Chapter 1 Free
"It's a good thing we Androids don't have to eat and drink to regain stamina," 9S says to me cheerfully as we step outside of Emil's wooden house. He guides me throughout. "We just need a little sunlight."
I gaze around the large crater above us where the noon sun shines brightly then I look at the metallic double doors on the crater's wall in front of Emil's house. I start to reminisce how 9S and I came to this place weeks ago through the cave system outside, killing machines in the dark on our way.
After being in that dark abyss in my dream for days, the sunlight on my skin feels so good now. We're like humans who need sunlight after all.
"Humans…" I repeat in my head.
"You were like this when you were still human," the voice from my dream suddenly rings in my head. I shake it off as it doesn't make any sense as of the moment. I have to find the right time to ask 9S about it.
"What happened to Emil's house?" I try to start a conversation and change the topic in my mind. "It looks different now."
"Oh, he told me he upgraded it over the past few weeks," 9S responses in his usual easy-go-lucky voice. "Don't worry; we're safe now." He puts his hands on his hips.
I turn around and face him. "What do you mean? Is the war over already?" I've been gone for a long time. I might have missed a lot so I ask him.
"Not exactly," 9S says in a stern voice now. "But while you were gone, I found out that humans aren't actually on the moon… that they're extinct now… and we have just been tools to prolong this war."
"Tools… for what purpose?"
"The red girls said—"
"Red girls?" I raise an eyebrow at him, weirded out by the term he used.
"No, seriously, 2B, they're called the Red Girls. They're like the leaders of the machines."
"I thought it was Adam and Eve."
"Well… they are, too, but the red girls are like the higher ones… sort of like their gods."
I can see 9S tries to explain the weirdness he has gone through while I was gone and I actually feel bad for him.
"They wanted the war to keep on going for the progression of their race after they killed their creators… the aliens. We exist just for them to have a reason to exist, too." 9S clenches his fist.
"In a way…" I start out calmly, "YoRHa has been like that, too." I tell him my realization.
"Exactly!" 9S gestures his hands. "They've just been giving us a reason to keep on fighting when hope is really gone now."
"They probably just said humans are still alive just to give us hope. And I've been so obedient to them, too." I chuckle a bit. "Pathetic."
"Don't be too hard on yourself. We all feel the same way." 9S sits down on the grass and I follow. "A2 was right about YoRHa…" He looks up at the sun. "But it's gone now… unless there are other survivors."
"Where is A2, by the way?" I ask him sincerely.
"Gone. We couldn't find her… and I guess it's best we don't for a while. I don't want to meet your killer."
"9S, I would have been dead anyw—"
"No, 2B!" He stands up, fists clenched on his sides. "I could have saved you!" He says angrily.
I flinch at his sudden outburst. I stare up at him for a few seconds while I hug my folded legs on my chest. I've never seen him like this before. It makes me wonder what triggered it. What exactly happened while I was gone?
He looks down and grits his teeth. "I could have hacked into you and removed the virus… but she got to you first. I almost lost you. You have no idea how much it hurt me to see you pierced like that… and the voice recording you left me…" He shuts his eyes hard, as if trying not to cry.
I stand up and wrap my arms around him slowly and his stiff body calms down and he opens his eyes.
"Sorry for letting you go through that. I'm here now… thanks to you, Nines," I whisper to him.
"2B… You just called me Nines again," 9S says and steps back a bit away from me, shocked.
I let go of him and smile a little. "I've gotten used to it."
He takes out something from his pocket. "These blindfolds… we don't have to use them anymore. We are no longer YoRHa units. We're free androids now. 9H and I removed anything that can track us down." He flashes a smug at me. "Though we can still use it for protection."
I feel weird at the sudden thought of finally being free. "Alright," I respond to him with a single nod. Let's still use it but let's try to find something that can change our appearance. We might come across with some android survivors who are still loyal to YoRHa."
"Let's go shopping then," he grins at me with his fists clenched in front of his chest, showing his eagerness.
I smile back sheepishly as I remember what he said to me weeks ago about going on a shopping. "There are no malls anymore, 9S."
