Erebus jumped down near the cave's entrance. He was feeling quite uneasy after seeing those two woman's making their way near his cave, Erebus couldn't help but wonder what did these two women really wanted. Whatever they had planned for him, it wouldn't be enough for them to survive against him. He was going to dispose of them and he was going to take an immense satisfaction of beating them to the ground.
''I have no idea how strong they are, but i doubt they are going to represent a real threat to me.'' He muttered to himself while entering the cave, Erebus frowned as he suddenly remembered what the machine he had killed earlier said. 'Maybe that's why these people are here, to hunt me down for what I did to that machine. I don't regret what I did but I better keep myself quiet for the time being or else I might regret it.' Erebus thought before sitting down against a wall.
For some reasons he wanted to fight something, to kill something. After all the events that happened recently, he couldn't help but to feel livid and frustrated. He didn't understand why was this happening to him right now, he had more important priorities to be concerned with. Hadn't he already suffered enough in his life? Shaking his head, Erebus decided that he absolutely needed to find the twins that watched over him while he was asleep. He didn't know where to even begin but he had to search for them, they were his only hope of understanding what was happening around him.
He wasn't weak, he wasn't fragile minded and he definitely wouldn't be content to just sit down and be hunted like a damn deer. As he was about to inspect his blade, he suddenly heard several footsteps coming from outside near the cave.'How are they already here? It should've have taken them hours just to reach all of the distance.' Erebus thought as he quickly stood to his feet while grabbing his sword before quietly making his way out of the cave.
2B was walking through the forest alone, without 9S by her side. She felt empty after surviving the encounter with the humanoid machines, she wished that 9S had survived the fight but instead he had sacrificed himself so that she could escape from the machines. It always ended the same way, she had lost track of how many times 9S sacrificed his existence. It was painful to continue fighting in this war without anyone to rely on, nobody shoulder to cry on. This was her fate as a Yorha unit, a mere disposable tool that only needed in battle.
2B saw 9S as someone important to her, he was the closest thing she could refer as a friend and a family in this hopeless world. It pained her to just think about what her life would been like without him by her side. His cheerful attitude had helped her through her darkest time in this war, 2B stopped for walking for a moment and looked at the sky. 'Why does this keep happening to us? Why does 9S have to keep paying the price for my mistakes...' 2B bitterly thought while before resuming walking towards her destination.
Command kept deceiving every single androids on earth even Yorha units with the lies that Yorha was created by council of humanity, that the humans fled to the moon when earth was being invaded by aliens. However 2B wasn't blind to to the truth, she knew that it was the opposite. It was Yorha who created the council of humanity, humans never went to the moon since they were already extinct before the aliens invaded earth. However a few androids like her knew the truth which lead to many outcomes, those who learned the truth about humanity didn't live long enough to tell others androids about it. Some were devastated by discovering the truth, and some abandoned fighting in this war before taking their own life. There were a few like her who kept carrying fighting but they knew that they would never be the same once they learned the truth, however nobody could blame them. What was the point of fighting in a war if those who created them went extinct a long time ago? What was the point of even existing anymore?
2B knew what it's like to lose hope, having to kill 9S repeatedly is the very reason why lost hope that someday things will change. That a miracle will happen, anything to make their existence worth continuing living for. Many androids didn't have the privilege to upload their data into a massive server as a backup, countless androids died without being offered a second chance in this war. She was aware that yorha soldiers were privileged to be resurrected after they died, but it could be also a curse to have to relieve the same events of coming back to live just to see the one she cared about die while there's nothing she could do about it.
'Sometimes I wonder what humans would think of us if they still existed, would they be disappointed in us? Would they have helped us fighting in this war if they could? This war has been going for centuries, I wonder how long can I continue carrying on fighting. Wouldn't be simple to just give up once and for all like many androids did?' 2B thought as she continued walking in the depths of the forest.
She could only hope that 9S would be built back some time soon, even if he doesn't remember who she was once more. To her, life was a curse bestowed on them by humans. That is how she saw it and many androids did even if they wouldn't admit it. The humans were an enigma, many androids dreamed about meeting an actual human. Through the years 2B has been fighting in this war, she remembered meeting many androids that were on the verge of death.
Most of their last words were that they were devastated at the thought of dying without once interacting with a human. At the time 2B was shocked by hearing their last confession, she didn't know what to do nor how to react in such situations. The only thing that came to her mind was holding their hand until their very last moments, comforting them as they sobbed, some of them even thanked her for her kindness which always made her worse than she already was. At first, she was devastated that there wasn't anything she could do about it. But after some time of seeing the same events unfolding before her eyes, she became numb to these situations. It has best for her to keep applying what the commander told every Yorha androids even facing these types of problems, that emotions are forbidden.
