CENTRAL CITY OF ELDORA 

✮ 13 DAYS BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE OF MACHINA KEY  ✮

Infiltrate and scout for any plans of them trying to sabotage us. Even if it ends up with us being captured. Or dead.

Nichirin's words continued to ring through his head even when his first work day had ended.

Death was a familiar concept to him. He had lost his parents and one day, he would lose his sister too. It was what it was. But when the perspective changed to focus on him, it suddenly was strange to imagine his own life coming to an end. His heart skipped a beat as his limbs grew heavy at the thought of being buried six feet under. Over a job that he didn't even want to do.

He crossed the busy streets, eyes trained on the glowing line buried in the translucent pathway until it shifted into concrete and then welcomed the greyness that belonged to his neighbourhood. The night sky didn't particularly change the image of his house. It only now lacked the yellow hue whenever the sun rays could get through and shine on them.

But the lights were on, at least from the window next to his front door.

Opening the door and walking inside, the smell of food wafted into the air, making his stomach grumble. Ah, he hadn't properly eaten lunch today. Even when Nichirin and Rosé had given him some steamed potatoes, he only took a few bites. The taste had been bland.

A series of laughter echoed from the kitchen. Ares knew Massimos would be here, recalling briefly that he promised to stop by for dinner. While he had wanted nothing but to grab toast and cheese before bed, that plan could no longer happen now that he had a guest.

"Ares!" Capella said the second he stepped into the small space extending from the living room. Her eyes were wide, scanning his face as if she couldn't believe he was standing before her unharmed. "You're home!"

"I'm home." Ares nodded, shoving his hands into his jackets. He forgot to take it off, but frankly, he preferred to be overdressed that not under Massimos' gaze. That old man always rubbed him the wrong way. "Massimos."

"Ares," Massimos said, his lips quirked into a brief smile. "I see it's a slow day for you."

There it was. That look as if he commanded attention of everyone in the room. Arrogance seeped out from his every gait. Ares hated him. He didn't see what Capella saw. Righteous, caring man she had once said to him. Caring, maybe, from afar.

He didn't get good vibes from him. No matter how close he had been to his parents.

"Yes, well," Ares said, briskly. "You brought food."

"It's delicious," Capella said, catching his gaze. "Cold boiled turkey."

Ares resisted arranging his face into a grimace. It had been a favourite at home when their maids made it for them but he always found the texture unappetising. The toast and cheese sounded far more palatable. Instead of saying otherwise, he gave Capella a smile before he pointed up the stairs.

"I'll go change first. It's been a day."

Capella eyed him, worry clearly written on her face. Glancing at Massimos, who had turned his attention to his sister, he left the duo there and walked to his room. A low sigh escaped his lips then. He took his time to peel off his jacket and some of his top layers that he didn't think he needed at home. Leaving his accessories on just to look presentable, he went back down to meet with a sight for sore eyes.

Massimos was reciting an old tale as if he was a favourable hero, pulling Capella's attention like he deserved it. He curled his fingers into fists, standing at the bottom of the stairs. His hand gestures and loud voice booming through the room only served to grate his nerves further. The tiredness he had felt settled heavier over him like the whole world decided to grace him with its weight. A headache threatened to bloom at the back of his head.

Releasing a low breath, he forced his legs to lessen the distance between him and the duo.

"And your father had taken one look at the police and yelled, 'See you in another life!' and jumped over the fence!" Massimos said before laughter followed his words. "An adventurous pair we both made, always ready to give your mother a heart attack when we would meet her all scratched and bandaged up!"

Ares' tense shoulders relaxed at the tale of their father. One that he had heard countless of times before from their parents' mouth themselves. This particular one would be most likely about the time the pair decided that breaking and entering a snobby rich woman's house to free her caged pet would be a wise past time. He glanced at Capella as he took a seat next to her, his lips briefly stretching into a smile.

At least he knew where her risk-taking behaviour came from.

Sometimes, she carried more of their parents' characteristics than he did.

"I bet! Mother has always been easy to scare," Capella said and even without looking at her, Ares could imagine the bright grin on her face, lighting her face up in a way only the stories of their parents would. She nudged his arm. "Right?"

"Yes," Ares said, voice softening as her face flashed in his mind. "Mother's always been the perfect picture of a gentle woman."

"A good mother she was," Massimos said, a sigh escaping his lips. "It is unfortunate they could not have seen you grow up into such fine lady and man."

He clenched his jaw tight, the words how he wished he didn't want to hear coming from Massimos trapped behind his teeth. It wouldn't do good if he lost control of his temper now. What was left of his patience continued to be tested, however, every time the older man opened his mouth, uttering another memory of the past. Another story, another adventure and another part of his parents that he knew long before he was greeted with this man's presence.

At the end, he barely managed to zone back into the conversation when Massimos questioned Capella. "So, how has your first day in Maintenance?"

Curious, he tuned in to her answer. But when only silence greeted the scene, he thinned his lips. He poked at the cold meal he had been given a few minutes ago, not taking a bite. When she finally did speak, he could detect the hint of anxiousness in her voice that had his heart tightening in his chest.

