♦----------♦

  Today was the first day on her job. Ashley looked towards the other bed, and saw that Carol had returned after she had fallen asleep. She tiptoed past her, and proceeded to run out the door for her morning shift at the cafe. Upon entering the place, she saw Charlotte talking to a customer. When she saw Ashley, she just grunted and motioned her to a door near the back of the room. Inside was a middle aged man, who was just putting a dish on the rack. When he saw Ashley, he hung up his apron, and without a word, left the room in a hurry.
  Thinking that was a bit weird and rude, Ashley just shrugged and put on the apron and some gloves she found in the corner. There were two piles of dishes still waiting to be washed, so she decided there was no time to lose, and got started.

♥----------♥

"Great, it's Wednesday", groaned Lasille, staring at the ceiling of her shack. "Another day of stale bread." She got out of bed and padded over to the bag of bread on the floor in the corner. Looking into it, she saw that there was only half a loaf left. "Guess I'll go and bother Robert again."

Lasille travelled to a small bakery where a man leant against the counter, reading a newspaper. He was in his fourties, wearing an apron over an orange t-shirt and ripped jeans. Lasille walked right up to the counter and greeted him.

"How's business?" she asked. The man put down his newspaper and sighed. "Been slow for the past week. I bet folk are holing themselves up in their houses, expecting a bomb to drop the minute they step outside. How's yer job going?"

Lasille shook her head sympathetically. "Not too bad. Starlight cafe is basically one of the only restaurants that are still open. Charlotte says that it we won't close untill a bomb destroys the place. Still, it's thanks to you that I've got such a good job."


Robert smiled and ruffled Lasille's hair. "I've known Charlotte for years. Stubborn as a bull, that woman is. Yer parents were good friends of mine, too. It's only natural that I do what I can fer you."

Lasille grinned, touched by his concern. "By the way, can I have the usual?" Robert went in the back and came back with three loafs of fresh bread. "That'll be five dollars."

Lasille looked at the bread in bewilderment. "Fresh bread for the price of the usual stale bread? You do know that I mean the stale bread, right?"


"That I do" said Robert. "I'm not getting many customers, so why not sell to you?"

Lasille forked over the money and stuffed the bread into a bag. "Thanks."
"You're very welcome" replied Robert.

As Lasille turned to walk out the door, her eyes fell upon the stack of newspapers that were sold for a dollar. "Robert?" she said. "Can I have a newspaper?" "Help yerself" he said. "They ain't goin nowhere."
Lasille grabbed a newspaper and walked out the door, reading it.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

The officer looked surprised, even stunned, and stopped moving. This gave Serai the chance to push past him, and make an attempt at an escape. 


Serai ran, her footsteps swift and light. Suddenly, she heard footsteps around the corner.She did the first thing that came to her, opening the door to the nearest room, and closing it, the darkness engulfing her.

She heard the footsteps go past, and sighed in relief.

♦----------♦

Ashley Morgenstern

"Oh thanks!" said Ashley, as she took the vegetables from Lasille. She said a brief good-bye and let Lasille get back to her afternoon nap.
Ashley entered her shelter, to find a note from Carol. She scanned through it, and could make out the words "job" and "coming back tonight." She was lucky that the bombings started after she had gone to school, or she wouldn't understand a thing.
"Awesome!" she thought, "Carol is goinna get a job!" She set the vegetables on a broken piece of cement and got into her bed. She closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

♥----------♥

Lasille sat up and put a hand protectively against her eyes to block out the late afternoon rays that filtered through the roof. "What did you say?" she asked Ashley. "Something to do with jobs?"
Ashley rolled her eyes and told her about what had occurred between herself and Charlotte.
"Nice!" exclaimed Lasille. "Congratulations! Now I won't have to collapse under the tons of dishes waiting to be washed by myself!" She hugged Ashley briefly, then got off the bed and walked over to the bag of vegetables that lay on a makeshift table. "I forgot to give you some of these", she said. "Here, have some." She handed some of the vegetables to Ashley.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

The woman looked at Fran shyly, "I'm-"

Fran cut her off, "I think I know who you are,"

"I... I overheard a bit of your call; I'm sorry for making you wait so long."

