The batch began to walk again, leaving behind that dreadful room, the Alpha unit all but forgotten to three of the four. Henry still seemed to be slightly bothered, but Elizar knew that the other would quickly escape whatever feelings he may have. They weren't made for anything but following orders, after all.

They came upon their destination after a relatively short walk, the door to the room opening with no more provocation than their approach. This new place was filled with cots in five columns and six rows that filled the rectangular room rather nicely. There were no blankets or pillows; androids don't really need such things. There was just enough space to lay still, freeing up more room for walking among the set. A few androids were already in the room and looked up upon the arrival of the new batch. One was female and two were male, all with curious eyes taking in each new face in turn.

"You will take row five in numerical order," the insensitive voice sounded again.
Elizar stepped forward toward the centre cot in the fifth row. This was it. The resting place for when an android is undergoing maintenance and is out of service. In Elizar's case, in the case of these abnormal white eyes that were too much a financial burden to correct, this was a permanent home.

"Dispatch and job orders will come here, so remain in this area if you have nowhere else to be."

The room was very quiet when the man left. The three older androids had seemingly lost their curiosity and sat on the edges of their respective cots in silence. What remained of the new batch proceeded to do the same, though Elizar took a moment to kick what would have been Tripoli's cot as he sat down.

"G, right?"

Elizar looked up to see the android on the fourth cot in the third row grinning at him.

"Am I right?"

"Yes."

His grin grew wider. "I thought as much. The G personalities tend to be a little full of it, don't they? Eleven's the same way."

Elizar couldn't help but grin in return, where most would have found insult in the remark. They don't update the installation after the first round, eh? That's why the other one had asked. The database is only updated by experience.

"D14 Calen."

The brown haired youth nodded. "You're twenty-three. What's your dub?"

"Elizar."

"Right." Calen stood from his cot and approached Elizar calmly, a soft smile on his face. At least all the happy looking people weren't like Dunner... That madman probably had nothing to do with the physical form of the D-Series. It was horrifying to try to imagine what they may have looked like otherwise.

Cot twenty-four creaked as Calen sat down. "For the sake of my database, who are the others?"

Elizar dropped out of his sitting position, down onto the cot. "Daire, Henry, and Miyuki."

"And twenty-four?"

"That brat was Tripoli. Sent off to civilians."

"Being sent off isn't so bad, you know," Miyuki spoke up from her cot. She was resting on her back with her arms behind her head, and glanced over to a curious Elizar, who grinned.

"So you're willing to talk to us, eh? I had you pinned as the stuck-up kind."

The young woman glared. "My personality type is C."

"Oh, so you're a child in an android's body, eh?"

"Elizar..."

Blue eyes returned their gaze to Calen.

"Cruelty is part of my programming; you know that!"

"It's not made for use on your comrades."

"Stop it." Miyuki turned to face the wall, stray strands of white hair falling to rest over blue eyes. "It doesn't matter. Just stop."

Oppressive silence overtook the room again. What more was there to say? No apologies; Elizar couldn't find in him the need to apologize. Even though androids have the ability to hold a grudge for all eternity, that doesn't mean they are willing to be so bad-tempered. There's really no reason to apologize if it won't affect anything in the future. Miyuki wouldn't mind later.

"Hmph," Elizar sighed and rolled over, turning his back to both Miyuki and Calen. Henry was idle on the other side, laying on his cot with his face to the ceiling and his eyes closed.

"I'm going to sleep," the blue-eyed youth announced to no one in particular. "See ya."

Everything went dark again.

--

-Suddenly, the darkness was nauseating. It had been calm, but now it was simply sickening. Darkness with blue and two specks of white; darkness with those eyes that haunted him.-

-The pin fell.-

--

"Elizar."

He awoke to a cloud-like voice, soft and innocent in manner and meaning, coming from somewhere outside the dark abyss of his mind.

"Elizar?" It addressed him again.

The pale-skinned android opened his eyes to a tanned face with blue eyes gazing down at him. Gravity was pulling strands of short, white hair toward him, creating a frame for the girl's features. She would be beautiful if she wasn't so childish.

"Miyuki."

A soft but glowing smile grew on the girl's face. "Yes. I'm sorry for waking you."

