We interrupt your regularly scheduled Persona fanfiction to bring you something from the Nier series.
Hey, guys, TheNewWorldFool here, and welcome to my latest experiment! You see, I recently discovered the Nier series and I must admit, I am having a good time with it. And thus, this little experiment was born. Now then, that being said, as time travel and magic are involved, I very much plan on making several changes to the story of Nier: Replicant, rather than merely sticking 9S and 2B into the Nier/Nier: Replicant storyline, and then boom, ship it. What these changes are, however, I am still in the process of developing and perfecting, so you'll all just have to enjoy the ride with me. That being said, I personally hope you guys like the changes.
Oh, and in case anyone was curious the Prologue takes place between Ending B and the start of Route C, so no one's been infected by the Logic Virus, 9S knows the truth about humanity, but hasn't told 2B (yet), A2 is still running wild and is a fugitive wanted by YoRHa, and Adam and Eve are presumed dead, and are in truth most likely working on their Ark. The Replicant side of things will have us pick up not long after Nier and Grimoire Weiss have set out for the Aerie village, having witnessed our dynamic duo in action.
Also, consider this your official spoiler warning for Nier Replicant and a good hunk of Nier Automata.
Well, apart from that, I don't really have much else to talk about, so let us start the game!
Prologue
A Heady Battle
What looked like two people, one male and one female, with white hair clad in black outfits and blindfolds walked through what had been, in ancient times, a shopping center, accompanied by two smaller robots, one white, the other black. Had this been a few millennia ago, they would no doubt be just two more faces in the crowd. However, the shopping district had been reclaimed by nature long ago, and the two people walking through its ruins weren't even people, but rather two highly advanced combat androids from YoRHa, built for the sole purpose of reclaiming the Earth from the machines who had driven humanity to the moon.
The male of the pair had the designation of Scanner-Type, Model Number 9, or 9S for short. The female was Battler-Type, Model Number 2, or 2B for short. Originally, the two units had been sent to Earth in order to rendezvous with the local android Resistance, an allied group to YoRHa, although not explicitly part of the operation. However, their assignment quickly evolved not long after their arrival, to say the least of what they had been through together, between encountering a village full of friendly machines, taking down Goliath units, and uncovering the remains of the very aliens who had laid waste to humanity.
During their travels across the desolate world, the two androids had encountered a strange creature called Emil, who, as it turned out, ran something of a travelling shop. Emil had asked them to let him know if they had found any beautiful white flowers known as Lunar Tears, as they seemed to invoke an unfamiliar emotion in him. However, it now seemed as though he had worked through whatever emotions the flowers had triggered within him, as Emil had given them the key to an old elevator within the very shopping center the androids now found themselves in.
It didn't take 9S and 2B very long to locate and descend the elevator that the key belonged to, and when they saw what awaited them there, both androids were taken aback by the beautiful sight before them. It was a veritable field of Lunar Tears, surrounding what looked like a shack of some kind.
"Wow… look at all the Lunar Tears!" said 9S, being the first to voice his amazement.
"Where are we?" 2B asked, curiosity evident in her voice as she looked around the area.
Before 9S could respond, a familiar voice spoke from behind the two androids. "Thank you for coming," it said.
9S and 2B quickly turned around, their hands reaching for their weapons, only to find Emil, who took the form of a round, skull-like ball that was frozen in a permanent grin attached to a vehicle-like robotic body that carried a variety of objects, such as the wares he sold.
"Emil, what is this place?" 2B asked the traveling merchant.
"It's the place from my memories that I worked so hard to protect," Emil explained. "Or, to be exact… the place protected by the person I used to be…"
2B and 9S looked at each other, confusion evident on their faces. "Er, sorry, I don't get it," said 9S.
Emil heaved a sigh. "A long time ago, I was just an ordinary human living in an orphanage, but then my sister and I were turned into weapons that could adapt to any environment, and were capable of using magic to bring about total destruction. We were meant to be 'humanity's last hope' against the crisis it was facing at the time. This was thousands of years before the aliens and the machines showed up, you understand," he began to explain.
"You… were a human?" asked 2B, surprise evident in her voice.
"You're… a weapon?" asked 9S, curiosity evident in his voice.
Emil nodded. "Yes, to both. If you wanna be technical about it, I'm more than likely the last human on Earth. The rest of them fled to the moon, but I'm sure you know that already. More importantly, when the war against the aliens started, I decided to strengthen the weapon I had become in order to annihilate the aliens, so to do that, I decided to make copies of myself," he explained.
"Interesting…" said 2B thoughtfully as Emil continued his story.
