[Chapter 8: Change]

After 1S calmed down, we head back to the scrap yard filled with busted androids.

He really sticks close to me with a slight skip in his step. Occasionally, he brushes my arm, all while having a big grin on his face.

"You seem quite happy?" I ask 1S.

"W-well, why wouldn't I be!?" He replies in an upbeat yet shaky voice.

"I've finally found someone else and it's a h-human out of all things!"

"Do you scanner types have some kind of infatuation with humans?"

"W-well not just humans, us scanner types are programmed to be innately curious about everything. We really like analyzing various objects and ideas. Gathering information is our primary function!"

"Explains why your friend wanted to dissect me…"

"What did you say?"

"Oh, it's nothing, anyways continue on."

"Pair that with the fact that we are also innately programmed to serve humans, it's no wonder why we would get so excited by actually finding one. We take pride in our service!"

"I guess that makes sense," 1S and 9S are so similar, I wonder if they know each other…, "say do you happen to know 9S?"

"O-oh… Nines?"

"Who?"

"It's a nickname we refer to h-him as." 1S' voice becomes hoarse again, like he's about to cry

"Hey, are you ok? Is something wrong?"

"N-no… it-it's nothing…"

"You say that but you're already wiping tears off your face…"

"Oh j-jeez, really," 1S turns his face away from me, setting his knees on the ground, attempting to hide his sadness, "Some k-kind of android I am… I c-can't even keep myself together!"

He's an emotional wreck but does he really have to hit me with the cute-vulnerable animal card again?

In an attempt to comfort 1S, I sit next to him and pet his head like last time.

Let's see what the problem is, "Was it something I said?"

"N-no, nothing like that…" 1S struggles to speak as he sniffles

"Something about 9S?"

1S hangs his head lower

"Ah ha! Did he mess with ya or something? Is he bullying you? I oughta find him and teach him a thing or two right now!" I try and act jaunty to cheer him up, taking a boxing stance while throwing a few swings.

Despite my efforts the soil beneath keeps moistening with tears.

Well… that didn't work, kid still looks pretty down in the dumps.

"O-oh It's nothing like that," 1S rebuttals with a surprised expression and faces towards me "i-it's just that Nines and I used to be good buddies…"

"Oh… I see. And because you've abandoned the force…" I begin to put the pieces together

"I can no longer contact him or any other YoRHa forces without being pursued for execution."

"Is there a way you can re-join YoRHa?"

"I-I've discovered things I shouldn't have, I don't think they'd let me l-live if I were to try and reason with them."

"Surely 9S would have understood your reason for abandoning the force, right? You guys were friends after all. Did you try talking to him after you left YoRHa?"

"T-that's the part I don't understand…"

"What exactly happened?"

"I met with Nines soon after deserting the force… yet he seemed like a completely different person."

"How so?"

"I-I tried to reason with him, but he immediately called reinforcements and began attacking me. I-it's like there was no past between us… like he didn't know who I was. I-I mean the Nines I knew would never do anything like that! I'm sure it had something to do with Command…"

"People flipping on a dime just because you've done something they don't like… I think I have some experience with that," though I'm not really sure, "anyways, how about we find 9S and try and talk to him?"

"D-do you think that would work? I-I mean I've tried to talk to him, but I've almost been killed because of that…"

"If he were really your friend, he'd at least hear what you'd have to say."

"I g-guess you're right..."

The expression on 1S changes slightly and the tears stop.

Hopefully he's starting to feel better.

[One Hour Later]

"Just give me a few seconds and I'll have it right out," 1S excitingly states, "Heh, I'm number one when it comes to hacking you know!"

"Alright show me what you got, I'm counting on ya kid."

He reminds me of a kid looking to impress his parents…

1S approaches one of the many androids on the ground. After tinkering with its head for a little bit, he stops moving and freezes completely.

"Hey kid, are you ok?" No response.

His eyes turn void, just like A2's.

"Oi, get it together kid!" I jerk his shoulders back and forth, hoping to wake him up. Instead, he just drops to the floor.

Not again…

"Pod, what's going on with him?! Do I need to replace a chip for the kid as well?"

"Negative. YoRHa Type S No. 1 is in infiltration mode. All other power functions must be re-routed to infiltration mode in order to operate properly."

"No comprendo my friendo…"

"YoRHa Type S No. 1 is hacking to retrieve the decision-making chip."

"I wish he would've told me before hand, kid had me worried…"

Wouldn't have to worry about finding two chips now would I.

"Multiple machine lifeforms detected."

"Stop joking around, you said that last time and I saw-"

"Murder, kill!" A dissonant voice resonates in front of me.

"Damn it… so they are here…"

"Kill em all! Kill em!"

Three machines appear in front of me.

I'm stood still, my mouth wide open.

These guys aren't like the others.

The machines are drenched in blood, and they twitch around menacingly. Two of them, similar to the one I first encountered, wield broken shards of metal, completely soaked in blood. The third is a lot bigger than the other two machines and walks with wide steps, making loud clunking noises in the sand.

