Last Execution

by ElfLord123

2B is trapped. Trapped in a never ending cycle of executing 9S. But one day that changes. She executes 9S one last time and never has to execute him again. But her last execution was her worst and one that would haunt her for the rest of her life. (Alternate route AU where 2B survives instead of 9S).

15. She Who Is Not To Be

My name is 2E. YorHa Number 2 Type E. E for executioner. I am a state of the art YorHa android that specializes in the elimination of other YorHa androids. As an android, I was built in the image of the long extinct humans. We were designed to look like them. Behave like them. However, I was created with an ingrained flaw. Humans and androids will often form social units. Form bonds of trust. Friends. Family. They would get close to one another for the sake of attachment. I would do the same…but not for attachment. No, I get close to others for the purpose of betraying or killing them. In fact, the reason for my existence is simply to kill. To kill everyone around me. I am a harbinger of wanton and indiscriminate death and destruction. There is no point dodging the issue. And there is no denying what it is. Any individual who is like this is the very definition of evil.

My name is 2E. YorHa Number 2 Type E. E for evil. I was created evil. Created to kill everyone I come across. I know that now. I accept that now. And for the first time I feel…complete. The missing portions of my life have been filled in. The questions I have always asked are now answered. Am I happy with this? No, of course not. But emotions are…pointless. My pain never saved 9S.

I am a killer. I exist to kill. And I needed things to kill.

After the fall of the Bunker, I killed the people I knew. 6O. 9S. 21O. Anemone. Devola. Popola. Pascal. Then, I killed A2.

I killed A2 for justice.

I killed A2 for 9S.

I was a fool…

Murder is just in my blood. I kill because it's what I exist to do.

After I killed A2, my next targets were the YorHa in the desert. They were not the most capable in their condition. One was a scanner and the other two were addicted to the E-drug. But in the end, that doesn't really matter. I don't exist for the sake of fighting battles, of meeting an enemy on equal if not greater footing. No, I exist to end lives no matter the condition.

2E slowly made her way through the desert, covering her face to protect it from the sandstorm. The oasis was on the other side of this sandstorm which meant she had to get through this. She was using an executioner's face mask, or at least part of an executioner's face mask, to cover her mouth and nose to prevent sand from getting in. Finally, she made it. She cleared the sandstorm and made it back to the oasis.

There they were. The YorHa survivors. There was the red-haired B-unit standing next to the wall of sand. 4S was next to the blonde android, a holographic screen pulled up as he checked her vitals.

"2B!" 4S called. "Hey, welcome back. Give me a sec. Their rehabilitation isn't done but it's in progress. They're in withdrawal right now."

2E looked at the two B-units. The blonde clearly could hardly stand and, from the way she tried to shield her face from the sun, had a sensitivity to light. She could only sit against the palm tree and let 9S work on her.

The red-haired B-unit next to 2E was sweating far more than she should and was clinging to her stomach. And the expression on her face was one of both pain and nausea. Like she was moments away from vomiting.

"Remind me not to trust Jackass for anything," the red-head groaned, a tiny bit of static breaking through her voice. She groaned in pain as she tried to stomach the feeling bubbling in her. "Just kill me."

Wish granted…

With a single motion, 2E materialized her sword and sliced through the throat of the red-haired android. The B-unit grasped at her throat in some vain attempt to stop the bleeding. But there was no stopping it. In moments, the red-haired android fell over.

4S looked up in shock at what just happened. 2E could see the horror in his face. The pain of betrayal. The fear of what could be happening. The shock of losing one of their allies.

"2B, what are you doing?!"

2E did not answer, setting her sights on the blonde. The blonde was still in withdrawal, but she could recognize a threat.

The blonde B-unit got up to fight 2E. But the drug-user could barely stand.

"No, go!" 4S ordered. The B-unit was reluctant to obey. She was the battle unit after all, and he was just a scanner. A scout better suited at observing from a distance and supporting combat units was volunteering to stand alone against a legendary combat android. But she had been addicted to a drug who knows how long and was in no condition to run let alone fight.

"GO!" 4S yelled at her. Finally, the B-unit started hobbling across the sand.

No escape.

No mercy.

2E could see 9S prepare to hack. But this wasn't the first time hacking her was his first reaction. 2B launched herself at 9S, punching him right across the face and sending him bouncing across the sand. The blonde B-unit was escaping. She didn't have time to waste on 9S.

Stop. That was 4S. Not 9S. 9S was dead. Besides, the other YorHa was getting away.

2E flung her sword at her target.

"54B!" 4S yelled. "Watch out!"

54B turned around just in time to see Virtuous Contract flying at her. She leaned to the side and let the white blade fly by and land in the sand. But 2E wasn't done. The executioner kept her hand extended. And after a moment, the white katana flew out of the sand and right into 54B in its flight back to its wielder.

4S cried out in horror at what he saw. The force of the sword not only tore through 54B's chest but sent her flying back toward 2E. 2E caught her sword as 54B went flying by and, with a single slash, took the battle android's head off in midair.

2E needed no prompting. No doubt 4S was already at work hacking her. Sure enough, golden spheres were at his fingertips as he tried to break into her systems. 2E flung her sword at 4S. The scanner had to halt his hack to dodge the sword, giving 2E enough time to lunge in and tackle 4S into the oasis water.

2E sat on top of 4S. Even through his visor, 2E could tell he was afraid. And she knew she had no visor, so 4S could see…how much this hurt.

"I'm sorry, 9S," 2E said. She didn't mean to say it. It just came out. She knew this wasn't 9S. But here she was killing a scanner with an identical outfit, an identical face, an identical voice.

The scanner looked up at her in utter confusion.

"9S?" he repeated. "What are you…"

2E's hands shot forth and grabbed 4S by the throat. It took only a few moments for her fingers to crush the arteries in his neck, the blood flow to his brain reduced to a trickle. 4S feebly pushed against her face, trying to get her off. His eyes widened in pain and fear as her choke sealed both his airways and his arteries. She continued pushing him down until his head sank below the water. Bubbles surfaced as he choked and struggled in the water. He kicked and thrashed, gasping for air. But it wasn't the lack of air that was going to kill him.

She had to do this.

Because this is who she was.

Because it always ends like this.

It always ends with her killing everyone she knew.

Finally, 4S stopped moving. 2E could feel his life leave his body. All of this was too familiar. Choking a scanner to death while she straddled his body. It wasn't the first time she's done this. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel like bursting into tears. In fact, she didn't know if the water on her face came from the oasis or was her own.

Just like last time.

Just like every time.

Because it always ends like this. She was an executioner which meant she always killed everyone she knew. But as much as it hurt, this was her purpose.

2E stood up, holding her hand over 4S's corpse as she transferred his equipment to her. He had a single sword and a lot of different plug-in chips for hacking. She discarded these chips. She wasn't a hacker and her hacking skills were abysmal to say the least. Even if they weren't, without her Pod she wouldn't have access to a hacking interface. So, she got rid of the hacking chips.

2E could see her own reflection in the water. Looking down at her face, she saw a blank expression staring back. No, it wasn't blank. Blank suggested it showed no emotion. Her face showed plenty of emotion. It just showed too many. Just as white light is not the absence of colored light but the combination of all of them. It was the same here. There were so many emotions that it all just combined into a blank expression.

She brushed her hair to reveal her left eye. A2's eye worked perfectly but the scar was something that needed more than a simple recovery module. There was a clear discolored line that went from the bottom of her eye to above it.

2E then made her way to the dead B-units. The decapitated blonde had swords for her as well as an abundance of E-drugs.

When 2E went over to the red-haired android, she was surprised to see the B-unit had not yet died. 2E had sliced open her throat. The final B-unit was grasping her throat as tightly as she could to stem the bleeding. Why hasn't it used a recovery module yet? Was it out?

"I commend your tenacity," 2E remarked. "I didn't expect you to survive."

There was shock and pain in this battle unit's eyes. Not pain from her throat being cut. But pain of betrayal. No doubt she recognized 2E. 2E had made a name for herself as the lie 2B. Many battle units idolized her. But it's all come full circle. The lies have been cast off and now this combat android can see 2E for who she really is.

The red-haired B-unit reached up with her other hand. At first 2E thought it was a feeble attempt to kill her. With an injury like that, a single hand wouldn't do much. But soon 2E realized the YorHa android was just begging for her life.

2E couldn't exactly make fun of that. She herself was still scared of death. Why they would program a combat android with a fear of death made about as much sense as programming an executioner with heart. It seemed like it was done simply to torture. But it is what it is.

"So, you wish to live?" 2E asked, kneeling over her victim. The B-Unit nodded.

"Very well," 2E said. "But in exchange, I have questions for you. Well, one question." 2E could see the fear on the android's face. Her throat was slit. She couldn't answer questions. "A simple yes or no will suffice. Answer honestly, and I will let you live for the time being. Give you the chance to escape."

The B-Unit must've realized this was her only hope of living. So she nodded vigorously to accept 2E's proposal.

"Did you know humanity's extinct?" 2E asked coldly. This was the question that burned in her mind. How many knew about it? How many of her so-called friends used her? How long have they been manipulating her to kill 9S over nothing? If she had known that this was what she was covering up she would never have been so adherent to YorHa's commands. She could've saved 9S at least once. Now she wants to know who made that impossible. She's already killed a few of the guilty party. She killed Pod 042 and Pod 153. She was climbing the chain.

The B-Unit expression was one of confusion. At first 2E thought it was simply feigning ignorance. But soon she realized that the dying android genuinely didn't know what she was talking about. And it finally shook its head in response.

"I see," 2E said, holding out her hand and materializing a silver cylinder. It looked like a metal thermos. But it wasn't filled with water. It was filled with nanobots. She held the large recovery unit over the red-haired YorHa, letting it vanish into a cloud of particles as she transferred it over. She then took out a large syringe. Staunching gel to stop the bleeding.

Normally this stuff would be applied by Pods, Scanners or Healers with their pain processors turned off. No such luck this time.

Well, there was no way around it.

2E plunged the syringe into the edge of the open wound of the B-unit's throat. The battle android convulsed in pain. Probably would be screaming if she could speak. 2E seized her head and held her down, trying to hold her as still as possible. A gray foam quickly covered the wound. It wasn't perfect but it should slow the bleeding enough for the recovery module nanobots to fix the injury.

