[IC] Found Alive

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castille had killed so many humans. Just like the one in front of her now. A quivering women sat on her knees in front of the Android, begging to be let go, saying she had a child to take care of. Kind of stupid of the woman. All that did was give her another target to go after, especially with her communicator in her ear and her creator giving her orders. The moment the robot said to shoot, Anna shot. With the woman laying dead in front of her, blood pooling from her head, Anna felt something inside of her that she always felt. She didn't know what it was. She had talked to others about it, but many of the robots just said it was the human side of her still. Slowly she had gotten used to the feeling, just it still stung, like someone had just punched her in the chest.

Her creator told her to search for the child that the woman had spoke of. And she found it. A little boy, around the age of six years old. He was hidden under some pieces of scrap metal, shivering and eyes wide with fear, probably more shaken by the sight of his mothers death then the fact there was a gun pressed to his forehead. Anna had killed many humans of ranging ages, but she had never done away with a human child before. Humans hardly had children anymore. There were to many dangers that the younger one could get hurt or killed by in this world. The adult humans knew better. Well, at least most did.

She looked down at the child for a long time, watching him sob under grief and fear. Her finger was on the trigger, ready to kill as her creator order her to. But....she couldn't. No matter how hard she tried, her body would not allow it. She dropped the gun, moving her hand to make sure it was functional. It was. So if it wasn't her metal bones locking up, then what was it? She looked back at the child, and though her creator was in her ear, shouting for her to terminate the young human, she didn't. She just looked at the child, and the child took the opportunity, seeming to understand his chance, and ran.

Bending down she silently picked up her gun, putting it back into the bag that was over her shoulder. She pulled the communicator out of her ear so that she didn't have to hear the robot anymore, and turned. She took on look at the dead woman and almost got sick. She didn't know why she was feeling this and now. She had killed so many, seen so many dead bodies. She didn't know why this seemed so different. But it was. She had to look away from the woman, a hand over her mouth.

She ran. Fast. She wasn't really running from anything. Nothing was chasing her, but she knew soon something would be. That made her stop, trying to sort everything out in her head. What was she doing? That was still unplanned, but she wasn't going to go back to the lab she was created in. They'd terminate her for disobeying orders. Where was she going to go? She didn't know, just away from this robotic wasteland. And then what she going to do when she was away? Still another question unanswered. One thing was for sure though. She had to keep them from tracking her down.

The scanner bar on her arm was thing that had to be taken care of. Not only was it always scanned for identification, but under it was a chip used to track all robots and androids. Robots had it lucky. They didn't feel pain or bleed. But as an android, she was still half, if not mostly human, and this was going hurt. She brought the knife she carried out of the bag over her shoulder, she looked at it for a moment before she slowly made a deep cut all the way across the bar code. Then, she dug the knife in, blood pouring from it, and managed to grip the chip with her fingernails, pulling it out. She crushed it immediately.

Not even bothering to wrap up the bloody sight, she left it as it was, and ran some more. It was almost instinct. She didn't know where she was going still, but it lead her from the city. She ended up in a desert. And though in her whole year of being in the elimination team she had never been here, it was all so...familiar. Her feet took her in a direction and she didn't even worry about getting lost. Soon it grew night, which was a good thing to her for a while as it meant getting out of the sun. That good feeling though only lasted for about an hour because even sooner she felt the freezing air piercing her skin through her clothes, making her feel like she would freeze. But she kept on moving like her feet told her to. She was so close to collapsing from both thirst and exhaustion when she found...a cave? Why had she come here? She was so confused, but took it as shelter and walked toward the entrance. She was almost at the mouth of the cave when she felt something at the back of her head. There was no mistaking that cold roundness for anything but the barrel of a pistol. Then, in that moment, there was a huge commotion. Her bag was stripped from her, and rope was tied around her body and arms, as well as her legs. She struggled but it was no use.

One of the humans lifted her over their shoulder roughly, then once inside and in a lot of the humans view, she was thrown painfully onto the floor, and looked up with fear in her eyes for the first time in a long time, as a gun was pointed at her head. She couldn't help but think about how this must have been how all those humans she had killed in the past year felt. Maybe she deserved to die just like they did. No, she probably deserved worse.

[Justric]

He could hear the noise even in the deep recesses where the 'living quarters' were tucked, each family or individual having their own separate pocket within the caves system. There were no beds in The Colony, only nests. Blankets and fabrics were piled upon the cave floor within these small pockets to keep the cold rock from stealing the warmth from their bodies, and the walls were hung with sheetings and animal hides to further reduce the chill. It was always a steady 55 degrees in the caves, even when packed with people. Not cold enough to freeze to death but certainly not warm enough to be comfortable without making certain adjustments. For Lucien, Pony was just such an adjustment.

Her small body was like a furnace as she snuggled against him, sleepily pulling him back down to into their blankets even as he sought to rise. "No," she moaned. She was only half awake herself. "Let the others deal with it, Luc. It's not a general alarm or anything."

It was tempting, he had to admit. Lucien really had no desire to involve himself in whatever political crap had brewed up this time. It was amazing how even with humanity teetering on the brink of extinction the survivors still had the strength and will to argue with each other on how things should be done. Like any other human community, there were always dissenters. Not that it mattered, as no matter who came out on top they tended to do whatever Uncle advised anyway. Lucien wanted no part of it. Go out, find salvage, kill robots... That was all the really mattered. Although having Pony waiting for him whenever he returned was... something. He couldn't claim she made him happy or that he loved her, but he did appreciate her and felt a certain fondness for the petite girl. It was far more a symbiotic relationship than a romantic one as far as Lucien was concerned; Pony kept him going while he filled some sort of twisted need within her.

She contentedly kissed his shoulder as he settled back to sleep into their shared nest. Even before they could fall back to completely into slumber, however, the thick fabric that served to give them what little privacy there was to be had was pushed aside to reveal Uncle. The old man had a serious cast to his features. Pony groaned and buried her head beneath a pillow even as Lucien propped himself up on one elbow. "Uncle?" he mumbled. "What's going on? I didn't think we were headed out again until later today."

The old man shook his head, his mouth curled into a grimace made all the more fierce by his wild beard. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards the largest cavern, the one used for community gatherings and meetings. "You better get down to the Cathedral, Lucien." Was there something more to the old man's face? Was that pity in his eyes? "And if I were you? I'd hurry."

Letting the sheet drop back into place, Uncle turned away to leave Lucien puzzled as to what could be so important. Sighing in annoyance, the young man pushed the tangled mass of warm fabrics aside to look for his clothes: khaki cargo pants with a worn grey t-shirt, heavy black combat boots and a thick sweater of yellowing white wool to keep the chill off. Pony echoed his sigh in amusement before starting to dress as well in similar clothing. The only difference between them was the webbed belt that Lucien donned last, the heavy weight of his father's .45 hanging hard on his hip; Pony carried no weapons other than a combat knife for last resorts.

They trudged together out of the Quarters and down towards the Cathedral where most of the Colony seemed to have amassed. The corridor connecting one to the other ended in a balcony that overlooked the community area, and from there Lucien could make out nearly everybody. There was Toni and his wife, Uncle, the triples whose names he couldn't keep straight, several families with their children, the folks in charge of medicine and the ones in charge of the mushroom farms and the hunters and the gatherers and the foragers... Lucien frowned. What in the world could have stirred up the entire Colony so??

Suddenly Pony gasped in shock and grabbed his bicep tightly. "Oh, fuck," she whispered in horror. "Oh, fuck."

Lucien, irked over the whole affair, was about to snap at her until he finally saw what she saw: Castille.

His heart skipped a beat while his senses reeled. Even from the high balcony he could see it was her. His dead fiancé. His dead love. The woman who had tricked him into leaving her behind. Eyes wide and throat dry, Lucien was then running down the makeshift stairs towards the center of the shouting crowd, leaving Pony to follow a few steps behind. His only thought was that it was Castille, that she was alive, that she was here and that everything was-

Shoving and pushing others aside, he found himself standing over her in shock. Breathing hard, he took in the sight of her only to see the damage done. It wasn't Castille at all. It was her body, maybe. Mostly. But that body bore the tell tale marks of conversion. The robots had made an Android of her, one of their prized hunter-killers whose sole purpose was to ferret out other humans and either exterminate or 'recruit' them. It wasn't Castille at all. Lucien felt all the hope that had just risen within his heart get dashed upon the rocky floor of the cavern, his shock fading away to reveal the grief that had never truly healed. His heart felt heavy, too heavy to bear. All the worse was how everyone now stared at him to see his reaction, to see what he might say as to how to proceed next. In the silence, Lucien screwed his eyes tightly shut and turned away.

