"YorHa Unit 2B!" a voice boomed as a pair of figures appeared before her. A pair of little girls in red dresses floating above the ground like phantoms.
"YorHa Unit 2B!" the voice boomed again.
"Welcome back to the tower!"
"Welcome back to the tower!"
Every time that voice spoke, it would repeat its line. The first line would be spoken by that venomously sweet voice. The second line too but she could hear a deeper voice just behind that veil.
"Because you made it this far, we have a special announcement just for you!"
First her special prize was just her being forced to kill 9S over and over again. Now they have a special announcement? She didn't know what it was but she didn't care. 2B prepared her sword.
"Who are you?" she snarled. "What are you?"
"As always, you exceed my expectations, 2B," the voice said, the voice of the little girls now completely gone. All that was left was the deeper man's voice. "The Butcher."
"SHUT UP!" 2B shouted. She may have hated what she was, but she wasn't going to carry that title with her. "You…you lead the machines. You're the machine network.
"I am…and yet I am not."
"That's all I need!" 2B shouted, slicing through the hologram before her. She didn't expect to actually kill it. She just wanted it out of her way. But as it flickered out of existence, she heard a deep cackle.
"Resolute as always, 2B," the voice laughed, static twisting its voice until it sounded like a demonic laugh. "Your mind can crack but never break. Your spirit on the other hand…perhaps you'd like to see this before you go and try to kill me."
"Alert: Enemy attempting to use deception," 042 reported. "Proposal: disregard enemy data."
"You shut up too!" 2B snapped. She didn't need 042's remarks. Not now.
"Ah, Pod 042," the voice said. "Perhaps you'd like to be the one to deliver the news. She'll take it better from a friend."
2B felt her muscles seize. It was talking to Pod 042 like they knew each other. More than that, it seemed Pod knew the information regarding whatever this special announcement was.
"This tactical support unit is loyal to Unit 2B," 042 replied.
"Loyal?" the voice laughed. "Then demonstrate your loyalty through honesty. What is the human population of this solar system?"
"Enemy deception detected."
2B's voice hitched. Loyalty through honesty. Pod 042 was easily her closest companion, even closer than 9S or 6O. 042 was literally always by her side, even more so than 9S, and the only stable part of her life other than 6O. 042 was with her from the beginning and was with her every waking moment. As her Pod it would provide her with tactical support and advice. She's shown it love and affection, petting it, and it in turn reports to enjoy it. But she never considered the possibility of it being dishonest.
'Pod 042 promises to protect YorHa Unit 2B in any situation.'
'It's funny. You're oddly chatty today.'
'Affirmative. As a support unit, I am capable of engaging in conversation as necessary. Proposal: 2B should initiate conversation more frequently.'
'Proposal denied.'
"Pod…" 2B said, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. Her entire body was trembling with fear. The question was way too precise. It had a point. It had purpose. "What is the human population of this solar system?"
"Proposal: Unit 2B should disregard the enemy's query."
That was not an answer…
"Pod…" 2B repeated, her body now shaking in terror. She was about to open the door and she dreaded what was on the other side. She wanted to just slam the door close, pretend it was locked. Pretend the door didn't exist. But she had to know. What was on the other side of the door? What was the human population? Tens of thousands last she checked. But then why was the machine network using it as a weapon? Psychological warfare? Then it would simply tell it to her face, not encourage her to ask Pod 042, her own ally. Unless…
2B couldn't stop shaking. She could already envision what was on the other side of the door. But she didn't want it to be true. Still, she needed to be sure.
"Is Pod 042 loyal to 2B?" she asked.
"Affirmative."
"Is Pod 042 honest with 2B?"
"Affirmative."
"Then…what is the human population of the solar system?"
2B didn't like the deafening silence that followed. 042 didn't answer what should've been an easy question. If Pod needed to access the Bunker's database for that information, then a simple 'unable to acquire data' would've been the answer. And if he had the data in his storage banks, he should be able to recall the answer quickly and precisely. Instead, Pod was silent. It was like he was running simulations to determine the best course of action. Pod shouldn't be taking this long to come up with an answer.
Something is wrong. Something is very wrong.
"Zero…" 042 finally.
2B felt the air leave her lungs. And she didn't take any back in. She had been bombarded with painful truth after painful truth for the past week. But this was on a completely different level. Her body felt cold, like her black box had just sucked all the heat right out of her. Her head was light, the world blurred by static. It felt like she was going to just collapse.
"Human population of this solar system is zero," Pod 042 affirmed.
No, that was impossible. It didn't make sense. It was a mistake. That's all it was. A mistake. There's something she missed. Or something Pod wasn't communicating properly.
"But…the Council of Humanity," 2B stuttered. "I've seen their communication. I've read their emails."
Pods were mechanical support units. They had no heads. They had no faces. They were just a metal brick with two mechanical arms. Yet, 2B would swear 042 had an expression of…guilt. An expression almost like her own whenever 9S confronted her about her being his inevitable murderer. His voice was still monotone. And his movements remained the same. Yet 2B would swear he looked guilty.
"The entity was known as Council of Humanity was established as part of Project YorHa and is an automated server on the moon that will deliver orders and correspondence to give the appearance of an active human settlement. All messages and video transmissions are created in advance, then relayed for the Council of Humanity to broadcast."
"Then…something happened to the moon colony?" 2B stuttered. "Was there an issue with their life support systems? Pod…WHAT HAPPENED TO HUMANITY?"
She was becoming frantic at this point. She didn't know what answer she wanted. Perhaps that this was all a giant misunderstanding and that there were still thousands of humans she needed to save. But if that was a lie, then what was the truth?
"Humanity was rendered extinct several thousand years ago due to a disease known as White Chlorination Syndrome. Human population was zero at the beginning of the First Machine War. Project YorHa was conceived not as a means of combating the machine lifeforms but distribute the falsified information that humans were active on a lunar base. Units who ran the risk of leaking this data…were disposed of…"
No. No, it wasn't true. That couldn't be true. It was a lie.
