A long sword came down upon the rusted chassis of a small stubby, cutting through metal and severing its head from the rest of its body. Red eyes stared furiously at 2B one last time before they lost their light, rendering utterly black and devoided of life. The remains fell on the ground with a soft thud, staining the grass with murky oil. 2B stared at her kill blankly, her eyes concealed beneath her black blindfold, betraying neither what she was seeing nor her feelings. At her hand, she was holding the handle of [Virtuous Treaty], the pure blade of the katana reflecting the sunbeams, creating a peculiar spectacle of lights over the corpses of a dozen machine lifeforms.

2B inspected the rest of the corpses, soaking in the carnage she had unleashed in her enemies, noting how inferior they were in comparison to her and yet, had attempted to bring her down with the little power they had. They had come up front, without any sort of plan or strategy to restrain her movements, diminish her battle potential, or even maximize the environment of the city ruins. They have simply rushed as fast as they could, flailing their pathetic arms wildly, hoping to hit her. Even know, 2B wondered what was going through their heads when they decided to attack her like this: Clearly, they knew there was no hope in their attempt… Yet, they did it nonetheless.

Why?

Were they expecting to actually succeed? Was this just a plan of some grand scheme she couldn't see? What drove them to, as humans would say, commit suicide? Perhaps a virus corroding their limited sense of logic? Or they were meant to test her prowess and get as much data as they could? Or maybe madness had finally taken over them and reduced them to the baseless killing machines YoRHa has claimed they were?

2B had many questions… Sadly, most of those questions would forever remain hidden in the vell of shadows: Mysteries meant to never be solved, unknows hiding away in the corners of the world, whispers confusing her path.

Things meant to destroy the precarious peace she currently had.

Android YoRHa No.2 Type B sighed, tired of always asking herself the same questions over and over again. It couldn't be helped: After a few hundreds of years doing the same thing, boredom drove her to amuse herself, dwelling into the morbid secrets she held and rethinking her directives. After all, very few knew her real designation was not 2B… Her true name, as well as her primary objective, would remain classified so long as Commander White said so. But with time, questions would arise from within her mind: Dangerous questions meant to destroy her fragile world and unleash horrors beyond belief upon the small fantasy all androids lived.

But then again, Android YoRHa No.2 Type B was still a good soldier at her core. Her directives made her unable to disobey orders and stray from the scenarios created by Command. Until the end of times, she would keep following her orders zealously. Her objectives and target were clear and there was no room for mistakes.

She was made to succeed.

Failure was not an option.

"Attention: All hostile mechanical lifeforms have been dispatched"Her pod chimed in, hovering just behind her back "Mission complete. Suggestion: Return to the resistance camp and inform Anemone."

"Understood" 2B conceded, turning around and making her way towards the camp "9S, I have finished here, what about you?" Suddenly, her pod began displaying a holographic screen with the portrait of a young, white-haired boy wearing black clothes and a blindfold like her.

"Ah! Miss 2B! I have finished here as well. Gotta say, these things were not a real challenge for me! Almost makes me wonder if this was a victory at all." The boy spoke merrily, a hint of smugness lingering in his voice.

"Arrogance is something unacceptable in a soldier. Having excessive confidence in your own skills will get you killed one day" 2B chastised, her cold voice capable of freezing the water under her heels as she passed a small pond.

"Yes, yes; Being humble and all that jazz." And yet, 9S simply disregarded her hard words, already used to her "I will be sure to be careful, Miss 2-B!" The boy chirped.

"I hope so… Also, 9S?"

"Yes, Miss 2B"

"Stop calling me miss."

"Oh! Well, that is…" The boy seemed clearly taken aback by her request "If that is what you want, Mis-Not that. 2B, I will stop calling you Miss" The boy gave her a small smile "Ah! But in return, how about you start calling me Nines! Everyone at the bunker calls me that and I believe we are close enough to-"

"I will see you at the camp." 2B cut him off.

"Wha-?! Wait! That is not f-" And the pod ended the transmission.

2B allowed herself a small smirk for successfully teasing the boy; 9S was quite capable but sometimes he was just unbearable to deal with: She knew the "S" series were the best YoRHa had to offer but sometimes she wondered if there was something wrong with their personality programs. Androids were not supposed to be this annoying… Well, not that she could say anything on the matter considering she was not what she appeared to be. Once again, dull voices whispered visions of the future to come as she walked through the deserted ruins of the city.

Herds of boars, deer, and moose ran through the plains without restraint and birds flew in the open sky. 2B sparred a glance at the blue celestial vault above her, wondering if there was an error in her system… No, there wasn't. She herself knew there was nothing wrong with her.

The entire world was wrong. She knew this to be true: YoRHa, the mechanic lifeforms, the resistance, her fellow android comrades, the humans hiding in the moon. Everything was wrong… And there was nothing she could do to solve it.

Bouts of depression blossomed in her mind, slowly torturing and driving her mad.

She would need to do a scan on herself once she was back at the Bunker. These small episodes would hinder her overall performance.

A loud ringing coming from her pod told her there was an incoming transmission. Her pod hovered right in front of her and displayed the portrait of a blonde woman wearing a white dress.

"2B here"

"Attention to all YoRHa units on the planet, this is an extraordinary transmission broadcasted to all active allied forces" Commander White spoke, her usual calm and controlled demeanor morphed into nervousness and uncertainty. That couldn't be good "Our satellites have detected a humongous power spike of a strange form of energy by the City Ruins near the Resistance Camp. There are no visuals on the site so we ignore the nature of this anomaly. As such, all available YoRHa units are ordered to investigate what is going on and report to HQ immediately. But be careful, there are large packs of mechanical lifeforms converging on the site, we ignore what is attracting them but it cannot be good. In case there is no other option, we authorize the use of lethal force. Get rid of whatever is coming before it can start. Glory to mankind." And the transmission ended.

"Coordinates received" Her pod chimed in "Marking them on the map"

2B stared at her pod idly before she turned around and burst into a full sprint towards the location, her skirt fluttering in the wind as her heels clicked on the cobblestone ground. She ran through the plains, evading trees, animals, and a few patches on weeds. She jumped on top of a building, expertly reaching the rooftop in a display of pure skill and grace. Her mad dash continued until she was finally at the top of one of the tallest building. She was greeted with the sight of more than a thousand mechanical lifeforms converging in the largest plain of City Ruins. Stubbies, Mid-tiers, Small bipeds, Goliath bipeds, Flyers, Exploders, and a whole lot of other enemies 2B hadn't seen before were coming into a single point.

To her confusion and surprise, the mechanical lifeforms left an area clear; A perfectly shaped circle with no more than 9 feet of radius. 2B watched with interest as the mechs simply stayed there, staring blankly into space as if they were waiting for something. The android narrowed her eyes, wondering if they could feel this strange energy White was talking about: If that was the case, maybe 2B would need to capture one of those sods and have the Resistance take it apart and find whatever allowed them to sense this anomaly without powerful sensors like those in the Bunker.

And then, it began.

A soft hum reached her ears and her combat visor picked up strange sparks of blue lighting materializing from thin air: The sparks crackled, creating wide and intricate arcs, sometimes colliding against the machines and reducing them to smoking piles of burnt metal. And yet, none of them moved a single inch, not even when the phenomenon began destroying their comrades with ease. The machines kept on staring as if they knew something else was coming from this event.

2B narrowed her eyes, unsure on how to react to all of this. Something was amiss but she couldn't tell what it was… But one thing was for certain, she had a bad feeling about this.

"2B! 2B! Can you hear me?" Her pod rang again and the voice of 9S chirped in

"I'm here, 9S." She answered without looking away "I am currently above the tallest building in the City Ruins and have a clear visual on whatever is going on down there. Where are you?"

"Above you! Command lent me a flying unit so I could asses and study the phenomenon in depth" He answered, 2B could almost see him sporting that cheeky grin of his "We are the only agents nearby but operator 21O told me a large group of reinforcements is coming: Some androids like you and me but Command even sent a few heavy hitters! I can't believe how wild this party is!"

"9S, emotions are strictly forbidden during missions" The female android chastised, still not looking at her pod.

"Yeah, yeah: Be cold like steel and stuff, yada, yada, yada" The boy retorted, causing 2B to roll her eyes "Anyways, are you seeing this? That thing is crushing those machines and yet, they do nothing but stand still and take it! I wonder what is going on…" He trailed off, probably looking at something on his end.

"That is a good question: Pod, can you detect anything special?"

"Analyzing. Error. Unable to detect anything."

"What? Elaborate" 2B ordered, slightly irritated.

"This unknown energy does not belong to any type registered in the archives: Sensors within this unit are unable to analyze its origin and properties. Suggestion: Operator 9S may have more success using the flying unit at his disposal."

"9S, what do you have?"

"Honestly, I don't know: All the data gathered makes no sense and these readings are ridiculous! Maybe if I got a bit closer I could- Oh, no! 2B! Be careful!" 9S suddenly gasped "Something has changed, the power levels of that thing are getting out of control! Get out of there!"

"What do you mean, 9S?!" 2B asked, noticing how the mechanical lifeforms began twitching relentlessly "What is going on?! Explain!"

"I-I don't know! I don't know! It doesn't make sense! But I can tell something is coming! 2B! Something really bad is coming! Get out of there before is too late! You hear me! Get o-" The connection broke and before 2B could do anything the phenomenon exploded, blinding her with a flash of pure white light.

Her combat visor began adjusting to the intense light… And there, in the middle of the lighting, there it was.

It was a humanoid being, standing above six feet tall. Wearing strange and rugged green armor and a helmet with a cold blue visor. The armored being had the same shape as most androids did: Four limbs, two legs and two hands with five fingers in each hand. Its complexion was quite large, its shoulders almost as wide as a medium biped although his limbs weren't as thick. Its chassis caused 2B curiosity since she was sure she hadn't seen any machine lifeform sporting those green colors… She watched the thing simply float, surrounded by the blue sparks and lighting for a few moments before it was unceremoniously dropped, plopping on the ground like a ragdoll and lying there motionlessly, with its back on the grass.