"Kill it," he muttered with a snarl towards the person holding the pistol. "Carve up the meat for the dogs and let Uncle have whatever's left for The Lab. Then we'll need to seal off the main passage in case it was followed."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Humans, after hearing an android had been caught near the entrance of the cave, began to gather in the main foyer area. There had to be at least fifty or sixty humans in this place. It shocked her. She would have never thought this many humans were living freely undetected by the robots. They were smart to keep this up. And she was fairly sure this place would be the last sight she would see. The gun that was pressed against her head was taken away for now. It was as if this humans were waiting for something.

Then everything was silent, the only sounds coming forth were those of someone pushing through a crowd. The man finally made it to where she was, huffing and trying to catch his breath as he stood over her. She looked up at him with her blue eyes that shinned an iridescent pink in the dim light coming from the oil lamps that lit the cave. This man over her. He seemed....familiar. So familiar. And for a moment, just a moment, an image flashed in her head. Of this man smiling down at her, chuckling, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

She was extremely confused. What was that? Why had she thought that? But then, something told her it wasn't something she had just randomly thought. No, the image and sounds had been too real. This was....was....a memory? But, she wasn't supposed to have memories. And the warm feelings she got from the memory were just as strange. An android wasn't supposed to have memories of their human lives. Nor were they supposed to 'feel' or have 'emotions'. They lived to serve their Creators. And her Creator was a robot who wanted her to kill humans.

And yet, she refused. She had refused to kill for the first time when she looked into the eyes of that child. And now, she felt sick just even thinking about killing anymore humans. She refused to kill any more humans. Something had snapped inside of her, and she had a feeling there was no means of technology that could fix it. The robot's best choice would be to terminate her. That is, if these humans didn't beat them to it.

It hurt. She didn't know why it did. Something about this human in front of her caused so many confusing feelings within her. When his face screwed in pain and turned away, telling them to kill her, and the man rose the gun to her, she wanted them to do it. Something about him not wanting her alive, made her wish it so.

But, someone apparently had other wishes.

There was a loud shout of 'no!'. A child's voice. A boy no older then six years old dashed over and much to the suprise of all the adults in the room, threw his arms around the android. It was instinct what the android girl did next. With her arms tied, she couldn't do much, but she turned as fast as she could so that her back was to the man with the gun and she was leaned over the boy in a protective fashion to shield him, fearful of the gun setting off, whether it be by accident or purposely. For some reason, she couldn't let this boy get hurt. She sat there leaned over him, her eyes closed tightly, waiting for the pain of bullets in her back.

But the gun didn't go off. All of the people in the room stood there in shock a second before mummers began. This was something unheard of. An android protecting a human? It was insane! Crazy! And yet here it was.

The man slowly and unsurely lowered the gun and the in the pause of taking her life, Cassie slowly lifted her head and opened her eyes to look around confused.

The little boy moved slightly, still hugging the android, but glaring at the man with the gun and Lucien, “You're not hurting Auntie Cassie!”

By this time, Toni and Jodie stepped up. Jodie was more hesitant, while Antonio was more of interested and confused, “Jake. Get over to your mother.” The boy opened his mouth to protest, but his father cut him off, “Now Jacob.”

Jacob looked up at Cassie, obviously not wanting to leave her, but she just nodded to him in an assuring fashion, nudging him toward the woman with her shoulder, “...go...”

The boy hugged the woman tightly before slowly moving toward his mother, eyeing the crowd.

When the boy was gone, Toni held up his hand to the man with the gun, telling him to stand down and back up. If anything happened, Toni had his own gun with him. He didn't need anyone interfering. He slowly circled her a few times, though something caught his eyes and he knelt down, looking at her left arm closely before his eyes widened, “The tracker's gone. Someone cut it out.” His blue eyes looked up to his sister's face and she nervously looked back at him. Standing up, he ordered the man who had taken her bag to bring it to him. Digging through it, he found a bloodied knife, as well as something that shocked him even more. The tracker, broken, crushed.

Throwing the bag over his back, his bent down and lifted Castille over his shoulder(earning a yelp of suprise from her), looking around at the people, “Everyone! Back to your nests!”

Slowly, most of the people dispersed, some silent while others talking excitedly/worriedly about the events taking place.

Toni looked at Jodie, “Take Jake back to our quarters and keep him there.” Then his gaze turned back to Uncle, “I'm taking her to the lab. I want to scan her.” And it seemed the twenty eight year old wasn't giving Uncle or anyone else left a chance to argue because he was already heading that way. The equipment in the labs was mostly build by himself and Uncle, so he knew how to use it just as well as the old man. He dropped the android/his sister onto one of the tables they had there, where she sat, looking around fearfully and wide eyed, unsure of what was going to happen to her.

As Toni rummaged through some of the things in the lab, obviously looking for something, he spoke to uncle, uncaring of anyone else besides the old man who might be there, “My suspicions is she cut the tracker out herself. But the question is. Why? And more importantly, how did she find her way here? Something doesn't add up Uncle.” He shifted things aside and finally pulled off to slips of thin rolled paper, before pulling out a scanner. Placing the two slips of paper to the side, he turned to Cassie holding the scanner up, looking at the readings. There seemed to be a spark of confirmation in his eyes as he nodded his head, and set the scanner down, moving one of the slips to the left of the scanner and one to the right, “Look at this Uncle. Look at the readings for androids.” He pointed to the slip on the left, “Almost no mind readings at all. It's because they take orders from the robots and have no emotions of their own. Now look at the readings for a normal human.” He pointed to the right slip, “Off the charts. Humans have thoughts, emotions, and readings off the charts because they have all of these on their own. The only ones who controls these thoughts and emotions are their own.” He moved to show uncle the scanner, “These are Cassie's readings. Look at it Uncle. These are not the readings of an Android. But....they're not quite human. Yet.” He looked at the older man, “Look at all the signs. Her readings, her finding her way here, her trying to protect Jake. Even cutting her tracker out. It...it sounds like she's trying to override her programming. We've seen it happen before in robots. What....what if it can happen in Androids too?”
He looked over at his sister before speaking again, “If she becomes a threat, then yes we should kill her. But, so far, she hasn't shown any signs of attack like normal Androids do. She didn't even fight when we took her weapons and tied her up. But I say, we give her a few days. See the progress if she is overriding her programming. Not only would it be good for our research in stopping the robots, but it also but give us Cassie back.” He looked back to Uncle, “What do you say?

[Justric]

Uncle had led the way back to his lab, his face betraying no opinion or emotion at all. Lucien followed after with a scowl that clearly indicated exactly what his opinion on the matter was: it was a mistake. This wasn't his Castille, not his Cassie. It couldn't be her so it had to be a trap of some sort that the robots had sent in after them, some sort of saboteur or secret agent or... whatever. The type of warfare they waged against the mechanical overlords of the world was far more of a guerrilla action than anything else and the realm of spying and infiltration was outside Lucien's experience. All the same, it made sense. He wanted to protest right then and there even as Toni hefted the... thing... over his shoulder to carry it away, only Pony had grabbed his hand again and given a small shake of her head. Now was not the time. Silently, reluctantly, he conceded and contented himself with following along instead. Pony retreated back to their nest with her eyes downcast and biting her lower lip in thought.

As Toni rummaged about the lab checking equipment and running scans and doing whatever the hell it was the tech types did, Lucien leaned against the wall nearest the single entrance and glowered at them all. Ever since that fateful mission, both men blamed themselves and each other for the loss of Cassie and had fallen out with one another. Before, they had been good friends! If asked, Lucien would have said that Toni was everything he could have asked for in a brother-in-law and companion. Now? Lucien spoke to as few people as possible, and Toni the least of them all. There were too many memories that stirred whenever he saw him, too many reminders of his own failures and loss to permit any of the former feelings of good will the two men had once shared. It annoyed and frustrated Lucien how they were deluding themselves that the thing on the lab table could possibly still have any part of Cassie still inside of it. Secretly, he was also afraid. If this was Cassie... if she had survived or could be restored...

