Fipp: Now for the next chapter.

End of All Meaning

Chapter II: With Death Went My Lover...

2B screamed as her flight unit descended through the air, her body struggling against the harness as she pulled and clawed at the control system, only for nothing to give, only for nothing to obey her, to respond her commands. She needed to get out of this thing, and she needed to get out of it now, but she lacked the space to act on anything.

"Warning: Further struggle could cause damage to flight unit, which would result in a possible crash."

"Just get me out of this thing!"

"Unable to release harness lock until flight unit has landed."

"Well when is that?"

"Unknown: This unit is unaware of preset destination created by unit 9S, however judging from current trajectory, we are currently on route to the factory, and are estimated to reach it within the next thirty seconds."

Not fast enough. 2B continued to struggle, throwing her body against the restraints holding her secure, even as the factory came into view, its expansive structure reaching far into the distance. Her flight unit seemed as though it was aiming for the front of the factory, where the large empty space once housed a Goliath-class machine.

Something gave away, a part of the harness came loose, and suddenly her shoulder was free, and with the new range of movement she was able pull her arm free and started to pull at the harness around her chest.

"Warning: This unit highly recommends against unit 2B's current actions, we are still currently too high for a safe free-fall landing to be done."

As the harness came off, 2B almost fell forward, the suddenly shift in momentum causing the flight unit to toss around in the air, swaying wildly as 2B worked to pull her legs free. All she needed to do was just loosen the harness a bit more and-

Her leg was suddenly free, and 2B fell from her flight unit, tumbling and flailing wildly through the air, her Pod too far off for her to grab, so there was nothing for her to even slow her down. All she could do was brace herself as her body crashed into the ground, bouncing and sliding across the concrete and steel of the courtyard before she rolled to a stop, only to further roll down the stairs until she finally came to a stop. Shock and pain rocked her whole body as she tried to recover, pulling herself to her side as she tried to stand, only to fall forward again. Her HUD was already displaying a number of error messages, nothing too major in terms of structural damage, but this still hurt like hell.

She could scarcely hear her flight unit crashing into the ocean.

"It was advised that unit 2B wait for flight unit to make its landing to avoid such a situation," Pod 042 said as it finally came down to hover next to her.

"I know Pod..." she growled, straining to move to her feet, her legs feeling like the weight they were carrying had suddenly tripled. As she limped forward, she could feel the nanomachines in her body begin their work on repairing the damage to her body, and with each step she took, she could feel the pain fade away, her stride becoming quicker and more even. By her count it had taken fifteen seconds for the nanomachines to work their repairs, and by the time she had reached the stairs, she was able to dash into a full sprint.

She needed to find 9S, he clearly wasn't here, so there was no reason for her to stay and-

The air was filled with mad laughter, and 2B barely avoided the swing of an infected YoRHa android's large sword.

"I don't have time for this!" she cried out, blocking another blow, the strike sending waves through her bones and her knees to almost buckle, something that a standard Battle unit would be unable to do to her. The virus had removed any limiters on their physical capabilities, and left unchecked this would cause irreparable damage to their own bodies, eventually leaving them immobile and burnt out. That however was of little concern to her at the moment as she was surrounded by six of her fellow soldiers-gone-mad.

Her sword was gripped tightly in her hand, and she found herself hesitating to strike them down; these were fellow YoRHa, despite what had happened to them,despite how deranged they had become in trying to kill her. Killing a fellow android was not something done lightly, and with the Bunker gone, killing them would mean erasing them from the world for good, they would be gone, and the very thought filled her heavy weight in her center. Not killing them however would put others in danger, since there was no possible way any given Resistance android would be able to stand up against them. There was no saving them as well, they were far too gone, the virus likely having done untold damage to their personal data, leaving nothing left to recover.

And every second she spent wasting time on them, was another second she spent not looking for 9S.

The last one fell with a gurgled scream, a large gash cut into its throat, joining the rest of its former squad mates, and before its body could even hit the ground, 2B was off, dashing across the field as fast as her legs could carry her until she had reached, and jumped up, the broken overpass. Keeping her path straight she ran down the road, jumping over the dead bodies of machine and android alike until she reached the end of the road, sliding to a stop just as she came to the edge. She scanned the city, eyes searching the terrain and looking for something that would guide her forward, but the only thing she saw were berserk machines and the corpses of dead YoRHa units, littering the fields and streets.

"Pod," 2B sharply said, turning to the support unit floating to her side. "Locate 9S now."

"Affirmative; Locating unit 9S' black box signal."

She breathed outward, her body ever so slightly relaxing. They were out of the factory, which was known for its bad reception, now she would be able to find him much easier.

"Statement: Unable to precisely pinpoint unit 9S' location."

She snapped. "WHAT? What do you mean you can't find him?"

"Statement: Unit 9S' black box signal appears to be scrambled, so beyond the broad scope of his location being located in the City Ruins, this unit is unable to provide a more accurate reading."