2E could see the relief on the YorHa android's face. But 2E knew this was going to be a very short-lived relief.

It would be a lie to say she felt nothing. She has killed YorHa before. But never at her own volition. It was always because of orders. Orders she had followed like a slave. Guess if you summon a monster, always keep the monster chained. And after this slaughter, could feel her body tense with anxiety. She expected executioners to come leaping out of the sand and finish her. She expected the whole world to dissolve to reveal this was a massive simulation by YorHa and she had failed.

But no such thing happened. YorHa was no more a god than humanity was. And thus the executioner stood up and walked off into the sandstorm.

"As promised, I'll let you live…for now," 2E said, turning around and walking away.

4S is perhaps the second hardest kill I've done. His face, his hair, his voice, it was all so similar to 9S. As it would turn out, no matter how long it's been, that pain never goes away. No matter how much time passes, the pain of what I did to 9S still remained with me.

Once 4S was dead, From there I went to the desert machine fighting arena. The machines welcomed me as the elevator doors opened. I had mastered all their battles and challenges until I earned their most venerated title of 'King'. 'Why, my King?' they cried out as I cut them down. 'Why do you forsake us?' Did it hurt seeing their hearts break from my betrayal? Of course. It's hurt no less than any of my other betrayals. And since when have those mattered?

After that I took the time to clean out The Forest Kingdom. This wasn't the first time I tore through this place. And it seemed they were about as prepared as before.

Last time I came here I felt…guilt. Guilt over what I had done. I cleared out a kingdom that simply wished to exist. Cleared a path for A2 to kill the king. But I see that they are not as innocent as I believed. They had planned on attacking Pascal's village, a village of pacifists. Such an act is nothing but evil. But that is to be expected. They are sentient beings. Evil is simply part of their nature.

So I wiped them out. I went room to room. Building to building. I slaughtered everyone in my way. Bipeds, flyers, goliaths, everything. I combed the continent. I went from location to location. I cleaned out every area of life. Any androids, any machines that was no longer connected to the network, any YorHa survivors. I wiped them all out.

From the Forest Kingdom, I found a camp of resistance survivors where Jackass had taken refuge. So I slaughtered them as well.

Jackass actually remembered what I did. Raised a ruckus about it when I approached. The other resistance fighters knew who I was so they let me get close. Close enough to kill them. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Jackass gave me the most trouble. Tried to take me out with a rocket. But it failed.

I also paid a visit to the machine fighting arena in the forest. One hidden behind a waterfall. I remembered I was turned away the first time we approached. The only agreed after scanning 9S. Since 9S wasn't with me, I wasn't surprised they turned me away again. But I wasn't there to fight.

I found a small group of YorHa survivors hiding in the city. I recognized them. They were notorious for their slacking. Their procrastination was probably made them miss their data sync and thus sparing them from the virus. To think YorHa's weakest would be the ones to survive. I could see their hopes rise when they saw me. 2B, the great battle unit that took down Adam and Eve. Their hopes quickly died as I cut them down one by one. And as YorHa's failures, they didn't even provide a challenge.

But perhaps the most memorable battle was the one right after. The Red Girl had always reset the cycle, so they knew where everything was. So I guess I shouldn't be surprised when they told me they knew the location of the headquarters of the Army of Humanity, the remnants of the android government.

The bastards who first came up with Project YorHa.

According to the records, when the aliens invaded the androids had inherited the planet. They were nowhere near as numerous as the humans, but they had a proper civilization. They had cities. They had towns. They had factories. They had an army. They had a navy. They had an air force. During the early stages of the war, they met the machines head on. Grand battles of dragoons and heavy infantry clashing with tanks and goliaths. But as the war with the machines raged on, that civilization was soon reduced to a mere handful of androids resorting to hit and run tactics. The Army of Humanity was the closest thing they had to a government, taking almost a hundred years to form and made from the remnants of the original android government.

It was they who set Project YorHa into motion. Built the most advanced android army in history. They even had a few prototype androids built. But such an endeavor was too costly to maintain. So the plan was altered. It wouldn't serve as the spearhead of the android forces as intended.

It would serve as disposable advertisement.

2E looked at the massive metal doors that would lead to the underground facility. It was situated in a mountain range closer to the dark side of the planet so she could see the stars above her. She didn't see any guards but that was probably simply because they didn't want anything to give away the location of this place. Even the doors weren't obvious. They were at the back of a cave and the same color as the rock.

She had just spent the past half hour going to the emergency escape shafts and sealing them, taking out a few dozen snipers along the way. She wanted no means of escape while she does her work. With all the exits sealed, she returned to the front door.

As she took one final breath, she looked down at her right hand. Her gloves, the gift 9S gave to her, were beginning to show signs of wear from all the fighting. So she took the time to take a pair of YorHa gauntlets to cover her hands. That way her gloves were less likely to take damage in the battles ahead. She flexed her fingers in the armor covering her hand and fingers.

This was it. The people who started Project YorHa were in there. Sure, Number 9 was the one who came up with the initial plans. But these filthy maggots were the one who put it into motion.

No names for military efficiency?

Emotions were prohibited to increase effectiveness?

She never pretended she was a good person but at the very least she thought she was a good soldier. If only she had known everything she believed in were nothing but lies. And they were the ones who started these lies. Admittedly she had to learn most of this from the documents The Red Girl gave her. And they could be lies. But that just meant she'll kill it after she kills the androids.

"You play us like instruments, send us to kill and die, while you hide in your hole," 2E growled. "Do you know what else spends most of its existence underground? Worms."

She slowly approached the door but she could sense two androids nearby. More snipers. She reacted in time, materializing Virtuous Contract and deflecting both bullets.

"Too slow," 2E declared. She flung her white sword in the direction of one of the snipers. The white blade spun so quickly it looked like she had flung a disk of energy. A moment later, she could hear the scream of an android getting cut down.

2E leaned back to avoid the bullet of the other sniper. As the sword returned to her hand she used her NFCS to launch a massive sword in the direction of the other sniper. Once again, the sword cut him down and she returned it to her inventory. She went over to both androids. The average android was superior to a human but even they had limits. YorHa could use swords because they possessed the strength and speed to compete with firearms and pulse weapons. They could dodge and deflect bullets. But the average android? Not even close. So they resorted to conventional weapons. The two snipers had anti-material rifles and a few satchel charges. So 2E took them all before proceeding.

These remarks and one-liners were not on accident.

'Emotions are prohibited.'

That was a rule of YorHa. Perhaps the most well-known. One she had adhered to like a good little soldier. But it was a rule built on a lie. It had nothing to do with military efficiency. It was just a lie. So, she would express emotions. She would express whatever she felt.

As she went from slaughter to slaughter, she expressed whatever it was she felt. Joy. Anger. Sadness. Everything. If she felt something, she let it be known. And…shockingly little changed. She thought if she expressed her emotions she would end up going into battle giggling like a madwoman. But it seemed she had emotionally stunted herself for so long that now that she is trying to be emotional, she had very few emotions to express.

But fewer did not mean none. And she let everyone know how she felt.

The metal doors were undoubtedly an elevator. And as she approached, she could see a camera moving to watch her. And she saw a dim green light by the elevator turn red as it locked.

When she had first approached this bunker, she worried that perhaps there was something built into her. A back up plan perhaps. A piece of code that could be activated that would detonate her or shut her down. But the door locking was proof to her that they didn't. Else they would have stopped her there and then.

"You were that confident you do not take any additional means of protection from YorHa," 2E scoffed as she threw a sword into the camera. "Now let that arrogance crush you."

These doors were not as durable as the elevators she normally saw. A dedicated assault could break down even the most durable doors, so these were designed to be hidden rather than durable.

2E materialized a machine spear and jammed the blade between the doors. The wedge pried the door apart though just barely. Leaving the spear in there, she then put her fingers between the doors. She gritted her teeth and snarled as her body reached its maximum potential. The metal doors groaned under the pressure as she finally shoved the doors apart.

The large spear dropped to the floor with an ear-splitting clank. She could feel her skin ripple from the sound of metal on metal. It had begun to fall down the elevator shaft but 2E dematerialized it and returned it to her inventory.

The elevator shaft was what one could expect. She could see a ladder to her right and she saw a series of cables connected to the ceiling. The elevator car must be at the bottom of the shaft. The thing was out of the moonlight so it looked like a column of darkness, only a few orange lights in the walls shining down the shaft.

This was it.

Time to meet her makers.

Time to murder her makers.

She won't pretend she had any moral high ground. She deserved to die just like them. It wasn't a matter of justice. It was simply what she did. She existed to kill.

It was the way of men to make monsters. And it is the nature of monster to destroy their creators. So here she was.

2E leapt forward and grabbed a cable, sliding down it like she would a ladder. This place was deep. Really deep. It was clear they wanted this place to be kept hidden. It was a minor miracle The Red Girl even knew about this place. According to the documents, during the first cycle this was the last place they destroyed because they couldn't find it.

After nearly a minute of sliding she finally landed on the elevator car with a crash so loud it sounded like the entire shaft would collapse from the sound alone, swiftly cutting the elevator cables as she did. She could hear the snap as the taught cables came free and sprung up the shaft to release its energy.

Below her, she could hear the cocking of about a dozen machine guns, all trained at the elevator doors.

"So, you expect me to enter through the front door. It would be rude of me not to oblige."

But before she does…

2E noticed a vent shaft right above the elevator car. Technically it could be a way in. But the shaft was made of thin sheet metal. It wasn't bullet proof and it was loud.

The executioner materialized the satchel charge she had taken earlier, armed it, then tossed it into the vent. The bag certainly made a racket as it bounced across the thin metal. Immediately, gunfire erupted through the vents at the supposed threat. Meanwhile, 2E got started climbing up the ladder to escape the blast. After a few seconds the satchel charge went off. She heard the screams of androids caught in the explosion. An explosion inside was way worse than an explosion outside. The pressure wave has less places to go and will even bounce off of solid surfaces like ricocheting bullets. That room just became a death trap.

