Hello! Chapter 16 is out!

Things to comment on:

Ruberforumfree: Ya, romance is the bane of my existence. I thought about trying to write it a few times throughout this fic, but it always crashed and burned when I tried to put it into practice.

Bloodhunter101: Don't worry, I live, and I have blessed thee with a particularly juicy chapter!

Sorry for the long wait. Testing season has arrived where I currently study, and it has made life a living hell, and the sleep deprivation from trying to cram has killed my need to write for a while. On top of that, catching a cold is a bitch of a bitch to deal with.

—-

"Commander…..commander….commander!" A voice called out to her as she drifted through the endless void of her own CPU. How did she end up here? Did her body finally give out after going so long without maintenance? Perhaps one of her subordinates finally snapped and killed her, and all of this was her last few seconds of life? Surprisingly, if that were so, she felt no…nothing really; maybe relief? It was over…all of it was finally over…she could rest-Whack!

"Tsst!" She took a deep breath of the recycled air of the Bunker, and opened her eyes, pain flaring across her right cheek as she did so. Her vision quickly focused, and the blurry objects of black became the shapes of 39O and a host of other operators, as well as a few Battler models that were present in the command room. She blinked, staring at the gaggle of androids staring down at her in worry.

"...Did someone just…slap me?" She spoke slowly and carefully, trying to keep the indignation from spilling into her voice. Her juniors looked at each other; an unspoken pact was being made between them.

"We would never, Commander. Besides, thats not the important part. Are you okay, Commander? You just collapsed suddenly for no reason. You gave out a cry and dropped two data pads before you did so" 6O said from the back of the congregation, her long, golden hair contrasting strongly against her pitch black uniform.

"Don't worry, commander, I have already called for the healer models to come and collect you" 21O reassured her with her cool, calm, and collected tone, which ended up easing the tension in the crowd by a degree.

"Surely there must be a reaso-" Her breath caught in her throat as her memories suddenly emerged like a predator ambushing unsuspecting prey. The first report was a staggering blow, to say the least. The Bunkers defenses were compromised to such a point that an infiltration was all but a certainty at this point in time. Worse still, this was a systematic fault, meaning that whoever had done such a thing was there at the creation of Yorha. Damn it all, was everything a lie? How many vipers and wolves in sheep's clothing lied in wait for the fall of Yorha? How was she supposed to deal with a betrayal of this magnitude? If the truth got out, civil war was a certainty between Yorha and the Army of Humanity. She could not let that happen; the outcome would be too debilitating for all androids as a whole.

"39O, 21O, 6O, I want an emergency shutdown of all transformation of data between the Bunker and ground forces of Yorha, including the transfer of consciousness, effective immediately! Tell them to embed themselves with local forces until we have reestablished contact. Every other operator, I want you to begin to comb through the Bunkers systems and isolate any unusual activity or programs. Battlers, lockdown the station and inform the H-models they will be working with the operators to go over every android's systems within the station" She ordered her underlings, who, in a state of dazed shock, could only look at her wide-eyed. She stood up, a headache starting to overcome her, yet, by some miracle, her movement had broken her subordinates from their stupor, as they quickly scrambled to complete the tasks presented to them.

She sighed as her orders started to be carried out. This would need to be a complete and utter purging or inspection of all data and systems at the access of Yorha forces; she could not risk a malignant code being in the system…it could eliminate the entire organization in one fell swoop…what else was she supposed to remember? She winced as the headache intensified even more. What is it? What was the final push that made her collapse? Wha-

Everything grinded to a halt as it came to her. She felt numb, all sound escaping her as every other sense she had faded away. Her inner systems malfunctioned as they tried to cope with the revelation. Pod unit 076 had recorded its experience, it still functioned, and it had been with a human. It had to be a lie, it had to be a cruel trick, but it could not be; it was impossible. Slowly, she looked down at the data pads and reached down, her entire body shaking as she did so. Without even thinking, her body automatically carried itself away from the command room and towards her private quarters…she had to see it again, she needed to review the data pad again. She paid no mind to the whirling as the door to her quarters closed behind her as she began to read the data pad. Human…confirmed…alive…Pascal…Machines…Resistance…Androids. She dropped the data pad. Its glass surface shattered against the cold flooring of the Bunker. A…human lived…a human lived. Something integral to her being was activated as the veil of shock and disbelief was lifted from her. Her senses came roaring to life: sound, touch, smell, sight, and smell. Everything felt more focused, and her systems worked double time to compensate for the series of ancient protocols that had long lain dormant being activated. She staggered, leaning against the wall, as she felt her eyes well up with tears as they slowly began to trickle down her face.

