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(Setting) M3tro's apartment
| >The boy reached down and started unscrewing his right, cheaply made artificial leg. It let go with a soft clang. Metro put the leg on the bottom shelf of a small drawer next to him, then proceeded to put a stick in the leg's original place. He kinda looked like sea pirates from back in the day.
| "Finally!"
>He said when his computer made a 'ding' sound. He looked out the window for a second, then started scanning through a wall of text that appeared on both screens.
| > Not long after, a knock was heard in the apartment's door.
"Hello~!"
> A robotic-sounding feminine voice plays behind the door, and soon the knock repeats again.
"I'm here for the.. uhm... aether.. wind detector."
| "Oh! Um, yeah. Wait a sec!"
>A series of sounds of metal hitting metal could be heard from behind the door. A minute later, a blue eye appeared in the peephole, then the door opened. Behind them a 17(ish?)yo boy with pilot goggles on his head was smiling at the arrival.
"Hiya! Come inside and find anything to sit on, most isn't dangerous. Want something to drink?"
| > Replying the boy's greeting is a purplish-haired female Lilim with quite the old frame, approximately generations older than what is normally used. Covering her metallic body is a simple winter jacket, a plain shirt, and a long skirt.
"I don't want to be a bother; but I will take a cup of tea if it's not too much to ask."
> At a glance, she moves as humanlike as possible, but stiffness shows due to physical age.
| "Oh, not at all! The detector is still rebooting so we have a bit of time before i try using it for the last time."
>It was a small, 2 room apartment with a small all-in-one bathrooms. Half of the "living room" was filled by a huge pile of metal and cables, with a monitor showing 67% completion. After putting the kettle on, Metro pulled a metal box to the table and sat on it, presenting the only chair in the house to the guest.
| >The other half of the room consisted of scrap metal, a wardrobe, a fridge and an old-school electric stove
"Do you often buy not working machines from people?"
| "Do I? I wonder.."
> The question seems to be left unanswered by the Lilim. She gazes around the apartment before taking a seat.
"You have a nice place, M3. It's comfortable here."
> She sat with a lady-like posture. Her hands rested on her hips while her eyes glances around the room with purposeful interest.
"With all these around, what do you do for work?"
| "Not much,I'm selling some of the tech I'm used to and isn't known here. I came here just recently so i don't know what to do yet. Speaking of tech... What the hell!
>The monitor flashed 100%,went white for a second, then read
*Connection timeout. AW not found*
"Speaking of NOT WORKING tech"
| "Oh..?"
> The Lilim took notice of the monitor. Her expression is a clear bewilderment.
"So.. these are all technologies you have brought from where you were before? Amazing."
> She puts a smile and gets out of her seat to see the monitor.
"I'm a newcomer as well, but I don't possess anything of interest to be sold off in the market."
| "Yeah, well. I came here accidentally and am still figuring a way of getting back"
>Metro noticed the lilim took interest in the machine
"It's supposed to show you aether wind's flow currents in the atmosphere, but something's messed up. It keeps telling me aether doesn't exist and that's impossible. At least highly improbable"
| "Maybe.."
> The Lilim made a circling motion with her finger, trying to demonstrate something, perhaps.
"There isn't any aether here? Perhaps you came from a different place..?"
> She pauses, taking a look at the monitor with a serious expression before turning to Metro.
"Ah, but that does not matter to me. I'll take the detector regardless of its state!"
| "Yeah, but that would...Nevermind. You can take it as soon as i dig it up from this pile.
>M3 started rummaging through cables, unplugging the detector.
"Have you decided where to work yet? You don't seem like the entertainer type. Informathics maybe?"
| "I think I should already have a job! I'm not sure what it is, but my memory is telling me that I should already have an occupation."
> The Lilim interjected, explaining the oddness of her sentence as she goes.
"My.. ermh.. memory module is not at its tiptop shape."
> She sheepishly smiled as she finishes her words with a chuckle.
| "Besides, I can play the piano and sing! My hands aren't what they used to be, and I don't have the voice anymore, but my muscle memory stands still!"
> She continues shortly after. She clearly tries to defend the overlooked skill she has.
| >Metro turned off the stove and served her tea in a mug.
"Maybe you should try becoming a musician then? I feel like there are a lot more lilims in the industry . Also I wish I could help you with your memory, but I'm still new at this city's technology. I've never even seen a lilim before coming here."
| > The Lilim takes on the tea, immediately sipping it, as though the heat isn't something that matters to her.
"I was a musician in a past life, but maybe being one now isn't a good idea, you see. I'm well-aware of how slow my limbs can be."
> She puts up a hand and tries to form a squeezing motion, only to be met with a creaking noise and an unevenly weak grip.
"... But it's surprising to see a newcomer that hasn't seem a Lilim! Surely you didn't come to this city obliviously."
| >Nervous laughter got out of Metro's mouth.
"Haha, yeah well. I was just surprised lilims are as advanced as they say. By the way, are you thinking about any upgrades in the near future? I'm sure you can get newer parts for cheap on the internet" If it's ok to ask, of course.
| "I'm not sure about upgrading. My memory is not synced to the cloud, any jumps in hardware would be.. risky."
> She takes a slow sip at her tea.
