Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh…okay, real talk here, before we get into this, there is a really, really, REALLY rude reviewer that I have to acknowledge/shut down. And as much as I'm trying to be passive aggressive about it, it will be pretty obvious that I'm pissed. So fair warning if you want to skip that. But I would like to ease the minds of every one who has a legitimate account who has followed, favorite, and reviewed my story, that what follows this paragraph does not apply to either of you personally. You have all been a wonderful support to this story and I am very happy that you are enjoying it. This review was an anonymous guest whom didn't even bother at being polite. The review they left has been deleted. That being said…
SumRandomButthurtDisrespectfulKid(AKA Guest): Clearly you didn't read my warning at the start of chapter two. Not only is your "review" more of a whiney rant, but it was rushed, poorly written & organized with several capitalization and grammar errors, not thought out, has several inconsistencies with the NieR series, leading me to believe you either didn't play the first game or even bothered to research thoroughly, and just plain rude and disrespectful.
The only thing smart about it, was that you posted it as a guest, another reason why I'm not tempted to take you seriously. So obviously I can't mark it as spam. But I can delete it.
I was actually tempted to rip your review to shreds on every single detail, but then I realized that it's just not worth the effort. You're clearly a troll, and this was attempt at getting attention. Well congrats. You got it. But I seriously doubt this is what you had in mind.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear. I am the writer of this story. ME. Not you. So if I write something that you don't agree with, too bad. I'm writing this because it's a hobby and I have fun with it. And if other people end up liking it, that's great. Hell, I hope more people end up liking it than hating it. If they hate it, I understand, I can't force someone to think a certain way. However, people like you ruin it, not only for me, but for other readers as well. The "fan" in fan fiction should be a key word. They are written by fans of series, not necessarily professionals. I'm not perfect, but I do not need someone who's worse than me at writing an opinion calling me out on it. If you feel like there's something that should be fixed, than let me know WITH RESPECT. Do not curse, do not insult, and if you have nothing nice say period, then keep. Your. F*cking. Mouth. Shut. I will not tolerate any of that shit.
The one good thing you did was give me a major self confidence boost in my writing abilities in comparison to yours. So if nothing else I do thank you for that. Although from your perspective that might be more of an insult, but hey, I don't care.
(Sigh) Okay, now to the rest of you, if you took the time to read that, than I am really REALLY sorry you had to see that. I absolutely HATE being that kind of guy, but if I have to put my foot down, I'll do it with no hesitation. I was thinking of just ignoring it altogether, but the amount of arrogance was so vexing I could not let it slide. Please, please PLEASE do not do anything to make me do that, I would really hate to loose following because of it.
Now, on to the people that actually matter to me.
corvi1718: Thanks, I'm glad you're loving it so far!
RaphiTheOne: Yeah, I'm trying to be as realistic as I can be with this. It will be at least one more chapter before we return to Sam's POV in the present. Still some exposition I want to get out of the way. As for Zero, weeeeeelllll, now that she doesn't have a massive target on her head anymore, she's going to have a LOT of time to reevaluate her train wreck of a life. And she won't have to do it alone.
Darkuz: Ummmmmm…you might want to go and reread the last chapter. Blood transfusion won't be possible for Sam.
fanakatsuki: I have not played the first two Drakengard games, only the third one. So I'm only sticking to what I know and what I'm familiar with. As for 11B, no, she's dead, just like she is cannon. However…the details of how…well, let's just say Sam will find out about it eventually.
AlexisBaudens: Yeah, Zero and Sam…let's just say that Sam's going to be the kind of person who doesn't turn away when he knows someone's going through a hard time. And since everything they knew is now gone, they'll have a lot to cope with together. And Sam will be tempted to give Zero a better life than what she had. However, Sam will not have prior knowledge of the Drakengard games. And as for Zero, she's got a completely new body, flesh and blood right arm included. Sorry if I didn't make that apparent.
fan fic fan 759: You'll just have to keep reading to find out.
Now then…NEEEEEEXT!
Chapter 5
We're Going To Need Some Help…
Two Weeks Earlier
"It was coherent?" 2B asked 106, having a hard time believing what she was being told.
"Affirmative," 106 replied, which was still being held by 9S. "The Sword Equipped Medium Biped displayed intelligence and speech in the same way that Androids and humans are able to. It was able to command and issue orders to a small platoon of Machine Life Forms bearing less intelligence than the leader. However, while less intelligent, the other Machines were also capable of speech as well."
"Yeah," 9S agreed. "We've actually been seeing that quite a bit recently. 2B and I were out in the desert on a mission, and we came across some Machines that displayed…some kind of self-awareness. At first I thought they were just repeating things that humans were able to say, but…well…we saw something…really strange…"
"Query: What was 'strange?'" 106 asked.
