The transportation pod is a sleek, futuristic elevator encased in reinforced glass. Designed to travel to nearly any floor in the expansive tower, the pod glides soundlessly along magnetic rails, its interior lined with holographic panels displaying floor options, provided you scan the correct clearance pass.

  “Whoa, it's even bigger than your room!” Zusting teased, prancing around inside the transportation pod, “That's very funny.” Asherest choked up a chuckle.

  Zusting smirked, “Your sarcasm is very noticeable, Asherest.” he chided, “It's even way fancier than that systematically awful floor you live on. How low can you go?” he taunted even more, prancing around the pod like a rabbit.

  Asherest’s smile tightened, “How long can you go without talking?” he shot back, thumping Zusting in the head. “Hey, I can be quiet!” Zusting whined, plopping to the floor in a dramatic display.

  A few minutes later, the silence was deafening, closing on Zusting’s consciousness like a vice. Words pieced together in his brain and came out as questions like a never-ending waterfall, “Are we going to the B-Grade floor? Is that why you had a different pass than your actual grade?” Zusting blurted, “Why do you have that pass?” He gradually rose to his feet, stumbling before gaining his balance.

  “I feel like Enixi tampered with you whenever I lent you to her for designing.” Asherest interrupted before Zusting could ask anything else. “I don’t remember this personality being part of your code,” Asherest muttered under his breath, looking between Eno and Zusting before finally settling on Zusting with an eerie sense of recognition. The doors opened to reveal the extravagant B-GRADE Floor.

  Sleek white slide doors with bond names and numbers over the doors, and pristine white floors with the B grade symbol plastered across the wall. The floor was very different from the D-grade floor, the hallways were well lit, the floors were so clean you could see your reflection in them, and some doors were actually customized.

  “Whoa…” Zusting’s eyes widened in awe, stepping out of the transportation pod. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” he quickly ran down the hall, eager to explore. "Hell, I wanna stay here forever-” he was about to turn the corner, but before he could get far, he was violently yanked by a sudden pull on his neck.

  His hand shot to his neck, gripping the attachment, pulling him back as if he could snap it off, “Agh!” Zusting struggled, legs quivering till he was off his balance, slamming onto the ground with a clang, leaving scratches as he was dragged by the mysterious pull across the floor.

  Zusting soon found himself at Asherest's feet, standing somewhere in the middle of the hallway and glaring down at him.

  “Stick close.” Asherest lectured, his voice rough and unapologetic. Zusting swiftly got on his knees, twisting around to see what he was caught by, “The hell?” he slowly raised his head, a twisted sensation creeping up his flimsy spine as his eyes followed an unfamiliar chain of code wrapped around his neck, leading all the way up to Asherest, looming over him as if he were a dog kneeling before its owner.

  Zusting’s eyes emit a toxic green, the light bursting from his eyes and onto the thread, analyzing whatever this chain was and sending data back to his brain, “Chain Thread” EX-PANE Asherest Sion’s specialized weapon. “Chain thread? Yer’ trying to kill me with your weapon?” Zusting pulled on the chain, trying to free himself, but it was futile. “Give it a rest, let me go!”

  Asherest shook his head disapprovingly, “Then don't go wandering off, you don't know what could happen down that hallway. We're here for a reason, not to cause a disturbance.” Asherest replied flatly, causing the simmering rage beneath Zusting’s face plates to flare, “But-” Zusting stammered, clawing at the thread, digging his nails into it even.

  Asherest tugged on the chain again, causing Zusting to crash into his chest, “Ok, ok!” he scrambled to regain his balance, shoving Asherest back, “I get it, I won’t run off.” Asherest graced him with a tiny smile, “Great, we're on the same page.” Asherest finally let the Chain Thread slip from Zusting's neck, the code shifting back into a simple thread and into his sleeve.

  Zusting’s hands immediately fell to his sides, looking up at Asherest, gaze expecting an apology that he clearly wasn't going to receive. Asherest turned to the door they were standing in front of and had Eno signal the knock in the Door interface, “Enixi, open up!” Asherest called out, and the door jolted open, “Gah!” Zusting flinched, his tail sticking up in alarm. Zusting had expected to see someone in a similar appearance to Asherest, someone as tired as he was at least. Yet, to his surprise, “Holy Nova.”

  Straight lilac hair, one half being medium length and one side almost to her elbows, far off the mark of the dark hues of Asherest’s dark-split ended hair. Fair skin that seemed to glow, unlike any light he’d ever seen before, she was tall, maybe even taller than Asherest. The violet hue in her eyesdrawsg Zusting in like a moth to the flame of the X’s in her eyes. That sharp gaze bore into his soul, and almost instinctively,y he wanted to find out everything that was hidden behind those bright irises, but before he could even think a second longer, “He’s up!” Enxi exclaimed, quickly pulling Zusting inside, allowing Asherest to file in suit.

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  “Let go of me!” Zusting thrashed, “Who even are you?” Zusting looked back at Asherest, only to be met with Eno clearly about to burst with laughter and an unamused Asherest, “Don’t crush it, Enixi. It exhibits distress when being touched.” Asherest stated, letting Eno off his shoulder as he went to the kitchen, “Haha! Being bested by a girl must be hard for you to settle with.” Eno perched himself atop the counter as he watched Zusting scramble like a bug trapped in a game's cyberwall.

