[REBOOT]

[LOADING… REBOOTING SYSTEM…]

[Commencing system check…]

[Memory status: Green]

[Black Box Temperature: normal]

[Black Box Internal Pressure: normal]

[Activating IFF]

[Activating FCS]

[Initializing Pod Connection]...

"Inquiry: 9S, can you hear my voice?" A feminine robotic voice asked.

9S was lying on concrete-an odd place to wake up, he must've fallen in battle and Pod 153 dragged him off... He opened his eyes and mouth to speak as he sat up and felt his motors whirring back to activity… only to freeze when he saw who was lying next to him.

"Tw… 2B…" He curled in on himself, to kneel besides her and reach his hands out to try to scan her- WAIT! His memories rushed back and his mind screamed danger, and so he gave a quick glance around, only to see something ELSE was with them- he was quick to get into a combative position.

"Hello again, unit 9S." Pod 042 said.

"Oh, it's only you, 042…" 9S cast a suspicious look around, but saw nothing but the usual city ruins… if only a bit more dusty. The tower had fallen and the pieces had destroyed a lot of buildings around them, but those pieces were crumbling like snow.

"Report: After the fall of the tower, Pod 153 and I brought you and A2 to two safe separate locations and conducted maintenance-"

"Why is there a 2B model here." 9S said sharply, cutting off Pod 042.

"Reply: This model has 2B's memories implanted into it, which was given over willingly by unit A2." Pod 153 chimed in, "In order to not be too overwhelming, we thought we would await your order to reboot her."

"... Do it." 9S said, dropping into a crouch at 2B's side. His weapons were floating on his back, glowing gently and scraping the ground over and over in response to his unease.

"Proposal, unit 9S should-"

"I said ju-st do it!" 9S's voice broke.

"Affirmative." Pod 042 replied, and went ahead to fire reactivation pulses to 2B's model. 9S knew what sequences the reactivations went through and the approximate time for each, but it still felt like forever until 2B finally moved. 9S watched her like a hawk, his eyes noting her every twitch, even the slight fluttering behind her visor blindfold as her eyes opened. His hands clenched so tightly that his limiters acted up so his fingers wouldn't tear through his own palms.

She turned towards him, and even through their visors he was still caught in her gaze.

"G… good morning, 2B?" 9S didn't mean it as a question but out his voice came. He looked down and away from her face… 2B sat up, raised her arm, and he felt her hand on his cheek.

"Good morning." 2B said in her usual tone, and pulled her hand away. 9S caught it and held it against his face as his vision got blurry.

His voice was choked as he said, "I still have to do a maintenance check on you. Even if you aren't 2B, I-"

"Nines." 2B pushed her hand into his cheek, to raise his face to meet her gaze again, "... You're shaking."

9S couldn't reply or move as 2B lifted his visor, making gel-like tears spill down his face and onto her hand. She used her free hand to lift her own visor down to hang around her neck.

They sat like that for a while, having too many questions and too many things to say and trying to get the answers from each other's bare eyes. Slowly, 9S's tension began to release as he tried not to outright fall into her arms. No, that was too much, he-

"I-I'm sorry, I should do maintenance." 9S said, letting go of 2B's hand. He felt like she was... hacking into him with that look on her face, except not as unpleasant of a feeling. 2B wiped some more of his tears away and took her hand away to intertwine their fingers instead.

"There's no need. I feel fine, and there's no one you need to turn in a report to anyway." 2B said the last part somewhat bitterly.

"Uh, no, I don't think so. You're not getting out of it that easily. I am very worried about you." 9S said firmly, motioning 2B to lay down in a shooing motion, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"... Flying with you away from YoRHa's bunker, and crash landing due to enemy gunfire."

"Right… You sent me away, and when we met again A2 had killed you." 9S said.

"... I remember the virus warnings now. It was a good thing she found me before I became mindless." 2B said, "... I gave her my memories."

"Are you having trouble with your memory otherwise?" 9S asked, his fingers tightening around her hand a bit. She tightened her grip back reassuringly.

"No, my memory is functioning fine. My time in A2's memory is cloudy, however. Care to fill me in?"

"Of course." 9S said, lifted a hand, and started to scan her, "But right after maintenance. Have you optimized your settings?" He scan-sensed some switches being adjusted, "Your pressure and voice recognition systems seem to be working fine, but have you noticed any irregularities?" 2B shook her head, "We might want to turn off self-destruct… we don't have as many spare units now."

