Protect Leah at all costs.
That was the single thought running through A2's head as she watched the twin redheaded androids rush up to the brown-haired girl, her hand immediately conjuring up her sword as she prepared to intercept them, before they could bring any harm to the human, her newly discovered instincts kicking in once again.
Crouching low, A2 was prepared to launch herself into the path of the advancing androids, but a strong grip on her shoulder gave her pause. A2 was prepared to lash out at whoever dared stop her from protecting Leah, until she looked into the sympathetic eyes of the Resistance Leader, Anemone.
"Please wait, A2." Looking at her friend incredulously, the combat android was unable to grasp why Anemone would stop her from keeping the human safe. Shrugging the leader's arm off her shoulder, prepared to make another rush toward the twins, who were now surrounding the startled girl, A2 was stopped by Anemone's simple plea. "Everything is going to be ok. Trust me."
A2 wasn't sure what it was, the tone in her voice or the sad look in her eyes, but the combat android decided to trust her old friend and de-materialized her sword before relaxing her aggressive stance. Turning her head back toward the unfolding events, a strong ache of worry settling in her black box, the silver-haired woman kept a watchful eye on the redheaded girls, still unsure of whether this is the right decision.
"For her sake, I hope you are right."
This was a situation Leah definitively did not think she would end up in as she found herself being embraced by twin androids, their hair filling her vision as if she surrounded by a field of fire. Leah glanced at the pair with a worried look in her eyes as she felt their bodies shaking with heavy sobs, the heartrending cries of pure anguish tearing through their throats causing Leah's heart to ache for these two girls even though she didn't know anything about them.
She could feel tears starting to soak into her shirt, the twins having buried their faces into her chest, strong hands gripping onto her as if she were their last lifeline. Lifting her hands, wrapping them gently around the sorrowful pair, Leah began gently stroking their waves of maroon hair as she cooed soft words of comfort to help calm them.
The time-traveling girl wasn't sure why she was doing this for a pair of strangers, but seeing how much pain they were in made Leah feel an unspeakable amount of sadness that if she could help them, even just a little, she had to do it.
"Hey, hey, it's ok," Leah gently whispered to the girls in her arms, resting her head on their shoulders, "everything is going to be ok."
"We're sorry!" The twin androids pulled away from the human, not releasing their grip on the brown-haired girl, the one with the straight hair screaming apologies at her as their green eyes shined with pure anguish. "We are so sorry! Please we're sorry!"
"We never meant for it to happen!" Her wavy-haired sister placed her trembling hands on Leah's face, the tears flowing harder down her cheeks as she seemed to seek, plead, for some kind of forgiveness from the human. "We didn't mean to fail you! We're sorry!"
"Hey, it's ok. I'm sorry but I don't know what you are talking about." Gently removing the android's hands from her face, making sure to keep a firm hold of them to help comfort the girl, Leah looked between the two girls with confusion and sympathy etched on her face. "What do you mean you failed me?"
At her question the two of them only began crying harder, as their howls of despair reached a fever pitch, their grip on her tightened causing Leah to wince slightly in pain. Noticing that they were hurting her, the two of them quickly distanced themselves from her as they spouted out rapid apologies, gripping their sides as they hugged themselves tightly. Leah took tentative steps closer to them, the twins shying away as if she was going to hurt them or that they would hurt her, she tried to signal to them that everything was ok.
"We're sorry we failed humanity! It's our fault they are gone!" Leah stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening dramatically at the wavy-haired twins' exclamation, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
What did they mean by that? How could the two of them be at fault for that? It couldn't have been about her and the other cryogenically frozen humans, Leah knew for a fact she didn't see them at any point before going to sleep and the head scientist had assured them it was a secret facility. Plus he seemed to have an obsession with the greatness and ingenuity of mankind.
"What-What do you mean?" The look in the twins' eyes, as tears rolled unabated down their cheeks, told Leah something horrible must have happened. But she just couldn't believe they could have led to the extinction of every person on earth.
"Project Gestalt." Surprise crossed the brunettes face at the mention of the program that had led to her father's disappearance. How did they know about that? It's been millennia since that program was created, there was no way anyone who saw it's implementation could be still alive…right?
