Chapter 14: To Live Another Day
6H had experienced an interesting four hours.
Once she had escaped from the disturbing and distorted figure that chased her, 33E, and another android with machine arms, she had to stop and perform an emergency surgery on 33E.
During the tussle between her and the figure, 33E had sustained significant damage to the back of her head and her already bad arm, thanks to their previous mission. There were also a few other spots throughout her body that had sustained mostly surface damage, but that simply needed some time to repair itself. Assuming her body still had that functionality in tact. What was most concerning was the reflexive tension built up in her body. Something had effectively paralyzed her.
"Pod-!" she looked around, reminding herself that her Pod was currently out of energy, dangling in the arms of the android that helped them.
"Shit-" 6H tore off her visor and threw it aside as she dumped her fanny pack on the ground, next to her. Tools for android maintenance spilled out.
Tilting her partners head to one side, 6H inspected the damage. There was a specific spot just below the back of her scalp, on the edge of her neck, that had been caved in slightly, likely due to being thrown around so harshly. It exposed a hole in the exoskeleton underneath the surface as a red liquid slowly seeped from the wound.
"Alright, messy, but manageable…" she looked around at her tools, "Hey, you!" she called to the android, "Come over here and do as I say!" she guestured harshly towards her and her tools.
Wordlessly, the android complied, setting the Pod aside and kneeling next to 6H.
"Grab the iron and a few coils of wire," she commanded, grabbing a vile of solder and leaning towards 33Es head wound.
6H spotted a few sparking wires and pulled them out, exposing them to the elements. Their edges were burnt.
This must be why Thirty-Three lost some of her motor functions, She thought to herself.
"Rubber gloves, please," after multiple attempts, the android picked up a sealed bag of rubber gloves and dropped them in her extended hand.
"I mean open them-" 6H realized the androids machine hands were too large for anything beyond handing her stuff. She sighed, "Sorry- grab the bottle of alcohol solution, if you could."
She unwrapped and put on the gloves before using the alcohol the clean the tips of the wires.
As she did so, they stopped sparking, and Thirty-Three released the tension in her body. As she did, the wire wanted to recede back through the hole. 6H tightened her grip and pulled some additional slack from the wires.
6H wiped the sweat from her brow, exhaling a sigh of relief, "I don't think she's in pain anymore. Iron and wire, please. Also hold onto these." she lifted the wires she held slightly.
The android dropped a coil of wire in her hand and with the tips of his fingers grabbed Thirty-Three's wires. 6H quickly unravelled the coil and prepared the iron by inserting the vile of solder into it. With a satisfying click the cap from the vile ejected from the iron.
Iron in one hand and newly produced wire in the other she began to fuse the two wires together at either end.
6H grabbed some electrical wrappings, and covered the exposed wire.
"Alright." she said raising both hands slowly, "This is gonna be strange to watch, but slowly feed the wire back into her."
The android nodded and complied. Slowly letting the wire pull itself back into place.
As the wire fed into the exoskeleton, it became coated in the red liquid, further insulating and reducing chances of shorting.
After the wire tighened in place, 6H turned her attention to the exoskeleton itself. It was largely in tackt, issue being it had to be fused together. Which was likely to be a painful process.
She took a deep breath, grabbing the iron, I hope to whatever god may exist, you don't feel this, Thirty-Three…
She jutted the iron into the bent edged of the exoskeleton, letting it heat up, and slowly began to massage them back straight. As she did so, it became clear that the exoskeleton itself had chipped in a few spots. It could likely still be repaired, she just needed the material.
For the time being, however, 6H grabbed a sarringe and injected the material into the holes and cracks to prevent anymore fluids from leaving the exoskeleton.
"No more fighting until we get this fixed…" she muttered to herself as she grabbed her medical stapler and clamped her outer skin together over the exoskeleton.
She carefully ran her hand through her comrade's hair, undoing it. It was silky and smooth. Remarkably well kept for a battle unit. "Perfect. Can barely even tell it's there." she nodded to herself, satisfied.
Seeing the blood stains soaking through her clothes, 6H began unbuttoning 33Es top, "Hey, android, one last thing," she said, "I need you to hold her up while I undress and wrap her remaining wounds."
The android nodded and complied. Pretty soon, 33E laid on the ground as little more than a heap of bandages.
As 6H gathered her things the mostly-android looked in amazement, "That was incredible!"
6H bashfully shrugged, unsure how to respond, "Just doing my job, really. I've done this sort of thing hundreds of times before."
The android's eyes widened, " Really now? Just how old are you?"
6H shrugged, "Stopped keeping count, to be honest."