"I'm leaving it on." 2B said bluntly.

"Alrighty... I'm backing up your data on a ton of hard drives then." 9S said drily.

"... Back up yours, too."

"... I will." 9S said in a quieter tone, "Okay, maintenance finished." 9S lowered his hand and 2B sat up into a crouch. She slowly stood up and 9S let her lift him to his own feet.

"After you tell me what happened, also tell me why we locked our hands together." 2B said. 9S sputtered and pulled his hand away; a rush of emotions he didn't know what to do with overwhelming him, much to 2B's confused amusement.

"W-well, after A2 killed you there was this earthquake, and the tower formed…"

[REBOOT]

[LOADING… REBOOTING SYSTEM…]

[Commencing system check…]

[Memory status: Green]

[Black Box Temperature: normal]

[Black Box Internal Pressure: normal]

[Activating IFF]

[Activating FCS]

[Initializing Pod Connection]... [ERROR]... [No pod found]

I'm not dead.

If she was dead, she'd be with her squad again. If she were dead, she wouldn't be opening her eyes to see that she had been fixed right up and left there.

Alone again.

A2 hands gripped the sides of the large windowsill she had been placed on, the concrete crumbling beneath her fingers.

"I'm guessing 042 repaired and brought me here. I'll kick his ass." She grumbled with no venom. She pushed herself right onto her feet and looked out and around. Nothing but green-eyed idle machines on the ground, broken pieces of the tower, and the city ruins. She could see moose wandering about and…

"There you are." She eyed 9S and 2B's forms in the distance. They were deep in conversation, but as if sensing her gaze 2B suddenly turned around and stared back. 9S quickly followed her gaze and lowered his stance into a combat one, but 2B took his shoulder and shook her head.

A2 tilted her head slightly, but even at this distance 2B caught the movement and lowered her head in the briefest of nods. A2 sighed and leaped from the building onto theirs. She didn't mind the minor damage from the landing- her auto repair system was already working on it.

"You should've left me for dead." A2 addressed 042 first.

"Negative. Unit A2's orders have no effect on this pod, as the unit he supports is Unit 2B." Pod 042 replied automatically. 2B stepped in front of 9S, who was glaring at A2 but keeping his stance straight.

"Tch," A2 rested her weight on one foot and put her hand on her hip, "So what now?"

"A2, what are you doing here." 9S cut in.

"What do you think?" A2 retorted.

"Suggestion: Unit A2 has come to check on the statuses of units 9S and 2B." Pod 042 said.

"Correct." A2 also had zero idea of what to do with herself now that her suicide mission was done, but she wouldn't mention that as it would make her sound weak, "Any ideas?"

"I'm bringing 2B up to date on the situation." 9S replied stiffly.

"And after that?"

"We'll go from there."

"Proposal: All units should go to the Resistance camp and establish chain of command with Resistance leader Anemone." Pod 143 said.

"I'm going to look around the city before I see Anemone." A2 said. At 9S and 2B's blank looks, she frowned and waved her hand, "Well, go on and get up to speed! Just pretend I'm not here if you want!"

"How in the world can I-"

"Nines, you're getting distracted. Please continue with your report."

"But 2B, she-" 9S whined.

"A2 saved me from a fate worse than death."

"..." 9S sighed, and A2 wondered if he would ever let go of his grudge against her. Not that she really cared, but it would make things more complicated as time went on.

"Well, I went into the first resource unit and fought…" 9S continued on with his story, he was obviously trying very hard to ignore the fact that A2 was listening but... "Can you go away for a few minutes?!" He snapped at A2.

"Nope." A2 retorted, making 9S glare at her murderously, "I want to hear your side of things, too."

"9S, cease your hostility. We need allies now, more than ever." 2B chided.

"Yeah yeah…"

"One affirmation will suffice."

9S seemed to relax into a friendly-irritated mood at that, "Okay, fine, 'yeah'. As I was saying, I got to the top floor and stabbed the core of the tower…"

Even if A2 was looking away now, she still listened closely to the rest his story. She gave side-glances to the couple from time to time. It was right to call them a couple, with how long they held hands and looked into each other's eyes even as 9S's voice suddenly became quite pained and shaky in many parts, and 2B's hand curled into a fist.

"We reached the top, and there was nothing left to destroy, or fight for." At some point, 9S had started referring his and A2's ascent as less of 'mine' and more of 'our', "There wasn't any other choice but to complete my last goal of killing A2, especially with the logic virus chewing away at my sanity…"

A2 stayed silent.