"I—I'm not too sure myself, however! If I'm correct then my experience with Lilims should be close to minimum as well. This is my first year, and I'm still getting familiar."
| "Wait, do you mean you became a lilim recently?
| >M3 pulled a pack of chocolate cookies from the cupboard, offered them to the guest and took one himself.
"Now that i think of it, it's probably very easy to upload a computer mind into a lilim, huh"
| > She takes one of the cookies to accompany her tea, delightfully smiling after doing so.
"N-no, not quite. Brain scanning is hazardous. I was.. uhm.. I was only aware that I'm a Lilim recently."
> She thinks for a moment while letting herself sip the tea near-unconsciously.
"It's a strange feeling, but I'm sure I was a human before; but that could just be my memory being broken!"
> She looks all too happy despite having said that.
| "Oh, I get it. It's like those movies where the main character is revealed to be a robot at the end of the movie. You've got a lot on your head don't you?
| "It's like that.. yes."
> The Lilim chuckled at the drawn similarities in her situation.
"What about you? What was your reason for coming over here? From what I have heard, this city isn't the friendliest place to be."
| >Metro looked out the small window above the stove.
"To be honest, I have no idea how i got here. As members of AWC we knew about the dangers that followed. This is just plain stupid though. Aether wind is a part of basic physics, so it's lack here would mean i jumped not places, but dimensions. And i don't want to think what that entails."
| > The Lilim intently followed the story. She didn't respond until much later on, presumably after she had processed everything in her mind.
"If that is the case, then what a strange and wondrous occurrence for that to happen; to be coming from a separate reality from this."
> She sips her tea, still having a relaxed but serious expression plastered on her face.
"Now that you mention it, perhaps the aether wind detection is, after all, working correctly?"
| "Yeah, now that you mention it, it seems plausable. How am i going to get back though? We haven't even touched teleportation!
| "I.. I'm not sure about what to do with that query. T-that is beyond my knowledge."
> She says in a robotic manner.
"Have you tried contacting anyone you know? Perhaps they are around this city as well - stuck and confused."
| "I've tried everything. We were doing something not exactly legal, so it was just the few of us. Nobody seems to exist here."
>M3 let out a long sigh.
"To be honest, this might not even be that bad. Being in AWC wasn't as fun as it seemed anyway. Maybe I'll find something interesting to here after all."
| "Of course you will!"
> The Lilim let out an optimistic smile for M3.
"This city is, after all, the epitome of chaos. Everything happens and they happen at random."
> She nods as she takes a light sip out of the tea she has been holding.
"A-ah, come to think of it.. we haven't... We haven't introduced ourselves, h-haven't we?"
| "What? Really? I... You're right, we haven't. Call me Metro."
| > The Lilim smiled once more upon hearing the name.
"Metro.. M3. I see the resemblance."
> She then takes a long pause, the pause was then followed by an audible 'hmm'.
"I don't yet have a name and calling me by the letter 'u' is strange.. so—.."
| >>409767
>Metro smiled when u said his name.
"Yeah, I was actually wondering what hides behind that 'u'. How about we think of a name for you then? What about Umi? It's catchy and starts with u."
| "Umi.. Umi.. Un.."
> The name seems to light up the Lilim's eyes with reminiscence. Joints in her hand creak as she attempts to move the limb to set her tea on her lap.
"The name reminded me of something important. I wonder what it is.."
> For a moment, she looks forlorn as she tries to remember something — but she quickly normalised her emotions, showing no trace of the emotion she had before.
"... Umi it is then! The name speaks to me of a vast blue sea.."
| "T-then, nice to meet you, Metro."
> She smiled, happy with her newly assigned name.
| >Metro seemed glad Umi liked his idea. Then he put on a straight face and asked:
"So, Umi, what DO you remember? You said something about past life and playing the piano...?"
| "I'm not sure."
> Umi said in a low voice and a puzzled expression.
"It's hard to put into words. It felt like it's something I remember, but I never recall ever experiencing them.. would it make sense for me to say it's from a past life?"
> She is even more puzzled than before now.
"I.. I don't even have anyone to ask to. I'm not too sure about what I remember anymore."
| >Metro looks deep in thought.
"There must be something! If you remember things, can you recall anyone? Literally any person on you mind."
| "I wonder.."
> She doesn't quite answer the question; only giving a hint of reply through her flat expression.
"Well, we'll see later then! I'm sure I can remember someone along the way."
> She began reaching for her pocket, pulling a credstick in an instant.
"Before I forgot, here—"
> She offers the credstick to Metro.
"—It's shy of 300z. Keep the wind detector with you, but do notify me if you can get it working!"
| >>410537
>Metro grabbed the credstick hesitantly.
"You shouldn't have... Ok, I'll inform you first if i get anything. Good luck with finding yourself!
>Metro stood up and opened the door for Umi.
| (That was wholesome fun, thanks)
| (Always a pleasure!)
"You too. Stay safe; the city isn't exactly known to keep souls alive."
> Umi stands up, giving a final smile before walking out to the cold outside — her heavy metallic frame creaks as she does so.
| (you can lock this thread)
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| >North-West part of Chapel-3. Near the end of Back A-11-AY, a street with the most cramped set of small scrap shops and apartments. In one of them, on the second floor, Metro was sipping something while staring at two computer screens.
"Come on, it's the looks that should depend on the price, not the processing speed!"