Suddenly, the whole world was engulfed in silence.

2B could almost hear the mechanical components inside her body as she simply kneeled there, watching the green armored thing lying on the grass. The machines surrounding it were not faring any better, frozen in time as a few of their comrades were already reduced to piles of burning rubbish. The android briefly wondered if 9S or the rest of the YoRHa forces at the Bunker were suffering from the same symptoms as her, hoping they would regain control over their bodies and record as many data as possible… And then, the armored humanoid finally moved.

It twitched on the ground, its hands opening and closing as it shifted uncomfortably on its back. Slowly, it twisted its body and planted its fist on the grass, pushing itself up. 2B noted that the humanoid had not gone through the phenomenon unscathed as it got up shakily, clutching the place where its ribs should be. Its actions seemed oddly android-like as a few of her comrades had displayed certain behaviors and other reactions resembling human traits. Was that a new type of YoRHa android or Resistance unit? Unlikely, Commander White would have notified them. A new type of enemy machine? Possible, but since the other machine lifeforms did not display any sort of reaction upon seeing it, 2B was slowly discarding the idea… Then again, she didn't know if those things had learned to welcome new members into its group.

Finally, the armored being was standing: Its visor moving left and right, seemingly observing the conglomeration of machines surrounding it. 2B noted the humanoid's body seemed to rise and drop as if it was heaving, trying to catch its breath… Which was weird since androids and machines did not need any sort of airborne intake to function properly. As far as she knew, anyway.

After a while, the heaving stopped and the armored being was simply staring into the nearest stubby, its visor moving up and down as if it was studying the small machine staring at it blankly. It then looked behind it, noticing the other machines following its every move. Then, the armored humanoid looked to the sky before its head dropped down and his visor stared at its feet. 2B was confused with its behavior; She was half-expecting for him to suddenly assimilate every single machine present and become some nightmarish Goliath. But suddenly, she noticed something was not right.

It was trembling.

The armored humanoid was trembling: She saw it bring its shaking hands to its head, clutching its helmet as it trembled uncontrollably. One might have thought it was suffering from total failure and it had lost control over its body… But 2B knew that was not the case. No, she knew this was different.

What did the humans call it?

It was a reaction or behavior that came under certain circumstances.

Something animals seemed to display on a daily basis.

A gut feeling.

The answer came as the armored humanoid looked to the sky and roared: Instinct.

Her instincts were telling her to run away… But it was too late now.

Across her life, 2B had noticed how many androids and machines had a tendency to copy and replicate certain human behaviors, reactions, and other forms of actions to display feelings: At the Resistance Camp and the Bunker, 2B had seen a few operators and other androids engage in 'friendly' relationships and other borderline shameful deeds. Things strictly forbidden by command. On earth, the androids of the Resistance and the machines would do the same, mimicking whatever record of humans they had in their memory… But among all of them, the one 2B couldn't understand was Fury.

Sure, Love was another mystery. But thanks to operator 60, she could get the basics and simply scratch it as something utterly annoying. A disease she herself had contracted along the way but still couldn't quite understand. At the end of the day, 2B had decided to stop thinking about it since it only managed to hinder her overall performance as a YoRHa soldier.

But Fury… Fury was different.

The best example she could find were the enemy machines she had slain: The weak and pathetic mechanic lifeforms had attacked her blindly, without any plan, simply throwing themselves at her with no clear objective. 2B could recognize the signals whenever a machine was feeling anger: Excessive aggressiveness, complete disregard of its well-being, a lack of logical thinking, and red lights in their eyes.

But this… This was different.

Even with her poor understanding of emotions, she could feel rage, she could feel brutality, she could feel anger, she could feel wrath. A cold shudder ran down her spine as the armored humanoid kept roaring to the skies, exuding a primal fury no android nor machine could replicate: In comparison to this, the machines were nothing but faded shadows, a sad attempt to imitate this bestial onslaught. A feeling so pure and visceral it made her, the androids at the Resistance Camp, the machine lifeforms, and even those at the Bunker shake in fear.

And then it happened, a red and violent aura began exuding from its armor, surrounding him and growing as its roar intensifies. At some point, the thing 2B feared the most happens: The aura finally touches one of the machines… And hell was unleashed.

The stubby basked in the crimson energy began twitching uncontrollably; Its tiny eyes turned a bloody red as its small and pathetic arms attempt to claw its head. It trashes on the grass, rolling and shaking uncontrollably as oil begins erupting from its body. The stubby then gets up with unnatural agility and launches itself against the armored being, its face cracked and covered in dark and murky oil.

Before the stubby could even touch it, an armored fist collides against its body, making it explode in a display of brutal strength and savagery. Bits and pieces fly all around the remaining machines as they are bathed in the oil of its fallen brethren. The rest of the machines watch the mangled remains of their brother, sickly yellow eyes staring blankly at the devastating mess that was once a stubby. Slowly, every single one of the machines present suffer from the same: Their eyes turn red and they began to twitch and shake without control, releasing oil from every nook and cranny, and claw their bodies, as if they were attempting to gouge out something inside them. And just like the first stubby, all of them screech in anger and launch themselves against the armored being.

Their challenge is met by a flurry of punches, mallets of pure power turning them into scrap in nothing but a blink. The stubbies are basically flattened on the ground as the armored humanoid steps on them; The small bipeds explode in a shower of oil and innards; the medium bipeds lose large chunks of their bodies and are discarded like garbage; The Goliath Bipeds had their limbs torn apart and used as blunt weapons against the deranged army of crazed machines. 2B watches in morbid fascination as the green berserker simply plows through the ranks of machines, ripping and tearing them apart, brutalizing their remains in the most savage way possible. Sure, her sword could swiftly cut down any machine in her way but her kills were clean, elegant, and almost beautiful in comparison to this carnage; In some way, her steel had more mercy than the fist of this rampant being.

She almost felt bad for the machines.

"Attention: Incoming transmission from the Bunker" Her pod pinged, displaying a holographic screen in front of her.

"To all YoRHa personnel on site: What is going on?!" It was rare to see Commander White this nervous, and although it couldn't spell anything good, 2B made sure to memorize and record every second of it in her black box "The energy we detected before suddenly disappeared and our sensors picked something else… Something way beyond our charts! It is almost as if ten Goliaths suddenly imploded at the same time! I want a status report, on the double!" She ordered, snapping her riding crop.

"2B here, I am currently overseeing the situation from an advantageous point near the anomaly."

"Ah, 2B!" Commander White acknowledged with a nod "Excellent! Transmit everything to us using your pod! The data we are picking up does not make any sense! We require visuals!"

"Understood" 2B nodded "Pod, begin the broadcast. Follow the armored humanoid and record everything"

"Yes, 2B" The pod answered, generating a small appendage from its body "Broadcasting to the Bunker and recording data for further studies"

2B focused on the holographic screen, watching the exact moment when Commander White finally received the transmission. And was pleasantly surprised when the elder YoRHa android was not able to control her facial expressions.

"W-What the hell is that?" She spoke quietly, covering her mouth with one hand and resting the other over her chest. "2B… Who or what is that?"

"Don't know. That green armored humanoid appeared once the first phenomenon passed. But then, it began exuding a strange red aura; This energy caused the machines to go berserk and attack him. It has been killing them ever since. I ignore its objectives but for now, it doesn't seem to have noticed me." 2B hoped it didn't; She wasn't sure if she was prepared to fight such thing. Not without information.

"It's… It's so…" The Commander began, unable to look away from the massacre, her eyes following its every move "Glorious…" She whispered softly.

2B found herself agreeing with the strange assessment of the Commander: Even though this was nothing but a display of brutality, there was a certain beauty in the way the armored humanoid fought: His attacks, although savage in nature, did not miss a single target. There were no wasted moves and his fists killed Stubbies and medium bipeds in a single punch. It was dominating, displaying a huge level of strength as he overpowered Biped Goliaths, disregarding their height and bulk.

"2B! 2B! Can you hear me?!" 9S spoke from her pod "2B! Where are you?! We have to get out of here! I have detected a large army of machines making their way here!" That got both 2B and the Commander out of their daydreams.

"What!?" The commander bellowed "Oh, no! 9S is right! The armored humanoid is attracting every nearby machine! We must stop him before the machines overrun our YoRHa operatives and the Resistance!"

"What should we do, commander?" 2B asked as she watched the humanoid lift an entire Biped Goliath over its shoulders and throw it at another, causing the two of them to explode.

"We… We must put it down" White spoke slowly "We must put it down before it attracts every damn machine in the entire planet! Attention to all YoRHa units on site: The Green Armored Humanoid represents a major danger for the safety of both us and the Resistance! Use any means necessary to silence it before it creates more chaos! Once it is down, I want every piece of it shipped to the Bunker so we might study and perhaps even replicate its battle capabilities for new equipment and armor! I will not repeat myself: Kill it and bring me the corpse! Glory to mankind!" She ordered and the transmission ended.

"9S, where are you?" 2B asked as she wielded [Virtuous contract] in her left hand, and [Virtuous treaty] in her right hand.

"Flying just above the City Ruins, trying to make sense of this data" The boy answered, his voice serious as he understood just how grave the situation was "2B… You are not planning on fighting that thing… Right?" He asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"Those are my orders…" She answered, standing at the edge of the building "I will attack head on and distract it. Use that opportunity to finish it up while it is focused on me.

"That is insane! We should wait for the other YoRHa units! They are coming with several flying units and heavy weapons! You can't just-"

"By the time they get here, the machines would do as well. Even if our equipment is superior, we will lose to the sheer numbers of their forces. And although we might survive, the androids of the Resistance will not. It is now or never."

"That is-! There has to-! You can't just-!" 9S began, trying to find a way to dissuade the female android but found none "ARGH! Fine! We will do it your way!"

"Thank you… Nines."

"Wha-? What was-?" But before he could continue, 2B dropped over the edge of the rooftop and began running vertically on the building "THAT IS NOT FAIR!" She heard 9S scream in frustration before the connection was cut and her pod followed her.

