Cold...black..empty. Kitaaya was sent spiraling off into the void of nothingness. She never knew how long she stayed there. It could have been days, weeks, months...even years. All she could be content with was that infernal, disobediant Kagekasai was suffering the same fate.

It happened after what seemed like aeons had passed, she toppled out of the void that had been her prison and out onto a cold, metal floor. She lay helpless and weak as a man knelt over her. "What happened?" he asked his black dragon bond. It seems she fell out of between with us K'rill. The beast nosed her side gently. "Fell out of between? Drooth, it's impossible to come out, or go into for that matter, of between without a dragon. I see none here, other than you." Drooth crooned softly to the woman. I don't know, but she would make a good candidate. Is there an open clutch here?

The dragonrider shrugged and picked up the curiously dressed woman. "I don't know, but if there is, we'll sign her up." Kitaaya heard all they said but couldn't respond. Something of her mind had remained in that black void, her perception was skewed. She assumed she'd lost some of the tenuous hold she kept on her sanity. Deep inside, this amused her and an inexplicable urge to laugh aloud overtook her. Thankfully though, she was too cold and drained to act upon the urge.

K'rill carried the woman to a doctor, who was extremely surprised to hear his tale and even more that she'd survived. "Out of between you say? Well, it's a miracle that she didn't freeze to death...But it seems her body temperature is rising more quickly than would be normal. All in all, she's a very lucky woman." The dragonrider nodded looked down to the woman. She'd opened her eyes, he'd never seen a set of oddly-colored and distant eyes before. She gazed out at the ceiling with a far-off and glazed look. No matter what state she's in, bonding will help. Another mind to shore up the damage. You know how people trapped between for any time longer than normal can act, she's allowed to be a little messed up. Come now, let's sign her up and be on our way. K'rill agreed and left the man to tend to her.

Many Days Later...

Indeed, Aya had left a bit of her mind in the darkness. She was paranoid, always thinking people were out to ensnare her again. Return her to the prison of cold and black she'd suffered through. She was also prone to moments of hysterical laughter or maniacal giggling that didn't have anything to do with the situation at the time.

To hide as best she could in the populated station she kept herself cowled in her dark cloak. No one on the station could ever say they'd had a glimpse under the strange woman's hood, and not many were that curious. The more magically attuned sensed the waves of power that rolled off of her like heat, the stinking residue of the hundreds of murders she had committed. Yes, they kept well clear of her...

Kitaaya kept enough a hold upon her mind to know she needed these oft-spoken of "credits" to survive in the station, but work was out of the question. For one reason, she refused to resort to serving another in order to earn credits, another was that not one single person on the station would hire a paranoid, half-insane woman. Instead she threatened, stole and seduced her way through life.

The candidates often stood and spoke quietly of her behind her back, only increasing her sense of paranoia. It was this reason that prompted her to have very strong Telaparts installed to keep an "ear" out for the stronger telepaths and what they were thinking about her. This required an immense leapt of faith for Aya in her current state, to let a perfect stranger muddle around with her already damaged mind. Still, she bravely submitted to the operation and came out the better for it. No one on the station was plotting against her, that she could hear...

Her best discovery on the station was a place called the "Automaton Emporium", an interesting store that produced cybornetic creatures that could be programmed with specific requests and orders which they executed without questioning. Aya decided to spend some of her hoarded credits on aquiring one of the cyborbots. "A ready-made, personalized and obediant minion...for a small sum of credits." A hysterical giggle bubbled up out of her at the thought.

Entering the store, she headed straight to the counter, intent to make her purchase and leave. Kitaaya rarely had contact with the merchants here, she hated large crowds. "Can I help you?" a voice cut into Kitaaya's thoughts and made her jump. A copper floating orb was eyeing her warily, well...she thought it was eyeing her warily. It didn't really have a very expressive face. "Yes, I would like to purchase a cyborbot." she responded suspiciously, eyes darting here and there on a never-ending search for invisible enemies. The orb continued to float there, blocking her way to the counter.

"With your own credits I suppose?" she asked, eye zooming in on her. "Yes, my own credits. Are you accusing me of something?" Kitaaya's paranoia went through the roof. How could this, this...floating hunk of metal see through her so clearly? "The ordering terminal is over there..." she finally moved out of Kitaaya's way but stayed close on her tail. Pale hands emerged from the black sleeves long enough to punch the order and swipe the card before she hurried out from under the scrutinizing gaze of the copper orb.

The return trip was nearly as distressing, the orb followed her closely and watched every move Aya's hands made when they ventured from her cloak. Kitaaya marveled at the heavy ACD unit, made to look like the artisan's vision of a phoenix. It glared about and spoke rarely, only clicking it's golden beak or shifting scarlet wings. The bird also had strong Telaparts installed and it was not programmed for verbal speech other than a haunting call and other avian-like noises. Even though it was a class B and not likely to go off and repeat what it had heard to another, Kitaaya took some small comfort in that only she could communicate with the 'bot and it would only report to her.

"You will be Izzo, my little ember." she crooned to the bird-'bot. It merely clicked it's beak and uttered one long, musical note into the air outside the Emporium. Kitaaya cackled gleefully one last time before clamping her mouth shut abruptly, casting a furtive glance left and right, and swooping off to her candidate's quarters.