"I was born far out in the eastern sector, the desert region known as Kashmire. My mom was a very pretty lady name Kandy, who was native to the region; and my father was a very strong, supportive family man named Dorran, who was born near the land of Mercya, I think it’s called. When I was about.. ten or so, I can’t remember exactly, we moved away from Kashmire to the western sector, because of some overbearing tyrant-conqueror-whomever she was aspiring to be named Anarkis.. I think that was her name, I’m not entirely certain. Anyway, she had come through my homeland with something of an iron fist and took over the area with little resistance. This was because the lot of us had the good sense to get out of our country to spare our lives.
"We settled on the coastlands, in southern Coveland. My father heard about Anarkis not caring about the southern coastlands, mainly because they were fairly uninhabited. We lived there for a little while in peace, not bothered any further by Anarkis or anything else, save for the hurricanes that would plague the region for a spell. We heard through word of mouth that Anarkis had been killed, though it wasn’t known who did it. Apparently there were a great many battles that took place northwest of us, but we never felt or saw the effects directly. Mother said we were fortunate in that and we should thank our gods. Father said we got off lucky alright, but it was due to forethought and preperation, not any holy influence. He and mother got into something of a debate about it for a brief time after that, but with no adverse affects. They never agreed about religion, and they accepted that nuance in each other. I think they didn’t want it to affect me in any negative way. I had such good parents..
"Then a couple years later there was yet another power-hungry menace, and this one didn’t ignore a single bit of Coveland. Our remote home was overwhelmed by murderous minions of this new threat, and they slaughtered my mother and father before my very eyes. I remember crying before they were killed, then going into a state of shock... so I couldn’t cry any more. I was held in place too, so I wouldn’t look away when they killed my parents...by some man who wore glasses--I recall this distinctly, for some strange reason-- and a cigarette-smelling coat. Didn’t need to pay much attention to his face. Didn’t want to, my attention was focused on my parents’ murder... but I got to know his face really well within the upcoming months...
"The man who restrained me while my parents died also kidnapped me, or, at least, took me with him when they all returned to their main operative establishment. He tossed me in some dark, dank room and told me to stay put, he’d be back for me. I don’t quite know how long it took him to return, but it felt like days.. it was too dark to really keep time that well. I felt too hopeless to even care. All I knew was that I was never going to be happy again.
"The man did eventually come back for me, with chains, no less. He didn’t need to use them and that much was apparent to him, had to be. Nevertheless he did constrain my arms so I would not thrash and attempt to escape. We walked for a while, and he would babble to me about a ‘New World Order’ or something like that, how what Lupo (who I took to be the man behind the new takeover) was doing was simply setting the ground work for what he was going to do. I meekly asked what he was going to do.. ‘To you?’ he asked. ‘To everyone, I couldn’t care less what you do to me. There’s no reason to live anymore, for me.’ He laughed at that and said there was good reason for me to continue living. It was odd, though, he barely seemed to be older than me, and yet you could just hear the evil resonating from his voice.
"In this walk he revealed to me that he was a scientist of the highest order, and the ‘A-side’ as he put it then, was blessed to have him on their side. He told me there was nothing he couldn’t do and nothing he wouldn’t to in order to acheive his means. He wasn’t afraid, like so many others before him, to do things, experiment on higher beings like I was, like he was. He conceded that he was something of a ‘sick unit’, so to speak, and there wasn’t anything really wrong with that. He told me he had everything there was to have. And that I ought to take pride in the fact that I had the honor of being his first ‘higher being’ that he intended to experiment on.
"Eventually we reached another dark room, but it wasn’t very dank. Not even that cold. He told me to simply stay put in (I’m assuming it was) the center of the room. He then left, and I stood there, just waiting, probably for nothing, I didn’t care. After a ,inute lights would come on, soft lights, not really that illuminating, but enough for me to see some sort of disgusting creature in front of me.. looking back I know it was totally mechanical, but my younger mind, infused with fear, didn’t register that possibility. I screamed when I saw it, I screamed when it’s ‘tentacles’ flung out from it’s body and wrapped themselves around my legs, arms, and throat (which merely muffled my screams) and threw me upwards and all around, at high speeds, towards it’s ‘jaws’ and against the walls and the floor. It hurt, but it was so terrifying, I couldn’t stop screaming. Fear had it’s icy grip on me. And soon this metal contraption threw me onto the floor one final time and released me.. bruised and battered as I was I was crying and screaming my guts out. That was the first time he did that stuff to me. "It got progressively worse each time he did it. And increasingly..disagreeable. "He said something about starting his own ‘Slave menangerie’ of sorts, a large group of females who he could experiment on and do whatever he pleased with them, and I could have the distinct honor of being his first slave. If he went through with it, that is.