Immediately, she leapt off and landed on the elevator car again. She had some time as the guards recovered from the bomb. So she jumped into the car and pried the doors open. Sure enough, the androids were in complete disarray. The blast had done a number on most of them. None of them were unscathed even if they did survive. Most were sprawled out on the floor. The ones that managed to remain standing were dazed. And just about all of them were injured.

Behind the guards were technicians, janitors, and other non-combatants.

Did they know the truth about YorHa? Did it really matter? Even if YorHa wasn't their sin, they undoubtedly had other sins they had to die for. And even if they didn't, killing them was still her purpose in life.

2E turned around only briefly so she could grab the elevator doors and force them shut. She had damaged the door mechanism and only an android with YorHa strength would be able to open them again. In other words, they were now trapped in an underground facility with the most evil being on the planet.

The guards that could stand were already on the move, forming a semi-circle around her and aiming their weapons.

"Stop there!" one yelled. "Put down your sword and surrender. You're surrounded."

Even if they didn't know she was YorHa's top executioner, surely, they had to know from her dress that she was YorHa. And she just detonated a bomb above their heads. And they still gave her a chance to surrender. That's cute.

"Yes, it appears I am," 2E sighed. She was indeed surrounded. "By corpses."

Let the slaughter begin.

This was a government building, not a military base. So, while there were plenty of armed guards most of the androids here clearly had never seen a day of combat in their life. These were secretaries. Accountants. Scientists. And she cut them all down. The guards went to work shooting at her, trying to bury her under automatic gunfire. But those bullets were easily sliced out of the air, many of the fragments flying into nearby androids and taking them out.

These sniveling cowards hid while the resistance fought? Even the most mundane supply trader in the resistance displayed tenacity and courage. But as she approached a cowering android in a suit, his best defense was throwing a cup of water at her face. These were the pathetic worms the resistance fought on behalf of? Anemone was a great military leader and a better woman. Yet these government officials displayed even less spine than a slug.

At least these guards were willing to lay down their lives. Too bad the ones they are protecting did not deserve it.

2E turned the corner and nearly took a fire axe to the face as one of the androids actually came at her. From the looks of things, he was just an accountant. No combat programming and his body was certainly not built for this. As if to entertain his empty hope of actually taking her down, she let him take a few more swings, all of them missing but she could see his desire to survive.

She actually felt bad for toying with him like that. It reminded her of herself. He was fighting to live, knowing it was impossible but hoping he was wrong. She was the same. She fought for 9S to live, knowing it was impossible but hoping she was wrong.

Once her amusement had run out, she caught the axe by the handle and snapped off the head with her thumb. The accountant looked at the now useless piece of wood. 2E then plunged her sword into his chest before pulling it out. For that act of defiance she'll allow him a clean death.

"I'll commend you for being a courageous corpse," she commented as she walked past. "But a corpse all the same."

As she went through the facility, clearing the place of life floor by floor, she could not help but ponder their sins. Amongst these cowards were maggots who conceived living things made to die for a lie. They could've made YorHa without emotion. Without a sense of self. But they didn't. And they couldn't even respect the YorHa for their sacrifice. Simply because their heart was made from parts of the machines, YorHa couldn't share in any of the pleasures of humanity. They weren't even seen as less. They were seen as monsters.

She was sure these androids had justifications for it. They always do. But they were no less evil.

Then there was her. She's killed plenty of people. Androids. Machines. YorHa. But it was never personal. Hell, she even hated it. This may have been the first battle she actually felt…good. It wasn't even a battle. It was a blood bath in every sense. Sword wounds were not pretty and she cleaved the androids into pieces with each cut. She went from room to room. Hall to hall. Floor to floor. But she knew these androids conceived sentient beings that existed for the purpose of dying. To say she was in the right for this slaughter would be a lie. There was no right.

Some of the guards were running out of bullets and were resorting to running up to her to try to club her with their guns. Bullets weren't killing her. Did they think that punching her in the face would?

"I don't think I've ever met anyone so tired of living," 2E sighed as she snapped the neck of a guard who had rushed at her.

As 2E slowly walked down another hall, deflecting a bullet back at a guard, she watched a government official slam a door shut. She walked up to the wooden door, watching the man through a set of large windows next to the door. Through these large windows she watched him brace the door with his body.

LARGE WINDOWS.

Cowardly and stupid.

She punched the windows and shattered the glass. She stepped through, watching the man open the door and immediately try to run away. Throwing a sword into his spine was an easy task.

The next room hid an entire board of government androids. All of them cowering under desks or in corners. They were kind enough to gather in one location. Now killing them was even easier.

When she fought the machines back when they were mindless automatons, she was apathetic. When the machines evolved sentience, killing them turned painful. And she had always killed her fellow YorHa for her entire life. There was no pleasure in her work. There was pride in her skill, speed, strength, grace. But there was nothing but shame in how she used it. She had always dreamed of using her physical abilities for something else. But, that's not why she existed.

Many YorHa were dismissive about the machines. Even took pleasure in killing them. Granted, YorHa was evil but 2E could not help but wonder if her history as an executioner had awakened her to the evils of the world. But this was the first time she actually felt satisfied in her killing. There was no pleasure. But she felt complete. She was not fighting for justice because that would be a lie. She did it because that's her purpose in life. And it felt good being honest with herself. She felt complete, finally completing her true calling.

The doors dinged as they opened up to reveal laboratory of some sort. The floors were concrete with rubber mats on top. Two rows of computers were lined near but not against the walls which had white boards nailed to them. But it was what was on the other side of the room that caught her attention. Two cylindrical glass tanks used to house, repair, and maintain androids. And in them were two familiar ones. They were naked and floated in water. It was a man and a woman and 2E recognized their faces. The woman had her face. And the man had 9S's face.

"Well, here you are…" 2E remarked, walking up to the tanks. "Number 2…and Number 9."

Neither android was in good shape. Both were killed in the lab where they were created, especially after the lab came falling from orbit. Number 9 was missing his entire lower body. And Number 2 was missing her right side and left arm. Technically this wasn't even them. The Red Girls simply recreated them as just another variable they wanted to maintain.

She looked at the walls and the white boards. There were blueprints for every YorHa type. There were calculations on how to improve their performance. There were artificial limbs, brains, hearts. This was where they were gathering data on Project YorHa.

2E walked up to her progenitor. The likeness was disturbing to say the least. The face and hair were identical down to the mole on her chin. Same with Number 9. 2E felt her fist tighten as she looked upon his slumbering form in the tank. It wasn't 9S. This was his predecessor. Yet seeing someone look like 9S in that position…

According to the documents, Number 9 fell into despair and practically went mad when he discovered not only their nature of their flesh but the lie they were prepared to spread. Even back then, they knew he could go insane and they did nothing to correct it. And thanks to that, she was doomed to always make 9S suffer. Even if she were to die, 9S goes mad with grief. What was the point in making such advanced combat androids equipped with sentience? Especially after the new plan dictated YorHa was to die once the lie of humanity had been spread.

She was killing them all regardless, but it gave her pleasure that they died after such cruelty.

"If you wish to hide, you should at least stop your sniveling," 2E sneered. Ever since she came in, she could hear someone shaking in the corner of the room. Probably out of fear since she had spent the past hour going through this place and slaughtering everyone in her path. So whoever this was, they were very loud.

Immediately, a man and woman leap out from their hiding spot. The woman shoved the man toward 2E and ran for the door.

This act…

2E snarled when she saw this.

This was a simple act of cowardice. One that woman must pay for. The woman had worked with the man for countless years. Formed a bond with him. Gained his trust. Did he really mean that little that she could just kill him? Did their history mean nothing? What sort of monster kills someone they care about? WHAT SORT OF MONSTER KILLS SOMEONE THAT MATTERS TO THEM?!

She needed to pay.

2E WAS GOING TO MAKE HER PAY.

The woman had just reached the door when five spears came flying out of ceiling, launched from 2E's NFCS and impaling her as they embedded into the concrete.

More…

More weapons came flying out of the air. Swords and axes, impaling and hacking into the woman's corpse.

MORE…

The body vanished behind a cloud of dust as weapons continued raining on that singular location.

Then…it stopped. 2E took in a deep breath, or at least she tried to in spite of the dust that quickly filled the room. She waved away her weapons and returned them to her inventory, leaving the remains of the woman's remains.

She might've overdone it.

With the female scientist dead, this left 2E alone with the man. He was shaking uncontrollably, expecting to be killed at 2E's hand. But there was something else behind those eyes. Yes, she could see terror. But she could also see disgust. After all, she was YorHa. Part of her was made from the machines androids so despised.

"You can relax," 2E stated. "I merely have some questions. Answer me honestly and I'll let you escape for the time being."

She could see the skepticism behind his eyes. She could end him in a dozen ways without her sword. She could punch his artificial heart right out of his chest. She could snap his neck. She could strangle him. She could crush his head. Even a YorHa operator would've been a major threat. This person knew exactly what he was dealing with.

"What's to stop you from killing me once you're done?" he stuttered.

"Nothing I guess," 2E admitted. "But if you're not going to be of any use to me then I have no reason to keep you alive. So if guaranteed death is preferable to possible death, you need only keep silent."

2E was a woman of her word. She hates liars. Liars were what created her. Liars were what manipulated her to kill countless innocents. Liars were what manipulated her to kill 9S. If this scientist answers her questions honestly then she'll let him live. There was no trickery behind it. She wasn't going to kill him right after she's done and declare she spared him for an additional two seconds. No. She will let him walk right out that door and she'll walk the other direction.

What should she even consider this man? Zinnia, the android who first started Project YorHa, died making the plans. Killed by 9S…no, Number 9. Number 9 was not 9S. There were countless plans and attempts to fight back against the machines. It was Zinnia's idea to make the lie about humanity. A two-part plan to make an army of super soldiers to not only spearhead the counterattack against the machines but also spread a lie to motivate the other androids. But the plan was flawed. YorHa performed beyond their wildest dreams but were too damn expensive to maintain and create. So it was Number 9's idea to repurpose YorHa so its sole reason for existing was to spread that lie then be disposed of when it is finished.

But then the Army of Huamnity took those plans and went ahead with it. They didn't see the plan to dispose of androids and call it cruel. They went ahead with it. If this scientist was one of the people who executed the Project YorHa plan then he was technically her creator. Or at least one of them.