"It's not important," 2B quickly denied. "Not until we know what we saw for sure. Is there anything else about the human's encounter with the Machines that you can tell us?"
"The leader was also able to determine Sam King's status as a human being and wished to capture him. Sam King fought back, his fear and stress escalating at the thought of dissection."
"Whoa, what?!" 9S exclaimed. "Why would the Machines want to do that to a human?!"
"Unknown," 106 responed. "However, the Machine Life Form kept referring to two individuals by name. Adam and Eve."
2B cocked an eyebrow at this. "Who are they?"
"Unknown. Details were not disclosed about Adam and Eve's identities."
"Hmmm…those names…" 9S pondered.
"Do you know about them?" 2B asked.
"Huh? Well…no not exactly…I mean, I believe they're pretty common human names, Adam typically being a male name and Eve a female name but…those two names tied with a conjunction…it sounds…really familiar…like those two names are supposed to be…significant, I guess?"
"Affirmative," 153 stated. "In the biblical text, the book of Genesis of the Old Testament, it is said that Adam and Eve were the very first humans created by God in the Garden of Eden."
"The first humans?" 2B repeated.
"Maybe these are the first Machines and they're just trying to copy humanity's concept of religion?"
"Unknown," 042 replied. "Although Christianity and Judaism were among the most widely practiced form of religious beliefs, there were many other practices that followed the beliefs of other gods based on culture."
"Was…there ever any proof that…these gods actually existed?" 2B asked, completely out of her own curiosity. This caused 9S to have a rather suppressed look on her face.
2B never asked about humans on her own accord. She only got into conversations about such topics when he was the one that initiated them.
"Negative," 042 replied. "However, there are no records of human beliefs operating on facts. Or rather, not entirely based on facts."
"…what does that mean?" 2B asked.
"Unknown," both 042 and 153 replied.
2B was a slightly confused by this response.
"Pods," 9S spoke, equally confused. "If you knew about a humans actions on certain beliefs not based on facts, then how could you not know why humans followed those beliefs?"
"The concept of faith, trust, and beliefs are human concepts," 106 replied. "Tactical Support Units such as the ones present, are programed simply to follow orders. To have either of those aspects, one must possess, what the humans call, a will."
"A…will?" 2B asked.
"The word 'will' has various definitions depending on the context in which it is used," 106 explained. "In this case, a will is defined as the faculty by which a person decides on and initiates action."
"So…in other words a will is like…a conviction?" 9S asked.
"Supposedly," 106 replied. "One definition of conviction is a firmly held belief or opinion."
"So…theoretically speaking…" 9S continued. "Humans had the ability of acting on a belief without any facts to confirm that an idea is right or wrong?"
"Correct," 106 answered.
"But…that doesn't make any sense. What if a human's beliefs were wrong?"
"Many humans acted on unpopular beliefs, not limited to religion. Humans who disagreed with beliefs tended to fight back by arguing their beliefs, trying to prove them as the true way of thinking, acting, living, and sometimes even dying. In the worst case scenario, this, more often than not, would lead to wars."
"That…seems completely irrational," 2B stated.
"Affirmative," 106 stated. "However…there is something…profound about the unyieldingness of a human will."
2B looked at 106 not expecting a shift in its speech pattern. It…almost sounded as though it were…in thought. "Pod…?"
"This unit's encounter with Sam King has yielded the action of a human will in motion. The tactic in which Sam King used to destroy two Flyers was reckless; an unstable course of action. Yet it still yielded effective results, despite the injury Sam King received. Had Sam King not cut down the enemies forces in half, and prolonged the battle until units 2B and 9S arrived, Sam King would not have survived the battle."
"What are you trying to say?" 9S asked.
"Hypothesis: Sam King acted merely on instinct instead of strategic and rational thought. Such actions do not always yield successful results. However, Sam King was able to defy the probability of his plan not working, simply because he knew what he wanted to do in the fight. Therefore, humans may possess the ability to make the most illogical decisions imaginable and still arrive at the answers they seek."
"But he still got injured," 2B stated.
"This unit cannot find any data as to weather or not injury was relevant in Sam King's course of action. Sam King stated many times during his journey through the factory that he just wanted to escape alive and, in his words, 'go home.'"
2B and 9S took a moment to consider what 106 was saying. It was true that, despite being modeled after humans, most Androids didn't really know much about them. They didn't know how they thought or acted. Granted the general idea was that since they were created by humans in their image, then they could act and think like humans too. But…no one had ever met a human before. How sure could they be that they were created in their image if the never met one?
But in 2B and 9S's case, along with a few others, they no longer needed to wonder that. They had met their first human. And with their meeting spawned a multitude of feelings within the two androids.
For 9S, it was an insatiable amount of curiosity and questions that he wanted to ask the human. There was so much about their lifestyle and culture that he wanted to know.