After some more that thought, 2B shook her head while trying to forget her past. She had a mission to accomplish and she wasn't going to disappoint her commander, that's the reason why she was even inside this forest to begin with. She needed to collect datas and investigate some strange explosion that had been reported by some resistance members, not to forget that she was supposed to meet one of the resistance members to help them gather more informations about the machines life form.
She kept walking into the depths of the forest, passing trees and various animals. Unconsciously, 2B began walking faster than usual, she wanted to finish this mission as fast as possible before going back to the bunker to rest. It has been weeks since she did a regular schedule check up and she didn't want her operator to be on her case about it, she wasn't in the mood to do it these days.
''Question: Why does unit 2B keep walking faster than usual?'' a voice said behind her, which caught the white haired android attention. 2B glanced back to her pod before sighing, she was been so absorbed in her thoughts that she forgot about her pod that was following her.
''Because, I don't want to spend all day doing this mission. There are more important things that needs to be dealt with.'' 2B answered while turning her head back to stare at the path before her.
''...Understood.'' The pod said while catching up to her owner. Both of them kept moving forwards into the woods until they reach a waterfall, 2B squinted her eyes and saw a cave's entrance. Cautiously, she made her way towards the entrance while checking her surroundings for any potential threat.
2B couldn't describe it but something seemed off about this place, and her suspicions were correct as she saw something on the ground that caught her attention. Slowly, 2B kneeled down and inspected the ground before realising someone had recently been near this area. 'Fresh dirt, someone did come this way. Which means we're not alone.' 2B thought before continuing inspecting the ground, her eyes narrowed as saw several footprints that seemed to be fresh. She got to her feet and traced the footprints to see where they were leading to, her eyes widened as she saw the footprints stopped in front of the cave's entrance. Carefully, 2B walked towards the cave while gripping the hilt of her sword. There was a possibility that the cave was filled with machines, she couldn't help but to feel it a trap for androids. 'Perhaps that would explain the strange explosions that has been reported earlier by the resistance members.' 2B thought as she wasn't sure if she was prepared for what awaited her inside the cave. However she couldn't turn back now, it was far too late for that.
''Question: Why does unit 2B keeps looking at the entrance of that cave for no apparent reason?'' The Yorha pod asked while 2B who was still staring at the cave.
''Don't speak loudly pod, I think there something in that cave. I just saw footprints that lead towards to the cave's entrance, this could explain these strange anomaly that the resistance camp have been reporting lately.'' 2B explained while slowly taking out her sword. ''There's a high chance that this place is crawling with machines, this must be some kind of trap to lure androids who wander to far into this forest.
Her pod went silent as he carefully processed what she just had said. ''Suggestion: Contact command to report this anomaly so that it can be dealt with.''
2B felt as if she was in deep troubles, neither of them had any idea of what hide within that cave. Anything was possible these days, however she wasn't going to take any risk. ''No, we shouldn't jump into conclusions. For all we know, there may be a resistance member who came to collect datas. It isn't uncommon for them to come here and try to gather as much informations as they can.'' 2B whispered to her pod while taking a step back. ''Besides, we were supposed to meet other resistance members, so it's best that if we waited for them to arrive.''
''Understood, however, unit 2B should still investigate this cave to make sure that no androids are being harmed by hostile machines life.'' The support pod said while hovering over 2B.
After hearing her pod's suggestion, 2B began contemplating on how to approach the situation. It wouldn't be wise of her to risk getting injured in exploring the cave. However, taking a look inside to make sure no androids were being trapped wouldn't hurt her. 'If things go wrong then pod will always be able to back me up, and that's not enough then I can always contact command as my last resort.'
''Pod, scan the area to see if there's any android or machine nearby.'' she ordered to her pod as she prepared herself to enter the cave.
''Scanning: No androids or hostile machines detected nearby, however, I've picked up a unknown life form signature within the cave.'' The Pod said while facing the cave's entrance ahead of them.
2B glanced back at her pod with a confused expression before looking back towards the cave ahead of her, she grabbed her sword with both hands and slowly began taking a couple steps towards the cave. She quickly took a fighting stance before looking back at her pod, both of them stared at each other's before 2B nodded nodded her head. 'We've come this far, now it's time to take action.' She thought as she began making her towards the entrance, but just as she was about to enter, a moving figure began making its way out of the cave. The mysterious figure stepped out of the cave and stopped in front of her, 2B's eyes widened as realised that it wasn't something but rather someone.