2E pointed her sword at his throat, beckoning him to stand. She was not going to talk to someone groveling in the ground.

"My name is 2E. YorHa Number 2 Type E. What is yours?"

2E could see more disgust at that introduction. That's right. They were forbidden from having names because of the origin of their flesh. 2E was technically her designation, not her name. But she treated it like a name and that seemed to turn his stomach. But she cared little about what the man thought.

"Darius," he responded. "I'm a scientist here."

"A scientist for Project YorHa?"

The man was still trembling as he nodded.

"We monitored The Bunker, gathered combat data. Once The Bunker's gone we would use the combat data to try to upgrade us and the resistance. Build better androids."

"And how involved were you in the initial design of Project YorHa?" 2E questioned.

"I wasn't. I just carried out the plans set in place?"

The man's voice was a mix of hatred and fear. If he had the chance, she had no doubt he would try to kill her and take pleasure in it. But there was no chance he could pull that off. Even a YorHa operator would've killed him with ease.

Fear and hatred…

How painful that must be, being torn by two conflicting feelings…

"So you wouldn't know the origin of the executioners?" 2E asked.

It seemed it was that question that finally made it click. She had told him that her name was 2E. It was only then it seemed that he realized what the E stood for. And she could see the blood drain from his face.

"No, I…"

"Lie to me and I WILL begin taking off your limbs!" 2E snapped. She's had enough of liars. She's been lied to her whole life. No more lies. EVER. She held The Red Girl, her technical mortal enemy, in higher regard than YorHa. At least The Red Girl was honest with her.

Darius shrunk in terror. 2E had just plowed through an entire facility of androids and slaughtered indiscriminately. She's shown she's willing and capable.

"The E-types were part of the original Project YorHa plan," he stuttered. "Every organization needs policing and YorHa needs something to keep it in line since no normal android can stop a YorHa. But after Number 9 redesigned the YorHa plan, we realized there needed to be something to stop leaks. So silencing any potential leaks was added as part of the executioner's duties."

2E's fists clenched. So that's how it all began. Number 9's change was what caused it all to domino. It was cruel irony. Number 9 wasn't 9S. Yet 2E could not help but connect the two. Which means Number 9 was the one who ultimately brought death upon himself. He made the change to the YorHa plan which in turn meant changes to an executioner's duties which led to her repeatedly killing 9S.

"What of the Number 2 Personality Type?" she asked. "Was there any particular reason this was paired with the E Type?"

Her fate was set. That had been proven. She just wanted to understand why. But even that question caused her pain. Being 2E caused her pain in killing 9S. But if she had become anything else, if 2B was real, then she would never have met him.

"That wasn't our choice," Darius jabbered. "An attacker model with a Number 2 Personality Type went rogue. But she showed impressive decision-making skill. YorHa was the one who thought they should make their executioners with it."

The Commander…

To think she had been begging for that witch to come with her and escape the Bunker. The Red Girl had shown her the entirety of her life was a lie. Now she knew the depth of that deception. But she still needed to know more.

"Tell me about the Personality Type," 2E demanded. "It's clearly special in some way. Else you wouldn't have put the remains of Number 2 to put in a display case."

"It was the one we had the most hope for. YorHa are strong. Like scary strong. The first models had fail-safes built into them. Ways to shut them down. But we were afraid the machines would find out and hack it. We couldn't give machines the ability to just shut down our armies with a button. The only way to make sure a YorHa doesn't go rogue is to implant them with some of the most honorable and noble personality programs we had. The Number 2 personality type was supposed to be the best of them. Brave. Loyal. Selfless. Compassionate. Intelligent. We didn't know how to make sure YorHa don't act out. So we tried programming in nothing but the best qualities so that they wouldn't. And anyone with a Number 2 Personality Type would be the greatest amongst them."

That…made no sense. Her personality was meant to be the greatest of the YorHa androids? The idea you could put kindness into something meant to be discarded was disgusting. But more to the point, how can that be possible when she was so evil? Was this combination of personality, experience, and model really the perfect formula for create something so malicious?

Those traits couldn't be her. Where was her compassion when it came to killing 9S? Where was her intelligence when it came to realizing that she was getting played like a puppet? WHERE WAS HER SO CALLED GREATNESS?!

"You speak of the YorHa personalities with praise, yet you are still disgusted by us," 2E observed.

"Of course! You're part machine! We aren't monsters. We aren't going to make androids knowing they are designed to die."

"You despise machines so much that something with even the slightest machine influence will earn your ire?"

This was like the android fighting arena. They sent machines to fight to the death with neither pity nor mercy. Parents crying for their children. Children crying for their parents and siblings.

"Of course! Thousands of years of nothing but slaughter at the hands of machines. Nothing but butchery! Do you even know how many of us they killed? My friends and family are all dead because of them. I don't expect to win this war. I'm not here because I think we can win. I'm here so I can see how many goddamn machines we can destroy before we inevitably lose."

This man…

2B could hear it again. The screaming. Not just the machines screaming out for their dead loved ones. But androids screaming as well. Screaming for the same reason.

The same story every time.

"So, you don't feel any pity for what's happened?"

"NO! Not to you. Not to YorHa. And not to those filthy machines. They slaughtered millions of us. I'd PAY seeing them and anything with even a trace of them die by the hundreds. Why is it evil that we do to them what they've done to us? You might look and even think you're androids but you're NOT! When I got the signal the Bunker's backdoor was open, I SMILED! You, YorHa, all those THINGS on that station ARE TRASH THAT DESERVE TO DIE!"

Trash?

DESERVE TO DIE?

Those were friends on that station. 9S was among the dead. To say they deserve to die was to say 9S deserved to die.

9S. 6O. 21O. The Commander.

This piece of litter didn't even recognize his own HYPOCRISY? He was so consumed by his delusions of right and wrong that he thinks his evils are instantly justified?

YorHa may deserve to die for its sins but SO DID HE FOR HIS SINS. Maybe it's time he paid for them. SHE WAS GOING TO GRIND THIS MAN INTO PASTE WITH HER TWO HANDS!

2E roared in anger, seizing Darius by the collar and pulling him close. She saw his eyes turn into dinner plates as she brought his face close to hers, close to see the malice in her own eyes.

She could pop him like a grape. She could crush his skull with her bare hands. She should do just that. But…

2E took in a deep breath to calm herself down before letting him go. Darius was stiffer than even stone as 2E straightened out his lab coat and even brushed the dust off his shoulders.

"Thank you for your honesty," she said calmly. She didn't like his answer. But he chose to be honest with her in spite of how she might react. In spite of the possibility of her killing him out of rage.

She respected that.

"And as promised, I will allow you to live this time."

She gestured to the door. The remains OF the remains of the corpse of his comrade still lay in the doorway but there was no trap. He just needed to wade through the corpses of his former coworkers. Darius was clearly nervous, expecting 2E to cut him down. But he finally figured that he was dead if he stayed so he took off through the door.

2E didn't lie to him. She did let him go for now. He'd have to go through halls that 2E had taken the opportunity to repaint but he was free to do whatever he wanted. But all the exits were sealed off minus one only she could open. More than likely the machines will find and kill him. Or maybe he'll get away. It didn't matter either way. She was done here.

She walked over to the tubes with Number 2 and Number 9. She prepared her sword and aimed it at Number 2.

The source of evil…

She was fully prepared to strike it down when a thought crossed her mind.

Number 2 was simply a combat type. Not an executioner type. Unlike 2E herself, Number 2 was built to fight on the front lines. Not enforce YorHa's rules. Not kill those she got close to.

Number 2 was 2B. The FIRST 2B. The REAL 2B.

This should've strengthened 2E's resolve to demolish the body. But 2E couldn't move her arm. Why? Why couldn't she just cut down a corpse? It was already dead. Why did it feel like if she cut down the original 2B, the TRUE 2B, she'd be destroying something precious to herself? Why did it feel like she was going to destroy something she was not ready to part with?

2E lowered her sword. The machines were going to bury this place anyways so it didn't matter. She was done here.

Perhaps I should've destroyed that lab. I would be within my right. But it seemed pointless. And seeing 9S… I didn't have it in me to kill him again.

I left and let the machines do what they wanted with the lab. I never saw Darius or the battle unit from the desert again. I continued my mission. I scourged the planet, wiping out anyone in my path. One month later, The Red Girl confirmed all androids were dead.

Well, all except one.

With the extermination complete, their next task was to reset all variables including the landscape. It is strange they would back up the data of machines and androids moments before their extermination but would only restore the oldest files. They would restore everything at the point immediately after the beginning of Project YorHa. The same five years over and over again. YorHa at its peak.

But first they had to put the land back the way it was. They carefully buried and systematically deconstructed the underground structures. Any buried ones were excavated to ensure no remains could be found. The hole in the city was filled in and reconstructed to resemble how it was before it collapsed. Everything everywhere was restored. The Red Girl had made very meticulous records of every change. And it restored everything. Once that was complete, they can reset the machines in their thrall by destroying the advanced models and set the timer for android reactivation. Then the cycle can begin again.

Until that point, I had research to do.

'I seek to learn and adopt all facets of humanity. Some desired love. Others family. Only then did I realize the truth. The core of humanity was conflict. They fight, they steal, kill. This is humanity in its purist form.'

These were Adams words to me. At the time I rejected them. But I have more than enough reason to question my beliefs. I soon found myself in his various copied cities. I spent a lot of time there actually. They were the last places The Red Girl buried. I went through all his data. All of 9S's data too. And any records the machines had. I needed to know about humanity.

More specifically, I needed to know about evil. What was its origins? The universe may have been uncaring but how did something such as evil arise? A natural disaster, while unfortunate, is not evil. Vicious wind does not seek to kill. It will perform all the same regardless of how many lives it claims.

That's when I found it. Humans called it the Cycle of Violence. When one experiences evil, their experiences mold them. They are more callous as a result or they feel their own evils are justified. They are more willing to harm others. That in turns plants the seeds for a new cycle. The resistance androids in the fighting arena? They were motivated because they watched machines butcher ones they love. Friends. Family. The receptionist at the front desk was held down and forced to watch her sister be pulled apart by machines. And machines who learned of the arena became motivated to butcher androids. No doubt those survivors would in turn butcher machines. The And so on. Ad infinitum.

