would've been devastated," Capella said. "Especially about you. You've always been her favourite."

"And you were Father's," Ares said without missing a beat. "I miss them."

As the smoke at last shifted to allow the deep navy blue sky to show through, it was then fleeting thoughts of tomorrow were chased away. At this very moment, he could enjoy the silence and smell of earth before reality came knocking at his door.

When a few stars began showing themselves to him, the echo of Mother's words took root in his mind again.

'Lonely and apart they are. The stars. But they're constantly held together by people clumping together. Like a family.'