Axl spent the first four days of his freedom in a homeless shelter for Reploids. The most common users of such places were Reploids who had survived a Maverick attack. Reploids had a better chance than humans of making it, so their shelters were typically more of a refugee camp, holding them until they could find a place in a new city. Of course, there were those like Axl, who had lost a job that included free room and board. And there were a few that were obviously defective in some way, addicted or addled.

After the second day, Axl desperately wanted to leave. There was no privacy whatsoever… after supper, the tables were cleared away and bedrolls set out. It reminded him of some camps he had seen after a Maverick attack. And a girl near him always seemed to be crying in her sleep. He'd found out that she had been a nursery Reploid in Earthsaver III, and that she'd seen what had happened to the toddlers and babies. He was sympathetic with her trauma, but she still kept him up. And by the smell, several people in the room hadn't bathed in weeks.

On the fourth day, Axl checked his credit balance and was pleasantly surprised. His last paycheck had finally come through, and a bonus for the general review! The irony was deadly, but he wasn't going to refuse the money right now.

Checking the local newspaper had given him some locations with apartments to rent, but he wasn't sure he could handle paying the rent on one by himself. So he started looking through the others at the shelter to see who else was ready to go. He found one person who was interested.

"I don't have a job yet, and no money for a deposit," a large male in black and white armor, with red crystals and silver piping, said. His skin was almost as dark as his armor, and he was almost sitting at attention. Axl eyed him, interested… he had the look of someone who might have once belonged to Repliforce. All Reploids had armor, but this ones looked military grade, and he had a functional buster. But after they had all been labeled Mavericks, a history with Repliforce was more of a black mark than anything Axl had done. It almost guaranteed no legal military organization would take him, and he somehow doubted this guy would do anything illegal. "Hell, I don't know what kind of job I'd get."

"I know what you mean," Axl said with feeling. "But there are a lot of jobs where no one checks your resume." The Reploid gave him a blank look, and then sighed.

"I guess. Anything's better than this place… what's your name? I'm Castus," he grinned sourly. "That means "pure and chaste" in Latin." Axl laughed, then smiled.

"I'm Axl. Pleased to meet you," and he really was, as he reached out to shake Castus' hand. He felt unexpected warmth for the other Reploid. They had both been dealt bad hands, from fate and malice. Castus frowned.

"Axl… haven't I heard of you? Aren't you a Hunter?" Then his eyes widened. "Wait, I remember! You were involved in that whole thing with Epsilon, right?" Axl flinched. The last thing he wanted was to be reminded of his past.

"Yes, I was," he replied shortly. "But I'm not a Hunter anymore. My attitude was deemed unacceptable." Castus stared at him, shocked, and Axl added, "can we talk about something else?"

"Uh, sure," Castus shook his head, muttering something about idiots, but obligingly changed the subject. "Do you have any ideas for places?" Axl nodded, spreading out the newspaper.

"I have enough money for the deposit from my last paycheck…" He stopped as he thought of something. "Hey, didn't Repliforce pay you?" It seemed odd that his companion wouldn't have any money. Castus gave him a hard edged grin.

"Oh, sure they did. The accounts were connected to the main Repliforce ones so we could be paid instantly. And when Repliforce was declared Maverick, they seized all the accounts… including everything they were linked to," he said bitterly. "And there's no way to get it back. I tried for years. I must have had 50,000 in that account." Axl winced, looking down.

"I'm sorry..." He wasn't really sure what he was apologizing for. He hadn't been a Hunter when Repliforce had been destroyed… he hadn't even been created then. Castus sighed, and Axl looked up as a heavy hand patted his shoulder.

"Not your fault. You weren't even a Hunter back then… I shouldn't be unloading my troubles on you," Castus shook his head. "It's just so hard. I was built for Repliforce, it was all I knew, and I'm no good at this civilian life stuff. I don't even know how to write a resume." Axl scratched his head, thinking about that. He didn't really know how either.

"Perhaps I could help you with that?" Axl blinked, then turned to look at a female Reploid. Her armor was a buttery yellow color, and she was wearing a mint green top of some filmy material and a matching skirt over her armor. They swirled as she walked, giving her a very delicate and feminine appearance. It would have been better if there hadn't been stains on both, and a tear in the skirt. Axl looked into her face, examining her… she had a beautiful complexion, peaches and cream, with bright blue eyes. Her face was not exceptionally beautiful, but it was open and friendly. Her hair was dark gold and held back in a long, single braid. She was wearing a brown felt cap, and Axl blinked as he saw the logo that had been embroidered onto it.