Her heels clicked as her legs became a blur, going down the building as she assessed the situation. In all honesty, she wasn't sure if fighting it head on was a good choice: A single attack could reduce her to mere scrap and although she was confident in her speed and dodging skills, she still needed to look out for the machines attempting to kill it as well. She wasn't sure if the machines would notice her but considering they were completely deranged; a stray attack could hit her and distract her long enough to be vulnerable. Her best option was to distract it long enough for 9S to rain a storm of bullets and missiles from his flight unit. If things turned for the worst, she could always self-destruct and take anything nearby. Not the best plan but it was everything she could work with.

Suddenly, she kneeled and launched herself towards a Biped Goliath. Her boots collided against the machine, caving in and launching the machine towards the green humanoid. But to her surprise, the armored being simply swatted the falling Goliath as if it was nothing more than a nuisance, utterly devastating the falling machine and taking several other smaller units. 2B landed gracefully in the battlefield and was glad to notice the machines did ignore her, more focused on attacking the green rampant humanoid.

She was about to begin her attack when a dangerous thought crossed her mind: If the machines had gone rampant after coming into contact with it… Then, what would happen to her? Sure, as a YoRHa android, she was more advanced than the machine lifeforms or the androids of the Resistance. But as a surrogated "B" series, she was not invulnerable to cybernetic attacks. 2B still ignored if that red aura was some sort of virus or program designed to set off anything it touched. Getting herself infected was not advisable.

But she couldn't lose more time.

"Pod! Attack!" She ordered.

"Acknowledged" The pod answered as it began raining bullets upon the armored humanoid.

The pellets hit their mark but to 2B's dismay, did no visual damage. Instead, it only managed to annoy the green berserker, making it focus its attention in 2B.

"Alright, that was a mistake" She hummed to herself, preparing herself for direct confrontation.

She wasn't prepared for the armored being to dash towards her at a horrifying speed; 2B widened her eyes and had just enough time to evade its devastating fist, achieving a perfect dodge, phasing out of existence and materializing just behind the humanoid, ready to cut him in half. But instead, she was greeted with another fist right in front of her face. The android did not have time to process anything, simply letting her experience and training guide her, managing to once again dodge perfectly. Using this opportunity, 2B attempted to get herself as far as she could from the armored being, only to realize it was following her, matching and even surpassing her speed and agility. She wondered how something so large could move as fast as her but now was not the time. 2B couldn't allow herself to continue this pace; The enemy would eventually overwhelm her with its unrelenting attacks. She needed to do something to gain space between the two of them. She needed some room to breathe and control the fight.

The being attacked and 2B dodged but this time, the android dashed away. Not caring to see if the armored giant was onto her. She ran through the rampant machines, listening how the green humanoid was following close behind, plowing through the machines as if they were nothing. 2B did not dare to look back, fearing it would slow her down. Suddenly, a Biped Goliath came into view, swinging its long metallic limbs wildly at her. Instead of dodging, 2B slid between its legs, effectively avoiding its attack. She turned around to see the Goliath's fist collide against the berserker… Only for the former to explode, sending the machine tumbling and falling over 2B. The android leaped away, barely avoiding the humongous bulk of the Biped Goliath.

Landing on her hands, 2B rolled away as the fist of the armored humanoid came down, cracking the cobblestone ground under her, causing it to cave in. The android twisted herself mid-air, coming face to face with the berserker, her blindfold staring right into the cold-blue visor of its helmet. For a brief moment, time stopped as 2B starred into the visor: Noticing a familiar silhouette obscured within the helmet. She could recognize a jaw, followed by the outline of a nose, and a forehead… But what stuck out the most were its eyes: Even though the visor concealed most of its features, 2B could see its eyes very well. And what she saw would forever follow her as long as she was alive:

She saw fury: Unrelenting, brutal, and merciless hot red fury exuding from its eyes. Something that had lived this way for millennia: An ancient force of nature neither her nor YoRHa could hope to stop or even understand. Whatever this thing was, it was never meant to exist in this world. A strange unknown dropped in this fallen earth, a foreign piece in this broken board, a monster in a land of machines.

Frozen, like a deer in headlights, she watched as the green berserker rolled back its arm, preparing to reduce 2B into a pile of brutalized scrap. Even though she could see the fist descending upon her face, the android was unable to move, trapped in her own mind. Her pod shot defensively at her side, but its small bullets did nothing but bounce off the armor. Not being able to even slow it down. The fist was now an inch away from her face and there was nothing 2B could do to stop it…

She was doomed.

But…

"2B!"

And then, a black flight unit rammed itself against the armored humanoid; Sending it flying against a group of Medium Bipeds, exploding on contact. 2B blinked in confusion before she looked at the flight unit: In its biped form, 2B was able to recognize her partner and current assassination target should things turn for the worst. Instead of the always preset Cheshire smile, 9S was frowning deeply, his soft factions twisted in a fearful, shocked, and angry grimace, barring his teeth and almost snarling at the rampaging machines.

Seeing him in this state made 2B's core skip a beat.

"2B! Are you okay?!" The boy asked, still looking at the deranged machines piling on top of the armored humanoid.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine." 2B said, shaking her head a little and looking at the machines "You are late." She chastised, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Sorry about that… There was a lot of flying machines up there in the sky." 9S Explained. 2B looked up and noticed that in fact, a couple hundreds of machine lifeforms were descending on them, their eyes red but not shooting at all. It seemed like they wanted to ram themselves on the armored humanoid "I had to maneuver through their ranks; I don't know what the hell that thing did but it affected a large number of machines."

"Do you have any idea of what it did?" 2B asked as the pile of machines squashing the armored humanoid exploded, the green berserker emerging from the falling oil and broken remains, roaring once again at the skies in fury.

"No, I haven't seen readings like this ever. I can tell it is some sort of highly contagious infection, capable of rendering any inorganic lifeform rampant." 9S answered as he swatted a falling stubby out of the way.

"Inorganic? What about organics?"

"Don't know, I haven't seen any animals react like the machines… The problem is that I don't know if it will affect us as well: In theory, we should be able to overcome the rampancy but without running a test, it is unclear…" He supplied, his flight unit shooting a few missiles. The projectiles collided against the green berserker, exploding right in its face but doing nothing but pushing him back a few inches. "We should avoid direct contact as much as possible. Attack from afar or keep our encounters brief. I think I should engage it in close-quarter combat: My flight unit should give me the advantage and help me keep it at bay. Meanwhile, you can support me by getting rid of the rampant machines and attacking if possible,"

"I don't like this plan."

"Neither do I but you are vulnerable to that red aura." 2B bit her lip. 9S was right and this plan was the best chance they had. It would endanger the boy but without proper equipment, 2B was a liability. She sighed but nodded anyways; 9S gave her a short smirk before he dashed to meet this unforeseen enemy.

As the boy roared, his flight unit unleashed a maelstrom of bullets and missiles, raining his whole arsenal on the rampant being. The armored humanoid was hit by every single one of the projectiles, recoiling at the kinetic force of the missiles but refusing to back down or fall down. It roared instead and rushed towards 9S, fists ready to smash the boy into smithereens. The boy groaned and deployed the energy sword within the flight unit, the cackling yellow blade came to life and 9S swung it in a wide arc, attempting to cleave the crazed armored being in one go. The sword hit its mark but was unable to pierce the armor. 9S could only stare in disbelief as the high-powered energy blade capable of cutting Goliaths plating in half couldn't even leave a nick in the green rugged armor, leaving himself open for the humanoid to grab the offending appendage and simply rip it out of its socket.

"9S!" 2B yelled from behind as the boy grunted in pain, clenching and unclenching his exposed hand; He had managed to release his arm before the green berserker ripped it alongside the flight unit's limb. The boy pumped the thrusters and he got himself away from the humanoid, landing by 2B's sides "Are you okay?!" She asked, worriedly.

"Yeah, just a tad surprised," He told her with a sheepish grin "I'm sorry, 2B; It seems like the plating of that armor is stronger than we thought."

"So it seems…" 2B noted, watching as the humanoid used the flight unit's arm to bash some more machines, the energy sword falling somewhere among the battlefield.

"We need to change tactics; If brute force will not work, I can try and weaken it so you can strike the final blow."

"You don't mean…" 9S nodded and 2B frowned "We don't know what lies inside that thing: Hacking it without prior knowledge is borderline suicidal."

"We have no other choice and besides, who do you think you are talking to?" He asked with the same cheeky grin, 2B rolled her eyes but nodded "Alright! Keep mister friendly and jolly occupied while I do my magic."

"Just be careful." She muttered before she launched herself against the rampaging berserker, her two swords shining in the sun while her pod offered covering fire.

9S exited the flying unit and breathe slowly to calm himself: Sure, he was part of the 'S' series and sure, he was the best among his peers but for now, he would need to abandon his arrogance and focus on the task at hand: This armored humanoid had proved to be stronger than anything 2B or he had fought in the past. As 2B had said, hacking into an unknown enemy could expel his end so he needed to take any available precaution and stop underestimating it. Currently, 2B was dancing around the enemy, barely dodging its attacks and countering if possible, making sure to never come into direct contact with the red aura. He noted her swords had as much success as the energy blade and made a mental note to request a bit of that chassis once they had defeated it… Because they were going to defeat it, 9S was going to make sure they did not fail.

Exhaling through his mouth, 9S brought up his arm and aimed at the armored humanoid; A long string of golden energy began pouring from his arm, turning and twisting in varying patterns, the boy grunted a little as he tried to get a mark on the humanoid, carefully avoiding his partner. Once he had locked on its signature, he sighed and looked at his pod.

"Pod, make sure to protect me from any of these uncivilized and rude machines… And if I don't come back, tell operator 21O there was no need to be jealous: I loved both her and 2B all the same."

"Understood, 9S" The pod chimed in, unleashing a hail of pellets upon nearby machines "Message recorded and ready to deliver should you perish in this mission"

"That was a joke. Alright… Here goes nothing!" He yelled as a streak of yellow energy shot from his arm, successfully colliding against the armored humanoid.

