Author's Note: Hello and welcome to my very first fanfic! I liked NieR: Automata, like, a lot. And while I believe the ending to be adequate and satisfying, I found myself wondering why we weren't given the whole story, with the androids trying to actually put back humans on Earth. And while the characters' treatment is cool ingame, I was left craving for more, because there is so much to do with such a thrilling context. 2B and 9S of course, but especially A2 are amazing characters in their own rights, and I would love to explore their personalities a little more. I'm also introducing an OC in here because I think he would be of great help in order to bring out all the aspects of what I want to do.
There will be another note at the end to expand on some details, so be sure to read it for some precisions, but for now, please enjoy this first chapter!
Two words : Dark and cold. The perfect image one would conceive when trying to explain death. Emptiness, void and absence of consciousness would come close to those, maybe even a light at the end of a tunnel or the sensation of flying.
Considering these aspects, a pure white dove would seem pretty far-fetched, out of context and completely unrelated. Still, it was at the sight of one that A2 suddenly woke up.
"Huh...? "
Her head snapped back rapidly, hitting the wall behind her and causing the bird to fly off in fear. Wincing, she took a look at her surroundings. She was sitting on the edge of what used to be a window in a ruined building, overlooking the roof of a smaller construction where two black silhouettes were lying. She instantly recognized 2B and 9S, though they seemed to be unconscious.
"What the hell am I doing here? "
She was sure she was dead. She remembered giving 9S's body to that stupid Pod. She remembered seeing the Tower collapse while she was inside, after she deactivated it. She remembered feeling her metallic skeleton shatter under its rubbles. Her last words even echoed in her mind. And so, if she remembered all that, shouldn't she be dead? She MUST be dead.
A frightening thought occurred to her. She quickly turned her gaze to the sky, looking for any sign of the gigantic cannon, but her eyes only met its usual light blue color, with no apparent trace of the building she sacrificed herself to annihilate. However, she found some odd looking rocks on the ground. Their pure white was easy to spot among the green grass and brown ruins.
"The Tower… It's destroyed… I destroyed it … "
Then why was she alive? Why wasn't she with everyone?
She was startled by a sound she was usually accustomed to; two Pods were coming in her direction. She did not recognize the first one, but identified the second as Pod 042, the one that had helped her after she… after she killed…
Well, you have a lot to explain buddy, she thought.
"Good Morning, A2. I am Pod 153. I was assigned to YoRHa Unit 9S before the project's end. A pleasure to properly meet you," the unknown bot said.
"Hello, A2. Do you remember me? If not, I am Pod 042 …"
"I already know who you are."
"Good. Unnecessary presentation avoided. I suspect you have questions about this whole ordeal?"
"Oh I don't know… I wake up here after very clearly, and distinctly, DYING, despite the fact that, if I recall correctly, the Bunker is no more, and I see there 9S with his arm and a living 2B. Why on earth would I have questions?" A2 spat with exasperation.
The two pods didn't budge for a few moments, before 042 turned to 153 and said:
"I have identified A2's answer as being sarcasm. Proposal: explain the situation despite the non-encouraging response."
"Agreed."
"And you better hurry up," A2 growled.
"Proposal: listen to our tale until the end without interruption."
"Just tell me already!" A2 nearly shouted.
"153 here and myself rebuilt you, 2B and 9S after we found your bodies. We had backup saves for all of you and decided the best course of action was not the deletion of all YoRHa data but the reconstruction of the androids that ended the threat that menaced the human lunar server. It was our first decision as independent entities after you theoretically achieved your goal," the male-voiced bot explained.
"The idea was actually 042's. I was not convinced at first and even considered conflict, but after careful thought, I concluded that your 'resurrection' was the only choice we had to complete the initial mission."
"What are you talking about?"
"The initial objective of the project has yet to be achieved."
"The initial …." A2 looked perplex for a second and was about to go on another rant, but she suddenly felt a little weak as the commander's words from her first and only briefing rushed back to her.
YoRHa's mission is to win back Earth for Mankind. At all costs.
"A2? Are you feeling well?"
"I'm just… just a little… well… Let's just say I'm feeling a little stupid right now…"
"Machines are still roaming the planet and humanity is still extinct. We decided that you three androids were the best suited candidates to gather the crucial genetic intel on the Moon and wipe out the remaining mechanical presence on Earth. With Adam, Eve and the Tower destroyed, we just have to dispatch isolated and unorganized cells."