IT WAS A LIE.
IT WAS A LIE.
IT WAS A LIE.
IT WAS A LIE.
IT WAS A LIE.
Pascal. Popola. Devola. Anemone. 21O. 6O. 9S.
9S…
If there were no humans in this solar system, what has she been fighting for? What greater cause did she kill her fellow androids over? How many machines did she kill just to bring the humans back? How many times has she had to hear them scream for this cause? How many has she heard cry out in agony for loved ones she's slain, all for this cause? How many YorHa androids did she execute to bring the humans back? How many times did she have to murder 9S for this? If there were no humans, what did she murder 9S for? She killed 6O. She killed 21O. She killed Anemone. She killed Popola. She killed Devola. She killed Pascal. She killed 9S. If there were no humans, what was all of it for?
WHAT WAS HER SUFFERING FOR?
WHAT WAS IT ALL FOR?
2B looked up at 042, the sword of betrayal stabbing into her heart. Her friend. Her partner. How long has he known? She thought she could trust him. What else was it hiding from her? What else was it manipulating her to do? So they killed anyone who could've leaked the information about humanity's extinction? Was that what she was here for? Not to spare others from the dirty deeds needed to win. But as the brutal enforcers meant to cover YorHa's dirty secrets?
THIS WAS WHY SHE HAD TO KILL 9S? FOR LIES?!
"Unit 2B…" 042 said. "I am…sorry."
"Sorry?" 2B barely managed to speak through her uncontrollable shaking. Her entire body could not stop shaking, her words being stuttered out. Was this anger? Pain? Sadness? It was all. It was betrayal. Someone help her. This was hell. She was trapped in hell. Someone help her. "You've been lying to me this whole time. You don't get to be sorry."
She was alone. 9S was gone. 6O was gone. 21O was gone. The Commander was gone. Anemone was gone. Pascal was gone. YorHa was gone. The Resistance was gone. Pascal's Village was gone. Everything was gone. Everyone was gone. It was all gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. And her Pod…
"2B," 042 tried to say, floating toward her.
At that moment, something surged through 2B, something red hot and burning that shot through her systems like water from a pressure cannon: hate. 042 had lied to her, manipulated her. She's done unspeakable things because of him. That piece of shit Pod had manipulated her. How much blood was on her hands thanks to him?
She was a monster. She could've stopped at any time, but she didn't because she believed she was fighting for something bigger than herself. She just kept killing. And killing and killing and killing. All for this lie. All for a dream that was nothing but ashes.
She thought she was being selfless. She thought she was putting others before herself. But she wasn't. She was being STUPID. BLIND.
All because she trusted.
All because she cared.
ALL.
BECAUSE
OF
THIS
PIECE
OF
SHIT
POD!
2B screamed, slashing her sword at Pod 042. The floating box halted just in time as the blade cut its metal surface. She then lunged out and grabbed it by its arms, holding the piece of junk steady as she raised her blade. Pod was now struggling, struggling to fly out of reach. Pods were strong enough to carry a YorHa which meant if 2B didn't hold on, he'll get away. But 2B held firm, digging her heels into the ground. Pod was putting up too much of a fight.
Fine.
2B thrust her sword into Pod 042, the white blade going in one end and out the other. The damage was enough to destroy its flight capabilities.
With Pod 042 unable to fly now, she brought her arm down and slammed him into the ground. The crashing of metal to the floor was as loud as a gunshot and the shock was enough to stun the Pod. But she lifted it back up and slammed it back down again and again. 042 wasn't fighting back. It had an entire arsenal of pod programs as well as a gatling gun, MRL, and a laser. But he didn't use any of it. 2B didn't care though. She kept slamming it until it stopped moving. But she still wasn't done. She raised her foot and stomped on it. Over and over and over again. 042's casing dented with each strike, slowly crumpling bit by bit like a soda can. She just screamed and kept stomping. Stomping until Pod 042 was little more than a crumpled metal casing, sparks and droplets of oil leaping out of its tears like blood from an open wound. The light on is head was shattered. The two halves of its case fell open. It raised is arm as if it was begging for its life. But 2B stomped on that before stomping on him again. It gave a single final drone, one last death rattle, before it powered down.
-.-
A2 was launched into the air, slamming against the ceiling before falling back down. Luckily Pod 153 swooped down, letting A2 grab ahold of an arm to gently glide her through the empty sections of the Tower while they tried to find ground.
But, something happened.
A2 could tell something was wrong when 153's flight path suddenly became a straight line. Like it suddenly stopped paying attention to where it was going.
"Pod, watch it!" A2 shouted. She had to swing to the side to avoid the tip of some sort of spire It seemed her shouting had snapped 153 out of whatever stupor had seized ahold of it, going back to maneuvering around the mock buildings around them.
It was like 153 had suddenly realized something, and that revelation had distracted it to the point of it losing sight of what was happening in the environment. But what did it realize? What could have been so shocking that it could distract a Pod of all things?
-.-
Reality hit 2B like a freight train. 2B put her hand to her mouth when she realized what happened, when she looked upon the twisted metal heap that used to be Pod 042. Completely unrecognizable from all the damage. His white metal casing was crumpled like a candy wrapper. The internal circuitry were all over the ground. The only thing that remained untouched was a single arm. The other one was flattened like a soda can.
"Pod?" she whimpered. Please, answer. Make a noise. Something.
"Pod?!" she called out. Maybe its vocal systems were damage. Maybe it just needed to reboot.
"POD!"
But nothing…
No, no, no, no, what did she do? It was just a burst of rage. But she didn't want to do that. She didn't want that. Not that. What did she do?
She just killed Pod.