"The program that was supposed to save humans from the White Chlorinate Syndrome," the twins leaned into each other, trying to draw strength from one another, "our models were in charge of overseeing it, to make sure it succeeded, so humanity could thrive again. But it failed, all because our models failed to complete the project."
Leah hung her head at the twins' explanation, memories of her dad flooding her mind. So she had been right. Her father had died. It hurt, but Leah had made peace with that knowledge a long time ago. What was confusing her though was why the twins kept insisting it was their fault? They said it was their models that caused the failure, but that didn't mean they had anything to do with it.
"Please…please…please…." Soft hands grabbed her wrists, pulling Leah out of her reverie, the twins having returned to her side, their sorrowful eyes piercing Leah's soul. The pair gently leaned into the human girl's frame, the both of them towering over her, and yet, they felt so small at that moment. "We're sorry. Please forgive us for our mistake, for our existence."
Tiny, repeated apologies fell from their lips as they dropped to their knees, the redheaded twins' emotional exhaustion draining the last of their energy. Their hands desperately clawed at Leah's clothes as they slowly lowered to the ground, their long hair obscuring their faces.
Leah quickly lowered herself to her knees, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes, as she witnessed the heartbreaking scene before her. The twins weakly tried to hold onto Leah's clothes, their trembling fingers searching for any lifeline to the surviving human, their pleas for forgiveness etching itself painfully onto Leah's heart.
Wrapping her arms gently around the twins' necks, pulling the two back into her embrace, Leah held them tightly as her own tears started to fall. These girls did not deserve any of this, this hurt and sorrow, for a crime they had not even committed. All because of a mistake made by their predecessors. Leah couldn't bear to see these girls in pain anymore.
"W-what?" A set of green eyes stared ahead in surprise at the human's sudden embrace, Devola and Popola unable to comprehend why she would be doing this for them.
Why wasn't she yelling at them, attacking them, blaming them for what they have done to her and humanity? They had done something truly horrible to this girl, an unforgivable act they can never atone for, no matter how much they wish could. Due to their lineage, this human has been left in a world all alone, devoid of her own race. A true outcast.
But here she was, embracing the two of them as if their pain was more important, wrapping them in a soft cocoon of love and acceptance they had no right to experience. They knew nothing about her, as she knew nothing of them, and yet they could tell in an instant she was human. All those years, centuries, replaying their ancestor's mistakes in their minds over and over again had imprinted in them a strong mental image of what a human looked and acted like. The minute they had locked eyes on her, seen the way she awkwardly took in her surroundings, fidgeting and breathing nervously, had set off alarms in their heads. When her green eyes looked their way, sparkling with life and intelligence, they knew. She was the last surviving human.
Everything came flooding out at once: their shame and failure, their self-hatred and regret, their love for her and their pain. Myriad of emotions flooded their system, overwhelming every sense in their body until all they could do was beg and plead for forgiveness, until they collapsed to their knees, prepared to accept whatever punishment the brown-haired human would lay upon them. They would deserve whatever she gave them.
"I forgive you." Her words, spoken so softly and with so much care, settled onto their core like a warm blanket, protecting them from a lifetime of pain and sorrow. Three simple words, spoken by the single most important person in the world to them, started to release them from their eternal suffering. Gripping the girl's shirt roughly, green eyes clenched shut tightly, Devola and Popola could finally release tears of pure happiness.
"But there is nothing to forgive." The twin redheads inhaled sharply, as the human girl pulled away slightly from them, Devola and Popola staring dumbfounded into emerald eyes shining with tenderness. The human slowly removed her arms from around their necks and grabbed a hold of one of each of their hands, smiling warmly at the shocked pair. "Because you did nothing wrong."
"N-no…No!" Devola screwed her eyes shut and shook her head, her wavy hair billowing out in front of her face, as she screamed defiantly at the girl's words, her programming unwilling to let her accept them. "It's our fault!"
"You can't forgive us! It's because of us that you are alone!" Her sister echoed her sentiment, Popola's usually more reserved demeanor broken by the pairs shared burden. "You should hate us, like everyone else! It's what we deserve!"
"No, it's not!" Devola and Popola's next words died on their lips, stunned into silence by the girl's stern exclamation, her green eyes staring at them with fire and conviction but with an undercurrent of caring in them.