At that moment, everything seemed to freeze in time and 9S' vision lost focus. He felt himself float outside his body and fly towards the armored being. He sparred a single glance to 2B before he dived into the unknown.

Hacking always felt strange on itself.

9S could not explain the experience and even if he did, only other 'S' series would understand what he was talking about. It essentially felt like losing his body and becoming something small and compact. Even with his programming and large experience in the matter, it was always strange.

When he accessed into the armor, he was expecting the usual arena filled with enemies as he tried to eliminate the enemy's defense system and the central node.

He couldn't understand why hacking sessions always reduced to bullet-hells, but he found them entertaining, so he was not going to question its logic. It made such taxing and annoying procedure fun.

But instead, he found himself surrounded by utter darkness, standing in a medium-sized room. There were no enemies or anything at all. It was him and a strange construct of red and yellow outlines in front of him.

These lines oddly resembled a button.

9S stared at the 'Button' for a moment, unsure of what to do.

He was clearly still inside the armor but there was nothing he could recognize. He guessed it was the difference between technologies. He shrugged and proceeded to push the 'Button'.

He immediately regretted his choice.

The button lightened up with a red hue and he noticed it descending. The wall finally came down and 9S was greeted with the most bizarre and borderline terrifying sight he had seen in his entire life.

It was a large circular room with a small pool in the middle, filled with a strange green liquid. Around it, there were several grey cylindrical objects. And running among the 'Barrels', were the defense system of the armor.

Pink creatures with small eyes, a strange biped monster with two arms and a large mouth. 9S had never seen anything like this in his entire life.

As soon as the wall was done descending, the pink creatures began moving, running around the 'Barrels' at incredible speeds, growling and groaning with unnatural voices. Slowly making their way towards him. The boy cursed and moved away from those things, barely managing to avoid being crushed beneath the 'Maws' of those things. He ran through the 'Barrels' and the enemies, swiftly dodging their attacks and shooting at them.

He noted none of them had used projectiles against him.

He was deeply relieved but did not relax at all.

His bullets hit their mark but seemed to do no damage at all, the enemies simply kept pushing forward, snapping the huge maws menacingly. 9S began circling the room, shooting as much as he could while evading the beast as fast as he could.

Soon enough, all the creatures were following after him but none of them had fallen. Suddenly, one of the creatures strayed away from the herd, maneuvering through the barrels and cutting him off. 9S panicked, turning and shooting at the incoming monster, his pellets hitting its mark but doing nothing to the enemy.

In his desperation, one of the stray bullets hit the barrels, and the world explodes.

They are engulfed by explosions, a wave of heat biting at his shields and throwing him to the side, he huffs and finds himself wondering why he can feel this pain. Normally, the damage would be dealt to him after failing the hacking.

Something was not right.

The explosions died down and he looked around. The enemies had died due to the accidental explosion. 9S breaths in relief and checks his status: Although big, the explosion was only able to take one of his shields; He had expected to fail at that point but he wasn't one to make complaints about his good luck. He noted the disgusting and bloodied corpses of the enemies before he continued to the open path at his left.

Going down the stairs, he came to a long hallway with two rooms at the sides.

Not wanting to get surprised like before, 9S slowly approached the room at his left; He peeked over the doorframe but found nothing. He did the same to his right with the same results. Sighing in relief he hurried down another long hallway. As he ran, he checked the timer, worrying he would run out of time and be forced out. To his surprise, and slight horror, the timer wasn't going down… He brushed it off as another kink of YoRHa's superior technology over the armor.

He ran through the hallway, eyeing the walls, expecting turrets and other enemies to pop out of nowhere but nothing came. In the end, he found another button.

9S eyed the button suspiciously; Last time he pushed a button, he was assaulted by a bunch of pink things. He looked back and forth, unsure of what to do: It didn't seem like there were any other alternate paths… He still couldn't wrap his head around this peculiar hacking arena but in the end, he had a mission.

He pushed the button and was startled when the floor began raising under him.

It was some sort of elevator.

9S reached the top floor and found a star-shaped room with two square constructs at the center. He frowned; Still no sight of the enemy node he had to destroy. Scanning the area, he noticed there was no enemy in sight. He eyed the squares at the center before he stepped in, happy the worst had passed.

He was incredibly wrong.

Suddenly, the two squares lifted revealing the most horrifying monsters 9S had seen in his entire life.

Horrific behemoths with red skin and hooved legs, sporting terrifying emerald eyes and a maw filled with sharp fangs, with two unholy horns at the top of their heads, bigger than any Biped Goliath he had seen before. The two monsters roared upon seeing him, the first one leaping through the air, attempting to slam 9S with its gargantuan bulk. The boy ran to the side, avoiding the creature but feeling a scalding wave of green fire colliding against his shield, once again filling him with pain. He bit his lower lip and kept on moving, barely dodging the fireballs thrown by the second monster.

He ran around the room, shooting at the monsters as much as he could: His pellets did nothing but enrage the creatures, making them faster and more accurate with their attacks: As he ran, 9S was unable to dodge a stray fireball, breaching his second shield and inflicting a substantial amount of pain to his system: It felt as if he was burning alive: He clenched his teeth, feeling the green fire burning at his nonexistent skin, scorching his flesh and biting his bones.

But he carried on, pushing the pain to the back of his mind and focusing on keeping himself alive. At this point, he didn't want to know what would happen once he had run out of shields and failed the hacking. Soon, 9S realized his attacks were futile: Whatever these enemies were, they proved far more resilient than anything he had encountered… But what could he do…?

Suddenly, he was enlightened: Maybe his attacks were useless, but what about their own: Sure, his idea was crazy, and a single mistake could cost him dearly… But he was running out of options. It was now or never.

A gigantic fireball attempted to reduce him to ashes, but the boy dodged… And instead of running away, 9S dashed towards the monsters. The creatures were not prepared for his sudden change in tactics and were not able to stop him from slipping through their legs. The first monster roared and slammed its massive fist on the floor, missing 9S as the boy was too small and fast. The second monster kept attacking, wildly hurling their fireballs, stomping, and hitting the ground, struggling to brutalize the annoying android. Meanwhile, 9S shot at the monsters, methodically aiming for their faces, slowly herding them together and driving them mad. Hoping they would attack each other during their rampage.

His plan worked.

The first creature flailed a powerful fireball just as the second slammed on the ground with his fist, receiving the fireball right in its ugly face. The monster roared in pain and 9S capitalized on its weakness, shooting at its wounds. The monster lost it and literally charged against 9S like some sort of bull, failing to notice the other monster was right behind the boy, completely ramming itself against its comrade. The two monsters fell to the ground in a confused mess of green fire, groans, and blood.

The wounded creature kept slashing at its brother, blinded by the attacks, it was unable to see it was attacking its ally. The first creature, fed up with its rampaging comrade, kicked away the offending monster and sent it flying away. It got up quickly and roared, angered by the retaliation, and flailed a green fireball against its comrade but due to its damaged eyes, it missed. The first creature snorted and dashed, decking the blinded creature right in its damaged face, sending it tumbling on the ground.

The two monsters continued their quarrel, all while 9S ran around the edges of the star-shaped room, keeping himself out of sight and looking for anything useful against these monsters

His plan was simple, yet effective: Run around the monsters and have them attack each other. Sure, these monsters were dangerous but they acted disorganized, almost like primal beasts, guided purely on instinct. With these facts, 9S guessed he could somehow bait them to attack wildly, hoping they would damage each other in their debacle. He wasn't expecting for them to get so pissed off they would fight among themselves, but this worked in his favor. At least for now.

With the current events, there were two possible outcomes:

For once, the monsters would magically remember he was still there… That also meant they would remember he was the reason they were fighting. They would give a loud snort, shake hands and proceed to disembowel him in the most gruesome way possible.

GAME OVER.

Of course, that was the worst possible ending.

The second scenario involved the demise of one of the creatures; 9S believed the monsters would be too enraged to think logically, surrendering to their bestial nature and attack recklessly, resulting in the demise or severe crippling of one of them. Sure, 9S would still need to deal with the victor of this battle, but hey, at least it was one monster and not two monsters: A huge improvement in his current situation.

Problem was, he didn't know how to kill the damn thing. His main weapon did little to no damage, managing to annoy them further if that was possible. So here he was, slowly walking at the edges, looking for something… Anything would do at this point…

At that moment, 9S remembered this was nothing but a simulation created by his internal systems, processing the security protocols of the armor, and meant to smoothen the hacking process, transforming the tedious task into a somewhat entertaining game…

What kind of twisted mind created something like this? The boy decided to not dwell too much in the answer.

He kept moving until he noticed the solution he was looking for:

Barrels.

Ten barrels lined up in one of the tips of the star-shaped room.

Mixed emotions clashed on his face as he managed to both smirk and grimace at the same time; A plan already formulating on his mind, a risky and sure-to-fail plan but then again, it was everything he could work with. He nodded and slowly made his ways towards the still rampaging monsters.

To his relief, it was not GAME OVER yet.

One of the beasts laid on the floor, bellowing painfully as it tried to cover a bleeding gnash on its thorax: The other stood on top of it, a malicious grin spreading in its maw. Then, the monster grabbed its fallen enemy and lifted it easily. The injured beast roared weakly, a pitiful attempt to defend itself. Fruitless as the other monster simply grabbed its horns and pulled, tearing it out of its socket and eliciting a grievous scream from the wounded creature; The now hornless monster knelt, bellowing and covering its new wounds.

Snorting at the pain of its hornless former ally, the creature summoned emerald fire on its hands and slammed on the other creature, devastating its head and reducing it to a bloody pulp. The headless corpse then fell, a pool of disgusting murky blood pooling at the destroyed base of the neck. The corpse twitched a bit before it stopped moving.