"What happened after A2 took me down..." 9S asked the pods hovering nearby.

"We overrode our Project YoRHa system's mission and repaired you three back to full recovery." Pod 042 said. All three androids stared openly at him, taken aback.

"Overrode? Wouldn't your own system destroy you if you did that?!" 9S said.

"It tried to." Pod 153 admitted, "But we destroyed that system instead."

"This was a task that had a low probability of success, I admit. But somehow, we are still alive." Pod 042 added.

"Why even bother?" A2 asked.

"Why now?" 2B demanded.

The Pods seemed to exchange looks.

"We wanted you three to survive." Pod 042 said simply, "I could not accept the conclusion that you would be gone forever."

"I as well." Pod 153 said, "A future without you three was something I could not accept."

9S lowered his head somewhat.

"As a result of this project, I believe know the answer to the question I asked you in the final tower, 9S." Pod 153.

"What? Oh, that question… I… Never thought you'd have the capacity to understand." 9S smiled somewhat, bitterly, "So I'm guessing we're all someone you two can't live without?"

"Affirmative." Pod 042 and 153 spoke in unison, without hesitation.

There was a silence as they all took that in. The Pods had gone against their very existence and done what they wanted, even if it meant they would be destroyed… something like that actually gave A2 a little bit of hope for the future. She was sure it would be snuffed out later, but still...

"Aww look, you pods aren't so bad." A2 teased. 2B reached out and 042 lowered to her to receive a pat on his 'head', and she was quick to offer one to 153 who politely declined.

"I thought emotions were prohibited." 9S said playfully, but after realizing A2 was still there the frown was back on his face again. A2 found it so funny that she had to suppress a laugh.

"Shu-t up A2!" 9S said, his voice cracking in indignation. 2B looked outright nonplussed. A2 smirked at the both of them.

"Project YoRHa is no more. There is no need to hold back our own hearts." Pod 042 replied, "Nor is there any need for us to stay together, but… I would like to continue to prove support."

"I as well." Pod 153 echoed.

"We'd be glad to have you." 9S said. 2B nodded in agreement.

"Lucky you. These Pods are at least somewhat useful." A2 said sarcastically.

"Unit A2, we have established a network with all other remaining Pods. You may take three to accompany you." Pod 153 said. A stream of movement all around them put all androids into battle stance on reflex. A2 gradually straightened her stance, staring in amazement at hundreds of pods surrounding them. Most of them were black, red, white, or rusted to hell.

"Wow." A2 whistled, "Can I just take all of them?"

"Reply: That is highly inadvisable. They have no wills of their own so you will have to conduct maintenance and repairs on every single Pod." Pod 153 said.

"Unit A2, 'all' pods do not quantify as 'three'." Pod 042 added. A2 rolled her eyes at him and leapt up on the top of a crumbling wall to examine the pods more closely.

"What…? You networked 244 pods?!" 9S exclaimed.

"Negative. There are 254. Ten are patrolling the area." Pod 153 said.

"Find anything interesting?" 9S asked.

"The Resistance have started to go through the data that can be salvaged from the parts of the tower. Hypothesis: The Resistance members may already know the truth about humanity's nonexistence and how project YoRHa was to be disposed of."

"How have they been taking it?" A2 asked. A small part of her still couldn't believe that fact, but YoRHa had been sketchy for a long time…

"Not too well. Quite a few units have destroyed the peaceful green-eyed machines in their rage and are hunting for the rest."

"... Pascal." A2 uttered in alarm, already looking at the ground for a route to his broken village.

"Pascal is safe. A pod has been assigned to patrol her village." Pod 042 said. A2 gave him a long look, but eventually nodded slowly.

"You better be right…" She muttered. Death may be a part of her daily life, but she was still tired of it. Tired of everything, actually. It didn't help that this entire damned war was for a cause that didn't even exist...

"What the hell happened to Pascal anyway...?" 9S asked reluctantly, as if he didn't want to ask but had to anyway, "When I talked to him, his memory was wiped."

"I wiped his memory on his request." A2 replied, looking him in the eye, "His children killed themselves. He didn't want to live with that sort of pain."

9S grimaced, his glare lowering from A2's.

"Pascal…" 2B uttered.

A moment of silence passed over everyone... Mourning the death of the optimistic, revolutionary Pascal.

"When I was in his village, I somehow forgot how much I hated the machines." A2 said softly.