"It's fine," Fran replied in a monotone voice, "We, uh, better get going then. Alexis probably wants to talk more about this with you."

She started to walk briskly out the doors of the airport, past the closed rooms of the mechanical works. Conny followed close behind her.

"He hasn't told me much about this. Only to meet you here so any questions you have, don't ask me; I don't know."

Conny closed her mouth that had been open to do the exact thing, "Uhm, may I ask where we're going, Miss?"

"...No."

They came to the end hall and stepped outside where a car was waiting for them. The driver had been leaning against the side of the car; he jumped to attention as soon as he spotted them.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

Serai was shoved into a room that looked like it belonged to a hospital. Only there was a lot of electrical equipment lying about. 'What is this place?' she thought, as she sat on the bed. "Wait here," the nurse said. She then abruptly left the room, closing the door behind her.


As soon as the door closed, Serai got up, and examined the room. It was a small room, with one desk, a bed, a curtain, and bedside table. Everything was white save for the mechanical devices. 'A horizontal O.G.A...what on earth?' she thought, getting up and rushing towards the door. She opened it, and ran slap bang into the officer who had caught her before.

♦----------♦

Ashley Morgenstern

Still feeling as high as the sky, Ashley proceeded to walk (though she was so excited it was almost running) towards Lasille's shack. The place used to belong to the poor, but somehow it was still sturdy even after the bombings. As Ashley walked closer, she could see Lasille having a nap on a small cot that was made with torn and useless cloths. She knew it would be really rude to wake up Lasille, especially during her afternoon naps, but she couldn't contain her excitement any longer. She shook Lasille until she opened a sleepy eye. Before Lasille could react, Ashley screamed, "GUESS WHAT? I GOT A JOB!!!"

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

Fran didn't enjoy waiting for anything. She had already lost track of time, what with the whole android fiasco. Standing still in one place was horrible for her, but she didn't want to walk around for fear that she might miss the person she was supposed to meet.

"Alexis is probably lounging around bothering Breech right now..." And here she was, standing in the middle of a airport waiting for Ms. Confused to show.

Fran's stomach gave a small growl. Refusing to wait any longer and postpone lunch, she snapped her phone open to call Alexis.

Alexis picked up on the fourth ring, "Hey sweetie! You found her right?"

"No, I didn't actually. Want to run your oh so detailed description to me again?"

In the background, Fran could hear the shuffling of someone's feet behind her but she ignored it; Alexis' laughter was just too loud.

"Confused. I tell you, you'll know when you see her."

Fran was glaring, "It's almost lunch! I do have a life outside of running errands for you!"

On the other end, Alexis was grinning so wide, Fran swore she could see in through his voice, "Right. I have lunch date with Nathan. What would I do without you, Fran? See you,"

Fran hung up before he could finish and turned around to see who had sneaked up behind her.

A woman, dressed in a flight attendent's uniform was standing there. Her name label announced her as Conny Fuse. Fran groaned, she hated Alexis' humour.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

Serai was out the door in what seemed to her like a decade. She had seen guards rushing towards her smoke bomb, just missing her.


Serai turned another corner, and bumped into a woman who looked like a nurse. They both fell over. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Are you alright?" the woman asked, getting up. Serai got up as well, and dusted herself off. "I'm fine. I'm in a rush, so I'll be going now." she started to leave, and was about to run.


"Oh my gosh! You're hurt!" The nurse cried, as she saw Serai's bullet wounds and torn clothing. She reached out and grabbed her arm. "You're not going anywhere until I see to your wounds." She dragged a protesting Serai back down the hallway  she had come from.

