Back in the old city, 2B and 9S were still scouting around, with Pods 042 and 153 trailing behind them.
"Alert!" Pod 042 blared upon seeing a mysterious figure on the desert floor. "Mysterious presence detected!"
"This may be too much for us to handle together." 2B said to 9S. "You need to stay here, 9S."
"But, 2B!" 9S protested.
2B cuts him off. "Please, do it for our mission's sake."
After a brief sigh, 9S responded.
"Yes, 2B. I understand."
2B jumped off the building, with Pod 042 following close behind. Upon landing on the desert floor, 2B followed the mysterious figure, trying to get a fix on the situation. Unknown to her, the mysterious figure is actually White, trying to entice 2B into being another one of Fayre's muses.
2B continued to walk through the desert, trying to find signs of life.
"Isn't it weird to find someone in a place like this?" 2B asked.
"It is." Pod 042 replied.
"I don't mean to complain, but…"
"2B?"
2B, hearing a familiar voice, immediately turned around to find White right behind her. The shock started to set in; she could hardly believe her eyes.
"I must be dreaming." 2B said, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes.
"It's really me." White replied. "This is no dream."
"Commander?..." 2B asked her, trying to confirm her suspicions.
"I already told you, didn't I?" White reminded her. "I'm no longer the Commander of YoRHa."
"It really is you." 2B said.
"Just call me by my name." White replied.
"Sure, White." 2B said enthusiastically, but her mood shifted when she noticed that White is barefoot.
"Um, where are your boots?" 2B asked.
"Well, about that…I burnt them in a pyre."
2B could hardly process what White just said to her.
"You burnt them?" 2B asked.
"Yes." White continued. "I actually like being barefoot. It makes me embrace my own femininity."
"Uhhhh, I don't understand." 2B replied.
"Let me show you something." White said, while ushering 2B to Fayre's house.
With no other options, 2B followed White to Fayre's house. Throughout the journey, Pod 042 remained silent. As White and 2B traverse the desert, 2B herself started to ponder on why White decided to be perpetually barefoot. Her thoughts dwelled on the possibility of being barefoot to better express herself. She could barely understand the concept, given the façade of being emotionless, yet her curiosity got the better of her.
Once 2B and White arrive at Fayre's house, the former heard a familiar squeal.
"2B!"
It was 6O, who was running toward 2B like crazy, excited over the fact that she was finally reuniting with her. She hugged 2B almost immediately.
"6O? What are you doing here?" 2B asked, confused over the fact that 6O was at Fayre's house.
"It's a long story, 2B." 6O answered.
It didn't take long for 2B to notice that 6O is also barefoot, puzzling her even further.
"You're barefoot too?" 2B asked 6O.
"Yes." 60 answered.
"Let me guess." 2B continued. "It's to better express your femininity. Is that correct?"
"Oh, 2B. Of course it is." She replied with romantic fervour.
"There's more to come."
Fayre revealed himself to 2B. The sudden appearance of the human caused 2B to react instinctively, drawing her katana.
"Calm down there." Fayre said. "I'm no threat."
"Who are you?" 2B asked him, pointing her katana aggressively in the process.
"It's alright, 2B." White said, trying to calm her former subordinate down.
"2B, please. He's a friend." 6O said.
Under pressure from White and 6O, 2B reluctantly lowered her katana and sheathed it.
"What do you want?" 2B asked Fayre.
"Please follow me." Fayre said to 2B.
"Alright, then." 2B said, more confused than ever.
Fayre and 2B head into the tunnel, with White and 6O following close behind. Once they arrived at the river, 2B was enamoured by its beauty.
"Well, go on." Fayre said. "Go inside it."
2B took off her boots and stockings and jumped into the river immediately. At that moment, as the light illuminated the river, Pod 042 started to blare again.
"Alert! Unknown light engulfing the area! Contact lost with unit 2B."
Once the light finally faded, 2B came out of the river, completely wet and now fully human. She stepped into the sand, to the excitement of 6O. As 2B removed her visor, revealing her eyes, she looks up at White and 6O, uttering the words.
"I am finally free."
Three hours later, 2B, White and 6O were walking in the desert. As they stop at a hill, 2B started to ponder on her new life.
"I feel the soft friskiness of the sand on the soles of my feet. I feel that my body has changed so much since I went inside that river. I'm pretty sure that this is what being human feels like."
"We all have that feeling." White said.
"I wonder if we are going to see everyone at the Bunker again." 6O said.
"I'm sure that they'll come to us, 6O." 2B replied. "Life at the Bunker was hard on all of us."
"Yeah." White said. "We're much better here on Earth than on the Bunker."
"That we agree on."
"Come on." 2B said. "Let's go hunting for Desert Roses."
"Ohhh! I can't wait to see a real Desert Rose right in front of me." 6O said excitedly.
2B, White and 6O all chuckle and head out. As they walk out into the sunset, 2B carved a heart on the sand with her left foot, signifying that her days as an android are well and truly over. The three women go deeper into the desert, as a swarm of doves fly overhead, covering the sky.
The age of YoRHa is coming to a close, and the era of Goddesses is just beginning.