As for 2B, relief was definitely one word to describe what she was feeling, but it wasn't complete. Hope was a more stronger feeling in her. Hope in absolution and redemption perhaps. Redemption from a power higher than the Commander. She wasn't really sure what that was for her thought. God? Or the humans?
Glory to Mankind.
That one phrase that YoRHa kept saying over and over again. Like a record stuck on repeat. 2B never paid it much mind, not really bothering to figure out the meaning behind that phrase…but a lot of Androids were rather…fanatical about humans.
Religion confused 2B very much. Some humans believed that they were brought into existence by some divine being that no one ever saw. Others just believed that they were the remnants of some cosmic explosion known as the Big Bang. And from what she remembered 9S telling her in the past, a lot of wars were fought over who was right. It seemed foolish.
But then again…human nature in general seemed foolish to her. And some Androids were pretty good at mimicking it. Some Androids to the humans prospect of God and applied it to humans. God created humans. Humans created androids. So some Androids revered them as gods of sorts.
Giving "Glory to Mankind" a whole new meaning.
At first, 2B thought nothing of it. Just more Androids imitating human cultures and customs. However…
"Pod 042, do you have an excerpt of what the humans called the bible?" 2B asked her pod.
9S raised his eyebrow at the sudden inquiry from his partner. 2B had never asked something like that before.
"Affirmative," 042 responded. "Query: What book?"
"What boo…there's…only one bible isn't there?"
"Correct. However, the bible is a compilation of the scriptures translated into the English language for the Christian faith. There are sixty-six books in total."
"Does it say anything about humans?"
"Query not understood."
"What I mean is—"
"Umm…2B?" 9S asked. "Are…are you okay? This is the first time I've ever seen you be so…inquisitive about something human related."
2B went silent for a moment before responding. It was definitely a good question. The answer to which she wasn't entirely sure of. Or at least not entirely sure she should tell 9S. Emotions are prohibited. That's what she would always say. However, just because they're prohibited doesn't mean Androids have the luxury of shutting them off completely. Her past…experiences, as they were, with 9S were proof of that.
"Let's just say that…considering what we've just discovered…I have…more thoughts and questions than I'm used to…" 2B responded, carefully choosing her words. "I'm sure you've heard rumors of the worst case scenario 9S?"
"…umm…what's the wor—wait…you don't mean…?"
2B didn't respond. She just kept her sapphire eyes locked on 9S. It was affirmation enough for the Scanner.
"Pod," 2B spoke, attempting to steer the conversation away from a depressing topic. "What is the first book in the bible?"
"The book of Genesis," 042 replied. "Which chapter?"
"Whichever one explains how humans were made."
"Chapter one verse twenty six through twenty eight. 'Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."'
Both Androids were silent until 042 was done reciting the scripture. "Uhhh…that…doesn't really explain a whole lot. So…what, humans just…magically poofed into existence just because some…all-seeing omnipotent…thing? How does that even make sense?"
"Unknown."
"Yup," 2B thought. "Still confusing."
"Yo," a husky female voice said.
2B and 9S turned to see Jackass walk up to them.
"Anem called. Told me that it was an emergency. Didn't really explain much in detail, just that I do some medical research about how to fix up a human heart. Not sure why, I can clearly see it's nothing Machine related. So, what's up?"
There was a moment of silence before 9S answered. "It's better if you saw it. Anemone's in one of the empty rooms upstairs. We'll be with you in a bit, we've gotta send 106 back to the Bunker for maintenance."
Jackass raised her one visible eyebrow in confusion. "Never took you to be the cryptic type, Nines," she said. "But hey, if whatever's going on has got you of all people at a loss for words, it's must be pretty fuckin' serious. Alright, I'll head on over there. See ya in a bit, kids."
Jackass then gave a single wave and walked off.
"I really wish she would stop calling us 'kids,'" 9S complained as he turned to place 106 in the transporter to the Bunker. "Oh, before I forget…" 9S then pulled out 11B's YoRHa Issue Blade and placed it alongside 106 in the transporter. "Did the human used that to fight off the Machines?"
"Affirmative," 106 said. "Querry: Has 9S been able to confirm 11B's whereabouts?"
9S sighed. "No dice. If 11B is still active, she's long gone. We could probably start looking for her if she left any documents sealed in her blade. But…unfortunately, it's got a pretty serious lock on it. Not even I can hack into it. Whatever was in here, 11B didn't want anyone peeping in on."
"Affirmative. Unit 11B was not always forthcoming with…personal matters with her comrades."
9S eyed 106 for a moment. It paused in its sentenced. 9S was pretty sure pods weren't supposed to hesitate in their speaking process. Was there something about 11B that 106 knew but wasn't telling? No…Pod's aren't programed to withhold information…right?