A2 dozed off before shaking her head, and turning back to the two robots, anger clear in her features.
"Yeah, well I hardly see how that is MY problem… I've not followed YoRHa orders for a long time, I don't see why I should now… "
"But your dedication to destroying machines and the Tower shows…"
"I didn't and still don't care about what the commander barked… We were nothing but cannon fodder to her! I killed those damned things because they murdered my friends!"
"042 and I are aware of the first strike team's failure and demise. We are sorry for your loss… but…"
"But what?!"
A2 sat there looking furiously at the now mute bots. She tried to get out of the window she was stationed on, but quickly realized her limbs had not fully entered operational state: their coolant had still to smoothly run through their circuits. She immediately sat back and noticed white strands protruding from under her thighs. Her eyes followed their course until she understood she had been rebuilt with her hair at its original length.
"Tell us, A2. Do you think we made the wrong choice?"
"Hell yeah you have! I was about to finally be free of all this crap, finally be able to join 4, 8, 16, 21, Rose… Everyone! And you brought me back to this shit! You brought me back to this hell!" she screamed.
Her outburst came as a surprise, even to herself, and caused her to pant.
"We are deeply sorry then. Do you wish we undo our wrong?"
That caught her off guard. They were actually asking to kill her?
"What do you mean?"
"We are suggesting to permanently deactivate you and delete all data related to YoRHa Unit Type A Number 2. We must however warn you: this action will be irreversible."
"I… I don't…"
She pondered the idea for a few seconds. Was it really what she wanted?
"Your former behavior strongly suggested your immediate approval."
"I know! It's just that…"
The more she thought about it, the more she saw how much of a waste that would be. She didn't like the time she spent hunting for machines. She didn't like the three years she spent alone, braving blizzards and heat waves, doubting herself every day, fighting her way anywhere she went. But she got things done. She destroyed her fair share of machines. She destroyed the Tower. Every other YoRHa unit had been completely corrupted and the Bunker was orbiting the moon in pieces. She was the last remnant of the androids.
She sighed heavily. She had been called a hothead in her division -8 and 21 even had nicknamed her Spitfire because of that- but she knew her duty was her absolute priority. She knew she wouldn't even exist without the humans. She hated it, but the bots were right. She still had work to do.
"I… Let's leave that aside for the moment… I'm sorry about the whole shouting thing… I just have to come to terms with the fact that I'm still alive."
"No offense taken, A2" both pods said.
"Proposal: accompany us for 2B and 9S's activation." continued 042.
A2 slowly went back up on her feet –they finally seemed to reliably support her weight- and nodded towards the pods.
"Your limbs must still be sore. Proposal: avoid jumping. Access to the other roof with the Pod's aerial carrying abilities recommended."
A2 took 042's little hands, and he lifted her as he used to do whenever she asked.
"Lead the way."
Two months before.
Activation sequence complete.
A white blast and fist suddenly erupted from under a few rubbles, the noise the commotion created causing some birds to fly off in the distance.
"…IGHT TILL I'M DEAD!"
A young looking man soon followed his arm out of the ruins. He took in his surroundings, covering his head and slowly getting used to the dim moonlight.
"Huh?"
He blinked rapidly then checked his hand, closing and opening his fist a few times, and noticed that his skin was torn here and there. He also massaged his pauldron, seeing that the engraving was missing a few letters.
He tried to examine more closely what was nearby: mostly destroyed ruins and mechanical remains. But one particular object grabbed his attention.
"That's…"
Some black strings were scattered across the field, and he even recognized a wing.
"…a flight unit. My flight unit."
The man carefully got up on his feet, dragging them out of from under the rocks, and headed to what most likely was his own crash site. He painfully walked to the crushed machine, and put an arm on its destroyed frame.
"I was out for most of the fight then."
He slowly sat down, closing his eyes and feeling the wind blow through his silvery white hair. He sighed heavily.
"I'd better go back quickly and help."
He lightly tapped on his arm, causing a little screen to appear, displaying a mini map. The young man scratched his nose while studying the region.
"Display all allied black box signals," he ordered.
'NO SIGNAL'
The man felt his blood leave his face.
"What the… Display all nearby ally black box locations," he repeated a little more loudly.
'NO SIGNAL'
This time, he even let his arm sink to his side.
"Display all signals, Max Range!" he shouted, standing up.
'NO SIGNAL'
No one. There was no one left. They were all…
Wait.
"Display time and location!"
