Hello again everyone! I'm so sorry for the much-dragged out delay. The FanFiction website has been showing me error 404 for months now. I have never updated a story through the app, so I'm not so sure how it'd turn out. Do tell me if there's anything wrong with the format though.
-
A cup of iced chocolate, infused with an abundance of cacao powder on top, was 9S's most recent discovery on the subject of chocolate-related recipes. When the ice melted, the chocolate would not be diluted, as the cacao powder granules will replace the lost taste. Combined with the sweetness of the evaporated milk, it was truly a masterpiece, albeit quite unhealthy. 9S sipped the drink, relishing every drop of the beverage.
21O was required to return to the Bunker to settle some matters, while 2B and 9S remained behind. 2B was sitting on the sofa, having a video contact with 6O. Despite the regularly-scheduled contacts were deemed unnecessary anymore, 6O still continued to do so. To humour the Operator, 2B went along with it. Without Pod 042, the television served as an alternative as the medium of communication. 6O was envious of 21O, who had the opportunity to stay on Earth. Operators had little to no chance of leaving the Bunker, after all. All in all, she still missed 2B's presence, and often felt lonely. To soothe the girl, 2B promised to get her something on Earth and send it over. 6O's spirits were immediately lifted, saying how much she loved the Battle-type android before hanging up.
"I'm not sure if this happens to androids, but isn't it a little too unhealthy for you to be consuming chocolate in such quantities?" reprimanded 2B.
"What do you mean by that, 2B?" asked 9S, who seemed to have forgotten that he had been eating nothing but chocolate for days. Androids only require maintenance; food was just a bonus for them, though it has no effect after consumption. Even so, there were also certain foods that will kill them. Namely, a certain type of fish.
"You've been eating a little too much chocolate, don't you think? Take everything in moderation,"
"If you say so, 2B," said 9S obediently.
They sat in silence.
"Are you mad, 9S? I'm only saying this for your own good," 2B said.
"No, no, I'm just thinking of something, is all. Hey, do you want to check out the arcade that just opened in the mall?" 9S avoided the subject.
"If you want to go, I'll go with you, then," said 2B. '9S looked wistful for a moment there,'she thought, biting her lip. Anyway, she could also look for something to send over to 6O, to slake her sadness of not getting to enjoy 2B's company.
_
The arcade was crammed with young people. Many games awaited them: first-person shooting games, dancing games, air hockey, driving games… each to its own variety.
9S was amazed. "Look at all the games, 2B. I wonder what we should play first."
2B scanned the area. A crane game caught her attention, and the kitten plushies were almost as large as her torso. That would be the perfect gift for 6O, she decided.
She inserted the required amount of credits and began to aim for the plush she thought 6O would like the most. 9S watched on, admiring his companion's precision. When 2B pressed the button, the crane caught the plush toy in question, but alas, it fell before it reached the reward box. 9S saw through the mechanism, and made the decision to hack it so that 2B would not waste their entire allowance on the game. He knew that she would get whatever she wanted, no matter what. The second attempt resulted in 2B managing to grab the plush toy again, and 9S hacked the crane at that moment so it wouldn't loosen its grip on the toy, releasing it when it reached the reward box.
2B was proud when she retrieved the kitten, thinking about how much 6O would like it. 9S decided to keep quiet, and be happy for 2B. He hated to imagine 2B's fury when she found out that 9S had been hacking things unnecessarily.
Next, they tried the shooting games. The main objective of the game was to clear out all the enemies in the area before the timer ran out. Being a Battle model, 2B took to the game like a fish in water, despite having never held a gun before. In the end of the game, she had beaten the leaderboard.
They looked around again. 9S spotted a black box with a creepy creature imprinted on it, its green and bloodied complexion a stark contrast of the background. The game's title seemed to be written in blood. "2B, let's give that a try," he proposed as he pointed at the box.
They both took a seat in the box. The atmosphere already sent chills down 9S's spine. There were two rifles attached to the arcade. 2B assumed they had to shoot down some monsters. Upon inserting enough credits, they were plunged into the game's world. 2B and 9S were in a mine cart, slowly traversing the rails. An empty mansion was in sight, although it was out of reach. The sensation of being in the deepest hours of night, accompanied by the sound of the creaky wheels added to the game's immersive nature. They were surrounded by swamps, overgrown weeds and everywhere. Their line of sight was turned to the left.
Something let out a guttural shriek. 9S was aware that his hands have grown cold, and his heart rate fluctuated. 2B grabbed the rifle, ready to shoot anything that came in sight. A grotesque creature not unlike the one shown on the artwork of the box appeared abruptly, its ugly toothless personage ready to tear up the character into pieces. 2B calmly aimed at the vitals of the creature, and shot. It took a few more bullets to finally immobilize the monster. Other enemies appeared, and 2B managed to take them all down, despite 9S clutching onto her relentlessly.