Didn't matter. "The Commander will want to know what happened to her, so once your maintenance is done, you might want to try to see if you can take a crack at it."
"…Affirmative."
That was the last thing 106 said before the transporter closed, a soft hum vibrating from it's machinery. 106 was now being transporter to the Bunker.
"Well, that's that. C'mon, let's go meet up with Jackass and the others," 9S said.
"Right." Both 2B and 9S started to head back to where Anemone, Jackass, Popola and Devola were. However…
"Hey…2B?"
"Yes?"
"Does…this whole thing bother you?"
"…I'm not sure I understand."
"Well…let's review what's happened in the past couple of days since we got here. First there were those two humanoid Machines in the desert that just appeared literally out of nowhere, then we get a report of a rip in the fabric of time and space, which apparently is possible, and then we find a human. The first human that anyone has seen in several thousand years, and from what 106 has told us, he doesn't know anything about the Machine Wars."
"…What're you trying to say?"
"I'm saying some really REALLY strange is going on here. All of these strange events happening one after another? First humanoid Machines and now an actual human? I'm not usually the paranoid one, but…I'm finding it very hard to believe that this is all coincidence. Something's happening. Something big."
"How do you know this?"
"I don't, it's…it's just a…I think the humans called it a hunch."
"A what?"
"Hunch," 153 explained. "Definition: A feeling or guess based on intuition rather than known facts."
"…an assumption then?" 2B asked. "9S this doesn't really sound like something a Scanner would draw a conclusion with."
"Except there's questions than answers," 9S countered. "Guesses are all we've got at this point. And besides, asking about human religion…that's not something I've ever seen you do…2B…are you…really okay?"
2B stopped walking. There it was again. Her partner. Her one and only true friend in this war…worried about her. Again. Just like all the countless other times.
She hated it.
She always would.
Not about 9S's concern. That was one of the many things about him that she adored. She found it…sweet even. But…how many times had she found herself stuck in this perpetual cycle of grief, fear, and insanity? Decade after decade. Indefinetly.
And yet…in all of the hundreds of years she has been in this war…not once has she ever felt close to her breaking point. Her faith in her duty…wavering.
Would she ever find absolution?
"…Emotions…are prohibited." That was all 2B said before se started walking away, her fists clenched tightly, her teeth grinding, desperate to fight the tears forming in her now exposed eyes. However, her efforts to hide the crack in her voice…failed.
And 9S heard it.
He knew something was bothering her.
But far be it for someone like 2B to open up to anyone.
At times like this…he felt utterly useless…
…
"No fuckin' way." Those were the words that Jackass spoke when she saw the comatose human for the first time. "This is a human? Holy shit they really did model us after them!"
Anemone held the urge to groan, as did the others present. Mostly due to Jackass's lack of modesty in a serious situation as this, but the shit-eating grin that she was wearing the whole time didn't help either. "Jackass please," Anemone said. "Can you try to be serious about this?"
"What makes you think I'm not serious?" came the reply.
"Look in a mirror and tell me that grin you have is your serious face," Devola countered.
"Hey red, it takes more muscles to smile than it does to frown."
"Androids don't have muscles," 2B stated.
"Uh, I think she was being facetious, 2B," 9S clarified.
Devola sighed. "What else is new?"
"C'mon, you know you love it," Jackass quipped.
"Can we please focus?" Popola spoke; trying her absolute best not to collapse from the mental exhaustion this whole ordeal was giving her. If it were possible, she'd be having a serious headache right about now. "We need to find a way to heal him. Did you at least figure something out before coming here?"
"Don't get your panties in a wad, red," Jackass replied. "I got the info covered."
"Really wish she'd stop calling us that," Devola muttered under her breath, but not soft enough that it wasn't deaf to Popola, who just sighed.
Jackass dug into her satchel and pulled out a book on human medicine and physiology. "Look, I know most of you have your reservations about me doing this shit, and I get it. I'm a scientist, not a doctor."
"Mad scientist, more like it," 9S commented.
This earned him a light nudge from 2B, followed by a look that practically said, "don't start."
"Ignoring that," Jackass continued. "But I wouldn't have developed the E-Drug if I didn't have some idea of how adrenaline was processed through the heart, and by extension, the heart in general. And now that I'm looking at the genuine article, I can definitely see why you wanted to keep this hush-hush, Anem."
"So what did you find?" Anemone asked.
"Well…" Jackass paused a bit before continuing, trying her best to choose her next words carefully. "Okay, first up, I want to say there is no guarantee that what I'm about to tell you is going to work. Especially considering how fucked up this guy is."
"All I want to hear right now is what our options are," Anemone corrected. "We can figure out the rest afterwards."
"Alright." Jackass then started flipping through the book. "So…I found two options and both of them are types of, what the humans called, cardioversion."