That's some creepy shit…

"1S, we have to get moving," I call out to 1S to try and escape, "do you hear me!?"

"1S' Audio receiving functions are not currently functioning." The pod informs me.

"Shit… isn't there anything we can do; can't you get his attention?" I reply

"1S must return re-route of his own volition. There is no possibility of forcing him out of infiltration mode."

I turn around to look at 1S, his lifeless body lays on the ground, blending in with the rest of the corpses.

I can't leave the kid here.

The machines slowly limp towards our position.

Their staticky voices pierce the air, "Die, die, give me your head!"

I go over to 1S' body and attempt to pick him up.

Alright time to leave…

Hunghh! Hungghhhhhh!

I'm panting and gasping for air before I know it. He won't move an inch…

God! He weighs a ton!

His lifeless body still lies there, barely bothered by my efforts.

The machines have closed the gap considerably, they're now meters away from us.

We're surrounded… It's no use in trying to escape now.

All I can do now, is fight.

I grab A2's sword off the ground and brace myself, separating my legs to gain a good sense of balance. The cold blade is wielded with both of my hands and I hold it in front of me, trying to mimic a stance I had seen A2 do. I press the red button on the sword and electricity jumps across the sword, creating hot air around it.

The smaller machine begins its attack and lunges towards me.

Sloppily, I dive to the side, barely dodging its attack.

It stumbles pass me and its weapon gets lodged into a large hunk of scrap metal.

Got you now!

Getting off the ground, I charge straight towards the machine with its back turned towards me, as it struggles to get its metal shard out of the scrap metal. My sword cleanly cuts through the bot and I dislodge my sword from its torso. It stops moving completely and turns into dead weight, causing a large thunking sound when it hits the ground.

Ha, take that you crazy bast-

Ah!

Pain jumps through the side of my torso and I'm sent flying into a wall. Blood fills my mouth and I end up turning some of the sand red.

The machine bigger than the other two had landed a clean blow on me.

I lie sprawled on the ground and the machine charges towards me.

My limbs will be separated at this rate…

"Do you think I could get a little help here?!" I plead to the pod, hoping for it to whip out its gatling gun like in a previous encounter.

"Affirmative." The pod replies, disappearing into nothingness.

"Hey where do you think you're going?!"

The pod reappears within a couple of seconds with a black accessory attached to its back.

On the front end of the pod, a rectangular box pops out with holes bored into the front. Smoke backfires out of the box and two missiles are sent flying in the direction of the bot.

A loud explosion erupts into the air, followed by a cloud of black smoke. The blast wave feels warm, slightly pushing me back.

Nothing seems to be visible, but there's no sign of the machines either…

I turn towards the pod, "Seems like we're in the cl-"

There's a loud clank and the pod is launched away from a dismembered robot arm, it goes flying into a random direction and I lose sight of it.

"Shit, are you alright!?" I call out in the direction the pod launched but I get no response.

My attention is turned back to the cloud of smoke and two sets of red eyes are visible.

Damnit, they're still alive after that?!

The smoke clears one of the smaller ones remain, now covered in an ashy crimson color.

"Ehehehe, let me add you to my collection!" The bot let's out a maniacal laugh, its head twitching unpredictably.

This thing has fuckin lost it!

Here it comes-

Jesus!

Barely managed to block that one…

The psycho machine's crude metal shank, clashes against my sword. Sparks fly off and we struggle, pushing against each other's efforts.

T-this things a lot stronger than me, I won't last long if I keep this up…

Gah!

The bot overpowers me, and my sword is parried, flying out of my hand.

"Ehehehehehe, say goodbye!" The bot taunts me and lunges at me.

Shit!

Moments before the machine's shard drives itself into my chest, I barely manage to sidestep the blow, taking a crude dive for my sword.

G-got it, but I can b-barely move. It hurts to breath…

The feeling of moisture rides down my arm. I look to see my left shoulder had been sliced whilst evading the death blow.

Huh… I was wondering why I was starting to lose feeling there…

"Ehehehe, I love it when they fight back!" The machine makes its second attack.

Barely holding my sword in my right hand, we charge directly towards each other.

Gotta make this count…

As we are about to meet, I transition into a slide, keeping my sword completely vertical.

Slipping through its legs, the sword glides right through the machine.

After the maneuver, I get up off the ground and turn around look at the machine.

"E-he-e, It-not o-e r" After claiming its last words, the machine splits into two parts down the middle.

Crazy son of a bitch.

It's finally over… so tired…

Collapsing onto the ground, my eyes meet the sky.

A/N: Hi! Missed you guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though I don't feel like I put much heart into this one. Nonetheless, did my best with how much time I stopped writing. No editor this time around, Fang is currently out but it will still be revised, so be on the look out for a polished version. Will continue to keep making chapters so hang in there!

As always, comments and feedback are much appreciated! ^_^