hey guys! Okami here once again with a new chapter of Nier:Refraction.
i would like to apologize for my somewhat longer-than-usual absence, some stuff happened with family and i wasn't really able to focus on writing for a bit. dont fret though! i am by no means cancelling this story.
now to clear some things out of the way in this chapter:
1: yes the YoRHa units are using actual weapons, i figured that could be considered lore friendly since in the Nier:Automata play, the YoRHa troops used real life assault rifles and other weapons.
2: Naga and Sebastian, the modified Pods that R4 made are fitted with Black boxes, which means that they have some personality, this does however, allow them to also morph into different things to facilitate combat and other everyday life activities for their users. as for their choices of appearance, Naga being a Snake and Sebastian being a crow will be explained later in the story. this is an important plot point that will be explained by the expanded lore.
if you have any questions about the story or characters or have any suggestions to improve the story please do leave a review with your ideas! it would certainly help. i would also be interested in perhaps getting an editor, since i want to improve the quality of this work now that it's gaining good attention.
please enjoy and look forward to the next chapter! see you then.
-Okami
Crimson Fade
The sounds of explosions and crumbling buildings echoed throughout the empty streets of the fallen city, debris and dust covered the sunken harbor, reducing vision to near arm's-length. Once receiving the distress signal from Anemone, the group immediately set course for the city, using the closest flight suits they could find inside the bunker's damaged hangar. A2 however, was nowhere to be seen, given that she had been the first to fly out.
[four minutes until contact, what's the plan?], asked 9S over the radio.
2B closed her eyes and tried to come up with a plan that would reduce the number of casualties on the ground, despite fighting against the idea, commander white issued 2 groups composed of 10 YoRHa combat units each to head into battle with them. 9S gaining command of squad A, while 2B was given command of squad B, R4 was in charge of on-site repairs.
2B took a deep breath and opened her communications channel, syncing it with all nearby units. [squad A will make contact with the enemy at the desert border, from there you will clear a path to the radio tower and maintain position outside of the camp, R4 will be going with you. squad B will land at the sunken harbor and attempt to rescue any fleeing allies and wounded we find. From there we will rendezvous with squad A and break into the camp. Anemone is our main rescue target, if located inform your squad mates immediately. Be warned about infected YoRHa combat units from the first wave, as they are still present threats in our field of operations.]
[roger.], was all the listening units said before that all increased their speed.
A2 jumped from rooftop to rooftop, trying her best to reach the camp as soon as possible, underneath the buildings was a sea of cannibal machines, tearing apart any anime, corpse or piece of machinery they ran into.
"Sebastian, where is Anemone.", she asked midair before landing onto the next building.
[the source of the SOS signal is within sight, however I am not detecting any movement or fighting in the area.], responded the crow perched on her right shoulder.
A2 stopped at the last building which was overlooking the waterfall outside of the resistance camp, the front gates had been smashed open and multiple cannibal machines were struggling to wiggle into the base through the tiny gap. Sounds of gunfire and small explosions could be heard from within the base, signaling that there were at least some survivors.
"enemy count?", questioned A2 to the crow on her shoulder before materializing her Type-40 sword with an explosion of light.
[246 within 150 meters, there are at least 477 more approaching from the north and a small group of 30 is struggling to reach the surface below us.]
"and Pascal's village?"
[surrounded, multiple goliath class enemies are being detected on the radar.]
"what about pascal, is she there"
[negative]
"good" whispered A2 to herself before diving head first into the sea of machines below her, sword in hand.
Squads A and B reached the city shortly after 2B's orders had been given out.
[be safe out there ok?], said 9S before flying off with his squad towards the desert border. 2B simply nodded at him from within her flight suit.
Upon reaching the sunken harbor, squad B landed their flight suits and exited them quickly. The harbor itself had been heavily damaged from the attack, hundreds of rampaging machines could be seen in the distance. 2B took a minute to look around and try to see if anyone she knew had been assigned to her squad. She saw M16 in the back, her usual lab coat being replaced with standard issue YoRHa combat suit, she mainly recognized her because of her spiky, green hair. Beside her was D14, the defense model that had stopped them when they entered the Bunker. A white hairband kept her hair into a neat Ponytail on the back, which was long enough to reach her tailbone area.
"I never would have thought that the person I mistook for an intruder would end up bossing me around a couple days later", said D14 as she nudged 2B's side with her elbow. "things just keep getting more interesting by the second huh?
The rest of the squad was composed of units she'd never met before.
"all long-range attack units take position on the nearby rooftops and provide support for the defense class units as we attempt to break the enemy formation."
Two blonde girls stepped in front of 2B and saluted before introducing themselves. Their bodies and proportions were identical, even their faces were the same, their haircuts and eye color was what made them different however, they both had short, neck-length hair with bangs covering one of their eyes, one of the girls had green eyes, while the other had bright, blue eyes.
The one with green eyes spoke first, her hair covering her right eye "special forces unit, class X, Codename Snow.", she said, before bowing and materializing a heavily modified CheyTac M200 which was painted completely white.
