A dreamy child learned a valuable lesson at the ruins of a civilization.

"That concludes our report on the events surrounding the alien wreckage," 2B reported to the Commander, 9S standing idly by her side and feeling more than a little out of place.

"Then they were dead this whole time..." said the Commander ponderously. "The Council of Humanity needs time to formulate a plan. Until then, this information must be kept confidential. Speak of it to no one."

"Of course," replied 2B. 9S wondered if this meant that they could have a break for once, but he didn't have long to daydream about that possibility before the Commander spoke again.

"Your next mission is to gather additional intel on the individual known as 'Pascal.'"

"You mean that freaky machine we ran into?" asked 9S, suddenly not very keen on the mission. Sure those particular machines in Pascal's village were fascinating, but 9S just knew that it had to be a trap. The villagers would lure the androids into a false sense of security, and as soon as they'd gained their trust...Boom!

"This order comes directly from the Council," said the Commander firmly, and 9S knew that they had no choice in the matter. "Knowledge of such unique individuals is essential for the success of future missions."

"Understood," said 2B quickly. Too quickly. Did she not want 9S to speak anymore? Was she embarrassed by him? 9S didn't want to ask her directly for fear that she'd brush him off (Why would I be embarrassed when emotions are prohibited?"), so he waited until they were well out of earshot before speaking again.

"Man, the Commander sure is a slave driver, huh?" he said as he followed 2B back into the corridor. "And now we have to go back to the city ruins." He paused for a moment. "Why don't we rest a little bit, 2B?" he continued. "It's been a while." He knew that they'd only just rested at the Resistance Camp before transporting to the Bunker, but he felt like they deserved a little vacation. The alien threat was dead, after all; all they had to deal with now was what remained of their army. And Adam and Eve, he supposed...

"I'll rest if I feel like it," 2B responded shortly, and 9S decided to drop it.

They both had mail, which they checked at the access point together. The first message was from Pascal, which he ignored as they'd be heading over to his village soon enough. The next piece of mail surprised her, as it came from Jackass.

Fish

Sender: Jackass

Hey,

Sorry to bring this up out of the blue, but I've got a fish I want to recommend to YoRHa units. Er, or to be more precise, I want YOU to eat it so I can study how its oil affects a YoRHa unit. You know? For science?

Anyhoo, stop by if you get bored. It's my treat.

—Jackass

Curious...9S glanced at 2B, who met his gaze steadily. When he indicated the second message they'd just received, 2B shrugged. He knew that she would often allow him to lead the way on certain quests that had little bearing on their main missions; he hoped that this was one of those times as he transported himself to the Desert Camp. Thankfully, 2B had followed him.

"Oh yeah," said Jackass as 9S approached, "I still have to give you that stupid fish." She pulled something out of her pocket. "So this thing is called a 'mackerel' and apparently eating it has a horrible effect on androids. I'd love to see what it does, so go ahead and chow down. Don't blame me if you die, though." She handed over the mackerel.

9S stared at the fish in his hands. He'd seen this type of fish before. He'd caught several in his quest to log all possible data he could on the fish inhabiting the surrounding environment. He had then sold them all in order to satisfy 2B's never ending quest for weapon upgrades. It was sort of nice to have received another one instead of being forced to search for one again, he had to admit to himself; some of those fish had been tricky to find.

Jackass had said that this particular type of fish had a horrific effect on androids. And he would be the one to test it out. He admitted to being nervous...but it was vastly outweighed by his curiosity. All of the data that they had collected for Jackass — how YoRHa units had been basically built to enjoy combat, to get an almost human-like orgasmic satisfaction from it — it was all so endlessly fascinating. 9S resolved then and there to help further Jackass's, and indeed his own, research into this wonderful world they lived in, and dug into the mackerel without hesitation.

Having consumed the mackerel, it didn't take long for the android's body fluids to congeal. Muscle rigidity and paralysis soon followed.

It was good, though, the android thought as consciousness faded. Exquisite even. No wonder humans used to eat them...