"There's a machine village nearby that sells human stuff. Like Pascal, they are the peaceful type of machines. We just discovered it recently." I sense he is trying to convince me that everything's alright now.
"So, you've been there."
"I had to." He hesitates to continue and sighs. "They were selling the parts we needed to fix you." He scratches his head and closes his eyes. I can see a sweat drop on his left temple.
I cringe at the thought of machine parts being inside me but I brush off the idea instantly and think how much 9S exerted effort to bring me back.
"2B, now that we discovered this has been a futile war with both of our masters gone, things don't separate us as much from the machines now. We've spoken with them. They, too, want to live peacefully already."
"Let's just keep our eyes open… there might still be some who wish to eliminate us," I say to him cautiously.
"Right," 9S responds dutifully. He turns around to face Emil's house. "Emil!" He calls.
"Yes?" Emil responses in his usual innocent little boy voice. He comes out of his house.
"We're going to the nearby village to buy some stuff. You guys coming?"
"Sure!" Emil says quickly.
We arrive at the Free Machine Village and 9S was right. The machines here look and act like the ones in Pascal's village. They sell a variety of products, including human products, on the side of their streets.
"Are these… authentic human products?" I touch the T-shirt on display.
"Definitely," 9S responses convincingly. "I've scanned them. It's the workmanship of a human."
"How were they able to acquire these anyway?" I say as I look around the accessories too. "And they look so new, too."
"They must have preserved it for centuries."
Apparently, 9S screening ability is limited. He can't tell the age of an item.
He buys me a shirt and one for him. Mine was white that has the words "Glory to Mankind" and his was black with the words "Become as Gods".
"Aww! You guys look cute in those couple shirts," says 9H in a high-pitch tone to us as we approach them. They are sitting on a bench around a tree in the village's park.
"C-couple?" I protest.
9S laughs nervously. Pod 042 responds for them, "Hypothesis: Unit 9S and 2B have to change appearance for safety."
We all, except the pods, burst into laughter. I noticed that 9H was also wearing something that looked more human, with some sleek black pants, black shirt and a furry brown jacket.
"Gah, I wish I can wear a shirt again, too!" Emil shares. "Ever since I was turned into this form, I never needed to change clothes."
"Maybe we can make an android version of you, Emil!" 9S tells him, hoping to cheer him up. "Then maybe we can transfer your soul there."
"That sounds great! I can't wait til' that happens."
"You think it's possible, 9H?" 9S faces 9H.
"Hmmm," 9H pinches her chin with her thumb and index finger together. "It won't hurt to try, I guess. We'll have to gather some materials."
"Hey, I've heard the machines have done some repairs in the amusement park," 9S tells us. "Maybe we can find some parts there. Let's visit there today, too!"
"Sounds fun to me," says 9H with a smile, sitting on the bench next to 2B. "I'm in."
"Who knows… we might come across with some YoRHa androids survivors or body parts along the way."
"Right," I tell him calmly, but deep inside I wonder where he gets all his energy. "Let's go."
On our way to the amusement park, we come across some violent machines that we all fought against.
"There's no end to these things!" 9S grunts as our backs bump onto each other. We both hold our weapons as shield against the machines' weapons then simultaneously, we break free from them and slash them in half.
I slowly rise from the floor and walk towards 9S, my heels clicking on the broken concrete road.
"Whew, that was a close one," says 9S in relief. "I see you're back in action, 2B."
"You managed to restore my fighting capability," I remark.
"Actually… 9H was the one who helped with that," 9S says to me as he faces 9H.
I look at her with a smile. "Thank you."
"No problem, 2B!" she responds gleefully as she closes her eyes and grins at me. "It's my job." She points at herself with her right thumb, her left hand perched on her hip.
In the amusement park, 9S run towards the ticket booth for the roller coaster. I sprint after him, worried he might bump into some enemies. "Tickets for 4 please," he says to the machine teller excitedly.
The roller coaster takes off and as it ascends slowly and prepare to fall, 9S who is in the seat in front of me tells me, "Until now I can't believe you're here already and that we get to date." I am the last one on the line, Emil and 9H being at front.
"Date?" I give him a quizzical look.
