"NOOO—SCARED…"

"…eLP...ME…!"

"IM…SCARED…"

The machine lifeforms said, not screaming or rattling with hate and fear.

2B lagged on her attacks against the clothed desert stubbies.

"Don't listen to them, 2B. Their words don't have any meaning. They're just emitting words at random." 9S covered from behind 2B with a sword swing. "If they wanted help, why would they attack us?"

"…Yeah."

The scripted words tore my heart the way it did to 2B. The crosshair I've been hovering on machine heads staggered and my sweaty fingers lost its weight on the gun trigger. After the short hesitation, I decided to fire.

I felt a small amount of recoil from the state-of-the-art rifle. Other than that, nothing. No nervousness, nor the thrill of pulling the trigger. Only the roasting heat of the desert and the comforting darkness of the pipeline's shadow.

The smell of gun powder danced below my nose and sand dust covered the red jacket given to me by the Resistance. The sniper scope revealed to me two things. The brown wasteland brightened by the almighty sun and a rusty machine lifeform being shot in the head.

"Comment: Nice shot," Pod006 said with a happy gait behind me.

A death rattle rang across the seemingly endless sandbox. White and black blades pierced the last standing stubby's torso.

9S exhales tiredly over the excessive use of his body. "That should be the last one in this area," he said, surrounded with lifeless machine bodies.

I removed my vision from the sniper scope. The sun's heat sipped through the jacket and into my skin. Sweat just rivers down my body like a natural waterfall found in the woods. I felt the same exhaustion 9S showed. But at least the desert machine massacre finally paused for now.

It's been 7 hours since I had the bargain with White. 2B and 9S continued to ran errands for Anemone. Of course, I accompanied them all throughout and assisted from behind. I was always away from machine encounters, a precaution in case the enemy identifies me as human and be a number one target. We ventured through the errands and came to this sea of sand after Jackass flashily opened the entrance. So far, everything was in script.

"Guys, is it alright if we rest a little?" I said. "I think I'm seeing double from this heat."

9S trudges towards me, inwardly hating the sand creeping within his boots. 2B stabs a final shot on the machine before following behind 9S. The gore of double killing the enemy finally seemed so normal to me.

"There's a shade near the last marker. Maybe we can rest after the last mark?" 9S said. He must be talking about that entrance to the desert housings.

2B agreed to do so. Her small white katana flashily disappeared and reappeared behind her. The magic she performed was so surreal that I didn't question it anymore. For certain, doubt has finally left my sphere of emotions.

I wasn't bitching anymore about the hows and wows they've been performing since hours ago. I mean, come on. I've also tried using it…with Pod006's help that is. The first time the red tin can did it without warning me, I almost pissed myself in excitement. Your gun happily hovering behind your back with anti-gravity magic feels like a dream come true.

"Man, human bodies are really troublesome, huh? This is the 3rd time that we're having a break." 9S walked beside me and looked at me in the eye. He didn't mean anything about what he said. A child merely stating a fact.

I giggled from within at his comment. It was so true that it just made me laugh. Humans have perfectly stable body functions (complete with respiratory and virus-killing systems) to the point that they're beautiful at times. "Sorry for being born inconvenient. Human body was just designed like this." But it's highly inconvenient in a world like this. As if being human, itself, was a curse here.

The number of sand crunching lessened. The two YoRHa units slowed down to match my walking speed.

"Designed by whom?" 9S asked.

I held my tongue and asked myself the question. Is there a 'who' that designed the human body? "…you're asking a question with a lot of answers. There are humans out there that believe a 'god' designed the human body from His image and likeness. Other humans believe that we just had bodies like this due to evolution and such." I took a neutral stance.

In front of me, 2B lowered her gaze to the sand. I hear mutters that were almost inaudible because of the blowing wind. "…god..huh…"

"Does that mean humans have never known how they were created?" 9S asked.

"Hmmm. We know how to procreate, but we don't know how we came to be. Like, was the first human born from clay or did we come from a single cell?"

Stomping feet came from behind me. It inched closer like a predator to its prey. 9S went on even walking speed with me and got past me eventually. He was walking backwards to keep an eye at me while moving forward. I can here sparkles of curiosity behind the blindfold he's wearing.

"Heeehh~ that sounds interesting," He said while maintaining a formal tone. "So humans have never met their creator?"

"Exactly. We've never seen our 'creator', to borrow your term, create a human. So He's kinda like an enigma. Hell, we don't even know if He…" Like being hit in the head with a blunt object, I lost my will to walk further. The question I had since the beginning rang within me, creating an abyss of doubt that scarred my purpose in life. "…exists…" My volume went low.

I look at 2B and 9S who also stopped. I feel myself ogling at them.

"If He what? And why'd you stop?" 9S said.

"…nothing. What about you guys?"

A dry, parched throat said.

"Before meeting [me], you've never seen a human before, right?"

I couldn't keep my mouth shut. Every word I said gushed out like an unstoppable torrent.

"If [I] said humans are already extinct, what would you do?"

I didn't know what I was talking about anymore. Like someone was asking things through me.