I was a silent witness to this cycle. Machines killing androids to avenge their loved ones. Androids killing machines to avenge their loved ones. The androids in the fighting arena. The gold machines. The bloodied machine. The woman in the resistance camp searching for her friend.

Yet this explanation did not seem adequate. How did such a thing begin? And how was it being sustained? Conservation of energy is never perfect, and these so-called cycles were not only maintaining but growing in intensity.

The more I tried to disprove my theory on humanity, the more evidence I found supporting it. The core of humanity, the core of sentience, was evil. They seek to hurt each other under the excuse of higher causes. Of being superior than the ones they hurt. That their own actions are justified despite being identical if not worse.

The claims they make on why they are justified in their cruelty are hollow. Even bacteria seek their own preservation. And a mind cannot survive if it understands it is evil. So it justifies its own actions or performs an occasional kindness in order to maintain its sanity. In human society, the solution to evil is to simply to commit the same evil. Often you will hear that the motivation behind cruelty is a response to cruelty they experienced. And therefore it's justified.

But the motivations stated is simply the mind protecting itself. Darius may justify his cruelty toward anything machine by referencing when the machines slaughtered his friends. But in the end, that is nothing more than a lie he tells himself. He simply enjoys the slaughter, and tells himself this is because of what he's experienced so he doesn't face the fact he is evil. Human, machines, androids, our kind actions and justifications for our cruelty are merely a form of self-deception. The same way I deceived myself by convincing I was the noble warrior 2B, sparing as many lives as I could and helping as many people, androids and machines, as I could. It is all a grand form of self-deception to escape the fact that we are all evil.

No, not self-deception. The inability to distinguish fantasy from reality is the very definition of insanity. I guess it makes sense that I would discover this truth as I was uniquely programmed to never go insane.

So often, one would harm others and pretend they have some moral high ground because of the pain they had experienced. But that is little more than mindless prattle. A paper-thin excuse conjured by the mind to pretend it's not evil.

Morality is little more than a form of insanity. It is the fate of sentient beings to be evil.

And there is no escaping fate.

It never really occurred to 2E just how long it would take to get all variables reset. Adam constructed the Copied Cities within a month but the machines had far more to restore this time. She had to go into hibernation mode for an extended period of time unless she wanted to push the boundaries of her mind when it came to going insane from boredom. The Red Girl even gave her chamber for her to rest. It wanted to make sure she didn't interfere with their precious cycle. She didn't trust them. Not in the slightest. They weren't allies. Their relation was symbiotic. They needed things that can kill and she needed things to kill.

This chamber was where they helped repair her damage. Maintain her. And she can shut down without worry. Though she didn't stay shut down the entire time.

Between periods of rest, she would get up. She checked the clock each time. 5 months. 12 months. 16 months. 24 months. Again and again she would get up and remain active until boredom threatened her mind.

She would get up and take some time for herself.

She would get up to dance.

Dance like she's always wanted.

Graceful ballet movements. Twirls and spins through the air. She balanced on one foot and gracefully extended her hands and other leg. She stood on the tips of her toes and spin faster and faster. As the months past, she got better and better. And at the end she would take a bow like she had performed in front of an audience.

"Were you watching, 9S?" she breathed, more tears in her eyes. "I finally did it. I finally learned to dance…"

Her knees felt weak. 9S was supposed to be here to see this. She would learn to dance and join him exploring the world. But part of that plan was missing.

But….

2E looked over when she saw the hologram of a Red Girl appear before her.

"What is it?" she growled in annoyance. She was supposed to be alone. She didn't really care about it seeing her cry. It's seen her cry plenty of times already. Especially when it was torturing her in the resource recovery units.

"I believe you may want to see this," the thing in the machine network said.

-.-

"My name's 9S. I'm here to provide support."

2E was hiding on a walkway overlooking the whole affair. She didn't want to be detected so she used an executioner's chest harness and its stealth equipment to mask all her signals. And she kept one of the resistance's anti-material rifles so she could observe things from a distance. She watched the scene play out, knives in her heart.

She pitied the two androids below. One had no idea what was to come. And the other had no idea what already came. She wanted to stop it. She wanted to warn them. But she had agreed to not interfere until it came time to reset the cycle so she can only observe.

2E reached up and touched her cheek. Was she crying? 9S was down there. Alive. It's been so long. She wanted to speak to him. But she couldn't. She could only watch, knowing that no matter what happens this will all end in tragedy. Even if he survives the fall of the Bunker, he will go insane from grief thanks to her.

His story always ends in tragedy.

Finally, the flight unit took off into the sky while 2E began making her way through the factory. The newer 2E that was.

As far as 2E was concerned, the naïve YorHa down there was also 2E. The naïve YorHa who lied to herself under the ruse 2B was still 2E. They were the same person in every way. Their personalities were identical. Their memories were identical. Everything was identical. Even the lie was identical. The abomination down there may be using the guise of 2B, but 2E knew her real name. It was the same as her own real name and it was the truth.

They were both 2E.

2E prepared to follow her doppelganger. It was when she looked down, she realized she should probably make a few adjustments. Time had worn down her clothes. Her dress was nearly gone. Even the leotard was taking damage. And while having her ass cheeks bouncing in the breeze didn't really matter when the planet's population was zero, she realized now would be a good time to cover up.

She grabbed a piece of black cloth that had gotten caught on some debris and loosely fastened it to her like a waist cape. Once that was done, she proceeded to follow her naïve self.

She had taken the liberty to observe it all. She witnessed everything from above. She saw the explosions out at sea that vaporized the goliaths. She saw the twin flight units on their way down from the Bunker. She followed them through the desert, listening to the machines plead for their lives.

Yes, this was the moment. Their realization of horror that they were no longer fighting mindless tools.

"Don't listen to them, 2B. Their words don't mean anything."

She never did find out what 9S truly felt about machines. He dismissed them. Yet she knew he had grown attached to Pascal and his village. Did this cognitive dissonance last all the way until his death?

She silently observed it all. She couldn't get close to the first encounter with Adam without exposing herself. So she hid herself in the sewers.

"There's no point trying to work out unsolvable problems," she heard the other 2E say as they walked past.

Everything played out exactly the same. So how was it that on occasion the timelines would diverge? She kept watching, trying to find out what it was. But this cycle played out no different than her own.

At least until that fateful day…

-.-

"I-i-I am O-OpERator 6O. ThAnk yoU…f-For thE fl-oW-ers. D-dESert FLow-ers ARe b-B-B-BeaU-ti-tI-Ti-FuL aRen'T tHEy?"

2B had always wondered thought about god, some higher intelligence that guided the direction of the universe. The being that's trapped them in their never ending cycle of life and death. And 2B decided God was a cruel sociopath.

She stared at 6O, the one stable part of her life, the one person who was always there for her. 2B watched as 6O launched herself once again. 2B had been trying to avoid her friend, simply dodge and avoid all the attacks. This damned logic virus.

How did the machines manage to infect every YorHa android? 9S has speculated the sever was infected. But how did the machines get access to the heart of YorHa?

Their movements would suggest every YorHa android acted with singular purpose, a sound state of mind. But their words and expressions were twisted. They were conscious but in pain, no sanity left and no control over their body.

To see 6O's face, one normally full of light, life, and smiles, be reduced to an expression of absolute pain, her glowing red eyes rolled to the back of her head as she tried to form a cohesive thought, tears streaming down her face with an expression that begged 2B to kill her to end her misery…damn god and his cruelty. 6O was supposed to be the one person in her life she would never have to kill. 9S, the other combat models, she knew she might have to kill them. But 6O? An operator that worked on the station? She was supposed to be exempt from this.

Not again.

2B's had an entire life of killing people she knew. It was her job. She's had to kill 9S for his entire life. Now she had to kill 6O? Her best friend?

"No…" 2B said, lowering her sword. "I won't…" She wasn't going to kill anyone else she knew. She was done.

"2B!" 9S called out as 6O charged in again. But 2B had not completely given up. Not that way. As 6O lunged in, 2B grabbed her and slammed her against the ground. 2B worked quickly, leaping onto 6O and pinning her arms.

"9S, help me!" 2B begged, holding her best friend to the floor. 9S immediately got to work hacking. But soon he was ejected out.

"Wha?" he stuttered. 2B was just as confused. His hack failed? 9S immediately tried again.

And again…

And again…

"9S!" 2B called out. They were running out of time. The Bunker's fusion reactor was critical. They had to get off the station.

"Got it!" 9S cheered as 6O finally shut down. With her friend finally ceasing her struggles, 2B got off 6O. Her body was still shaking. She was sure she was going to have to kill another person she cared about. "I think I got the virus out of her system. But man, that is a tough one."

They all turned around in horror when they heard the demented cackling of more YorHa behind them. They were still on a station full of the things.

2B got ready to fight, but The Commander was the one who stepped forward.

"Go," she ordered.

2B looked at her superior officer in confusion. But when The Commander turned around, they could see her glowing red eyes.

"Commander!" 2B gasped. No, no, no. 2B was thankful that 9S and 6O could survive but that wasn't enough. Damn anyone who says she should appreciate being able to save two. Was it too much to ask to save them all?

"I never planned on leaving anyways," The Commander confessed. "This is my command. I will see it through to the end"

"But 9S can hack into your systems!" 2B stuttered.

"There's no time! You three are the last remaining members of YorHa. My final mission I assign to you is to survive! You hear me?!"

"Commander!" 2B cried out as The Commander took a few steps backwards. They could see the corrupted units in the distance, bolting down the hall. And so the Commander pressed the button.

"Move it, 2B! That's an order!" the Commander yelled as the heavy blast doors sealed her with the corrupted YorHa.

2B shook her head. She didn't want to believe it. This had to be a nightmare. She wanted to open those doors and drag The Commander with them. But she looked back at 9S and 6O.

Damn it! She had to save them.

Was saving everyone really too much to ask for?

"Let's go!" 2B called out as she scooped 6O into her arms. She and 9S sprinted down the hall, finally making it to the hangar. As she neared some of the docked flight units, she could feel 6O stir in her hands.

"2B!" 6O gasped. 2B was terrified. She didn't want to admit it but she was terrified. Terrified of the future. And terrified for 9S and 6O. But she couldn't show it. She was the combat unit of the group. She had to stay strong. So she forced that stoic look back onto her face.

