Chapter 16: The Wondering Woman


33E awoke in her hut in a cold sweat, her head pounding. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Alert. A voice resonated. YoRHa unit 6H has partaken in treasonous discussions against mankind. Action required.

"What!?" 33E started upright, "She's nothing if not loyal to YoRHa! How could that be-?"

A piercing pain interrupted her train of thought, Action required. It resonated.

"N-no-" 33E struggled, interrupted by the pain once again.

Action required. No optionals given. It resonated in a deeper tone. 33E almost felt her chest vibrate from the frequency.

Without any form of consent, 33E stood up in front of her bed, and marched out the door.

The moon was massive in the earthly night sky. The entire village, now quiet, seemed to shift and contort as her head began to swim from the resonations.

Traitor. It continued. We must remove the traitor.

"She's not a traitor goddammit!" 33E shouted to herself.

Remove all YoRHa traitors.

With a heafty kick, the door to 6Hs adjacent hut was thrown off its already weak hinges. She unsubtlely stomped in and summoned Iron Will.

"Stop it!" 33E struggled against her muscles, which were hefting the blade above her head, over the bed where 6H laid asleep. "Shit- FUCK- WAKE UP-!"

With a shockingly quick and liquidy CRACK the bed was cleaved in two. As was 6H.

However, as 6H laid in pieces in front if her, they began to shift shape. Into every single unit she had slain prior. From 19Ds unit, to those before. All the way back to 13 and 22B…

"N-no… Stop it…" 33E managed, still unable to control herself.

Remove all YoRHa Traitors.

As Iron Will dissapated, The Usurper materialized in its place. Without any will to do otherwise, 33E held the spear towards herself.

Her eyes widened, "W-Wait- I'm not-!"

Remove all YoRHa Traitors.

She wanted to scream as the spear was plunged into her chest.

33E awoke in a cold sweat. Or, at least, whatever equivalent she could manage as an android.

She clasped her chest, petrified from the visions that plagued her.

Just a dream. She though. Since when do I have those?

She had heard it was something YoRHa units experianced rarely. Something to do with low power and lingering memory. She didn't know the specifics and didn't really care.

A knock on her hut door snapped her to attention, before a voice called out.

"Thirty-Three?" 6H called, "We should probably leave soon."

33E took a deep sigh of relief, "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute…"

She turned her gaze to 6Hs Pod, which was sitting on the vanity, solar panel forced open, as it was soaking in sunlight by a cracked open window.

She let out a shaky breath, "Just a dream…"

It wasn't long before she was dressed with her newly repaired gear and was following 6H towards Dimos and Senalda's shop.

"Did you rest well?" 6H asked, "You've been quiet ever since you woke up."

33E shrugged, "Not exactly. I think I'm just distracted from everything that's happened."

6H nodded sadly, "Yeah, I can unstand that." she fidgeted with her fingers for a moment, "I slept like shit too."

They had promised to stop by Dimos' place on their way out. So, before they knew it, they were at the front desk of the shop, waiting as Senalda argued with her brother about something on the docks.

She was in the process of fishing as Dimos was rummaging through bags of seemingly unrelated supplies. He glanced up to see the YoRHa androids awaiting awkwardly. 6H waved to try and ease the tension.

After some more frustrated bickering, Dimos waved his sister off and headed to meet the duo, "Ah- sorry you had to see that."

"Sibling trouble?" 33E crossed her arms.

"More like shop troubles. But I won't worry you both with any of that." Dimos waved his hands dismissively, "I assume you're both leaving?"

"Yep!" 6H chimed in, "We're going to find other YoRHa members on the island."

"How do you know that there are any?" Dimos leaned forward, curious.

"We don't," 33E interjected, "But seeing as our mission here was supposed to be under wraps, it's not impossible that there were others sent here as well."

Dimos rubbed his chin, nodding along, "I see, I see…" ultimately, he slammed his hands on the table, it felt like the whole building shook.