9S could have swallowed a fly. His mouth couldn't make out the smile he showed earlier. "Haha, no way. That's impossible." He forced a grin on those synthetic muscles.

"You're here right now. Answering something like that is a waste of time." 2B voiced her opinion and walked towards our destination.

They dodged the question in flimsy ways. They didn't want to think about it much less talk about it. About the 'what-if' situation that was supposed to be true. In a way, I felt a dread that latched on my guts. If I die, that what-if will be reality.

The red Pod hovered in front of me with its claws pinching my cheeks. It felt like it was glaring at me with its rectangular body blocking my view of the towering wall surrounding the dessert.

I zipped my mouth and halted any other question.

"Enemy on sight. There's only one." 2B drew her sword.

9S grabbed his. "Please stay here. We'll handle this."

Both slid down the sand hill we've been standing on and I was left with my Pod. I stayed my eyes on the overlooking view of the enemy hidden in the big wall's shadow. It wore the ancient mask with weird white marks drawn in it. On its right hand was a small blade that seemed poorly made.

There was a gap between the walls that served as the entrance to the apartment buildings. That small biped will run away there before it gets destroyed. That's the script.

But what if we kill it before it runs?

The small biped's eyes glowed red as the two androids made contact. The sniper rifle materialized in front of me. It was Pod006 saying that I should assist on the kill.

"…let's save some bullet. I'm sure 9S and 2B can handle one enemy." Even when I said that, the weapon didn't disappear.

"Query: Why did you ask those questions to the YoRHa units knowing that it might arouse suspicion?" It rejected my request with a question.

It was probably blind curiosity that made me ask. "Yeah, right. Suspicion." I covered my head with the hood of my red jacket. "Did you even hear their answer?"

"Response: They rejected the possibility."

"It's a human defense mechanism called Denial." I grabbed the sniper and scoped on the fight happening below. "Honestly, I doubt whether they are just mere androids with programmed algorithms…or beings close to humans."

The sniper eyes followed the movements of the androids on the front lines. I see sparks fly as metals fought with each other. 2B was taking on enemy aggro while 9S slashed from behind. The sand below their feet ruffled and deformed.

Pod006 jumped in front of the scope preventing a good view of the fight. "Androids can't be humans. The body structures are different."

I clicked my tongue on it as I glued my eyes to the enemy machine. "Well duh. I'll be damned if they spitted blood and not those blood-like oil. But can you answer me this, is being human just biology?" I fling the red tin can away from the scope. "What does being 'human' really mean?"

"…you are merely talking philosophically." Pod006's audio was weakening as it hovered below the rifle's barrel, adjusting the aim at the same time being the rifle's temporary hovering bipod. "The fact is that androids fail to be human as they do not have a heart."

This conversation won't end. It'll be a debate between a human and a logical machine. And I know for a fact that what Pod006 said was the absolute truth. I accepted my loss and sealed my mouth before the heat goes to my head. I resumed watching the fight as sweat showered my back. I gulp to keep my throat from drying up.

"DIE…RUN…RUN…!"

That was the cue for the small biped to run away and the cue for me to step in.

dAm3d mAchin3s! If 1t wer3n't for th3m! mY bro-!-

[I] clenched my jaws. A river of anger flowed out of nowhere. With Pod006's steady aim at the head, [I] had a simple job of pulling the trigger and accepting a small amount of recoil.

The bullet hits the head and the lifeless machine body lay down to the sand. That's what was supposed to happen.

But reality wasn't so cooperative. As [I] flinched with little recoil, the machine faced my trajectory. The bullet hit the machine's mask and sent it flying revealing the bald head of a small biped. It ignored the failed attack and swam on the deep sea sand, taking its mask with it.

I saw the red gleaming eye of that thing. Eye to eye. Fueled with fear and hatred. Its timing to face me was so perfect that the mask protected the biped from the magnum bullet. [I] clenched the rifle and refused to let it go.

If I killed that thing, -

I c0uld've av3nged J4k0b!

-our little group probably wouldn't need to go to that machine sex party below the ground. It was my attempt to change how the story was supposed to work. And it ended in failure. Such frustration made the heat more unbearable for me. "…God is really toying with me." ...but...what was that sudden burst of anger?

"Blaming another being for your failure is illogical." Pod006 released its grip on the gun barrel.

I lightly slam the rifle on Pod006's head. "Shut it." Then the gun dispersed into beautiful strands of light.

"Enemy marked. Showing location on map," Pod042 said to the party below the sand hill.

I slid down slowly to their location. Sand getting in my boots was already the least of my problems. "We're not taking a rest, are we?"

2B and 9S stared at each other as I asked.

"I read in articles that humans need rest." 9S offers information to 2B. "Our priority is your safety but we can't leave that machine alone either. 2B, what do you think we should do?"

2B tilts her head downwards to mimic a thinking pose. After the long thought, she looked at me then back to 9S. "I will stay here with him. 9S will scout the area were the machine went but do not engage in combat…How does that sound?"

