"Cheers!" A woman in her early twenties raises a beer along with her other companions as they celebrate. 

Laughing and enjoying as they share cheerful girl talks with one another. The young prodigy of a Scientist sighs in content as she finishes the glass with foam under her nostril.

"That hit the spot." The Scientist grinned ear to ear. 

Only to be followed by a sigh as a young girl wiped off the foam. "Look at you with the stupid grin on your face. At least wipe yourself properly."

"How rude~." The woman chimed. "To think my darling finally has the guts to speak up."

The woman pulled her by wrapping her arm around her shoulder. The smell of alcohol lingers under her breath, causing the young woman to groan and clip her nostrils. 

"Off the grid, you wreckage." Pushing the woman off at her, she only earned a giggle. "You're going to be the death of me one day."

"Now, now, you can't blame me when we're finally able to relax after a whole ass project." She huffed. "Those madmen are insane to continue working their ass off without a break! No wonder they'll be all alone when they grow old."

"And you're alone and ol–Ouch!" 

Pinching her soft cheeks, the prodigy glared at her. 

"Time out! Time out! You're not old, granny!" That earned her a harsher punishment. Her cheeks bloated and red from the pain. 

"You really are rude. Maybe I should drug you and experiment altering your personality." She wondered. "...Someone accepting and quiet." 

"Remind me why we're friends?" The younger girl sighs and leans back. However, given a few seconds of silence, she replied. "Still, it's not the same but I'm here for you. Always."

Another seconds of silence.

The older girl stared at her before giving a soft genuine smile. "Even if I'm old and lonely?" She asked jokingly. 

"Even if you're old and lonely."

Both of them laugh followed with cheers and the clanking of glass together. 

"To the future."

"To Our Future." 

The younger woman rolled her eyes playfully. Her companion scooted closer with a sheepish grin. The two of them were inseparable. From childhood until now, the both of them stick to each other like glue. Even if work kept them busy and away from each other. 

"What? Don't like it?"

It was a simple friendship that blossomed under the sky. 

"That's cheesy, Jas–"

Until it Ended

Her ears rang hard as the younger girl was thrown off to the ground. 

"Huh..?"

She was also lying down on the ground without realizing. Tilting her head slightly, she saw her other companions the same. The reddish flames hinder the smell and sight of blood on their body. Eyes widened and never moving, some of them, their insides splattered open from the impact. 

"W-what…? What happened…?"

The building runs down on them slowly. Inaudible noises outside could be heard. She felt numb, unable to move. Unable to speak. 

She tried to pick herself up. A jolt of immense pain reached through her veins as she yelled inaudibly. The water on her body sweat profusely without a second. And as she turned to look over the cause of her pain.

She panicked. 

Heaving. 

Wheezing. 

Unable to feel her limbs as it was crushed under by the heavy rubbles that must have fallen down on her. She was stuck. 

And yet she had the second to remove the pain from her thoughts. Searching for her one and only dear friend.

"Where are you!?" She yelled. Finally the sound of her voice. 

"Jas…" 

"Thank goodness…"

"I'm coming! Don't fall asleep, you hear me!?" She continued, tugging her own broken legs out of the rubble. "Don't you dare die on me!"

A whimper and a weak chuckle. 

It made her question her own death. Jinxing it in fact. But to think it was this close made her heart sink. Perhaps she shouldn't have said so. The guilt deep inside gave her a lot of mixed feelings.

And the feeling of making her only friend filled with loss hurts her more. 

"I told you… Didn't I…?" 

She wanted to make sure. 

"Now is not the time, darling."

Another wheeze. 

"I'll be with you… Even if you're old and lonely…" she mustered to speak.

That she could tell her final words. 

"Right!? You will… We're getting out of here. Alive!" 

A single weak breath out of her. 

The feeling of death was getting closer by the second. Her body had gone cold due to blood loss and neither the burning sensation would warm her up. The numbness from head to her fingertips down to her feet. She could not feel anything but her body shivering as pale as she was. 

Is this what Death feels like?

The sight of her companion struggling and enduring the pain. Her gritted teeth numb it all off yet the corner of her lip drips in blood. Tears smeared on her cheek without end. Calling out on her name over and over. 

Ah…

She could feel her eyelids getting heavier. Her head heavy as she tries to force herself to wake up, however inevitable. 

One last look over. 

A hand reaching out. 

She thought to herself. 

