The Answer to Life

Chapter 12

They'd been walking down the rocky tunnel for the last fifteen minutes, taking their time and staying on the side of caution. Besides the fork further down, it was a relatively straight path, so the children had no problem guiding them back. As far as underground networks went, this one was relatively tame, untouched, and thankfully uneventful. The first notable environmental elements they noticed were the trickling of water flowing down the cracked walls, the ghostly beams of sunlight leaking through those very same cracks, the peppered spots of flora reaching out towards any source of illumination like some sort of lifeline, and the decaying rubble strewn around the barren ground.

Everything came together to give the area an ambience reminiscent to the battle-worn city ruins above ground: peaceful, silent, and lonely. The ground being littered with rusty brass only reinforced that observation. Given what lay deeper underneath, A2 couldn't help but feel a sense of history as she inspected her surroundings. After a bit of ruminating, she centered her attention back to the front.

Rather than escort duty, this was more like a relaxing stroll than anything else. She had been worried that defending the young group of twenty-six in this enclosed space would prove to be difficult even with 2B and 9S as the vanguard. Fortunately enough, they hadn't encountered any hostiles. As a plus, the trip wasn't even boring despite the linear path, quite the opposite in fact. It was definitely a far cry from wandering alone aimlessly with nothing but a passive aggressive, nagging Pod at your side for company. She continued to listen in on the children as she walked, the nonsensical ideas and sudden outbursts of playful energy associated with the young never ceased to amuse her. The children's bright and cheery chatter was only occasionally interrupted by Pod 153's geographic updates.

2B and 9S had hit it off fairly well with them, their supportive treatment and attitude earning them major points. 9S's inquisitive nature had given the children the opportunity to bask in the limelight as they made their introductions and 2B was admired as an elegant but stoic princess in a pretty, frilly dress. In the words of some of the younger girls: "Miss 2B is way more cuter and magical than Princess David could ever be!"

She snorted derisively and chuckled. Yes, that was something she could whole heartedly agree with.

For a while now, the children have been asking them all sorts of things. Topics that could be considered a little too personal, topics that were a tad bit…intimate. Of course, they were of no significance to her, but them on the other hand…

"Hey! Hey! Ms. 2B, are you and 9S good friends?" asked one of the boys. Cheeky grins that practically radiated mischief were soon plastered on all of the children's faces as everyone tuned in to the current spectacle that was about to unfold.

The question that was inquired was certainly innocent enough but…

"Yes, Nines-, ah, 9S and I are…good friends. We are partners assigned to the surface and have been working together for quite some time now." 2B answered politely. Her speech was stiff at first but gradually softened as she remembered who her audience was.

"Oh, come on 2B, we don't always have to be alone for you to call me that." a certain Scanner muttered under his breath.

She snorted again, making sure it was extra audible. A smug satisfaction warming her chest as a murderous glare was directed at her.

"Kahaha! Did everyone hear that? She said they were really good friends!" Petro cried out, displaying a knowing grin that he shared with the rest. With his natural charisma and confidence, the boy started to count down from three as he beckoned the others to group up and join in on the countdown.

""THREE!""

2B and 9S gulped, not knowing what to anticipate.

""TWoOoOoooOOo!"" snickered Petro, reveling in their reactions.

A2 held her breath, curious and excited to see what this tension would reveal.

""OnnEee!""

….

…

…

Not a word was spoken. A moment of silence.

…

Just a small one. The calm before the storm as it was called.

"2B and 9S sitting in a tree~!

K-I-S-S-I-N-G~!

First comes love~!

Then comes marriage~!

Then comes baby in a baby carriage~!"

High pitched laughter exploded among the children in waves and echoed around them as they cheered with contagious energy. It took the targets of the children's teasing a moment to process everything before 9S balked, a crimson flush rapidly filling his cheeks. He wasn't alone in that as 2B peered downward to the side, slipping strands of her hair behind her ears reticently.