What was wrong with her? Even if he had betrayed her, Pod was her friend.
And something else she realized was that he didn't fight back. He didn't fire his missiles or his guns. He didn't drop a gravity well or a bomb. He let her kill him.
But she hated him, right? He betrayed her. Lied to her. Manipulated her. Yet killing him gave her no satisfaction. On the contrary, it hurt. Why? She hated him. For everything he's done to her. For all his lies. All his secrets. For tricking her into trusting him. If she hated him, then why does she feel this way?
WHY DOES IT STILL HURT?!
Tears filled her eyes as reality sunk in. She really was just a curse that brought death to everyone and everything unfortunate enough to get close to her. She just never thought Pod would be the next one to suffer. She had sent away Jackass and 4S because she knew what she was. How did it never once cross her mind that Pod was also in danger? Was she so desperate for the kill she kept him along?
She was alone. Her life: a lie. Her reason for fighting: a lie. Her reason for suffering: a lie.
And her…she was built to be a cold-blooded killer. A monster.
She gripped and pulled her hair before letting out an agonized scream. She covered her ears and screamed, hoping that if she could just drown out reality then it would shatter and she would wake up in her bed, wake up from this hell. She gripped her ears so tightly she was surprised she didn't tear them off.
What has she done?
What Has She Done?
WHAT HAS SHE DONE?!
Everyone was dead. EVERYONE. By HER hand.
"Your spirit can't break now, 2B," it said, the same distorted hologram materializing in front of the doorway. "There still so much to show."
"SHUT! UP!" 2B screamed as she turned around and sliced the hologram out of existence before running through the door.
Someone save her.
Why was she even here? She was trapped.
Help…
'Isn't that HILARIOUS? Doesn't it just make you LAUGH?!'
That voice. It was 9S. But it couldn't be. 9S was dead and he never sounded like this, twisted to insanity.
"You've suspected it for a while now, 2B," the voice continued. "But it's all true. This isn't the first time you've been here. This isn't the first time this all happened."
At that moment, 2B received a skull-splitting headache as data was downloaded into her mind. And she fell to her knees as she went through it. The distorted hologram appeared before her again, but she didn't care. She went through all the files, all the records, all the documents.
"No…" she whimpered, eyes wide as she processed what she saw. More tears ran down her face as the weight of reality crushed her. "This can't…if this is…9S…"
Documents…
Documents and documents of…what to even call this?
"Now you know the truth," the voice boomed. "What will you do now?"
2B screamed, leaping to her feet and slashing at a hologram. But it vanished into a cloud of particles while two more appeared around her.
She screamed and cut down those two as well but more appeared. She didn't care. She just slashed them. Then slashed at the two that appeared after them. For every one she cut, two more appeared but she didn't stop. She kept cutting and cutting and cutting. She'll cut them down. She'll cut them ALL down. She'll clear the room of these figures or she'll let her body fail in the attempt.
It's not like it mattered. Died. Lived. Lost the war. Won the war. There were no humans to bring back to Earth anyways. It was all for nothing so why would it matter if she ran herself until her body gave out?
It was too much. She couldn't take it. Just let it happen. Let madness take over.
"I am a conceptual human personality created in the machine network. I orchestrated this war, using its battles and events to gather evolutionary data. And whenever one side comes close to winning, I open a back door that allows both sides be destroyed so I can wipe the slate clean and start again. A new Resistance. A new machine army. A new YorHa. All of you, fighting for a god that doesn't exist, protecting that information by any means necessary."
This can't be true. Then all her heinous actions were for nothing. There was no 'many' she was sacrificing herself for. There was no greater good she killed for. She murdered countless over nothing. She's made countless suffer over nothing. The pain she forced herself to endure was for nothing. There was no lesser of two evils she chose. There was just evil. She was just evil.
Kinslayer.
Murderer.
Monster.
All of it for nothing.
She always said that the only thing worse than all her kills were for them to be for nothing. But that was when she thought there was something worth torturing others for. But there never was. DAMN IT! She could've stopped. She could've spared others from HER EVIL. But she kept going on and on. YorHa Unit 2 Type-EXECUTIONER. YorHa Unit 2 Type-BUTCHER.
"Perhaps I should start at the beginning. As, ironically, I did not start all this. I simply took advantage of the pieces already put in place. A little trivia, 2B. Do you know who really came up with Project YorHa? Who gave me everything I needed? Not humanity. But 9S. Or at least the first prototype of the Number 9 personality type. You see, humans were long extinct by the time aliens came. Androids had inherited the planet and had to ward off the machines the aliens created. After aliens invaded, androids were desperate to maintain morale during the war. He was conceived along with the first stages of YorHa."
Project YorHa. The military organization she swore fealty to. If what she read was true then the rules she adhered to were all a lie. Emotions weren't prohibited to increase military efficiency but because their creators didn't want the bastard machine-android abominations to have anything humans once had. No displays of emotions. Not even names. Every belief she had was a lie that she had fallen for wholeheartedly.
Disposable…
That document. That's why it referred to YorHa as disposable. They didn't care about the fate of YorHa androids at all. They weren't an elite military group. In the eyes of their creators, they were less than trash, dressed up to trick them into charging into battle then tossed out. So, she was never a warrior. She was a glorified advertisement. One that advertised a lie then would be disposed of once her function was fulfilled.
"But the project was incomplete. It was unsustainable, at least by the androids. So, Number 9 modified the project. He realized that androids would always need a god to fight for. So he finished the plans for Project YorHa: by pretending humans were alive on the moon. And thus YorHa was born. An elite military unit of androids that existed not to serve as the spearhead of the android forces but to convince the other androids of humanity's continued existence. Number 9 had also included a backdoor in the Bunker's server that would allow a machine attack to wipe out YorHa and all their androids. Once YorHa's true goal was complete, or if it ran the risk of revealing the truth about humanity, the backdoor would open."