Uncle calmly reviewed the provided data and listened to Toni's arguments dispassionately. Several significant moments of silence followed after her brother concluded until the old man finally pursed his lips and spoke. "The blood crusted underneath her fingernails could be hers. If so, it would be further evidence that she dug the tracker out herself. And I agree. Her actions so far could be an indicator that there's something of her memories left in there, some residual remains of her personality." He quirked an eyebrow at Toni as though in warning. "That may be all there is, Antonio, lad. Just remnants of who she was. Even if she is somehow over-riding what they did to her, I doubt she'll be the same person that she was. I'll also take this time to remind you that while we found evidence of robots attempting to over-ride their own programming, we've never actually encountered one that did so successfully and survived. Thankfully, we've seen nothing like the robots' auto self-destruct protocols in the Androids themselves. Regardless.... regardless to any of that, I don't think we should pass up the opportunity to study her. We've never gotten a chance to capture a 'live' Android before. It's an opportunity not to be wasted. And if we can discover a way to reverse at least the mental conditioning of Androids, so much the better. It would mean we could salvage others in the future. Eventually."

Falling silent again, Uncle took a deep breath as his mind worked quickly over the possibilities. His musing were interrupted by Lucien's snort of disgust. "Will you listen to yourselves? That," and he jabbed an accusing finger towards the tied up girl, "is not your sister, Toni. It is not Cassie. It's a fucking meat puppet. It's a goddamn robot wearing a Cassie suit."

"Lucien!" Uncle barked sternly. "Unproductive!" Shaking his head, the old man leaned over and flipped a few switches on a panel half buried in wires and parts. A low hum began to fill the room. "Leave her where she is for now," he commanded them both, "It's almost lunch time, lads, and I want some of Anna's boiled cave lobster chowder. Let us think on this while we fill our bellies and cool off, yes? Hm? Now out! Get!" Ushering the two boys out, he followed behind with a quick glance and smirk at where the Android had been laid out with limbs bound. "Not like she's going anywhere."

Cassie had been left alone in the cavern, still bound atop the lab table. The hum in the air changed pitches a few times, but other than that the place remained quiet and still as the grave. There was no telling how long she lay there undisturbed. Abruptly, the humming stopped. A faint ticking sound echoed through the lab, followed by a clicking that was only slightly louder. Out of nowhere there suddenly came a high, feminine voice.

"Sirius Circuitry Prototype GPP Mk IV, designation Liana, in now online. Optical sensors obscured, reverting to external sensors." Another series of sharp clicks snapped into the air and the voice continued in its peculiar staccato rhythm. "Greetings, Miss Castille. I am surprised; provided data indicated that you no longer existed. I am curious; scans indicate you are strong enough to break the ropes binding you, but you do not. I am concerned; you have been injured. I am relieved; I have someone to talk to."

More clicking sounds, which came from another debris strewn table several feet away. "I am... irked; Dr <NAME REDACTED> appears to have left his laundry on top of my face. Again." Pause. "May I be of assistance? Would you like me to sing you a song, Miss Castille?"

[AHeartlessNobody]

As Cassie sat there, her strange iridescent eyes looked about nervously and curiously at all the people. The blonde haired man spoke very excitedly to the old man, and though the old man didn't seem excited at all of the findings, he as at least seemed to accept the facts and let it known that he would give her a chance. She could assume that meant she would stay alive for now, if not just for these 'experiments' the humans were hoping to preform. She hoped the experiments weren't going to be painful. Surely they knew Androids could feel pain? Or maybe they didn't? Was it just her? She was so confused about herself at the moment. She was, in a way, a one of a kind. Nothing was certain with her.

Toni nodded, “I understand the risks uncle. But even if we can't get her memories back, even just her personality will be enough. She'll still be Cassie. She wouldn't be the first human to have a major case of amnesia. When Lucien spoke up, Toni could feel his anger boil and couldn't help but snap back at the younger man, “Just the same as you! You're not Lucien anymore! Just a damn shadow of the man Lucien once was!” It was true. They had fallen out since Cassie's disappearance. At first it had been because of the memories. It was too much for either of them. But then, when just a mere seven months after Cassie disappeared and Lucien started sleeping with Pony that Toni began to truly hate him. While the rest of them were still grieving over the lose of an amazing girl, he had become the bed buddy of another woman and stomped all over Cassie's memories.

Toni was a bit annoyed when Uncle said for them to leave her there and to go eat, he didn't want to go, but would never disobey the man. Uncle was their leader and he respected him enough to do as he said. Looking back, he spoke to her, “Stay here Cassie. I'll be back as soon as I can and I'll bring you back some lunch before we stitch up that cut, okay?” He was practically shoved out of the room by Uncle and walked silently to the commons to get something to eat. He refused to even look at Lucien. Just the sight of the man now angered him. The younger man was very lucky Toni hadn't punched him in the face yet. It was an honestly suprise to everyone in the caves the two hadn't gone at each other yet in a fight.

Again, it hurt when the man spoke so badly about her. Cassie didn't know why it hurt her so much, but it did. It left a horrible pain in her chest, as if someone had grabbed a hold of her heart and squeezed as heard as she could. She watched with sad eyes as the man walked out and nodded slightly to Toni's promise of coming back as soon as he could. It was silent for a moment and she stood still for a long moment, because she jumped slightly at the sound of a voice. She looked about confused like and finally her eyes fixed on a table not too far away form her own.

Somehow the robot who this voice belonged to knew her in a way. She was able to identify her. And spoke about her. At all the comments the robot woman made Cassie had to think for a moment before answering, “W...well. I suppose to them I didn't exist anymore. I'm not even sure what my life was like here so I can't truly say if I existed. My injury will be fixed as soon as that human....Toni I believe his name is, comes back to do something to it. And....well...yes, I can break them, but if I did that it would anger them. I don't wish to anger them. It...it already hurt me that the one human does not wish for my presence....though I'm not sure why. Emotions such as these are....new to me.” She looked at the robot again, tilting her head to the side, “Sing? I do not believe I have heard anyone sing. Not in this life I have now that is. Will you sing for me?”

Then the robot began singing. It was something that was haunting, yet beautiful. She loved it though. And, without even thinking, she began to sing the tune with the robot, singing it in a higher harmony to add to the beautiful song. She didn't know it, but this was something she used to do as a human. While all the other humans had tended to stay away when the robot sung, Cassie, whom helped in the labs with Uncle and Toni, loved the singing the robot did and would often sing along and harmonize with her. Singing was something Cassie had done a lot. Even to Lucien. When they would lay in their nest together at night and they had trouble sleeping, when they weren't talking quietly with one another she would sing to him. It was something the two of them enjoyed. It was sad she didn't remember it.

The Android girl smiled softly unknowingly as she continued to sing with the robot, loosing track of time so that a while had passed and the others were on their way back to the lab.
(If you wanted her to speak more to Cassie you can just add it in as spoken before they started singing)

[Justric]

Another round of clicking noises emanated from the obscuring pile of cloth. "Identification subsequence activated. Condensed synopsis built from extrapolation of existing data, individuals most likely to have been encountered recently." The unit promptly began to recite a listing of relevant individuals for the woman.

"Antonio. Also known as 'Toni.' Serving multiple roles including but not limited to: Salvage and Recovery Specialist, Research and Development, Defense and Recon. Husband of Jodie. Father of Jacob. Brother to Castille."

"Dr. <NAME REDACTED>. Also known as 'Uncle.' <INFORMATION REDACTED>. No additional information available."

"Lucien. Serving as Salvage and Recovery Specialist, Mortuary Services. Formerly engaged to Castille. Currently co-habitating with Pony." There was a pause. "Warning. Psychological profile indicates possible mental instability. Evidence of self-destructive behavior and reckless endangerment. Possible Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Survivor Guilt. Addendum added 278 days from current date: case file scheduled for further review pending acquisition of certified counselor or psychologist."

"Castille. Last listed as terminated/captured during Salvage and Recovery mission 397 days from current date. Formerly serving in Salvage and Recovery, Research and Development. Sister to Antonio, engaged to Lucien. Addendum added 307 days from current date: Multiple attempts to recover were unsuccessful. Subject declared Lost."

