"I'm sorry, what?" Anemone blinked, utterly at a loss.
"We're… You know what, let me start smaller," 9S said. He'd been hoping to avoid going into too much detail, but since they'd probably be borrowing the Resistance camp medical facilities for the upload, he felt an explanation was owed.
"2B and I are serious. And. Well," he gestured vaguely.
"Yeah, okay, I get it," Anemone spared him from having to try to explain that.
"Yeah so...I wound up copying fragments of her code. Between the two of us, I've almost compiled enough for a completely separate android personality."
She blinked, nonplussed. "Huh. Okay. Congratulations?"
"Thank you," 2B told her. "We're going to need a body to upload it to, and we'd like the supervision of your medical staff when the time comes."
"Of course," Anemone agreed. "You two let me know what you need, and I'll make it happen."
"Wait, for serious?" Devola asked, eyes wide?
9S rubbed at the back of his neck. "Um. Yeah? I'm gonna be a mom...dad...er… We're gonna be parents."
Devola grinned and lightly punched 2B's shoulder. "Way to go, girl!"
2B just looked at her and Devola edged back toward her sister.
"That's so cool!" Popola exclaimed. "I had no idea Scanners were capable of that!"
"Me either," 9S confessed. "I don't know if all Scanners would have the potential, or if I'm just weird."
"Oh you're plenty weird," Devola agreed.
9S rolled his eyes as Popola elbowed her sister. "Thanks."
"Seriously though, you never heard of this happening to any other Scanners?"
He shook his head. "No but with...well…'turnover' being what it was…"
They all fell silent for a moment at the euphemism. Perhaps if so many Scanners hadn't routinely been killed in endless, pointless missions, those of them in relationships might have eventually become parents themselves. What YoRHa would have made of that, no one cared to consider.
"Well, we're happy for you," Popola spoke up. "You can count on us to provide whatever care you may need."
9S scavenged a smile for them. "Thanks, guys."
"A child? Oh that's wonderful!" Pascal exclaimed, delighted. 9S let out a relieved sigh. Not that he'd thought Pascal would give them a hard time about it, but Anemone's confused expression lingered in his mind's eye.
"Yes, I'll be happy to help with anything you might need."
"We're looking for spare parts right now," 9S told him. "So we can complete a body for them."
"Of course. I'll be sure to save any android parts I come across."
"Yeah just make sure they're not full of Logic virus."
"Definitely," Pascal agreed. "Can't have them getting sick before they've had a chance to know love."
"Right," 9S hedged, glad Pascal seemed perfectly willing to make his own assumptions. As far as he knew, they were restoring another android, not building one from scratch.
"Oh! I have an idea. Give me a list. I'll organize the villagers to help find the items you require. We'll present them to you later once we have everything. How does that sound?"
"Uh...great." It did, actually. 9S had expected to do a lot more of the leg work himself, and given the near-constant headaches, he was more than willing to let someone else do all the running around. "Thanks."
"So you're knocked up, huh?" A2 remarked, deadpan.
"Uh…" was the most intelligent response 9S could come up with.
"Yes," 2B grabbed his arm protectively. "We're going to be parents. And you're going to be um...uh…"
"An aunt," 9S supplied.
A2 blinked. "What the hell's an aunt?"
"Extended family," 9S clarified. "Specifically, the sister of one of the parents."
"Huh," she mused, thinking that over. "Okay. What's an aunt do?"
"The same stuff you usually do. Kick butt, take names, and maybe help us keep track of our daughter if we can't for some reason."
She nodded. "Alright. I can do that."
"Also...I've been reading some of the archives from the moon server. Apparently familial roles could be stacked. For instance, we'd also like you to be godmother."
"A what now?" her usually bland expression twisted in perplexity.
"A backup parent. Sort of like when the second-in-command steps up if something happens to the CO."
"Oh. Right. Gotcha. Why didn't they just say that?"
2B shrugged. "Humans."
They nodded, jointly acknowledging the ineffable quirks and peculiarities of their long-dead creators. Humans, man. Go figure.
"So...you okay with that?"
"Yeah, alright," A2 said with a nod. "Just try not to get yourselves killed before junior's halfway self-sufficient. I dunno jack about kids and I'm not great with rookies."
9S offered her a grin. "We'll do our best."
Although they'd only told a handful of people, it hadn't occurred to 9S to ask anyone to not speak about it. Not that he expected Pascal, A2, or Anemone to shout through the AP system that he and 2B were expecting. Still, it seemed word had got around, and they were met with awkward congratulations and weird looks in equal measure. Jackass, oddly enough, refrained from doing much more than cackle hysterically when she'd heard. 9S braced himself for some deeply inappropriate remarks, but none were forthcoming.