"It was fun," she said. "I saw the Machina Key."

"Ah yes," Massimos said, nodding as he rubbed a hand over his mouth. "That thing's a beauty."

Without meaning to, Ares said, "You've seen it in person?"

For the first time this night, Massimos granted him more than five-seconds of attention, lips quirked upwards in no doubt amusement. "Why yes. I was part of Maintenance before I got the job in the government."

"You were part of Maintenance?" Capella's high-pitched question in surprise reflected his own reaction.

While he was aware that one could apply for another job in the government if there was a vacancy or prefer to retire after a certain amount of years in their field, opening a quaint shop or a business next to Merchants in the streets, this was the first time he heard that Massimos had been a part of Maintenance.

"Yes. I'll always be grateful at having been able to see the very thing that keeps our city breathing and moving," he said, nodding as he placed a hand on his chest. "A beauty, that thing."

"I see," Ares said, catching his gaze on him. "Why did you leave the team then? Compared to a government admin job, it seems like Maintenance might have been more up your alley."

He truly didn't know the man very well to deem which was more suitable work field but while he had heard of stories of people getting jobs in the government, they were mostly from fields that weren't as prestigious as Maintenance. Almost none, even. To denounce such a gift, in his words, seemed careless.

However, his question was met with a smile that seemed far too jagged at its edges. It sent a chill down his spine enough that he sat straighter, placing a fist on his thigh.

"Well, after a while, you would want a change of scenery," Massimos said. "But I suspect it will be harder for you to understand. After all, you both have just started on your journey."

It was a jab at him, he was sure. Or he was probably buried in paranoia. He hummed under his breath. "I suppose so," he said. "I don't see my journey ending with a government job, but what do I know."

Capella nudged his arm again, eyeing him for a second. His tone had been sharper than he intended, however an apology felt heavy on his tongue and didn't want to fall out of his lips. So, he didn't. Massimos narrowed his gaze but the man didn't say anything else, preferring to change the subject.

He released his breath only when Massimos decided he would finally retire for the night, giving Capella a pat on her shoulder and giving him a barely there gaze of acknowledgement. It was only when he no longer suffocated him with his presence that he moved to sit at the couch and titled his head back to stare at the living room ceiling. Silence washed into the scene before Capella moved to take a seat next to him.

"I won't apologise," Ares said, his voice low. "I don't like Massimos."

Capella huffed a breath and when he tilted his head to meet her gaze, she had her arms crossed against her chest. Slight irritation sparked in his chest, returning his attention back at the ceiling. He knew that an argument would only brew between them if he kept his attitude up but really, he hated that man.

"Surely you're not forgetting that he's going to help us out," she said. "Before you came back, he was telling me how he had asked about your job placement. How they might reconsider."

Ares rolled his eyes before he sat up, twisting his body to face her. "When it happens, I'll believe it."

"Such a pessimistic behaviour!" she exclaimed, dropping her hands on her thighs. "At least we have someone we can rely on unlike most orphans."

The words served to sear through his mind and sparking another wave of annoyance. He glared at her, refusing to let the guilt to consume him when she flinched. Her lips thinned and a familiar stubbornness covered her face.

"I'm not ungrateful," Ares said, taking in a deep breath in hopes he could control the emotions that were slipping into his words. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her. "I just do not trust him."

Capella sighed, moving a hand to place on his knee, squeezing it. "Must you always look the worst in people."

That stung more than she probably intended because he pulled away from her touch and stood up. "Maybe if people gave me reasons to believe there was good in them, I wouldn't be like this."

"Or you just refuse to see it in them," she said.

Ares didn't say anything to that. If his view on life was not something she shared, it made no sense for him to force her to see it that way. She wouldn't understand. And while she would trust the most suspicious man over nothing, he would not be the same fool. He glanced at her, shoulders slumping.

"I don't want to fight," Ares said. That was enough for her drop her fighting stance and nod. "Why don't you tell me about your day at work?"

Capella searched his face before she shrugged, leaning into the couch. "It was alright. I was assigned with a mentor. His name is Ilias and he's nice. I saw the Machina Key... it was beautiful. Intimidating, even. I felt unworthy to be in front of it."

"How eventful," Ares said, quirking his lips upwards as he sat back down next to her.

She snorted under her breath. Then, her face composed to one akin to worry. "What about yours?"

He didn't know where to begin with his— there was nothing for him to tell her. Instead, he settled with a, "I got to know my team. They were weird. Uneventful, to say. We haven't gotten an order yet so we're just waiting ducks. Like sacrificial lambs."

Her shoulders jolted. "Oh, Ares..."

He shrugged, trying to convey nonchalance in his behaviour despite the reality settling in on him quicker than he liked. "I will be fine." After a beat he added, "It'll take more than just a decree to change me."

While he was aware that Capella wouldn't agree with him, the next words she spouted though burned and made a place in his mind, sending dread pooling at the pit of his chest.

"No, not a decree," she said. "But the outcome of the decree is what worries me would change you. Or remove you from my life."