And I'm back with another chapter dictating the androids' adventures on Earth. Enjoy!
2B returned home after a particularly exhilarating run. She had brought Kainé along, who seemed to enjoy her company.
"Ah, welcome home, 2B and Kainé," said 21O with a motherly tone when the front door opened. She assumed the responsibilities as the mother in a family unit, as she thought it most fitting to her. A pencil in her hand, she was determined to solve the crossword puzzle in the daily newspaper, a hobby she picked up ever since they subscribed to said newspaper.
"I'm home," answered 2B in kind as she closed the door and proceeded to fill Kainé's bowl with water and some food.
9S was absorbed in his game, as he has been ever since he installed the system. A pile of library books sat unread on the coffee table. He looked up when the round ended. "Hey, 2B," he greeted. After Kainé had its fill, it jumped onto his lap. "And welcome home to you too, Kainé," he scratched the dog's ear.
"Hello, 9S. I see that the games have consumed most of your time now," chastised 2B, finishing her glass of milk. It's not that androids need the calcium and protein, though.
"Well, it's fun. Now I understand why humans think this box called a 'gaming console' is the best thing a person could ever have," rebutted 9S.
21O, upon completing her crossword, proceeded to fold the newspaper. "Now then, what should we do together instead?"
"It's already summer, and the weather's getting hotter," 9S began to say.
"So where do you suggest we go?" asked 2B, a hand on her room's doorknob.
"I suppose we can go to the beach. It's almost similar to the flooded city, minus the collapsed buildings. There's sand too, much like the desert," proposed 21O as she reopened the newspaper, showing 2B and 9S a photo of the beach. Sparking seawater, reflecting the sunlight, expanded to the horizon. Golden sand was abundant, and some children were building sandcastles.
"That seems like a good idea," 2B smiled.
"Did you guys notice the clothes the children are wearing? They're called 'swimsuits'. We should each buy one before going there," said 9S. "Oh, and a beach ball, too,"
"That is a good idea," agreed 21O. Kainé barked enthusiastically.
"Then, let us set out to but the items in question," said 2B without skipping a beat.
They split up as they arrived at the mall. It would simplify things, 9S had said. He would buy the beach ball as well.
2B and 21O browsed shop by shop, in search of the perfect swimsuit.
"Do you think this will look good on me?" asked 21O as she held a floral sundress against her body.
"It sure suits you a lot, Operator. But are we not supposed to look for swimsuits?" 2B cocked an eyebrow.
"I am too embarrassed to wear those things, 2B," confessed the Operator.
2B decided not to pry. "If you say so, then we should buy it,"
"Well, well, well. If it isn't 2B," said a voice.
21O's eyes darkened as she faced the person. "YoRHa deserter A2," she spat icily.
"Stop, 21O. A2 is not hostile," said 2B. She had known this would happen, which was why 9S and her prevented 21O from going to the library. But that hadn't worked out well, has it? A2 and 21O still met each other, in the end.
"Have you fallen for the deserter's lies, 2B?" responded 21O, her eyes not leaving A2. Her conscience told her to report immediately to Command, now that they have located the deserter. All deserters must die.
"No, 21O, A2 never deserted. It was a communication error that caused her to lose contact to the Bunker. I know that Anemone can vouch for that," implored 2B.
It took a little more than that to convince Operator 21O.
"So, am I to believe that it was just a communication error in the Bunker's part?" said the Operator.
"Yes," said A2, unwavering.
"Very well then, I will represent the Bunker to convey my apologies, though it won't make a difference anymore,"
A2 paused for a long time. "It's not going to return me the times I had as a fugitive, anyway,"
21O sighed. "That, I do not know how to compensate."
"It doesn't matter, I guess," A2 looked away. They seemed to have come to a truce.
2B decided to invite the prototype android to join them at the beach.
9S rushed to the meeting spot, aware that he was late.
"I'm sorry for being late," he said quickly. He then saw A2 with the two androids. Eyes trained at 2B, he asked, "A2? 2B, what is the meaning of this?"
"Everything is explained and over," was all 2B said.
"And I have a day off today, as well. If that's what you're wondering too, by the way," A2 added.
"That's cool," 9S beamed, clearly relieved. "Now, let's go to the bus stop,"
"Wait, none of you guys can drive?" said A2, mouth agape.
All three YoRHa androids shook their heads.
A2 sighed. "The come along, we'll take my car,"
9S was amazed by the interior of a car. Less spacious than a bus, but a better transportation method. Things can also be stored in the back of car, too. He wondered, aloud, if he could hack it to self-drive, until A2 bashed his head and warned him, "No funny business in my car."
The beach was in sight, much to the androids' excitement. They convinced A2 to make a detour back home so that Kainé could come along. After a long search for a good parking spot, they unloaded the things. 2B noticed that 9S had bought the other necessities as well. She decided she would praise him later.
They finally found a vacant area, and set everything up.
"Well, let's all change clothes," urged 9S.
A moment later, they reunited. 9S only had a knee length shark-printed beach pants on. A2 wore a white bikini with thigh length shorts. She was much bolder than 21O, so that wasn't much of a problem for her.
2B however, wore a bare back sea green swimsuit with frills on the waist, imitating a skirt. 21O, in the sundress, sat down on the mat, in the shade.
"Aren't you coming to join us, Operator?" beseeched 9S.
"Just go ahead without me. I'm okay sitting here, anyway," declined 21O.