A profound silence followed the recitation, the information provided hanging in the air. More clicking sounds filled the air then, whatever mysterious mechanicals that made up the robot working quickly and efficiently as it processed or retrieved additional information. It was then followed by: "I am happy. You have asked me to sing. I shall now sing." Most of what followed were wordless vocalizations that, while certainly mechanical in nature, held a mournful tone to them. More over, the singing almost seemed to be spontaneous. These were not pre recorded songs that Liana sang, but works of her own creation invented spontaneously then and there! Not that all of her songs were such. The robot seemed to know a good many tunes that would have been long forgotten to humanity if not for her knowledge of them, ballads of day long gone by that told tales of elves and magicians and knights and maidens and days in May... Liana's version of 'A Maid In Bedlam' held a peculiar poignancy to it. "...For I love my love, I love my love, for I know my love loves me..."

The singing suddenly stopped. There had been the slightest of movements at the lab's entrance, a small shadow that slipped in furtively as though half afraid to be there and yet half afraid to be discovered. It was Pony. The tiny young woman crept in carefully, her bright eyes scanning about the cavern nervously as though expecting alarms to go off at any minute. She was light on her feet though and stepped easily around the assorted piles of debris and technology awaiting sorting and use, until she came to the laundry strewn table. Every now and then, she glanced over at Cassie's bound form to ensure that she was still there. Then, carefully removing the clothing, she uncovered Liana's face. The robotic entity blinked several times at Pony with her large, expressive eyes before Pony whispered to her: "Liana? Shutdown sequence Five-B, Diagnostic. Over ride code: Tunafish."

The clicking and variable hums came to an abrupt halt, the thrumming of the various computers around the room settling into one atonal hum that was far softer than before. Liana's eyes closed at the same time, and her plasti-flesh face was stilled.

Nodding to herself, Pony crept over to the table where Cassie lay. Her eyes roved over the ropes to ensure they were intact before she leaned forward close to the Android. In a child-like, vacant voice Pony whispered to her. "Cassie? Are you really in there somewhere? Cause if you are, we need to talk. Cassie?"

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castille listened carefully to all the information given to her by this robot. She was telling her about the people she had met so far. First was Toni. Or Antonio. Apparently he was her brother. That explained why he was more easy to accept her then the others. Records of humans she had read stated siblings were supposedly the closet humans could get. His son was Jacob. The little boy that had tried protected her. So, if Toni was his father and she was Toni's sister, then that made the boy her....what did humans call it? Nephew. Yes. The boy had called her 'Auntie Cassie' and that meant he was her nephew and she was his aunt.

The next person she discussed was Uncle. His information was blocked. There was nothing about him. Cassie found that curious, but humans were strange to her anyway.

Then was Lucien. She could assume that was the boy who had been standing there and calling her names. Rejecting her. It had hurt her, and the robots information explained why. That man....she had been engaged to him? That was a human's form of a marriage being planned. Apparently he was now co-inhabiting with a human named Pony. The pain in her chest she felt before about the man worsened, making it hard for her to breathe when she was given that information, a few more images of the man coming to her head Of laying next to him in a pallet of blankets, laughing. Of him teasing her about being short. Sitting in his lap while he played with her long hair. Clearly her human side was coming out if she was having such memories and emotions of a former lover of hers(who she didn't even really remember other then a few quick images and sounds for that matter!) being with someone else. But then again, she didn't have to remember to have feelings for him. It was instinct. She wanted to be near him, though refused to allow herself to say anything or even really look at him, for fear he would say more horrible things about herself.

Lastly was herself. She was listed as terminated/captured on a mission 397 days ago. It made sense. She 'created' 345 days ago. That left a small time gap of them capturing her and prepping her for the change. They had apparently attempted to recover her multiple times and failed. What if they had been successful in recovering her? How different would things have been? She wasn't sure, considering she could remember her time here.

After given the information, Cassie stopped her singing when she heard footsteps echoing in the hallways. She grew quiet and watched with unsure eyes as the small blonde girl crept in and over to the robot, giving it the commands to shut down. Then the girl crept over to where Cassie lay and the Android tensed. She didn't like this girl. There was something about her. Something threatening despite how innocent the girl looked.

Carefully Cassie looked up at the girl when she spoke to her and nodded slightly, “I am Cassie. Wh....what is it you wish to speak about?”

[Justric]

The blonde girl gave a bright, happy smile. "Oh, it is you, Cassie!" she bubbled in air headed elation. "Don't you remember me? It's me. Pony! We used to cook food together, remember? And we made jewelry out of whatever bits that Toni and Uncle threw away. Look! I still have the pendant you made me, the one that plays music!" Reaching under her sweater, she pulled forth a leather cord upon which hung a strange but artful combination of clockwork gears, micro-transisters and a tiny red LED light. "It stopped working," she pouted as she dangled it in front of Cassie, "and Uncle and Toni don't want to waste time with it."

Then her eyes lit up again. "But you're back now! You can fix it for me and it'll be just like before!"

Pony then pulled herself up onto the table and curled close up against the Android, her voice sweet and dreamy. A hand touched Cassie's cheek lovingly as she spoke in even softer whispers that held a strange sincerity within them. "I missed you so much, Cassie." Then she giggled with a naughty look on her face. "You never wanted to play my little games. You or Lucien. And now you're all tied up anyway. It's kind of funny."

Suddenly the bright look fell from her face as something she mentioned brought forth another concern. "Lucien," she sighed sadly. "He missed you terribly, Cassie. When Uncle declared that it was pointless to keep searching, Lucien... changed. He and Toni had a big falling out, right in front of everyone! It was a while before Uncle let Lucien out of the Colony again. He blames himself, you see, Cassie? He tried not to give up on you, tried for months and months after everyone else had grieved and moved on, but it was too much for him. You know how sensitive he's always been. And now? You're back. And he's going to feel as though he betrayed you. He wont't admit it, of course. Lucien's always been stubborn."

Pony moved her hand to Cassie's hip to draw her into a loving embrace, side by side. She spoke in sad tones then, her simple words carrying more weight for the bittersweet emotions behind them. "Lucien's been nesting with me for the past couple of months, Cassie. I tried to help him as best as I could, but I'm not too bright so I did the only thing I knew how to. He needed someone, and I was the only one who could get close to him. Only somewhere along the line, I fell in love with him. And I don't want to give him up. I'm sorry, Cassie."

Her mood mercurial as always, the petite girl was suddenly cheerful again and beamed down at Cassie's recumbent form as she sat up a little. "But maybe we can work something out! I know I always teased-"

The sound of boots in the hallway interrupted her. Pony's head snapped towards the entrance in alarm, then turned hurried back towards Cassie. Kissing her brow lightly, she slid from the table and into the shadows, saying, "We'll talk more later. Don't say anything for now, okay?" Then impulsively, Pony darted out of the shadows to give Cassie a fierce hug before diving back into the gloom. "I'm so happy you're back..." came the whisper again.

Uncle stomped back through the entrance, his eyes glancing towards Castille to ensure she was secured before heading over to the second table where Liana lay. "Liana? Liana!" The old man grumbled to himself and bent over the table, and so did not see Pony slip from the shadows and down the corridor before anyone else saw her. "Damn diagnostic routine," he grumbled, "I knew I should never have set it to random intervals. She'll be tied up for hours now."

With a weary but calm face, he turned back towards where Cassie lay upon her slab. Pursing his lips, he ran gnarled fingers through his thick beard as he regarded her. It was a puzzle, he seemed to decide. Uncle liked puzzles. Loved solving them better. And if what he suspected was true... Finally he moved over towards Cassie and leaned against the table with his hip, arms crossed. "So, Pretty. You don't remember me calling you that, I bet. I wonder how much you do remember."

He gave an indolent wave towards her bound hands. "Let's cut the pretenses, Pretty. I know you can snap those ropes like thread; I was part of the design team that came up with your skeleton. It was supposed to be used for the replacement of individual bones, not the whole body. Still, the improved ligaments and tendons connecting everything give you a lot more strength, don't they? Still amazing how they managed to reconstruct your skull so perfectly, though. We never managed to get that part quite right, facial transplant patients always ending up looking like... well, someone else. At any rate, why don't you sit up and I'll see to your injuries. Your brother... that's Toni... will be bringing you some lunch shortly. I don't know how much better for you it'll be than that nutri-paste crap the robots give their Androids, but I'm certain it'll taste better."