♦----------♦

Ashley Morgenstern

Ashley watched for a moment as Lasille headed towards her home. She thought about what Lasille said- she could get a job at the Starlight Cafe. A spark of hope lighted inside her as she walked towards the cafe. A job, that would no doubt provide her with enough money to live an okay life in the streets. As she arrived, she saw a woman that seemed to be the boss. She was big, with a tough looking face. Ashley suddenly felt intimidated, as she walked towards the woman.
"Excuse me?" she managed to squeak.
"Yes?" boomed the voice of the woman.
"Um, I was hoping there was a job that I could take in this cafe?"
"Oh, well you must be Ashley. Lasille, our dishwasher, told me about you." The woman seemed to be considering something, "let's see, you can take the other shift as the dishwasher. Half a day, 5 days a week. Think you can handle it?"
"Oh yes please!" said Ashley, who suddenly felt all warm inside. She finally had a job!
"Okay, you start tomorrow, said the woman. And by the way, my name is Charlotte."
Ashley left the Starlight Cafe, thinking this was the luckiest day of her life.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

Fran was still coughing when the smoke had cleared. Peering through the last bits of the gas, she saw that Serai had fled to the end of the hallway.

The officer came rushing inside as soon as he saw the smoke bomb go off.

"My men can bring her back to you for questioning if you like," he began quickly.

Fran was glaring at the final bits of the android that was now disappearing beyond the door, "That won't be necessary, officer. I have a meeting with someone else today. Just make sure Breech knows about this right away."

The officer looked surprised, "But Mr. Breech has asked us not to contact him during working hours. By the time he gets off work she'll have gone!"

Fran turned, scanning the looks on the faces of the citizens who were staring at her. They turned away at once, pretending not to have seen anything.

"Uh, Ms. von Karma...?"

"That's not my problem. One lone and lost android really can't do much harm to us. I have other things to deal with right now."

The officer sighed, "Of course, Ms. von Karma. I'll let Mr. Breech know of this."

♥----------♥

Lasille Marin 

Lasille turned to look at her friend Ashley and scowled. "Ash, can you not bump into me when I'm carrying something?", she complained. She bent down to pick up the fallen vegetables. Ashley bent down to help her, also picking up an especially bruised tomato and wrinkling her nose, before gingerly placing it back in the bag. "These are the extras from where I work", said Lasille. She picked up a cucumber and turned to see Ashley looking puzzled. "Didn't I tell you I got a job?", asked Lasille. Ashley shook her head. Lasille frowned. "I could have sworn I told you." Ashley shook her head again. "Remember? I got a job as a dishwasher at the Starlight Cafe" said Lasille slowly. Ashley's eyes brightened, and she made a sound of recognition. "Now that you know, can you please finish helping me pick up these vegetables?", said Lasille. Ashley grinned, and continued picking up the vegetables alongside Lasille. When they were finally done, the two stood and stretched. "Thanks", Lasille said to Ashley gratefully. She waved to her friend and began walking once again towards home.

♦----------♦

Ashley Morgenstern

Ashley walked in the shadows of the wrecked buildings, that she had to call home. She walked towards the Starlight Cafe, hoping to find some food scraps that could be considered her meal. Her parents had died when the bombings started 5 years ago. Ashley felt the rage within her, as she recalled the day her parents had died. She had come running home after a bomb shattered the quiet Autumn day. Her 8 year old mind couldn't understand what was going on, only that her parents were trapped under what was left of her house, never to come back again. Luckily her godmother, Carmen, came running to her at that time. Her family had perished as well. The two had lived together, helping eachother out, for the past 5 years.

Ashley kept on walking, and seeing her orphan friend Lasille up the road, she ran up to bump her. It was something fun they did all the time.

