"Who the hell are these people?" was the first voice Robin heard when she came to, though she hesitated in giving signs that she was awake, in case of hostility.

"Well, that one is for sure that asshole of our Commander." this proved the hostile point.

"This one looks like Number 2."

"It's not her!" someone yelled.

"How are you so sure?"

"Well the dress is different."

"It means nothing, it could have been changed."

"I tell you it's not the same Number 2 we know." that person insisted. "I just know it, some proportions of her body are different."

Whoever these people were, they must have been referring to 2B then, and also, they knew A2 as well. However, they hadn't met anyone during their trek, and if there was someone, she was sure their Pods would have alerted them of it.

Robin couldn't hear their voices either, or of anyone she knew, so they must all have been knocked out like her, from whatever it had been that did that.

She recalled 9S mentioning some data, while tinkering with his screens, she wasn't sure if after that someone had attacked them, probably with some kind of debilitating EMP, or if it was something else entirely.

"These box things are pretty curious too." which meant that truly the Pods were out as well, since she heard no reply from neither of the three.

"There's also a boy between them."

"And this one's dress is very long, probably a tall individual." obviously they were talking about her.

"Two blonde women as well, one is wearing heavy equipment too." 21O and 6O, no doubt.

"Quiet. They're waking up." someone ordered.

Well then, no sense in keeping the fact she was awake hidden any longer then, with the risk of angering these strangers, that judging from their words were more than suspicious in their regards.

However she didn't expect that as soon as she opened her eyes, to come in contact directly with the barrel of a rifle directly pointed at her head.

She slowly raised her head as much as she could do, from her position lying down on her front, to gaze at whoever it was that held the weapon against her, or rather, against them.

With the corner of her eyes, she could spot the others in a similar situation.

But no signs of A2 nor Anemone.

Something had separated them perhaps?

The people pointing weapons at them, appeared to be dressed as Resistance members, judging from the mantles, however there were two of them with YoRHa dresses as well. A short black haired one, that was glaring daggers down at White, and another one with white hair herself who was also the only one without some kind of long range weapon, but instead had a sword, currently crouched near 2B.

"I will ask you only once." the woman that was pointing the rifle at Robin spoke.

"Who are you? Depending on your answer we'll decide if you get to live another day or not."

"You've both changed a lot."

The duo stared in disbelief at the person before them, as she rose from her seated position with all the calmness that distinguished her, and still a kind smile on her face.

"Number 21…" A2 had the courage to whisper, taking a hesitant step towards the redhead, who appeared to be patiently waiting for them to come closer.

But Anemone's hand blocked her from going any further.

"This could be a trap."

Whatever and whoever this was, could have still been playing tricks on them. And yet, Number 21's expression didn't change.

"As suspicious as ever, aren't you?" it was Number 21 that came close to them then. "I can't say I can blame you, but I assure you, this is no trick."

"Then how?" how are you here? Anemone wanted to ask, other than tell her how much she missed her during those years.

"It is a little complicated, it seems that the explosion caused by Number 4 wiped out most of the server, however it seems a small portion is still active, and for a reason unknown, it has copied our data in it too as we died." Number 21 explained.

"The server is not powerful enough to create its own hacking space, which is why we are trapped between that and the real world. This is how our consciousness continues on existing, even though we no longer have a body. I have managed to breach part of the server's security and installed a backdoor, in hopes someone would have come to rescue us."

That must have been how 9S had dragged them into this limbo between the real world and not. A2 had cursed at him, but hadn't he done that then probably they wouldn't have known of her presence.

But hadn't Number 21 spoken in plural terms?

"The others are here too?" watching her Scanner comrade nod, made A2's heart swell with joy.

"Some of us have been more positive than others about this, but yes, the others are here too, everyone that has participated in the mission."

Anemone had hoped for more, but she couldn't be greedy about it, knowing Rose and the others were still here, when for years they believed them dead all along. She should have come here sooner… but again, without the aid of a Scanner like 9S, would she have managed to discover their presence? No one had hacking abilities in the Resistance.

"Speaking of…" they watched as the redhead turned in another direction, only now spotting a large rock nearby. "Come out, they're not going to hurt us."

They saw a small head poke out from it. "Is it really them?"

This fearful voice, it could have been none other than Lily. They didn't expect her to run towards them when Number 21 assured her that they were the real ones.

The small girl tackled Anemone, holding onto her like her life depended on it, before reaching out a hand so she could wrap it around A2 as well, crying and weeping into Anemone's green mantle.

"We missed you too, Lily." Anemone's green eyes lay on Number 21. "We missed you all."

The Scanner had no time to react as she too was enveloped in a tight hug herself, as a long white mane of hair tickled her. She surprised A2 when she returned the hug imposed on her, tangling her hands in those long hair she now had.

"Look at you, you've not been keeping well, have you?" Number 21 took Number 2's cheeks in her hands, looking into her tearstained eyes. If only she knew what had happened during those years…

"You've both been through a lot, haven't you?"