"What? K-kiss!? Wai-wai-wai-wai-wait a second here! What are you guys singing all of a sudden!? Besides, androids can't even make children! On that note, how do you kids even know about this stuff!?" 9S exclaimed, his arms flustering about.

One of the younger boys in the back raised an eyebrow, a disbelieving grin on his face.

"Huh? Even though you're so big you don't even know? Obviously, a bird comes to give you a baby when you get married." The boy declared, absolutely sure of this well-known fact.

Almost immediately, a hand shot up in the air proclaiming its owner's presence. A shorter and much younger girl puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms in front of her chest. It seemed a challenger had appeared.

"Nuh uh, you're wrong! It's when a boy and a girl that like each other kiss. Dis is why boys are so stupid, dey can't even get dis right." Huffed the girl who was standing in front of Jonathan, ignorant of the way the silent lad's squinted eyes were busy drilling a hole into the back of her head in utter disappointment.

Spurred on by this new and seemingly competitive exchange in beliefs, the group of children soon switched gears and began throwing out their own ideas of how babies came about. It was absolute chaos and a new intensity of vigor stirred the air. The tunnel that was beginning to become bleaker and dimmer the farther they descended almost felt as if it was resurrected with the force of the children's vitality.

"…Pffft! Hahahaha!"

A2 couldn't help but laugh softly along and partake in the merriment. All of this was just so random! There were no clever quips or elaborate orchestration of some grand prank that some Resistance members enjoyed doing to keep themselves entertained. Yet, they were all chortling and having so much fun despite the simplicity behind it all.

It was all so..so…

"…"

As nice as this all was, her own laughter began to die down bit by bit until it went mute.

Come to think of it, just when was the last time she laughed like this?

She stared lifelessly at her feet for a solid minute. The volume of her surroundings began to go mute as well, driving her back into a silent corner of the void that she'd long grown accustomed to. The current moment and the accumulation of hollowness during these seven years, it was so…

Once more that dark and familiar feeling came crawling up her spine again and it soon dawned on her that none of this felt real.

A tightness in her chest was beginning to form and doubt began to claw at her mind.

After everything that happened…

Was this truly reality?

To bring these humans back to the camp…

To genuinely restore hope after all this time…

Was it possible? Could they actually pull this off?

…

Quivering, she opened her mouth before tightly closing it again and swallowed dryly, doing her best to keep it together.

"Shit." A2 cursed as she narrowed her eyes.

Her anguish was soon disrupted when she felt a cautious tap on her thigh.

"Huh?"

Freed from her temporary torture, A2 looked down and noted it was Kate, whom David seemed to entrust the responsibility of supervision among the children in his absence. She'd also noticed how this human child was quite bright and well-mannered for her age. She could understand the logic behind his decision. The child kind of reminded her of that one Operator model 2B had told her about, the one that liked flowers and was all bubbly or something.

"Umm, Ms. A2? Are you alright? I hope that everyone isn't bothering you with all the noise. You look kind of upset. I know Petro and some of the others can be loud at times, but he's actually really nice and funny. Jonathan is already trying to hold him back, see? I'm sorry if we've disturbed you in any way. So, please don't be mad." Kate pleaded timidly, unwilling to look her in the eyes.

Disturbed? Mad? No, she wasn't at all, so why did Kate…oh. A2 relaxed her facial muscles and smiled back tenderly.

"I'm fine Kate and you can just call me A2."

Adaptability. It seemed she too had a ways to go.

Relieved, Kate beamed and returned the smile. The both of them continued to do so until it begun to get awkward, with no conversation to carry on the flow.

A2 chuckled. Though the girl was mature for her age, she was still a shy child with anxieties as well.

To her credit, Kate valiantly attempted to initiate another conversation, but promptly aborted the mission in shame. Bashfully pouting in defeat, she fidgeted insecurely with one of her golden, braided pigtails.

"Kate? What's wrong? Is there something you want to say?" A2 encouraged affectionately.