Emotions burned through her CPU as she tried to come to terms with what all of this meant. Jubilation, awe, hope, pride, purpose, and duty flowed through her without restraint. Yet, as soon as those emotions came, they were washed away by her actions and the identity of who the human-Vulcan-Joel was. Horror, fear, regret, anxiety, shame, and anger crushed her as the fact that she had almost led to her creator's death weighed on her. No! She desperately pushed those emotions to the side. She had work to do: planning, organizing, logistics, information, diplomacy—so much she had to do, so little time. The human would be fine until Yorha was stable again, after which she would deal with removing him from the hostile environment. She couldn't risk using the communication systems because the chance of interception was too high; that would lead the machines right to him. He should be safe till then, after all, Attacker 2 has been a constant companion of his, so as long as she is by his side, he should be fine. She wiped the tears from her face and steeled herself. Her creators lived yet, there was a flicker of light in an ocean of nothingness. She must do what she must, or be consumed by meaningless again.

—-

"How long has it been?" I sighed, looking at the rolling dunes of sand, which waved across the desolate landscape like an ocean. Was it day two of being out here? Maybe it was only day one? Time felt like it didn't belong here, like everything was just perpetually stuck in its current state.

The beast, Gévaudan, had not made its move yet, though, and I had the distinct feeling it was testing me, trying to figure out how I ticked. Some times I would see something shimmer in the far distance, its silhouette contrasting against the sand. Yet, other times, it was only around thirty yards away from me.

"...Fuck, its playing with me isn't it?" I said aloud, the realization dawning on me. This wasn't just me being hunted; I was being used as a plaything. Something to keep the bastard entertained until the next poor soul found themselves in this damned outpost. I felt rage slowly building within me; this was wrong; it would not end like this, it can't end like this. With renewed vigor, I got up from the corner I was in and went over to the edge of the building.

"Damn you! Come on already! Fight me! I'm right here!" I roared out into the barren land. I gritted my teeth and balled my fists. Nothing showed itself on the horizon. Sighing with despair, I slowly walked back over to my corner, sliding down the wall. The previous victims of Gévaudan still lay where they had fallen, the stench having become magnitudes worse since I had arrived. I could see Fern's eyes staring into my being, cold, void, and misty. With that in mind, I closed my eyes and yawned, tired of this ordeal. I felt myself slowly drift off into sleep, the tempting idea of rest taking over my addled mind. KreeeK!

"Ugh!" I lurched forward, lifting my rifle, the bayonet flared to life from the energy converter...nothing. The sound continued, however, drilling into my skull; it was infuriating to say the least. I got up from my resting place, rifle in hand, and followed the sound. It only took me a few moments to find the source; it was the vending machine present at the outpost. Smoke billowed from the thing, while the sound reverberated from deep within the machine. I gritted my teeth again; I can't even rest in p- oh…ohhhh, I have an idea. I smiled to myself and walked over to the vending machine, carefully slicing it open to reveal the source of the noise. Apparently. It was a signal emitter, or what was left of it anyways. It looked like it self-destructed at the very least. I observed it for a few long moments before grabbing a handful of important-looking wires and pulling them out. KRrrEEeEkkkkk!...Yes, that will suffice.

"If your going to make my life a living hell, well, I will do like wise Gévaudan" I said aloud, waiting for the beast to come.

It didn't take long for Gévaudan to lose their patience; the damned machine probably had far more sensitive ears than I. Gévaudan had forgone their cloaking ability, like a child who had had their fun spoiled, and was only intent on ending my life. I grinned, dropped to a knee, and took aim. Craaack! The round was barreling towards the machine, but it was faster, weaving out of the round with ease as a shimmering gold light sparkled across its distant frame.

"Damn it" I hissed and looked around for something to give me an edge, but the distance was inevitably closing. A2 did tell me that some machines did have a sort of shield to protect themselves from ranged attacks. I desperately looked around; I probably only had a few minutes before the beast was here. A spark of inspiration stuck me, and with it, I ran over to the corpses of slain androids and grimaced as I looked at them.

