"Before anything else, I must inform headquarters." Kassidy raised a hand in front of me while the other reached for a telephone. "Hello? This is Commander Kassidy speaking. Hideaki has been neutralized, with the voluntary help of Cacto… I know, I should have eliminated her too, but I have more urgent news… Please, leave your promotion speech for later." He sighed as he covered the device while turning to me:

  "That Tsundora is a real pain." He went back to the phone:

  “Can I speak now? Okay, here's the thing; I found a third Cog signal… Are you crazy? Divine wouldn't return to the public eye unless there was some catastrophe! No, it can't be another mass-produced one, it's being developed right here at Facility Omega! Anyway, I'll be back in two hours at most, I have to discuss some things with Cacto… yes, it's your turn to feed Carotol.”

  "Is your sibling fight over yet?" I asked.

  “Okay, that's enough!” He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Yes. Where are we going?

  “I know a cozy place; the Rustbucket bar, they respect you no matter what. I just hope Saul isn't there today.”

  “This is a confidential matter! You don't discuss this kind of thing in a bar!”

  "Everything is secret if you speak quietly enough." I chuckled as I started walking towards the bar.

  The streetlights were beginning to turn on as twilight approached. The streets were still—it must be a Sunday, I'm starting to lose track of time…

  "Cacto," Kassidy turned to me, breaking the silence, "shouldn't you want me dead after what I did to you at Lambda?"

  "You're still far from being forgiven, but I have bigger threats at the moment." I replied.

  "Well, I had repeated the same mistake I made with Hideaki at Theta back in my days as a recruit; you had the same expression as him. I interpreted it as malice, but it was just fear, like a cat with its back arched over."

  “Good that you recognized it. Now, at least try not to kill someone because of a misunderstanding.”

  "I really hope that wiretap was hidden in the cape that I left behind—I don't want the Order pestering me.” He whispered as he searched the uniform.

  “Are you guys being recorded?”

  “That's right.”

  “How do you feel about that?”

  "It wasn't a problem until I started acting strangely because of someone over here." He hissed, glaring at me.

  “Oh, but don't tell me you didn't like it!”

  Kassidy thought for a second:

  “Perhaps. Being a commander gets tiring sometimes… It's tough. I admit that Tsundora, the way she is, would be more competent in my position.”

  "Anyway." He cleared his throat. "Do you frequent this bar? We got into a fight in front of it the other day, didn't we?"

  “Until last week, yes. The bartender is a nice guy, and I hear the drinks are cheap. I don't really like beer—but a little alcohol would do me good tonight.”

  “Have you ever had a trio cocktail?”

  “What, are we drinking three cocktails at once or something?”

  “No, it's a mixture of juice, some liquor and cream—you can't even taste the alcohol.”

  "That sounds good to me," I shrugged. "I'm surprised someone as pure as you has ever tasted alcohol, Prince Charming."

  “I am as human as yo—” he covered his mouth before he could finish his sentence “…as Leona.”

  After a few minutes. which weren't exactly tense, but still far from relaxed, I could see the bar's sign, with its neon lights illuminating the facade as always.

  Upon arriving at the bar, a few people reacted, but the rest continued with their chats.

  …Until Kassidy came in.

  Then several glasses and mugs returned to the tables along with a deafening silence, followed by several whispers. It makes sense; it must be exceptionally rare to see a member of the Order walking alongside a Cog.

  We settled into the seats. At least I did; Kassidy remained as rigid as a statue.

  The counter was empty, but Steel rushed back from the stockroom, checking what had happened. He jumped when he saw us, but quickly regained his composure, already turning the shelves in front of us.

  "Cacto! We've missed you around here." He greeted me with a look of intrigue. "A glass of Sprint, right?"

  "Actually, can I have a passion fruit cocktail, please?" Steel turned around, surprised after what I said.

  "You want alcohol? I suppose you're having a hard time," he laughed, "it happens to the best of us."

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  He then turned to Kassidy:

  “Hey, aren't you Commander Kassidy? You look... less pale?”

  Turning to Kassidy, he was red-faced, staring at Steel in shock. Looking closely, I think I know why—he's tall, muscular, handsome, and above all, stylish; he can make something as simple as a shirt and pants look good by wearing a vest over them, fingerless gloves, and well-groomed medium-length hair—I knew Kassidy was effeminate for a reason other than genetics!

  "Excuse me, how old are you?" I asked.

  “Forty-one.”

  "What?!" Kassidy inquired. "You look like you're about twenty-seven at most!"

  “Cogs may have been a huge event, but there were also great advancements in the cosmetics industry.”