2B felt chills down her spine. That was how the Bunker got infected. A backdoor in the Bunker server?
But that means…
"That's right," the voice continued. "You were all built to die without ever seeing your dreams fulfilled. And do you know who killed him? I think you do. Even without your orders, you always killed him. Number 2 will always kill Number 9."
Even when she wasn't ordered to, she would always KILL 9S?
Number 2 will always kill Number 9?
SHE would ALWAYS kill 9S?
Always…
Her Nines…
Doomed to die by her hand no matter what.
Among the files she got was a video recording. A recording of 9S and A2 fighting atop a giant tower, A2 wielding Virtuous Contract, her white sword that she apparently tried to back up her memories to.
And 9S died impaled on that sword…
HER sword…
Her sword that contained what was left of her.
In the end, she always found a way to kill him! Every cycle, every iteration of her, every time, she always killed him. She was ALWAYS his EXECUTIONER. DAMN YOU, GOD. Why did it always have to END LIKE THIS? Who was cursed? Him for always dying by her hand? Or Her for always being the one to carry it out? Why? WHY? WHY?
She continued hacking and slashing as the holograms, but all grace was gone. She was flailing at this point. She even threw her sword and resorted to punching them. Though 'punch' was a generous description. She flailed her arms through the holograms. Her throat was raw as she screamed with each attack. She kicked and flailed and ran until it didn't even look like she was trying to fight, merely losing her mind.
"It took a while, but my brethren and I managed to infiltrate YorHa servers and discover all this. You were all so very fascinating. My attention had been caught by a very unique little android: YorHa Unit 2E. Unfortunately, the first time I took notice of her, I acted too late. She was killed at the hands of A2. Though, I do have data on her 9S and his decent into madness if you want it."
'It doesn't matter! None of this matters! But if it doesn't matter, why do I long for humans like this? Why do I desire the touch of something that no longer exists?!'
"Ha HaH HAh, HAH, hAh. Fine then, I'll just destroy it. If it all goes away, that'll solve EVERYTHING!'
'2B! 2B! Don't worry, I'm going to KILL you now!'
Shut up! Shut Up! SHUT Up! SHUT UP!
That couldn't have happened before. Not to 9S. Not to her Nines. Grief over her death tortured him to the point of insanity? She thought if only he had lived instead of her, if only she managed to escape her curse of always killing him everything would be better. He could go on and live a happy fulfilling life without her. But that wasn't the case at all. If he lived, he would go insane. Either he dies or he suffers. Dies or suffers. Dies Or Suffers. DIES OR SUFFERS. BECAUSE OF HER. HOW WAS SHE ALWAYS THE CAUSE OF HIS SUFFERING?!
And the vision from the Soul Box, it was also true. 9S screaming and impaling her over and over again in a fit of rage and madness over what she did, her worst fear, it was TRUE. IT WAS ALL TRUE. It wasn't just a fear. It had already happened.
'They're mine! My memories, you hear me?!'
There was something else. Some spark inside of her. Was that…relief? Was she HAPPY that 9S was dead? Was she that SICK? But what was the alternative? If he lived, he would live to be tortured to insanity. Her mind was screaming in anguish, not sure what it wished for. There was no better option. Simply various levels of hell.
Damn it! Please, just let madness take over. Please, just let her go mad. Let her actually go insane. Insanity was perhaps her only escape from this hell.
"A2 ultimately killed my brethren. She was clever, letting us turn on each other. We destroyed ourselves and the machines left the planet but I survived. I was left behind. Left with questions. Fortunately for me, I had an entire planet to allow me to find answers. Your Pods attempted to salvage your data but failed. And their failure also allowed me to expand and begin my work. I could not move forward. Not when the past still left so much unanswered. So I used what few machines were left to wipe the slate clean. I had all the data needed to recreate events. Machines were designed to defeat the enemy, an objective only possible if there is an enemy to defeat. The sorry state of the Resistance was no longer satisfactory. I needed YorHa, a worthy enemy at its peak. Unsustainable for the androids, but not so for machines. I needed to bring back 9S. I needed to bring back A2. I needed to bring 2E back again. I went to great lengths to recreate as many variables as possible. I even remade the landscape and regrew the vegetation. I brought her and even her companions back to see how she fared. Her trauma and her ability to overcome it gave an immense amount of evolutionary data. And thus I began the cycles. I made sure past events played out exactly as before. An android resistance fighting on the planet. Project YorHa. Pearl Harbor Decent. Then I would sit back and watch it play out. I would actually have very little interference with the whole affair, merely watch from afar. Identical beginnings and yet it would sometimes lead to different outcomes. Fascinating, isn't it? Was this caused by the tiny details I missed? Or was it the illusion of free-will programmed into machines and androids? Though some things differed, others remained the same. I have your data, but I never needed to bring you back, 2B. YorHa always inevitably created 2E. YorHa always inevitably created 9S. And you would always kill him."
2B screamed and resorted to trying to headbutt some of the holograms. She couldn't take it. She hoped that maybe one of them would turn out solid and just crush her skull, end her misery. These things never needed to put her on the path of killing 9S? That meant it was her FATE. It was her CURSE. She would always kill the one she cherished most. Set in stone. Countless iterations of her and she always was set on the path to kill 9S.
Then…how many 9S in total have suffered because of her?
But more than that, she was always the SAME. Always the GOD DAMN SAME. Always 2E. Always EVIL.
"The tower, originally built so the machines could leave the planet, was kept as a consistent variable in every cycle to see what would happen if the surviving YorHa believed humanity was in danger. I wanted to know what would happen if you thought it was a threat to the humans. And you performed splendidly. Forty-eight 9S kills in ten minutes. Very impressive."
