Leah had been rendered speechless by the incredible event that she was witnessing right now.
A2, by all accounts a fairly normal-looking girl(her exotic hair and outfit notwithstanding), was swiftly climbing up the elevator cable with all the grace and skill of an Olympic athlete. All while carrying Leah on her back.
Despite the immense amount of exertion it must take to carry two people up a seemingly endless elevator shaft, A2 did not seem to be sweating or breathing hard in the slightest. In fact, she seemed to be pulling it off with minimal effort.
'What happened to humans in the future?' Leah had noticed the oddities in A2 before, but the information dump and all the distractions she had dealt with ever since awakening had kind of put them on the back burner. But witnessing this incredible feat of strength from the silver-haired woman now had them all come rushing back.
A2 was by no means a frail-looking girl. Leah was acutely aware of that fact just from her position clinging onto A2's back. Strong muscles slumbered just beneath her skin, tensing every time one of her arms lifted them further up the rope. Leah had also noticed how strong A2's legs were, her thick thighs being all the proof she needed. These things did not, however, explain how she was able to pull off this particular feat of strength so easily. This raw strength seemed almost supernatural.
The speed at which A2 was climbing was faster than some people could walk. Each movement the silver-haired girl made was swift, precise, and performed with seemingly the least amount of exertion. Leah's arms were tired just from trying to keep a firm grip on the climber's body. A2 even managed to find time to occasionally check over her shoulder to make sure Leah was ok, all without missing a single beat in her continued upward momentum.
'Is this normal for humans now?' The brunette wondered if during her time in stasis that humanity may have found a way to alter their physiology. Or maybe they have begun augmenting their bodies with some kind of new technology. It would explain why A2 seemed to have such weird markings on her limbs. Maybe she had to undergo some kind of surgery to get this strong or to heal some prior injuries.
Hundreds of questions floated through Leah's mind and she had to try really hard to restrain herself from blurting them all out then and there. She didn't want to distract A2, especially not while they were hanging god knows how many feet in the air inside of a pitch-black elevator shaft. Plus asking so many invasive questions so early in a friendship would be a major faux pas. So Leah decided to remain quiet for now, filing away the most important questions for when they were out of this perilous predicament.
Feeling her arms starting to get a bit tired, Leah wrapped her legs a bit tighter across A2's stomach, causing the silver-haired woman to give her a worried look. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, sorry. Arms are just a bit tired." Leah tried to give her ride a reassuring smile, though the pain in her arms was making the corner of her mouth twitch a little bit causing her to give herself away.
Leah badly wanted to re-position her arms a bit to help work out the stiffness, but she was scared she'd end up getting too close to A2's, erm, 'chest'. Deciding to just give her arms a quick shake, to help relax the muscles, Leah gave A2 a determined nod. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
A2 stared at Leah for a couple seconds, the intense look in her gray-blue eyes making the human backpack feel extremely nervous. Leah had a hard time keeping eye contact, her eyes darting every which way to avoid A2's steely gaze. A small, almost imperceptible, nod by the silver-haired beauty brought Leah's focus back.
"Ok. I'll go faster."
"Faster?" Dumbfounded, Leah slowly mouthed the word to herself when she was abruptly jolted by her carrier's sudden acceleration. Their rate of ascent increased dramatically, A2's hands moving like a blur without losing any of her finesse. Squealing in fright, Leah clamped her limbs harder around A2's body, eyes clenched firmly shut, her prior embarrassment all but forgotten in her need for survival.
Leah was sure now. Something was definitely abnormal about A2.
The speed climbing went on much longer than Leah was comfortable with, the strong vibrations of A2's movements causing Leah's stomach to churn uncomfortably. Luckily Leah's prayers for it to end were answered rather quickly when the jerky movements of A2's climbing gradually slowed down before coming to a complete stop. Taking a risk, Leah decided to open one of her eyes to catch a glimpse of where they were.
The brown-haired girl sucked in a lungful of air, her teeth clenching her bottom lip tightly. A dark, ominous abyss spread out below their suspended bodies, a beam of light from a nearby opening only highlighting the depths nipping at their feet even more. Her grip on A2 intensified once again, the silver-haired woman not uttering a single sound of discomfort.