"More than you can imagine." the answer came easily from A2's lips. Just ask White about it, she was tempted to say.

"How much time has passed exactly?" Lily asked, still clinging to Anemone's arm.

"About 3 years, almost 4, actually."

"That long huh…" if possible the small girl held on even tighter. "We've been missing out so much…"

But Anemone had a question.

"How did you know it was us?" how could Number 21 be so sure? She'd also been curious as to why she would be in this place with Lily singing her heart out. Not that she didn't like her voice…

Anemone had to admit, she sang well, she wished she could have heard it when they were still alive and well within their bodies.

Number 21 pulled a screen with a swipe of her left hand. "I picked up your signals, and while there are others I do not know who they belong to, I can very well recognize your two ones."

Of course she could do that, she still remained a Scanner after all, if 9S and the Pods could then she did too.

"The others, we should let them know we're fine." Anemone stated.

"Probably better to do so before the Rose and the rest find them too." Number 21 nodded, already heading in their direction, Lily following, this time attacking herself on her arm instead.

It seemed that they had grown very close during this time, or at the very least Number 21 didn't look all that unnerved from displays of affection as she used to. Though Anemone doubted that any of the YoRHa had too much time for cuddles in general, old and new.

"Why are you worried?" A2 asked, the statement of before sounded like it was a problem.

"Some things have happened recently that put everyone on edge, you don't want your friends to be suspected as enemies as we were, right?"

Something had appeared out of nowhere to possibly threaten them? Just like Rose believed they did because they flew down from space and arrived on Earth out of nowhere?

Well, they did invade this space, but it was 9S' fault this time.

"We should hurry."

"Hey, we are not hostile!" 9S yelled back, unnerved from the situation, that only caused the one before him to directly point her gun at his forehead.

"There's no need to scream, 9S." Robin told him, pushing herself up in a sitting position, then raising her hands. "He is correct though, we do not mean to be hostile, I trust we can speak of this like civil people."

The woman before her looked on with hard eyes, but her stance relaxed a little, while behind her made the all too common comment about the color of her own eyes she heard too many times to count.

Also, it was absolutely not the first time she had weapons pointed at her, normally, she'd try to get rid of the offenders, but something told her this was an exceptional situation, and she could not risk the lives of the others with her either.

"All right, but only answer our questions." Robin nodded at the woman with the long ponytail, who wore her cape only on one shoulder. She seemed the leader here.

"Why don't we ask our Commander instead?" with a snarl the black haired YoRHa pointed her own weapon even harder against White's forehead, though she made no move to stop it.

White must have known at least those two in black, right?

"That actually seems like a good idea, Number 16." the other replied, though she did seem more interested in 2B still, perhaps too much.

"What do you want to know?" despite the flat tone, White hadn't expected to ever encounter her former soldiers again, the meeting with Number 2 had been enough of a message to tell her she despised her, and she was sure the others were no different. Number 4 did seem to share the Gunner's feelings, but at the moment Number 21 seemed absent.

She assumed the rest of the people present, must have been the Resistance android those four had met and teamed up with, that no doubt knew well what had happened in the descent mission.

"Who are you people, for starters." the woman pointing her rifle at Robin spoke again, telling them that for sure that she was in charge here.

Though she didn't mention it, she was sure the Gunner's name sounded familiar.

"As you may have heard, I'm YoRHa's former Commander, White. While those units you see here are newer models." she threw a glance in 2B's direction. "Some of them, as you may suspect, have been made with the same personality as some of you."

And in a few cases like the Battler's even the looks.

"What of Number 2?" again the Gunner glared down at the former Commander, something told Robin that she was probably the one that held the most resentment for her, besides A2 of course.

"Believe me or not, she was here with us, along with the local Resistance Leader."

"Whose name is?" the one in charge narrowed her eyes at White.

"Anemone."

Suddenly the other YoRHa, the one with the sword, erupted in a cheerful yell, the way she jumped up and down reminded Robin of a young kid.

"I told you they were still alive!"

Her enthusiasm was quickly picked up from two of the others, the one that had a bigger sized body then the others, and the woman next to her with the scar and scruffy ponytail.

"Where are they now?"

"Are they fine?"

They simultaneously asked, but their happiness was short-lived.

"Daisy! Gerbera! Number 4! Calm down, we don't know if they're telling the truth yet."

Those three names, along with that Number 16 one reminded Robin of something, she was sure she heard them before, she swore it. But at the moment she was in no position to ask anything.

"How did you get in here?" the leader demanded, this time directly speaking to Robin.

"We are not quite sure ourselves." she answered. "We had decided to take a trip here, to allow A2 and Anemone to mourn and pay their respects to their friends that died in this mountain, when our resident Scanner noticed some data, then we woke up here in front of you all."

The woman motioned for 9S to explain, since he caused this.

"Well I had noticed leftover data, so I attempted to access it, to see what it was. It was an opening to some kind of hacking cyberspace, and I wanted to retrieve this data thinking it may have been useful, when it suddenly transitioned all of us in this place, the action must have misplaced A2 and Anemone far from the rest of us."