The last monster stared at his handiwork with a smirk on its face before it slowly turned to 9S, snarling at the boy and coating its hands with fireballs. The android could only gulp and hope his plan worked. The creature roared and flung a fireball, the android dodged to the side and began the tedious routine of running around, dodging, and shooting as much as he could. The creature followed, its demented eyes shining in the dark room as the emerald flames bit at 9S every time the boy barely dodged… But 9S could tell the creature wasn't as dangerous as before; Its entire body was filled with deep cuts and other serious bruises. His speed had been greatly diminished and it seemed like it was struggling to keep the pace. 9S could work with this.

9S eyed the monster carefully, assessing its current speed and strength, calculating the best way to bait the creature into the explosive barrels to finish it off once and for all. But he had to be careful: For better or for worse, these monsters were unknown for him and therefore, completely unpredictable. So far, 9S had been lucky but eventually, he would fall. He was betting everything in this plan but he wasn't sure if it would work.

It was now or never.

9S dodged a fireball and ran towards the monster like last time, firing at its eyes and wounds. The creature roared in annoyance and attempted to flatten the boy with its vicious hoof: The boy dodged and kept circling the monster, firing when possible and evading its deranged attacks. At some point, the beast roared again and leaped into the air, slamming the ground with its humongous bulk and creating an unholy shockwave of emerald fire.

9S barely managed to avoid the attack and new it was time: The creature was heaving, tired from chasing 9S and from its wounds, ready to do anything to finish the annoying android.

The boy nodded and ran towards the barrels, making sure to stay right in the middle of them all. He glared at the monster and shoot a single pellet, hitting it right in the middle of its eyes. The creature grunted and returned the glare… And for a long moment, none of the two did nothing but glare at each other in complete silence.

9S trembled as the emerald eyes of the creature bore in his blindfold, his mind running one and a million simulations on the outcomes of his plan… Almost all of them ended up in a gruesome and painful death.

In hindsight, his plan was filled with many flaws: He was hoping he could enrage the monster to such degree It would chase him to the barrels, causing them to explode and blow it to kingdom come…

But what if the monster was smarter and had already seen through him? What if it decided to simply use a fireball instead of charging? What if it was more resilient than 9S had believed and survived the explosion? What if 9S succeeded but the explosion killed him?

What would happen to him if he failed?

A pit formed in his stomach as 9S waited, trying his damn best to not crack under the merciless glare of the monster, feeling every single joint in his body trembling with each ragged breath. The monster seemed unfazed, its emerald and malevolent eyes piercing his body and gazing unto his mind, slowly torturing him into madness.

And finally, the monster broke the stalemate: It roared and ignited its claws in emerald fire.

9S felt himself stop breathing as the unforgiving flames came to be, preparing himself to dash as fast as he could, away from the murderous barrels and their unstable contents. But instead of launching its fire, the creature began running, building momentum as it snarled and bore its fangs, promising nothing but a world of pain for the boy. At some point, the creature leaped, its claws completely engulfed in the emerald flames… And 9S couldn't help but smirk.

His plan worked.

As the creature came down, 9S ran as fast as he could, away from the deadly trap. The creature hit the ground, a shockwave of fire hitting the barrels and igniting them in a blazing inferno, the monster screeching in shock and pain as the maelstrom engulfed it entirely. 9S felt himself fly through the air like a ragdoll as the shockwave hit him, grunting once he collided with the ground.

The boy bounced on the ground but managed to pick himself up to see the result of his plan: An entire section of the room was burning with fire, the mid-section of the creature lying just before him, its empty eyes staring into the nothingness with a trail of blood coming from its mouth. 9S watched the remains for a bit before he got up, his entire body sore and stiff. The boy sighed in relief, satisfied his plan worked until he noticed a small detail…

He was out of shields.

The shockwave had shattered his last shield… But he hadn't failed the mission.

He hadn't been forcefully ejected from the system, dealing massive damage to his physical body outside.

Something wasn't right.

Suddenly, the walls slowly descended, revealing a desolated area with nothing but a single platform in the middle of it. 9S walked at the edge of the now transformed gallery, inspecting the fogged landscape at the distance, a collection of snowy mountains under a grey sky. The android watched the endless void above him, unsure of how to understand this bizarre view. Across his life, he had met strange environments during his hacking sessions… But nothing like this: An alien world populated by unholy creatures.

Just what the hell is that green hulking armor?

After making sure he wasn't going to disappear, he walked the edge of the gallery and inspected the lone platform in the deserted area. He turned left and right, making sure there were no more horrors hiding in the corners. And after breathing deeply, he jumped down. His shoes hit the hard dirt, eliciting an echo that ran across the now empty facility. The boy inspected his surroundings again before he slowly walked towards the weird platform.

Once he was close enough, he noticed a button at the side. 9S glared at the button, already feeling like he was walking into a trap. But sadly, there was no other path he could take: Even though he had defeated the enemies, he was still trapped in the simulation. With nothing left to do, he had to move forward and survive anything they threw at him.

He pushed the button and was surprised to see when the steps of a stair began elevating slowly, The android watched the whole procedure with curiosity and once it was completed, he climbed up the steps, making sure to test the ground before continuing. At the top, he found a square with the drawing of a strange horned creature and a star-shaped drawing on it. 9S eyed the drawing suspiciously, trying to decipher what it meant but finding no results. He turned around and eyed the structure behind him: The corpse of the creature was still burning, its remains feeding the fire and causing it to extend towards the other corpse.

For a brief moment, 9S allowed himself to feel horrified at how bizarre this simulation was: The gruesome details of the security system made him shiver in fright, wondering what kind of sick mind could have designed such horrifying things. These were not mere geometric figures, designed to be efficient. No, this was something else, something akin to the most twisted human minds recorded in the archive of YoRHa.

The boy gulped and stared at the tile in front of him; Clearly, he was not done with the hacking so the rest of the puzzle existed somewhere in this simulation. The building behind him worked as the first 'level'. That meant there were more staged to clear before he was done. Although ridiculous, this explanation gave him some relief… He just wondered if he would recover his shields after crossing to the next level.

He eyed the symbol one last time before he breathed slowly and stepped on it…

He regretted his choice dearly.

As soon as his foot made contact with the tile, he felt his entire being shake to the core; A ripple of foreign energy extended all across his body, penetrating his limbs and reaching for his consciousness. And then, it began; A sharp and unbearable pain filled his entire being, cutting through his limbs and nervous system. His outer shell began cracking and broke away, turning into dust as a green vortex consumed it. As he faded into nothingness, 9S screamed, his deranged voice breaking through the void even as there was nothing left of him but particles floating in the ether.

And then, he simply fell on his knees.

The horrible event couldn't have taken more than half a second and yet, the boy felt as if he had been tortured for more than a hundred years. He heaved, gagged, and gasped, doing his damn best to clear his mind from the pain he had felt. He had never experienced anything like that, to feel every single atom in his body being ripped away, it had to be the worst thing he had felt so far… And he wasn't keen on experiencing it ever again. He slowly raised his trembling arm and watched his arms shake uncontrollably, such behavior was completely embarrassing from an 'S' unit such as himself. He breathed slowly, feeling air expanding his lungs, he cleaned the sweat in his brown and got up, ready to continue the mi-

…

…

Wait…

Sweat? Lungs?

What?

Suddenly, the boy was frozen in place, his awareness extending far and wide, covering every inch of his body: He could feel a torrent running throughout his body, a warm liquid carrying life and the promise of something hidden away at the moon. He touched his face, feeling the thin sheen of liquid coating his warm and soft skin. His mouth felt wet, filled with a substance and an alien taste. Every move he made sent a thousand a more sensations to his brain, the overload of information sending his brain into overdrive as it tried to understand what was going on…

9S was… Human…

The word felt wrong in his mind; He had never seen humans but rumors said androids were the spitting image of what humanity is. Of course, his black box had been filled with information regarding humans, just like every single YoRHa android at the bunker: All of them were ready to tend any need the humans may have once they returned to earth. They everything there was to know about humanity: History, science, arts, philosophy, and even biology. And with hundreds of years worth of information, 9S was quick to recognize the strange and sudden change in his body…

He was a human now.

But how?

He was no fool, of course. He knew he was still inside the armor, in a hacking simulation but this, this felt awfully real to be a simulation. And although foreign, 9S felt as if he had been a human from the very beginning. Born and raised in a time when humans ruled over the third planet in the Sol System. His musings were cut short as he heard a low growl in the darkness; He snapped his head and looked around him, unable to find the source of the sound. His combat visor kept scanning until something caught his attention: Two red dots at the distance.

The android watched the strange crimson lights shining in the dark, trying his hardest to peer through the darkness. He didn't know why, but he could feel his entire body shivering in fear at the sight of those strange red dots in the distance. And as he looked at the lights several more joined, creating a frightening spectacle in front of the boy.

Suddenly, small fires began igniting all around the boy, growing in size until 9S was able to see everything around him… And what he saw froze the flowing blood in his veins.

He was surrounded by a large group of strange creatures, lanky and horrifying monsters with red and brown skin, sporting long bones coming out of their backs. Their faces were devoided of lips, sporting dangerously sharp fangs, crowned by crimson eyes shining with a cruel light. The fire 9S had seen was originating from their hands, twisted versions of his own, with enlarged fingers and claws.

Alongside these new creatures, he recognized the pink monsters from before, huffing and puffing, waiting for the right chance to strike.

And beside them, there were putrified corpses. Human-like creatures with decayed skin, crawling on the ground or barely able to keep themselves standing. These fiends were growling, their visages twisting in unrecognizable painful grimaces.

But all of these creatures had something in common…

All of them were focusing on the boy.

9S watched the visceral in front of him, unable to understand where he was or were these creatures here. One thing was for sure, that strange drawing had teleported him here, in these monster closet filled with nightmares and horrors beyond anything him or command at the bunker could possibly imagine. He had believed it had been a path to the next level… But as one of those creatures grinned evilly at him, he realized his folly and realized how right 2B had been.

This was a trap.

And he had fallen right in the clutches of whatever sinister entity inhabited the armor.

As soon as the realization hit the boy, the demons descended upon him: The Pinkies rammed themselves on him, throwing the boy around, breaking his bones and penetrating his flesh with its hard tusks. The possessed came from below, biting and tearing into his limbs, consuming his organs with ravenous delight. The Imps came from above, hurling concentrated fire into him, reducing his skin to a mangle and charred mess, slashing at his body and bathing the rest of the creatures with his blood.