"Later on he threw me into another contraption, this one constraining my arms and legs and neck, rendering me immobile, and some sort of metallic blindfold had been put on me so I couldn’t see what was going to happen. I wasn’t wearing any clothes at the time.. so the confusion, embarrasment, etc was at a maximum. I yelled at him, just in case he could hear me wherever he was, to let me go. I guess you could say I begged.
"I was answered by a click, and a whirr, and a low droning hum, and I knew there was machinery all about me. I hadn’t the faintest idea what was going to happen next.. until the pain started.
"Foot long needles speared my nipples and navel.. sort of a sick inhumane way of piercing them...as well as another area of my body I’m not comfortable with sharing for now.. it hurt so badly, and I screamed and screamed... it was oh so horrible... and as it turned out, it was just a sick way to pierce me.. nipple rings, navel rings, and.. ..other.. rings were put in the holes that were made, rings that to this day I can’t remove...
"I was subjected to watching the pain and suffering of others via movie screen, too.. forced to watch innocents get killed in disgusting, disturbing ways, bloody, tortuous, mangling ways..
"And the final bit of torture I can recall undergoing was by far the most terrible, in the most monsterous machine he had, even worse than the mechanical tenticle monster that he had. Even though a part of this new device was the tenticle monster, it was just the tenticles actually.. they held me in place while the rest of the contraption did it’s work. Even covered my eyes, again, so I couldn’t see what was being done to me, could only feel it. And feel it I would.. some sort of cylinder was forced into my mouth... and there were other tubes/cylinders as well, smaller in circumferance though.. and they were all pumping the same thing.. some sort of frothy, hot, sticky liquid that, while I didn’t know for sure then what it was I for sure know now, and wonder how in the hell he got so much of it into that machine.. because I was subjected to the sex-simulating machinery for hours and hours on end.. I couldn’t scream because one of the tubes was pumping this liquid into my mouth, burning my throat, and..and.. I can’t go on about that anymore, I think it’s been enough said..
"After undergoing that about.. ten or so more times.. didn’t really keep track after the first time... for whatever reason, I was let go. Not out to where ever I pleased, but just out of the hands of that monster. He told me that it was someone else’s will for sure, but he simply was bored with me anyways. He had successfully attained his Menangerie and didn’t really have much need for me any more.
"I didn’t leave the A-side, though, as you know. I stayed on this side because I couldn’t think of anywhere to go.. and I just didn’t have the will power or desire to go side with Wrongside or the S-side or NFA or whatnot. I sort of kept to myself in the halls among the other A-siders, and no one really cared to talk to me.. And then I met Rianna, and that all changed. Something about her appealed to me, her personality was electrifying, and I suppose I had a fancy for her. I befriended her, and later on her consort of sorts, Esteban. They were A-siders, but they were also affiliated with ZiP corp. Esteban owned the corporation and Rianna (fittingly enough) was for the most part his secretary. I was unsure what purpose I could have in either their outfit or A-side, but I apparently have enough purpose to keep under their wing.
"It’s been a few years since I first got away from the tentacle machine, but it haunts each of my nightmares. And it’s been a few years since first meeting Rianna, and she graces my dreams. And I thank the good maker, she’s also graced herself to me, as my girlfriend, whom I will more oft than not share a bed with. Honestly I can say that I love her for the kindness she and Esteban have shown me, and for their sakes alone do I not pursue the S-side."

Ambience remains with the A-side to this day, but doesn’t participate in battles. She isn’t clear on what her purpose is quite yet, but holds the faith that she’ll find out soon enough. And as for why she had to write down her history instead of read it aloud-- the last torture machine she was subjected to induced a grand-scale state of shock on her, as well as burning her throat to the point to where the scarring hinders vocal chord movement... Ambience is, for the rest of her life or until she can undergo some sort of procedure to fix it, completely and totally mute.

Habits: None

Date of Birth: October 13, 1933

Place of birth: Kashmire, Puri Seoni, Eastern sector

Background Nationality: English, Israeli, Indian, Arabian (obviously, no accent.)

Name meaning: "Surrounding or prevading atmosphere". See, kids? Who needs a dictionary when I can just tell ya? =P

DOC: September ‘00

Character © Amanda Payne. Do NOT copy or use without permission.