"A2 wake up! The virus is gone! Get up!" Firmly grabbing A2 by the shoulders, Kairi pushed her against the wall, then stared into her eyes. "Wake up! Please A2...please! You can't let them take over your mind! That's all you have left!"

Kairi shook A2 from side to side until, eventually, her head rolled to the side and she made eye contact with her. "The machines..." She said in a low voice.

"Yes! The machines you hate so much are trying to destroy you from the inside out!"

"I...don't understand. What are the machines...and why do I hate them?" Then she shoved Kairi away from her. "And who are you?! No, better question, wh...where am I?"

Before Kairi could get another word in, the piercing red light in A2's eyes flashed on and her arms and legs snapped back into place. "As you can see, child, the A2 you knew is long gone. She's accepted living in a virtual reality because now...that's all she knows." Suddenly, Red-A2 rotated her head to meet Naminé's gaze. "Isn't that right...Naminé?"

Kairi defensively held her arm out in front of Naminé. "What is she talking about?!"

"I...I saw her memories. They're all so corrupted...but Kairi-" Naminé gently lowered her arm down. "Red—she's not all that bad! If you just...listen to her."

"She's way past the point of us listening to her! We need to take her down!" Hiro argued.

"...I told you Naminé." For a moment, there was a subtle hint of pain in her voice. "Humans are all the same. You're...the only exception." Designed to End manifested in Red-A2's grasp, then she raised the blade above her head.

Kairi, expecting another confrontation with the android, summoned Destiny's Embrace. Hiro was also fully prepared for a rematch and was already in contact with his teammates.

"Kairi, my team's in position. They're ready whenever you are!" Hiro said.

"Got it." She gripped her keyblade in her hand. "We won't lose this time!"

"NO!" Naminé scrambled in front of Red-A2 and Kairi, positioning herself in between them. "Please, we don't have to fight! It doesn't have to end like this!"

"Naminé! We can't save A2 as long as this machine is in her body! Don't you understand?!" Kairi yelled.

"But Red is her own person too, with thoughts and feelings just like the rest of us! Doesn't she deserve her own existence?!"

"Not at the expense of A2 and not after everything she's done! Now stop this already...you know this isn't right!"

This caused Red-A2 to angrily step forward, so Naminé grabbed her arm to try and stop her from going any further.

"Red!" She pleaded. "Don't do this! You don't know what you'll lose!"

"I don't have a choice. I have to fight for my existence...even if it'll cost me everything. It's because of you I even have a conception of what that means...so thank you, Naminé." She then faced Kairi and Hiro. "Nozick...rise."


J Geil: Lol, he would

Guest: 'Since she's got her evil plans to do' yeah lol, it would be a cute idea tho!

Sonicsolsnake: Had to pull out all the stops for my girl, if she wasn't at least keyblade master level then she wouldn't be much of a threat. Tbh yeah Namine would think the Flan heartless are cute then get freaked when they still try to attack her

Beardsley: The question of Red-A2's identity between android and machine is something that gets brought up quite a bit so there's a lot more of that in the following chapters. The other kings in the nier world are kooky but they're not like…anthropomorphic animal levels of kooky

Anon: The Battle Angle Alita movie looked creepy so I never watched it either, it's the manga all the way! Yeah a nier replicant story with the nobodies would make the most sense narratively speaking, but we've spoken about this a few times before so you already know my thoughts. Oh idk I gave her pockets out of convenience but I've seen some fanart of an updated Namine outfit, I'm not sure why she didn't get a new outfit when literally everyone else did, like damn Nomura said fuck her.

The Andorids already know about the other worlds so the only thing that came as a surprise was Mickey. Yeah, that's still accurate, FFTD is ending soon and this story will probably be around 10 chapters or so, maybe getting into the 12-13 range but not much more than that.

Keybaldelight: I mean yeah it's a possibility Red might look into kingdom hearts, but that's if it interests in the same way it interested Adam.

Yes, Mickey will let the androids know what to say so they don't break world order. In fact it'll go something like this:

Mickey: alright guys, this is important so listen up! When we go to San Fransokyo, you absolutely can't let them know you're from another world!

9S: Why not?

Mickey: 'Cause it would be breaking the rules of world order

9S: World order? What's that?

2B: 9S stop asking so many questions and just listen to him

Devola: So what's wrong with us telling them we're from Earth?