"Oh, I am going to hell for this" I muttered as I dragged them over to the entrance of the outpost and carefully aimed the tip of my spear at the bodies. With a quick stab, I brought the blade tip down, piercing the corpse. Floosh! A frame erupted from the wound, spreading across the body as I repeated the emotion on Fern's corpse. Well, it turns out androids are flammable, especially if you stab the human equivalent of where a liver is supposed to be…probably has something to do with all the different liquids being left in the heat and being hit with a flaming object. Hopefully, the flames will mess with Gévaudan, specifically, his sensors, if all of his senses were as proficient as his hearing. Still, if things went wrong, I had my emp. That would have to be my last resort, losing all electronics would be crippling.

I braced myself as the beast approached, its shape and features becoming more pronounced as it closed the remaining distance. Its body was made of segmented plates, which seamlessly formed the shape of a wolf if you made it around six feet tall at the shoulders. Its tail was composed of a similar material to the rest of its body; that being said, it looked like a whip with metal barbs. The face was too broad to be a wolf, more like a bastardized version of a lion. The most defining feature of it had to be its claws, which sparked with electricity and displaced the air around them.

"...Maybe, I should have made A2 come along" I confessed to myself while bracing myself against the ground with my rifle. The beast snarled and roared with rage towards me, its eyes full of glowing, seething yellow. I did not respond to its challenge, merely tightening my grip on my weapon. The machine steadily approached, inching closer to the protective layer of fire between me and the automaton. The eyes of the beast flickered, giving off a bright light similar to a camera taking a photo, before it charged at me. It emerged like a demon from the flames, claws outstretched, ready to end me. Luckily, the educated guess with the flames worked, and Gévaudan had aimed too high; I did not. The tip of my bayonet struck home against the underbelly of the machine, cutting across it. Sadly, the wound was not fatal, as the machine landed on its feet behind me, dripping oil from its newly acquired laceration.

We stared at each other, slowly beginning to circle each other as the unforgiving sun bore down on us. I wouldn't have such an easy time landing another gash on it now that I'd lost my only means of messing with the automaton's sensors. With speed ghastly for its size, Gévaudan rushed forward, slapping my rifle out of my hands. I threw myself to the side, barely dodging the closing jaws of the machine aimed at where my neck was before I moved. Twisting, I pulled out my revolver. Crack! The shimmering appeared again, stopping the round from penetrating, yet the machine staggered back, the force behind the round doing its own work. Crack! Crack! Crack! Sparks flew across the body of the wolf-like creature, forcing it back against the wall. I drew back the hammer again, but I never had the chance to fire, as it whipped its tail towards me, sending a half-dozen metal spikes flying towards me. Most impacted my chest plate, stinging but not getting through the armor. Having said that, I did not escape unscathed, as the armor protecting my knee gave way as the spike sunk in.

"AaagH! Damn it!" I screamed as I collapsed, unable to support my own body weight after such a terrible injury. Hurriedly, I raised my revolver just in time to see the maw of Gévaudan. Crack! By some miracle, the pot shot I took slammed into the beast's head, specifically, its eye, shattering the lens that covered it. The beast made an awful sound, jerking back and roaring as oil pooled from its eye. It repaid my injury in kind with its right claw whistling towards my helmet. Fear gripped me as I raised my mace from my side to deflect the blow. A horrible crunching sound emanating from the contact of the two weapons ripped my mace from my grip, and its claw shattered from the mace. Seeing no other option, I reached towards the emp device strapped to my arm, but I was far too slow. Crunch! The jaws of Gévaudan closed around my shoulder and through the armor. Agony traveled through me in waves as I lost my breath, unable to yell out. With a final effort, I lunged, bringing the emp device on top of the machine's head once, twice, three times, and then it went off.

There was no overwhelming explosion, no great burst of electricity, everything, including the machine, just shut off suddenly. The automaton's body shutting off like a puppet having its strings cut, its eyes slowly fading in color as it stared into mine.

"...oh…I need to…" I muttered to myself, trying to stay awake. With what little strength I had left, I pried the machine's jaws open and patched the wounds to the best of my abilities by discarding my chest plate and tearing off some of the cloth of my shirt and wrapping it around the wound to slow the bleeding. The wounds needed more than a patch job, though….I needed a doctor. With that in mind, I slowly got up, biting back the urge to yell in pain as I used my rifle as a crutch. Grimacing, I thought over what it meant to actually go seek aid. My secret would be out, the androids would discover me, and everything would change. Was it worth it?...Compared to bleeding to death in the middle of the desert…yes. Even if it meant the rest of my life would be something beyond my understanding if I were to be shipped to the moon.