Erebus could feel that someone was waiting outside of the cave, he kept walking towards the entrance until he finally exited the cave. His silvery eyes narrowed as the first thing he noticed was someone that he had never seen before, which confused him since there were no signs of the two women he had seen earlier. 'Have they changed direction after all?'
The first thing Erebus noticed about the women standing before him was that she had white hair along with a black blindfold that covered her eyes. Her clothes were mostly black and she had the same floating creature that he saw from these two women earlier, he couldn't help but to feel like they resembled each other's. 'Does these two women belong to some sort of order?' Erebus thought while frowning at the white haired women.
2B blankly stared at the mysterious person before her, she didn't know how to react at sight of someone other than herself being present after her pod told her that there wasn't any android signature nearby. But the conversation that command had told many Yorha units, including herself before being deployed on earth slowly resurfaced on her mind. 'Commander warned us about the alarming rate in which the machines have been evolving lately, there could be more humanoid machines being created which would be difficult for us to distinguish them from androids. I need to keep my guard up.' 2B thought she readied herself to attack.
Squinted his eyes, Erebus kept staring at the white haired woman as he wondered who could she possibly be. Once again, he couldn't feel anything from her which disturbed him. 'First it was these two women, now it's her...' Erebus thought as kept looking at her.
2B took some time to take into account his appearance. Just like her, he had a black blindfold that covered one of his eyes. However, the features that stood out the most was his white hair that was similar to hers and his grey eyes that seemed to paralyse her. Her eyes glanced down at his body and took notice that most of his upper body was exposed, she could see his muscle's definition along with hand that was holding a sword inside a sheath. 2B raised an eyebrow as she saw that his lower body was covered by some kind of armour. 'I should be cautious of him, he looks strong.'
Both of them stared at each other for some time until 2B decided to break the silence by asking him a question. ''Identify yourself right now, or else i will be forced to arrest you.'' 2B said with a serious expression, a couple of minutes passed and he still didn't replied back.
Erebus stared at her with a blank face, why would he identify himself to a stranger? He kept looking at her with the same expression as he wasn't going to bother answering her back. Slowly, he took his sheath in front of him and pulled out his sword while staring at her.
2B's eyes narrowed as she him reaching out for his sword and instinctively gripped her sword harder while readying herself. She analysed his face and saw that expression remained the same, the atmosphere was tense. Everything around them went quiet.
''If you're not going to answer my question then so be it, you have been warned.'' She dangerously warned him while frowning, Erebus heard what she had said and decided he wasn't going to bother answering back. He lifted his sword and made a moving motion with it, telling her to come and fight him.
Just has he did that, 2B's sword immediately came in contact with his. Erebus has fought many strong opponents in his past, however it was not everyday that he fought people that were capable of moving at an impressive speed. However, she still wasn't on his level of speed. With swift motion of his sword, Erebus sent her flying back before she caught herself and landed on her feet.
To say that 2B was surprised, would be an understatement as she wasn't expecting him to be this strong. She wasn't the strongest of her type but she definitely also wasn't the weakest, she noticed that he didn't look or fought like a member of the resistance camp. But his appearance was similar to those humanoid machines in the desert that killed 9S, her lips twitched at the thought that his kind was responsible for their suffering.
Her blue eyes were filled with hatred as she stared at him, however, Erebus seemed to be unfazed by her anger. In fact, he couldn't help but to deviously smirk at her. It has been centuries since someone had been able to give him a proper fight. At first, Erebus thought that she wasn't strong enough to fight him, but he was wrong. He had to admit that she had quite some strength, but he knew that he was stronger than her. After some reflections, Erebus decided that was going to enjoy himself before taking this fight seriously.
''Warning: This unknown life form seems to be a threat that needs be dealt with immediately.'' The flying pod said while hovering behind her owner.
''Thank you for telling me that pod, I wouldn't have noticed that if it wasn't for you.'' 2B sarcastically replied back while glancing back to her pod. But before 2B could take her sword from the ground, she instinctively dodged a kick that was coming to her left by ducking down. While she was beneath him, 2B took the opportunity to deliver a quick uppercut. Erebus saw what was coming and dodged the uppercut by pulling his head back, he took her by surprise by slamming his knee into her abdomen. Causing her to be thrown farther away before hitting the ground. Erebus turned his head to the side and summoned a red orb in his hand before firing it at the flying box before it could even react.
Erebus was actually quite surprised, her movements were predictable but he had to acknowledge that she had some unique fighting style. 'She not a weakling after all, she's a strong one for sure. However I want to see more of her strength, and I'm going to enjoy beating every inch of her.' He took his sword and impaled it into the ground, he then cracked his knuckles and taunted her with his finger while sinisterly smiling towards her.