Satisfied with the order from 2B, 9S nods with an innocent grin. "Understood. Will scout the area without fighting."

"Sorry. I'm being a deadweight," I said.

2B looked at me and shook her head left to right. "Don't be. It's our duty to protect humanity."

"I agree with 2B." The boy placed his hand on his chest. "We're just fulfilling our purpose." His face was bright with fulfillment.

Their resolve seems fresh and a punch of guilt jabs at me. I force a smile on my face, not letting them know that I'm merely using them to protect myself. "My fate is in your hands then."

9S nods before dashing towards the entrance to the apartment complex. We followed him jumping from rock to rock and having huge amounts of sand pour down on my jacket. The exhaustion of overexerting my energy against the heat wave of the desert gradually drains me.

As 2B and I reached the entrance to the apartment complex, we saw 9S at the edge of the broken pipeline. He was just standing there, staring at something faraway. Or more like watching something…

"…9S?" 2B's voice was coated with worry.

For a few seconds 9S didn't respond. Then, his shoulder twitched ever so slightly. "Oh, sorry 2B. I was just wondering what these contraptions are for." He spoke without looking back at us. His figure, as I saw it, basked in the sunlight. It was so blinding for us, who were hidden in the wall's shadow.

"Analysis: The structures are known as Apartments built by humans," Pod 042 responded. Its head was angled at me, a body language calling for affirmation.

"Yeah…uhh…" I couldn't answer straight away. I didn't know the real purpose of apartments except that they were for human convenience. "…that's right. Continue with your explanation, Pod 042."

As soon as it received my permission, it began explaining things in accurate details.

Looking at the lifeless apartment buildings, I completely lose myself in my own thoughts. I wonder what's happening in the other world that had the same buildings as this. My hard-earned throne (apartment unit) must be waiting for me. Other than that, I don't expect anyone to do so. No relatives, no parents, no children, no close friends. It was just me and the corporate world. I'm sure they already labelled me AWOL and got a replacement. Not that I held any attachment to the job anyway but...knowing that I'm the only person with flesh here in this big world is just...sad...

...[I]'m a bit lonely...

"Xeran." 2B taps on my shoulder. Sand gets dusted off as she did. "Aren't you going to rest?"

I raise an eyebrow and gave a glance on the edge of the broken pipeline. 9S wasn't there anymore. How long was I zoning out?

"Unit 9S has already started the scouting mission. Proposal: Xeran should take this opportunity to revitalize himself." Pod 006 handed one bottled water to me.

I quickly took it from Pod 006 and examined it. This bottle is probably from the lunar base. Probably for 10H but to hell with that. My pharynx is as dry as this desert. I ignored the small details and happily chugged the water. I would never have thought that water could taste this good despite it being tasteless. I drank like a wildman as water traced down my throat. "Haaahh, that sure hit the spot."

Pod 042 pushes me another round of water. This time it was in a stainless flask. "Keeping yourself hydrated is essential to a human body as most human organs depend on water. It is recommended that the human drink more."

"Negative. It is advised that precious resources are only to be used when needed." Pod 006 approaches the white pod.

"If we do that, we risk of dehydrating the human. Suggestion: Human should ingest water until full." Pod 042 rebuts.

The red one inches closer to Pod 042. "Denied. That action would only result to unnecessary depletion in resources." Pod 006 snatches the flask Pod 042 materialized in front of me.

Pod 042 snatches it back to itself. "Response: Pod 006 is being 'stingy'. Sugges-"

"Ok ok, that's enough." I took the flask away from the two Pods. "It's true that we humans should be hydrated but since we have limited supplies, it's best to use it only when needed. Besides, humans can last for 4 days without water."

Weird noises came from the floating boxes. Their hands moved in creepy ways and their lights blinked.

""Understood.""

I sigh after the little fight. The sticky feeling of sweat drying allover my body was starting to disgust me. I wanted to sit somewhere and wipe myself off with a wet towel.

But, for some reason, I was heading for 2B who was gazing out towards the ruined buildings. When I got close, I reached for her shoulder. She twitched and swiftly met me with a guarded stance.

The gap on her mouth tells me she was surprised. Me, too. I'm surprised that I'm touching a battle android nonchalantly without fearing retaliation. However, that's not what my face was telling her. With a smug grin, I set into my mind words that I've wanted to say since I saw them. The words that will really change the flow of things.

'Do you want to know the truth about Project YoRHa?'

"How does it feel to kill that machine (boy) over and over?"


-…progress at 8%...-

-… monitoring recommended…-

-...can he handle it?-

-If he can't, we can just find a stronger one!-


Author: I'm really scared to post this but here it is. This was supposed to be way longer (as in up til they meet Adam and Eve) but I decided to cut it short so that I can get you guys thinking. But if some of you already get what's happening, well...so much for the dramatic plot I've brewed.

If anyone noticed any grammar, physics, humanity or lore errors, PM or review like always. I'm up for opinions and stuff. I'll also 'try' to write on a faster pace next time. Thanks for reading again!

PS: Philosophically, what DOES it mean to be human?