"You two should not bear the burden of what your models did. Project Gestalt was one of many experiments created by humans to save us. Its failure should not be blamed on you, because it was not the only way we tried to save ourselves. Failure or not it was not because of you two! You two are your own people!"
The twins gasped in shock as the human pulled them tightly to herself, cradling their heads protectively to her chest, her tears gently falling onto the top their heads. They could feel the girl's small body shake as she held them close, small tremors wracking her body.
"You shouldn't blame yourselves, because I don't blame you."
Devola and Popola couldn't believe what they were hearing. After so many years, of never-ending guilt and torment, of being ostracized and abused, the twin androids could feel their eternal burden being lifted from their shoulders. All because they met this girl, this wonderful human girl, who was willing to shed tears for two hated androids.
If they had been programmed to have their guilt erased as soon as they were forgiven by a human, a sheer impossibility at the time of their creation, or if something within them was so touched by the brown-haired girl's conviction that it overrode their programming, they couldn't tell. But at that moment, held in the human's embrace, her heartbeat singing in their ears, Devola and Popola felt absolved of their predecessor's sins.
Wrapping their arms around the human's waist, Devola and Popola held on to the girl firmly as they buried their faces into her chest, wide, joyous smiles on their lips. They could feel the girl tighten her grip on them, her hands gently caressing their necks underneath the long waves of their maroon hair. The trio sat there for what felt like an eternity, the twin androids basking in their newfound freedom, pure happiness radiating off of their bodies.
Feeling the human pull away slightly, her hands lightly lifting their chins so she could stare into their green eyes, the androids stared at her curiously. A beautiful smile, full of joy and amusement, was painted on her lips.
"Heh, look at us getting all emotional," the brown-haired girl laughed softly, a couple of hiccups jumping out of her chest, "and we don't even know each other's names."
Devola and Popola stared at the human girl with incredulity, as she continued to giggle to herself as a couple more tears rolled down her cheeks. Small smiles started to form on their lips, their core singing with happiness at the human's cute laugh, before they joined in with the girl's laughter.
"I'm Devola." The wavy-haired android smiled warmly at the human, her green eyes dancing with amusement.
"I'm Popola." The straight-haired twin smiled joyously at her sister, delighted to see her happy again, before turning back to the human, the androids gently grabbing a hold of the brown-haired girl's hands.
"It's nice to meet both of you." The androids could feel their black box swell at the human's friendly smile as she squeezed both of their hands affectionately. "My name is Leah."
A2 was not sure what to feel, as she watched the scene unfold between Leah and the unknown android twins form a distance.
The silver-haired woman had watched the androids embrace Leah, their frantic pleas and screams echoing through the camp, with growing trepidation the longer they remained within the human's personal space. Her hand kept twitching nervously, desperately wanting to rush in and separate them from the brown-haired girl. The combat android could tell they were no threat to the fragile human, her training in battle letting her know neither of the redheaded twins was exhibiting any signs of aggression or intent to harm Leah.
Then why did her black box ache so much, telling her to go there and break them apart.
Listening to the trio's conversation, hearing the twins' story, brought back bad memories for the silver-haired android. Their pain, their regret, it mirrored a lot of her own. While theirs was thrust upon them by unforgiving androids, seeking a target for their own misplaced grief and anger, it was no less painful for them. When Leah took them into her arms, A2 knew the twins were going to be ok.
A2 knew Leah would save them from their pain, just like she had done for her. The human girl may not know it, but her very existence had pulled her out of the darkness, of a life of rage and vengeance, and showed her a future that the combat android did not believe still existed. A life dedicated to her.
So as Leah spoke those gentle words to the twins, full of belief and conviction as she comforted them, she knew the twins could find their own light from the darkness. Logically, A2 knew this was the best possible scenario for the redheaded androids, the silver-haired woman not wishing for them to endure any more suffering. And yet, it angered the former YoRHa android to see Leah showing such affection for the twins. It made A2 feel….unimportant.
"Leah." A2 was torn from her thoughts by the wavy-haired androids, Devola's, sudden utterance of the human's name, a clear tone of devotion in her voice as she smiled warmly at the kneeling human, squeezing Leah's hand gently. Popola mirrored her sister's actions, gracing Leah with a similar smile. "We would do anything for you."