"What's that?" 2B asked.
"Well, according to this, it's a process that's used to get the heart back to beating normally," Jackass explained. "And there's two kinds. Electrical and chemical."
"Are either of them possible for him?" Devola asked.
"Well…one of them is…but getting the materials for it might be a bit difficult considering the neighborhood."
"And the other?" Popola inquired.
"Extremely risky," came the reply.
"Let's hear the risky one first," Anemone spoke.
"That would be the electrical cardioversion. For this, we'd have to apply an electric shock to his heart."
"Whoa, what?!" 9S exclaimed. "Why?!"
"Because of the jolt that would travel through his body," Jackass said. "It's kind of like giving a jump start to a car battery. Only this one has a lot more risk factors."
"Such as?" Devola aksed.
"Well for one thing it could disrupt the blood clot that's formed where his arm used to be," Jackass continued. "And if it that gets to his brain…well, he'll die of a stroke. And there's also a chance that an electric shock might damage the heart even further. We are talking about injecting voltages into a human body after all, and those are pretty dangerous in high doses. Fatal even. Another thing is that it might not have any effect at all. The only other things that would work would either be medicine or a pacemaker."
"A pacemaker? What's that?" 2B inquired.
"Pacemaker," 042 spoke. "Or pacesetter: An artificial device for stimulating the heart muscle in regulating its contractions."
"How does that work?" 2B asked further.
"By surgical insertion," 042 answered.
"Surgical?" 9S asked, not really understanding what that mean.
"Surgery is a procedure that humans used to treat injuries or disorders of the body by incision or manipulation, especially with instruments," 153 clarified.
"Wait so…humans fixed other humans by…cutting them open?!" 9S's shock was very apparent. "Isn't that…I dunno, counterproductive?"
"Only if you had someone who isn't qualified for the job," Jackass replied. "And I seriously doubt anyone here is. I know I'm not. Unless of course you know of someone Anem?"
"Human physiology isn't exactly a commonly discussed topic around here, nor is it widely known in depth," the Resistance leader answered.
"We aren't really experts in that field either," Popola said.
"I thought you were well versed in this," 2B spoke up.
"Knowledge isn't the same thing as practice," Devola replied. "Just cuz we know about the stuff doesn't mean we have the experience."
"Alright," Anemone decided. "So the electric cardioversion is out of the question. What about the other one?"
"That's the chemical one," Jackass answered. "And like I said before, it's possible, but getting the materials for it might be a bit difficult."
"Why's that?" 9S asked.
"Because the keyword is 'chemical,' and that means we're going to need a specific chemical compound that looks like this." Jackass then handed the book over to Anemone once she had flipped to the page she needed to show her.
2B, 9S, Devola and Popola all gathered around to see what Jackass was talking about. In the book was a diagram of an octagon with several letters, numbers, and lines sprouting from it. Below was a label that read: CH11H17NO•HCI.
"Uhhh…what is this?" Anemone asked.
"It's a compound for a type of drug called Mexitil. It's an oral medicine that's used to stabilize the heart." Jackass explained.
"Okay, so do you have it?" Devola asked.
"Guys, have you even been listening to what I've been saying?" Jackass rebutted, rather irritated."I-need-the-ma-ter-i-als. Didn't I say that was going to be difficult?"
"We get it," 2B spoke. She rarely ever let her emotions show, but Jackass was one of those people who really knew how to grind someone's gears, even for the most laid back. "So what do you need?"
"Read the book," came the reply.
2B resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes. 9S on the other hand didn't.
"Colloidal silicon dioxide, corn starch, magnesium stearate…titanium dioxide?!" 9S read out loud the contents of the drug, not really understanding what half of this stuff was. "Where the hell are we supposed to find all this?!"
"See, that right there is exactly why I said it would be difficult," Jackass explained. "Half of the materials are either hard to come by, or I need to make them from scratch."
"But you know how to cultivate this drug, right?" Anemone inquired.
"Yes," Jackass clarified. "But only if I have those exact materials. Which I don't. And I have no clue where to start looking."
Anemone sighed. "Great. So we've reached a dead end."
"Not unless we can find the materials," 2B said.
"W-wai-2B hold on," 9S interjected. "This is a specific set of materials we're looking for. It's not like trying to find spare parts. Where are we even going to find something like corn starch?"
"Pod," 2B instructed 042. "Search for areas containing the required materials for the Mexitil."
"Affirmative," 042 replied. After a few beeps, a holographic map screen appeared mapping various points in areas widely spread apart from each other. "Locations found. Colloidal silicon dioxide is not a natural occurring element; cultivation will be necessary. However, the base material of colloidal silicon dioxide is silica, a hard unreactive, colorless compound that occurs as the mineral quartz and as a principal constituent of sandstone and other rocks. Silica is also known as silicon dioxide, its chemical formula known as SiO2. Possible areas for mining silica would most likely be located in the desert region."