The one with blue eyes stepped forward and repeated Snow's introduction almost completely, her hair covering her left eye. "special forces unit, class X. Codename Violet.", upon finishing her introduction she bowed like Snow had done and extended her hand forward, materializing a heavily modified Barrett M82, which had multiple purple accents near the stock.
"we are under your command.", they both said before loading a bullet into each of their weapons' respective chambers.
"I guess it's my turn again.", said D14 as she stood beside the twins. She extended both of her arms in front of her, one arm creating a massive shield while the other created an extremely sharp looking spear. "Defense class, name's D14."
The green haired girl broke through the crowd of people and bowed to 2B, "you know me haha, medic class, name's M16, I'll oversee the team's well-being. I look forward to a successful mission."
2B bowed back to each member before materializing her own sword in front of her, "it is a great pleasure to work with you all, let us finish this quickly." Once she was done she nodded to the twins who rushed towards some nearby buildings, climbing them effortlessly before radioing that their positions were ready. D14 was next, she slammed her shield into the ground and extended it into a Person-length slab of metal.
"let's go, all units advance!", shouted 2B as she rushed forward slicing machines along the way, the twins could be heard firing behind her while D14 ran beside her, shoving machines away with her massive shield.
Not too far away, A2 had just finished destroying the machines outside of the resistance camp, hundreds of metallic corpses laid atop of each other around her.
"any more?", asked A2, her left cheek covered in a mixture of oil and blood.
[negative, all surrounding hostiles neutralized, units 2B and 9S have arrived within city limits however, should I signal our location?], asked the crow which was now flying beside her. Its wings covered in oil and blood as well.
"that's fine, set up a beacon here so they know where to go."
[understood], said Sebastian before shooting a laser up into the sky.
A2 looked at the laser before cleaning her sword and heading into the now destroyed camp. "unto the next part." She said to herself as she slashed some debris out of her way.
Squad A was attacked as soon as they landed, hundreds of Goliath class robots had made their way to the city from within the desert. Thankfully R4 was unharmed, the rest of them weren't so lucky however. 2 members had been heavily wounded, those units being 98B and 67B, two red haired B units that had rushed in front of the group to protect the others at the time of the attack.
"damn it…Medic!", shouted 9S amidst the gunfire and explosions.
"coming! Please state your location!", shouted another voice from within the chaos of battle.
"sending signal now." Replied 9S, shortly after a short girl, much like R4 landed beside him, creating cracks on the pavement under her.
Once she was able to spot the wounded soldiers she rushed towards them, taking a knee beside 9S as she applied multiple gels to their wounds using her pod, which had a cross laid on its midsection. "I'm here leader, please leave these two to me.", she said before smiling and nodding to 9S. 9S nodded back with a concerned look on his face before turning around towards the battle ahead.
"where is A2?!" shouted R4 as she fired multiple bullets into the mass of robots using Naga, who had turned into a mounted machinegun to allow her small body to withstand the recoil.
"outside of the camp! She just cleared the area we just have to reach her!", 9S shouted back, trying to dodge enemy attacks while he took multiple glances back at R4 to make sure no enemies were around her.
A2 wondered through the deserted streets of the resistance camp, multiple corpses littered the street, some headless, some missing multiple limbs, but none were torn apart like the victims of the cannibal machines usually were, which meant there were none inside of the base yet.
Sword in hand, the silver haired android sprinted from corner to corner, trying to maintain a high level of stealth.
"any readings?", whispered A2 as she peeked around a corner trying to find a sign of life.
[one hostile reading and 27 allied readings, 14 now, the hostile target has just eliminated some allied signals.]
A2 looked back at the crow on her shoulder in surprise, "already? That wasn't even a second."
[positive, the hostile target is showing readings more powerful than a Colossal Goliath class robot.]
A2 tightened her grip around her blade and began climbing the tent in front of her.
As she reached the top she was startled to find the girl from her earlier dream there, the same crimson flower still on her hand. She smiled and brought her hand up to her lips as if to silence A2 before she could say anything. She then bent down and caressed A2's cheek with extreme care before uttering a set of words.
"if she dies, so do we."
And with that she was gone, with a blink of the eye, her existence disappeared and A2 was left staring at open sky with a look of awe and shock on her face.
"S-Sebastian who was just here!?"
[impossible to measure, there have been no close-range signals]
"what…"
If she dies, so do we.
The words echoed within A2's mind, as she stared down at the courtyard she could see Anemone down on the ground, an unknown blue haired girl slowly making her way towards her, blades in hand.
A2 was about to jump before a sharp pain cracked her focus, she bent backwards clutching her head as hard as she could, screaming as the pain grew stronger and stronger. Sebastian flew in front of her trying to understand what was happening to its user.
[do you require medical assistance], asked the crow before A2 arched her body forward in a violent motion, a glow of red hidden beneath her bright blue eyes. Without a split second of hesitation A2 jumped off into the distance, landing right on top of the blue haired attacker. While A2 was still in the air, Sebastian took the chance to shoot the blades out of the blue haired girl's hands.