"San Diego Union-Tribune?" He said with faint disbelief, then remembered. During the last Maverick war, San Diego had been razed almost to the ground when some of the army unit stationed there had gone Maverick. The Union-Tribune no longer existed. "Oh, I'm sorry." She waved his apology away.

"It's nothing. But I can write resumes for you, if you want a new roommate," she smiled sadly. "I can't find a job as a reporter. This wretched city is lousy with them, and I was only a cub reporter." She took a seat beside them, then smiled warmly as a tiny female brought over a plate of food. Basic mush, but it was warm and filling. "Thank you, dear."

"C-Can I come too?" The girl asked tentatively, and Axl winced as he recognized her. She was a tiny little thing, with bright blue armor touched with silver. Her face was very white and looked pinched, and her eyes were a dark brown. She had a silver headband, confining her short black hair, and there was a logo on her armor for Rainbow Daycare. She was the girl who always cried herself to sleep.

"Only if you get your own room." Axl said without thinking, then winced as she seemed to crumple in on herself. She started to beat a retreat, mumbling something, but the other girl caught her arm.

"Don't run, dear. He means well, he's just a bit tactless." She expertly soothed the little Reploid, getting her to sit. "There, that's better. What's your name?"

"Modesty," she said softly, blinking at them.

"That's a nice name. I'm Rocco," she hesitated, then asked. "If you come with us, honey, what will you do?"

"I can cook, clean… get a job…" Axl and Castus exchanged a glance. They doubted she would be able to hold a job for long. She had probably been competent in her sphere once, but the Maverick attack had clearly left her with trauma. "But nothing with children!" She said with a sudden spurt of passion. "Nothing!" Rocco patted her shoulder.

"Alright, dear. She can come along, don't you think?" Rocco directed the question at Axl, who sighed. How could he say no when Modesty was looking at him with wide, pitiful eyes?

"Okay. Even if she doesn't get a job, she can keep the apartment clean and cook meals." She wouldn't be too expensive to support, so that might even be worthwhile. "I think we should check out this place in the upper east end…" He pointed to the ad in question, and soon they were embroiled in a lively discussion about various neighborhoods and rent rates. Before long, Axl almost felt happy again.

Almost.

Later that day…

"Our new apartment. Woo, joy." Axl slumped onto a couch. It smelled slightly rank and was definitely stained, but the springs were still pretty much in order. When you bought from the Salvation Army, you took whatever you got.

The whole apartment had been furnished from the same place. A beaten up kitchen table, enough pots, pans and dishes to cook, and two beds completed the ensemble. The whole thing had taken them all two trips and they had been forced to endure a lot of pointing and stares as they carried the stuff back to their rooms. But after the damage deposit, first and last months rent, the furniture and some food, Axl didn't have enough money left to rent a truck.

The apartment itself wasn't too bad. It was cheap housing, thrown up in a hurry for the refugees of the war, but the plumbing worked and there were no bugs. Axl anticipated a few problems with thin walls, but if necessary he'd buy earplugs. For now, just having his own place and being his own person was giving him a glow of accomplishment.

X wouldn't believe it if he saw it! And I was the one who got everything started! Axl's happiness was tempered by the knowledge that tomorrow he'd have to start looking for a job. Castus was already looking through the classifieds and Rocco was typing at her laptop computer, the one thing she'd managed to keep in her escape from San Diego. Axl suddenly groaned as he thought of something.

"Does anyone have a printer?" They would need one to print out their resumes. Castus and Rocco gave him blank looks, then Rocco uttered a mildly profane curse.

"They're really cheap. Fifty dollars would get us one, and another twenty-five for the cartridge…" Castus said without much hope. Rocco sighed, then made a wry face, pulling out a battered credit card.

"Here, use this. And sign it with the name on the back." She handed it to Axl, and he blinked at it.

"Uh… is this legal?" The name on the back wasn't hers. She made a face, then shrugged.

"Sort of… it's an expense account to the Union-Tribune. I WAS authorized to use it, and I used it just last week, so maybe it's not cancelled. I'm trying to keep my purchases really low so no one will notice." Axl nodded, and pocketed the card. It might be technically illegal, but he doubted anyone would bother charging them. The card might be cancelled at any moment, though, which was clearly why she didn't want to use it.

"Okay, I'll go take care of that." He pushed himself to his feet, and left with a bounce in his step.

Being on his own might be difficult, and a little depressing, but he was already getting used to it.