[center][h1][b][i][color=#33B6D6]ASA MIST[/color][/i][/b][/h1][/center]

Asa sat in the back of the pickup truck, partially slumped over in his seat. He had spent most of the night reading a medical text that Audrey had convinced him to loot from a bookstore in the last town the ragtag group had stopped in. It was a newer edition, meaning it had some updates then the ones he had in University. Unfortunately, Asa had got too much into the text book, and was now paying the price of staying up all night. Asa had fallen into a deep sleep.

The Water Elemental had been asleep in the truck for the past several hours, snoring softly. Sitting in his lap was his robotic companion TQ-58, better known as Tiku. The small medical assistant bot was in active mode, but was unmoving as he wasn’t needed for any medical emergencies currently. Its optics only slightly moved when the truck pulled to the side of the road to pick up a hitchhiker.

Deciding that a potential new companion was important, Tiku turned to the sleeping Asa. Reaching over with a robotic limb, Tiku delivered a weak level shock to the Water Elemental. The brief jolt made Asa immediately open his eyes.

[color=#33B6D6]“What’s wrong?”[/color] Asa asked groggily.

“We have someone new,” stated Tiku.

Asa turned to the young woman sitting across from him, her platinum hair shimmering in the sunlight coming through the truck window. It wouldn’t be the first time they had picked up a hitchhiker in the few months that Asa had been traveling in this van, but the hitchhikers never lasted long. Usually they would jump ship by the next major city.

Asa figured that this woman would be no different as apparently they were headed to Eureka City, at least according to the conversation going on in the front of the vehicle. Asa wasn’t really familiar with the city, just knowing that it had a big theme park. The discussion going on around him also seemed to show that the theme park was the point of interest for the gang.

Asa then turned to the hitchhiker, [color=#33B6D6]“I’m Asa. Are you also headed for Eureka City?”[/color]

“He doesn’t know because he was sleeping,” piped in  Tiku, “I think it was awfully rude.”

Asa glared at the medical support robot. In the years they had spent together, Tiku had begun to develop a distinct personality, one that wasn’t always kind to the Water Elemental. And yet the robot was the closest thing Asa had to a best friend. It was kind of messed up, even to the Water Elemental himself.