A2's heeled feet skidded against the cobbled cliffside as gravity launched her towards the bottom of the canyon, the coal black pod hugged against her chest working double time to slow her descent. The sound of shifting rocks and the odd grunts she released as she made her way down made an uncouth and noisy contrast to the otherwise silent dark of the ravine. Even the once deafening quakes from before had grown to but a soft rumble as her feet finally met the bottom of the canyon.

Stumbling forward, she released the pod from her vice-like grip and turned, looking back at the top of the cliff where she jumped. Her shoulders sagged with the feeling of a weight being dropped from her shoulders as she found no pursuers. Without wasting any more time, A2 turned and made her way to the back of the canyon where she knew an elevator would be able to take her back up the cliff. From there, she would make her way to her stone room in the abandoned castle and rest. As she entered the elevator and closed the door, A2 jumped as she caught something fly in out of the corner of her eye. Summoning her sword and striking, A2 was surprised again, this time by the fact that she had called that golden sword yet again and the fact that its blade bounced harmlessly off the reflective panels that surrounded her victim.

This pod… "Are you following me?" she asked plainly.

The soothing female voice emanating from the pod responded almost with a nod. "Affirmative. This pod has been reassigned to support YoRHa Unit A2 via last command of YoRHa Unit 9S. As such, this pod will follow Unit A2 and work to aid her in the support of her new mission."

Mission…? "What new mission?" A2 asked almost incredulously.

Rather than the same unchanging cadence again, what greeted A2's ears was a recording. "Please… You… There are a lot of people that still need help… Help them. Take care of them, A2. A-and 2B…" An obvious cut was heard as the recording jumped forward to a later point. "She's been through so much… Please, protect her for me…please."

A2 leveled the pod with an unfeeling gaze. As the pod waited for a verbal affirmation, silence settled between the two, almost as though both refused to give in to the other's apparent whims.

As the elevator continued to rise, the pod suddenly spoke, perhaps thinking her charge incapable of addressing her correctly. "You may refer to this pod as Tactical Support Unit 153."

Finally the elevator opened and without missing a beat, A2 turned away with a click of her tongue and began scaling the cliffside. As she rounded the corner to the commercial facility, she stopped in her tracks. The gate had been utterly destroyed. Nothing but rock and dead android bodies littered the expanse in front of the bridge. As she approached the rubble, 153 spoke again.

"Scanners indicate that YoRHa Unit 2B is trapped beneath the fallen structure." A soft buzz lit A2's spine as that news met her ears. "Unit A2 should assist Unit 2B and return to Resistance base to convene with the remaining androids."

A2 proceeded towards the rubble and upon reaching the wreckage, began scaling the pile of fallen rock, uncaring for the mutilated YoRHa that were crushed in its wake. As she touched ground on the other side, she began making her way back towards the forest kingdom.

"Proposal: Unit A2 should turn back and assist YoRHa Unit 2B."

"Go away." A2's voice was husky and callous, almost as though rough from lack of use.

"Negative: This pod was assigned to YoRHa Unit A2 by order o-"

"I don't care who assigned you and I don't care what you think I'm supposed to do. I have one goal right now and helping her is not a part of it. Go assist her yourself."

"Negative: This pod lacks the required strength to assist YoRHa Unit 2B-"

"Tough shit."

"-and has been assigned to assist YoRHa Unit A2."

A2 nearly stopped in her tracks, grumbling in frustration. "If he cared so much about her, why didn't he just assign you to her?"

"YoRHa Units are only authorized to command one Tactical Support Unit at a time. Repeat: Unit A2 should turn back and assist YoRHa Unit 2B."

"Somehow I don't think she'd be happy to see me right now."

"Negative: YoRHa Unit 2B is known for being one of YoRHa's most level-headed field units."

A2 was silent, almost pensive as a conflicting feeling settled in her abdomen.

"Hypothesis: YoRHa Unit 2B will understand."

"Did you miss what happened not 10 minutes ago? She was after me like a wild animal!" A2 whipped back around to face the pod as her patience reached its limit.

The pod was silent for a few, pensive beats before finally replying. "Unit 2B will understand."

Exasperated, A2 rolled her eyes as she turned back around and continued on her way. "Get the hell away from me. The only thing I'm going to do is destroy every last machine I can goddamned find."

The pod was silent again for a while, trailing behind A2 as she trudged through the forest. "If this pod assists Unit A2 in carrying out her preferred mission, will Unit A2 then consider honoring the last wish of YoRHa Unit 9S?"

The way that sentence was delivered sounded almost emotional to A2 and she tentatively slowed to a halt, a strangely off-putting sense of fondness buzzing through her circuits this time as she locked eyes with the black chassis of the pod. With a snort, she replied almost too nonchalantly. "Sure."

"Locating high concentrations of machine lifeforms. Planning tactical apprehension strategy. Plotting course."

Before she could even respond to the pod's sudden soundoff, an awareness for a plotted point somewhere in the Flooded City was embedded in her consciousness. "Wha-"

153 Interrupted, "Proceed to the plotted point and neutralize the machine threat there."

Satisfaction flooding her psyche as she broke into a brisk jog, A2 made her way to the deserted coastline.


Pain and pressure squeezed 2B's body as she slowly came to. All that surrounded her was an inky black expanse. Pushing off of the ground, she grunted as her back quickly met a solid surface. Stubbornly, she attempted to lift the object out of her way. As she pushed against the immense weight, a dangerous grinding resounded around her as the suddenly displaced rocks above her toppled down from their disturbed positions. 2B cried out in pain as the rubble pinned her body to the dirt.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to regain focus amidst the newly broken bones that she sustained. Shakily, she lifted her hand to the nearest obstruction and tried to feel for a way out, but everything she touched was slick with a substance that soaked her gloves and prevented securing a firm grip. She didn't even need to recognize the smell to know that it was her own blood. The almost numb pain that radiated from her palms were enough to verify that she had at least in part burst them open. The grim truth however was that the rest of her body was in a similar state. The more reinforced sections of her alloyed body had survived the sudden shift in rubble, but most of her joints were entirely inoperable. Refusing to give in, 2B continued to push against the fallen cinderblock, but couldn't muster the strength to make anything budge. Succumbing to her wounds, she laid her head against the rock pinning her left arm to the dirt, entirely exhausted and quickly losing blood. As her breathing became more ragged and labored, 2B's system began to short out and her vision faded.


A/N: I apologize for the long wait time and the shortness of this chapter. I know the feeling. I've been extremely busy and life has been moving incredibly fast. I just wanted to get this chapter out to before a few months turned into a year or more, but trust when I say the next will be more worth waiting for.