  "It's no wonder I hear so many comments about my sister—thirty-one and still bearing that jaw-dropping waist. Anyway, we're here because we need a place to discuss some matters."

  But first I checked my other side—Saul is absent…

  "One of my favorite clients," Steel said, "a real good fellow. I haven't heard from him since, all I know is that he probably drinks at home now while watching neo-hockey."

  “I'm going to miss him…”

  "Who was he?" Kassidy asked, his voice soft.

  “The first person who accepted me after I became a Cog. We may not have talked much, but he was casual, far from all this conflict.”

  “Up until recently, I would have said that's what you deserved, but this is simply cruel.”

  "You loosened up, huh?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I'm trying to be delicate, you wretch!”

  "Okay," Kassidy placed his hands on the counter, "now, let's talk about what happened."

  “Yes.” I nodded.

  “Starting with the burning question—what is Machina plotting?"

  “I don't know their history very well, but I believe they see me as the problem now that Hideaki is out of the picture.”

  “It seems that their project is what I once said you were—a ruthless weapon.”

  “I just wanted to know how I am a threat? More than anything, I should be a tool for them! I took down Earth-Eater—even though I only served as a manifestation for Hideaki—and you and I took down him himself—the problem that was so big that he needed to be imprisoned in Lambda!”

  Kassidy put his hand under his chin, thinking for a few seconds.

  “I have a hypothesis; they're afraid that you’ll get out of control. I was going to make comparisons to the animal Cogs, but I was still too young to remember anything.”

  "Well, I do remember," Steel interrupted, shaking a cocktail. "I confess that I was involved in the creation of those creatures—and I'm not proud of it in the slightest. But that's all in the past, and life goes on."

  "But I can tell you what led to my resignation: it was towards the end of 2207, the experiments were already becoming incoherent. In a hurry, the Machina Research executives started the 'Metallic Hope' project, which Cacto's sister directed.” He went to serve a client, but returned soon after.

  "I wasn't there anymore by then. Lotus is very careful, but she told me that no matter what she did, nothing changed the fact that it was done at the last minute. That's why Hideaki went crazy—the technology didn't have time to mature and ended up corrupting him." Steel sighed.

  “I think they see Cacto the same way they saw the animals; a disaster to be dealt with. They created Hideaki to handle the beasts and now they're building something against Cacto.

  "Well, now what?" I laid my head on my arms. "I couldn't even defeat Earth-Eater and Hideaki on my own. And the closest thing to an ally I have is Leona, and I don’t mean to discredit her, but I don't believe the Brigade is capable of handling this."

  Kassidy cleared his throat. "There's also the Or-"

  “Don't even think about it. If it were up to Tsundora, almost everyone would kill me on the spot… and I don't even want to hear about your personal business—I still haven't forgiven you for what happened at Lambda!”

  “So when are you going to? Things won't move forward if you're fixated on a single idea!”

  “Says you, Mr. ‘I killed dozens because of a single misunderstanding!’”

  Kassidy opened his mouth to speak, but closed it immediately afterward.

  …

  Until he opened it again:

  “Cacto… I… I really feel very sorry.”

  "Doing that…" he took a deep breath, "was a complete denial of a world I only knew based on dogma."

  "What did you say?" I raised my head in disbelief.

  “Whether I wanted to or not, I had to accept that there's more than just good and bad while working with you—even if only temporarily.”

  "Congratulations, now you're a minimally decent human being," I said sarcastically. "But seriously, I'm grateful that you've finally started to step outside of your limited world."

  “Thinking about it, you said you found life as a commander exhausting—so why don't you resign?”

  “Well, that's a lot to get into right now, but I'll say that I owe them a great deal.”

  “Well then,” Kassidy stood up, “it's gotten dark, I must return to my quarters. Thank you for having us, Steel, and I'll see you later, Cacto.”

  "I hope our next date doesn't involve fighting!" I said, waving.

  "W-who said this was a date?!" He turned on his heel. "This is nothing more than a meeting to discuss important matters!" He yelled before fleeing the bar.

  "And you, Cacto?" Steel leaned over the counter.

  “I'll stay a little longer, I'll see what I’ll do later. Get me a refill!”

  And with that, I end my day, getting drunk at the bar to drown my sorrows—fully aware that I'll be spending the next morning in the bathroom.

  Lotus and I understand each other better, Saul is off the map, though. Lucia and Kenji are doing well, and Kassidy has finally started to take a turn for the better.

  As for me, my future is uncertain; Hideaki, although still alive, will no longer be a threat, but I'm afraid of what Machina Research might be "cooking up" at Omega. Tsundora also seems to have turned against me, from what I can understand.

  End of Act 1