"He sure was a weird machine." 9S grumbled.

"... The weak don't survive in this world. Especially if they are kind." 2B said coldly. A2 hated to silently admit that that was true. 2B rarely minced her words, didn't she?

"So in other words... no machines have been violent?" 9S asked, recovering much faster.

Rather too fast… A2 thought.

"Affirmative. No machines have been reported to be fighting back to any android attacks." Pod 153 replied.

"That could change in a second if another machine network gets set up. Make sure you're scanning for that." 9S warned.

"Acknowledged."

"... Let's go to the Resistance Camp." 2B urged restlessly, walking to the edge of the skyscraper and looking around to find a good pathway towards the camp.

"Okay 2B!" 9S happily trotted to her side. A2 followed 2B's gaze and eyed the powder that was coming off the tower crumbling pieces. It looked like fog, almost. She didn't want to breathe it in. She saw 2B look at her

"Coming with?" She asked.

A2 leaned on one foot, thinking. "I'll meet you there. I'm sure you two want some time alone. Hey, 042, gimme that black pod." She pointed to one nearby.

"Affirmative. Overwriting user ID… Overwrite complete."

A2 gave them both a mock salute, jumped up and grabbed the Pod's hand, and floated safely down to the ground.

When she glanced back, she saw 2B and 9S floating down on their pods in a similar manner, but holding hands along the way. 9S gave A2 a 'what the hell are you looking at' glare while 2B was already looking ahead at the route.

Oh, how cute. A2 made that thought showed on her face. While 2B remained oblivious, 9S looked about ready to start shooting at her. The other Pods scattered about, scouting wherever 153 and 042's pod network told them to go.

A2 turned away and landed in a run. She took the more difficult route just for the sake of losing the two and to test out how well her body was functioning.

Her smirk relaxed into a smile. Maybe next time she valiantly sacrificed herself for these two she would stay dead. Until then, she would take comfort in the fact that they were happy together.

2B and 9S's hands were still locked as their feet hit the ground, where they watched A2 sprint and skate away from sight.

"She's always in a hurry." 9S commented.

"You would be too, if you were hunted constantly." 2B replied, letting go of his hand as she walked forward. She didn't know how to stop 9S from hating A2… and she also didn't know why 9S didn't hate her. He had found about her before, but… he never truly hated her. 2B couldn't understand it, and while his affection was a comfort it was also nothing that she deserved.

"I guess." 9S was quick to trot to her side, and leaned in to look at her face, ""Is there something on your mind?"

"Of course. You've given me a lot of information…" 2B wanted to ask, she truly did, but she was... afraid of the answer.

"Are you uncomfortable with the fact I know you're an execution type?" 9S didn't cut corners, did he? 2B stopped, at this rate she wouldn't be able to construct a route with all the thoughts in her head... and emotions in her heart. "So you are."

"Don't consider your assumptions fact so quickly." She chided, but couldn't look at him as she worked up the courage to ask, "... Will you ever forgive me?"

"..." And there was the hesitation she so feared, even as 9S took her hand in both hands and said, "I've forgiven you a long time ago, 2B!"

2B reluctantly looked at his face. It was still shocking to see his emotions so clearly on his face… The slightest shifting of his eyes made her uneasy.

"Are you sure?" She asked firmly, pleading silently for 9S to tell her the truth. 9S seemed to catch that, -he caught everything didn't he?- and looked at her eyes as if they held the answer.

"I want to know… so many things." He admitted reluctantly, "Can you promise me there will be no more secrets between us?"

"... This goes both ways, do you understand that?" 2B asked.

"Of course." 9S's smile faded somewhat, but was right back there as if it never faltered.

"Then yes, I promise. There's no reason why we should hide things from each other any longer." 2B said resolutely.

"Then could you tell me about my past selves? What moments between us have I lost?" 9S asked in a burst. Desperately, almost.

He must have been thinking about that for a long time if he said it so easily. 2B thought, but felt a sense of trepidation. She did not like reliving all the times she killed 9S.

"Not the times you killed me." 9S clarified, "Just the other moments."

"... That will take forever to say, and I would like to arrive at the Resistance camp before then." 2B said bluntly. She took her hands from his and stepped forward once more, "Your combative ability has not really changed overall-"

"Memories of light. I want to know about those." 9S said. His hand was in hers again as they walked. Having him close felt... comforting. She could definitely get used to it.

"So you've heard my message from my flight unit…"

"Yes."