The android extended a hand, "Then perhaps proper introductions are in order, at least. My name is Dimos. I'm one of our cities scouts. I heard the Cannibals were out of their hole today, so I came to see what the fuss was about… But low and behold, you were both facing the God of Myth itself…"
6H raised an eyebrow, "I'm 6H. But please, just call me Hives." she looked back from where they came from, "That's the second time I've heard that phrase, 'The God of Myth', one of the other androids said it as well…" she blinked, "and- Cannibals?"
Dimos shook his head, "You're grossly uneducated, I'll take you to our village. There you both can stay and recover and also receive an audience with our leader, she'll explain as much as possible to you both."
He stood, lifting the Pod, "Here," he dropped it in 6Hs arms, "I'll carry your friend, you must be exhausted as-is."
6H clenched her fist, the thought made her uneasy. But, he was right. She would probably buckled under the weight at that moment. Instead, she gathered her things on the ground and hoisted her pod with one arm, drank from her nearly empty water canister with the other, and followed Dimos to the village.
The gates were the first thing to stick out. As 6H and Dismos entered the village, the first thing to greet them was a view of the ocean, with a water basin at the town's center.
6H's eyes widened. She darted to the basin and immediately dipped her hands in and splashed her face and drank from it. Her hands and throat burned from the temperature of the water. She didn't care though. It was unlikely to do any permanent damage. Once she'd finally regained her composure, she stayed knelt down, leaning on the edge of the basin.
"Um- right. I should have warned you…" Dismos approached from behind, "That's our fresh water supply… That you just polluted…"
6H froze in horror, looking down into the basin that was now circulating the dried blood and grime she'd accumulated on her person over the course of the past few hours.
"I- I'm-" all words escaped her.
"It's fine," Dismos patted her on the shoulder, "This isn't the first time. We'll just need to run the filter again."
6H shook her head, "I am- so sorry…"
"Again, it's fine, I should have warned you ahead of time." Dismos began wondering to the right, towards the grassy hills that contained dozens upon dozens of small huts, each connected via their own cobble path.
"Where are we going?" 6H trailed behind Dismos, clutching her Pod tightly.
"To where you two will be staying for now. Just until you recover." Dismos glanced back, "Besides, we should get you into something more comfortable while we repair your guardments."
6H looked herself over, her dress was definitely worse for wear. Not to the extent Thirty-Three's was, however, but it still felt more breesey than usual. It was an uncomfortable sensation.
"I appreciate it, but you don't have to go through the trouble-"
"We insist. Any foe of the God of Myth is a friend of ours." Dismos said, grinning with determination.
6H felt uneasy. The thought of getting in between a conflict the scale that she suspected was far from appealing. Then again, where else could they go? For all intents and purposes, they were stranded.
Once Dismos laid Thirty-Three down in her hut and placed the Pod in with her, he escorted 6H to her hut, uphill and just next door to Thirty-Three.
Stepping inside the closet sized room was a fastinating experience. The bed was situated underneath the window which shielded most if not all of the light from the outside. For as thin as the material the walls were made from were, it was dense enough to heep the light greatly muted. It prevented even an open door from allowing the sunlight to flood the room.
Immediately in front of the bed, tucked into the wall was a vanity. It featured a mirror that was relatively clear and clean. Under the mirror were drawers which, upon opening, revealed a sand colored spring dress tucked away, along with a pair of sandals.
After getting dressed into her light and suprisingly comfortable clothing, Dismos approached, offering a hand, "I'll take your other garbs. Once they've been cleaned and repaired we'll notify you and your compatriot."
"Thanks again… For everything…" 6H smiled sadly.
Dismos smirked, "It's what I do. Or at least- what I help with." He rubbed the back of his head with his machine arm, "While you wait, take a look around the marketplace. Enjoy and take in the sights. I expect your partner will be out for a while."
6H chuckled to herself, "Yeah. Probably."
6H took her leave and headed straight to the marketplace. She didn't have any currency, but she couldn't imagine taking a peek would do any harm.
She was marching by the low buildings near the coast, and towards to taller structures that were surrounded by the trees not too far away. During this, in-between a pair of shorter buildings, a voice called out.
"… 6H?" the voice sent a shock down 6Hs spine.
She knew that voice. It belonged to someone that she believed dead. She took a few steps back, aligning with the alleyway she just passed and peered inside, "19D?"
There, sat on a crate, giving her a sideways glance, was an exhausted 19D. She was dressed similarly to her, except wearing slacks and a tank top instead of a dress.
She seemed to be deliberately controlling her breathing. It was clear she wasn't well.