"I'm going to lift us out now." Nodding her head rapidly, Leah silently begged for A2 to get them out of there as fast as possible. She never believed she had a fear of heights before, but she sure has one now.
"Hold on tightly...well I guess you already are." Leah's emerald eyes flew open dramatically when she heard the previously stoic woman tell a joke, following it up with a breathy laugh. Staring at the back of A2's head, Leah wished desperately to see the look on her face. She wanted to see more of this lighthearted A2. A small smile crossed her lips as she gave A2 a quick squeeze to let her know she was prepared.
Lightly rocking them back and forth, A2 slowly began building up their momentum, her arms tensed in preparation to help propel them off. The brown-haired girl tried to keep herself as still as possible so as to not cause A2 to lose her balance, closing her eyes once again in nervous anticipation.
After building up a decent amount of momentum, Leah could feel the sudden whoosh of air followed shortly by twin clacks of heels coming in contact with stone. Opening her eyes for the final time, the girl out of time got her first glimpse of the new world.
Green, as far as her eyes could see. Luscious plant life was growing all around, tall trees blanketing the sky like a ceiling of leaves. Dapples of sunlight shone through the canopy, the gentle warmth of the sun's rays caressing her cheeks. A dazzling smile spread across her face as she reveled in nature's beauty, not noticing A2 looking back at her with a small smile of her own.
Remembering that she was still clinging to A2's back, Leah gently unlatched herself from the taller girl with a quiet 'thank you' before placing her feet back on terra firma. After which she promptly fell on her butt.
A2 immediately rushed to her side to check on her, while all she could do was laugh. After having someone else do all the hard work to carry her out of the underground facility, it was 'her' legs that were exhausted. It was just too funny.
"I'm ok, I'm ok." Giggling like a madwoman, Leah waved A2 off as she reclined into a more comfortable position. "Just need to rest for a bit."
A2 returned to an upright position, giving Leah a reassuring smile before turning around, her eyes diligently scanning the treeline. Was something out there? Maybe she was keeping an eye out for some wild animals. Checking the surrounding area herself, Leah noticed several creatures roaming near them.
A couple of Deer were quietly grazing in a nearby meadow, their heads occasionally turning to keep a watchful eye on A2 and herself, before lowering their heads to return to their meal. They seemed completely undisturbed by their presence.
Birds of various sizes and colors flew overhead, their melodic chirps accompanied by the soft rustle of leaves blowing in the wind. It was a positively serene view, free from any sign of threats or danger. Leah's smile widened as she soaked up the moment, relieved to know that nature had found a way to survive after all these millennia.
And yet, A2 remained on guard, her posture rigid and tense. As if she could strike out at the slightest sign of a threat. In this very moment, A2 seemed more like a hardened soldier than the silent, yet caring woman she had met just a couple hours ago. Despite feeling a close bond and kinship with her savior, she hardly knew anything about her. And Leah was determined to change that.
"We should get moving." A dark tension was hidden behind A2's words, her hand reaching down to help the seated girl back up. Nodding dumbly, Leah grasped the offered gloved hand firmly and was once again lifted into a standing position by A2's unusual strength. That was 100% going to be one of the questions she asks about. Taking a couple steps forward, A2 signaled for Leah to stick close before beginning their trek through the forest.
Despite having told herself she would get to know more about the mysterious woman, the actual act of asking them turned out to be quite difficult. Leah wouldn't consider herself antisocial, far from it. Back in her time, before the world fell to ruin, Leah was considered quite the social butterfly. She never had someone she would call a close friend over her 21 years of life, but she flittered between lots of groups of friends, always welcomed but never lingering.
Things were different with A2. It felt like there was an invisible barrier around her, drawing Leah in but keeping her separated from the mysterious woman. She wanted to know everything about her but couldn't formulate a single coherent sentence, as if her mind was stuck in a traffic jam. So she just quietly trailed behind the silver-haired beauty, whose head remained on a constant swivel, keeping an eye out for potential threats.
They had been walking down the grassy path for several minutes when Leah decided couldn't take it anymore. The two of them had not talked much in their short time together, but this prolonged lull in conversation was putting her on edge. Fighting through her mental block, her hands nervously bunching up the hem of her shirt, Leah called out to A2.