"So, you see, in truth, I'm actually just one out of a countless number of Emils, each with the power to reduce an entire settlement to ashes. Together, the other clones and I could destroy this entire planet if we wanted to. I- or, we, I guess, worked with each other, to keep out defensive lines intact. But… the more of ourselves we created… the more our original memories began to fade away…" Emil said, sadness in his voice.
"The original Emil… he liked this place a lot. He spent a lot of time here with people he loved. They were tough times… sad times… but, the memories of the journey they all shared together were his greatest treasure, and I have a few traces of those memories in my own mind," Emil continued.
"And where's the original Emil now?" asked 9S.
Emil looked down at the ground in sadness. "I… don't know. There were so many of us that after a while, we just…"
"Oh…" 9S said sadly.
"And there's still something that all us Emils need to settle…" said Emil.
"Hmm?" said 2B, her interest piqued at what Emil had just said.
Emil made a small sound before he spoke up again. "You know… you guys have sure gotten strong… I doubt you'll need my help anymore…"
2B frowned at Emil's words. "What do you mean?" she asked the merchant.
Emil suddenly looked nervous. "Um, nothing. Don't worry about it," he said, his nervousness evident in his voice. "Um, I gotta go. Take care now!"
With that, Emil made a beeline for the elevator that led into the cavern and used it to ascend to the surface.
2B hummed thoughtfully. "Emil sure is acting odd… Pod-" she started to say, only for her Pod to be way ahead of her.
"Pursuit marker placed on map," the Pod said. "Target is heading toward the desert."
"Nice work," said 2B before she and 9S made a beeline towards the elevator that Emil had just ascended.
Desert Zone-A Short While Later…
2B and 9S emerged from the Transporter that had been recently installed at the Access Point in the approximate center of the Desert Zone.
"Hmm… the tracker says Emil isn't too far from here… what do you think he's up to?" 9S asked his companion.
"I don't know… but, something tells me it has something to do with whatever it is Emil we know and the other clones have to settle, which means we don't have time to lose, especially if all those clones are capable of complete and total destruction like Emil said," replied 2B before catching sight of two rather conveniently-placed boars, which the two androids proceeded to mount like horses and ride in the direction the tracker that they'd tagged Emil with indicated, and quickly found themselves in a sandstorm.
But, even with the sand billowing all around them, 2B and 9S were able to follow the tracker to find where their friend had run, or perhaps more accurately, driven, off to. Although, even without the tracker, it was actually pretty obvious where Emil was, as evidenced by further examination of the large round spheres that both androids were pretty certain hadn't been there when they'd explored the desert previously.
"Are these… Emil…?" 9S asked no one in particular, as it was pretty obvious that these spheres had the exact same appearance as their travelling merchant friend.
The attention of both androids was quickly captured by the sound of someone coughing nearby. Following the source, 2B and 9S found the Emil that they knew, his truck-like body badly damaged as blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. He likely didn't have much time left if they didn't repair him quickly.
"Emil!" cried 2B as she and 9S came to the merchant's aid.
"Watch… out…" warned Emil before having himself a coughing fit. "They're… still... alive…"
9S was about to ask who Emil was talking about before the ground beneath the two androids shook violently. Quickly turning towards the source of the vibrations, 9S and 2B stood in wide-eyed shock as what looked like a centipede of giant Emil heads burst from beneath the sound with a loud, reverberating, and anguished cry.
"Dammit! Pod, give me an analysis! What are we dealing with here!" cried 2B.
"Alert: magical weapons from the Old World detected," 2B's Pod said. "Magical elements have a high probability of penetrating all defense systems, as well as generating impervious defenses of their own. Proposal: evade."
"You don't need to tell me twice!" said 9S as the giant Emil heads started dropping regular-sized Emil heads from above like bombs from an airplane as the two androids' Pods opened fire with a hailstorm of bullets, missiles, and laser beams.
"I… WE'RE…" the giant Emil heads said as one as they separated and landed on the ground. "ETERNITY… IT HURTS… IT REALLY HURTS! WHY JUST US?! WHY DO WE HAVE TO…? WE… WE MUST… KILL THEM ALLLLLLLL!" the clones bellowed as some of them unleashed a powerful laser blast from their eyes while still others produced more regular-sized Emil heads to use as explosive projectiles, with 9S and 2B doing everything they could to avoid the onslaught while trying to land at least a few decent hits in, a task easier said than done.
"WE DON'T NEED IT! WE DON'T NEED THIS WORLD!" the Emils bellowed as their attacks became stronger and came faster, pushing 9S and 2B's auto-evasion chips to their absolute limits.
"Alert: elemental output from magical weapons has increased. Probability of magical weapons experiencing critical systems failure and self-destructing increased by 86.9 percent," 9S' Pod warned the androids.