They finally reached the mansion's doors. They opened automatically, while the rails of the mine cart led them into the interior. It did not look like anyone has set foot in there for a long time, decades maybe. A phalanx of metal knights stood, reminding 2B of the forest castle. Their eyes glowed red as they began to attack, swinging their spears. When they were defeated, they were brought into a large ornate room. A coffin sat in the middle of the room, bathed in the moonlight that had filtered in through the large window behind it. The tracks ended there, in front of the coffin. Suddenly, an effigy of a half-rotten human burst forth, dressed in an Edwardian outfit. Every orifice on its head oozed some sort of black liquid. It seemed to be trying to crawl out of the screen. 2B answered with a few shots to its head.
The screen finally melted into black, bloody words dictation the end, and a thank you for finishing the game.
2B and 9S left the box, 9S technically petrified. They decided to take a breather, so they sat down on a free bench.
"T-that totally scared the living daylights out of me," a livid 9S managed to say.
"Yes, that did trigger an adrenaline rush," agreed 2B, proud that she managed to finish it without dying once.
"Wow, you are a true soldier, 2B," remarked 9S. "Think you can try to remove that from my memory?"
2B's eyes widened. "No, 9S, I can't do that, I mean, I'm not a Scanner," she said quickly. Luckily, 9S didn't catch on her sudden jumpiness. Did he mean it as a joke, or was hinting towards something...?
"Well, let's go play something else. We've still some time to kill," said 9S. He would like to try the racing games, and see if it measured up to the experience of playing it on a console.
He took a seat on the driving chair, but his legs were a bit short. He could still reach the pedals, at least. He would have to make do with that. He wondered what the stick on the side did. Luckily, the game had a tutorial before it began.
As 2B watched 9S doing some spectacular manoeuvres, she tried to get their previous conversation out of her mind. 9S was quite the professional driver.
The race ended with a triumphant 9S. "Now, we can go home," he announced.
When they headed for the exit, a commotion had caught 2B's eye. There were some guys ganging up on a girl. She made her way over on impulse, tossing the kitten plush over to 9S. The desperate girl looked thankful, 2B's arrival as though her beacon of light.
"What are you doing to her?" asked 2B, standing between the girl and her bullies.
"Ooh, lookie here. We've got a feisty one on our hands, boys. Think you can play heroine, huh?" purred the gang leader. His lackeys laughed boorishly.
"The longer I look at you, the prettier you look," he said, making a move to hold 2B's chin.
2B slapped his hand away in a split second. The guy looked offended, but kept his cool.
"Look at you, you've hurt me, you know? Now, I want you to kiss where you've hurt me, kitten," the leader used a condescending tone.
"Do you think we have to teach her a lesson, Boss?" one of the guys asked.
Before the leader said anything, the third guy flung a fist in 2B's direction. She dodged easily, the ruffian much too slow for her. He stumbled forward.
'This is going downhill fast, and it's going to turn even uglier by the second. Speaking of which, where's 9S?'thought 2B. It was against YoRHa's tenets to ever hurt a human.
She couldn't attack the hooligans, yet she couldn't dodge forever. The guy stood up, fueled with rage. He prepared another punch.
"Stop what you're doing this instant!" commanded a powerful voice.
A muscular man in the arcade's uniform showed up, 9S right next to him. His experienced sea blue eyes radiated a commanding air. His blond hair was neatly parted in one side. Everyone looked at him, as the gang leader grunted.
"Travis, this isn't the first time you've been causing troubles to the other customers. If you do it again, I'll have to ban you from ever setting foot here," the man said.
The gang leader, Travis, eyed 2B. "You lucked out this time, kitten. Next time, it won't be so," he threatened as he rounded up the boys and left.
"2B, are you alright? I knew it'd turn out to be worse, so I got the store owner's attention. Sorry for not being around for you," said 9S, passing the kitten plush back to 2B.
"I'm fine, 9S. Thanks, and to you too, Mr… Mr?" 2B looked at the owner.
"My name's Erwin Kozak, but just call me Erwin. As you can see, Travis and his gang have been causing a lot of trouble lately. Thank you for stopping them from assaulting the girl here," said the owner.
"Thank you for saving me back there, all of you," said the girl. "I don't know what could've happened if you haven't shown up,"
2B, 9S and Erwin merely smiled.
"2B, we're going to miss the bus," reminded 9S.
"Oh, yes. It'd be the best if we leave now," announced 2B.
"You're welcome to come back anytime, you two. Good work apprehending the boys," Erwin proffered his hand for her and 9S to shake.
"Um, I'm taking the bus too. May I tag along?" said the girl.
"Sure," said 9S. After saying goodbye to Erwin, the three left for the bus stop.
_
I believe it's high time the androids mad some human friends. Maybe they can discover more things like this?