"Right, I asked you to stop by so I can give you a warning…"

"Warning-?" 33E raised an eyebrow.

"What for?!" 6H leaned closer, almost excited.

"It's just about a few parts of the island. Specifically the other side of the canyon and the forest." Dimos' face darkened slightly. "As you might have guessed by now, the Cannibals house the opposite side of the canyon. It's important for your and this village's sake that you stay away from there at all costs."

"Do they not know about this place?" 33E shrugged.

"I doubt it'd be possible not to know. But we've regularly been able to surprise them in the rare cases they try and enter. Anyone who know anything about the inner workings here becomes a liability for whole village." Dimos almost seemed to glare at 33E for questioning his warnings.

"The forest is less straight forward…" Dimos leaned back, rubbing his neck, "Anyone who get deep enough in there…. They change," he glanced back to the docks where his sister was fishing.

"Change how?" 33E asked. She recalled her brief stint in the forest against 19D, or Fargo, and leaving her for dead. She specifically recalled the sudden change in atmosphere indicated by the thick fog that surrounded them during the encounter

Dimos shook his head, "Nothing drastic, per say. But they just… Act differently. More irritable. Like they're constantly on edge. Most everyone doesn't have memories from their time in the forest, those who seem to…" he trailed off, unsure of how best to phrase it.

"Why would anyone go in there to begin with?" 6H asked, trying to change the subject.

"Resources, for one. It's believed that a great battle once took place there, as there's plenty of shrapnel to salvage. I don't believe that, but some still do…" Dimos shifted his attention to something behind the counter, trying to find something to fidget with.

"Some of the more creative folk here like to suggest that the spirits of that battle haunts the forest, wanting to keep their land untouched. You may have seen some the buildings that still stand."

"Yeah…" 33E recalled the rundown building Phil had taken them both to recover.

"On the other hand," Dimos had pulled out a fruit and began inspecting it, "People go out there believing there is some untouched technology that could help get rid of the Cannibals forever. Typically people who recently lost someone to a Cannibal."

The duo fell silent. The mere thought of any townsperson being so desperate as to risk their own life for the chance of revenge…

"Those who return with their memories in tact," 33E rubbed her chin, "They're either dead or almost dead, aren't they?"

Dimos winced at the thought, shaking his head, "No. They're unresponsive, comotose, or whatever clinical old world term you want to use. No one knows why or how to fix it."

6H looked down, losing herself in her thoughts, "That's… Terrible…"

"That's why I wanted to warn you. Nothing good comes from that forest. I suggest you stay as far away as you can."

"Thanks for the warning, then." 33E said, glancing at her clearly disturbed partner, "Is there anywhere we should look?"

Dimos crossed his arms, "There is the plains across the forest that isn't regularly used. Could be a good hiding spot for your own." Dimos bounced the fruit between his mechanical fingers as he pondered, "I suppose the main plains themselves have a number of spots you could check. That isn't even mentioning all the smaller hidden spots the island likely still has…"

"That's a good starting point, at least." 33E patted 6H on the shoulder, "We good to go?"

6H snapped to attention, "Oh, y-yeah! I think so."

Dimos ultimately pointed to another path that was directly connected to the clearing closer to the center of the island. Both YoRHa units preferred to avoid the canyon entirely at this point.

The slightly prolonged trek was mitigated by their repaired clothing. Senalda had adjusted many of the finer details, such as new shoulder straps hidden beneath 33Es vest to allow for more freedom of movement. Her boots were also slightly modified for comfort as well.

6H seemed to be over the moon about her own clothing. Her fanny pack being expanded to an entirely removable satchel that was clipped to the back of her dress. In addition, her high heels were replaced with suped up hiking shoes. Ones similar to what the androids in town wore.

An improvement for sure. 6H thought. But it could be better… Her mind wondered to the idea of boots that made her taller. It tickled her.

The duo wondered the hilly clearing, getting their bearings as they contemplated their next destination.

"Where haven't we been to yet?" 33E said, pulling herself to her feet as she finished climbing a steep hill.