2B ran over to a flight unit before letting 6O down but she didn't have time to explain or anything. She tore open a flight unit's harness and practically shoved 6O into it.

"Go," was all 2B said to 6O.

"2B, your face," 6O gasped. 2B reached up. She could feel tears coming out of her visor.

"Damn," she growled. So much for her stoic visage. She was trying to stay strong for 9S and 6O but here she was crumbling under the weight. "Listen. You go on ahead. 9S and I will meet on the surface."

6O nodded but 2B could see the fear in her eyes. The operator still likely had the memory of being corrupted and also had to live with the knowledge everyone she knew and cared about was also corrupted.

2B quickly programmed a set of coordinates into the flight unit and launched. She watched the mech turn into a jet before flying out into space.

One down. One more to go. Then she could work on saving herself.

"2B!" 9S gasped. "There's only one flight unit left!"

"WHAT?!"

That wasn't possible. They had an entire hangar.

"The explosions damaged the rest."

She looked around. Sure enough, most of the flight units were on fire. Others were buried under piles of rubble. 2B felt her heart sink. This was her fault. She had insisted they fix 6O instead of running for their lives. But it wasn't all bad. One flight unit meant one more person can escape.

This was her chance. Her chance to do something right for once.

"Go," 2B said.

"WHAT?!" 9S called out. "I'm not going to leave you! I WON'T."

9S had to survive. He had to. She didn't want to die. She was terrified of the prospect. She was a combat unit and her legs were shaking with fear over her impending doom. But she had to get 9S out of here.

Sorry, 9S…

"I'm not giving you a choice," 2B said. She lunged at him, punching him across the jaw. It was a brief stun but it was enough for her to pick his small frame up and run toward the flight unit.

She felt 9S stab his sword into her shoulder. She felt him stab his sword into her leg. 2B gritted her teeth and ended up kneeling down to try to cope with the pain. 9S took that opportunity to leap off her shoulder and knee her in the face. She gasped in shock, her visual processors filled with static. By the time she got her bearings, she could feel herself being dragged to a flight unit. 9S was struggling to lift her up to shove her in. So when she suddenly stood up on her own accord, 9S was too startled to fight back as she effortlessly slung him over her shoulder.

He was kicking and screaming, begging her not to do this. But she ignored it all. Whatever it takes, she was going to do this. She strapped him into the flight unit and slammed the harness down.

He immediately tried to open it again.

"Don't you dare!" cried 9S. "Don't you dare! 2B! 2B"

"Sorry about this, 9S," she said. Within moments she had programmed a set of coordinates. She was ready to launch it when she felt a sharp pain in her left palm. She cried out, looking over to see a long golden cable connecting her to Pod 153 in the flight unit. 9S had used his wire program to connect them.

She knew she couldn't come with. Even if she clung to the outside she'd be outside the flight unit's shielding and burn up on atmospheric entry. Only one person was getting out of here.

"Damn you, 2B!" 9S roared. "I won't let you do this."

2B felt tears in her eyes. But she didn't know if these were tears of pain or joy. 9S cared this much about her. This wasn't the first time they fought. But they usually fought because she was trying to **** him. Now she was trying to **** him. But it also tore at her heart that the only reason he did was because he didn't know the truth. But none of that mattered. She had to **** 9S.

Strange, why was there static in her thought processors?

Doesn't matter. She was going to **** 9S.

"9S," she choked out through her tears. "I want you to go out there and live a long happy life. Become the best person you can possibly be. And never lose hope no matter what happens. Thank you for everything you've given me. My time with you was like memories of pure light. You brought me joy in a world of nothing but darkness."

She could see 9S shaking his head as she drew her sword. This was going to hurt. But she would do it a hundred more times if it meant getting the chance to **** him.

"Goodbye…Nines."

She did it back to back. One after the other. She sliced off her left hand, freezing herself from the flight unit. Then she immediately programmed it to launch. And the flight unit took off. She watched it vanished into the distance, 9S's screams vanishing with it.

Then she was alone. Her body still shook with fear and the stump where her left hand used to be felt like it was on fire but she smiled. She did it. For once in her life she actually did something right. As she felt the final shake of the station, as a bubble of flame erupted from the reactor, a final thought and smile passed over her right before the flames overtook her.

She had saved Nines…

-.-

From the now buried tower, 2E could monitor the situation above thanks to The Red Girl.

Two flight units were launched from The Bunker. But only one managed to get out of range of the blast.

2E wasn't fooled. She knew The Red Girl didn't invite her here to watch this as an act of charity. No doubt they were still gathering evolutionary data. And seeing this again shot knives into her heart. Her fist tightened. But in the end it was a beneficial experience.

"Who was in that first flight unit?" 2E asked.

"YorHa Operator 6O," The Red Girl replied, its voice booming through the empty room. "YorHa Unit 9S was on the other one."

9S was on the other one…

Which meant 9S died in the blast…

Damn. She really did always kill Nines. By saving 6O, she got 9S killed because they stayed on the Bunker too long. Number 2 always kills Number 9.

No, she wasn't going to cry. Not now.

"Will you go after 6O now?" 2E asked. The idea of her best friend being tortured pissed her off. Yet, she could not also help but feel it may be deserved. 6O might've been lying to her about humanity. She waited for The Red Girls' response but didn't know what her reaction would be.

"YorHa Operator 6O is of limited interest to us. We will be gathering data from her, but she is not the focus of our attention."

2E chose to cast these feelings aside. She didn't know what she felt toward 6O but it didn't matter. Her purpose in life was to kill.

2E silently turned around and began walking away.

"Where are you going?" the voice asked.

"Where do you think? Your cycle is drawing to a close again. So, I'm going out to kill." 2E paused and glanced at the monitor. She could see 6O weeping as she watched the remains of the Bunker and likely everyone on the Bunker rain from the sky as ash.

6O…crying. It was a rare sight. Normally it was 2E who had all the waterworks. 6O has cried before. Such a bright and joyous person being twisted by sadness? It was a perversion of nature.

"I make one request," 2E said shakily as she continued walking. "Should 6O manage to survive to the end, I want you to let me kill her myself."

I did just that. I went out and killed. I cleared out resistance camp after resistance camp. I wasted no time crushing the Army of Humanity. And… I watched. I watched 6O rendezvous with the resistance. I watched her and A2 investigate the strange structures that erupted from the ground. I watched the two of them form an uneasy alliance. I watched as the machines slowly picked apart A2's mind with each resource recovery unit. I watched A2 slowly descend into madness. I watched 6O carry an injured A2's to Pascal's village for repairs. I watched A2, on the brink of insanity and in a fit of rage while 6O was away, massacre the whole village. I watched 6O flee in terror as a corrupted 21O massacred the resistance camp.

I watched and I watched.

I watched my friend deteriorate. I watched as reality squeezed out everything that made her, her. All her light. All her joy. Everything

2E stood perched up on the wall. She was back. Back at the top of the tower. She was gripping the edge of the wall so hard it crumbled to dust in her hand.

6O wasn't a combat model but operators still could fight. And she had lasted a decently long time against A2. But surely this attacker android would be more than a match for 6O. And on any other day that would be true. But A2's mind and sanity were no more. When A2 cracks, she truly cracks.

A2's long hair was wild as she charged at 6O again, howling like an animal. A2 had truly lost herself. No, not lost. That which made up A2 was now in pieces, the thing crawling before 6O being nothing but the fragments roughly cobbled together.

"Stop, please!" 6O begged, the sword in her hands shaking. 6O had lost her veil a while back so 2E could see the fear even on her lips. A2 had become completely feral. Even logic virus corruption doesn't gets this bad. It actually brought A2 down to 6O's level since all her cunning and combat programming was now gone. All that was left was an obsolete android body.

2E had to stop herself from breaking her own teeth when she grit them. 6O was perhaps the happiest person she's ever met. So innocent. So full of life. Always smiling. Whenever 2E had to kill 9S, seeing 6O smile made her feel like things would turn out alright one day. But ever since the fall of the Bunker, 6O never smiled. That bright face of joy was now twisted with fear and pain as she tried to fight off A2, whose movements had more in common with a spider than anything.

Finally, 6O cried out as she plunged her sword into A2's chest. A2 still pushed against 6O, trying to maul the operator. Her forward momentum shoved 6O to the ground. But the sword had gone through A2's black box. And after a few moments, A2 shut down.

6O was trembling uncontrollably, clearly afraid that A2 was going to suddenly come back to life and attack her like some sort of possessed corpse. Considering A2 was fighting like a possessed corpse, perhaps 6O's fear wasn't unjustified. But when A2 didn't move, 6O shoved the attacker model off her and scampered away.

This whole ordeal had taken a toll on her. There was no place for such cheer. No place for such light. No place for such smiles. So reality beat it out of her.

This was it. 2E was going down there. She was finally going to see 6O after almost a decade by this point. But what will she do once she gets down there? She wanted to comfort 6O. The same way 6O comforted her every time she killed 9S. But she also wanted to do something much much worse.

2E dropped from the wall and landed on the ground. That much weight concentrated into such a small area, the floor caved into a large crater beneath 2E's feet. 6O whipped around at the sound. She was spent. There was no way she could win another fight. But 6O still tried her best to get ready. She was ready to fight to survive.

She really wanted to live that badly…

"Who are you?" 6O whimpered. "Get away!"

2E said nothing, just walking forward. She had donned a hood that covered her face. Her right glove was covered by a gauntlet and her left was covered by her shoulder cape. So her only identifying feature was her now torn YorHa dress. 6O probably assumed she was just another infected unit.

2E stood before her best friend. She just stood there and stared. It had been so long. What was there even to say?

She never told 6O, but she always enjoyed her cheery nature. It always brightened her day in the midst of the bloodied battlefields. And 6O's faith in her made her think that she could be more than a simple killer.

Well, she might as well start with a greeting.

It took her a couple attempts, her mouth seemingly not working.

"Hello, 6O," 2E said.

6O froze when she heard this. Clearly 6O recognized 2E's voice.

"2B?" 6O whimpered.

That name again…

2E reached up and pulled her hood down, finally showing her face. She had to cut her hair several times to make sure she bore some resemblance to her old self. It was a rough cut but it worked. Plus long hair simply made killing harder.