Uncle then turned away from her to rummage through a drawer, pulling out a medical kit and preparing to clean and suture her wounds. "Bet you've got a lot of questions, hm?" he asked with his back turned towards her. "Now's as good a time as any to ask. Later oh, it'll be my turn to ask you questions. And run a few tests. Nothing too intrusive, of course, but you may not feel like talking through some of them."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Castille was very confused with this girl. The girl. Pony. Cassie felt as though she didn't enjoy her presence so much. But maybe it was just because this was the woman was the girl Liana had told her was being intimate with Lucien. She didn't remember Lucien. But she couldn't help but have feelings for him. To feel....jealous over him. She didn't like that jealous feeling. She much preferred happy feelings. Still, this girl seemed to be being kind enough to her. Her eyes glanced to the necklace and it did seem like she had seen it before. Just looking at it was where she was laid out she could see it was a rather simple device. Easily fixed with one or two new parts and a little tinkering. But she wasn't too much in the mood to even bother with thinking about that at this moment.

It was uncomfortable for the blonde girl to climb up on the table and lay next to her and touch her in such ways. There were many new emotions she had felt in these past few hours and this was one of the times where her emotions weren't good. They were mixed. This felt awkward and unwanted. But still the girl was being so kind to her it was hard for her to think badly of her.

There came that jealous feeling again. When this girl said she loved Lucien. Love was something she had heard of. Humans felt it. And she was fairly sure it was what she was feeling toward this Lucien. She looked at the girl. She didn't want to work something out. She didn't want pony near that human male. As horrible as she knew she was for thinking such a thing, she wanted that human male all to herself. If he would accept her that was. So far....so far it wasn't looking so well for her though. Maybe it would change though? Maybe if she started to remember more things he might stop saying those hurtful things about her and take her as his.

She didn't say anything. The human girl left in hurry, leaving her there by herself as Uncle entered the room again, seeing that Liana had been put into her diagnostic routine and shut down. She was tempted to say it was Pony that had done it, but Cassie had never been a tattle tail, whether ti be in her human life or now. If he thought it was her, then so be it. Cassie was one to take the fall herself rather than blame another. Though, luckily, he didn't seem to think it was her and came right over to her and spoke.

When he called her Pretty, she looked up at him and paused a moment, before speaking, "It....is familiar. But as far a real memory of the nickname, I do not remember directly." She commented and blinked in surprise when he told to basically break the ropes and to sit up. She looked at the ropes that bond her and hesitated before she moved her arms slightly, loud snaps being heard before the ropes fell from her. She carefully sat up and looked at the old man as he began to clean up the wound on her arm she had made with the dagger, preparing to sew it up, "There are....some questions I do have. What was my relationship to the Pony girl? Were we....friends?" She asked, "And what of Lucien? Were he and I rather close? Did....he love me and I love him? Liana said we were to be married, but I--" She winced, making a small pained sound as Uncle began sewing stitches into the cut on her arm, it hurt so bad she had to bit down on her other hand to keep from screaming.

As this went on, Toni walked in with a plate of food and frowned, walking over, "Don't worry Cassie. It will be other soon. Do you want to squeeze my hand until its over?" With a nod from the Android girl, he took her hand, allowing her to hold it tightly(though she made sure not too tightly for fear of breaking his hand), while she clenched her teeth tightly to stop her pained sounds. When it was over, Toni grinned and ruffled her hair, "There, see? All better sis."

Him ruffling her hair earned a short lived giggle from her before she blinked in surprise. She had laughed? Laughed? It was the first in her Android life. And yet, it made her happy. She enjoyed this feeling. She hoped it happened more. She smiled softly at her brother and he smiled brightly back at her before he started rustling through a few of his technologies, "So, uncle, which tests should we run first?"

[Justric]

Uncle eyed them carefully under heavy brows as he tended to her hurt, not saying anything in response to her questions at first. Instead, he watched how the interaction between Cassie and Toni played out. His face still calm and collected, he only began to speak when asked about the tests.

"First tests are already run," he admitted casually. Uncle gestured towards Cassie absently while putting away the medical kit. "While we were away, she didn't attempt to break the ropes and cause damage. She also did not attempt to destroy Liana; all robots and their Androids are programmed to automatically eliminate rogue artificial intelligences without question. In this case, it doesn't look like that programming even engaged." Wiping his hands on a convenient rag, he turned back around to face the siblings. "She also gave indications that she felt pain while I was working on her... without anesthetic. The pain tolerance is increased from what we would expect in a normal human, but not totally absent as it is in the Androids we've observed. This tells me that either the chip implant was poorly done, that she has some natural resistance to the implant or some combination of both. The robots and their Androids have never shown themselves to have the capabilities of understanding the subtleties of emotions enough to create spies or covert agents. Liana's scans will no doubt tell us more." He scowled in annoyance at the table with his laundry. "Once she finishes her damned diagnostic routines, at any rate."

He leans back against that same table to look upon Cassie, chin raised and eyes mild. "Now, to your questions. To my knowledge, you and Pony were friends. Perhaps not the best of friends, no, but the two of you certainly enjoyed each other's time together. Not too surprising seeing as how there aren't many women the same age as you two. Pony is... simple. Tricky, but simple. She is very affectionate in her way, although her ways can be rather... strange. Lucien is another matter altogether-" He cut off to glare at Toni, "Am I hope, young man, you will allow me to finish before interrupting?"

"Lucien and you were to be wed, yes. He was the one who had originally discovered you and brought you to the Colony when you were both very young, and separating the pair of you for any reason at all generally resulted in a lot of moping and whining on both your parts. It was to be a great time of celebration for everyone in the Colony as all marriages are." He sniffed. "I even wrote a rather nice poem to recite for you two."

"Three days before the event, you sacrificed yourself during a mission to save the others that were with you, Lucien included. He and Toni led several attempts to try and find you but to no avail. The amount of time and resources being diverted to the project became to great, and I regretfully had to declare you lost. Your brother... took it well enough. He grieved, as did we all, but was able to move on while cherishing your memory. Lucien... did not take it so well. To his credit, he was the last to lose hope. To his detriment, the loss of that hope made Lucien somewhat... irrational. Pony's... ah... intervention managed to turn him from being a liability back into an asset, albeit less of a one than he had been before."

"For yourself, you were captured by what most of us simply call 'the robots.' It's a rather generic appellation, as the mechanical entities who are bent on the extermination of the human species are specifically rooted in the Hare Cybernetics Industries robots, or as I like to call them: 'Bunnies.' They are the most advanced artificial intelligences of our time and continue to improve both their programming and their physical constructs; all other robot entities have either been slaved to them or destroyed by them. Like us, Liana here is a survivor, one dangerous to the Hare Cybernetic line as her programming can not be over-ridden by them. In fact, it can't be over-ridden by anyone except her. Not even I can rewrite her core, not if she does not wish it. To continue, at some point the Bunnies began to take humans and convert them into what amounts to being organic robots; it was a less resource taxing method of increasing their numbers. Skeletons were replaced, certain aspects of the physiognomy were enhanced and the brain? The brain wiped clear of all but the basics needed to survive. And even much of that was supplanted by the chip."

At this, Uncle's eyes narrow in thought. "But not in your case. You, Pretty, are something of a first. And where there is a first, there can be a second."

He snapped his head up to look at Toni, a no nonsense stare that brooked no argument. "Before we get to any of the medical experiments, I think we should see what happens when we leave her and Lucien alone together." He then gave a soft smile, belying his stern command. "After you and your sister have some time together. For now, I must insist that she remain in the lab, though, at least until after the rest of the tests are over with."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Toni was greatly annoyed by Uncle speaking of Lucien. In Toni's opinion, the boy had moved too fast to have already begun sleeping with another woman a little more than half a year after Cassie's disappearance. Yes, Toni had given up the search. But it was because he knew there was no way for them to penetrate the robot's main city to try and get her back. It took robots one, maybe two months maximum to convert a human into an android. By the time they had already attempted those multiple attempts, Cassie would either be dead or turned. It was the reason he gave up. If there was even a chance she had been turned, Toni didn't want to be the one to end her life. Still, he would have never guessed his Android sister would find her way here. It was in his opinion a miracle. His sister was getting a second chance. And he was going to do everything in his power to make sure she would end up happy.