"Wait, no creepy sex jokes? No jabs about mood swings or losing my figure?"
Jackass thought for a minute and then shook her head.
"Nah. Most of the human jokes are too gender-specific, and I ain't gonna talk shit about my own body model. Besides, you guys have earned the whole happily-ever-after thing. So yeah. Congrats or whatever. You need special parts or anything, hit me up."
"Pascal's already working on that, but I'm sure he'd be glad of the help," 2B put in while 9S stared, nonplussed.
"Will do. Lemme know when the rug rat arrives. Bet I could fix up some old toys and kid junk in the meantime."
"Uh. Okay," 9S managed at last. "Thanks."
Jackass grinned. "No problem."
More missions- a handful of rabid animals that proved tricky to track down and corner, the desert desperados making a nuisance of themselves again, plus a couple of rusty doors that needed to be hacked to be unlocked and the pests inside cleared out- kept all thoughts of B9 on the back burner for a couple of days. It wasn't until 9S paused to scavenge a remarkably intact part that he realized he and 2B hadn't done much in the way of preparing for their daughter's arrival.
"We can make that our new priority starting tomorrow," 2B promised when he said as much. "We need to remember to take time for ourselves. Once she's here, we won't be able to say 'yes' to every mission any more."
"Yeah, I guess," 9S mused. Honestly, it might be a nice change. He'd never been so tired in his life, and felt as if he'd never cool off ever again. "Right now, I just want to clean up and relax."
2B was on the verge of gently teasing him about his obsession with baths when Anemone called out to them.
"2B! 9S!"
9S sighed. "Now what?"
2B shrugged. "Sounds urgent. Guess we'd better go see."
"I'm glad I caught you," Anemone said, quickening her pace to meet them halfway. "I need your approval on something. This way."
Without waiting for further comment, she strode purposefully toward the medical tent. Exchanging a bemused look with one another, 9S and 2B followed. A couple of screens had been arranged around one of the cots. Anemone stepped forward and pushed one of the screens out of the way.
"What do you think?"
On the cot lay a female android. She was more slightly built than 2B, perhaps a little shorter, with subtler curves. Her hair was longer, trailing past her shoulders, but still the same platinum blond as the rest of YoRHa. She'd been dressed in a simple undyed tunic similar to what Anemone and the other Resistance members wore; what 9S and 2B wore themselves now that YoRHa was gone.
Automatically, 9S attempted to scan her and got nothing. She wasn't dead, she was just...blank. Inactive. And then it hit him. He clutched at 2B as his knees gave out. She caught him easily, holding him close against her to keep him on his feet.
"Nines?"
"Oh my gosh…" he whispered, throat suddenly so tight he could barely force the words out. "You did it. You built her for us."
He felt 2B's breath catch, her arms tighten around him.
"Surprise!" The word echoed, deafening around them as Pascal, A2, Jackass, and many others- both Machines and Androids- emerged from behind the curtains.
"What the hell?" 2B demanded, fully prepared to scoop up 9S and run.
"We wanted to do something for you, since the two of you have done so much for us," Pascal explained. "A2's pod gave us the idea."
Both 9S and 2B turned to glare accusingly at the pod.
"Explanation: Humans had a ritual known as a 'baby shower'. Friends and family would bestow gifts upon expectant parents such as clothing, furniture, and other accessories necessary to provide care for an infant."
9S swallowed hard, floundering for words but finding none. It was too much. They'd done so much… He stomped down- not entirely successfully- on the sudden urge to cry.
"Thank you," 2B managed, voice no louder than his had been. "She's beautiful."
"That's not all!" Jackass declared, shoving a cardboard box at them. 9S had to take it or risk getting hit in the face.
"We collected some additional items," Pascal explained as 9S opened the box and lifted out a couple of pieces of repaired clothing sized to fit the body on the gurney. "I hope they're alright."
"It's too much," 2B protested, voice fragmented with gratitude. "You've given us too much…"
There were other small parcels, wrapped in clumsy, homespun imitation of antique gift boxes. There was a prettily carved wooden brush and comb, a small assortment of toys both salvaged and homemade, a couple of books of similar description, a full set of basic chips, and a specially designed pod program.
"So you'll always know where she is," Anemone explained. "It's a lot better than the scanning program."
"Thank you," 9S finally managed. "Really. Thank you."
"It's us who should be thanking you," Pascal demurred. "You've done what the rest of us could not."
2B tilted her head, curious. "What's that?"
"Take the next step in our evolution."