"Hey Lasille! Is there any more where that came from?" she said motioning to the vegetables that had dropped everywhere.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

"Let go of me!" She said, tugging at her wrist. The woman still held firm. "And I don't know the answer to your question." She gave a last shake, and her arm was free. The woman couldn't take no for an answer, and reached out to grab her arm again.She slapped it away. "Leave me alone already! I just want to be in this foreign city." 


Serai started to stalk off, but could hear footsteps of the woman, meaning she was being followed. "I said, leave me alone!" Serai yelled, and turned. She tugged at own wrist, turned it and then pulled, revealing a secret compartment in her arm. "And I always end up having to do things the flashy way..." she sighed, and took out of the compartment what looked like a golf ball. She threw it towards the ground, and it smashed, letting smoke out, and creating a smokescreen. "So long." She left with out a backwards glance, leaving the woman behind her coughing.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

"Oh, no you don't," Fran instinctively grabbed hold of the girl's arm. She looked down when she heard a clinking sound and noticed the medical bracelet that tangled around her wrist. A quick glance at it told Fran the girl's name and type.

"Serai Kils...?" The name wasn't recognizable to her.

The girl struggled a little but Fran held firm, "I have a few questions to ask you, Serai Kils. Like how you can possibly know so much about the aircraft that just took off."

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

There was was young woman who stood in front of Serai, tapping her foot in impatience and looking down at Serai in disdain. She was the one who answered her question.


"Ameros? A place where I shouldn't be?" Serai winced as she tried to get up. She felt the slight irritation of a bullet in her upper back. "I just wanted to know where the 3S Squadron fighter plane which was equipped with machine and anti-land guns and was at seventy percent condition took off from."


She didn't wait for a reply from the woman, and started to walk away from her. "Anyways, I can't stay here."

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

"You are at the airstrip,"

The girl looked slightly confused at this statement. Fran tried to explain, "I suppose memory loss from the gas the officer used is normal. You were caught trying to spy on our cargo transportation."

There was still little recognition shown on the girl's face and Fran was getting impatient, "Ameros. You do know where that is, don't you? You're at the Ameros International Airport. A place where you definitely aren't supposed to be."

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

She felt her mind swim back into consciousness and out. What had just happened to her, she did not know however, she still had one question on her mind. "Who am I?"


".38... Calibre Xeon... pistols" she murmured as she lay like a rag doll, slumped against a wall. She leaned to the right slightly, and then fell over, jolting herself into consciousness. 


"Where am I?"

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

The buzz of the airport was loud and if she hadn't been so alert in the first place, Fran would never have heard the shots of gunfire coming from outside.

She hurried outside to see that the guards were already cleaning up; there was no way to know that there were shots fired by the look of the calm, bored guards.

The officer in charge of the security had in his arms a limp figure and upon closer inspection, Fran saw that it was a girl who was passed out.

"What's going on here?"

The officer forwned, and strolled over to Fran, demanding for ID.

It was always odd for Fran to be carded; her face should have been recognizable, but with the advancements in Ameros Science technology, certain precautions had to be made.

She held out her ID and they exchanged cards. Satisfied, the officer began to explain, "She came walking in trying to see our cargo transports. The guards caught her straight away."

Fran nodded towards the still figure who had now been propped up against the airstrip wall, "Any other information on her?"

"Nothing as of now, Ms. von Karma."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. If she's dead then dispose of the body,"

"She's an android, Ms. von Karma. You might want to let the minister know."

Fran was surprised but tried not to show it in her facial expression, "I see. Thank you very much, Officer. I'll deal with her then."

The officer saluted and went back to his business.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android
 

Her head was still pounding, and she made a dash for it. "Halt!" a guard cried as soon as she was in the open. "Or I'll shoot."
She didn't stop and continued running, dashing around and behind aircraft. Then a crash and a bang. She felt herself being torn apart by a shot to her back. She felt the pain, but kept running, knowing that the shot would not hinder her.

A guard leaped out at her and caught her arm. He placed a gun at her chest. "If you don't want to get hurt, surrender." She instantly froze, trying to analyze the situation.