He scratches his head and laughs nervously. "I-I mean… have a mission together again."
I smile at him and look away as I start to blush.
"Are androids allowed to have a happy life? Or must we cease to exist when we're done with our designated task?" I look at the sunset and the vast land ahead of us. I can see the city ruins, the waterfalls and Pascal's village. My body warmed up at the view. "What are we supposed to do now that humans, our masters, are gone…
… or so I think."
Everything goes black as we enter into a long dark tunnel. I hear a loud clang of metal and suddenly the car I am in shakes and skids away from the track and to its side.
"2B!" 9S screams as he turns back to me, his voice fading. He jumps off the car immediately and holds on to his pod. He lands on the railroad track and runs towards me. Simultaneously, I jump off the car, too, but someone pulls me away to the side. I try to fight back with my pod but it zaps both of us with an electrifier and things start to look dizzy and blurry. I see 9S' shadow running towards me but I am pulled to a door in the tunnel. Everything went black.
I let out a grunt and open my eyes. I find myself on a carpet, lying sideway, in a dark room with a lit fireplace.
"My… so you're finally awake," a man says to me nonchalantly as he stands up from his red chair near the fireplace.
I'm on the floor with my hands tied on my back. He steps closer to me. He looks like Eve but with black hair and something feels different about him. He folds one leg to kneel in front of me and he props his arm on his knee. He rests his head on his palm and looks at me, smiling playfully. He cups my chin with his hand.
"What a beautiful android you are," he says gently. He gazes at me from head to toe. "It's good to finally see you up close."
I try to push him away but my hands tied at my back stops me. Instead, I gnaw at him. "Who are you?" I shout at him.
"The name's Seth," he says sternly with a smirk. "I've been watching you and your little friend for a very long time through CCTVs I installed in some places in this country. I see the machines wiped up almost all of you."
"I thought Adam and Eve are the only machine leaders we had to deal with!" I grit my teeth.
"Oh, you're comparing me to those little pricks?" He chuckles for a few seconds with eyes closed then looks into my eyes intently once again. His eyes are golden and the fire from the fireplace are suddenly reflecting on them. "We're not the same." He takes out a small pocket knife and cuts his index finger a bit.
My eyes widen.
Red blood comes out of it.
"You're… you're human!" I shout, almost out of breath.
"That's right. You should taste it." He wipes his bloody finger on my bottom lip. I want to bite him in anger but my mind is too shocked at the thought that a human still exists.
He cocks his head to the right. "Dumbfounded, eh? What's the matter? Never seen a human before?" He chuckles again. "Oh, that's right. You guys thought we're extinct," he says sarcastically.
"I… I can't believe it," I say weakly.
"You should be happy, right? Seeing your master again." He grins at me.
"But YoRHa… The m-machines…" I stutter. I start to think of the things that we were made to believe. I don't know what to feel. I am actually not sure whether I should be happy to see a human or not. We've always wanted to see one but I sense something off about the man.
"Ssshhh." He puts another finger on my mouth to silence me. "YoRHa is a scam. A failure. You androids were not made to protect us." He stands up and turns towards the fireplace. "You were made to end us."
"You're getting it wrong… it was the machines—"
"Machines? Androids?" He turns around to face me again. "What makes you different, eh?" You both come from the same parts. You androids are just more sentient. Both of you wanting to wipe us from our planet."
"That's… that's not true… we were made to defeat the machines so humans can live peacefully here again."
"Non sense. You still believe in that lousy tale that's been going on for centuries? My family was killed by your kind!"
"No… that can't be…" I look down, confused, my thoughts raising with all these revelations he's giving me. Flashbacks of our missions and our activities at the bunker run through my mind.
"They had these red eyes on them… as they mercilessly killed each one of my family. I will never forgive you androids." He grits his teeth. His face is dark with only his eyes lighting up.
"Those must have been the ones infected by the virus," I try to explain to him.
"I also thought you were humanity's hope… but you betrayed us… All of us! Now I'll make you pay! You're staying with me here and be my slave!"
I stare at him in shock, still on the floor, unable to say anything. I don't know who to believe anymore.
