Arriving at the station, Lotus and I spotted the train we were looking for. We chose a cabin and settled in. I'm not even going to bother noting the public's reaction anymore; it's always the same: fear and distrust.
For a few minutes, the landscape consisted of nothing but buildings, buildings, and more buildings. I complain about Lotus never leaving the house, but I'm not much better—I'd never seen any other landscape besides all those enormous rectangles. There was even a unique atmosphere at night, with all the lampposts and colored lights illuminating the streets while Aubrey, in an increasingly distant past, laughed and stuffed herself with soda. Those were good times…
"All these lights…" Lotus began to mumble in her little world, "contrasting with these plain white and black blocks of infrastructure… They remind me a little of those Machina facilities and all of their panels… I don't feel a single bit of nostalgia for that hell."
"Hey, Lotus," I nudged her, "how is that mess still standing? Don't you think they would have already failed with all that controversy?"
"Oh, your naiveté still fascinates me!" She laughed condescendingly. "It's simple—it's too big to fail! The people see hope in the Order for a reason; it's the only faction with the potential to cause them any real harm. The only thing stopping them is their disorganization, especially regarding their commander. Ironically, the 'Order' is a complete mess!"
Ah, I feel so good seeing Lotus letting go a little. She may be cynical, but life can't be a bed of roses, otherwise the reward is worthless without the challenge of getting through the thorns of the roses to reach the beauty of the flowers. Wow, I think being by Lotus's side makes me more poetic.
“That's complicated, huh? It seems that Kassidy's wrath affects more lives than just mine. Oh how I wish it wasn't the case…”
"So you can get with him?" She smiled smugly. "Do you really think I didn't see the way your heart raced at the sight of him, even beyond the immediate danger?"
"Damn monitor chip!" I slammed my fist on the table, laughing. "Yeah, I'm really into him. I don't know, I just feel like there's something more than pure hatred behind those eyes."
“Out of all the people to fall in love with, you choose the genocidal bishōnen.”
"That's what they say, love is blind." I shrugged.
“But common sense tends to prevail.”
“Oh, give me a break! I bet you've already hooked up with Steel! He's your exact type—tall and muscular!”
"Hey, our relationship doesn't go beyond work!" She looked away, blushing.
Our journey continued like this for the rest of its duration, conversing, teasing, and reflecting. After everything that happened in Theta, I was begging for a break like this. The view of the green plains with the sunrise now hovering over it brought a certain levity to my soul—no wonder Divine found peace in a field like this.
Finally, we arrived at our destination. Ahead of us was a steel gate, with gothic architecture, on which was written "Rosebush Den"—I'll pretend that Count Dracula over doesn't live here in a field worthy of a computer wallpaper. Passing through the gate, we followed the cobblestone path bordered by gray, spiked fences until we found what must have been a cabin, but it was so dark and covered in thorns and gargoyles that it looked like a mini-castle. However menacing it initially seemed, it was surrounded by flowers: roses of every color, lilies of every kind, and tulips of every shape.
As the bell rang, we were greeted by Divine:
"Welcome, Magnum," they adjusted their smooth, silver hair, "I see you brought your sister." My God, I had never seen such beauty before. Divine possessed a unique combination of features that gave them an androgynous and otherworldly appearance—their ivory-white skin, their ethereal voice that never remained in one tone, their body that was as slender as it was robust, their ouiji fashion outfit made them appear so elegant… Hey, Cacto, your heart still belongs to Kassidy!
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"Are you alright, sister?" Divine snapped me out of my thoughts. "We still have a lot to talk about and tea to drink."
"N-nothing, it's nothing!" I stammered, blushing.
"It happens to everyone when they see them for the first time!" Lotus comforted me, also embarrassed.
We quickly settled into the living room, a stone interior illuminated by a fireplace and windows decorated with the same flowers as the garden. Pouring a sweet dose of chamomile tea, Divine sat down and addressed Lotus:
“So, Magnum, what happened?”
“My sister, Cacto, formerly known as Aubrey, recently became a Cog, and life has been very difficult for her ever since.”
"That's right," I continued, "public distrust, persecution, damaged ties, and all that comes with it. Especially when someone keeps it all a secret!" I turned to Lotus.
“Look, we were working on it, don't worry.”
"It doesn't help when I have this pest we call 'Hideaki' trying to take over!" This caused Divine's eyes to widen.
"This is unprecedented!" They set the cup down on the table. "Our predecessor tends to manipulate us Cogs in an attempt to free him from his stasis lock. So far he hasn't succeeded, since such words don't have much effect, and there's not much of us left compared to what was created."
“Wait, what?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Well, you're part of a lineage of mass-produced Cogs, recruited by any means possible and developed without the care that Hideaki and I had. As a result, most of them were exterminated.”
“This is worrying… but the focus now is on that maniac! I need to deal with this.”
“Would you mind telling me what's happened so far?”
Lotus and I then recapped what had happened in the tournament so far—my expectations, the conflicts, that damn limiter, and my discoveries.
After we told them all this, Divine spent a few minutes thinking while contemplating the view, returning to the table with the following:
“So the symbiosis makes you more susceptible to Hideaki's advances... hm. I have an idea, but it's difficult to execute.”
"You can tell me, Divine," I replied, "my arms are open."
“You'll have to eradicate this evil at its roots. Hideaki has been alive far longer than he deserves, and life must have become agonizing for him by now. Weakening him will be more than enough.”
"The energy emanating from his rage is too strong to allow for a permanent death.” Lotus added grimly. "Believe me, if that weren't the case, my team and I would have already taken care of him."
"I know where he is—Facility Lambda. But its staff certainly don't lack the equipment to treat our kind," Divine said, "and that's where the difficulty lies—not the facility itself, but who you'll have to take with you—you already know a gorgeous someone who is suitable for the job."
After thinking for a few seconds, I came to the only logical conclusion:
“Out of all people, I'm going to have to work with Kassidy?!”
“Remember what I told you on the train, Cacto?” Lotus told me. “The ‘Disorder of Prevalence’ is the only force powerful enough to take them down. Kassidy himself could wipe out an entire facility with a simple change of objective!”
Great, I'll have to put up with my second worst enemy! But I have no choice…
“Okay, I'll do that, as long as it means I can reduce some of the stress in my life.”
"Then I wish you the best of luck, sister. And be very careful—Hideaki may have specialized in beasts, but he's just as terrifying to us as he is to them."
We then stood up, saying goodbye to Divine, but before I continued down the road, Divine nudged me on the shoulder:
“Before you leave, remember the most important thing—just as I managed to find peace as Cog, if you use your powers properly, you are capable of saving much more than just your sister—you have no idea of your true potential. I've never seen another Cog transform like you. You just need to find something that comes from the depths of your being instead of trusting that maniac.”
Comforted and with a new goal ahead, I take the train back home, ready to cause some chaos like in the old days.