And even though he should have perished with the first strike, 9S was still alive, feeling as every monster violated and eviscerated his body: Claws, tusks, fangs, teeth. The boy felt how the monster consumed who he was, plowing through his memories and essence, corrupting and reforming him into something else… Something that should have not existed in this world.

In his last moments of consciousness, 9S was assaulted by horrific visions: Tall towers raining blood upon a wasteland, ruined cities filled with corpses and other atrocities beneath his feet, unholy voices chanting for the dark gods lying in this hollow ground where demons sleep, planets corrupted and consumed to nourish the dark forces moving in the shadows, the slaves of Doom peering into other worlds, waiting for the right moment to strike and possess everything in their sight.

And then, there was him.

The voice in his mind gained force and the chant was everything the naive android could hear; Ancient words carrying the story of a man who stood when nobody else could, betrayed and left to rot in the pits of the underworld, a force of nature not even the strongest demons in the Void could stop, standing against the tides that had claimed many other more worthy than him.

Neither the strongest nor the mightiest. But in the end, they all fell and he remained. And then the voices screamed in fear, their chant eliciting brutal images of the past: His righteous fury cleaving through the slaves of Doom, his merciless anger uprooting this evil seeds, slaughtering whatever dared stand against his path.

For they are rage, brutal, without mercy…

But he, he will be worse...

rip and tear

rip and tear

rip and tear

rip and tear

RIP AND TEAR

RIP AND TEAR

RIP AND TEAR

…

…

Rip and Tear

Until it is done.

"RAAAAAAAAAGH" His crazed shriek pierced through the battlefield. The boy howled, clutching his head and falling to the ground, trashing without control.

"9S!" 2B bellowed in shock, running towards the boy and trying to control the deranged android "9S! What is going on?! 9S! Speak to me!" The boy said nothing, discarding his combat visor and glaring at 2B with a demented glint in his eyes "Pod! What happened to him?!"

"Error: Unable to properly analyze 9S´ current situation. Observation: 9S displays behavior patterns comparable to those of the infected machine lifeforms. Conclusion: 9S was infected by the unknown enemy during his hacking."

"I-Infected?! But how?!" 2B was no expert in hacking. In fact, aside from rudimentary concepts, she knew next to nothing about whatever happened during a hacking session. She knew the 'S' series had to somewhat defeat the security system inside machine lifeforms and other electronic devices. The concept was fairly simple but 2B ignored how it was executed; From her experience, 9S was rather quick: The boy was able to break through any cybernetic barrier with relative ease, boasting he was the best in that specific area. And so far, his confidence was well-founded.

Just what kind of horror had he found inside that armor?

Suddenly, the boy turned and began puking dark and murky oil, making 2B recoil in fright. The boy then clawed at his neck, scratching with such force he began to damage himself, tearing the synthetic skin and revealing his outer shell. 2B didn't know what to do, she simply kneeling there, watching as 9S became something she could not recognize, running over the orders in her black box, trying to find anything that would guide her through the right path.

Then, the boy looked at her and what she saw made her tear inside: He was crying tears of a dark color, staining his pristine skin, his eyes told her about his suffering, something beyond anything recorded in the archives of the Bunker. A pain none of the androids could understand.

Slowly, that cheeky and beautiful glint 2B had come to love slowly ceased to exist… And was replaced by a deranged red light, the same she had seen in the many Machines she had slain across her life.

The pained grimace was replaced for a crazed and angered frown. The boy bared his teeth and roared like a beast, leaping into the skies and throwing himself at the berserker like the rest of the machines. He fell right on top of the armored being, his right fist hitting it as hard as he could… But against that armor, 9S' pathetic limb simply broke apart, his hands exploding and showering the berserker with its remains. Then the armored being retaliated, attempting to squash the small new enemy with its hands.

But the boy was faster and more agile than the machines, skillfully evading the armored being's deadly grip, he dropped to the ground and attacked with his other hand, suffering the same results and losing the other hand. But even when his two arms were now useless, the boy kept attacking, using his feet to pounce on the enemy. His legs seemed to fare better against the armor but were unable to deal any meaningful damage, only managing to enrage the berserker even further. But this new nuisance gave the machines the opportunity they needed: The berserker was so focused in the android he ignored the other enemies, allowing them to simply overpower it using their superior mass. The armored being was unable to stand its ground and was buried by a wave of deranged Machines Lifeforms, losing himself in the dozens of bodies falling atop of him.

The boy leaped away from the machines and landed in front of 2B, his eyes completely focused on the mechs, teeth bared and snarling like a wild animal, waiting for his prey. 2B did not know what to do, part of her knew she had to eliminate 9S as soon as possible: She ignored how this new infection worked but she was sure it couldn't spell anything good if it had managed to corrupt 9S, the best 'S' series in YoRHa. It would be a matter of time before the disease spread among the YoRHa network, turning every agent into a mindless beast.

She gritted her teeth but knew there was no other way; There was simply too much to lose. It didn't matter whether she wanted to do it or not, her mission and the existence of every android on earth was more important than her petty feelings. With shaking hands, 2B approached her former partner, lifting her long katana above her head, ready to strike 9S down, her vicious steel will hack him down easily, nothing would be able to save him… Nothing but her own hesitation.

The boy turned around and 2B froze in place.

That was not 9S; The gentle and cheeky boy she fell in love with was gone and in his place, there was a ruthless and dangerous creature neither YoRHa, the resistance, or the machine lifeforms were ready to face. This beast wearing the skin of 9S was nothing but a soulless monster, ready to destroy everything in its path.

2B knew this to be true, but she couldn't help herself from staring deep into his eyes, trying to find the last remnants of his soul… There was no such thing, there was only anger, fury, wrath, carnage. 9S was dead, there was nothing left, nothing but the target 2B had to kill to ensure the supremacy of YoRHa.

"I'm sorry…" She muttered quietly.

But before she could strike him down, the machines behind them exploded. And from the falling pieces and broken bodies, the berserker emerged, roaring at the skies with renewed anger, its furious voice shaking the earth beneath its heavy boots, letting the world it was angry… And somebody was going to pay for that.

"9S! NO!" 2B screamed, trying to stop the boy but it was already too late. The corrupted android had already leaped into the skies.

His feet connected against the thorax of the armored being, doing nothing against the impenetrable armor. The berserker attempted to smash the boy mid-air but 9S somehow managed to dodge its deadly fist, contorting his body at an unnatural angle. He landed on the ground and launched himself again, his right foot connecting against the visor of the berserker, while his left foot landed on its chest plate, using it to push himself away from the armored being. Around them, the machines once again tried to bury the berserker using their superior numbers but the tactic would not work twice; The armored being was relentlessly attacking anything in its sight, its fist sending entire waves of machines sailing through the air, reducing most of them to mere piles of scrap while other ended up missing entire sections of their bodies. 9S was the only one able to survive, dodging everything the berserker threw at him but unable to deal any damage at all.

It was a matter of time before the boy made a mistake.

And he did: After a quick flurry of kicks, the boy somersaulted away, evading once again the fist of the berserker, but as he landed, he stepped on the discarded arm of a stubby, the mangled piece of metal made 9S lose his balance and slip for a single second… But that was enough. Suddenly, the boy froze in place, his face petrified in a rictus of anger and shock, his upper lip quivered before he opened his mouth just to puke a dark and murky liquid. He looked down and saw its massive arm penetrating his chest.

"9S!" 2B wailed like a wounded animal, running towards the boy.

The berserker pulled his arm out, making the boy fall on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest. In its arm, 2B could see 9S' black box; The cube looked cracked under its fingers but it seemed like it hadn't sustained any fatal damage. She wasn't sure 9S had done his backup before so recuperating his black box was imperative: There was critical information regarding the Machine Lifeforms… And in all honesty, she was tired of this sick game: Join 9S, follow 9s, kill 9S. Rinse and repeat. She didn't want to do it all over again.

But then, the armored being simply crushed the cube between his fingers, turning into thin shards. 2B watched the pieces fall on the boy's face… And she saw it, his eyes… They no longer held that crazed and furious red light. Instead, 9S was looking at her with his beautiful blue eyes, holding the same cheeky and playful glint she had come to love. The boy gave her a small smile before a heavy and armored boot reduced his entire head into a fine paste on the ground.

Suddenly, the world froze around 2B. The rampaging machines were silenced and she lost awareness of her surroundings. The world turned grey and the only thing she could see was the place were 9S used to be. Her mouth was wide open, quivering as she tried to organize her thoughts. A chilling white noise began growing in her head, making her entire body tremble. A current of electricity extended all around her body, making her twitch uncontrollably as her eyes traced the one that had caused all of this. Her eyes stopped right in its cold-blue visor, the features of the thing inside still concealed by the shadows of the armor… But even in the darkness, she could see its eyes.

And its smirk.

"DAMN YOU!" 2B roared in anger, unsheathing her two swords "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!" She bellowed like a beast and dashed towards the berserker, hacking and slashing any machine in her way...

The armored being attempted to flattened her with a wide swing but 2B ducked under it, her blades hitting his torso, the steel unable to even scratch the platting of the armor. 2B clicked her tongue and aimed for its arm joints, attacking the place with the least amount of armor. But just like before, her blades bounced harmlessly on the rugged surface; Since her swords were unable to pierce the less guarded areas of the armor,2B was slowly getting desperate. Jumping to the side, she dodged a roundhouse kick and attacked its neck, the tip of her swords slashing against the base of its helmet. But once again, her attack did not yield any results. Snarling in anger, she dropped down and crouched, barely avoiding a deadly strike to her face. The berserker groaned and attempted to step on her but was tackled by three medium-bipeds. The machines began pounding on it, smashing their huge fist on the berserker before it obliterated each one of them with a well-placed punch. The armored being got up and scanned the area, looking for that annoying android.