"...Alright, time to make Anemone, Devola, and Popola have heart attacks"

—-

"This is a joke, right? Your stranding us down here?" 9S said to 21O. He looked over to 2B, a light feeling entering his black box as he did so, but something felt…dark about part of it also, like he was missing something. To him, she was beautiful, stoic, and duty-driven, but she had a soft side. It didn't hurt that she had those thick thighs- Mission! Focus! He took a deep breath. While they were waiting for Vulcan to reveal himself and bring him into Yorha's custody, Pascal turned over his identity hesitantly. They had an entire plan worked out: hide in his dwelling, pop out, and arrest him, simple…Pascal was not happy, to say the least. Though, that plan was no longer achievable at this point.

"The Yorha network is under emergency repair at this point in time. Contact with the Bunker will be suspended until it has been fixed" 21O said professionally, or tried to anyways. Some people thought he was just a chatterbox who could never keep his mouth shut, but he picked things up, such as the fact that when 21O got uncomfortable or nervous, her eyes would often flicker to the side every so often.

"Why? Yorha has the most cutting-edge technology in the Army of Humanity!"9S sputtered out. Being cut off from the Bunker would be more than just inconvenient; there would be no access to information, and Yorha would be rendered immobile!

"I'm sorry, but the Commander has ordered it. Good luck, 9S" The screen displayed by Pod 153 flickered out of existence. Unsurprisingly, 2B's own transmission was also ended by her operator.

"So, what do we?" He said quietly. 2B pursed her lips.

"Link up with Anemone and the resistance and go from there" She said resolutely, making her way out of the home. 9S followed quickly, not wanting to be left alone in unfamiliar territory.

Pascal was not the happiest machine in the world after what they pulled, but he didn't raise a hand against them, so that's a small plus, even if at the end of the day he was just a machine. 9S had to admit, the machines at the village were…pleasant to be around, if he could call them that. A few of the machines had actually tried to approach him and 2B on a few occasions, such as the big sister machine; honestly, did the machines have a sense of humor? Naming a stubby big sister with a bow of all things? He shook his head as he followed 2B out of the village. Now that he thought about it, the per capita of highly irregular machines was extremely high, from the two android-looking machines to the sister machine to Pascal and Father Servo, the loot-grubbing little bastard he was. Who taught a machine to be a con artist, and why did 2B keep falling for it?

The trip to the resistance camp was not a strenuous one; of course, there was the odd group of machines that tested their luck against him and 2B, but none really left any lasting damage. 9S always wondered why the machines always looked so toy-like; wouldn't it be easier to make one mass-produced model? Besides that, how did the machines cause Yorha to practically shut down if they could be dealt with so easily?...Maybe it was those fanatics who raved about humanity; don't get him wrong, he loved humanity truly, but there was a point where it became too much, such as having clandestine meetings in the Bunkers storage room like a cult while giving a sermon. Honestly, it reminded him of those places of worship humans had—what were they again….churches…mosques?

9S's musing was brought to an end as they arrived at the entrance of the resistance camp. The guard posted gave them a small nod as they passed by, and the jukebox found by the resistance added ambient noise to the background of the daily workings of the camp. There were a few notable members in the resistance, including Anemone, who led the camp fairly yet sternly with a sense of humor. The twins, Devola and Popola, were loathed by the majority of other camp members, but 9S found them perfectly fine…so long as Devola controlled her temper. Last and certainly not least was Jackass, who had recently decided to move to the main resistance camp after issues in the desert region. She had to be a psychopath, or at least on the border of one, especially with the creation of E-drugs; he had seen too many resistance members carrying the small containers around since she created them. There were also rumors about gladiator-like arenas, though Anemone had vehemently denied their existence whenever the notion was brought up. 2B approached Anemone, tossing the small package given to 2B by Pascal in an underhand throw towards her, which she caught with ease.

"We met your associates" She said evenly, crossing her arms as she spoke, Pod 042 floating over her shoulder.

"Yes, good people. Pascal has done a lot to help out the camp. Trading with them has been a godsend to us" Anemone said, glancing down at the map in front of her. 2B frowned slightly, as 9S could tell before she spoke again.

"Are you aware that Vulcan and A2 are currently considered traitors by Yorha?" 2B pressed.

"While I am aware of A2 being considered a traitor, Vulcan is a surprise. He can be an arrogant jackass sometimes, but he hasn't done anything to be considered a traitor" Anemone responded carefully.

"Besides being associated with unit A2, Vulcan was in possession of Yorha-grade equipment, specifically explosives from a flight unit" Anemone's face soured.