At the comment that Uncle wanted to see what happened if they left she and Lucien alone together, he opened his mouth to protest, though seeing the look on the man's face, frowned. He new there was to arguing with the old bat(he thought this in a teasing manner considering he thought of the man as a wise but sometimes psychotic grandfather). Sighing he nodded. Well, at least he would get time alone with his sister before Lucien did. He could give her some words of encouragement that could stick with her in case Lucien decided to cut her down with his own words, "Fine. But if he hurts her, I'm warning you uncle, I will shoot him. You know I will." For her to stay in the lab, he supposed he would have to agree to that. He would just grab some extra blankets to make a nest for her here until she was aloud back out and to her old room in the caves. No one had taken the room yet, no one seeming to have to heart to move her things from it, though of course Lucien's things had been moved from that room and to the room he and Pony shared now. He had watched over and was fairly sure the man hadn't taken any of Cassie's things, though then again, he could never be sure if the man had snuck in later on to take something. Lucien was unstable and Toni could never be sure what he would do.

"Alright. Well, i guess Cassie and I can have our time together and when I'm done I'll come and get you so you can fetch Lucien." He refused to speak to Lucien and sure as Hell wouldn't give him permission to come in here alone with Cassie. Once Uncle had left, Toni casually hopping up to sit on the table next to her, crossing his arms as he looked over at Cassie, "For the record, in my opinion, you deserve better than that bastard. Before you disappeared, I thought the two of you were perfect and he would always taken care of you. But, after you were gone, I say who he truly was. While the rest of us grieved he was off finding a new bed buddy in Pony. Yeah, you deserve much better than him."

There was a long pause and her strange blue eyes looked down at her hands in her lap, her white hair(somehow her hair turned from blonde to white during the transformation of her human to a Android) hanging in her face, "Toni.....what....does love feel like?"

Her brother was taken a back by this question but after a moment of thinking, he spoke quietly, "Well, from my own experience with Jodie.....its someone you care about unconditionally. You want to be near them, all the time. They are the ones who you find perfect despite their flaws, despite what they may or may not become, and they're the ones who with just a few words can hurt you the most. Yet, you love them all the same. Love is....well....most importantly, putting yourself before the one you love."

"Toni?"

"Yeah Cassie?"

"I think I love him." She whispered, looking over at him with sad eyes, "I don't remember him. I don't even know anything about him! But....but I feel all those things for him. Even when he said those things about me. I...I still want to be with him."

Toni groaned in annoyance, running his hand through his hair, "Should have known nothing would change how you feel. Not even changing in a half robot and loosing your memories. You always were stubborn as an ass."

"An ass?" She asked, looking at him confused.

Her brother laughed, ruffling her hair again, "A donkey. Guess you wouldn't understand that since those things aren't really around anymore." There wasn't really much he had to talk with her about. He had his sister back, and that was all he cared about. If she didn't remember anything, then so be it. They would just make new memories while he told her about the old ones. Standing up, he moved to a table and shuffling through more things, pulled out a small whistle, and clipping it into a piece of wire, making it into a really unnoticeable bracelet. Walking over, he slipped it onto her wrist and looked her in the eyes, whispering, "If he even dares to hurt you Cassie, blow this whistle. Someone will be here to save you." Kissing her forehead, he walked out, finding Uncle and telling him Cassie was ready for Lucien.

Sitting on the table, Cassie waited nervously and silently and when she heard lone footsteps approaching the entrance of the caves, she averted her gaze from it to look down and to the left, not wanting to look at him. She feared that hard gaze. Feared his harsh words. Feared his rejection of her. She feared and loved everything about him. And that hurt the most.

[Justric]

Lucien flew across the corridor's width and bounced hard against the rocky wall. Dazed, he slumped to the smooth floor as his sense reeled about him, distorting up from down and making him feel ill. He could feel the ache in his ribs and the stinging in his jaw from the hard and fast punches that seemed impossible to anticipate or block. Pony watched on a few yard away, her hands to her mouth in horror. There was little the tiny woman could do as Uncle lightly stepped up where Lucien had crumpled and then grabbed the fabric of his sweater to yank him to his feet.

"Allow me to rephrase that, Lucien," the old man said calmly. "You will go see her and talk to her whether you want to or not. I need this to happen. It is far more important than your wallowing in self-pity or whatever depravity you and Pony get up to. Castille was your fiancé. Practically your wife. If there is anyone who can manage to reawaken dormant memories in her, it should be you. I know this is hard for you, but it is necessary. Necessary things need doing, Lucien, even if they are unpleasant. For example?" Uncle gave a sudden right undercut right into Lucien's belly. The air whooshed out of him as he bend double, held up only by the Colony leader's firm grip on the sweater. "I do not like being the shit out of you. I find it repugnant, actually. Only it seems to be the only way I can convince you that you must go see her. I could let Toni do this, only he would not know when to stop."

A sharp knee drive into Lucien's belly mere inches from where the last punch had landed, and Uncle let him drop to the floor unceremoniously. Turning to Pony with a fierce glare, he jabbed a finger at the battered and bleeding young man. "Get him cleaned up and down to the lab. And Pony? I won't be trifled with in this. Don't interfere." With that, Uncle walked back down the corridor to leave the two.

Pony wasted no time in rushing to Lucien's side, rolling him over into her lap and wiping the blood away from his split lip and cut cheek. "Shhh," she murmured tearfully, "It's okay, Lucien. Really. I snuck in there. I spoke to her. It's Cassie, it really is! You can go talk to her and... and thing will be like they used to be... only better... because we'll all be together now. Shhh, it's alright. Don't cry, Lucien."

Lucien said nothing, merely laid there with his eyes screwed shut tightly to drown out the pain in his heart and in his head. Hot tears scorched his cheeks. Pony didn't understand. Neither did Uncle, nor anyone else. Toni might have understood, he thought, Toni might understand better than any of them if only for the wrong reasons. Lucien had never bothered to correct Toni in his assumptions, had let the hate between the former friends grow because it was easier than confronting the memories that would burst forth every time he saw the man. Only if it was Cassie... if she was alive...

***

His cuts washed and his lip swollen but no longer bleeding, Lucien trudged his way towards the lab where the Android was being kept. The distance between the nesting grounds and the labs really wasn't all that great, an easy ten minute walk. Only now he felt as though it were a journey through hell. Going to confront this... this thing from his past was a trip of anxiety, self hate and fear that made the distance near unbearable and the destination all the more feared. What was he going to say to her? What the hell was Uncle expecting out of this? Lucien struggled to resolve within himself to make it as short a visit as he possibly could.

When he stepped around the corner and into the lab, he caught sight of her standing there and looking away. With her wonderful hair, lithe body and angle face, the impact of seeing her again struck his heart and crumbled that resolve to flee at the first opportunity. It was just as well that she wasn't looking at him; Lucien discovered quickly that he could not look at her without feeling as though he were breaking apart. The heart ache and grief of loss were centered in his chest, yes, but also radiated throughout his whole being. There was so much that he wanted to say, so much to explain and beg and plead and hope...

Hope. That was what had killed the man she had loved. Hope she might be recovered. Hope that she had escaped and still lived. Hope that Cassie was out there somewhere and that they might find her. It was hope that had kept Lucien going like a madman even after the others had given up, and it was the death of his hope that had allowed him to be seduced into Pony's arms. Even if this was Cassie, resurrected from the proverbial grave, Lucien's hope was still laid out in its stone sarcophagus.

Finally, knowing they had to start somewhere, Lucien spoke. "Hey."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie stood there nervously and became even more tense when she heard the footsteps enter the room and stop at the doorway. She kept her eyes down until she heard him voice a quiet greeting to her. Slowly she looked up at him and herself eyes widened, a gasp escaping her when she saw the few bruises on his skin and his swollen lip, having a horrible feeling it was her fault he had gotten those. For a moment, she took a step forward, as if she were going to go check on the wounds, but stopped herself, body going tense again as she shook off that idea and carefully took a few steps back from him, her hands closed so tightly into fists that her nails dug into the palm of her hands, causing them to bleed. It hurt yes. But it was better then the pain she felt right now in her heart. She wanted so badly to rush over there and check on him. To make sure he was okay. But she fought against that instinct remembering how he hadn't wanted her near him before and how he had called her names.