"But-" she stammered. No, something must be wrong, and it made her worry even more. How can she not find him, how could she, of all people, not find him? It was a morbid thought, and she hated it, but the heavy feeling inside her only became heavier.

"Suggestion: Unit 2B should possibly check the Resistance Camp. If unit 9S sought shelter, then the Resistance Camp would be the optimal location."

"Of course. Yes, that's it. He'll be there." 2B jumped off the overpass, landing on the overgrown field below her, and quickly dashed away, heading for the Resistance Camp at full speed. Her goal set, 2B weaved around rocks and bushes, varying debris such as broken machines old rusted-out cars, under the shadow of Engels, not even bothering to fight what machines stood in her way. She simply ran right past them, running straight through their clusters, too fast for them to attack, and by the time they had registered she was there, she had already moved out of their range.

After a sharp turn around a building, the entrance to the camp was within her sight. Water sprayed and splashed all around her as she ran through the shallow pond, she did not lose a single step as she ran up the hill, and did not even bothering to slow down as she ran into the camp itself.

The camp was in disarray, androids running around, yelling at one another, Anemone standing in the center barking orders to try and calm the chaos that had taken over the camp, to try and make order of things. The medical wing was already filled with injured androids, and she could see Devola and Popola running back and forth between the beds and a table where spare parts lay, trying to repair what they could.

She didn't care about any of this however.

"9S!" she shouted, sliding to a stop, her boots kicking up dirt, and several androids jumping out of her way. "9S are you here?!" Her shouts had attracted the attention of several androids, who all stopped what they were doing to look and stare at her, but amongst these androids she did not see 9S anywhere. With a frustrated growl she turned around, sprinting to the storage room that she had 9S had been given during their deployment. "9S!" she shouted as she slammed the door open, hitting it against the wall, but she did not see anyone in the small room, much to her panic.

"2B! What the hell is going on?" Anemone called from behind her. "One minute, the city is filled with YoRHa soldiers fighting off endless waves of machines, and the next thing I know, every single one of you is simultaneously infected with a logic virus! I've never seen anything like this, and I can't get in contact with the Bun-"

"Is 9S here?" 2B stormed up to Anemone, staring her straight in the eyes and invading any sense of personal space the two of them had.

"Wha-" Anemone stammered, caught off guard by her unusual frustrated state.

"I'll repeat this once, Anemone; 9S. Is he here?" 2B demanded, and Anemone took another step back.

Anemone could only shake her head. "I'm sorry, no. He was here before the assault went underway to resupply, but I haven't seen him since." Her expression softened, her hand reaching out for 2B, only to remain hovering in there air. "2B, please tell me what's happen. I need-2B, wait!"

2B ignored Anemone's cries as she turned on her heel and ran out of the camp. 9S wasn't here, there was no reason to be here any longer than she needed to be.

However, she came to a stop outside the camp, her eye frantically looking over the city, unable to decide where she should go next. Should she try and head for the encampment near the desert, or look down into the crater? Maybe he found himself at Pascal's village, or landed in the Flooded City?

Her eyes darted back and forth across the landscape, desperately searching for some kind of sign to help her decide where she needed to go, because if there was ever a time that she could have been sent kind of message, it was now. No message came for her, however, though she was not surprised in the slightest. No one or nothing to help her. She had already stayed still long enough, hesitant to move in fear that she might take the wrong choice, but she couldn't just not make some sort of decision, because if all she did was worry then-

No. Don't think like this, he'll be alright. There's nothing wrong. They'll find one another, they always do.

2B took a deep breath, in an attempt to calm herself down. He was okay, she kept telling herself.

She made a choice: forward. In an instant she was off, leaping off the hill and immediately shooting off into a sprint the moment she landed in the water and ran forward. Ruined cityscape passed by her, machines barely noticed her presence as she ran, hey eyes only focused forward and what could possibly be there for her. With the help of Pod 042 she managed to clear the gap in the road, using it to swing her in the air, and from there she deviated in her path, opting to take a quick left and run up the overgrown tree roots to the remains of the overpass, pieces of stone and road falling underneath her boots. More machines were ignored as she passed them in favor of the end of the road.

She stopped, once again looking over the city from the ledge of an overpass, looking over the landscape with the hope of something that could-

"Scanning: Black box signal located."

"What?" she snapped, instantly turning to Pod 042. "You can find him? When did this happen?"

"Statement: Unit 9S' signal has only just become available."

"Well where is he?!"

"Statement: Unit 9S is currently located just outside the commercial district. It would be optimal for unit 2B to-"

She ignored her Pod, instead choosing to jump off the bridge and run, sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her. It was there, just there! She could see the mall, she was almost there!.

"Alert: Large-scale ground tremors detected."

She ignored it again as she passed underneath the large concrete arch.

"Underground soil structure is no longer stable. Cause is likely a high-magnitude earthquake. Proposal: Evacuate immediately." The earth rumbled beneath her, but she didn't spare it a second thought. The bridge was right there, she was only a few moments away from getting to him, nothing else was important to her anymore beyond that.