It turned to the side just receive a pair of heels right in his visor, 2B drop-kicked it using every ounce of power her small frame could muster. Her attack was strong enough to make it tilt its head to the side but not enough to wound him gravely. But that wasn't her intention; It was brief, but 2B managed to distract it. And this was her chance to end it all.

Landing in a crouch, she dashed. [Virtuous contract] and [Virtuous treaty] trained right in front of her, ready to strike its visor, pierce whatever alloy it was made of, and kill the green demon. The tips of her blade made contact with the visor and she roared, willing every ounce of strength she had, using her everything to kill this monster and send it to whatever hell it came from.

But instead, she heard something crack and she watched dumbfounded as her blades soared by her sides. She looked down and saw what was left of her weapons, snapped in half. Her mind stopping as she tried to understand what just happened. But then, something got her out of her musing: The berserker's fist was inches away from her face and at this distance, she would not be able to dodge. So she crossed the remains of her weapons and braced herself for impact. The fist connects with the blades, reducing them to small shards but absorbing some of the impact. The rest was transferred to her hands, breaking her fingers and palms, delivering the punishment to her arms all the way up her shoulders, rendering both of her upper limbs useless and completely irreparable. But she survived, both of her arms were lost but she survived. She was sent flying across the air, colliding against a biped-goliath, caving in the thorax of the machine and bringing it down. The machine fell atop of a group of stubbies, destroying all of them and lifting a curtain of dirt.

2B groaned in pain, feeling every single component in her ready to break down and explode. She somehow managed to get up, her heels precariously keeping her balance, the chassis of the Goliath not helping at all. Slowly, she dropped from the fallen machine, her heels hitting the hard cobblestone and the remains of the destroyed machines. Around her, 2B could hear the rampant machines running around, shrieking and bashing themselves against each other or chasing after the berserker, she couldn't tell, the curtain of dirt kept her visuals blocked and her combat visor had sustained more damage than she had anticipated. Of course, with her entire arms out of commission, taking off the blindfold will be a titanic venture. She shook her head left and right, trying to get rid of the now useless cloth blinding her. After an unbearable minute, the cloth fell between her feet. Her beautiful sapphire eyes were greeted met the cold blue visor of the berserker. It was running towards her, crashing against any machine in its way, reducing them to small bits and mangle scrap. Even after all this time and punishment, the armored being had not sustained critical damage: The armor looked dirty, with dry oil and several pieces of metal sticking in it but otherwise, it was undamaged. It was unstoppable…

2B sighed tiredly. Knowing there was but a single option left: One that would leave her vulnerable, possibly at the mercy of whatever machine survived her self destruction, or perhaps open for the virus to corrupt and turn her into a deranged beast. She had seen what the infection did to 9S… She didn't want to end the same way: Her life hadn't been pretty but it was hers: She had learned many things, some were horrible secrets, lies designed to maintain this pathetic charade, things hiding in the moon and somewhere in the city ruins. But she had also learned many wonderful things, small and quaint things that would never mean anything for anybody but herself, those memories were her treasure, the days she spent alongside 9S, learning what truly meant to be alive…

"Pod…" She called weakly, her faithful partner hovered by her side "Can you back up my memories?"

"Impossible" The short answer almost shattered her "Explanation: Your black box has sustained a substantial amount of damage. By all means, 2B shouldn't be able to speak or even stand as you are doing right now. Query: Requesting permission to record your final moments so this anomaly can be studied at the bunker. Future iterations of unit 2B might benefit from this uncanny resistance to damage"

"Yeah… I suppose future me would want that…" She laughed mirthlessly.

At the end of the day, 2B and the rest of the androids were nothing but machines, just like the Mechanic Lifeforms. Their personality had been taken from a data bank at the bunker, programmed to act and react following a certain pattern. Their so-called personality was nothing but glitches in their system, errors breed from their desire to know more about the humans hiding in the moon, so the androids could serve them with efficiency once they returned. If only they knew… The thought made 2B smirk darkly. She wondered how Commander White could live with herself, knowing everything she did, everything she was, and everything she would be was for naught…

Because there was nothing in the moon…

Nothing but lies and machinations…

Humans had ceased to exist a couple of hundreds of years ago…

They were gone…

And the androids were alone…

Fighting an empty war for a broken world…

The berserker was now right in front of her, its fist ready to reduce her to mere scrap and broken pieces. 2B stared at the visor, wondering what dwelt inside the armor: This was not an android from YoRHa or the resistance, it wasn't a new type of Machine Lifeform, it was something that could not belong to this world… Something that should not have existed in this world, to begin with. These questions would be buried with her current self, she couldn't remember when was the last time she made a backup of her memories.

Well, at least Pod will have something to show her future self, something that would make her stronger than her current self, so she could fight this monster.

And that was all 2B needed.

The fist came down but it never hit her. She vanished right in front of the berserker and reappeared behind it. 2B jumped, her legs coiled around its waist and she glued herself to its back, where its arms could not reach. The countdown began, three seconds before she exploded, destroying everything around her, leaving her extremely vulnerable and open to any incoming damage. A high risk move with high rewards if executed perfectly… But now, 2B didn't have the luxury to plot a favorable scenario; This was the only option left.

The berserker flailed around trying to grab the small female android and reduce her to broken pieces, roaring in annoyance as the deranged machines closed on them. But it was too late; The countdown finally reached zero and 2B became light and fire, engulfing the berserker in her fury, crashing against the machines and reducing everything to ashes.

And as her conscious faded, 2B wondered what awaited her on the other side.

He woke up with a start, groaning as every inch of his body screamed in pain. His muscles were on fire, his ribs were broken and some of them were piercing his lungs, his joints felt like rusty crap, and he could taste the all too familiar metallic flavor of his own blood in his mouth. Yup, just a normal Monday in his books, nothing a few brained demons couldn't heal. One of the many perks his Praetor Suit had: So long as there were demons, he just needed to crush their little ugly heads beneath his boots, absorb the residual Argent energy, he would be good as new. Damn shame it only worked on him, anyone else would simply die and become a Possessed or some other atrocity.

He opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of a blue sky and the faint scent of smoke and burnt metal. Not the kind of smell he was used to: Normally, burnt skin, brimstone, putrefied flesh, rotten blood, and molten lava were among the things he was familiar with. That piqued his curiosity, something that hadn't happened in thousands of years. He slowly sat where he was, feeling every inch of his body screaming in pain; He was glad to notice his spine was mostly undamaged, he moved the fingers of his hands and toes, testing for the smallest delay. It would do him no good if his reflex were slow. But then again, he was not one to care for such small details. So long as there were demons, he would fight, even if his legs and arms were broken and he had no other choice but drag his useless body using his chin.

Once he was sure everything was correct, he got up, feeling his bones cracking under his weight. He knew he should feel concern over the loud sounds coming from his body but honestly, there were far more important things to worry about than a few broken bones. He looked around him, carefully assessing his surroundings and looking for any demonic presence. To his disappointment, there were no demons; So that meant no quick health packs for him. He growled in annoyance: At this point in time, he had effectively become a walking Argent Energy reactor. He didn't know how but he could produce his own share of the dangerous and unstable energy from hell. Sure it wasn't as potent or pure like what the demons had in their innards but it was more than enough to sustain him and his armor. Even if there weren't demons, he would eventually heal if he stayed put. But then again, he despised the notion of taking cover and wait for his health or shields to replenish before fighting again. That was a tactic for cowards and pansies… And hell knew he was no pansy; He was the kind of man that ran straight into the heat of battle, using his speed to dodge any incoming projectiles and healing himself by consuming the souls of his slaughtered foes.

He was just that much of a badass.

Now that he knew there were no demons, he decided to focus on more unimportant matters... Like the broken robots lying at his feet.

Some had large chunks of their bodies missing while some others were just a pile of scrap. The entire ground was soaked in oil and mangled pieces. Apparently, someone had trashed these tin cans and showed them how real men fought… Of course, he knew this was his handiwork, but he was wondering why had he destroyed these pieces of trash. He focused on his memories, looking for a possible trigger…

Samuel Hayden.

His blood boiled and his hands curled into a fist. That walking toaster had betrayed him, spewing nonsense about rebuilding everything from the start and how humanity needed Argent Energy. That kind of idiocy almost made him laugh… If it weren't for the fact that Hayden had ripped the Crucible out of his hands and dumped him into whatever this trash can was. He sighed and simply shook his head; There was no point in getting angry right now. Well, he was always angry but not seething with rage. he knew Hayden would eventually screw everything and the fridge would come for him, begging and crying to fix everything and save his shiny and metallic ass. He snorted at the thought.

But for now, he was stuck here. He couldn't feel any demonic presence nearby but that didn't mean there weren't demons hiding in the shadows. This world didn't seem corrupted with the taint but he knew it was a matter of time. He could also sightsee and find out what was the story behind the ruins he saw at the distance; Mother nature had claimed most of the buildings and structures and the place looked mostly deserted. Maybe this was the reason why this world hadn't been invaded yet. Demons only cared about highly advanced and populated worlds, brimming with delicious souls to consume and corrupt. Post Apocalyptic worlds with low populace were not attractive for them and were mostly left alone. Not enough souls to warrant an invasion.

If that was the case, maybe he could deal with the first scouts and save the little survivors this world had before Hayden called him to clean the mess the UAC caused.

He nodded and pulled out his super shotgun, the familiar weight of his old friend filling him with nostalgia: It felt like yesterday, when he was nothing but a lowly marine, fighting tooth and nail in the forsaken Phobos and Deimos bases so many eons ago.

He chuckled at the bitter memory, one of the few things he remembered from his past before he became what he is now.

A soft gasp caught his attention and he turned around, shotgun ready to blast the idiot that dared sneak on him… But what he saw gave him pause.

It was… Well, it was a thing, that was for sure. The thing had an uncanny resemblance of a human woman. A soft and petite frame, two mounds of flesh on her chest area, and the lack of a nob between her legs. But it was not a human woman, it was a thing. His instincts told him this was a machine, not like backstabbing space microwave but something else, something he hadn't seen before.