The child perked up, her eyes swirling about in a panic and her mind racing frantically for a topic. She eyed and scrutinized the gynoid in front of her for a brief moment before settling down, interest now apparent on her expression.

"There is, but I don't want to be rude. They said I shouldn't ask personal questions like that because I might hurt someone's feelings." The child murmured in a troubled fashion.

"It's okay, I don't mind at all. Just ask away."

Seeing as she was given the green light, Kate asked the question that was bugging her all this time.

"O-okay. Umm, why do you have those shiny black spots on your arms and legs? Also, where are the rest of your clothes? Don't you have any?" Kate hesitantly inquired, unsure whether the question would offend her warden or not.

A2 blinked and stared back owlishly.

"Wait, that was it? Then you shouldn't have been so worried. I don't mind telling you at all. It's just some wear and tear. I get banged up and sometimes get my as- err butt kicked around when I'm fighting. My skin rips off from time to time when I get clobbered or when I'm in harsh environments. It's no biggie. As for my clothes, well, this is all I got really. Whatever, it's no problem, they'll just get in the way." A2 shrugged, as she glanced down at her decrepit state and grimaced.

Perhaps she was understating just how bad her condition really was.

She brought up her right hand and examined it. It had once been completely stripped of its artificial skin, but recently she had been going through repairs at Anemone's insistence. A2 didn't particularly care for her physical condition, but Anemone was adamant that she take the chance to patch herself up now that the machine threat was significantly lower.

Accursed broad wouldn't shut up about it for months.

In places where her endoskeleton were once exposed, there was now fresh, new skin covering the surface, courtesy of Jackass and the supply trader's efforts. Of course, the new "paint job" wasn't exactly finished yet considering the time it took for Jackass to synthesize some more of the stuff as well as the lack of required materials. The luxurious spray that the androids used to mend their skin and facilitate regeneration wasn't exactly common or potent enough for her overhaul, so she had to bear the discomfort of the incomplete procedure.

What was left of her exposed parts remained in high motion areas such as her joints. Despite her heated protests, she admitted that it was pleasant to have skin again. A2 clenched her hands and flexed her biceps to demonstrate her range of motion to reassure the girl.

"See? All good here." A2 grinned with confidence.

"NO!"

…

What?

Taken aback, A2 blinked in bewilderment.

"Ms. A2! You can't treat boo-boos like that! You have to take care of them or they'll get even more ouchie! And! And! You have to wear more clothes too! It's not right for a proper lady to be naked! It's bad okay!? You have to take care of yourself okay!? Sheesh!" Kate abruptly admonished with a ferocity A2 hadn't been expecting from the consistently modest adolescent. However, her attempt at strict intimidation fell short as Kate's cheeks puffed up and her 'hand-on-the-hips' pose only made her even more charming, especially with her comically oversized wool jacket.

Ah~!

"Y-yeah, I-I got it. So, don't yell."

A2 could only smile stiffly and nod with glowing cheeks. She desperately squashed the urge to hug the child as she was afraid she'd make her go pop.

"There are machines here too?"

Ah?

They all turned towards 2B who was now crouched over, examining the rusty husks of two smaller machine lifeforms.

"The bodies are still intact. The cause of termination are due to penetration and destruction of the heads, effectively shutting them down. Weapon used seems to have been a small caliber firearm." 2B analyzed as she rolled some debris through her fingers. They looked to be lead fragments.

"Probably David, he was carrying a pistol." Supplied A2, her form now taut at the sign of enemy elements.

"Well, we're here now and it doesn't look like we're picking up any hostile machine lifeforms in the vicinity either." Said 9S as he looked beyond the giant, steel blast doors.

"Good news then. Let's go." 2B announced as she took the initiative to lead in the front.