Stone and dirt gave away to wooden planks as she made it to the bridge, her black box humming loudly in her chest as she pushed herself to move even the slightest bit faster as she cleared a third of the bridge in a sparse few seconds.

"9S!" she shouted, her voice strained as the name left her mouth. He was there, just beyond the other side of the bridge. He was-

Everything stopped. She almost tripped and fell over, but her hand had reached out to the ropes holding the bridge up, and she held it so tightly it groaned beneath her grip. 2B couldn't breathe, it was as though her lungs had simply refused to work, and already she was beginning to feel heavy, so heavy, enough so that her legs became weak underneath her and she was barely able to support herself. Had it not been for the rope she was holding as though her very life depended on it, she would have fallen to her knees.

"N-in-" The words could barely be chocked out of her as she tried to say his name, but nothing would come out. Nothing worked for her, as though every system in her body had been switched around inside her body, nothing she could do could have possibly allowed her to move in anyway she wanted to. None of this mattered to her however, anything and everything going on in her body didn't matter to her in the slightest at this moment.

On the other side of the bridge, near the ledge of the ravine, was 9S. On his knees. A sword jutting out from his back. Blood there was blood dripping off the blade why was this-

He then turned to her, his face looking her way, just long enough for her to see him wearing a look of content and calm.

"2B..." 9S smiled at her, it was small, but still there. It wasn't the first time he smiled at her like this, not the first time in this scenario.

She'd seen this before, dozens of times. Each time caused by her.

He fell back, the sword exiting body and allowing the blood to flow freely from his body.

Why did it always end like this?

"9S..." Her eyes are already beginning to sting, she didn't bother to hold back her tears as they began to soak into her visor. "Nines..." she cried, the sobs overtaking her, her insides hurting and twisting and ripping and tearing into pieces.

9S was dead. Again. She was now left alone with his corpse, the emotions she had always tried to keep locked deep away bursting out to the surface, easily overwhelming her entire being, and she'll be forced to push them back deep down inside herself, burying it even further down then she had before, hoping that in a few days when she meets up with 9S again he won't-

Realization then washed over her like a tidal wave, feeling as though it could crush her like a rusted can of tin. Her body ceased, and her desperate, despairing cries suddenly stopped as the horrid feeling came to her.

She knew this, she had thought of this not too long ago, as she fought the infected YoRHa units, but the moment she saw 9S fall her mind momentary went blank.

The Bunker is gone. She saw it engulfed in flames, exploding and scattering as she screamed into the very empty void of space, the silent beyond. Without The Bunker, there was no way for a YoRHa-class android to backup their personal data and download it into a new body when their current one is destroyed.

Death is now permanent.

9S is dead, not temporarily. He won't be rolled out of manufacturing in a couple of days, his memories wiped, only to be partnered up with her again, to restart their whole relationship all over again.

He's gone. Gone. 9S is Gone. Forever.

She'll never see him again.

She paid no mind to the rumbling of the earth, she couldn't put focus on anything that was happening around her, beyond the sight of the corpse on the other side of the bridge.

2B fell to her knees, unable to stand anymore, her breathing out of control and she can't think anymore, it felt as though someone was stabbing into the back of her head with a dull and rusted scrap of metal, and she can hear her black box hum loudly in her chest and feel it burn. Her HUD was blaring, filled with warning signals, telling of her of the strain and stress of the varying physical and psychological abnormalities that had suddenly formed inside her.

All she could do was stare at 9S' body, still unable to believe, accept what she was looking at despite how familiar she was with the scene.

How did this...?

Something floated down next to him; something long and white, numerous strands coming down and landing around him, and it takes everything she has to look up, away from him, to see where they are coming from.

A2. She's standing above him. His sword is in her hand, covered in his blood.

She killed 9S.

She killed him.

She killed Nines.

Her blood starts to boil inside her, her teeth suddenly clenching together so tightly they were close to cracking.

A2 killed Nines.

2B let out a scream, one like she had never let loose before. It was filled with grief and pain, regret and anger and hate. It started to hurt, straining her vocal processors, and by the end of it static was already starting to break through, distorting her voice. It overpowered the sound of the earth shaking around her, splitting open, as she grabbed her sword, Virtuous Contract, tightly in her hand and pulled herself to her feet, and launched herself forward.

She'll kill her she'll tear her apart and cut her into pieces and make her hurt sufferbleedpainKILL.

Why did you do thiswhydidyoutakehimawayfromewhywhywhywhyWHYWHY?

She kept screaming, so enraged that it pained, even as the earthquake started, swaying and swinging the bridge before she could even make it a few steps, only for the bridge to give away under her, breaking and shattering as the world around her split and break apart, odd white structures erupting from the stone and rock around her.

All she could do was focus on A2's vanishing figure.

2B screamed as she fell into the darkness below.

000

Please be well

Mrfipp