"I was…unaware of such a thing. I imagine you want to enroll my people in assisting you in getting them into custody?" Anemone spoke with an even tone. 9S glanced around, noticing that a few nearby androids were glaring at them silently, a few of which were starting to reach towards their weapons.

"No, I am here to inform you of the opposite, actually. Yorha is in the midst of a major crisis within its own internal systems, and until that is resolved, 9S and I are to support you and act as one of your own," 2B stated definitively, breaking the growing tension between the two.

"Oh….well…alright then. In that case, you will be supporting local search-and-destroy operations. Besides that, you will help the twins with whatever they need help with…don't worry, they should not abuse that power too much. Also, Lilac and her friend have gone missing; if you can, please find them" Anemone explained, and with that, he and 2B gave the Yorha salute.

"Glory to mankind! Glory to mankind!" They barked. Strangely enough, 9S caught a flash of pain crossing Anemone's eyes. Probably just a bad memory; besides, he and 2B had work to do.

—-

Adam looked across the table and towards his younger brother, Eve, who was busying himself with some human trinkets he found. He resisted the urge to frown, Eve was…innocent, if that's the word, to use. They had been dropped into this world without mercy or remorse. Adam frowned slightly; his first memories were those of cold steel piercing his body as those androids tried to butcher him for nothing else but existing. Adam felt a fire start throughout his body…hate, he thought, this is hate. Hate toward those who had left him, but more specifically towards those who had left his brother here. Eve only wanted to be with him, which was more than fine with Adam, but the chances of running into those androids made him…afraid, not for himself but for his brother. What would happen to him if he died? His brother had no drive to learn, to evolve, to change; he just wanted to exist in this world and be happy, a confusing goal when Adam thought about it.

Dying and death are such foreign concepts. It was not possible for him or his brother so long as they remained connected to the network, the gestalt consciousness of all machines. He felt a small smile grace his lips; even the machines who believed themselves disconnected from the network still had some ties to it, even if they were rudimentary. How did humans die? Was it as described in some of their ancient manuscripts? Being placed in realms of immense torture or peace based on their actions? But if human morality changed so drastically, how did they believe their gods made these decisions if humans constantly evolved and changed as the ages passed? Even all the reading he had immersed himself in just led to more questions, which urged him on to read more. Adam could not lie to himself; death seemed alluring…to know what was beyond that separation between the living and the dead. To feel something so unique in its totality, would it be pain or peace? He always enjoyed pain; it made him feel…alive.

Though, besides the ever-wanting understanding of humanity, things had gone awry for the network. The access point into the android organization known as Yorha had been cut off, a troubling development to say the least. How were they supposed to evolve and be something more than expendable tools meant for war if they had no enemy to force themselves to adapt? There had to be something that could be done to create the atmosphere needed for evolution.

"Brother, are you alright?" Eve asked, flashing his signature carefree smile.

"Yes, just thinking" He responded,

"You do that too much!" Eve complained.

"Perhaps, but it makes me feel…more" Adam conceded. Eve pursed his lips before speaking again.

"You know what? We should-" Both of their eyes flickered in color to a bright yellow as knowledge from the machine network was poured directly into them.

Adam felt his eyes widen; a human was on the planet. The network had actually confirmed such a thing for the first time in its history, if he remembered correctly. There were constant false alarms, such as faulty machine scanners or improperly made optical lenses. But if the data the machine had up was correct, then there was a human. Strangely, the scanners could not pick up the precise details of the individual; perhaps they were scrambling machine sensors? But still, the multiple sightings had given the network enough information to classify them as a human, in large part due to the trickle of information that came from a particular command unit known as Pascal, even without their knowledge. This wasn't enough, however, as there was a fair chance that the data was just corrupted from the unit being separated from the network for so long. The final nail in the coffin, if that was the right human expression, was the observation of the human by a experimental machine type deployed in the local desert area. Most androids did not need to rest or hide from the sun, but this individual did. Even if the network did ping them as a human, the likelihood was still just a misidentification. But still…he had to know; there were so many questions and so many unaccounted-for factors that old books could not tell.

"Eve, do you wish to play a game of hide and seek?" Adam said, smiling.

—-

Aaaand done!

So just some things to note, I believe it is time for everything to come together after 15 chapters, lol. Also, while the wounds may seem severe to Joel, honestly, I believe this could be the best outcome, all things considered, with this machine being a highly advanced prototype. Hopefully, the reason why the machine network found out makes sense to those reading.