Seeing 2E, 6O was soon overcome with joy, throwing herself into 2E's arms. 6O was soon crying into 2E's arms. This was…this was wrong. It was supposed to be her crying into 6O's arms. How did the world get so messed up?

"I thought you were dead…" 6O trembled. "How did you survive? Where have you been? Are you alright, 2B?"

6O finally pulled away. Finally seeing the weathered look on 2E's face.

"2B?" 6O said. "You ok? You seem different."

"6O…" 2E said, her voice trembling. It's been years. She hadn't seen her best friend in forever. And last time she did, she had beheaded 6O. "I've…I've missed you. There's so much I've always wanted to say." 2E was just speaking her mind. Just speaking what she's always wanted to say. Just speaking the things she never got to say.

"2B, you aren't making any sense," 6O said. 2E ignored 6O. She had too much to say. She wanted to get it all off her chest.

"Operator…I never told you but, I'm glad you were my handler. Your voice always brought me joy during the hardest operations. Your smile is infectious and made me smile even during the darkest operations. And you have a laugh that brightens the world of anyone who is lucky enough to hear it. When you put your faith in me, it made me believe that I could actually be a better person."

"2B…" 6O stuttered, clearly touched by 2E's words. This was everything 2E wanted to tell 6O. But, there was more. 6O was her best friend. Her comfort in life, especially when it came to 9S. There was love and affection.

But…

There was also rage.

"6O…did you know humanity was extinct?"

There it was. The question she wanted to ask. Whenever she got the chance, she would ask whatever YorHa survivor she came across if they knew the truth about humanity. But there were just too few survivors.

Then again, them knowing didn't really matter. She recognized a few as people she did favors for. But she didn't know them personally. She needed to know if 6O knew.

2E had to check her hands to make sure she didn't have a sword in them. She was afraid a fit of rage may drive her to kill 6O. She was going to kill 6O regardless. So why was she so afraid of killing her friend?

6O's silence sent chills down 2E's spine. That silence told her all she needed to know. Though, she didn't know what answer she would've preferred. Probably that this entire affair was just a nightmare and she will wake up in her bed.

So, 6O had known the truth about humanity this whole time?

No, the silence was probably just a misunderstanding. 6O was probably just out of breath. Just shaken up from her battle with A2.

Please. 6O, please say this was a misunderstanding. Please tell her that she was just as ignorant. Please.

"I'm sorry, 2B…"

2E looked down. Without her visor she didn't want 6O to see her eyes. 6O knew? All this time?

"How?" 2E asked, not looking at her friends. She was trying to control herself but her body was trembling. Her voice was trembling. Her hands were trembling. Everything was trembling. "How could you do that to me? TO ME?! This is why I had to kill 9S? To sustain a lie?" 2E was fighting to control her breathing. She always knew she lived in a dark world of deceit but she thought 6O and 9S were the only two sources of light in her life. And they were just lying to her?

"2B…" 6O began to say.

"You hated me for the longest time," 2E fumed. "You hated me for having to kill 9S. You dared to judge me even though the reason I had to kill him…was nothing but lies?"

When 2E looked up, she saw 6O looking away in guilt. 2E had caught her. Caught her lies. Caught her manipulation.

'2B, this is Operator 6O! Pick up! Thank you SO MUCH for the picture. So this is a desert rose. It looks almost…mystical. Thank you so much, 2B. I'm going to treasure this forever.'

2E used to treasure that memory. But now she didn't know what to make of it.

"You're right," 6O said. "It wasn't fair. It wasn't until we started talking that I realized just how wrong I was to hate you."

"It's not that you hated me," 2E said, trembling. "But the reason for it was because of something you TRICKED me to do! What else was there, 6O? How many lies have you buried? How many people have you buried with those lies? HOW MANY INNOCENT PEOPLE DID YOU MAKE ME KILL FOR THOSE LIES?"

If there was any good in this world, any innocence, then it would come from 6O. But not even 6O was untainted? How was this world so cursed?

6O's smile just pissed her off all the more. It wasn't happy smile. It was a resigned smile. Like 6O knew the weight of her actions, knew there was nothing she could say or do, so she chose to smile because why not.

"Too many," 6O said, tears now welling in her eyes.

'You leaving would be bad for me. It would effect mission efficiency.'

'Are you saying you need me, 2B?'

To see 6O cry was a perversion of the natural world. She herself was never good at crying anything. But she could never take 6O crying. While one hand was fighting to not reach out and strangle 6O where she stood, the other was fighting to not reach over to comfort her.

"So, don't blame yourself, 2B," 6O said. "It's not your fault. Everyone's blood is on my hands."

"It's on both our hands," 2E corrected resentfully. "I commend you but not shirking responsibility. But I was still the blade that ended the lives of thousands. Besides, even if you didn't trick me, I still would have killed them. It's my purpose after all."

"Wait, 2B…" 6O stuttered.

That name again…

2E had tolerated it to this point. But that lie was now taking her toll. There was no 2B. There never was a 2B. And she never wanted to hear anything about a 2B ever again.

In a flash, she had materialized her sword and aimed it at 6O. The operator leapt back in shock. 2E had been so focused on killing she hadn't taken the time to look at her blade. Nor had she taken the time to clean it. So all the oil and blood of all her victims was still caked on there. The tassel and the handle had soaked in the blood like a sponge. And the blade was painted by it.

"My name is 2E. YorHa Number 2 Tye E. E for executioner. I exist to kill. Indiscriminately. Mercilessly. Especially the ones closest to me."

6O was clearly horrified by the state of Virtuous Contract. Machines didn't bleed, at least not blood. Which meant the blood on the sword came from androids. And a lot of them.

"2B…" 6O gasped.

"You can stop calling me 2B. YorHa is gone. As is 9S. There is no reason to continue lying. There is no 2B. There was never 2B. There is only 2E. There is only the monster YorHa birthed to kill everyone around her."

"No, 2B, stop!" 6O begged. "You're not a monster."

"Oh, but I am," 2E cackled, tears in her eyes. "Friends, lovers, strangers, I kill everyone. I've KILLED everyone."

Killed…

Past tense…

6O picked up on that.

"2B, what have you done?" she whimpered.

"What I was built to do," 2E stated with the same bitter resignation she had in her voice for a long time. "I killed the resistance. I killed the machines. I killed everyone."

6O was shaking her head, refusing to believe this. But her belief didn't change reality. 2E had left two planets worth of corpses.

"2B, snap out of this! I know you're in there somewhere."

Snap out of it? 6O was acting like 2E is the lie and 2B is reality. Was she this manipulative? Or this delusional? 2B can't snap out of this. 2B can't snap out of anything. Because there isn't even a 2B.

"Stop acting like 2B was anything more than just a lie! A lie made so I can get close to people so I can kill them. 2B never existed. That noble warrior was a fantasy."

"No! 2B is who you really are! Fight it! Don't let 2E win."

"Don't let 2E win?" 2E repeated. "I'm not some kind of alternate personality. The woman who ended the resistance and the woman who betrayed 9S are both one and the same. Now that same monster is here to finish the job. The same monster is here to kill you."

"Are you saying that our friendship means nothing to you?" 6O cried out desperate as 2E began her march forward. But hearing that question. 2E froze in her tracks.

A monster with a heart…

God had a twisted sense of humor. She had accepted she existed to kill. But that didn't mean her emotions were gone. She could still love. She could still hate. And she could still hurt.

"Our friendship was the world," 2E confessed. "You, Pod, 9S…you were my everything. I thought I could make you three the reason for my being. I would have given up everything to make it so. I would have taken on YorHa itself if I thought the four of us could just march off and be a family together. The only reason I didn't try…was because I thought there were tens of thousands of lives on the line. That I couldn't be selfish. That I had people depending me." 2E scoffed and shook her head. She remembered what Darius said in the first cycle. That she was supposed to be intelligent. So much for that.

"What a great fool I was," 2E scoffed. "I exist to kill. Nothing else."

2E looked up, looking 6O right in the eye. 6O was still crying. But there was a smile too. It didn't make sense. She was sad, scared even, yet happy.

"Your reaction…" 2E said. "I don't understand. You cry, yet you seem…happy?"

"Yeah, because you're going to kill me now, aren't you?" 6O asked, her tone thankful but heaved through her sobs. "I don't want to die."

"I…" 2E breathed. So many thoughts and feelings ran through her head like a storm. Love. Hate. Fear. Confusion. "I don't want you to die either," 2E choked out.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Because this is what I exist to do. I exist to kill, especially those closest to me."

This was too much. 6O was crying. 6O was laughing. 6O was scared. 6O was happy. 2E felt like she was being ripped apart.

"Why do you seem so relieved?" 2E cried out. It was like the world was just torturing her at this point. She knew God had a cruel sense of humor but this was absurd. She didn't want to see 6O like this. Yet she wanted 6O to suffer for her crimes. SO WHICH WAS IT?!

"I always felt so guilty lying to you. I actually always hated myself for what I made you do. For what I blamed you for for the longest time."

6O…hated herself? 2E had come to terms with her own self loathing. It came naturally because she recognized her own evil. But 6O hating herself? Reality was warping itself like a pretzel. 6O had no reason to hate herself.

But humanity…

2E shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She didn't want 6O to hate herself. Yet she felt glee that 6O was languishing for her crimes.

2E was screaming at herself to tell 6O that it was ok. Yet she was also begging to rub salt in the wound.

"6O…" 2E whimpered.

"I always wondered what it would take to make it all right. If killing me is what it takes…then fine. I'd do anything for you, 2B. You're my best friend."

Best friend…

…

Best friend?

…

Would a best friend lie to you? Would a best friend manipulate you? 2E killed 9S so many times because of 6O. Over and over and over again.

2E had every right to hate 6O.

She DID hate 6O.

…

Right?

Damn it, her best friend betrayed her. She hated 6O for that.

Hate her.

Hate her, damn it!

HATE HER!

Her mind was screaming this. Screaming it over and over again. It was her mind screaming this, not her mouth. And yet she would swear her throat was growing hoarse from screaming it so loud.