  “This might just be my best work yet!” Enixi sat Zusting down onto her designing table, the surface lighting up in recognition, “Even if you’re not mine, you’ve at least got a piece of me in you!” Enixi giggled, her lilac hair falling over Zusting’s face like a curtain, shielding him from the mocking gaze of Eno as she analyzed his face plates, “H-H-Hey!” Zusting stammered, shifting uncomfortably on the surface.

  Asherest looked over, swiftly making his way over to yank Enixi back by the collar, “Speaking of a piece of you, did you tamper with Zusting’s personality coding? It’s a bit too…chatty.” Asherest glared at Enixi, watching as she turned away to hide the guilty look on her face, “No, I didn’t…you only told me to customize the base you gave me.” Enixi fiddled with her collar, biting her lip like she wouldn’t say anything else. Asherest raised an eyebrow, “Whatever. It’s probably an error,” he scoffed, pulling away and wandering off into some other room in the dorm.

  “So… you designed me?” Zusting cocked his head to the side, “Mhm!” Enixi nodded, putting her hands on her hips, "I'm Enixi, Enixi Falls! I’m the one who adapted your base to fit your remnant type.” Enixi turned back to Zusting, beaming with pride. Zusting looked down at his lap, “Uhm, would it be ok–”

  “Of course!” she interrupted.

  Zusting paused for a moment, a look of concern etched onto his face, “I didn’t even get to finish.” Enixi grabbed Zusting by the hands clasping her own around his, “You didn’t have to, you’re my friend’s first circuit, and I’d do anything for him, so I’d do anything for you!” she gently put Zusting’s hands in his lap, her kind gaze letting him let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “...I wanted to ask, is Asherest–”

  “Damnint Asherest!” A frantic circuit came running from the other room in the dorm, their hot pink spikey pigtails bopping up and down with each stomp it took, the plates in its arms and face exporting a pink aura. Plus, its headset loosely on top of its head only adds to its interesting silhouette, “Enixi! Asherest’s poking around my virtual space…” The circuit trailed off the moment it laid eyes on Zusting, “What?” The circuit’s eyes instantly projected onto Zusting, and in response, Zusting’s eye projector popped off too; a menu appeared in Zusting’s vision.

  [ Scanner data: ]

  PROFILE - Curocell-Tech.

  [ NAME: Velez - 489

  CLASSIFICATION: Circuit.

  EX-PANE: Enixi Falls. ]

  “Velez?” Zusting whispered, looking past the hologram and back at the pokey pigtailed circuit. Velez’s face went from Zusting to Asherest, “Did you get so tired of not having one that you stole one?” Velez doubled over in laughter as she adjusted her headset, “I must be turning manic,” she pointed at Asherest, “There’s no way you have a circuit.”

  Asherest emerged from the other room, his expression soured, “You act as though you haven't already gone manic. Your coping code is half-assed beyond comprehension.” Enixi groaned, “Don't start fighting.” She moved to stand between the two, “Yes, that's his circuit. Velez, meet Zusting!” Enixi showily pointed to Zusting.

  Velez grimaced, steam rising from her arm through the arm plates, “Tch, is he even registered yet? Because his file tells me Xlime bout’ him.” Velez circled Zusting, poking at his arm like he was some alien, “He’s squishy.”

  “Huh?” Zusting smacked Velez’s hand away, “I'm not any less squishy than you are,” he spat.

  “Nope, but we'll get him registered, soon enough!” Enixi nudged Asherest, a giddy look on her face, “I'll be there to walk you all through it! Don't sweat, Ash.” Asherest rolled his eyes, “You might have to run me through it, this one over here has a problem with dwelling on pointless information.” Asherest glanced over at Zusting. Velez held back a laugh, “Pfft, curious cat.”

  Zusting’s system rumbled, mimicking the same sound coming from Velez's core, "I'm not even a cat!” before Zusting knew it, a jolt of electricity jumped from his eyes his stinger ringing itself around to point at Velez, the cracks between the face plates began being filled with a blue light, “I’ll show you what a cat is–”

  “That’s enough.” Asherest jumped in, quickly grabbing Zusting by the shoulders, effectively halting whatever attack Zusting was about to hurl at Velex, “Let’s not have a showdown in Enixi’s dorm; you can fight outside.” Enixi’s zoned-out expression shifted into one of mischief, “Oh yes! Let’s blaze through this so he can get his energy out!” She chirped, “Ok, guys, let's go!” Enixi began scooching Asherest and Zusting towards the door whilst dragging Velez behind her.

  “Youch!” Zusting yelped as he was shoved out of the door, his shoes squeaking on the shiny floors as he walked, albeit slowly. “Cmon, get to walkin’.” Asherest gave Zusting a little push, dragging him down the hallway and towards the transit pod doors, Velez and Enixi slowly trailing behind.

  “I’m not tryna hop in that thing again! It’s gonna take years for us to get anywhere. Zusting came to an abrupt stop in front of the Transit doors while the others walked inside, “Don’t be a buzz and get in!”

  Eno flew down the hallway with alarming speed, and before Zusting could move out of the way, Eno crashed into him, and he hit the floor of the transit pod. “Ouch.”

  Asherest and Velez looked down at both of them with confusion, “Remind me to install better reflexes.” Asherest whispered, turning to Velez, “Agreed. Eno was flying as slow as a slug, and Zustink here couldn’t even move his little stinger.” Zusting and Eno quickly jumped to their feet, “Are you calling me slow?” Eno gasped. “Zustink?” Zusting sneered.

  “Yeah, I said it, so what?” Asherest and Velez spoke in unison.

  The pod doors shut with a shudder.