Chapter I:
Heat
A sweltering sun beamed down upon the boiling earth. It never moved from its heavenward throne. Forever stagnant in an empty blue sky.
Heatwaves bent and warped the shimmering horizons. It was a dry heat. An unforgiving rise in temperature seemed to come out of nowhere. In a place where the sun never set, it was always rather hot. That day, however, it was exceptionally blistering.
That same air bared down on 9S. He ignored the annoyance caused by the weather. Instead, his attention was fiercely locked on what lied at his feet. At the foot of a massive, pale tower he had found what remained of them.
Two twin androids. Were it not for the inversion of their clothes nor the difference in hairstyle, they would have been practically indistinguishable. Their fates could not have been pleasant, yet they both wore matching expressions of solace. It was the only part of the equation that truly puzzled 9S.
Surely, he would understand soon.
His sword was drawn. He had yet to see a single sign of movement. There was no particular reason for it aside from an odd desire to have a weapon brandished and ready.
Pod 153 hovered over him in the same way he so mournfully loomed over the corpses. Her automated voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard when compared to the tomb-like stillness that hovered over them.
"Needed repairs have been completed."
9S quietly nodded. "Good. Now, if only you'd give me back my memories then I'd really have something to celebrate."
His voice was a bitter, cold monotone. All semblances of childish wonder and vindictive hate alike were absent entirely.
"Negative," 153 retorted. "A vast majority of your more recent memories were isolated. It was a necessary decision. Those files were corrupted by the logic virus. Restoring them would likely lead to…"
"Whatever," he said with a long, drawn-out sigh. "I'll find them myself."
The android started off toward the coast. The tip of his sword dragged behind through a sea of gravel and rustic debris.
"Pod 153 to Unit 9S."
9S did not stop but he did turn an ear. Likely a discouraging display but 153 continued regardless.
"Activation of Devola and Popola was intended to be done immediately."
"And?"
9S finally halted his zombie-like shamble. He turned and through his visor, stared daggers at his metallic assistant. 153 floated in silence for a brief second or two.
"Are you not going to be present when they come online?"
He shook his head.
"But repairs were both suggested and largely carried out by you. Proposal: Unit 9S should be the one to reactivate them."
The android gave a curious smile and carried on walking. "Thank you, pod. That won't be necessary."
"Alert: While no signs of infection were detected, I find those results dubious."
"They'd better not be infected after all this work."
With that 9S left her behind entirely. 153 watched him disappear into the darkness of the sewers. Only an empty, whistling wind was left to keep her company.
"I wasn't referring to them."
The coast was as desolate as always. Calm waters worked eternally at eroding the concrete walls. Semi-submerged buildings dotted the horizon. 9S stepped out and contemplated all that lay before him. He pressed an index finger to pursed lips.
"Hmm…"
What could possibly be out there? What was lurking in the depths that he had yet to be made privy to? What treasures were hidden away in those flooded buildings?
Suddenly, all these questions did not seem impossible to answer. He looked heavenward. Seeing what would have been the bunker from the surface was never possible, but even so, the sky seemed just a little more empty.
There were no orders being beamed down and communicated through his pod. He no longer had a pod to deal with. No commander or vapid operators to annoy and pester him. No executioners to punish his insatiable lust for knowledge. The only limitations he could foresee were that of his own ability and imagination.
Beyond the horizon was a world largely unknown. Did anyone still actually live or operate out there? Were he to find a flier, he could travel down that same horizon until he reached the lands of perpetual dawn. He could go even further and venture into the Kingdom of Night if he so desired.
He kicked a rock down the broken path. It tumbled for quite a ways before coming to a rest near a door leading to a dark, vacant building. 9S casually approached it. He examined the door. It was worn and looked like it could collapse in on itself at any moment. He did not bother checking the lock. He merely kicked it in and peered inside.
It was far too dark to see. His pod always doubled as his source of light. Without it, traveling inside would be pointless at best and a hazard at worst.
9S moved on to a nearby ledge. He grabbed a handful of rocks and tossed them, one by one into the water. His attempts to skip them across the surface started in initial failure but he began to get the hang of it as he practiced. He brainstormed his next move. He was quick to become lost in his own world. For some time he stood there thinking while mindlessly skipping rocks. Something peculiar out of the corner of his eye pulled him back to reality.
It was only there for a moment. 9S ceased his movements. His attention was drawn to the roof of a building far out in the water. Someone or something was standing atop the roof. The thing was extremely tall, pale, and vaguely human in shape. 9S blinked but within that instant, it vanished.
"W-what?"
He rubbed his eyes and took a second look but the roof was empty. The surrounding area was just as derelict. There was no one out here. Not even the odd machine could be seen anywhere nearby. He was truly alone for once.
Chalking it up to a mere trick of the mind, 9S was on the verge of sending another stone out to meet its fate among the salty waves when he heard a voice speak up.
A calm, gentle, somewhat meek tone that still managed to stir up a fright in him.
"9S?"
9S twirled around. He reached for his sword but stopped after seeing a pair of familiar faces standing before him. He lowered his guard.
"What are you doing out here," inquired the straight-haired twin. 9S knew their names but had forgotten which one was which.