"A2 is a very interesting name." The sudden declaration cut through the awkward silence like an explosion, causing the stoic woman to halt in her tracks, the taller girl casting a quizzical sideways glance at her traveling company who was currently doing her best impression of a tomato.
"I-I don't mean that in a bad way." Leah wasn't sure when she became such a stuttering mess, maybe being in cryogenic sleep actually did affect her brain in some way. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, doing her best to ignore the intense gaze A2 was giving her, Leah quickly continued the conversation before she completely lost her confidence. "It's just…very different from what you'd usually hear."
A2 stared at her for an uncomfortably long time, her gray-blue eyes peering into emerald ones, as if studying her very soul. The silver-haired woman suddenly snapped her head forward before slowly continuing on her previous trajectory. Leah was shocked by A2's cold silence, a twinge of hurt settling in her heart at the stoic woman's rejection. She quietly fell in step behind her, her head hung low.
"It was given to me." Leah's head jumped up at A2's unexpected response, the silver-haired woman still scanning the tree line diligently. Breathing a happy sigh of relief, Leah jogged up to A2's side, smiling widely at the taller girl.
"I mean that's true of anyone isn't it." Leah giggled happily as she gingerly tucked some stray hair behind her ear. Leaning forward to get a better look at A2's face, she decided to keep this luck train rolling.
"I've been wondering for a while now," Leah gestured at the strange markings on A2's body, "where did you get those?"
Looking down to see what Leah was referring to, A2 ran a finger over the black lines running across her collarbone. A wistful look crossed her features, as her gloved fingers traced the lines across the contours of her body, a hidden pain shining in her eyes. Laying a comforting hand on A2's arm, the shorter girl did her best to give her a sympathetic smile.
"Hey, it's ok." Leah cooed gently, rubbing her hand softly up and down A2's arm. "You don't have to tell me. It's ok"
A2 halted in her steps once more, slowly turning her head toward Leah, gray-blue eyes peeking out from under silver bangs. Shaking her head back and forth, her hair swaying like waves of ice, A2 dropped her hands back to her side.
"They are from injuries I sustained." Her crystalline eyes gazed into the verdant canopy as if trying to find a memory of a time long past. Closing her eyes, A2 released a deep sigh before turning back to Leah. "But that was a long time ago."
Leah was unsure about what to do now. Despite the pain she had seen in the silver-haired woman's eyes, she still felt there was one question she had to ask. She had to know how A2 was so strong.
It had been on her mind ever since she first woke up in A2's arms. There was an unnatural strength slumbering in that seemingly normal woman's body. It didn't seem like a painful question to ask but Leah was still hesitant. She didn't want to hurt A2.
"Hey, A2?" Leah faltered slightly as she stared into A2's face, still seeing the lingering remnants of sadness in her gaze. Nodding to let her know she was listening, A2 turned fully toward Leah to give the shorter girl her full attention. Biting her lip, Leah decided to just get it over with.
"How are you so stro-"
Leah's question died on her tongue by a hellish, metallic screech piercing her ears, disturbing the once calm atmosphere of the forest. Leah gave a startled yelp as she covered her ears against the unholy sound.
A2 crouched down into an aggressive stance, her arm stretched out protectively in front of Leah. Following A2's icy glare, Leah stared down the dirt path they had been walking on, toward the origin of that horrid noise. Emerald eyes widened dramatically, her hand clamping her mouth shut to stifle a terrified shriek.
A herd of machine-like lifeforms was rushing toward them, crudely constructed spears pointed ominously in their direction. Tattered rags draped across their metallic chassis, some of them having adorned their spherical heads with large pairs of antlers. Their very appearance spoke of hostility and aggression, yet what scared Leah the most was their eyes. Their blood-red eyes.
"Kill the intruders!" The largest of the herd, almost twice the height of his brethren, bellowed out his command, the synthesized voice dripping with open hostility toward the two of them. "Protect the king!"
Leah badly wanted to make a run for it, run as far and as fast as her feet could take her. But her legs would not listen to her brain's command. They were shaking like a light pole in a thunderstorm. She had to run to survive, the intention of the approaching hoard being crystal clear. They wanted the two of them dead.