"I'm caught, by a guard who has a gun. If I get shot in the chest, I won't die because I don't have a heart. Ten guards are advancing towards me, only two have guns.
I can escape."

Serai had just finished pondering this when the man who grabbed her arm started to relax his grip. "Ahh!" he cried when she headbutted his chin. She grabbed his gun with her free arm and threw it, hitting one of the advancing guards in the head. He dropped.

She ran along, and felt bullet bury itself in her back, she turned her head, watching the disorganized guards running after her. She didn't watch where she was going and ran headlong into the arms of an officer, caught her easily. The next thing, she knew everything went black.

♥----------♥

Lasille Marin

"Lasille!", said a woman as a girl was walking out the door of the Starlight Cafe. The girl turned and looked questioningly at the woman. "What is it, Charlotte?" she asked. "Well, there's some extra vegetables, and I thought, well since you are a, well, orphan, you might want them. And you are always taking the extras we don't need so..." Charlotte trailed off, embarrassed. "Thanks!", exclaimed Lasille. She hugged Charlotte around the middle, making the woman's face turn beet red. "It's just because we don't need the extras!", Charlotte said hurriedly. She pushed Lasille off of her and began pushing her out the doorway of the cafe. Lasille smiled, and began walking towards her home, a shack in an alley.
It was a week ago that she started working in the Starlight Cafe. The owner of the cafe was Charlotte, a tough woman who disliked being seen as kind. Her job there was a dish washer. Pay wasn't bad, considering she was an orphan. It was just enough for her to live on, and she was quite lucky for an orphan.
It was 8 years ago when her parents died. She was 5 then. Their family was happy, ordinary. It was during the time when resistances against the government were active. The government was busy trying to round up all the rebels. Members of the military barged in their house, claiming that they hid rebels. Lasille had watched her mother and father die in front of her. It was only after they searched the house that they realized they were wrong. However, they did nothing. They just left her, with her parents stone cold bodies.
From that moment on, her life changed forever. The landlady kicked her out, and then her new life became something that she almost couldn't deal with. It was only because of her willpower and hope for a better tomorrow that she was able to survive these 8 years.
All of a sudden, someone bumped into her, jolting her out of her thoughts.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

Of the people who were left wandering the airport, all of them looked lost and confused. There was no way Fran would be able to know exactly which one of them was her intended person to meet.

Her phone started buzzing in her pocket and she took it out. Fran gazed at the caller ID for just a second before shouting into it, "Damn you, Alexis. Next time, tell me something useful other than just one word descriptions!!"
The person on the other end was chuckling, "You'll know her when you see her, sweetie."

Fran rolled her eyes as he continued, "I just called to ask if you found her yet, but I suppose I know the answer to that one now. See you later Franziska." Alexis hung up at once, not waiting for a reply.

Fran slipped her phone back into her pocket, and upon doing so, she realized she had forgotten to report about the 3S Squadron plane.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android

The area seemed way too heavily guarded to her. She had to hide several times as she advanced. "Army base?" she thought wonderingly. It would make sense of course, a fighter plane taking off...


She continued, walking became crawling, crouching and dashing. Finally, she reached the edge of the rumble, and looked onward. An airstrip was before her, with passenger planes and cargo jets. "This is where the fighter plane took off?" she thought confused. Hoping to find answers, she continued onwards, creeping around the edge of the rubble, until reaching an area that she could see was not heavily guarded. 


She bit her lip, feeling tense and nervous. she placed herself in a sprinter's starting position and waited.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

The sounds of the a large jet engine sent many of the people in the airport scattering away, and for Fran it didn't bring very much hope. Another plane had left the airport without her mystery 'confused' person showing up. At this rate, she would miss the daily report back at her office.