"Okay…so we have to get silica from the desert," 9S verified. "How are we supposed to turn that into colloidal silicon dioxide?"
"Colloidal silicon dioxide is a fine form of silicon that can be dispersed evenly," 153 explained. "It is formed through the hydrolysis of a silicon compound."
"Hydrolysis…so…we just place it in water then?" 9S asked.
"Affirmative," both pods replied.
"Corn starch is the starch derived from maize, or corn grain," 153 continued explaining. "The starch is obtainable from the endosperm of the kernel. No known locations for any corn grains exist."
"See?" 9S spoke. "Like I said."
"Actually," Popola began. "We might have some uncooked corn lying around in storage. So we can take a look at that."
"We've got a lot of things in storage, food and crops included," Anemone explained. "There's a good chance we can find something there."
"Hmm…" 2B went into a rare state of thought.
"2B?" 9S asked, not remembering his partner ever having this look on her face.
"Well," 2B began. "I remember 22B having…a hobby I think the humans called it, for cooking in her spare time. She always tries to get the rest of the Androids to try whatever she makes."
"Wow, that's pretty neat!" 9S said, his curiosity starting to surface again. "Was it any good?"
"Most of my comrades have said her cooking is good," 2B replied. "But personally, I wouldn't know. I've never tried it."
"Huh? But…2B if she was offering it, don't you think it's rude to—"
"Pod, what are the remaining items on the list?"
9S had a dejected look on his face. Why did his partner have to be so business oriented all the time?
"Magnesium stearate is a chemical compound that's commonly found in soaps," 042 responded. "It's possible that either members of the resistance or YoRHa posses soap bars with this compound."
"Oh, I think I might have some of that in my room back at the bunker!" said 9S.
"And I think we might have some soaps with that compound in storage as well," Popola said.
"Yeah, there's quite a few Androids here that like to rid themselves of dirt and grime," Devola added.
"Titanium dioxide is a naturally occurring oxide of titanium," 153 continued. "It is sourced from three different rocks. Ilmenite, a titanium-iron oxide mineral, commonly found in layered intrusions or heavy mineral sands ore deposits. Rutile, a mineral comprised mainly of titanium dioxide and is created as a high pressure igneous and metamorphic rock. And anatase, a mineral form of titanium dioxide, usually found as a small, isolated and sharp crystal."
"Are there any known areas that have any of those rocks?" 2B inquired.
"Negative," 153 answered. "However, there is a chance that ilmenite could be found in the desert."
"…Better than nothing I guess," 2B conceded.
"Well…there's also the factory," 9S added. "There are large cauldrons in there. Maybe there's some rutile there that was being used to manufacture stronger metal for the Machines? It's a long shot, but I think it's worth looking."
"Unit 9S's hypothesis may be correct," 042. "With the Machine Life Forms gaining their own intelligence, the use of stronger metals in their construction may be imminent."
"Whoa, hold on, what?" Anemone said. "The Machines are becoming intelligent? As in self-aware intelligent?"
9S sighed. "Long story. We'll explain it once this is done. Pod, please continue."
"The gelatin should require the least amount of effort to obtain," 042 continued on. "It is a colorless and tasteless water-soluble protein prepared from collagen, which is the main structural protein found in animal connective tissue. Gelatin is created when the collagen is boiled."
"Okay, so that should be easy enough," 9S said. "There's plenty of moose and boars out in Relic City to hunt down. What's next?"
"Pharmaceutical glaze is an alcohol-based solution of various food-grade shellac," 153 explained.
"What's shellac?" 2B asked.
"Shellac is a resin secreted by a female gender of the lac, an insect species. These are commonly found on the trees of India and Thailand forests," 153 continued.
"What?!" 9S exclaimed. "Come on! We have to go all the way there to get that stuff?!"
"We don't have that kind of time," 2B agreed.
"Well…" Jackass started. "There is a forest beyond Relic City. With Earth's ecosystem all screwed up due to its rotation axis coming to a grinding halt, the lacs might have migrated over here."
"…alright, better than having to go overseas," 9S commented.
"Simeticone is an anti-floating agent that is used to reduce excessive gas in the human body," 042 spoke. "It is mixed with silicon dioxide."
"Silicon…is that another form of silica?" 9S asked.
"Negative," 042 clarified. "Silicon dioxide is an alternative name for silica. The chemical formula is the same."
"Okay, so we need silica for two things now," 9S stated. "This is turning out to be more complicated than it should be. What's next?"
"Two compounds remain," 153 answered. "FD&C Red 40 and FD&C Blue No. 1. Common names are Allura Red AC and Brilliant Blue FCF. They are types of food coloring."