"No, you're not." Elizar smirked.

"Ah, well..." Miyuki scratched the back of her head nervously. "I just wanted to talk to you."

The blue-haired android rolled over. "I'm not the only one in the room."

There was a slight creak as cot twenty-four adjusted to Miyuki's weight. If she was sitting there, then...

Elizar opened his eyes briefly to glance across the room. Sure enough, Calen was back in his own cot, sitting with his eyes to the floor.

"That's not it," the girl whispered. "It's just you I wanted to talk to."

Eyelids closed, covering white pupils, as twenty-three pushed his upper body from the cot. Resting his elbow on the cot and his head on his hand, Elizar reopened his eyes to Miyuki.

"So?" he asked, forcing annoyance through his voice.

"Has anyone told you that you have a handsome face?"

"What?" Elizar was genuinely surprised at this. What kind of question was that? "Of course not."

"Well, you do." Miyuki leaned forward in her seat on the cot, causing it to creak just a bit more. "Very much so."

"That's the strangest thing I've heard all day." Elizar forced a frown to suppress the grin.

"Is it?" The tanned girl looked confused. "It's true."

"Hmph." Elizar let his arm fall out from beneath his head and collapsed back onto the cot. "Whatever you say." The invidious eyes closed.

There was silence for a moment, then a sigh from the girl who sat near him. It really had been strange; it didn't make much sense at all, but if the girl insisted on being herself, then the quirks of her personality were tolerable.

"Someone's coming," Miyuki muttered.

Elizar lifted his eyelids again, though he did so ever so slightly, and focused his gaze on the figure nearby. She looked sad... Had he been too harsh?

The door slid open quietly, and the girl looked up. Elizar heard the stiff footsteps from behind and the calm statement that followed, though he couldn't see the man who spoke from where he laid.

"Numbers five, ten, fourteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-five have been called to the dock lobby."

Elizar remained in his cot as the others stood. What did they want this time? Who was coming to the dock lobby that was so important?

The young man stood slowly and with an extended sigh, faking a stretch before turning toward the door. The messenger was gone already, and the other androids were making their way toward the exit.

"Come on, Elizar." Miyuki smiled and grabbed the blue android's pale hand, pulling him toward the door. If she had been upset before, she had certainly gotten over it quickly.

A grin briefly crossed Elizar's pallid features. Miyuki really was weird.

He pulled his hand away. "I can guide myself."

The tan girl nodded, a smile still lingering on her face, but barely. For someone with so much energy, it was surprising that she could walk so calmly at times. Of course, her manner right now may be the abnormal behaviour. Miyuki looked sad. She was calm, quiet, and sad. Whatever could cause such a contrast was beyond Elizar's comprehension. She didn't act exactly like a C-type personality should.

A pair of doors opened a short distance ahead, revealing a fairly well lit room with white walls. The other three androids had already entered and were standing in a line near the centre of the room, opposite a man Elizar assumed had been the messenger. Aside from the direction from which they had come, there were two pairs of doors on each wall; each pair was labelled with a dock number.

Elizar and Miyuki joined the end of the row as the man facing them began to speak.

"He will be coming from dock three shortly. Please be patient."

This man's words were kind and somewhat pleasant, but he still looked down on the group; Elizar noticed this much. It was his voice that gave it away. The man tried too hard to conceal his hatred, and he was, therefore, ineffective.

A door, the farthest left on the wall the row faced, slid open quickly. There was a pause just long enough for Elizar to notice the darkness on the other side, then a flash of white, and someone stepped through the doorway.

The boy's appearance reminded Elizar of himself, in a strange way, but more of Miyuki. Like the blue-haired android, the boy who now stood in the dock lobby had a face that was, as Miyuki had so elegantly put it, handsome. His hair was pure white, however, tainted only by the shadows created by the light playing upon the strands. His eyes were green, and it wasn't a soft green like Elizar's eyes were blue, but a more startling one, meeting Miyuki's eyes in brilliance. This boy had a kind smile, which was a great contrast to Elizar's serious features.

Elizar absorbed all these differences in silence, keeping his gaze locked on the boy before him.

"Hunter..." Miyuki whispered.

Ah, so that's him.