Looking out the window, Fran noticed the symbol on the end of the plane denoting it a 3S Squadron fighter plane. "That's strange, why is a fighter jet leaving a regular citizen's airport? Unless," thought Fran, "Unless it had made an emergencey stop for some reason and I didn't know about it. Crap, if that's the case, Alexis is going to be so angry with me!"

She made a mental note to herself to phone the minister about it as soon as Mr/Mrs 'Confused' showed up.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android

She stepped along rocks and debris, yet her feet stayed unharmed. The small pebbles dug into her skin; the only thing she felt was a minor discomfort.

She crossed a broken bridge, and along the horizon, saw a cityscape that seemed to melt into being. "Where is this?" She thought to herself, still walking towards it by instinct. 

"Ahh!" she yelped in pain, and looked down. A piece of broken glass had stabbed into her foot. She bent down and pulled it out, wincing as she did so. She did not bleed, and she felt surprise, until she remembered that she was an android, just a mechanical doll...


A loud noise ripped her from her thoughts, and she threw herself down, hands over her ears. The sound had come from above, and she looked up. An fighter plane flew in the skies above.


"3S Squadron fighter plane, condition seventy percent, equipped with machine and anti-land guns." she said instinctively. She stopped and thought. "Why do I know this?" 


Hoping to get some answers, she walked towards the place the fighter plane had come from.

♣----------♣

Franziska von Karma

The airport was the most interesting place in the world. People tried to escape, arrive, depart, run away, hide, and waited to be found all under one roof. Where else could one find such an asortment of purposes?

"Well," thought Fran to herself as she glanced up towards the clock for the umpteenth time, "Maybe in a hospital."

She had been sent to the bustling Ameros airport early that morning where she had stood guard for the past 3 hours. Her only description of the person she was searching for was 'confused.' It was too vague for her liking but she had to make do with what she had.

♠----------♠

Serai Kils// Amnesiac Android

The sky was gray and clouded over, as the dust from the explosion covered the the sky. All was strangely silent, save for the intermittent sound of falling rubble. There seemed not a soul in the area.


Then came a sound of moving rubble, different from the sound that had broken the silence before. A female figure emerged from under a pile of rubble.


She opened her eyes to the gray skies and looked about her. "Where am I?" she thought. "Who am I?"
She looked down at herself and saw a medical bracelet on her wrist. "Serai Kils... android?" she asked into the open air. "I'm not human?"

She staggered, and began to walk towards the south. She did not know why she did this, only that her intuition told her that was the right way to go.

Lasille - The Character

Because it isn't good to have everyone on the same side, I'll be on the rebels' side.

Name: Lasille
Type: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 13
Occupation: Dishwasher at a local tavern
Faction: Rebel
Notes: Parents were killed by government armies trying to suppress the rebels.

Franziska- The Character

I will be a member of the government in Ameros.

Name: Franziska
Type: Human
Gender: Female
Age: Unspecified
Occupation: Secretary to the Minister of National Defense
Faction: Government
Notes:

Serai- The Character

Since I'm android already, I'll play one who has gotten lost in a city broken down by war. I am an android that has amnesia. The only memories I have are those of information. The information I carry is that of technology... So I would be the one to go if  someone wanted to know how to build things from central processing units to anti-aircraft guns.

Name: Serai Kils
Type: Android
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Occupation: Technology specialist
Faction: Neutral for now
Notes: Amnesiac android.

Franziska's Introduction

Franziska von Karma (Fran to a selective few) is currently living in Munich with her 'little brother' Miles. She's still the same perfect prosecutor although she has "grown up" and the whip is no longer with her everywhere she goes.

Lasille's Introduction

Hi, I'm Lasille Marin, another one of this blog's authors. I'm a wanderer, and am now living in Truro, a town in Nova Scotia. Let's get this show on the road!

Serai's Introduction

Hey, this is Serai Kils, one of this blog's authors. I'm an android that lives in a city called Parin Sound in the United States of America. Can we start this story? I think so.