"We spent a lot of time together around this area… Doing missions, mostly." She smiled somewhat, "Not much different than what we were doing before… But I wouldn't trade them for world…"

There was a comfortable silence between them at that.

"Hey, 2B?"

"What?"

"Could I ever look at your memories of those times?"

2B immediately shook her head. "No. I'll tell you however much I can when the time is right…"

"Okay..." 9S pouted a bit. 2B knew how he was- he would do anything to get his answers, no matter what he felt about trespassing boundaries. She knew from past experience that she was no exception, despite his affinity with her.

".. Nines."

"Hm?"

"Do not ever hack into me."

9S started at that, suddenly in front of her and looking right at her face. 2B stopped. "Why?! What if you contract another virus?!"

"... The commander installed an anti-hacking virus into me." 2B said, guiltily looking away from him, "It's designed to trap and erase you if you tried to hack me."

"..." 9S was glaring, but not at her, "Damn YoRHa…" He growled, his grip on her hand tightening.

"Damned, yes... But... it was still our home…" 2B said quietly, her own hand gripping his back with increasing intensity.

"..." 9S seemed to deflate at that, and they were both silent as they took some time to truly think over the loss of their home for the first time. But eventually, 9S loosened his grip, exclaiming, "Ow ow ow! 2B you need to watch your strength!"

"Ah, sorry." 2B let go of his hand like it was on fire and held that hand close to her chest, guilty that she hurt him.

"No problem!" 9S replied as his hand glowed with his auto-repair system. 2B tried her best not to sulk- she, on her pride as a fake battler unit, did NOT sulk- and took off in a run towards the camp. 9S was close behind.

"What do you think Anemone will assign for us if there are no hosti-" 9S asked conversationally, only to stop in a stomp in his tracks suddenly, "What's that smell?"

2B skidded to a stop and walked around, taking deep breaths. "Fire. What's so interesting about it?"

"I'm detecting traces of meat in the fire!" 9S exclaimed. 2B knew that excited grin anywhere… "Come on, let's go check it out!" Yep, there it was.

"It could just be a moose that caught fire." 2B said, but 9S's uncovered pleading look was chipping away at her willpower, "... Fine, quickly." There was no real rush, but she would rather see what the Resistance was up to and if they could help before… what? Wandering about with 9S? Even if that served no purpose now her chest felt warm at the thought of going wherever they wanted. That was odd. Maybe her cooling systems were malfunctioning for some reason.

"Follow me!" 9S cried, and trotted away towards a tiny stream of smoke in the distance. 2B followed him, taking in a deep breath. It did smell like meat… but not burnt. That was a bit strange, she supposed, but she would have ignored it otherwise…

They jumped over rubble, off some buildings and down some cliffs, and spotted a fire with impaled fish around it. Two unfamiliar female units were around it- a shorter one was carefully taking a mechanical fish apart with various tools, and the taller one was watching the roasting fish intently as if it held all the secrets of the universe.

"Hey!" 9S called. They both looked to him, then to 2B. They had their mouths and noses half-covered by a mask with vents on it.

The shorter one bolted behind the taller, peeking nervously out from behind the giant backpack the other was carrying. The taller seemed much more composed, wiping her greasy hands with a towel as she stood up with some difficulty with her large backpack.

"Jaonu," She greeted politely, her voice synthesized through a speaker, "Ksh zio two?"

"Mira, ga bia seemah aie ohto!" The shorter one hissed through her mask, "Chama-"

"Jaa, jaa." The taller one replied, patting her companion's shoulder.

"What are they saying?" 2B asked. The taller one frowned at the sound of her voice, and the shorter one outright groaned.

"Old world language detected." Pod 042 replied, "Warning: insufficient data for verbal communication translation."

"Are their communication chips damaged?" 2B frowned, looking them over. They seemed in relatively good condition… No sparks anywhere.

"Maybe… I think she was asking who we were. I'll introduce all of us, then." 9S said, undeterred. He pointed to himself, "9S." He pointed to 2B, "2B." He pointed to them, "You?"

"Cama dada baiyo?" The shorter one asked, pointing to 9S's pod.

"I am the tactical support unit P-"

"Pod 153." 9S interrupted his pod, and pointed to 042, "Pod 042."

"Mira." The taller one said, pointing to herself.

"Ashley." The shorter one grumbled, pointing to herself as well.