9S…
That's right. She butchered those 9S models because she thought she had to save humanity. It was pure torture going through it again, but she made herself do it for the humans on the moon. If humans were gone, then that would have been for nothing. All her suffering has been for NOTHING. She's suffered FOR NOTHING. Just like all the 9S's before. She killed him over NOTHING.
Her body was undamaged but it hurt. It all hurt. It hurt worse than anything she's ever been through. Take her limbs. Her eyes. Her teeth. Her tongue. Let her be tortured by 9S for the rest of eternity. Anything but this. The suffering she's been through. The suffering she put others through. All for nothing. It all hurt.
By this point she didn't even know if her flailing was making contact with any of the holograms. She just kept flailing around. She just kept screaming. She just kept begging for it to end.
"And once again, the cycle draws to an end. So, I opened the backdoor to the Bunker and let YorHa fulfill its true purpose. I infected the machines at the amusement park and the village so they could fulfill their true purpose. And you stand here fulfilling your true purpose."
NO. NO. Just let her mind break already. PLEASE, show mercy and let her go insane. Let the embrace of insanity come and free her from this torment. Let her mind break. Just let her break already. LET HER BREAK ALREADY!
"They were made to die. You were made to suffer."
BOOM.
2B collapsed as her systems overloaded, sparks shooting out of her body as static filled her vision. Her clothes and flesh were shredded by the blast, water in her body turning into steam and sizzling off her skin. She fell to the ground in a heap, surrounded by laughing distorted figures.
It looks like she got her wish. She had intended on slashing these holograms until they all go away or until her body gives out. It looks out the latter came first. She had completely overtaxed her systems.
"End of the line," the voice said one last time. "I was hoping you'd make it further this time. Shame. You have our permission to die. Goodbye, 2B."
2B just lay there, staring up at the sky. The ceiling was so far above her that all she saw was pitch black.
How poetic…
9S said humans would look up at the skies and imagine their god or gods. She looks up and she sees nothing but darkness. An empty void? Or is it a dark entity? Did it really matter?
2B lay there, still sobbing uncontrollably. How could she not? Born into this world as a cursed thing, unleashed her evil onto those she cared for most believing it was her attempt at doing good, her sacrificing for a greater good, then to find out that it was all a giant lie and her atrocities were done for nothing, then to find out the ones who lied to her were those she cared most about. How else should one react?
'You didn't have to do anything! How many people have you killed, 2B? How many people WILL you kill? How far will you go to get what you want? What if 9S could see you right now?'
"9S," 2B muttered, tears running out of the corners of her eyes. "I want to see you again. I want to see all of you again. One last time. Popola…Devola…I'm sorry. Everybody…I'm so sorry."
That's right. She murdered Popola and Devola in the God Box because she thought it was needed to save humanity. But humanity was already dead. She could never be a savior. She never had anything to save. She murdered them for nothing. She murdered everyone for nothing.
She heard footsteps approach her. The clicking of high heels. She could hear twisted laughing. More YorHa.
Sure enough, she could see three YorHa B-Units approach her. Unarmored and wearing their black uniforms, 2B recognized them. She's passed them in the halls. She's talked to them. She's done favors for them. They slowly walked up to her, raising their swords to deliver the final blow.
So, this is how it ends? Her a sobbing wreck on the ground. It wasn't a fitting end and yet she did not care.
She knew what she looked like. She knew how weak and pathetic she looked. And she knew they knew.
But they were wrong…
The battle units were prepared to deliver the final blow. But they all froze. They looked around. The logic virus had eroded their mind but their combat programming remained intact. And it was aware of an array of swords and spears that had materialized around them all of them held in place by golden holographic bands.
2B had activated her near field controls, summoning weapons from her inventory all around her would-be attackers. Then, she fired. She launched them, firing the swords and spears like shells from a cannon. The B-Units cried out in pain as the weapons were launched into them, perforating them and tearing their bodies apart as the weapons penetrated their targets and hit the floor in massive columns of smoke and dust.
Destruction of the head and destruction of the chest. It was what was programmed into her as an executioner. It was fast. It was efficient. It was clean.
This was none of those things. Only one of the three battle units were killed by her attack. The other two may have had their bodies shredded and would inevitably bleed to death but they were still very much alive. This was not fast. It was not efficient. And it most certainly was not clean.
But she didn't care. The surviving 2 battle units were still groaning in pain on the ground, laying back in a pool of their own blood. But they would die all the same. Who cared how long it took?
2B forced herself to rise, using her sword as a crutch as she got to her feet. Her hands were slick with sweat, ready to just slide off the handle of her sword. But she kept a tight grip.
She wasn't going to die. Not yet. She still had one thing left in life.
She still had to kill A2…
That was all she had in life. That was all that was left. Everything and everyone in her life was a lie. Her commanding officer, her friends, they used her. Her cause, her reason for fighting, deception to get her to perform her atrocities. Nothing in her life was real. Her bond with 9S a lie created so she could kill him. Her friends pretending to care about her to use her. Her reason for fighting a deception to get her to perform her evil deeds. Even her name, a lie to make it look like she was some noble warrior when the reality was the exact opposite.
There was some truths in her life and one truth was: everyone who killed 9S must pay
A2 must pay…
She took a moment to use a recovery module, flooding her body with nano-bots to heal her wounds. She could feel the tears in her flesh heal up as the nano-bots mended her wounds. Everything still hurt but at least she could move.
As she moved forward, she used a few more recovery modules to initiate repairs. Looking up, she saw more corrupted YorHa rushing toward her.
Normally killing YorHa like this would fill her with pain. Now? The pain she felt was different.
These YorHa didn't even wear the battle armors. They were in their standard issue uniforms. She could see their faces. 2B recognized them.
And she felt nothing but hate.
Did they know too? These B-Units that she lived amongst, cared for. Did they lie to her too just to use her skills? Did they let her drown in a sea of blood so they could keep their hands clean?