"22B again, probably," 9S said. "Anything else?"
"Negative," 153 responded. "That is all of the materials that are required for the drug, Mexitil."
"Okay, so let's review here," Anemone spoke. "Ingredients that we might have are dried corn for corn starch, soap for magnesium, and red and blue food coloring. What we need to do some scavaging for are silica, titanium dioxide, collagen for gelatin, and shellac for pharmecutical glaze. Jackass, exactly how much of this stuff do you need?"
"A lot," came the reply. "This guy's gonna need to take at least two pills everyday."
"For how long?"
"The fuck should I know? Until he wakes up. And God knows how long that's going to take. So I'm gonna need as much as you can find me."
There was a bit of a pause before Devola spoke up.
"That's a lot of stuff to get," Devola stated. "And considering the state the human's in, I doubt we're going to have a lot of time to get them."
"Devola's right," 2B said. "We'll have to split up and search all the various locations if we want to gather the materials quickly."
"I can check around here for any soap and corn," Anemone said. "Devola, Popola, can you help me out by checking the storage site out in th city?"
"Sure," Popola replied.
"I can head to the Destert and see if I can find some silica and maybe some ilminite. But one of you guys should check out the factory for rutile just in case I come up short," Jackass offered, the last part directed at the two YoRHa models.
"Will do." 2B affirmed.
"Actually...I should probably do that," 9S offered. "I've memorized structure since I've been there more than 2B has, so I have a fair idea of where some rutile might be. And besides, one of us needs to go hunting down some animals for the collagen. That shouldn't be too big of an issue for 2B."
"Those moose are pretty fast 9S," 2B countered. "It would make more sense to hunt them as a pair."
"It shouldn't be that hard if you use some animal bait. Just lure them in and then kill them. Easy as pie."
2B arched her eyebrow. "What?"
"It's a...human expression I picked up in the archives. Don't know why it relates to pie."
"The infinite number?" Jackass asked. "How the hell would that be easy?"
"No, no, not pi as in P-I. Pie as in P-I-E. A human pastry food."
"9S, focus," 2B ordered, trying to get her partner back on track. Honnestly, his curiosity was something that she would always find endearing about him, but sometimes he could be such a child.
9S once again had a dejected face. "S-sorry..."
"You do have a point though. Separating to get the respective materials would be efficient. Though, who will go get th shellac? The forest is uncharted territory."
"And that brings me to my next point," 9S added. "We're going to need some help..."
...
AN: A lot of sciencey stuff in this. I actually had to do some research about the different chemicals that make up Mexitil and where they originate from. Lots of tabs open on my browser for that. It's probably going to be one more chapter till we get back to the present with Sam, so you'll have to be patient for just biiiiiit longer. Until next time, STAY TUNED!
...
One Week Earlier
"Okay, so...let me get this straight..." A2 began. "You're a human who can use magic and your name is literally the number Three, and you're a floating, talking, magic book. And to top it all off, both of you are from the past, one of you from about ten thousand years, and the other about eight thousand. That right?"
"Essentially, yes," Three replied. "But you sound skeptical. May I ask what you find bothersome about our claims?"
"Well for starters, how about the fact that humans are extinct?" A2 replied, making no attempt to hide the irritation in her voice. "They have been for several thousand years, way WAY before the Machines ever showed up. They fucking LIED to us about everything. This whole war is a goddamn sham. And magic? Seriously? What kind of dumbass do you take me for?"
"You're talking to a floating book who can talk back," Three spoke. "And, I can make my weapons disappear into a pocket dimension, just as you can."
"News flash kiddo," A2 retorted. "Anyone can do that here. Anyone with YoRHa tech that is."
"Your…ha…?" The book, whom identified himself as Grimoire Weiss, repeated.
"The…organization I was with…before I found out the truth…" It was evident that there was sorrow in A2's voice when she spoke.
"If I may interject for a moment," Weiss spoke. "You said the year was 11945, correct?"
"Yeah," A2 replied. "Why?"
"Hmmmmm…so all the Replicants would have died out from the Black Scrawl…which means the Gestalts are all dead too…humanity really is extinct then…" It was evident that there was some sorrow in his voice. For what, no one had a clue. Actually…
"The hell are Replcants and…Geh-shtalts?" A2 asked.
If Weiss could, he'd raise and eyebrow in confusion. "You…don't know?"
"Why would I? It's the first time I've ever heard those words."
"Hmmmm…tell me, this "war" and "Machines" that you speak of…what exactly has been going on these last few millennia?"
A2 sighed. "Alright, I'll play along. The version I was told when I was first activated was that aliens had invaded the planet and had created these rusty heaps of scrap called Machine Lifeforms to do their dirty work. The humans basically got slaughtered in their efforts to fight the invaders, and what was left of them migrated to the moon."