Mira unclasped her backpack to set it on the ground and reached into a pocket. 2B stepped back into a combat stance just in case it was a weapon. "Ahah!" Mira pulled out what appeared to be a human's sketchbook and a pencil, in which she furiously scribbled on it. 9S stepped closer, Pod 153 tilting down to try to see. Mira stepped besides him so she could show him what she was doing. She seemed rather relaxed, so 2B relaxed as well… but not completely. 2B kept an eye on Ashley, who was hiding behind the backpack.

"Mira…" Ashley said warningly

"Letters appear to be of Old Latin origin. Translating…" Pod 153 said, staying still above the page. Mira tilted it towards the pod and took a deep breath in and out. Although she hid it well, 2B could detect that her hands were shaking… what did that mean? Ashley creeped over and peeked over Mira's shoulder at what she was writing, but her eyes shot to 9S and 2B at the merest slight shift of their weight. 2B crossed her arms and waited, meeting Ashley's occasional glances with stares of her own.

Ashley seemed to shrink from 2B behind Mira's shoulder that was opposite of where 9S was standing. Her nervousness was making 2B uneasy, but nowhere near as jumpy as she was.

"It reads '9S, 2B, Pod 153, Pod 042. Hello, if you can read this I'm trying to remember your names. I don't have a good memory.'" Pod 153 stated.

"Can you ask her what her group is doing?"

"Affirmative… Error; there is no receiver on unit 'Mira' to send this message. Displaying holographic screen." Pod 153 floated in front of Mira and a screen popped up, with unfamiliar symbols on it. Mira blinked rapidly, and slowly reached out with fingerless gloves to touch the screen. Her finger went through it, since it was just a hologram. Soon Ashley was reaching over to try to touch the screen too, her blue eyes sparkling. "Proposal: Pod 042 can display Latin translation to units 9S and 2B to save time."

"Proposal accepted." Pod 042 said, pulling up his own screen. 2B found it somewhat odd that he didn't ask her for permission… but she supposed that there wasn't a need for that anymore.

"Pod, go to 9S to assist." 2B said, so 9S wouldn't have to run back and forth. She could read just fine from this distance.

"Affirmative." Pod 042 floated over to 9S and the two girls with his screen.

We're cooking food. I'd offer you some, but we really need all of it for us and our friends… Mira wrote. With an acrid smell, Ashley realized the fish was burning and rushed out to tug all of them out before they became completely black.

"What is the food for? Haven't you heard that the humans don't exist anymore?" 9S asked. Mira calmly read the screen… only to suddenly become still. She looked away, and then closed her eyes with a deep frown. She then looked at 9S's face, her expression almost amazingly distressed and confused. "Yeah. The thing about them being on the moon is a lie."

"Ashley, cay sed nigen es en lunalio… Demmo nigen es aburarr."

"Nande?!" Ashley exclaimed ran over right next to Mira, stick out and away so they wouldn't poke them, "Quem mo…"

"Sye."

We weren't aware that all the humans are dead… what are you? You seem so much like them.

"No. We're YoRHa unit class androids." 9S corrected.

Androids…?

2B frowned. Treating androids as a foreign concept was incredibly suspicious.

"Are you two... not androids?" 9S asked patiently.

Mira seemed at a loss at what to write, until Ashley suddenly took the pencil from her hand with greasy fingers.

We're androids, we just came from a different area.

"Ah-"

"Mira, shemmaie! Kuurosayo ellas!" Ashley growled angrily, making Mira slump in her spot and avoid everyone's gaze.

"... Mira." The caught her attention, she looked up at 9S in surprise, "Which way did you come from?"

Mira looked conflicted. Ashley growled and pointed down another path, but 9S ignored her.

"Are you hiding something from us?" He pressed.

No, leave us alone. We're hungry and you're not eating any of this. Ashley wrote, biting into a fish. Mira reached for the pencil but Ashley smacked her hand away while she spat out a fish bone.

"Your behavior is only making you more suspicious." 2B said, stepping forward besides 9S and making Ashley back off from her quickly, pencil in hand. Mira stood her ground, but her fingers fidgeted with the edges of her sketchbook nervously as she read the pod's screen.

"Ashley, plem hanasae lapiz." She said quietly.

"Nem! Kuroshitae!"

"Kuroshitae no gettasai!" Mira had tears in her eyes. Ashley walked over, grabbed her hand, dropped the rods impaling fish, and suddenly bolted off.

9S easily caught up to stand in front of her with his sword out, in which she backed up and 2B had her katana's blade at the side of Mira's throat.