Mickey: It's risky and they might think you're aliens. From what we gathered about this San Fransokyo world, if you just tell 'em you're cosplayers then they won't ask any more questions!

9S: Wait, what's a cos-play-er? Am I ...am I saying that right?

2B: Does it matter?

9S: uh yeah, what if it's something weird?!

Mickey: Oh dear…this is gonna take a while


*Several Days Earlier*

[V]auge Hope

"Wait, one more thing before you two depart. You do have a plan to infiltrate the factory, right?" Pascal asked.

"Of course I do!" Kairi said.

"One that doesn't begin and end with you walking through the front door I hope."

She let out a nervous laugh. "Uh..."

"Don't worry about it Pascal, I got us covered on that front too! Right now I have Baymax in his Stealth Armor suit, basically for when we go on undercover missions. On first impressions, you might be thinking to yourself 'uh that just looks like Baymax's regular super armor with a black paint job so what?' but let me remind you guys that appearances aren't everything." Hiro whipped out a sleek black chip and then inserted it inside the port. "Watch and see!"

"When you walk away...you don't hear me say ...pleeeease oh baby, don't go!"

Kairi and Pascal both looked at each other, confused.

"This sounds like..."

"Ah, nonononono wait-wait-" Hiro quickly removed that chip and inserted the other sleek black chip. "Sorry about that, no idea how that got in there ha ha...aaaaanyway, here's its REAL functionality! Baymax, try 'Medium Biped Machine model: Standard'."

"Affirmative." Within seconds, Baymax transformed from his friendly marshmallow-like appearance into the rough, steel exterior of a typical Medium Biped machine. It was eerie how accurate the disguise was, even down to Baymax adopting the same voice module machines used. "Transformation complete. Awaiting further instructions."

"Whoa, this is amazing! How did you do this?" Kairi asked.

"Easy. While I was scouting these past few days, I was recording data for all the machines I encountered. The tech was already there, it was just a matter of implementing it into Baymax's programming."

"Since you're disguising Baymax as a giant machine, now I'm really curious about what your plan is!"

"Right, so I was thinking we go through the back entrance under the cover that we're humans that escaped. If we want this to be successful, then we have to avoid a confrontation with A2 at all costs, that means we'll have to act like we're already in the system so we don't give the machines a reason to report us to her."

"But since we 'escaped' then they'll probably try to punish us..."

"That's where you come in! While we want to get inside undetected, once we're in, all bets are off. We'll have to take down every machine that so much as suspects us then make our way through the factory to find our friends. I've seen you fight before, and you're really good at it, so I'll be counting on you to deal with the machines, and any heartless we might run into."

"Yeah... that's no pressure or anything."

"Of course, Baymax and I will be there for support! We can give you all the information you need on their weak spots, what to look out for, offer additional combat, you know, things like that. So don't feel like you'll be out there alone, your teleporting ability's just really, really useful for what we need to do."

"Got it...okay...okay...I can do this Hiro...no we can do this! We'll save our friends then re-group and figure out a plan to stop A2! We got this!" A confident smile beamed on her face, which in turn psyched Hiro up even more.

"Ha-ha, alright Kairi! Let's do this!" Hiro balled his hand into a fist, then held it out in front of him.

Kairi, understanding his gesture, fist-bumped Hiro. "With the three of us working together, I just know we'll save our friends! Now let's not have them wait for another second!"

To avoid detection by the patrolling machines, Kairi and Hiro took the alleyways and backstreets as a means to maneuver throughout the city. While this route opened them up to far more heartless attacks, it was nothing Kairi couldn't handle with how much she had grown as a keyblade wielder already.

Currently, they were in the residential district, still a ways to go until they reached downtown Sanfransokyo, but making progress nonetheless. As they were moving from one apartment complex to the next, they were ambushed by a group of shadows in a narrow alleyway.

"Take this!" Kairi took advantage of the close quarters they found themselves in, throwing her keyblade at an angle so that the blade would ricochet between the walls of the two apartment buildings. She managed to destroy the shadows in one fell swoop, then caught Destiny's Embrace as it flew back into her hand. "Awesome! I can't believe that worked."

"Right now we're in a relatively low-security area. As we get closer to central downtown, we'll be up to our necks fighting machines," Hiro said. "Luckily, I equipped Baymax with a sensor that tracks machines so we shouldn't be getting any surprises...hopefully."

"Wow, look at you! You really did think of everything!"

"Trust me, you can get a lot of work done when you work 48 hours straight!"