"Humans on the moon?" Three asked, rather bewildered. She had never imagined such a feat were possible. Hell, she never even considered trying to achieve it. However... "As interesting as that sounds, there's one thing I'm not quite sure I understand. What's an...Alien, I think you called it?
"I believe she is refering old world term that was used mostly to describe a being of extra-terrestrial origins," Weiss explained.
"Extra-terrestrial?"
"Simply put, aliens are beings from another planet that's not the one we are on."
Three's eyes widened. "There are other planets?!"
"Well...yes, but as as far as I'm aware, there has been no proof that aliens exist. There have been theories but most have just deemed them as urban myths." Weiss then turned to A2. "And frankly I find the notion of it all rather preposterous."
"Says the guy who claims magic is a thing."
Three just sighed. How ignorant was this girl?
"You said that these...Machines...have done all of the grunt work for their creators?" Weiss asked, ignoring A2's backsass. "Have you ever seen these so-calls aliens in the flesh?"
A2 chuckled. "I wish. Would love to slaughter them and look 'em in the eye while I do it."
"Then how do you know they actually exist?"
"Because I've seen the wreckage of their mother ships. Not exactly something the humans could design. Trust me, I've been around since the start of the 14th Machine War, so I would know."
"14th?" Three echoed. "When did the first start?"
A2 pursed her lips as she thought for a bit. "Don't remember the exact date...it was thousands of years before I was created...but I do remember that it was in early 5000s."
"What?!" Weiss exclaimed. "That's absolutely absurd! Are you trying to tell us that this war against these extra-terrestrials and their mechanical machinations have raged on for several thousand years! That is utter film flam! The war efforts would no doubtedly have died out, resources exhausted, morale diminished! Most wars last years, that I know, but millennia? Impossible I say."
"I quite agree," Three said. "Eventually people would tire of such an arduous war. And besides...didn't you say humans were extinct? This story completely contradicts what you said about your disbelief that I was human."
"Getting to that," A2 explained. "Like I said, the whole 'humans being on the moon' thing was the version I was told when I was first activated. That my sole purpose was to fight the invaders and reclaim the planet for humanity. That's why we Androids exist. It's what we were created for.'Glory to Mankind.' What a joke. It wasn't until three years ago that I found out the truth..." A2 paused a bit before continuing.
"Mankind went extinct ages before the 1st Machine War ever started..."
There was dead silence. Three made small gasp at hearing this. All of mankind gone...? But how...? Why? And these...Androids...they fought for a cause...that didn't exist...?
Weiss wasn't nearly as shocked as Three. He had basically figured it out that the humans were long since dead when he learned about the year he had just woken up to. Hell, the humans may as well have been dead the moment they decided to have their souls ripped out of their bodies and placed in surrogates. But even so...this? A war that has no meaning? The very thought of it was utter madness.
"So you see, I have a very good reason to believe that you're not human," A2 continued. "The actual reason the organization I was with, YoRHa, was created, was to keep the lie going! My comerades...my unit...they died for what?! Some fucking glorified fairy tale?! It's total bullshit! I was the sole survivor of my last battle when I was still with YoRHa...I can still hear there screams...so I decided, enough is enough. I left...and I made a vow to destroy every last Machine on this planet. It's their fault...YoRHa...my friends...this war...all of it! I would never have been created if they never came to this planet! I...would never have to...feel this pain..."
A2 couldn't bear it anymore. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she was starting to cry. She couldn't remember the last time she had done so. But...telling her pain to someone...instead of bottling it inside...there was some relief in it...she didn't know why...
Weiss, as he watched the Android fight with all her might against her own sorrow, felt it was time to speak his part. This girl deserves some closure.
"Does anyone know how humans went extinct?"
"No," A2 replied. "That's the one thing I don't think the Commander has been able to figure out."
"Well then," Weiss began. "I do believe I can shed some light on that. And simultaneously prove that magic does in fact exist."
A2 scoffed. "Sure. Whatever."
Clearly she didn't believe that it did. No matter. "Now...where to begin...I don't remember exactly when it started or how...but I do know that this world started to fall into madness decades before I was born...as a human..."
A2 looked at the tome in disbelief once again. "What?"
Weiss sighed. "You may want to take a seat...this story is quite long..."
...
AN: X1 fans, rejoice! Come next week, you too shall discover why this game is highly praised!
…
VOICE CAST
2B – Kira Buckland
9S – Kyle McCarley
A2 – Cherami Leigh
Pod 042 – D.C. Douglas
Pod 153 – Abby Trott
Pod 106 – Cynthia Marcucci
Devola – Eden Riegel
Popola – Eden Riegel
Anemone – Erica Lindbeck
Jackass – Amanda Celline Miller
Three – Mela Lee
Grimoire Weiss – Liam O' Brien