"So you are a Scanner too then…" the leading woman squared him down. "If what you say is true, then you must have found the backdoor that Number 21 managed to install in what remained in the server, hoping someone like you would find it, and find us."

She put the rifle against her shoulder, pacing.

"However, recently we've suffered some attacks, and who is to say that this isn't all a trap set up from machines? Who's to say that you're androids?"

Technically, they were more machines than androids, if only they knew what their Black Boxes were made of… probably best not to tell.

It seemed that the woman's words brought everyone to point their weapons at them once again, and without the Pods that were still knocked out, they couldn't prove their innocence just yet.

And something told Robin that time and patience were running out.

Or so she believed, when a voice reached their ears.

"Wait!"

From a corner a red haired YoRHa, another girl, A2 and Anemone behind them, emerged.

"Number 21, Lily, get away from them, they're dangerous!" but the redhead shook her head, hurrying over to the rest of them.

"They're not." even though she panted with the effort of running so fast, she still swiped a screen with her hand. "They're real, these are their signals. All of them."

And matter of fact, on screen there were eight nearby signals, and another one much further, six black boxes, and other three thermonuclear reactors. Judging from the black clothes there was no doubt that these were YoRHa, and Number 16 and Number 4 already recognized their former Commander's face too.

And the one left must have been Anemone, though the two people that followed Number 21 and Lily looked much different than before, there was somewhat of a similarity too.

But one of them had no doubts.

"Number 2!" Number 4 threw herself at her, A2 caught her and buried her head in her shoulder.

"Number 4…"

"I knew it, I knew you survived." Number 4 hugged her tighter, holding back tears, as she freely let herself go.

All her friends… they had been here all along…

And she hadn't known about it! She should have come back so much sooner…

"Anemone… it's good to see you again."

The woman didn't manage to reply to her former captain, when she was tackled and taken into Daisy's arms, with Gerbera and Margaret jumping on as well, their combined and much too heavy weight caused the defender model to fall down with everyone on top of her, but it didn't seem anyone minded judging from the way they were laughing.

"Idiots." Anemone commented, but she had a smile on her face.

They were her idiots.

A hand came to pull her back up, none other than Dahlia's. "As much as I hate to admit, I am glad someone survived that madness."

"It would have been better if more of us did." or all of them.

"We missed you so much…" A2 murmured, still not letting go of Number 4 and vice versa, when Number 16 pulled an arm around her shoulder. "Always the same sentimental one, huh?" though the Gunner had a huge grin on her face.

"Hey, Number 21, not going to give a hug to our captain? Are you still allergic to affection?"

"Bold of you to assume I haven't already done that." it was the reply, even if it had been Number 2 reaching out first, though it didn't matter.

Despite the little taunt between each other, both the Gunner and the Scanner wore bright smiles, they had missed Number 2 just as much as she missed them. And in case of a certain redhead, even Anemone too, as she turned to look as Dahlia playfully ruled the woman's hair, not that the cape fell down her head. She too, like Number 2 wore longer hair now, she noticed.

It had been long then…

Meanwhile Robin and the others observed as the group caught up again sitting close by in silence, now finding out that the people before them were none other than Anemone and A2's old companions. And only they knew just how much the two had wanted their presence at their side, just from the way they spoke about them.

The group exchanged glances, but they shared the same feelings about this, as they too couldn't help but smile at the sight, and in 6O's case, even shed a few happy tears.

It was almost a dream coming true.

Only now the woman they assumed must have been Rose turned to address them once more.

"I apologize for pointing weapons at you earlier, if Number 2 and Anemone trust you, then we have no reason not to as well." she offered a hand. "I trust we could start over again."

However Robin didn't manage to take it, as Pod 007, now active again, fired a laser over her shoulder, as she watched 042 and 153 do the same, all three in one direction.

"Pod, what's wrong?"

Scanning the horizon, they could spot incoming silhouettes stomping in their direction.

"Machines." A2 glared down at them.

"How? We destroyed their main server!" 9S shook his head, he and A2 had assaulted the Tower, she put down its server using his own virus, why were those things here?

"Just like us, the remains of the server of the mountain took their consciousness as well." Number 21 explained.

"So you've been still fighting this whole time?" 9S asked, receiving affirmative responses all around.

"We wanted to tell you, but they gave us no time to do so." Rose claimed. That was what she meant to do, hadn't they appeared right now. They must have known someone had entered the cyberspace, and probably meant to destroy them.

Robin glanced at 007, he and the other two must have picked up something, and had fired their lasers in an effort to both protect them and to make them aware of the approaching threat.

"There will be time, once they're all dead." A2 pulled out her Type 40 Blade, meaning she didn't want to play around.

She had just seen who she had longed for years, and she was not going to let a bunch of machines get in her way, or no one else.

Robin and the others followed, taking out their own respective weapons, taking position next to their newly acquired allies.

"We'll help you."