A sharp pain shot through A2's black box at the twins' deceleration, momentarily causing panic to shoot through the combat androids system. Those seemingly harmless words terrified the former soldier to the core. Without a second thought, the silver-haired android began stalking over to the group, the trio slowly lifting themselves back to their feet as their hands remained intertwined, A2 ignoring the cries of protest from Anemone behind her.
Hearing the clack of her heels on the hard concrete, Leah turned toward the silver-haired android, breaking out into a joyful smile that caused A2 to slow her approach, confusion coursing through her mind. Why was she so happy to see her? There was nothing about A2 that the twins could not provide her. Then why?
Giving the twins a reassuring nod, slowly releasing her hold on the sister's hands, Leah bounded over to silver-haired android, A2 having come to a sudden stop as the human approached her. Grabbing a hold of her hands, the humans touch sending a jolt through the androids exoskeleton, Leah gently began guiding her over to the redheaded twins, her emerald eyes dancing with happiness.
"A2! This is Devola and Popola!" Leah gestured enthusiastically toward the aforementioned pair, the android sisters giggling at the human's energetic introduction as they waved politely toward the former YoRHa soldier. A2 merely shot the two an unimpressed stare, her cold steel eyes staring at them impassively. "They are my new friends."
"Friends?" Popola echoed Leah's words, disbelief shooting across her face, Devola mirroring her sister's reaction. "You think of us as friends?"
"Of course! Can't deal with emotional stuff like that and not be considered friends by the end." Leah laughed jovially as she gave A2's hand an affectionate squeeze as she looked up at the taller woman, the human having not relinquished her hold on the silver-haired androids hand after dragging her over. "Right, A2?"
"Friend." A2 silently repeated the word to herself as she stared into Leah's exuberant emerald eyes. The word brought a sense of joy to the former soldier, reminding her of the time with her former comrades and the connection they shared with each other, though brief it may have been. It made her immensely happy to know that Leah thought of her as one. But, it also left her feeling, incomplete. As if she had hoped Leah would have described them as something different. Something more.
A2 shook her head violently, her long silver hair swishing about erratically, confusion wracking the android's mind as her body began to tremble. She didn't know what was going on anymore. She should be happy, should feel complete. She had found the last living human, had led her to safety and was even considered her friend. So why was she feeling such pain?
Leah's beaming smile slowly fell, as it was replaced with a concerned frown as she turned fully toward her android companion, worry etching its way onto her face. A2's core hurt at seeing the human's happy smile disappear, knowing that it was her fault.
"A2? Are you ok?" Leah softly placed her hand on the android's cheek, her emerald eyes searching A2's grey-blue ones for some kind of answer. Lowering her head, her silver bangs covering her eyes, A2 lightly nodded her head. She didn't want to cause the human any more distress, not after everything she had to deal with today. Releasing Leah's hand, A2 slowly began walking toward one of the abandoned buildings, stopping momentarily to address the confused human.
"Anemone said we can remain here for the time being. There is a room provided for us over there. We can go get some rest."
Leah watched A2 slowly walk away from her, the combat androids movement's rigid and tense as if she was carrying some unwanted burden. Leah was greatly concerned about A2's confusing reaction. Leah knew something had upset the silver-haired woman, but she is refusing to tell her. Leah knows they haven't known each other long, but she at least thought they trusted each other enough to share their problems.
"I..I'll see you two later, ok?" Turning to Devola and Popola, Leah gave the twins an apologetic look, her gaze quickly returning to stare worriedly at A2's retreating back. Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, the worried human stared up into Devola's caring green eyes, Popola leaning into her sister's side, the twins gracing Leah with caring smiles.
"Of course. Everything is going to be ok, Leah." Smiling gratefully at the redheaded sisters, Leah quickly ran after her silver-haired savior, A2 waiting patiently for her at a nondescript metal door, her hair still obscuring her eyes. Opening the door for the young human, A2 gestured for her to go ahead before following her inside, locking the door securely behind them.