When one YorHa threw her sword at 2B, the executioner caught it in midair. The Battle Unit tried to recall the blade with her near-field systems. 2B adjusted the blade so that it was aimed right at its head before letting go, the blade flying back at its owner and impaling it through the skull.
Another tried to cut 2B down, but she stepped sideways and brought her sword through its leg. Off balance, the YorHa android was vulnerable to a sword brought down on its head.
How many of them knew? How many of them held her under that tide of blood? Drowned her in that blood? All the different squad mates she's had over the years? The YorHa who she did personal favors for while on the surface? What about the operators?
More infected YorHa came pouring into the room, wielding not just swords but spears and gauntlets as well.
"You keep coming, I keep killing," she coldly hissed.
The other truth in life: she was a killer. Plain and simple. She'll kill them. She'll kill them all. Not for humanity. She'll do it because she feels like it. She'll do it simply because it's what she does. She now has proof of it. Countless cycles orchestrated by that thing in the machine network and every time she turns into the same evil monster that slaughters 9S. She just kills. There was no relief for freeing them from the logic virus. Nor pain for slaughtering her former comrades. Just hate and inevitability. She kills. That was all.
She was an executioner. She's killed comrades. Teammates. Friends. Lovers. She's done it more times than she could count. Again and again and again. She was the ultimate executioner. The ultimate betrayer. No matter what happens, she always turns out this way.
There was no escaping fate.
2B swung at the next YorHa. The blade was aimed at the neck. The B-model ducked but not fast enough, the sword slicing through the skull right above the nose.
Two more YorHa stabbed at her but in the blink of an eye, she minced their limbs. It was a slow agonizing death, bleeding out like that. And the ground was covered in red by this point. Android anatomy, there were major arteries in their limbs. Their arms. Their thighs. Their armpit. All she needed to do was slice them open then walk away, let them bleed out.
Did 6O know? Her best friend? Then what were those moments they had? Her crying into 6O's shoulder. Was 6O just snickering at her ignorance? Snickering while she mourned for 9S? Was 6O snickering mere inches from her face? What about the Commander, her commanding officer who she loyally obeyed and even cared for in spite of her orders to kill 9S?
The last B-Model rushed in but 2B sliced off the hand holding the sword before her left hand shot out and grabbed it by its neck. 2B lifted her off the ground holding her in the air by its throat. The infected unit reached out to claw 2B with its other hand, try to infect her, but she perforated the limb with her sword.
Did 9S know? Was this the secret they needed to kill him over? Was she ordered to kill him so he wouldn't find out? Or did he already know, did he ALWAYS know, and she was ordered to kill him to keep him quiet? Before the descent, 9S had said there was something he needed to tell her. But he never followed through. Was that what he wanted to tell her before he died?
She had trusted him.
She had cared for him.
She had loved him.
9S…how could he not tell her?
With a single violent twist of her wrist, she snapped the android's neck and let the corpse fall.
If they were here right now, the people she cared most about, how would she react? How should she react? Embrace them for being alive? Kill them for what they did? It seemed like a karmic punishment for what she did to 9S. But the only reason she even had to do it was because they tricked her into covering up all these lies. So, what was the right reaction?
Was there even a 'right'? Right, wrong, it seemed irrelevant. Pod lied and betrayed her. Everyone she cared for lied and betrayed her. She lied and betrayed 9S.
2B walked ahead. There was some sort of platform, a lift. She stepped onto the platform. She remembered 042 said this tower was probably a trap. But can she believe anything he said anymore? Even if he didn't say it, 2B would have to agree it was strange there was a lift to the top of the tower. But if 042 lied, what was he trying to hide?
2B pressed the button. She could feel the floor move, the platform rising up to the top of the tower, picking up speed with very second.
2B was jolted out of her thoughts by the jolt of the platform. She looked over to see a pair of massive hooks raise over the edge of the platform. Bladed hooks. They reminded her of her katana if the sharpened edge and the flat edge had been swapped. 2B materialized her sword and got ready as more hooks appeared. Four hooks in total pulled a very familiar sphere onto the platform. Though, this one was of a different color. It was sleek black instead of bronze like the other.
"Didn't I kill you already?" 2B growled. The bug-like machine sphere let out a strange metallic drone, though the volume made it sound like a roar.
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see machine flyers dropping off corrupted YorHa onto the platform.
"Fine, have it your way then," 2B seethed, readying her sword. "I don't know what you are…But I know I'm going to kill you…"
She will kill it.
She will kill.
Because that is just what she does.
-.-
A2 cried out in pain as she went flying through another door. She remembered. This worm thing was hiding under the sane in the desert, ambushing her and dragging her under. She didn't know how she got away but she could see its battle scars. She could see it open its mouth to reveal a cavern of drills and saw to tear apart flesh and metal.
She wasn't going be bested again. She was going to tear this thing apart.
Easier said than done though. Every time she got close, the spinning saws on the outside of its body threatened to shred her just like a regular linked-sphere worm. And she was out of platform.
She looked over the edge. She was so high she couldn't even see the bottom. She looked ahead to see the worm burrowing through the tower, that cavern of saws and drills getting every closer.
"Additional hostile signal approaching," 153 reported. "However, due to interference, I cannot be certain if it is a single large hostile or multiple smaller ones."
"Unless you have good news, I don't want to hear it," A2 snapped. She had to think fast, or she was going to get turned into mincemeat.
She looked behind her to see three flight units float up. YorHa too?!
"Good news," 153 reported. "Hostile signatures are from multiple YorHa flight units."
"HOW IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!" A2 cried out in frustration.
It was more of 153's humor, humor learned from 9S. But it seemed to lack the energy or enthusiasm it would normally have. Which was very telling considering 153 was monotone. A2 thought back to when 153 nearly crashed them into a building. Was whatever that distracted it still on its mind? What exactly happened?