"I do not advise such drastic action. Most young adults need 8 hours of uninterrupted rest in order for their bodies to perform at full efficiency. Consistent lack of sleep or reduced quality of sleep can result in a condition called 'sleep deprivation', symptoms include-"

"Okay, okay, I think we get the picture Baymax! It's just kind of hard to sleep when your home looks like a post-apocalyptic movie. I mean...San Fransokyo's just the beginning after all."

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.

"It's not like she's just going to stop here, you heard her talk about all that world domination stuff. Once she makes enough machines and sucks this city dry, she's going to move somewhere else."

"Then... we just won't let it get to that point! No problem!"

"Man, you really do sound like Sora. So is he a friend of yours too?"

She sheepishly scratched her cheek. "...We're a little bit more than that."

"Wait... 'a little bit more than that'? Are you two..."

"Dating? Mm hm, I'm actually his girlfriend."

"Whaaat?! I had NO idea!"

"Yeah, well, it was kind of a recent development...and now he's uh, um..." She went quiet. "N-Now he's out of town, so there's that!"

"Really? ...Sorry if I was being nosy, by the way. Bad habit."

"No need to apologize! I don't mind talking about myself as long as I get to know a little bit more about you too!"

"Me?" He rubbed the back of his head. "I just go to school and do some superhero stuff on the side."

"What, are you kidding me?! Don't brush that off, being a superhero is so cool!"

"But you're kind of one yourself, aren't you? Since you wield that keyblade. At least I think so."

"My friends, for sure, but that totally doesn't describe me! Well... at least not yet. After all this training I've gone through, I'm hoping to change that!"

"Training? So...to be a keyblade wielder you have to train at it?"

"Um...let me explain it like this. For people like Sora, it just comes naturally to them, but for people like me...not so much, we have to train at it. One of my masters, Aqua, she can be such a harda-" She caught herself. "I- I mean hard WORKER, Master Aqua can be such a hard...worker when it comes to training, but she's just so amazing and inspiring! I've come such a long way because of her."

"The way you talk about her reminds me a lot of my older brother Tadashi..." He said quietly. "Heh, he was a hardass too, but also a hard worker...he's the reason why Baymax exists."

"Seriously? He sounds amazing! I'd love to meet him!"

"About that...Tadashi, he's-"

"Caution. My sensors are detecting a machine quickly closing in our location," Baymax said.

"What?!"

All of a sudden, a purple laser beam shot out from the distance, tearing straight through the adjacent apartment building and causing a large explosion. Kairi deployed a shield that protected them from the impact, then as the debris was settling, they heard the mechanical drum of metal pounding against the street. From the sounds of it, it was a large machine, Goliath-class at least, and from what they already experienced, it was dangerous.

While they could retreat and find safe ground, Kairi knew that wasn't an option. If she wanted to face A2 again, if she wanted to save her friends, she had to have the strength to back up her convictions. So she stepped forward and faced the monstrous Godzilla machine as it was emerging from the clouds of dust.

As 'official director of all human activities' Naminé was granted access to most of Central Tower Factory, as long as she was escorted by a machine. She did take the job very seriously, though not in the way Red-A2 would've liked. Since she was allowed to walk around the factory, she took the opportunity to draw detailed diagrams of the interior as well as take note of any breaches or blindspots in the security.

Then, when Naminé returned to her room, she would circle points of interest on the factory diagram and from there, work out escape strategies in her head. 'The back entrance is probably the best approach since it has the least amount of machines patrolling. The only problem is Red. I still haven't figured out where she likes hanging out, it feels like she's everywhere and nowhere at the same time...'

'If I got on her good side, maybe she'd open up to me and tell me where she goes all day.' Naminé sat back in her chair, then crossed her arms. 'That doesn't seem like it's happening anytime soon though so back to square one.'

*knock-knock

'That must be my snacks.' Naminé quickly folded up the map, then stuffed it into one of her books. She went to open the door, expecting the usual small biped machine to hand off her food, but was caught off guard when she saw Red-A2 looming in the doorway with a sack in her hand.

"What...brings you back here so suddenly?" She asked. "And what's that you're holding?"

"I intercepted one of your food-service machines and found its contents unacceptable." Red-A2 dropped the sack on the floor and Naminé couldn't hold back the disgust on her face when she saw a bunch of raw potatoes roll to the ground. "...You look displeased, human. I don't understand, according to the research I've done, these vegetables would supply you with far more nutritional value than fried, sugary food, thereby increasing your productivity."