As they all stepped into the facility, the first thing they noticed was how crisp and chilly it was, a stark contrast to the warmth above ground they were so used to. Didn't the man say that the power got shut down? When she addressed the young group for answers, all she received were ignorant shrugs. They could all feel the subtle thrums of energy coursing throughout the facility in labored hitches as if it was drawing its final breaths.

"See? It's a good idea to put on some clothes after all." Kate expressed in a pleased manner as she patted her thick woolen with an audible 'pompf-pompf'.

A2 smiled in agreement. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

"Over there down the hall. That's where we came out of." Jonathan pointed, bringing everyone's focus back on track.

She, 2B, and 9S could see a frosty mist pouring out of the blast door that was left ajar. The recent signs of melted ice around its edges beginning to freeze over again with a translucent sheen.

"…Do we go in or wait for David?" A2 piped up.

"Well, we're already here. It can't hurt to take a peek, right?" 9S suggested in poorly concealed anticipation as he fidgeted with this index fingers. He began advancing in the direction of his interest with 2B in tow.

"I'd highly suggest you don't go in there." A deep, frigid voice stopped the boy in his tracks.

"Whoa! I didn't see you there sir!" 9S jumped in surprise.

She tilted to the side. Huh, impressive. Even she didn't notice him coming up from behind. They must have been more distracted than they realized.

"I've gone over this with Pod 042, but you can just call me David. Our objective here is to uncover any info this place has to offer about its purpose, maybe find some supplies for the road and eventually make our way to the Resistance camp after we're done. I know the plans a bit vague, but it should suffice for now, don't want to make it too complicated given our current situation." David instructed.

"Alright then. There sure are a lot of doors though. Where do you want us to start?"

"I'll leave that up to you. However, prioritize supplies and any equipment. We can always come back here later. As for that room over there…stay away from it and don't let anyone go in there."

"Um, is there a reason?"

David simply stared back at the Scanner, then 2B, and then at her. He gave her a slight nod in appreciation and ignored the query before setting off to investigate whatever he was concerned with.

"…Well, uh, I guess we should get a move on then." 9S proposed, miffed and put off.

She simply sighed and followed 2B who was already examining the blast doors protecting each room, with 9S closely tailing her.

"Huh, hey 2B, these doors seem to be designed to resist fragments, perforation, and earthquakes. By my estimations, they can probably resist up to two thousand psi to overcome resistive forces from any debris. From the looks of it, an engine driven generator provides backup electrical power for the doors to operate in an emergency. It can also be opened manually but…the latching mechanisms seem to be jammed."

"So how do we open it 9S?"

"Hmmm…"

A2 rolled her eyes. For fucks sake. She proceeded to pull the runt back and kicked the door with as much force as she could muster. The door wasn't blown off, but a visible wedge cracked open, releasing an ancient musty smell of rotten furniture. Her trusty Type-4O Blade materialized, and she pierced it into the wedge, prying the door open further despite its resistance and the screeching cries of warping metal.

Almost immediately, David came rushing back to check the cause of the racket.

"What's going on!? …Oh. Well, that's one way to do it. Just don't damage anything inside and good job." The man praised, astonishment still visible on his face as he continued to stare at the now ruined door. A2 turned around to face 9S, a gloating smirk tossed his way. The boy glared and fumed at her success.

One by one the doors were all pried open like canned tuna until their contents were exposed. Much to their disappointment, there really wasn't much in them besides old and useless junk. Not surprising either, given the incomplete state of this place. With the exception of an armory filled with outdated firearms that David seemed to be quite ecstatic about, there wasn't anything extraordinary.

"Is that it? I was hoping for more…" 9S made his dissatisfaction known.

"No, there's got to be more. This can't be it. Wouldn't make much sense if that were the case. We must have missed something; the place is like a maze." David muttered under his breath.

As if to answer their prayers, radio static started to blare around them. What dim lights that remained flickered wildly, some even sputtering until they illuminated their last and gave up the ghost. The crackling of the white noise broadcasted into a crescendo before easing off and steadying itself.