6H gestured to her Pod. It lazily hovered over and displayed a flickering projection of the map it had scanned prior.

"It seems like we haven't seen most of the island," she pointed to a few different spots, "Mostly areas on the outer edges."

"Even the forest?" 33E crossed her arms.

"Especially the forest. We only cut through it with a minor detour to an abandoned building." 6H frowned, "Even though I know we're supposed to avoid it, I can't help but wonder if other YoRHa androids went through there…"

33E shook her head, "What about the other side of the forest?"

6H panned around the map, "We only saw a small piece of that as well. But- um… Would you want to go back?"

33E winced, she has nearly forgotten about the camp that was still likely in ruins on the other side.

"If any other YoRHa units passed by, they likely would take it as a sign to move on." 6H continued.

"Then we just take a quick look. We should be absolutely sure no one else is in the area. Especially if the forest is as dangerous as implied." 33E decided.

6H let out an uneasy sigh, "I suppose-"

"Help!" a distant echoing voice broke through their conversation. They both whirled around, trying to get a visual on the voice behind them.

No one. 6H and 33E shared a concerned glance.

"Help!" the voice increased in volume.

33E darted to the edge of the hill, in the direction of where the voice resounded from.

"I think it's this way!" 33E slid down the hill, eastward, and made chase.

"Thirty-Three-! Dammit, wait for me!" 6H followed.

33E climbed over another shorter hill, before seeing an android on the ground, near a divet by a cliffed edge of the island. She was leaned against the the rocky outline, clutching her leg.

"Are you alright?" 33E slowed her approach significantly trying to get an idea of her surroundings.

The woman I hailed sharply as she clutched her leg, "I- I think so… But I'm stuck!"

"Hives!" 33E called behind her.

6H managed to just struggle over the hill, able to see the scene proper, "Oh!" she slid down and approached.

As the duo closed in, the sound of crashing water below echoed upwards. The drop was steep.

"Are you YoRHa?" 6H asked, pulling out a pair of tweezers and an iron and began to inspect the leg.

"N-no. Just a normal android." the woman managed.

On closer inspection, 6H noticed the leg had effectively been split. Similar to a broken bone. But it seems like an open wound left the internal mechanisms open to the elements, causing corrosion.

6H frowned, "Unfortunately, I don't have anything to safely repair non-YoRHa android parts." she turned to 33E, "We really should take her back to town."

33E nodded, "Agreed."

"I can't-!" the woman said loudly. Catching both androids in surprise. "N-not without him!"

6Hs brow furrowed, "A friend of yours?"

The woman nodded, "We were attacked by some batshit crazy androids!" she looked down at her broken leg, "That's when my leg gave out. My friend, he ran off to take them away from me… I need him back…"

33E crossed her arms as 6H approached, "I'm not sure if her friend will be alive."

6H spoke in a hushed tone, "We have to at least check, right?"

"You want to leave her alone out here?" 33E raised an eyebrow, "And don't we have other more pressing concerns? If she isn't YoRHa, we take her to town and let them handle it.

6H rubbed her neck, glancing back at the woman, "She's not going to move without him, it seems. Besides, maybe her friend can help fix her leg. Or at the very least help carry her."

33E frowned, "I don't like any of this… But- if you think it's a good idea, what the hell, I'll go along with it."

6H turned around, brightening back up, "Of course we can help, ma'am!"

"R-really?" the woman sound somewhat surprised. "No conditions? Strings attached?"

"Closest thing being that you both need to head to the town by the coast line due south from here. They can fix you both up."

"That- that sounds nice… Thank you." the woman seemed to relax slightly now assured for her partners retrieval.

33E approached, "Where did they go?"

The woman pointed westward, just ahead of her, "I was over that hill when he chased them off. I assume he continued going that direction."

"Alright then, Hives?" 33E turned to her companion, who was taking notes on the status of the android's leg.

She closed her notepad and stood up, "Ready!"

With that, they headed westward.