The android was… Well, it was attractive, for human standards, at least. When he was alive, the only woman in his life had been Daisy so he wasn't sure if his assessment on the android was correct. Her skin looked soft and pristine, a milky white he hadn't seen before. Her features were well defined and lacking any sort of deformation. Her lips were like rubies, not too big and not too small, just about right. Her hair was as white as freshly fallen snow during winter, flowing graciously around her head and face. She was wearing some sort of… Nightgown? He honestly couldn't tell what the hell that was. It looked like a long-sleeved top, covering her entire arms, with a small section on her wrists completely white and her hands covered in black gloves. A small amount of her cleavage was open to the world, revealing the creamy skin of her modest chest. And going down from there, everything became confusing for him: The other half of her body was covered by what appeared to be the lower half of a one-piece swimsuit, precariously concealing her privates to the world. Her legs were covered by black high-knee leather boots with the biggest heels he had seen in his entire life.

He was utterly baffled by the shameless outfit this android wore… But then again, she was not human so maybe her values were completely different from his. After all, even if Daisy was a rabbit, she was a dignified and prude lady.

Suddenly, his musings were interrupted as the android began to stir, groaning and furrowing her brow. He watched her with anticipation, eager to hear where he was and if there had been any sightings of the demonic invasion. He might be in a different world but that did not mean he would stop doing his job. The android finally opened her eyes and he was mesmerized by the clearest blue of her irises just like the sky.

But then, something changed. Her eyes dulled and she began trashing on the ground, tossing and turning as she shrieked like a banshee. She shot up, roaring like a beast, he back arched in an unnatural angle, and then, she puked a dark and murky liquid, staining her clothes and boots. He watched her, concerned but unfazed by her actions; This wasn't the most disturbing thing he had seen before but he decided to be cautious. His experience was focused on evil demon spawn so he didn't know what to do. The android finished puking and looked at him, her eyelids were crying the same dark goo… And in her irises, he saw it: A red light he knew very well.

Argent Energy.

She roared again and dashed towards him, her limp arms flailing without control. Snarling and baring her teeth at him. He pressed the trigger of his double-barrel shotgun and her entire legs ceased to exist. She fell roughly on the ground, her momentum carrying her until he was at his feet, growling and attempting to bit his armored boots. He kneeled and inspected her pathetic squirming body.

She was not possessed by a demon, that was for sure. Contrary to popular belief, demons were unable to corrupt machines. It was rather simple to understand: Machines were not alive and therefore, lacked a proper and delicious soul to consume so demons thoroughly ignored artificial intelligence and other robotic beings. Of course, if a demon consumed enough human brains, it might be able to reprogram a computer to display and follow certain patterns that looked somewhat demonic in nature. It was a nice tactic they used to torture and break down the spirit of their prey. Back on Mars, the one that had turned the entire base into a shit hole, leaving disturbing messages and making the cybernetic avatar spew evil chants had been Olivia Pierce, not the demons.

Argent Energy operated the same way; A Lazarus wave could kill a corrupt any organic being but it did not affect machines the same way. In fact, Argent energy could instantly fry most devices and render them inoperable. Unless the machines possessed a special unit to store and process Argent Energy, the machine would simply explode on contact.

So that's why he felt curious, watching the android trashing and spill more of that dark liquid from every orifice in her body; She clearly acted like a Possessed but there was something in the way she glared at him: It felt familiar, something he had experience time and time again…

It felt like…

His eyes widened in shock as memories flooded his mind: It was his fault. He was the reason this happened. Once he appeared in this world via Tethering device; He had lost himself in his rage, furious that Samuel Hayden had discarded him like common trash, disregarding the consequences of his actions and the countless lost lives at the Mars station. He was an Argent Energy reactor so it was possible his anger triggered a Lazarus Wave… But that still didn't make sense.

For once, the Argent Energy he emitted was not tainted by the demonic realm. It was a mere projection of his anger.

And then, there was the issue with the machines. Without specialized equipment, no inorganic body could store Argent Energy without exploding.

He eyed the android, watching as she pitifully tried to penetrate his hell-forged armor with her teeth. He then looked around him, at the corpses of the machines he had obliterated. With his memories clear, he now knew these strange robots had also been infected by his anger, he wasn't sure how, but it was the only explanation he could come up with. That was not his area of expertise, he only knew how to kill demons.

So know, he had a mission; Destroy the tainted machines. Of course, said machines will not be able to summon demons. But each one of them was powered by a Berserker pack and did not know how to control themselves; They could attack any unsuspecting human on the surface, ripping and tearing them apart just like he used to do with demons.

They needed to be stopped one way or another. This mess was his fault and he was going to take responsibility and kill every single one of those angry metallic bastards.

Starting now.

He looked down to the android, still uselessly trying to bite his armored boot, her eyes still red with Argent Energy. He sighed and shook her off, she snarled and attempted to reach his foot, trashing and drooling the same black goo from her mouth.

He aimed his shotgun, pulled the trigger and she was no more.

The buckshot utterly devastated the android, penetrating her flimsy platting and reducing her to scrap. Only her arms remained, which he eyed suspiciously, half expecting for them to leap and strangle him. Not such thing happened and he breathed in relief, that would have honestly freaked him out. He turned to leave but something caught his eye, a peculiar glint among the scrap. He kneeled and looked through the remains until he found it: A small Black Box.

He studied the curious trinket in his hands, noticing small cracks running on the smooth surface. It had somehow survived the buckshot and that impressed him, he pocketed it in of the pouches of his belt, wondering if he could repair it or ask some of this world's dwellers for help. Chances are the box hid some important secret.

He inspected the piles of scrap on more time before he nodded in approval, none of the remains displayed a single trace of residual Argent Energy. This area was clean but he knew not everything was gone, maybe a stray machine escaped the carnage; He didn't know if the taint could be passed down among machines but he was not going to take his chances, he was going to scourge this entire planet until every single one of those machines was turned to tiny little pieces.

He managed to take a step forward before he was flung across the skies as a barrage of missiles and high-caliber bullets collided against his chest; He soared the battlefield before he dropped roughly, he didn't even had a chance to look up as more bullets and missiles exploded on his face, slowly sinking him into the dirt.

The barrage stopped after half an hour, leaving the zone in silence.

Inside the crater created by the bullets and explosions, he was groaning in utter pain. Sure, his hell-forged armor could withstand just about everything: Nothing short of Argent Energy, plasma, or a nuclear strike would breach his Praetor Suit. But his body was another story; Even after millennia, he was still a human, somewhat. The precise term eluded him but he could be called human. So even if his Armor could endure missiles like nothing, the kinetic force would still wound his squishy body. The internal wounds reopened and some of his barely healed bones cracked again. He didn't know the exact limit of his healing factor and he wasn't keen on finding out.

By all means, anybody else in his position would have stayed inside the crater, waiting for the aggressor to leave… Wait and cower like a little bitch. He was nobody's bitch, and he was not going to lay on his back and allow anybody to shoot him on his back and leave unscathed. So ignoring the pain in his body, he pulled himself out of the crater and glared angrily at whoever was stupid enough to bother him when he was busy.

But his anger turned into surprise when he noticed who had attacked him.

Androids.

Dozens of them were inside strange flying things, hovering just above him. Some of the androids were identical to the one he had put down while others had some significant differences… But all of them were machines, he could feel it: The low temperatures of their bodies, the lack of a heartbeat, the unnatural stillness in their arms and fingers. An entire Task Force of female androids sent to hunt him down… Maybe the dwellers of this world weren't as helpless as he thought; If they could produce and send an army like this after him, maybe they did had more resources and numbers than he had expected… And that made them even more appetizing to the demons.

They simply stayed there, watching him carefully, their high-powered weapons ready to rain steel and fire upon him if he tried something funny. He could understand why they felt like this, his entry had caused quite the squabble and he didn't know if any lives were lost due to his actions. He could understand why they wanted nothing more but see him down and dead for good…

But that didn't mean he was going to just let them beat him to death. They attacked him from the back, like a bunch of traitorous scoundrels, and they were going to pay for that.

In the blink of an eye, his super shotgun was gone and in its place, the Gauss Cannon made itself present, the low hum of the power cell ready to unleash its deadly payload on his enemies. His little display alerted all the androids, sending them into confusion as they couldn't understand how a tiny shotgun turned into a menacing piece of metal with a blue hue. They hesitated for a second, awaiting orders from command… And that was all he needed to teach them a lesson.

The siege mode began charging and once it was at its peak, he released the trigger, sending and overcharged piece of steel flechette into the distracted androids. The projectile hit its mark, cutting one of the androids in half, before it continued forward, blowing the head of a second, penetrating through the chest of a third, and reducing an arm to nothingness of the last one. The flechette kept flying forward, colliding against a building, penetrating the concrete, and flying into the skies, where it was lost from sight into the vastness of space. He briefly wondered if those things ever stopped or would continue to fly forward for all eternity.

The androids starred at the damaged the Gauss Cannon had inflicted, dumbfounded and unsure on how to react. That was until the bodies of their fallen comrades hit the ground, one of them managed to control the shaking in her body and screamed, the rest followed suit, issuing orders and arranging themselves in a battle formation, their weapons trained on him, ready to blow him to kingdom come.

He simply stared at them unimpressed. They clearly had experience in battle but for some reason, were wary of him, as if they had never seen something like him before. He grinned beside his helmet, dismissing his Gauss Cannon and calling forth his Combat Shotgun and H.A.R. in both hands.

This would make an excellent exercise; His body was still slow due to his wounds but he was healing. He wouldn't be as fast as before but that would be a necessary handicap to even the odds, he would refrain from using the big guns, that would be overkill and he still didn't know if he could replenish ammo in this new world. He was probably making things harder for him but that is how he liked to live. He wasn't too young to die and he had surpassed every challenge in his way. Any obstacle was destroyed with Ultra-violence and he had become the nightmare of every single demon in hell.

And now, this naive androids will learn to fear him as well.

They will learn to steer clear of his path.

They will learn to respect him.

They will learn to never forget his name.

For he is, was, and will always be…

The Doom Slayer.