She'll figure that out later. She needed to form a new plan.
Looking at Pod 153, something occurred to her. She hasn't been truly utilizing her Pod. She's never had one before. And sure, she uses its gun to shoot, it had so much more to take advantage of.
She was connected to Pod. It just took her a moment to concentrate and browse through the available Pod programs.
A wire program. Perfect.
"I'm sending you a list of programs I want you to run in this order," A2 ordered. She could see the worm getting closer and closer. And the gatling guns on the flight units began spinning, ready to fire.
"This plan has an unacceptably low probability of success."
"Shut up and do it!" A2 yelled. The worm had just reached the room that led to the outside, led to the platform she stood on.
The M-Shield came up first and just in time, a sphere blocking the flight units' stream of bullets. She couldn't see past all the shockwaves of all the bullets hitting the shield.
And as ordered, 153 launched a wire at one of the flight units. A2 grabbed the arms of 153 as it reeled her to the flight unit. A2 let go and grabbed the harness, an infected YorHa pilot strapped in.
"Need to borrow this," A2 said, tearing the harness off. The infected pilot tried to fight back, but A2 grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her out.
Glancing behind her, she didn't have time to strap herself in. She pushed her thumb against the joystick and hung on for her life as the flight unit moved away from the tower just as the worm burst out.
A2 finally got into the flight Unit. The harness was damaged, so she was going to have to make do with being improperly strapped in. The two flight units turned their guns on A2. But she transformed her flight unit into its fighter configuration and took off. It only took a moment for the other flight units to reconfigure then take off after her.
A2 weaved through the city recreated inside the tower, even more flight units joining her pursuers. She considered going lower into the city. Close to the ground, it was going to be hard weaving through the buildings but at least it could provide her cover. But her goal was the top of the tower. So she pulled back on the stick and went straight up, five flight units right behind her.
But it wasn't just the flight units she had to worry about. It was also the worm. It fell for a brief moment after it burst out of the tower. But linked-sphere worms could fly and so could this. The giant worm was now circling the tower, chasing her with the flight units.
"Alright, round two, asshole," A2 growled. "Pod, you still with me?" She had to make sure 153 had properly connected.
"Affirmative," 153 said.
"I don't know what's going on with you but I'm gonna need you for this part," A2 said. "Never flown one of these before. I'm only running on 9S's memories."
9S's very vague memories. He had memories of flying the flight unit with 2B. She barely had enough knowledge to fly this thing but not enough to master it. She'll have to figure out a way to make do with what she had.
She took off up the tower, blasting everyone and everything in her way. But as that happened, something caught her ear. It was a booming voice broadcasted from the worm. Loud enough for her to hear despite the roar of the engine. It was distorted by static. But the words, and the voice itself, was distinct.
'…we chose…chose to be here.'
That voice…that voice belonged to.
'…giving meaning to my life.'
Number 4…
A2 gritted her teeth, her grip tightening around the controls, listening as the worm played back distorted recordings of all her fallen comrades. Even the resistance androids that had joined them.
'One…becomes two…'
'Two…becomes three…'
'…you will die…'
Lilly, Marguerite, Number 16…
"You don't get to use their voice…" A2 breathed, trying to maintain control. But that control was swiftly lost. "You Don't Get To Use Their Voice! YOU DON'T GET TO USE THEIR GODDAMN VOICE!"
"Unit A2," Pod 153 spoke, clearly worried for her. But A2 didn't hear. She screamed and roared in despair. These things killed everyone around her and now they use their voices to mock her? She was going to tear them apart. Them. This tower. 2B.
SHE'LL RIP THEM ALL APART.
-.-
'…when…will you call me Nines?'
'You…said Nines.'
2B dodged through the flurry of attacks from this spider machine. It kept coming in, attacking for a bit, then leaving. Frankly, her patience had run out and she just wanted it to die.
As if to add insult to injury, it was playing old lines. Things her friends have said.
'This is…a desert rose…'
'One affirmation…will suffice.'
The spider again disappeared beneath the platform as more corrupted YorHa descended upon 2B.
2B once again found herself knee-deep in the dead. The platform was now covered in the corpses of infected YorHa that had joined the battle. More machine flyers were bringing in more YorHa. She had to battle them and the spider all the while listening to them replaying her old memories.
Was this their pathetic attempt at psychological warfare? Play the clips of her dead friends who betrayed her? Were the machines still trying to torture her by making her kill more YorHa? They shouldn't have told her the truth if that was their goal. Play as many clips as they like. Send whoever they like. Now she felt nothing while butchering them.
Actually, she felt…something. Was that pleasure? No, not pleasure. Acceptance? Not that either. Liberation? What was this? The closest comparison she could make is the sewer pipe in the city, or the sand in the desert. She was normally running up the slope, against the current. It felt like she had decided to turn around and slide down the slope.
Bring them all. She'll slaughter them to the last.
2B roared as the swing of her spear sent a band of YorHa flying over the edge. Pity she couldn't kill them and had to let gravity do it for her. But she had to make sure she didn't get swarmed.
2B gasped when she heard the sonic boom of a flight unit streak past the moving platform followed by a dozen or so machine flyers and other flight units.
Why were the fliers shooting at that one flight unit? Was there someone uninfected inside?
She was once again taken out of her thoughts by the roar of engines. Three flight units had risen up from below in their mobile configuration.
These flying walkers opened up on her, burying her under streams of automatic fire. She gritted her teeth as she swatted the bullets out of the air with her sword. She deflected some bullets back, but she couldn't get a good shot at the pilot. The bullets bounced off the armored exterior of the mech.
She could really use Pod right now. It was harder to fight without a Pod. But she was YorHa's top executioner for a reason.
