Immediately, 2B had leaped for 9S, just as Captain Red had commanded. With a giddy laugh and a hair flip, she had practically gotten away with doing almost nothing. Almost.
"2B, what are you doing?" 9S dodged her attacks, but he knew he wasn't strong enough to fight an E unit on his own. "A2! Got any ideas?"
"Maybe we should infect you with the logic virus again. You actually almost beat me that time."
"It's deactivated!"
"E-drugs?"
"Fat chance!"
2B's attacks were relentless. There were no ideas in his head to stop her except to block her attacks and keep his distance. Her pods weren't listening, knowing that this wasn't her order. A2 had taken control of the other 2 pods, keeping them safe until 2B could regain her sanity.
"2B, I know you're in there! Snap out of it!"
"You've accessed confidential data. This action is prohibited, so you must be destroyed."
"Destroy me, and you'll never forgive yourself!"
The words flowed out of him, even though he barely remembered saying them. He didn't want to fight her. But if he didn't, he was dead."
A2 began taking on the captain herself. "Wait, what if you hack her?"
"Which one?"
"Either!"
"Warning: Hacking the target may lead Unit 9S to become damaged. Proposal: Focus on melee combat."
"Cram it, pod."
Negative. This pod is here to provide support to Unit 9S. Therefore, this pod cannot allow Unit 9S to participate in actions that would put his life at risk."
"Cram it!"
He knew that the 2B he knew was still under those colorless eyes. This wasn't like her. She'd made a promise to him. And he didn't care about what he would find inside her complex memory circuits.
Upon hacking, 9S found himself deep in the memories of the infected android. Most of them were mundane. 2B training with her fellow E-units, analyzing killing techniques, fighting machines in the surrounding desert area. None of it useful to him. He didn't care about the past at this point. Well, maybe he cared about the past when he was involved. White corridors filled with images surrounded him. He wanted to see all of it, but restrained himself.
But then he came across something he'd always wondered about. Their first meeting. She came off... really kind actually. Maybe she had originally thought that if she'd put up a persona of being his friend, he'd never suspect her. Maybe that 2B was the real one. The one who hadn't been through the pain of killing him yet. The one who was still filled with the same sense of pride he was whenever he was rebooted. Soldiers meant to protect humanity, even if they were fighting for a lie.
"Hello, ma'am! I'm 9S!"
"Hi, 9S. I'm 2-2B."
"So, what's our mission, ma'am?"
"Please, don't call me ma'am. It feels... weird. We're comrades. 2B's fine."
"Alright! 2B it is!"
"We need to talk to 1D over there, with the black pigtails. She's our leader."
"Thanks. I hope we get to work more in the future! I'm sick of working alone!"
Little did he know, every mission of his would be with 2B. He rarely worked alone, which was odd for a Scanner. But in every memory he saw, they were together. He heard his own voice more than he did 2B's. Each life was different. All 51 of his different lives had known someone different in the beginning, when 2B was still learning, but as time when on, 2B had become affirmed in her cold personality that slowly opened up as they worked together more. The longer his life, the more uneasy and protective 2B became. That was, until the most recent life before Adam and Eve.
There was another memory further down. He saw himself lying on the ground of a temple, his life draining as blood dripped from his neck.
"Because... I had fun. I'm sure my other selves would've agreed. Don't hesitate to kill me, okay? We'll meet again. Promise?"
"Promise."
9S then turned the sword towards his stomach, ending his life by destroying his black box.
9S was shocked by what he found. He must've underestimated his feelings for 2B. Making sure her mission wasn't compromised to save her? It sounded so like him, but…
And her choices… the picture of the hacking space covered in black thorns haunted his memory, even as he continued through. Watching the memories that had been taken from him time and time again, he began to realize something.
Every time he'd met 2B, he felt a connection hidden beneath her cold guise. He didn't know it then, but his words were similar every time.
"Hello, ma'am! My name's 9S. I'm here to provide support."
"Alright, 2B it is!"
"Don't be so reckless next time, 2B. That was dangerous."
"I've got your back anytime."
"Scanners like me usually work alone. I don't usually get a partner! It's kinda fun!"
"Goodbye, 2B."
With each hack, he uncovered another memory that he knew was precious to 2B. All of her memories of the times they spent together… Even though they fought countless machines, destroyed as many enemies as they could in order to save humanity, the only thing he cared about was being with 2B. In his memories, he'd always look at her with a bright smile. And he still did.
He wandered down long corridors, filled with memories that he wanted to look at, but didn't have the time.
And then he came upon the right memory that he was looking for. One that wasn't hers, but the Captain's. It was probably implanted by her needle. It was a virus itself, created to make the infected android feel the Captain's pain and do what she ordered.
"Number Two, you can do this. I don't want to lose you too!"
9S watched as A2 hesitated to kill him through his pod's eyes.
"No, Number Two!"
Her limp body tumbled to the ground, soon taking 9S along with it.
"He's going to pay for this! He'll pay he'll pay he'll…"
The Captain's words were drowned out by tears. She took a vial from a drawer in her desk. "I'll make everyone pay for what they've done to YoRHa."
9S finished off the last core in the Hacking Space and returned to reality. He realized why Captain Red was doing all of this. A secret resolve to kill the one who'd destroyed everything. She blamed him for the loss of her closest partner, even though she was one of the units fighting her.
So, I wasn't wrong.
A quick flash of crimson appeared before his eyes. 9S's energy was taken from him in an instant, and he fell to the ground.
All he could hear was 2B's screams.
When the captain saw 2B's limp body from 9S's hacking, she'd retreated. 4S and 5B came minutes late to the fight, only to see 9S hacking his way through the android he loved.
"What's going on here?" 5B asked.
A2's sword disappeared in a flurry of particles as it returned to code. "The Captain attacked."
As 9S reawakened from hacking, he saw 2B's sword pointed extremely close to him. As she collapsed, the sword hit his body.
"2B, please wake up." 9S cradled her body in his arms, gently shaking her.
"9S! You're hurt!"
"I don't care! I want to make sure 2B's alright!"
"What if you weren't successful?"
"Then that's what I have to live with.
What did he see in there? A2 wondered.
"Pod, help him."
His leather gloves brushed loose locks of hair away from her face. "I'm sorry for all that I did, just please don't go."
2B's eyes fluttered open. "Nines?"
But then her eyes widened quickly, realizing what she'd done. She picked up her sword before dashing away as fast as she could, tears streaming from her eyes as the pain built up inside of her, like a volcano about to explode.
153 and 042 began working as quickly as they could to repair 9S. His black box and his memory circuits hadn't been damaged, so all they needed to do was fix the wiring and circuitry.
5B tried to stop A2 from leaving. "A2... why are you going after her?"
"She's scared. She accidentally hurt the person she tried her best to protect! How would you feel if that had happened to you?"
5B remembered the group she worked with. 3B, 34B, 15H, 28D, 17S... They were her family... And she failed them, and hadn't been lucky enough to get her chance to atone.
"Alright. But, maybe you should wait."
"Why?"
"9S will want to help."