"It's Fargo, actually." she said.
"I- I thought-"
"I was dead, right?" Fargo interrupted, "Honestly, I thought I was too. Turns out Thirty-Three was more merciful than I thought."
6H attempted to hide her pained expression, but to little success.
"Give it to me straight, Hives. The others… Are they-?" Fargo stopped, awaiting 6Hs response. She simply shook her head.
"I'm sorry… They weren't willing to listen to me or Thirty-Three…" 6H rubbed her arm.
Fargo could only sigh, "Yeah. I'm not surprised. By the way, I'm sorry for how they probably treated you. I was hoping to de-escalate the situation once I rejoined the others after finding out who you were. I wanted to at least chat before we fought to the death. My intent was to make you a guest at our camp, but I'm guessing Slaw had other plans."
6H nodded slowly, avoiding eye contact, "Nineteen-" she stopped, sighing heavily, "Fargo, I thought I was going to die. I thought Thirty-Three was going to die. But I promise, I didn't want anyone else getting hurt-" a lump in the back of her throat stopped her. An unsavory feeling swelling up.
"I know… I don't blame you. Hell, I don't even blame my comrades. If anyone is to blame its YoRHa and myself." Fargo fidgeted with her hand in her lap, still not moving. Not even her head.
"Hives, I need to warn you about Thirty-Three."
"W-what?"
"She- she isn't a normal executioner, like myself… They did something to her. Something… Different. I'm not even sure what. But it was all because of me." she shifted slightly.
"What could you have done?" 6H asked pointedly.
Fargo scoffed slightly, "What didn't I do… I was there, on Thirty-Three's first real mission. The one at the abandoned factory,"
6H tensed. She didn't like remembering that day.
Fargo recalled the memory in explicit detail, "I then recommend her to command as an executioner unit because of her performance. They took that recommendation to heart, turns out."
"But she's different. I don't know exactly how, but she was specifically modified to be a new variant of the executioner model. Whatever they did to her, she's an android killing machine."
6H looked down, lost in thought. She wasn't even aware of executioner units until 33E. In fact…
"Wait-" 6H stopped, realizing an important detail she'd glossed over, "You're an executioner unit?"
"Was." Fargo scoffed, glaring at 6H, "I'm not YoRHa anymore. Don't refer to me as such."
"B-but you are- were, a defense unit."
Fargo rolled her eyes, "Technically, we were like any other unit. We just sometimes got called to kill our own for one reason or another."
"That- Sounds terrible…" 6H softened.
"You don't know that half of it…"
The two stood in a sobering yet awkward silence.
Fargo ultimately leaned towards 6H, if only slightly, "Please, don't let Thirty-Three know I'm here. I'd rather waste away in my own time."
6H sighed, "I mean, I think we should stick together, but… I understand."
Fargo held back a laugh, "You don't want me around."
6H frowned, "Besides the obvious, why do you say that?"
"Because they ruined me," Fargo turned to 6H, revealing the machine arm she now featured, alongside her right eye, which was also a machine part. She lifted from around the crate, revealing its mechanical nature as well.
6H took an uneasy step back, "They- did this to you?"
"They said those parts were bad. That it would have killed me otherwise. I call bullshit, but what's done is done." Fargo hid her mechanical parts and slid deeper into alley in shame. "If Thirty-Three wouldn't kill me before, she definitely would now."
6H nodded sadly, "As much as I hate to even consider, you're probably right."
Fargo fiddled with her mechanical hand with her normal one, focusing her gaze on them, "Then leave me. Let me waste away faster."
"S-Sure… I hope to see you around still." 6H stepped away from the alley.
Fargo scoffed, "You say that. You don't mean it, though."
She briefly paused before continuing her trek into the marketplace. She wasn't keen on thinking about the encounter more than she had to…
The refreshing energy of the marketplace was enough to clear 6Hs head for the time being.
Both androids and machines alike wondered from booth to booth, having friendly and familiar banter with the shop keeps and one another.
6H slowed her quickened step to soak in the atmosphere. The sheer density of events and noise made the world slow down around her. People weaved in front and behind her, waving to familiar faces and occasionally playfully butting heads.
She eventually found herself in one of the back corners of the market, where an open air saloon was housed. Stationed at the mostly empty bar was an younger android woman alongside a short and stubby machine.
"Stubby" came to mind specifically due to the legs it had and the cane it was swinging wildily around.
It was shouting with a familiar gusto, "THAT BASTARD STABBED ME!" The machine said, turning around and pointing to a scratch on its back with the cane.
"I TELL YA, NO RESPECT FOR THEIR ELDERS." it said in a still monotone voice.