The horrified girl fell to her knees, her legs unable to keep her standing anymore in face of the looming threat. Emerald eyes watched the mechanical monstrosities draw closer and closer, the tips of their spears shining ominously in the sunlight. Tears of fright pooled in the corners of her eyes as she prepared for their grisly demise.
"Stay there." Tearing her terrified gaze away from the advancing robots toward the silver-haired girl, Leah looked at A2 in disbelief. She stood confidently next to the trembling girl, her voice firm and strong with conviction. "I will deal with them."
A dazzling light emerged from A2's palm as a sword materialized in her gloved hand from seemingly nowhere. And in the blink of an eye, she was gone, replaced only by the heated sounds of battle.
They were not going to harm Leah.
A2 came out of her dash in a mad sprint toward the closest machine, her makeshift sword coming down in a deadly arc. The unprepared robot brought his spear up to try and block her attack but her sword sliced cleanly through its crude material, embedding itself into his head. The light in his eyes flickered momentarily before extinguishing completely. A2 quickly jumped out of the way as his body exploded, swiftly moving on to her next target.
A2 had counted seven of them at the start of her offensive, including the one she just destroyed. Usually, that would not be a problem at all for the former YoRHa android, but she had to keep an eye on Leah at the same time. She could not let them get close to her. If they figured out she was human they might do something much worse than just kill her. A2 was not going to let anything happen to her. No matter what. This meant she had to make herself their primary target.
Sidestepping a clumsy swing from the leader, A2 deftly maneuvered herself out of his line of sight, hacking expertly at his knee joint, detaching it from the rest of his body. As he hopped comically on one leg to regain his balance, the combat android delivered at bone-crushing kick to his remaining leg causing him to topple over. Not wasting a single moment she hopped onto his hulking body, embedding her sword into the side of his head, before quickly leaping back off. His head twitched violently for a second before he too exploded into tiny pieces.
The No. 2 combat model had no time to rest though as three more charged her at once, their spears aimed directly at her abdomen with intent to kill. A2 expertly deflected the tip of the closest one with the edge of her sword, directing it into the body of one of his comrades. As he was apologizing for his mistake, trying to carefully remove his spear from his friend's corpse, A2 came up behind him and decapitated him. Sensing the last one charging her from behind she jumped several feet into the air, directing a lethal slash downward as he passed underneath her.
Despite having watched their companions fall to her blade, the last two machines still charged at her with reckless abandon, fully intent on killing her. This served A2 well as it meant they were not paying attention to Leah.
Crouching low, A2 launched herself at the oncoming pair, her sword aimed squarely at the charging machines. The tip of her blade embedded itself into the chest of the nearest machine, the momentum of her attack bowling them into the body of his brethren. Rolling with the movement into a crouch, A2 spun on her heels and sliced the last one's head in two as he tried to remove the corpse on top of him. De-materializing her sword, the former YoRHa android returned to her feet and calmly made her way back to Leah's side as their bodies went up in flames.
Emerald eyes stared unblinking at the landscape of destruction A2 had left behind, the remains of the machine hoard littering the ground, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. A2's black box fluttered in relief at seeing Leah unharmed, a mirthful smile finding it's way to her lips at her dumbstruck expression. Squatting down in front of the prone human, the combat android extended her hand to help her up.
Leah stared terrified at the offered appendage, fearfully backing away from her it. Pain and confusion danced across A2's features at Leah's rejection, afraid she had hurt the brown-haired girl somehow.
"Wha-What the fuck was that?!"
Leah's mind had gone blank.
As soon as she saw A2 leap into the hoard like a battle-hardened lioness with unnatural speed, strength, and finesse, Leah's brain had refused to accept what she was seeing. Her mind was already in a fragile state from what she had to deal with back in the research facility, but this was on a new level.
Life had many mysteries, Leah could easily accept that. The deadly White Chlorination Syndrome turning people into pillars of salt, snowfall in the middle of July, and a human surviving for 9000 years in cryogenic sleep were fantastical and insane but she had witnessed them. She had seen them happen around her and one even happened to her personally. But this was new.