She continued to take a few slow steps back until she had given him more than enough space between the two of them, wrapping her arms around herself, her gaze averted for a long time before she finally got the courage to look at him again, taking a deep breath before speaking, "H-hello." She bit her lip as she brushed her hair from her face, looking at him shyly, "I'm sorry....you got hurt...because of me, didn't you?" She felt guilty for that. She didn't want to see him hurt. Whether it be because of her or not. Her assumption was Toni, but then again, it could have been anyone.

She paused, trying to think of something else to say, anything to say to this man she so undoubtedly loved. What could she say that would make him think differently of her? To not reject her as he had done when she was brought in this place? To make him not want to see her on the cave floor with a bullet in her head? She wasn't sure what she could do. She didn't know what she was truly like before. All she could do was be herself. And surprisingly, her self now was spot on with the old her, just minus the memories that went along with the personalities and emotions.

Finally speaking again, she moved to sit on the table once more, looking at him, trying her best to give him a soft and brave smile, "I know you don't want to be here. Around me that is. Uncle was the one who forced this. I...If you don't want to be here. If you just want to leave, that's fine. I understand. I can tell Uncle that you tried to talk to me but it didn't work. That way you won't get in any trouble by him."

[Justric]

Lucien stood there silently, brooding as the tension hung thick and heavy in the air between them. He gulped as he watched her moved to the table, sit, offer to let him leave and not let him get in trouble for it. Damn it! But it was... just like Cassie to do so! She had never wanted other people to get in trouble, was always taking the fall for them and saying it was her responsibility to do so! When she tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced up at him it like that? This woman in front of him now looks and acted so much like his Cassie that it hurt even worse. If only her eyes did not shine so pinkly in the dim cavern lights. If only her body did not still move with that slight stiffness. If only she didn't still have just that faintest staccato rhythm to her voice that was so indicative of the robots and their Androids. If only he hadn't given up...

"No," he managed to rasp out finally. Unconsciously, he brushed at the sore spot on his lip with the back of his hand. "Uncle... He wouldn't like it... if I left right away."

He felt he should move somewhere or do something. He couldn't. Lucien could only stand where he was and look at her, his face stern and eyes haunted. No on in the Colony was obese or heavy, not with the strict rationing, but Lucien had lost an unhealthy amount of weight since that horrible day and it made him cadaverous in the gloom of the cave. Unsure of what to do or say, he ran his fingers through his short hair in frustration. The act allowed the dam within his soul to slowly leak.

"Pony. She says she was in here, that you're... really Cassie. Toni seems convinced, too, and where Toni goes Jodie follows. Uncle's pretty sure, too. Almost everyone thinks that you're Cassie, come... come back from the dead." Un-noticed by Lucien, a tear began to form in the corner of one grey eye. "But you can't be. You.. can't be Cassie. I... I can't let you be her, or... or I'm going to go mad. Do you understand? I had to give up on believing in miracles to survive, and if you are her... if you are Cassie... then miracles exist... but I can't allow myself to think that. It hurt too much before. And... I don't know if I can take that pain again."

He was rambling and he knew it. He was trying to explain his feelings and fears to a woman... a thing... who had forgotten what it was like to have those. But for the sake of saving his body from further reproofs from Uncle, and for the sake of what little soul he had left within him, Lucien had to at least try. Uncle may have coerced him into this, but Lucien had always tried to be a man of his word. Tried, that is.

In desperation, an idea came to his tortured brain. He leapt upon the idea like a drowning man for a life vest. "If... if you are Cassie. If you are... the woman I loved... then come here and kiss me. Kiss me... kiss me the way Cassie used to." Should her kiss prove true, his wracked mind reasoned, then he would have to admit it was her. If not, and she was an Android spy or some such, perhaps he would be lucky enough for her to kill him while he kissed the memory of his heart's desire goodbye.

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie frowned when Lucien began to ramble on. About how she could be Cassie. About how she couldn't be Cassie. That if she was than he would go mad. She gazed down at this point, a pained look on her face. She knew she was hurting him and that hurt her twice as hard. She didn't like hurting him like this. It made her wish she ad never found her way to these caves. Made her wish she had been found and terminated by her superiors before she had made it this far. Surely that would be better then the feeling she had inside of her right then. Maybe that would have been better. Better for her to put out of her misery and better for the to have never have seen her again.

Her eyes snapped up to him, wide and blinking in surprise when he told her to kiss him. Kiss him like she used to. She couldn't even remember! How could he possibly expect that from her?! The worry was clear her in her eyes. She didn't want to mess this up. If she messed this up he would never love her back. She had to try. She just had to. She swallowed hard before she carefully slid down from the table and walked slowly and hesitantly over to him. It was obvious as she drew nearer that she was nervous. Maybe even scared. But she pushed forward until she was standing in front of him. Her eyes looked up into his, searching for a moment to make sure this was okay with him and when she saw it was, she carefully stood on her tip toes(as he was quite a bit taller then herself) so that she was at face level with him and pressed her lips softy to his.

It was like a fire. Their lips touching was the spark to leave a wild fire run through her body. Before she knew it, her arms had slipped themselves around his neck and her lips were desperate on his. She wasn't even thinking anymore. No this was instinct. This was her body, not her damaged mind. Instinct took over and her body pressed close against his as she kissed him. And in that moment, memories began rushing through. They were fast. And blurry. But maybe they had always been that way. This same fire that she felt at this moment. Pain. Pleasure. Touching. Both his and her names being called out by each other. Gasps. Yelps. Moans. Screams. And the most amazing feeling in the world.

After a long moment of those memories and her kissing him, she pulled back gasping for breath, pressing a few more soft kisses to his lips before she pulled back, her face bright red as she took a few steps back, "I-I....I'm sorry. I went too far, didn't I? I don't know why I did that. I'm so, so, so sorry."

[Justric]

Lucien was nearly sweating with anxiety as she approached and looked up at him. At the first touch of lips, he was relieved as the kiss seemed mild and most perfunctory at best, the kiss of someone who did not know how and was just guessing. So he had been right in his fearsome assumptions that this couldn't be-

Then her arms were about him, her small body pressed hard against hers so that he could feel her softness and every curving grace of her body. The kiss became heated, and in becoming so also was terrifyingly familiar in such a way that he could not help but to respond in kind. Her kisses were desperate, his were hungry. Lucien's hands dropped to her tiny waist of their own accord to find her hips and pull her even closer to him. Even as Cassie's brain burst with memories of their times together, the painfully sweet recollections that were Lucien's bubbled over and poured from out the dark recesses of his mind and into his soul. His body knew what his mind did not want to accept: this was Cassie. Whatever else she was, she was still the woman he loved.

When Cassie let go and stepped back, apologizing, it was like losing her all over again. Lucien stood there, mouth slightly agape and eyes tearing. Yes, it was the woman he loved. And he had betrayed her. Even though they had never formally said the vows, they had promised themselves to each other for eternity in their romantic youth and foolishness. Yet, when she was gone and past any hope of recovery? Lucien had fallen apart in the end to find solace in Pony's bed. He had given up hope that Cassie might ever return, and now that she had he could feel nothing but guilt. There was loathing in his eyes as she stammered her apologies for being so forward, but it was not directed towards her. It was self-loathing.

Pale and weeping silently, he slowly shook in head in despair. "No... no, no, no... It is you. Oh, shit. No, what I have I... I gave... I didn't want to..."

Babbling through his emotions, Lucien backed away from Cassie, the turned and ran out of the cavern with his hands gripping his skull despondently. Now that he knew it was her, had to accept that it was his beloved, he couldn't face her. Facing her would mean also facing himself. And that he just could not do. Not now.

Seconds after he had fled, a voice chirped from the one table. It was Liana. "I would go after him." Pause. "If I had a body. You have a body. You should go after him. He is... distraught? Profile indicates that in such a situation, Lucien may require careful monitoring. Self-destructive behavior is probable at this juncture."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie watched confused and wide eyed as Lucien began to have a bit of a mental break down, crying and stammering things that didn't seem to come together at all to make a full sentence. The only thing she could catch was that he believed her. He knew it was her. And that thought was the one that seemed to be throwing him for this psychotic spin of his. She watched worriedly as he took a few steps back and dashes out of the lab. She took a few quick steps as if to follow him, only to stop herself. Uncle had told her to stay in the labs for now until testing was done. But her mind was seriously considering following him even before Liana spoke. At the comment of him possibly having self distructive behavior, her eyes filled with more worry before she nodded, looking at the robot who had recently rebooted, "I'm going to find him. If Uncle comes tell him where I went and that I will be back after I am positive he is safe from himself."