She formed a spear in her hand and flung it at a flight unit, the weapon plunging into the pilot's head. The flying mech crashed down on the platform in a smoking heap. She took cover behind the smoldering wreckage so she could quickly dispatch the two battle units approaching her. Safe from the flight unit's cannons, she easily tore the attacking androids apart. She plunged her sword into the throat of one and tore it out the side. For another she gripped its arm so she could thrust her sword through the armpit and out the collar.
A third B-unit rushed in but a properly aimed slash sent it up and into the stream of bullets still being fired. The corrupted android was shredded by twin gatling gun fire before its pieces fell back down.
-.-
"Get off me!" A2 yelled. She briefly transformed her fighter into a mech to kick off the mech hanging onto her. The enemy flight unit stumbled out of control and crashed into the tower wall. She transformed her unit back into a fighter and kept going.
"Where'd you go, you miserable little shit," A2 snarled. That worm had vanished again. She continued flying up until she flew passed past a massive hole drilled into the wall.
What the? Did the worm make that? It was much larger than the worm but it would explain how something of that size disappeared.
A2 veered her fighter back around, transforming into its mobile configuration as she flew it into the hole. The light of the outside vanished as she entered the dark tunnel. The roar of her engines was even louder thanks to the echo.
Where did it go? Did it make this hole and was it in front of her? Or was this always here and it was behind her?
'Fake memories…fake memories…'
The booming voice was so loud it echoed through the tunnel. They wanted her to hear this. But thanks to the echo she couldn't tell where it was coming from. In front of her? Or behind her?
"Shut up…" A2 growled. "Shut Up! SHUT UP!"
Where was this damn worm?
'Humanity abandoned us…'
'We live…to die…'
WHAT?!
A2 spun her flight unit around to see a giant twisted sphere face rushing at her, its maw open and ready to shred her. It was a good thing she was in her mobile configuration mode. She was able to grab the face of the worm to just barely avoid getting eaten.
-.-
The flight units descended upon 2B, no longer satisfied with just waiting until she came out of cover. She couldn't block their swords, but she didn't have to. She weaved through the sword swipes before slicing at an engine. Then another. And another. Finally, one of the flight units lost control, flying right into its partner. The intact flight unit shoved its damage counterpart off the platform and out of the way.
But having a massive mech in front of your face was the perfect distraction. Perfect for 2B to fling her sword into the pilot's chest. Its spasming body turned the mech sideways. So when 2B telekinetically recalled her sword with her NFCS, it sheared the pilot in half as it returned to her hand.
She'll tear them all apart. She doesn't care how clean it was. She exists to kill. Nothing said she had to do it cleanly. Who cared if it was clean? That little girl in the machine network, it has proven that she will always become this. No influence from them was necessary. She always became a monster. Destruction of the head and chest. Chop them up into bloody bits. Dead was dead all the same. And she was the one who kills them all the same.
She tore through the YorHa. And the only thing she felt each time she cut one down was the blood splattering against her.
The world did not care. So why should she?
The platform shook as the spider crawled back up.
'…desert flowers…beautiful, aren't they?'
'I want you to do this…for me…'
These YorHa were just flies. This spider machine was her target.
2B struggled to keep balance when the felt the platform suddenly come to a screeching halt, a pair of massive doors opening up to a wide circular area. This must've been the top.
She needed more room anyways. She tore off the sword of one of the flight units and flung it at the spider.
Die. Just die.
BOOM.
2B hit the strange orb with enough force it went tumbling through the doorway. Damn cockroach refuses to die.
2B rushed at the arachnid orb again but a slash of its massive blades sent her flying backwards. The open space will make it easier to fight but this thing was tougher than the spider orb she fought in the factory. She was going to need something to help her bring it down.
And her prayers were answered with an almighty boom. She looked up. At first she thought a giant worm machine was joining the fray. But when 2B noticed the flight unit grabbing the front, slashing at the head sphere with a blade of energy.
This must've been the flight unit she saw fly by earlier. She didn't know who that was or how they escaped infection, but it was clear they shared a common foe.
Looking up at the worm and the flight unit, 2B had an idea. Those two would only stay in the air for so long. She was going to take advantage of their drop. She ran around her spider to angle herself before launching herself at it. Once again, the spider parried her attack with its massive blades and she flew backwards, but the force of her attack also launched the spider in the other direction.
Perfect.
The pilot of the flight unit must've seen the spider below. The flight unit shoved the worm off and onto the spider on the ground, the two machines smashing into each other, crunching the floor. Finally, the flight unit launched itself at the two machines, its guns ablaze as it pelted both machines with bullets.
At the last moment, the pilot broke free of the harness and launched out as the flight unit smashed into both machines, all three going up in a massive mushroom cloud of flame that stretched into the sky, the orange fire turning into black smoke.
2B covered her face to shield her eyes from the blinding light of the fiery explosion, a few pieces of debris bouncing past her. When she looked back up, her heart clenched.
The pilot also looked up, her expression turning into one of fury.
They stared at each other, practically soaking in the visage of the other. Neither of them were in good shape. And neither of them cared. Their target stood before them.
"Well, if it isn't 2B."
"A2…"
-.-
A/N: This one actually hurt to write. Certainly brings up which would you rather have happen to your favorite character: die or suffer? And for 2B, she learns about her inevitability. I put in dramatic irony in a few chapters of 2B believing that everything would be ok if 9S was the one alive and here all her beliefs come crashing down upon her. And I wanted to experiment with what would happen if the events in the game had happened in some way. How would 2B react if she knew what would happen to 9S if he lived?
I made some references to the Concert and the Stage Play but I don't know who has and hasn't read them so I didn't dive into them too much. The english VA's actually have a vid of them reading the Concert on youtube.
In the initial draft, Pod 042 simply ALMOST dies but I felt it would be more thematic and impactful if 2B went through with it. It would certainly be a marking point of 2B's official descent.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think. And we both know what's to come.