'28° 48' N 40° 32' E, 12th of June, 11 945.'
The other arm followed its counterpart. Three years. He was three years late. Running his hand through his hair, he released the breath he was holding.
"Contact the Bunker. Direct connection to the commander required," he asked, lifting the screen back up.
'NO SIGNAL'
"I'm getting tired of your shit here. Do what I tell you to do, damn it!"
The young man still received no response.
"Go to hell, then." he angrily spat while violently closing the panel. He felt like an idiot for screaming at a screen, but it was the least of his issues back then. He sat back, sighing again, and lowered his gaze. He ran his hands over his head.
"Pfffffft. What now?" He let his hands fall to his knees and turned to face his flight unit. This is beyond reparation, especially after three years, he thought while examining some wires and noticing the rust that covered every metallic joint, plaguing the complete structure with its corrosive bite. He let the wires go and stood up. Slowly stretching his limbs and putting his hands on his hips, he looked to the sky, concentrating on a few funny clouds.
"Well, no use sticking around here forever."
He quickly examined his own body, searching for any sign of heavy injuries.
"Engage in control surfaces testing." The numerous panels covering his body deployed and got back into place, with the exception of the left shoulder pad.
"Hmm, a little less firepower. Guess it could be worse."
He then swiftly jumped into the distance.
"And this is the whole story."
"So... you managed to destroy that Tower thing…"
2B and 9S had been activated a few minutes prior. Despite the initial shock, 2B was quickly able to compose herself. 9S, on the other side, had been more reluctant to accept the situation, and was sitting with his legs crossed, eyeing the long-haired android with a dangerous glare. Both had removed their headbands pretty soon after their awakening.
"Yes, I did…" A2 said from the corner she was settled in.
"… "
9S seemed to be clearly upset just from the fact that he wasn't able to attack her on sight.
"However, the moon server is still… well… on the moon… So, those two brought us back to finish the job," she continued, pointing to the pods, unfazed by the boy's attitude towards her.
2B got up with difficulty, dusted her skirt when she finally felt she found her balance, and walked towards A2, sticking up her hand. The latter eyed it with suspicion.
"Come on, I just wish to thank you," 2B said while rolling her eyes.
"For what?"
"For what you did. I asked you to take care of 9S, and you managed to get him out mostly intact. And of course, for everything else, including destroying the Tower."
"I…"
A2 found nothing to say. People didn't usually thank her; they either ignored or fought her. But recently she had seen a lot of grateful faces with Pascal, or even the Resistance. She thus grabbed the hand that was in front of her, and lightly shook it. 2B flashed a genuine smile, a sight even A2 could say was something to behold. She found herself unconsciously smiling back.
"9S…". The short-haired android turned to her male companion. His glare quickly transformed into a pout as he frowned even more and turned his head to the side.
"Please, you know now that she did the right thing. I literally asked her to spare me from complete contamination. I don't see how holding a grudge against her will help our cause."
"It is actually counter-productive. Proposal: make peace and work together," 153 reasoned.
"I don't like her," 9S finally said.
"And you're being childish. Come on, 9S, I know you're better than that," 2B added.
"Listen, kid…" A2 began walking towards him, but winced as he got up in outrage.
"YOU CALL ME KID ONE MORE TIME AND I'LL BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF!"
"Calm down, 9S," 2B said in a smooth but commanding tone. She then turned back to A2. "Please avoid calling him that or anything related."
A2 raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Okay."
"Look," she continued. "We're all here to do what we were built to do. I will never pretend to be a model of perfection, but I did what I could. If it isn't enough for you, let's just say that I don't give a crap. But don't let that divert you from your mission. Get yourself together and let's do this," she said while raising her hand.
"I have to agree with her. Please 9S… We don't need this now."
9S stayed motionless for a moment. "I don't like you."
"I think we got that."
The small android turned around and quickly shook A2's hand. He then immediately let go and sat down. A2 sighed and looked at 2B.
"I'll let you two talk a little bit. It seems you have a lot of catching up to do," she said.
"We do. See you later."
The two women nodded to each other and A2 jumped off the roof.
"Nothing here either…"
The young man had inspected an extended perimeter with no results over the course of the last two months. He had just finished crossing a large field when he sat down in exhaustion. While resting, he opened his arm's panel, only to be greeted by the 'NO SIGNAL' message again.
"What would I do without this stupid thing, huh ?"
He let himself fall on his back, looking at the sky. His two bangs obstructed half of his vision field, so he exhaled to free his line of sight.
