Xenon sat on a metal bench inside the Resistance Headquarters, Claudine was inspecting his wounds from the prior raid of the Black Wing's lab. He suffered only a few scratches and scuffing along his artificial skin, his body and mind still one hundred operational and barely noticed the pain. There was a shared, comfortable silence between the two; Claudine bandaging Xenon's arm while the Xenoroid sat down patiently and let her work, it was fascinating that Claudine still insisted on treating his wounds despite being able to heal on his own Xenon noted offhandedly.

When she finished, Claudine nodded in approval and stepped back, Xenon's ocular orbs stared at her handiwork and he thanked her automatically for the assistance. He knew he should have sounded more sincere for her help, but truth be told he was disappointed; another lab destroyed with no information on his memories or who he was before "Xenon".

There were times where he wished to be like Roo-D or Beryl and let his memories dissolved and build new ones over top of them with his new friends and new life. But, the static in his head and the acute sharpness that rakes through his cranial cavity every time he tries to remember his past is just another reminder that he's incomplete. A huge part of his life is missing, and he wants to find it out no matter how long it takes.

"Xenon! Xenon!" A high-pitched voice called his name and trotted up to him, translucent tail waving back and forth in what Xenon deduced as excitement.

"Roo-D? What's the matter?" He replied, looking down at the smaller bot. Behind Roo-D was the enigma in a bear mask of the resistance, Checky.

"Nothing's the matter." He answered for Roo-D, "I've found something in the lab that I think you might like to see."

Xenon tilted his head, feeling a strange emotion bubble in his lower chest cavity; his Internal Emotion Identifier helpfully supplied that he was feeling anticipation. "What is it?"

The mechanic instructor pulled out a flat case with a disc in it. It looked about as impressive as a normal CD from the Kerning City Mall, which is to say…not impressive in the least. Before Xenon could debunk Checky's claim the bear-masked instructor continued. "After hacking through the Black Wing's research files, I came across a piece of hidden data, something called 'Deleted Imperfections'. It's quite the large file and I think it has something to do with you." Checky stated, holding the disc out to Xenon with his index and middle finger.

That feeling he had before-anticipation, came back stronger as "excitement" now and his mechanical heart started functioning at double speed. Xenon's ocular orbs constricted as he narrowed in on the disc; this could be it, it could be an insight to his lost memories. It was odd to think that inside such plain object a missing piece of his life was there, that the abstract idea of "memories" could simply be downloaded and sealed away inside a plastic disc. Nevertheless Xenon didn't question it too much, he was grateful to even have this little bit of information, no matter what it may be.

"My memories…?" Xenon finally spoke, his voice light and hopeful at the possibility. "When can we proceed with the download?"

Despite the bear mask on Checky's head, Xenon could somehow tell the mechanic was quirking an eyebrow. "Want to get right down to it, huh? We can do that right now. Follow me to the garage." Xenon didn't have to be told twice, he immediately stood up and followed Checky toward the garage where the other mechanics were building their equipment and chasing each other with oil slick hands. Xenon looked over his shoulder to see Claudine following him with a small encouraging smile on her lips; she seemed glad that Xenon was a little closer to finding out his identity. Xenon mirrored the smile with one of his own and quickened his pace, Roo-D bounding up next to him, trying to keep up with him.

Finally they reached the back room of the garage; it was a small room with nearly all four walls covered in various computers and electronic devices, wires and extension cords covered whatever the computers didn't. In the middle of the room was a metal table and Checky stepped up to it and patted it with a gloved hand comfortingly.

"Sit right here, Xenon." The Xenoroid obeyed and sat on the table with a thump. He glanced around skeptically, something in Xenon's circuits described as "unease" started to fill his head and chest, his fingers idly tapping against the table as Checky slipped the disc into one of the many computers. This place was reminiscent of the Black Wing's laboratory, it was made of cold and calculating technology with little to no life; a place that Xenon grew up in, and the only thing he'd ever known before the Resistance crashed into his life. The Xenoroid jumped when he felt a hand clasp his shoulder, ocular orbs looking up at the person.

"A little jumpy are you? Don't be, Checky knows what he's doing. I'm positive." Claudine assured him with a side grin. Roo-D also hopped up on the table and pressed a paw over Xenon's twitching hand.

"Whatever happens, we'll still be here for you! Even with whatever memories you get, never forget the friends you have here and now!" Roo-D then wiggled her way between Xenon's arm and rested against him comfortingly. It was such a natural and warm gesture that Xenon couldn't help the tiny smile that tugged at his lips.

"The data is ready to transfer, are you ready?" The mechanic instructor asked as he turned toward Xenon with the USB cable in his hand. The Xenoroid nodded and relaxed back against the table.

"I am."

Checky still hesitated, pausing before he plugged the USB in. "Once it's plugged in I can't take it out until the download is finished, is that fine?" There was something in Checky's muffled voice that Xenon couldn't quite identify. Wariness? Caution? Whatever it was it didn't denture Xenon from the chance to get a possible glimpse of his past.

"I understand the conditions and I'm still willing to go through with it." He affirmed curtly. Checky wasted no time now, flicking open the slot in Xenon's headset and clicking the plug into place.

"How do you feel Xenon?" Checky asked, staring into the data and numbers that raced across Xenon's bright blue eyes. The Xenoroid couldn't manage a reply, he felt his eyes get heavy and his systems start to shut down into sleep mode. His body slacked against the table and his head lulled to the side, the only movement was the nearly human way his chest would rise and fall with each breath that ghosted passed his parted lips.

Roo-D frowned and lightly nudged Xenon with her head, "Is he going to be okay?" she murmured worriedly, tail flicking back and forth anxiously.

"He will, I was expecting him to go into sleep mode." Checky said pointedly and gestured to the screen, "It's going to appear as though he's dreaming." The static on the monitor dissolved into a scene, Claudine immediately identified it as the Edelstein garden where she and the others would play as children.

"Are we going to see Xenon's memories too?" Claudine asked with a raised brow, lips pursed in a fine line. "Isn't that an invasion of his privacy?"

"Maybe. But it can't be helped, you can leave if you like." Checky challenged, sitting in one of the chairs and looking at the screen. Claudine didn't move an inch, curiosity held on fast to the woman and she sat down in another chair, watching the screen as well. She would chastise herself for this later, but at the same time the thought finding out what happened to her long ago childhood friend was too good to pass up. The group hushed any other words and silently watched on Xenon's past played out before them.

-Deletedimperfections . zip : Download Starting…-