As she ran out of the labs, she looked about wildly, listening for footsteps in the darkness of the caves. Even with the oil lamps hanging on the ceiling it was hard to find her way around. But she kept going. Kept searching. It scared her. The thought of what he might do to himself. She didn't know him well. She didn't know what he would do. But all she knew was that she loved him. And she wanted to help him. Even if it got her in trouble for disobeying Uncle's orders.

Her robotic blue eyes searched about in the darkness. It seemed that training the robots gave to Androids did come in handy when tracking humans, because she soon found the path Lucien had taken. She followed it quickly, running as fast as she could until it brought her to a place where the caverns went deeper, untouched by the colony so far and not even lighted. Carefully, she took a few steps toward the entrance. It was times like this she wished those robots had given her advanced eyesight night vision. It would really come in handy right now if they had.

She moved a few steps in, gasping as she almost slipped on the steep rocks, having to hang onto the cave walls. Everything about this place screamed danger. And worse, she heard running water. That was why this part was uninhabited! An underground river. Her eyes widened at that information and she went to take a step deeper into the caverns, knowing without her being able to see it was just as dangerous for her as it was for him, "Lucien! Please....I know your in here....l....lets get out of here. We can go back to the labs...we can talk....whatever is going through your head right now is not true....you haven't done anything wrong.....if...even if you have, I forgive you......no one holds anything against you." She moved to take a few more steps, yelping as she fell tot he hard stone floor on the incline, grasping the rocks to keep from sliding down toward the rapids even more, "Please! Lucien! I'm not leaving here until you come back with me!"

[Justric]

Lucien ran from the cave to the deepest, darkest place within the Colony he could think of. Commonly called the River Bank, that place was deemed far to dangerous for the humans to use; as useful as the fresh waters might be, the drop off was far too treacherous for anyone to even attempt. Once in someone fell into the water, there was no getting out without some rescuer with a rope and secure footing. The water came from the high mountains far to the east. Insulted stone and strata helped to keep the river near freezing, and the cavern was the coldest place in the entire cave system. He found himself there in the pitch blackness, standing upon the sole flat precipice above the waters. Even through his heavy wool sweater, Lucien shivered.

For the third time in his life, the world has he had come to know it had been shattered. The first had been the robotic rebellion that claimed his family and friends while he had managed to slip away. The second had been the loss of the woman he loved. Now the third: that woman's return and all the horrors that entailed. Lack of sunlight and the constant stress of avoiding death or capture while searching for supplies for some fifty humans had finally broken his spiritual back, Cassie being the proverbial straw. All he could think of now was escape. A final escape. He swallowed to try and clear the lump in his throat as he thought about the release that awaited him. He wouldn't drown, he was sure of that. Or rather, he wouldn't be conscious of drowning. The waters were born of melting ice and snow, and hypothermia would do him in long before the waters filled his lungs and stole away the precious air. Even before his body might be dashed upon the rocks within those speedy rapids and carried further underground where there was no air at all anymore. That would be the best way to end it, he had decided; let the cold water seep away his warmth to leave him numb and unable to think.

Before he could jump, Cassie's voice echoed about the cavern. Lucien closed his eyes, not wanting to listen but unable not to. She forgave him. What a joke. She had no memory of them, nothing solid, so how would she know forgiveness??

"You don't understand," he called back with chattering teeth. "I. Gave. Up. Without you... there just wasn't any point, Cassie. I tried, I mean... I really tried to hold it together. I used...every excuse to try and keep on looking for you, even after Uncle called it quits. i thought... even if I couldn't rescue you... I could at least join you. Or get killed and not have to deal with it anymore. It... it just hurt too fucking much, Cassie." Lucien sniffed. "Toni will tell you I started sleeping with Pony then, but it's a lie. She started taking care of me because I wasn't taking care of myself. Then after... after you were declared lost, I had no one else to turn to but her. I failed you, and I failed myself, and I told myself it didn't matter because the only person worth being anyone for... had been you. And you were gone."

He laughed bitterly then. "But now... here you are again! And all I can do is... feel guilty. I should be dancing up and down, and shouting and jumping and hugging you... but I can't feel any of that. All I can feel is... how much I hate myself. I hate that I let you get captured, I... hate that I meant so much to you that you slammed that security door in my face to save my life. It didn't even have a glass window in it, Cassie. I couldn't even see your face to say goodbye! I hate what I've become, and I hate what they did to you, and I hate that you can't remember me, and I hate that I can't do anything about any of it."

"So give me a reason," he pleaded, "Give me one... good... reason why I shouldn't just jump and get it over with."

[AHeartlessNobody]

Cassie felt tears running down her face as Lucien spoke. She couldn't stand that he was feeling all of this pain. And all because of her. Carefully she slowly stood, trying to keep her balance on the steep incline as she tried to move closer to where his voice was coming from. She had to get to him. Had to stop him from going into those waters. It was freezing cold, especially with her in nothing but a tank top and jeans, but she pushed passed though and kept moving. For him. When he spoke to her, telling her about when she slammed the door in his face to save his life, she could guess he was talking about when she got captured. She couldn't remember it, but all she knew was even just hearing about it made her feel horrible.

"A reason...?" Cassie said as she moved down the slope, "Lucien, my being here, with you, is a reason. I don't know why I came back to these caves...but I can feel that part of the reason is you. I know it sounds crazy because I can barely remember you...but.....but I love you. I feel it in me that you are the only one I could ever love. If you jump in the water, then every reason of my staying in this colony will be gone. The only thing left for me to do would be to jump in after you." She paused for a moment, "But if that's not enough of a reason, then.....then know that I had a memory. Of us together." She stepped closer down to him, "When we kissed, it gave me memories of us. It wasn't many memories, but it was enough for me to see that we were happy then. We can be happy again Lucien..." She took another step, "Lucien....please, just--" A small yelp escaped her as she slipped on the rocks again, only this time the fall brought her to the waters edge, her hands clinging for life onto the rocks while from the waist down she was in the water, "LUCIEN!"

[Justric]

Lucien grimaced as he shivered on the ledge, her words merely adding to his guilt and confusion. How could she love him if she didn't remember him?? It didn't make sense! And if she was remembering flashes of their time together it only made him feel all the more horrible for he had betrayed those memories by turning to Pony. Adding to the morass of emotions the weigh down his reason was the faint heartbeat of that hope he thought long dead; 'We can be happy again...' Could they? Could they be happy? He could not see how it was possible for them to be as they were before, both of them having changed so much in just that one year: he mentally and emotionally, her physically. Even should they strike some sort of accord, found some new happiness, what of Pony? Was it fair or kind to her to just cast her off? True, Lucien did not love her but he was fond of her, not to mention indebted to her for keeping him going. What about Toni, for that matter? He could not see any reconciliation there at all, and that would be a strain to any relationship reforged with Cassie. If they could reforge it. And how could they if she couldn't remember...

His thoughts continued that inevitable locked circle that wheeled about his head until they sped together faster and faster into tight spiral of despair. He was so close to stepping off the edge, his foot hovering there and held up only by three words: 'I love you.'

The sound of Cassie yelping, then screaming for him, broke through Lucien's mix of remorse and dismay. There was not reasoning now, no anxiety or fears of the future brought out of the past but only the moment of NOW. And in that moment, Cassie was in danger.

The salvager became the robot, his body reacting instantly without conscious thought as he snapped his head to listen to where the echoes might originate from. He backed away nimbly from the outcropping to wordless slid down the scree. The cavern had become his favorite retreat from the world, a place where even Pony didn't dare follow him. Lucien knew the place by feel and there was only one section in The River Bank where Cassie could have slipped so. He quickly shucked of his boots and socks, tossing them in the direction of the access tunnel. The cave's floor here was such that he would need the flexibility of his toes and bare feet to traverse it. Barefooted, Lucien dropped to all fours to crawl down backwards along the slope with fingers and toes seeking out every possible crevice and ripple in the rocks to keep from slipping. When he felt his toes touch the frigid waters, he began to edge to where Cassie had to be. "Cassie. Grab my legs, they should be right next to you. Grab them and then climb up on my back. I can pull us up from there, I can... I can carry you piggy-back just like we used to do."