"Don't cry…"

"Don't be sad…"

"I'm here…"

I'm Here

Fluttering her eyes open, she looked up to see the bluish sky. Birds chirping under her. She woke up under a wet puddle. 

Did it rain?

She doesn't remember…?

Clenching her robotic hand open and close, getting a feel of herself, the fact she was a Cyborg brought her back to reality. 

Extending it to the sun above her face, she then hid her sight from its burning gaze yet groaned slightly in annoyance as if the sunlight had pierced through her mechanical eyes.

"Such a weird dream." She mumbled to herself. 

Yet the dream felt like it was real. Perhaps a sense of deja vu that she had experienced in her past life. But no one could confirm to her whether it was real or not. All but instead was just another vague dream. 

Raising her body up from the wet puddle, droplets of water drip from her long navy blue hair. The transparent water reflected as it dropped, showing her messy and tired expression in contrast to her yellowish-green eyes similar to the grassy hills around her. 

With a stretch of her arms, she cringes slightly at the sound of her getting rusty. Brown patches form around her arms.

That aside, where is she?

She couldn't remember where she came from. 

Surely she should have known where she was last at. And surely it wasn't sleeping on top of a puddle. Although, it is a fact that she has a Creator, no?

Her own flesh mixed with mechanical features. Created for the purpose of whatever their Creator wants. But that was a story for next time.

Where were they anyway?

Are they alive?

Are they lost?

Or… Are they dead?

The various questions shook off especially the last one. Having to witness her or someone else's death made her stomach churn. 

"Alright, Doci." She mumbled to herself. "Time to get a move on."

Nevertheless, finding them is her current new objective. 

Or…

The sound of growling from her stomach ensued. 

Perhaps it was best to find some resources and feed herself first.

The long walk across the fields under the clouds was comforting as the windy breeze hit her face gently. To where she headed, she didn't know. And her hunger continued to remind her, interrupting her peaceful walk much to her dismay. 

"Food…" she groaned as she held her stomach and kept walking. 

"Oh? Ain't everyday you see one."

A voice piqued her interest as she turned to find Merchants resting on the side of the field. A caravan filled with goods carried by two horses. 

"I'm saved!"

The thought of food lingered made her drool unconsciously.

"Where'd you come from, lass?" One of the merchants asked. "Bionicus?"

"Bionicus?" Doci tilted her head in wonder. "Where's that?" 

The merchants exchanged looks with one another. 

"You don't know?" Another chimed in. "That's where people like you came from." 

People like me? She wondered. 

Do they mean Cyborgs like her? Would that mean her Creator is in there?

"Oh…" Doci pondered. "Um, where are we now though? And how do you get to Bionicus from here?"

"We're in Vitae Rest, lass. Unfortunately, the road to Bionicus got closed down due to a landslide. It'll take some months before things get cleared up."

Doci felt an unfamiliar feeling well up inside her, however she shook the thought off. Her foremost priority went down further to reach it.

And much to her dismay… 

Her rumbling stomach was reacting again.

The Merchant heard loud and clear in turn. Before offering a set of simple food–a small sack of apples and a water bottle. 

"There's not much we can offer, but eat up and regain your strength. You seem lost yourself."

Doci blinks in surprise as she hesitantly takes it. "Thank you… Is there any way I can repay you?"

"Nonsense. Just go along." The Merchant gave a comforting smile. "It's the least we can do." 

Doci gave another silent gratitude as she took an apple and ate one. Another. And a third. The fresh red fruit swallowed in turn as its juice splattered inside her mouth, much to her ecstacy. 

It didn't take long for her to be filled up as she washed it all with water. 

A sigh of content let out. 

The Merchant laughed jolly as his other companions prepared to leave for the next village. 

"Will you be fine on your own?"

"I'm sure of it."

"Be careful though, monsters and corrupts lurk everywhere, lass. Are you sure you don't need anything else?"

"No need. You've already given me so much."

"Hm, you can head straight to the main city. I'd give you a ride but we're long overdue on our delivery."

"That's okay. Thank you again."

"Have a safe trip, lass."

The Caravan left Doci behind. Waving at each other goodbye. As soon as they were out of sight, Doci hummed as she looked up at the cloudy skies. 

"Alright! Time to go, Doci."

Smacking her own cheeks gently to hype herself up, Doci smiled as she continued on her new journey. With a clear goal in mind to find her Creator, she first needs to find ways to reach Bionicus. 

 And for that, she headed straight to Vitae Rest.