Machines. Honest-to-god hunks of metal, walking, talking, and wielding deadly weapons had stood before her and tried to kill her and A2. And A2 had magically conjured up a sword and took them out like a professional assassin, the dangerous-looking robots failing to even put a single scratch on her. Even with the strength she had displayed so far, these feats seemed impossible.
Leah stared upon the carnage A2 had wrought upon the machine threats, their metallic bodies strewn about in pieces on the ground. Glass eyes, once gleaming with an angry red glow, now stared lifelessly in Leah's direction. Their howls of fury silenced forever by A2's blade.
A black-clad hand appeared in front of her eyes, her gaze sweeping up its length toward A2's smiling face. Leah stared blankly at the offered appendage, it was the very same hand that had effortlessly dispatched a raving hoard of mechanical monstrosities. An instrument of death.
Fear coursed through Leah's veins as everything that she had just witnessed crashed down onto her at once. Hands digging frantically into the dirt, Leah scrambled away from the silver-haired woman in terror, her legs kicking helplessly in front of her. Her mind was buzzing with a horrible noise, fears, and questions bouncing around inside her skull.
The sorrowful look in A2's eyes at her rejection though helped center her thoughts before they could spiral down into madness again.
She couldn't see this girl as a threat. She was the one who had saved her from her slumbering prison. Had comforted her so tenderly and patiently when she felt like her world was crumbling before her. Who had just fought a horde of crazed robots to help keep her safe. No, she couldn't fear her. But that didn't mean she didn't still want answers and she sure as hell could freak out in front of her.
"Wha-What the fuck was that?!" A high pitched screech tumbled out of her mouth, as she gave A2 an incredulous look. Question after question spilled from her lips, like a dam bursting after succumbing to too much pressure. "How the hell did you do that? What were those!? Do humans have some kind of superpowers now!? What has happened to earth?"
The look in A2's eyes shifted from sorrow to sympathy as Leah's panic-stricken questions came out one by one. Extending her hand once more, A2 silently begged Leah to believe in her, to trust her. Leah tenderly slipped her hand into A2's own black covered hand. The hand that had ruthlessly killed those machines. The hand that had comforted her so gently. The hand that has protected her from the very first moment she awoke in this new world.
The silver-haired gave her a small thankful smile as she lifted the two of them back to their feet. A2 took a couple of steps away from Leah, trying to give the girl some much-needed breathing room. The brown-haired girl gave her an expectant look, still fully expecting answers. Sighing heavily, the silver-haired girl prepared to tell Leah everything she deserved to know.
"Those were what we call Machine Lifeforms. They were created by aliens millennia ago to wipe out humanity and take over the planet. A military group of androids, called YoRHa, was created to combat the machine menace, to reclaim the earth for the last surviving humans living on the moon."
A2 paused for a bit to let Leah digest what she had just told her. Leah was stunned at what she was hearing. It felt like something out of a science fiction novel, but from everything she had witnessed so far and that it was coming from A2, someone she trusted, made her believe every word. Leah nodded to let A2 know to continue.
"But it was all a lie. Humanity is dead. There is no one on the moon. YoRHa used the belief of the androids, in their love for humanity, to fight a never-ending battle against the machines. To let them die for a pointless cause."
Anger and venom laced every single word as A2 spoke of YoRHa, of their betrayal. Looking at Leah though, the hate slowly faded away, a content smile tugging at her lips.
"That is until now. You are a miracle. The last known remaining human. And I will protect you till my dying breath, for that is what I was made for, but more-so because I want to. The reason I can do the things I do, how I'm so strong. How I know so much about YoRHa and the machines is because…because…."
Leah released a breath she didn't know she was holding when the silver-haired woman paused in her explanation, anxiously waiting for A2 to confirm what she had begun to suspect. A2's gray-blue eyes stared into Leah's emerald ones, a silent plea for acceptance dancing across their crystalline surface.
"It's because I am an Android."
A/N: Sooo sorry for the long break between chapters. I took a short break from writing to make sure I didn't get burnt out on the story. I love it too much to let that happen.
This chapter was a bit trickier to write than I had expected, some parts coming to me much easier than others. Our first fight scene(one-sided as it was) and some big revelations for Leah, some of which she was already figuring out. Next chapter will have a lot more for her to deal with
A big thank you again to everyone who gave my story a chance. It truly means a lot to me.