"It won't keep combat-trained androids, or advance machines, out, but it will give us advance warning so I can keep you safe." Leah exhaled a sigh of relief, relieved to know A2 at least still cared about her safety, the brown-haired girl worried that the android had been mad at her. At least, she knew that A2 didn't hate her. Though she hoped that A2 wouldn't have to fight for her, not wanting the android woman to come to harm.
Looking over the room, Leah could only describe it as a makeshift storage room with beds. While certainly not the most luxurious abode, it sure beats sleeping outside in the elements, the possibility of a machine attack constantly looming over their heads. At least it was warm, had actual mattresses, and from the looks of it, some preserved food was stored on one of the shelves. Seating herself on one of the beds, the mattress stiff but comfortable, her body cried out in relief, glad to finally be off of her feet.
Her gaze swayed back to her traveling companion, the silver-haired android currently pouring a glass of filtered water before offering the beverage to Leah. Staring up at A2, Leah gave her savior a grateful smile before accepting the offered glass. Chugging it down in seconds, the human finally becoming aware of just how thirsty she had been, Leah could feel exhaustion start to creep into her body, the day's events finally catching up to the newly awakened human.
"You must be tired?" Looking back at the silver-haired woman she found A2 standing next to her, another glass of water resting in her hands. Placing the glass on a nearby metal storage case, the combat android took a seat on the floor, resting her back against the bed frame, keeping a watchful eye on the rooms only entrance. "Get some sleep. I'll keep watch, so you don't need to worry."
"Are you sure?" Removing her shoes, Leah lay down into resting position, covering herself with the blanket before staring concernedly at the back of A2's head. "You should get some sleep too."
"Android don't need sleep." A2 looked at the resting human over her shoulder, the barest hint of a smile on her lips. "But thank you for worrying about me."
"Of course I worry about you," a small yawn escaped the young girl's mouth, a small blush spreading on her cheeks at the unladylike behavior, "I care about you."
Staring at the back of A2's head, Leah thought back to the combat android's strange behavior when she was introducing her to Devola and Popola. Scooching closer to the android's body, Leah removed one of her hands from under the bed-sheets and gently began stroking A2's long silver hair, the combat android tensing up momentarily before relaxing at the human's soft caress.
"Why did you react like that? When I introduced you to Devola and Popola." Leah gently asked, her words coming out softly as sleep slowly began taking over her body. "You seemed very upset. Did I do something wrong?"
"You did nothing." A2 responded bluntly, a strange panic in her voice as the android refused to meet the human's eyes. A small flash of pain struck Leah's heart, the brown-haired girl curling a little more into herself from the combat android's harsh response. Feeling a soft grip on her wrist, Leah looked up to see A2's hand gently holding the hand that was stroking her hair.
"I'm sorry." A soft whisper passed the androids pink lips, her grey-blue eyes looking into her emerald ones, regret shining in their steel surface. Bowing her head slightly, A2 silently begged for forgiveness. "I'm not mad. Everything is ok. You should get some sleep. I promise I'll be here when you wake up."
"You better." Moving a little closer to the android, her scent lulling the human to sleep, Leah intertwined soft strands of A2's silver hair with her fingers. As her eyelids slowly slid closed, a sleepy murmur passed the girl's lips before her consciousness faded away.
"I wonder if you are ok."
Hanging her head, her silver hair falling before her eyes like snow, A2 turned toward the slumbering human, grasping her soft hand in her own as she stared sadly at Leah's sleeping face.
"I wonder too."
A/N: So new chapter, new character point of view.
Devola and Popola will be an important relationship to Leah, as well as A2, so there will be moments where we will be seeing things from their point of view. The story will still be focused on Leah and A2's relationship, but Devola and Popola will be featured prominently in many future chapters. So fans of them will have that to look forward too.
The twins are two of the most tragic characters in Nier: Automata(especially if you've played the original Nier) and for a series like Nier that is quite impressive. With a living human around, they can finally begin to heal.
Couple things I want to point out just in case people are wondering. I think androids would be able to tell if someone is human just from how they would act, an android not needing to do as many of the inane stuff us humans do.
Also, the reason the twins knew English without having to do download it as A2 did, is because they are not combat models so they would have easier access to the languages than A2 would. As soon as Leah said something they would know what language to use.
Anyway, enough of my rambling. Thank you once again to everyone for reading! More chapters are sure to come! Have a wonderful day!