"If you say so," said 9S, running after A2, 2B and Kainé.
21O watched their receding forms, examining everything from her vantage point. Many people were there with their family and friends, sun tanning, playing beach volleyball, and even eating snacks. She looked into the picnic basket 9S bought, and it was filled with sandwiches and fruits. Then her thoughts drifted to A2. 'A communication error, huh,'
YoRHa androids weren't designed to swim, so they stayed in the shallow waters. Kainé paddled happily in the water.
"Hey, 2B, A2!" called 9S.
When the androids responded, they were met with a splash of seawater, followed by a peal of laughter.
A2 got her revenge by sending a crescent of water towards 9S.
"Wow, that's a nice technique," said an awed 2B.
"Well, it's not that sp-" A2 was cut mid-sentence by another attack.
It escalated to a water fight. "Enough, enough, I give up," 9S yielded, laughing.
"Then, let us go to shore," said 2B. Looking around, she noticed something out of place.
"A2, 9S, have any of you seen Kainé?"
Then it struck 9S too. He scanned the sea frantically. The horde of people seemed to increase, limiting his sights. He wished he'd brought his HUD along. Finally, he saw a small dog too far out to sea. It seemed to be unable to return due to the current. Ignoring the fact that he couldn't swim, he ran back into the sea towards it, anyway.
"9S, no!" screamed 2B, as she began to run after him. A2 subdued the android.
9S somehow grabbed Kainé. 9S knew he couldn't do anything at that moment. He tried to get Kainé closer to shore. If the Assistance Pods were present, they would've made a difference. 'This is it, I guess,' he thought as he bobbed up and down in the sea.
"Calm down, 2B. There has to be something else we can do," asserted A2.
"I DON'T CARE! 9S IS DROWNING, AND YOU'RE SAYING THIS!?" 2B tried to break free of A2's grasp, but the latter was simply too strong.
Just then, something flew out towards 9S and Kainé. Along with his assistants, they fished the android and the dog from the water, bringing them back to shore.
2B managed to break free of A2 and rushed towards them. A half drowned Kainé was still breathing, but 9S wasn't responsive at all. She held 9S's face in her hands.
"9S, please, don't do this to me," whispered 2B urgently.
"Um, 2B?" a feminine voice piped up.
She looked at the source of the voice. It was the familiar robotic features of Pascal. Pascal and his people had rescued 9S and Kainé.
"Pascal, please, do something," pleaded 2B. 21O came over, worried.
"I'll try hacking into him and see if anything's wrong," responded the machine.
"9S, can you hear me?"
That's a familiar voice. I wonder who it belonged to. Why can't I remember? What happened? Why is everything dark?
"Listen to me, 9S. I've hacked into your system, and I'll commence your reboot system,"
Reboot system? Have I been shut down somehow? I set up all the necessary things, and then I ran a virus check.
"Luckily, there isn't anything wrong with your system, so you can run it now,"
The first thing 9S felt was something licking his face. His ear began to register noises. He felt the smooth sand on his back. He opened his eyes, registering several machine lifeforms and an elated 2B, with Kainé still licking his face.
2B immediately pulled him into a hug. "I thought you were going to die,"
"I've told you before, didn't I? We're soldiers, and are expected to die at any given time," 9S smiled wryly. "And Kainé, don't ever scare me like that anymore,"
Kainé whimpered guiltily.
"What caused you to go to Kainé without any thinking, 9S?" asked 21O.
"I don't know, ma'am, I just did it in the heat of the moment," For the first time, 9S was unable to come up with an explanation. 2B let go of him.
He sat up, and looked around. "Pascal? Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me. I'm glad you weren't damaged, after all," Pascal's tone was relieved.
"I'm so happy to see you. You seem to be well," he responded.
"I'm well, indeed. I believe I should program a chip so that you people won't drown anymore," the machine let out a laugh.
A2 clapped her hands. "Enough with the sappy stuff. Who wants to play dodgeball?"
Everyone looked at her, dumbfounded.
"It's that sport they're playing over there," she pointed towards a group of people, split into two groups, dodging the ball and catching it.
They were divided evenly into two groups, trying to recreate the sport. It ended up with only 2B and A2 left in the ring, all competitive.
When everyone went their separate ways, 21O saw to it that 9S was fully functioning before he let him go to bed. When she took a seat on her chair and turned on the computer, she thought about the transpired events.
A2 being an ally of 2B and 9S.
The surviving machine lifeform knows as Pascal rescuing 9S and Kainé, despite them being an enemy of the androids and humans.
A fugitive android.
A robot who seemed to be even more humanly than humans.
The Operator typed everything she remembered into the daily report for the Bunker. Her hand was hovering over the 'Send' button as she reread some of the sentences.
… YoRHa deserter A2 was spotted at the local mall, subsequently following us to the beach. …When 9S's system was damaged by the seawater, a team of machine lifeforms went out of their way to rescue him. One of them, assumed to be the leader, is known as Pascal. There is still a number of surviving machine lifeforms on Earth. …
21O knew she may or may not be sending A2 and Pascal to their certain deaths. She hesitated for a while before deleting those parts and sending the report. 'If both of them trust A2 and Pascal, I will too,' she thought before turning off the computer.
That's all for this chapter, everyone. I didn't know a better way of introducing Pascal, so this is it. I know most of you were wondering if Pascal survived during the rebuilding of Earth, and yes, he did. Do you think the Bunker would ever admit that they have communication errors? Should 21O actually explain A2's situation?