There was an absence of sound as everyone searched around them for the source.

Static once more echoed into their ears, this time clearer and more connected.

"..e-hm…amn, is thi-even-orking? Son of bit-oh! There we go! Hey Bryan, get your ass over-oh. Damn thing still isn't open yet?"

A feminine voice now joined in with the disturbance. Though, something about it sounded odd, as if the person behind it struggled to articulate themselves properly.

The sound of limping footsteps could be heard pacing across a barren floor before it stopped momentarily only to be followed by a strained grunt. They could hear the telltale hiss of hydraulics or pneumatics being forcefully released from pressure. More cracking blared through as coughing and wheezing now penetrated the fog of white noise, its tone revealing it to be masculine in origin.

"S-shit! Is it over now? Urgh! Everything hurts and it's f-fucking freezing in here…HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" the anonymous man screamed in terror, his voice dry, hoarse, and weak like David's had been initially.

"Calm down, would you? It's me, Adele. You're absolutely wonderful and most caring older sister. Now, how are you feeling Bry-"

The audio was cut off as sounds of wrestling and scrambling could be heard. She presumed the man was trying to get away from whatever the woman was. From her peripheral, A2 could see David unholstering his pistol and chambering a round, his stance firm and ready.

"Damn it all, I said CALM THE FUCK DOWN! It's me Adele you fat fucking turd!"

…

"A-Adele? That really you? What the hell happened? Why are you-?"

The man was interrupted by the sounds of a mic screeching and the female entity behind the voice replaced it once more.

"We'll get to that in a sec alright? Hey, you pricks on the outside, I know you can hear us. As shitty as it is, the security system is finally back online. Blasted junk. Seriously, why the hell were you troglodytes kicking down my doors? Couldn't you have come up with something less destructive? Bunch of brutes. Thank God none of those rooms housed anything essential. If I could get this damned place operating like it should, I would have come out myself and gave you all a bunch of new bungholes!"

…

Hah? A2 felt quite ticked now.

Wait, if this woman could see them then…

"Walk to your right until you're under those ceiling pipes. Look up beside that big brown one." Ordered the woman, as if she had read their minds.

"Over there." 2B pointed upward, beating her to the punch.

A security camera they had missed was cleverly hidden among the ceiling pipes just around the corner, the amount of dust on it and the flaking paint providing it perfect camouflage in the drab grayness. It pivoted in their direction with a whir, its red indicator light blinking rapidly and ominously as if judging them on its mounted pedestal.

"…Peek-a-boo~!"

…

"What is up with this woman? What's happening now?"

She could hear David grumbling as he stared straight into the camera's optics. In response to his complaints, A2 could hear a barely audible snicker of amusement.

"…Welcome back Corporal Kwan. It's good to see you again."

Author's Note:

…Well, shit. It's been a long time hasn't it? Kinda feel about it, but what can you do?

RL gets the best of us at times. Got myself a pretty good gig and have been real busy for the last few months. I'll be travelling overseas in a couple days for my job, so I really wanted to pump out at least one chapter before I go.

Don't worry, I'll continue plotting, planning, and creating drafts. This is my first fanfic, like hell I'm going to let it become a dead fic. What a horrible first that would be.

I wanted to thank all of you who sent me PM's regarding my health after my accident and for showing interest in the continuance of this story. I've also been reading the reviews. I can't thank you all enough for them. They've given me lots of support and morale, kinda like my bread and butter haha.

Oh, and to that one reviewer who pointed out the language discrepancy, you're right. It was an oversight on my part when I first started this story. However, considering we're 12 chapters in and it's my first fanfic, I'm just gonna leave it and roll with it. It'll be a great, funny, and cringy experience when I look back on all of this once it's finally complete to see how far I've come lol.

I really missed fanfiction and couldn't help but try and complete this chapter as best as I could. It's nice knowing that there's a community of writers and readers that care.

Once again, thank you everyone. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think.

Until next time

Ciao~