2B grimaced as she clenched her abdomen with one arm. She wasn't expecting this level of brute strength coming from a machine, she couldn't believe that a battle type model like her just got absolutely beaten by a machine life form. For the first time in ages, 2B felt someone that she absolutely despised feeling on the battlefield.
Weakness
2B coughed while getting back to her feet, a confused expression crossed her face as she saw him impaling his sword into the ground. She wondered what game exactly he was playing because it didn't make sense to her.
'He's humiliating me...' 2B bitterly thought while as she glared at him. She quickly took a fighting stance while awaiting for him to attack, if he wanted an old fashioned fight then she would gladly give him one.
Erebus smirked as he saw her taking a fighting stance. He could clearly see that her body was slightly shaking, and he absolutely loved it. He loved seeing his opponents losing their confidences when fighting him, he loved seeing fear and uncertainty in their eyes. He simply could never get enough of these feelings, Erebus couldn't help but to deviously smile at her when he saw her still waiting for him to strike. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
Erebus sprinted towards her before jumped in the air to deliver direct kick into her chest, her eyes narrowed as she saw the kick coming and quickly dodged it by jumping back. Once 2B landed on her feet, she went straight at him with a right hook, Erebus caught her hook into his hand which gave her the opportunity to punch him in the face with her other hand. But to her dismay, he also caught it with his free hand, both of them were now gripping each other's hands. 2B gritted her teeth as she tried to break free from his grasp but he wouldn't let her go that easily, her eyes glanced up to look at him and was disturbed to see a sinister smile on his face.
2B furiously glared at him while desperately trying free her hands from his before a sudden idea came to her mind, she closed the distance between them by bringing her body closer to him before turning around so that her back was exposed to him. She then gripped his hands as hard as she could.
Before Erebus could even comprehend what she was doing, 2B tightened her grip on his wrists and with enough force she pulled his body close to hers while placing her leg front of his, making him lose his balance. She used every ounce of strength within her to make his whole body go flying past over hers before sending him violently crashing on the ground beneath her. Erebus immediately gasped for air as he released his grip on her hands. While he was stunned on the ground, 2B took the opportunity to deliver her boot into his face. But to her surprise, he instinctively brought his arms up to cover his face, blocking the hit. 2B frowned as she repeated the same hit as before but with more force, Erebus saw what was coming and quickly rolled aside while narrowly avoiding being stomped.
Erebus quickly picked himself up before looking at the small crater on the ground where she tried to stomp him. His eyes widened at the realisation that if he hadn't dodged that second hit, then it could've injured him for certain. 'This hit wouldn't have killed me but it would've been painful for me to deal with.'
2B smugly smirked at him as she saw the surprise expression that was all over his face. ''What's wrong? Surprised to lose the upper hand?'' She confidently said while resting her hand of her voluptuous hips. 2B waited for him to reply but to her dismay, he simply stood still without saying a word.
After coming out of his trance, Erebus took some time to process what the white haired woman had said before soon becoming absolutely livid. He couldn't believe that she had the audacity to speak to him so confidently after he made the mistake of letting his guard down for a moment. 'Just who the hell does this bitch think she's talking to like that?! I'll show her the difference between our fighting skills!' Erebus angrily thought while staring at her.
2B unconsciously took a step back as she saw him looking at her with the darkest glare she's ever seen, she mentally slapped herself for showing weakness in front of a machine before glancing all around her to find her pod. 'Pod has been very silent since we started to fight, where is he?' 2B thought before her eyes landed on her small companion, her eyes were filled with fright and disbelief at the scene before her. 2B was petrified by the sight of her destroyed pod laying on the ground a bit further from her sword, so many thought run through her mind as she wondered how it was possible for her pod to be destroyed without her noticing anything about it.
''When did this happen?'' 2B asked herself while her fists began shaking, she shouldn't have never investigated that cave. Now she was alone facing a powerful machine without any possible way of contacting the bunker. 2B quickly turned her head back towards him with hatred in her eyes.
Erebus's smile became even wider as he saw the hateful expression she was giving him. 'it would seems like destroying her pod while she wasn't paying attention worked in my favour after all, now I'm curious of what her next move will be.' Erebus thought while deviously smiling at her.
2B gritted her teeth as she saw the same sinister smile that he gave her before, never in her life had she despised a machine that much. 'He must've destroyed it after delivering that knee into my stomach, I can't let a monster like him live any longer.' She thought while glancing back towards her unmoving pod, 2B turned her head back at him before dashing towards him. ''You bastard!'' She said with venom in her voice as she intended to finish this fight once and for all.