They were still after that. 2B left her sword there for a few more seconds in a clear message of 'run again and I'll cut your head off', but eventually lowered her sword to her side. Ashley reluctantly gave Mira the pencil.

I'm sorry… I don't know what came over her. We just don't know how to handle the news… Mira's handwriting was shaky.

"Don't do it again." 2B warned, tossing her sword to materialize back onto her back.

"Well, that's the first time someone actually tried to outrun a YoRHa unit." 9S said, amused, and let his own sword go to materialize on his back, "Now, where did you say you were from again?" His polite tone had a threatening edge.

We're from underground. Something grew or broke into our home and woke us up.

2B watched Ashley look around-presumably for a way to escape again, even if she was practically leaning on Mira. It was more they evaded them, the more interested 9S would get, and then they'd never get to the resistance camp. Not unless…

"Are you with the Resistance?" She asked before 9S could continue his questioning. Mira looked at the screen, back at her, and then shook her head.

What is the Resistance? She wrote.

"Wow, you must've been asleep for a long time!" 9S exclaimed, his voice bitter as if he was holding back a mocking remark, "They fight the machines. I'm assuming they'll think of you as rogue units."

I guess we are… What year is it? What are machines? Are 'rogues' bad? A nervous smile appeared on Mira's face.

She didn't even know what a machine is? 2B's suspicions only grew.

"Rogue units don't really have a high chance of surviving... They're either hunted down from the cause they abandoned, or killed by the machines. Machines, like the one there." 9S pointed to an idle machine nearby, mostly buried by rubble, "Right now, they're harmless, but that could change if they establish another network. Oh, it's the year 11945."

"Oun say nueve quantie cinco..." Mira mumbled, searching 9S's face, before writing, 11945?

"Yep! When did you come from?" 9S asked.

Mira burst into laughter, "Ashley! Ashley! Demo quanitae kurosai?! Oun say nueve quantie cinco!"

"Nan deh?!" Ashley spoke, alarmed, and frowned at both 9S and 2B.

"It's true!" 9S said with a grin, amused for whatever reason.

We're from 2008. Mira wrote. Ashley groaned.

"2008?!" 9S exclaimed, "No way, that can't be true..." He frowned at them.

Mira read the screen and met his gaze, but 2B didn't think that 9S bought it so easily… and at this point 2B wondered if these two girls were mindwiped and given faulty data.

Ashley took the pencil and wrote: We don't know jack shit, man. Why do you even care?

"Are there more of you?" 9S asked, ignoring her. Ashley growled at him as Mira took the pencil.

Yes. You won't hurt them, will you?

"Depends on their intentions." 2B said neutrally.

I see. Well, we don't mean any harm to you or the machines. Do you know where the resistance camp is? Mira looked to 2B and gave her a quick smile, Maybe they can help us out. We could help them out, too!

"We'll ask Anemone for permission." 2B stated.

"They could just be looking for an excuse to run away again. Why don't we just bring them with us?" 9S asked. Mira put an arm around Ashley's shoulders and hugged her to her side as she read that.

"… That's true."

"They're non-upgraded older models, possibly experimental, so they'll be really slow, though." 9S said.

We can walk there on our own. I'm really good with directions. Mira wrote.

"We'll probably have to carry them. Pod, mind helping us out?"

No! Wait! W- Mira yelped as a pod lifted her up by the back of her shirt with her claws.

"Alert: No magnetism found in unit. Holographic lifting not possible." Pod 153 said as Ashley hung around Mira's waist and yelled angry nonsense.

"Magnetism found." Pod 042 said, and a golden circle surrounded Ashley to lift her into the air. She struggled but eventually hung there, glaring at everything.

"Huh, I guess they're structurally different." 9S said curiously.

"Let's go." 2B said, and charged off. She trusted 9S to catch up with her.

"Oshna tambayo!" Mira protested, reaching towards her backpack as one hand was around her collar to prevent herself from choking on her shirt. 9S walked over to the backpack, touched it, and put into into his holographic space. "Kiere?!"

"I'll give it back eventually." 9S said, and darted off after 2B with both pods carrying the mysterious old protesting units.

A2 slowed to a walk as she went between the buildings that would lead her to the main Resistance camp. She considered leaning against a building and waiting for 2B and 9S, but also didn't want to be bored out of her mind. So into the camp she walked, drawing gazes immediately that she ignored… for the most part. Anemone's gaze, however, she met.