"Um...it's just that-"

"Just that what?"

Red-A2 stared at her with that piercing gaze that made Naminé feel so small. "N-Nevermind. This is fine, thank you."

"Hmph." Red-A2 crossed her arms. "Clearly it's not. Speak human, you were so talkative the other day...or is it that you've finally understood your place in the hierarchy?"

"Ah, I uh..."

Red-A2 scoffed. "Predictable." She turned to the door and was about to leave when Naminé finally found the courage within herself to speak.

"W-Wait!"

While she stopped in the doorway, she didn't bother to turn back to face her.

"...What...what are you even doing any of this for?" Naminé cried out.

"To prove the machine's superiority over humanity. I've said this numerous times."

"I know, but what's the point?!"

"The point? What a trite question, but I'll humor you. While you humans always demand to find 'meaning' in every menial task you perform, we machines are solely driven by evolution. Domination over humans means that machines will have become the supreme life form."

"And then what?!"

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean..I mean...uh..." Naminé started to panic again because she didn't even think she'd get this far with Red-A2 and blurted out the first thing that popped up in her head. "So...in an RPG game, after beating all the enemies and maxing out your stats you get to the final boss then-"

Red-A2 leaned back against the doorway with a blank expression on her face. "Why do you think I know about any of this nonsense you're referring to?"

"It'll make sense when I'm done explaining it."

"Fine. Continue wasting your breath."

"Right so after you beat the final boss like this-" She did a karate chop to illustrate her point. "Ka-chow! One shot KO! Now you're officially the strongest person in the world and that's when the game ends."

"Why is it over?"

"Because you reached your goal, there's no point in continuing. So if your goal is for machines to become the supreme lifeform, what will you do after you finally accomplish that?"

"Those are...illogical and abstract human concepts that have no meaning to machines."

"Ugh, humans, humans, humans! That's all you talk about! That's all you compare yourself to! But you guys don't need to be like humans! You don't need to have your existence tied to humanity to give yourself purpose!"

"And what would a human like you know about existence? You never have to question your place in this-"

"You're wrong. I was nothing! A Nobody! Just a thought in someone's mind... I know better than anyone how it feels to have your existence denied! But I was lucky to have friends who saved me from that fate!"

Naminé stood up from the bed, walking up to Red-A2. "Red, you don't have to prove that you're worthy of existence to anyone but yourself! And you enslaving all of these people—denying them that right is...is..." Before she could say anymore, she found herself staring down at the blade of Designed to End.

"Silence, human! Not another word from your insolent mouth! How dare you question my auth-"

"You...have a Keyblade?!" Naminé spit out.

"...Yes?"

"That's amazing! How did you get one?!"

"Don't try and change the subject!"

"Aw, so you're not going to tell me?"

For some indescribable reason, Red-A2 couldn't sustain her anger toward Naminé. There was something about her and she didn't want to admit to herself what it was, so she left it at that and lowered her keyblade, letting it disperse into light fragments. "...It was hers," She said bitterly. "The android whose body I'm inhabiting."

"A2, right? She must've had a close connection with Sora if that's the case..."

"Yes, she cherished that boy quite fondly, it's in her programming after all...and the longer I inhabit this body, the more our codes become intertwined."

"Oh?" There was a mischievous grin on her face. "So that's the real reason why you wanted to bring me those potatoes. You were just worried about my health, that's all."

Red-A2 squeezed her hands into a fist. "That's not the reason! I told you it was to increase productivity!"

"Mm-hm. Whatever you say."

"Speaking of, you have another meeting with the humans. They're still not satisfied by their conditions even though we've given them everything you've outlined and with the second factory underway...we need everything working at full capacity."

"Okay, I'll talk to them, but... you'll think about what I said, won't you?"

"About your ridiculous RPG analogy? I won't give it a second thought." Red-A2 left Naminé's room in a hurry. 'What a wretched girl, why do I tolerate her as much as I do? It must be this android's programming, even though I installed the logic virus, she still persists. Perhaps I need to take more invasive measures, otherwise, I'll lose myself within her.'

NieR: [O]blivion II

"I Am Lost In You"


A/N: I'm so sorry for taking several months to update, a lot happened suffice to say, but to make up for it I've compiled a video of some voiced A2 lines from the fanfic. All credit goes to J Geil for making the AI voices. The video is posted on my youtube channel which is Catch 358