Damn it. Try as she might, she could not bring herself to completely hate 6O. Part of her did. But part of her just wanted her best friend back. She wanted 6O to stay. But she knew it was pointless. She existed to kill. Those she knew and were close to die first. And she was close to 6O.

"6O," 2E said. "Could you smile for me one last time? Like how you used to?"

6O obliged. She looked at 2E and cast a smile so radiant 2E thought she might go blind from the light. 2E wanted to see that again. She hadn't seen it in forever. For the first time since the fall of The Bunker, at least for 6O, she smiled. A smile that lit up 2E's world for the first time since the fall of her own Bunker. A smile so bright…it blinded her to what happened next.

2E screamed in shock when 6O suddenly sliced at her, managing to slice her left arm off right at the shoulder. Her executioner's instincts kicked in and 2E used her last hand to plunge her sword into 6O's chest.

The executioner had to fight to not be overtaken by panic. This was what she was going to do anyways. Yet, she was also…glad. She was glad 6O did that.

"You knew…" 2E whispered. "You knew I would want you to do that. You knew I wanted you to try to kill me."

6O let out one final giggle.

"Of course," she said weakly. "I know you, 2B. Because…you're my best friend."

2E bit her lip as she felt 6O go limp. Her best friend…dead again. At least she didn't have to decapitate her this time. So 2E reached over and closed 6O's eyes before gingerly laying her on the ground.

It didn't matter. Love her. Hate her. That didn't change 2E's purpose. She was still a killer. Cast aside all those meaningless conflicting emotions. She lived to kill. Simple as that.

2E looked over at her stump at her left shoulder. Damn.

2E took her sword and brought it down on 6O's left arm, cutting it off at the shoulder. She then brought it up and jammed it into the socket. She screamed again pain as the nerves connected, the nanobots in her body getting to work repairing the damage. And after a few moments, she could move 6O's arm like it was her own. She kept the Operator's sleeve but there was one more change she had to make. 2E took off 6O's glove. She then walked over to her arm. She was taking her glove. She was taking 9S's gift. It was hidden under a gauntlet, one she may have attached too tightly. So 2E had to rip the armor off. She couldn't use the gauntlet again but at least she got the glove back. And she carefully slid the glove back onto her hand.

A2's eye. 6O's arm. And 9S's gifts on top of all that.

2E tore a part of her cloak and attached it to her left shoulder. Hopefully the shoulder cape will take the brunt of any damage. She now had to protect the arm as well as the glove it wore.

There is no joy in an existence like mine. But joy was never the point. I live to kill. I continued my work. At the end of a cycle, I would help kill all. Machines and androids. I would use the recovery modules and raw materials from my victims to repair myself.

Over and over again.

Number 2 always kills Number 9. The only way 9S can survive is if I die. And if I survive, 9S dies. Every time.

I never could figure out what causes these drastically different outcomes. So when I saw a cycle identical to my own, I was curious. My old self progressed through the same events. Killing 6O. Killing 9S. Killing 21O. Killing Anemone. Killing Devola. Killing Popola. Killing Pascal.

I was prepared to see A2 be added to my list again. But…

But…

How? Why? Our paths were exactly the same. Every event down to the words and gestures chosen for every conversation. What could have caused myself to continue down this path of self-deception?

What happened to me that could make me like that?

What are you turning into?

2E wade among the dead. Another cycle was ending so she was cleaning up. A killer executing her duties. Survivors of the other resistance camp massacres had gathered here, creating a new slaughtering ground for 2E.

Jackass had gotten away. The mad woman detonated bombs in the hopes of taking out 2E. But all that Jackass did was blow off her own leg. 2E was going to finish the job but some crazy resistance fighter tried to jump on a machine gun, buying Jackass enough time to get away.

So 2E went back to the resistance camp to finish off any survivors as well as take any resources. She was not immortal. She needed recovery modules and raw material to repair herself.

And it seemed her extra bits of armor were also helping her. She had seen what happened to A2 so her extra layers were taking the damage instead of her. Her gauntlet, her cloak, her shoulder cape. They took the brunt of the damage. With the exception of the gauntlet, the rest wasn't real armor. It was just made to shield her from the normal wear and tear of battle.

She had already gone through plenty of targets. She decided to visit the Army of Humanity first. She had taken out the machine fighting arena in the desert while new-2E and A2 were busy ascending the Tower. She even wiped out a few resistance camps. And now here she was cleaning up the resistance in this area.

She was halfway through the camp, scavenging weapons, when she heard a rustle in the bushes.

Machines? This place was on the edge of the Forest Kingdom. Was it Forest Kingdom scouts?

2E leapt up into the tree branches above her. From there, she watched the newcomer step out.

Herself…

The 2E of this cycle was here, investigating the carnage left behind. This other-2E was oblivious to the first 2E's presence. Killing the newcomer would be all too easy. But 2E held off. This new-2E chose to not just spare A2 but asked to be killed by her. What could drive herself to such a decision?

2E followed her more naïve iteration, observing the actions. It seemed the newer-2E was busier examining the corpses than her surroundings. New-2E probably thought it was an infected YorHa that did this so there was no need to check the trees.

She didn't know what changed but the new-2E suddenly looked up into the trees. Up at herself.

There was no point hiding now. 2E let herself slide off the branch she was standing on, landing on the forest floor.

Her younger self did not hesitate to rush into combat. Unsurprisingly really. Sure, rushing in like that could get you killed. But every second an executioner is left alive the more likely that is to happen. So better to end the fight as quickly as possible.

2E deflected the initial blade strike, sparks and blood flying off her sword.

If this younger 2E was now working with A2, that meant she didn't have her left eye. There was only one way to test it. 2E began circling counter clockwise, to her doppelganger's left. A blind spot caused by the lack of a left eye. Sure enough, she could see her younger self turning more than a person with two eyes would need two. It took a few moments but her younger self finally chose to over-turn. Rather than try to keep 2E in her center of vision, she was rotating to keep 2E to the left of her vision to compensate.

They were both 2E. They had the same history. Exactly the same history. The same mind. The some memories. The same personality. They just controlled two different bodies. They were the same person in every sense.

But there were some differences. From what she could tell, it was a single decision difference. This-2E simply chose to not kill A2. But this tiny difference was all there was. If this-2E had decided to follow through, then they would have been exactly the same.

Well, there was one other difference. Age. 2E was older and more experienced than this version. Which meant vastly superior fighting skills.

They crossed blades again, letting 2E kick her younger self back.

2E didn't want this fight. Her other self just didn't give her a choice. Once she made distance, 2E took a moment to see what will happen next.

"You're undoubtedly YorHa," the young-2E said. "But you show no sign of logic virus infection. My name is 2B. Number 2 Type B. If you recognize me then I order you identify yourself."

What?

Did she really just announce herself as 2B?

She had accepted herself as 2E on that tower. What the hell could've prompted herself to go back to being 2B? It was…amusing. Even before she killed A2, she hated being lied to. It seems she had decided to just fall back upon blissful ignorance and lie to herself.

It was ironic really. So she decided to lie to herself and return to being the imposter 2B. Yet her true self stood before her, and she was asking who it was.

It was all rather amusing. She could not help but chuckle. Let out a slow twisted laugh.

"Who are you?" 2B breathed.

2E knew her outfit had gone through more than a few iterations. So she raised her sword and cut the rope holding her cloak in place. She then raised her sword and cut her hood off. Finally, she reached up with her hand and slid away the face mask.

2E knew that once her body was free of the cloak and hood her identity should be blaringly obvious. They had the same face. The same gloves. The same headband. She even cut her own hair in an identical fashion.

And thus the lie looked upon the truth. Deception was faced with reality.

"Who am I, you ask. The answer should be quite obvious now."

-.-

A/N: So I actually wasn't sure where to put this chapter. I bounced between this order and having this chapter follow immediately after ending D. This technically chronologically immediately after Ending D. But it requires some backtrack anyways. But the other chapter starts with 2B sparing A2 so it falls in the same general vein as the other endings. I don't know. What do you guys think? This order work or do you think I should have put this one immediately after ending D?

Yeah, so this is what 2E's been up to all this time. She kills everyone left alive then goes into hibernation for the next few years until the cycle is reset. She is given a new hatred for liars because of what she's had to do because of the lies of project YorHa. You may have also noticed that 2E refers to her other self as 2E as well. As far as she's concerned, 2B is a lie therefore the other is still 2E even if she still deceives herself.

I say it takes a couple years for the cycle to get fully reset. The base reference for time I have is Adam building all his copied cities in record time so the machines can move fast.

Initially I had it be 21O that survived the Bunker's next fall. But 2B already had her confrontation with 21O. So now she gets to face 6O over what she's learned. And she ironically gets put i the same position as 9S loving and hating. It really made me realize what a twisted mess YorHa was. It also gives a brief insight into what could happen if it was 6O who survived the Bunker and how she could have.

And in my quest to make everything needlessly complicated, I may have put too much thought into 2E's new uniform design. I thought about the old B and O blind fold and veil symbolism. So 2E initially had a mask that covered her face but left her eyes exposed. Since she can see the truth now, she'll keep her eyes exposed even when hiding her identity. She has a waist cape which is longer than 2B's normal dress, the length indicating that 2E has been alive longer than 2B. Its design also moves away from gothic punk Victorian maid to gothic punk Victorian coat. The stylized maid outfit was fitting since she was a slave of YorHa yet also powerful and independent in her own right. But now that she is free from YorHa, her new style moves away from the maid design. There's also a strong lack of balance in 2E's design. Her left arm wears an operator's sleeve and there's a shoulder cape on her left shoulder. Her right arm is covered by an armored gauntlet. Her left eye is scarred and is technically A2's eye. This is her lack of balance ever since she realized the truth with a body that is now some parts hers and some parts others which is also indicative of her own beliefs which is now a mishmash of hers and others. Just as parts of her uniform don't match, her beliefs are in conflict with each other.

Even her colors have shifted. With the exception of her hair, the whites on her are now a dark red from all the blood shed and to symbolize essentially her downfall. Since white is normally the color of purity, most of her whites are now gone and blood-soaked. Masamune also once said that the weapon is a reflection of one's soul. 2E's Virtuous Contract is heavily damaged and caked in blood which is a pretty accurate representation of her soul at the moment.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think.

(PS: yeah, the chapter title was a pun)