"Might as well sleep a little bit."
He had already begun dozing off when he heard a sound he wished he had encountered later -or even never encountered if he had something to say about it. He swiftly got back on his feet, seeing that he was surrounded by half a dozen flying machines.
"Damn." he cursed, activating his combat modules.
"Well, let's dance…" The machines began firing their odd looking orbs, which he avoided by running to the side. They were easy to see coming and quite slow, but their number could quickly become overwhelming. He deployed the cannon embedded in his right shoulder for distant support while he tried to get close.
"All right, come here to daddy," he said while one of the machines began spinning around to try to get to him. He immediately opened the blasters under his right hand, creating a small sword surrounding his arm. He then jumped to the left and aimed for the two glowing red dots that stood out from the metallic whirlwind. The explosion blinded him for a moment.
Before he landed, he grabbed one of the bladed side modules and threw it towards another enemy, instantly destroying it.
Charge complete.
He aligned himself with two of the machines while his shoulder shook with the concentrated blast. He jumped and shouted:
"RELEASE !"
The column of light engulfed the two targets, disintegrating them on the spot.
He touched the ground as the two remaining machines started shaking dangerously. His eyes widened when they both transformed, exposing a red-glowing barrel each.
That doesn't look good.
As soon as the words were thought, the two fired gigantic lasers. The man ducked down, closely avoiding the first, but putting himself in the other one's trajectory. He only had one solution left in such a small amount of time.
He raised his left arm, and opened all the panels simultaneously to create a makeshift shield. The young man still felt the wind get knocked out of him, and flew a few meters back. He had to thrust his feet through the ground to decelerate. As soon as he stopped, he fell on his knees, panting. His left eye had been hit by a shard from his own left arm, the modules of which had become unusable.
"Right… Totally needed that …"
He painfully got back on his feet.
Charge complete.
"Okay, let's finish this." The young man brutally accelerated, instantly propelling himself over one of the fighter machines. "RELEASE !"
The blast destroyed the furthest, sending rusted pieces all over the field, and the man brought back his right arm over the last one's head, swiftly ending its existence. The following explosion sent him back to the ground violently, raising a big cloud of dust.
"Oow…" He stayed on his back, massaging the left side of his head.
"First fight's results? Lost an eye and rendered an arm useless. Good T8, good. That's what you get when you sleep for three years and cannot use both your cannons at the same time. Great."
He put his hand's back over his forehead and blacked out soon after.
A2 was standing against the root of a gigantic tree with her eyes closed while she waited for 2B and 9S to finish talking. She opened them when she heard one of the pods approaching.
"What is it again?" she asked.
"I wished to inform you that 153 and myself detected an unusual signal, a few kilometers away from here."
"And ?"
"It seems it is a YoRHa type black box that engaged in combat."
"Another contaminated unit? What would it fight?"
"No. The contaminated black boxes are now identified as enemy signals."
"What do you mean?"
"This black box is still safe. It appears, from 153 and my self's analyses, that this unit is most likely a remnant of the first strike team that engaged Earth from the Bunker."
"Are you saying … ?!"
No, it couldn't be.
"Yes. It is highly possible that this unit was a part of your former division."
And here we are! First, thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you have something to say, I would love constructive criticizing! English is unfortunately not my first language, but I hope to improve thanks to you!
With that said, I would like to give you some details. First, the OC. I was inspired by the events narrated in the YoRHa stage play (a play performed in Japan -that I did not watch, as I'm not Japanese- that explains how A2's division, the infamous "first strike team", was defeated and she was left alone). I'm adding T8 as a character from that play.
And, yes, if you noticed, his name comes from the cytotoxic or killer T cells, codename T8, that destroy the pathology-inducing cells in our bodies. He's around 175 cm (or 5,7 feet) and 170 kg.
Just to be clear, he DOESN'T exist in the play. But I'm acting as if he did.
And of course , it is absolutely not necessary to know of the play's events to understand this story.
If you prefer to have a precise idea of what he would look like, I've tried to draw how I imagined him. The link is directly on my profile page, so just copy and past it in your navigator.
Now, about the title: it is a quote from Immanuel Kant, and while the pun was indeed intended, I promise it will make sense within the story (You can probably see why even in this chapter). Concerning length, I honestly don't know how long it will be. I'll decide as I progress, depending on the general response, but I sincerely intend to see this through till the end.
With that, see you next time, and thanks again!