Anemone looked about ready to step towards her, but quickly composed herself and waited for A2 to come to her. There was an unfamiliar man standing near her, wearing a bandana and a mask over his nose and mouth. His hands appeared to be tied together. There was a bigger man besides him, A2 recognized him as one of the supply merchants.

"A2... Looks like you survived." Anemone said slowly, trying to keep her emotions under wraps around her people.

"Unfortunately. Had a perfect stage and everything, but then the Pods messed that up." A2 sighed. Anemone tried and failed for a smile. A2 gave her a fakest grin back to compensate, which faded quickly.

"It's fine. 9S and 2B should be on the way. Who's this?" A2 said, and eyed the stranger's restraints. They weren't high-tech, a bunch of spare wire really. She could have easily broken it if it was done to her.

"Oh, they survived too. That's good to know. This is Gray. He only speaks an strange language but he's learning ours quickly… We found him snooping around with another girl around the camp so we took them in. Not sure what to do with him yet, so I'm having one of my people watch him," Anemone sighed, "He's still technically a prisoner and his partner's an especially rude spitfire, so we've tied his hands. Say hi, Gray."

"Hi A2." Gray said, bowing his head to her in an unfamiliar greeting, "Wata sembestuien mi familglia pero Resistance es fellam nos."

"Stop speaking nonsense." Anemone chided.

"Sorry, Anemone." Gray apologized.

"I don't mind watchin' him. Teaching him how to speak is a welcome distraction." The supplier-turned-watchdog said.

"Old Latin detected. Error: insufficient verbal data needed to translate." A2's new pod said in a childlike voice.

"Oh, you fixed an old pod?" Anemone asked.

"Negative. I was fixed by Pods 042 and 153." A2's Pod replied.

"First time I heard you talk." A2 commented.

"Reply: Nothing of importance seemed worth speaking of."

"Yeah," A2 turned towards Anemone, "Anyway 9S and 2B have an army of pods following them around, so don't fry your circuits when you see them."

"Thank you for the heads-up." Anemone paused to think, so A2 stayed silent, "Devola and Popola should know Old Latin…"

"Did they survive?" A2 asked.

"No, well, somewhat." Anemone sighed, "We recovered their bodies from the rubble and fixed them the best we could, but… they just won't wake up. It's like they're in a coma."

"... 9S could fix them." A2 said. If he couldn't do it, then no one could.

"Yes… I'll have to ask him when he arrives, then."

"Well, let's go somewhere else ya freak," The watchdog did not have any venom in his tone as he tugged Gray by the elbow and away from Anemone and A2. Gray waved the best he could with tied hands, "Don't be so trustin' around this guy, Anemone! He's as light as a fuckinnn' feather!" Just to show it, the watchdog picked Gray up with one arm and threw him over his shoulders to carry him like he was a sack of metal scraps. Gray looked mildly annoyed by all this but didn't protest.

"How is Daisy?" Gray asked while he was carried away.

"Spitfire as usual! We hadda' lock her up!" The watchdog said.

"He hasn't shown any ill intentions... yet." Anemone said. A2 knew the moment he did, he would be killed, "So did you come just to warn me of 2B and 9S's arrival?" Anemone asked. But A2 knew that tone, Anemone was testing the waters as usual.

"Nah." A2 said, a part of her silently groaning as she realized she would have to get involved with people again, "I'm not being hunted anymore, and I have jack shit to do… You got any crap that needs to be done?"

"Not at the moment, but my people may need your help. Do you mind offering them your assistance, unit A2?" Anemone said this as if she had recited it a hundred times before, and with a winning polite smile to match.

Gosh, she really has gotten dangerous over the years. A2 thought drily. She had the weirdest feeling that if she fully bought into her former comrade's political shit she'd end up never being able to fucking leave.

"... Sure, whatever." A2 said, as if giving into a demand that was more conflicting than it actually was. Couldn't have Anemone think she could boss her around, right?

"Thank you, A2." Anemone thanked her with such wondrous gratitude in her tone that A2 almost cracked under it. Almost.

"Yeah, yeah." A2 said in a tired tone, turned away and walked to the nearest android. She realized he was still half-asleep, so she nudged him with her foot. "Hey, you, got any crap you need help with?"

A/N: This story wouldn't of been possible if my friend had not pushed me on to do better. Thank you for encouraging me, Rider450!

Go read his nier automata story called 'It Happened One Long Morning', it's rather dark but very exciting!