The woman scoffed, glancing at the barkeep, who was quietly listening as he dried his glass with a rag, "You just said you provoked the thing. Of course you'd get stabbed. But-" the woman reached out, holding the machine in place, looking more closely at the mark.
The machine flailed in her arms, "G-G-GOD DAMMIT PUT ME DOWN!"
The woman tossed the machine back into its seat, crossing her arms, "You're bull shitting me, friend."
"AH- SO YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME? THIS POOR OLD SOUL?" The machine said, waving it's cane around once more.
The woman smirked, holding back a laugh. Her side-swept pink hair falling over her face, as if to aid in her deception. She had released any grip on her cup at the bar and was tensing her hand into a fist, with her other hand placed firmly on her hip. She was struggling to keep her composure.
As a friendly gesture, 6H approached the bar, wanting to see what it's purpose was.
"H-hello!" 6H waved, "I'm new here and haven't really seen one of these before so… What is this place?"
The trio at the bar glanced at one another. The man spoke up with a Suprisingly soft and soothing voice. A voice that mismatched his generally rough exterior. He was built similar to Dimos, but smaller, and with curly shoulder length hair.
"We serve drinks. Of the alcohol variety. No, it doesn't do much to androids. We know. But it gives us an excuse to let off some steam."
"Then, um, if you don't mind me asking," 6H pointed to the machine at the bar, looking in a cup, "What does it do for them?"
The barkeep shrugged, "I'm pretty sure it would kill them, so that's why he has a cup of oil instead."
On que, the machine dumped the cup over his head, cracking its neck, "SHIIIIT… THAT WAS GREAT."
The machine slammed down a strange piece of metal 6H hadn't seen before, "KEEP THE CHANGE. I'LL SEE YOU AT THE USUAL TIME, ARIES."
The machine hopped down and began to bounce away from the bar.
"Is… That normal?" 6H pointed over her shoulder.
The barkeep, apparently named "Aries," raised an eyebrow, "Yes. Quite. Also don't you know it's impolite to point?"
6H rushed her hand to her side, embarrassed, "S-sorry. This is all very new to me… Last I heard, machine were androids swarn enemy…"
The woman and Aries shared a troubled glance.
"I'll- ah, leave you to it then, Aries." the woman also placed down a few what seemed to be finely crafted metal chips. She'd never seen anything like it before.
Aries nodded as the woman made her leave.
"You know, those are quite some insensitive words you have." the barkeep glanced up from his work, "We're quite friendly with machines around here, as you can tell."
6H leaned her head on her hand, "I see that… And again, I apologize… I'm just very confused right now…"
Aries raised an eyebrow, "You're YoRHa, aren't you?"
6H nodded, silently.
Aries let out a deep sigh, "Well, just so you know, if it comes down to you or the machines, you know who this city would pick, right?"
"I- Yeah… I've gathered as much."
"The machines here are friendly, if a little excitable." Aries returned to his glass.
"Because they're all disconnected from the network, right? Me and my partner found another machine like that outside the village." 6H said.
Aries cocked his head slightly, nodding along as she spoke, "Yeah. The network can't reach the machine's here. No one's entirely sure how or why it happened. But a long while ago, the connection simply severed and the machines not only became docile, but sentient and friendly. It was strange, at the time."
6H nodded slowly, "I'd only read reports about machine's off the network. This has been my first time seeing it in person. It's all so very strange to me… But… It seems like it's for the better?"
"You sound unsure." Aries raised an eyebrow.
"Because this entire village is counter to what I've been taught during my time in YoRHa… You all say and do things that would label us as traitors to mankind… I'm having trouble processing it all…" 6H leaned forward, tilting her head to the table on front of her.
Aries nodded, "I think I see… Torn between tradition and progress, am I right?"
6H furrowed her brow, "I don't know if I'd put it like that… But something close to it, you could say."
Aries shrugged, "I suppose it's one of many interpretations. But honestly, I think most of us androids were in a similar spot to you many years ago when the machines were getting settled here."
6H looked up to the bar tender, "When exactly was that? You all seem fairly well developed out here."
"It's true. We are." Aries nodded, pleased with himself, "But as for when this place started… You'll have to ask The Founder."
6H blinked, "The Founder?"
"You probably heard a different name, but she'll answer your questions."
"I see…" 6H tapped the counter with her index finger as Aries finished cleaning a glass with an audible squeak.
"W-well… I'd better get going. Thanks for the perspective." 6H hopped down from her stool and waved goodbye.
Aries nodded towards 6H silently, as she continued to wonder through the marketplace aimlessly.