Self-destructing? Things of this size? thought 9S as a slight feeling of dread passed through him. "Minimum safe distance in the event of magical weapons self-destruction?" he asked his Pod.
"Analyzing…" the Pod said. After a moment, the Pod spoke up again, only it wasn't something either android wanted to hear. "Red Alert: no minimum safe distance detected. Explosion caused by magical weapons' detonation will cause complete destruction of Earth. Proposal: destroy magical weapons as quickly as possible."
"Oh no…" cried 2B, a feeling of worry and panic passing through her at this information, right before she received an incoming transmission from Emil.
"I suppose I should explain…" Emil said, sadness in his voice. "Those 'magical weapons' you guys are fighting… those are… what happened to my clones… millenia of multiplying and fighting in wars… it's caused their sense of self to completely deteriorate, causing them to meld into a hive mind… you guys need to get out of here… I need to settle things with them… on my own!"
"Request denied, Emil. These things are threatening the entire planet, and you're in no fit shape to fight. This is our battle now," said 2B, a fierce determination in her voice as she and 9S continued to fight against the swarm of clones.
As the clones continued to fire increasingly powerful laser blasts and spawn more explosive Emil heads into existence, they all started singing a tune unknown to both the androids before they spoke once more. "I… WE TRIED OUR BEST! IN THE RAIN, IN THE WIND IN THE STORM! EVEN WHEN OUR COMPANIONS DIED, WE KEPT FIGHTING! BUT THE ETERNAL WAR… OUR ETERNAL PAIN… HA HA HA HA… THE ETERNAL PAIN!" the Emils ranted and raved as they began conjuring up shields that completely protected them against any and all forms of damage, much to 2B and 9S' concern and panic.
"IT SCREAMED AT US!" the Emil copies continued. "IT TOLD US THAT THERE WAS NOTHING OF VALUE TO PROTECT IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE… THAT THIS WORLD NO LONGER HAD ANY MEANING… IT SCREAMED AT US!" the clones said, all of them now protected by their shields as they devolved into fits of insane laughter and sobbing while they continued to attack.
"Aaah!" 2B cried out in pain as an energy attack from one of the clones sent her and 9S flying through the air over the sands.
"YOU… ALL OF YOU… THIS PAIN… THIS SADNESS… THIS DESPERATION! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT!" the Emil clones snarled in anger as 2B and 9S struggled to pull themselves to their feet, but found it very difficult to do, most likely because of the magical energies they'd just been blasted with.
As soon as the clones finished their ranting, 2B received another transmission from Emil. "But, even so… all of this is WRONG! No matter how hard or how painful the struggles was, they never gave up! Not against the Shadowlord or anyone else! They kept fighting, because they believed they could overcome someday! Isn't that right, Kainé?!" Emil cried, desperation in his voice as a final countdown appeared on 2B and 9S' heads-up displays, but found they still lacked the ability to stand and fight on as Emil, whom neither android held any shred of doubt was the genuine article, continued his speech.
"Even if it's pointless, you still have to do it!" Emil cried out, tears no doubt soaking his face if he were still capable of producing them. "BECAUSE THIS IS THE WORLD MY FRIEND TRIED TO SAVE!"
The Emil clones grunted in pain as the Earth began to shake like a child's rattle. 9S couldn't help but give a small, sad chuckle.
"Well… I guess this is it," he said sadly as he turned to face his companion and friend. "2B… it was truly an honor serving with-hmph!"
9S was cut off from what he was about to say by 2B pressing her lips firmly against his own, taking him by surprise, before closing his eyes and indulging himself in the kiss. After a few moments, as the countdown approached its end, 2B broke the kiss and uttered what she was sure would be her final words.
"The honor was mine, 9S…"
And cut! Well, I think this story is off to a pretty okay start, I did throw some ad lib in there to try to make things fresh. Also, I will be putting a poll up on my fanfiction profile, asking a simple, but important question: should 9S and 2B be given the ability to use magic because of the explosion? But, in any case, if this prologue has piqued your interest, then be sure to fave, follow, and review, and join us next time as 9S and 2B find themselves in the Old World! See you then!
UPDATE: Well, from the looks of things, the ayes have it. A2 is now officially a character in this fic! And, as a matter of fact, will be making her debut in the very next chapter, along with Nier and Grimoire Weiss. Wether Kainé makes an appearance is still up in the air, but I can tell you this: that asshole in charge of the Aerie village is gonna be in for a VERY rude awakening, cause A2 don't take no shit from no one. Also, about sixty percent of this fic is gonna be made up of swear words because of both Kainé and A2 being here. You have been warned...