"Just minding my own business. What about you?"
"W-well, your pod explained our situation. That we had apparently died at some point and you performed the repairs."
9S gave her a blank look.
Her sister interjected with a tone that lacked any semblance of patience.
"Why'd ya do it? And how did we die, anyway? I bet it was an android."
"Devola," her calmer half nagged. "No need to say things like that."
"What!? Would you really put it past them? I always figured it would be some resistance grunt who would do us in long before any rusty machine could."
9S averted his eyes. He cast his gaze back out toward the endless body of shifting waters.
"I don't know," he admitted. "My memories were not fully restored either. I intend to fix that at some point…"
"I see," Popola softly replied. She hesitated, likely tempted to simply not ask but she did, anyway. "We just wanted to thank you. Isn't that right, sister? It's not every day someone goes out of their way for us."
"Yeah… Thanks."
9S picked up a rock and threw it out to sea. "No problem."
He continued in his mindless practice. The twins watched him throw a few more before Popola broke the silence.
"We were going to head back to the camp, now. Why don't you come with us?"
"Yeah," Devola agreed. "Let's go."
"Why come with you," asked the scanner.
The twins glanced at each other as if expecting the other to come up with an answer.
"It's not like you're doing anything else out here," Devola finally blurted out. "Besides, this place is depressing. The Resistance Camp ain't much better, but at least it's not as lonely there."
The temptation to turn them down was not particularly strong. Looking out at the ruins where so much happened yet so little remained was taxing on his very soul. He dropped his shoulders in defeat.
"Fine. Lead the way."
The twins smiled.
The camp was totally unchanged. The same faces worked on repairing various weapons, discussing future plans. It was as if life had simply gone on without a hitch. The sight of it was funnier to 9S than it had any right to be. He had to make a physical effort just to suppress a burst of maniacal laughter.
He held a hand over his mouth to hide a menacing grin and followed Popola through the main clearing. They entered the scaffolding and narrow allies toward the back of the camp. As they passed one soldier in particular, the android only slightly perked his head up. 9S noticed the movement out of the corner of his peripherals.
"Hey, hold up. I have a job for you."
9S stopped and glared down at him long before either of his companions processed what was happening. "Do I look like your errand boy?"
The man looked up. He gawked at 9S in utter bewilderment. "Huh? I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to those twins."
"You were looking this way. Go waste someone else's time. I'm busy."
Frustrated, the man stood up from his chair. "I just said…"
"You know," 9S murmured. "Those machines are starting to take a liking to android flesh. I wonder how they'd like yours... Seared."
The commotion caused surrounding onlookers to turn from their own work and spectate the rising conflict. Even Anemone who was quite a distance away looked up to see what the problem was.
There was no time for the two to continue their exchange. Popola grabbed hold of 9S's wrist and yanked him forward.
"Sorry," she exclaimed. "Sorry!"
Devola trailed behind the two, quietly cackling as she went.
The trio reached a narrow corner of the camp hidden behind a pile of debris. A tattered tarp was strapped up to a large segment of fallen concrete. Two sleeping bags along with various trinkets and other odd possessions littered the ground.
It was a depressing but strangely comforting scene.
"9S," Popola announced. "That was way over the line."
9S made no response. He took a special interest in a cracked, hand-held mirror propped up against the twins' makeshift concrete wall. He knelt and lowered his head until he could see his own reflection.
Devola spoke up in his place. "I, for one, thought it was great. You should do that more often, Nines."
The scanner briefly tore his eyes from the mirror. He looked up at the tarp which shielded him from the overbearing sun. 9S could not recall ever informing them of his little nickname. Ultimately, he paid it no mind. He bowed his head and slowly lifted his visor.
"Devola! Don't enable him. That man didn't do anything wrong."
"He would've," Devola muttered. Her amused smile suddenly soured.
"You don't know that. I'm sure there are plenty of people here just looking for an excuse to have Anemone chase us out of here. Let's try not to make it any easier for them."
Devola laid down on one of the sleeping bags. She glanced in 9S's direction and noticed his interest in the mirror.
"You can use that if you want. Won't bother me none."
9S carefully picked up the mirror. He lifted his visor and examined his eyes.
They were still red.
Normally, a logic virus would merely cause the pupils to glow. However, it was not just his pupils anymore. His once blue irises had completely changed color. The entirety of his eyes glowed a fiery crimson. While he did not exactly feel completely normal, he knew full well he should have experienced some of the more obvious symptoms if he were actually infected.
"What's wrong," one of the twins asked.
9S had almost forgotten about them. He swiftly concealed his eyes and left the mirror as he found it.
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
Note: Been a long time since I've written anything for NieR... Or at all for that matter. This story is a spiritual successor to my previous work Crimson Eyes. That particular story is still floating around somewhere on AO3. It was also released here but I haven't worked on it and probably won't return to it.
Originally, it was more focused on the Legion, but for this new story, I decided to move away from that. Though, you may see the occasional reference here and there.
What you're reading now is largely inspired by the weapon story of Skald's Song from Drakengard 1 as well as some of the stuff from the stage plays.
I hope you all enjoy this. I look forward to any feedback.