"Number 21, I hated you since training."
Finally after so much time she and the Scanner were alone, so she could say her thoughts she'd been keeping in for so long.
"How to say it... you look down on everyone and make such a face as if you know everything." Number 16 gently held her gun close, holding it like she was cradling something precious. "While I can only fight with this weapon."
Maybe saying she hated the woman was a little exaggerated, jealous would have been more correct, but she always had a big mouth and a little brain compared to her.
"Looks like I enjoy risking my life."
Perhaps she did, a little.
She enjoyed the thrill of the fight, to kill before being killed.
But she was by any means not any less afraid of death than the others.
Perhaps all she had wanted was to prove that she could handle herself, she had never been a brilliant unit.
Number 21 on the other hand…
Had always been precise and on point with her plans and calculations, and the fact she was easily able to keep her emotions in check compared to the others, therefore she was often praised for it.
But ever since on Earth she had changed too, Number 16 noticed.
"I must have something broken, my heart…" while even though Number 21 seemed cold, her recent actions showed her heart was in the right place instead.
Perhaps it was why she hadn't hesitated in helping her out, after all, she could dislike her all she wanted, but the Scanner's logic abilities were still there, and they weren't going anywhere.
"Number 16, I know you well." she heard the woman speak.
Of course she knew her, she always knew everything.
"According to my calculations, the chance of your death being due to recklessness is very high."
But she knew it too.
The Gunner watched as the Scanner sat, pulling a screen before her, and frowning.
"My task is calculations. Make predictions, lead the squad on the best path." she swiped the screen away with a quick motion. "And all the results of the calculations went down the drain…"
Number 16 didn't like this tone, she knew this feeling too well.
Disappointment.
Not towards the situation, but towards her own self.
"I doubted myself."
The Gunner assumed it was because she, who always knew what to do, was always logical and precise, must have been completely puzzled at how things changed, upon meeting the Resistance and everyone.
Perhaps she'd been quick to judge.
"Circumstances have changed, and the result continues to exceed my expectations." because this had never been predicted in the first place.
Did fate decide what was going to be, and not them?
Should they just accept it?
"A Scanner should never be wrong in their calculations, and yet…" here she was, and nothing she predicted ended up being the same when the results showed.
There was always something eluding her.
"I must have made my worst miscalculation by far." she thought that a model more advanced could have gotten away with it but…
Perhaps it was a good thing that Number 16 was here.
Given her feelings towards her, it shouldn't be a problem to accomplish a request.
Even simple.
"Number 16, if you had the chance to, would you kill me?"
There was a moment of silence, with the Gunner looking at her trying to assess if this was a trick of hers or something.
"What kind of question is that!?" the raven snarled, angry.
What the hell was Number 21 up to?
Was this a test of hers?
"Please just answer."
This tone, almost defeated… like she was desperate to find someone that would agree with her.
"Why would I? The fact that I dislike you doesn't mean I want you to die, we're still comrades!"
Also it would be too dumb on her part, they were already few to begin with, even with the Resistance included. Why would she want to kill another android?
She already hadn't wanted to kill Lily, she hadn't pointed her gun at her when she went berserk.
She, whose first reaction was to shoot first and think later.
"And if you had no choice?"
She was getting tired of this.
"Just speak clearly, Number 21. What the hell do you want from me?"
"Exactly what I said." but why the hell would she ask to be killed? Had she lost hope entirely?
Even so, that wasn't a good reason to.
"There are only two ways to remove a logic virus." Number 16 didn't know she was due to an explanation, but she forced herself to listen.
"One, is a complete factory reset, and the other… is transferring the virus into another unit."
And the Gunner knew that Lily hadn't been reset entirely, a factory reset deleted all the person's memories…
She didn't…
"Are you crazy!?" out of anger she took the taller woman by her vest.
However…
"But your eyes are still blue." she wasn't infected.
Yet.
"I thought my shields and mental capacity could have kept the virus at bay, for now they are working." Number 21 held a hand to her arm, trailing her fingers along its length. "But I can feel it crawling under my skin."
It was there, like a persistent ache she tried her best to ignore.
Until she could no longer do that.
"You could die soon…" Number 16 shook her head.
To think the Scanner she believed to be the smartest person ever could be so reckless…
And make such a big mistake…
"We've been created to die, Number 16. And you know it too." the Gunner's arms finally released her. "Yes, I know."
She understood now what she wanted from her.
"You're asking me, if the virus should take hold of you, to kill you."
"I thought, given your negative feelings towards me, you'd be glad to." but the raven shook her head. "I can't be happy to know a comrade is dying. Not even if it's you."
The redhead gave a bitter chuckle. "I made yet another mistake."
It seemed she made a lot of them lately.
"But even so, I would have asked for your assistance anyway. I can't pin this duty on Number 4, and much less on Number 2." they were both too nice for this.
Especially their Captain.
Too naive and hopeful.
It'd hurt her too much.
"May I have an answer now?"
Clutching her weapon, Number 16 held it close to her chest. Never would she have imagined she'd be pointing it to one of her companions to kill them.
But here Number 21 was, trusting her with all this…
So…
"All right. But only if it truly comes to the worst."
In the end, she would never manage to keep her word to her, preferring to stay behind with the rest of the Resistance to guard them, and allow them and her to proceed forwards.
As she watched the Scanner struggle to pick herself up, she knew the virus had begun to truly hurt her.
"I'm sorry." she whispered watching her leave with the others, cradling this grave secret with her, hiding it until it would be too late.
Perhaps she was never fit for this.
She was made to kill, but not to kill her similars, despite everything.
Someone from the Resistance was more suited for this.
As she ran in the opposite direction, she hoped someone would aid her to find her own peace in her place.
After all, they would see each other again soon.