"Duck!"
Yelping in fright at the combat android's sudden shout, Leah barely had time to duck down before a foot sailed past right where her head had been mere moments ago, A2 pivoting expertly on her heel before returning back into a battle stance.
"Now sweep the leg!" Listening to the silver-haired woman's instructions, A2 having drilled this lesson into her mind over the last couple of days, Leah stuck out her leading leg and kicked with all her might against the back of the former YoRHa soldiers feet, causing her to fall onto the ground with a loud thump.
"Place the pipe across the chest and stab at the head." Using her previous momentum, the human girl swung her leg over A2's prone body, her lead pipe placed securely across the silver-haired woman's chest to pin her arms to the ground, Leah slipped the knife from its holster and brought it inches from the android's steel-blue eyes. A2 did not flinch one bit, even with the blade hovering precariously over her face, a proud smile curling on her lips, one Leah returned with a joyous one of her own.
"Good job." Letting the combat android back to her feet, Leah slightly embarrassed as she climbed off of the silver-haired woman's body, the compromising position they were just in registering in the human girl's mind. Dusting herself off, A2 turned back to the brown-haired girl with a professional scowl, all business once more. "Let's try it once more. Put more force behind the kick and try to aim for the ankles. But remember, for the stubby machines just go for the knees. Their body will do the rest."
As A2 continued her lecture, Devola and Popola were watching the training session with small amused grins on both their faces, the twins have made Leah's daily practice with the combat android a must-see experience for themselves.
After the horrifying experience with Adam and Eve, finally sick and tired of being a victim and a burden, Leah had asked A2 to help teach her a way to help defend herself, determined to become stronger. The former YoRHa soldier had readily, almost gleefully, agreed to train the human girl in combat, A2's steel-blue eyes alight with fire and determination every second she spent teaching Leah how to defend herself. A2 was delighted to share her knowledge, the only thing she has ever been good at, with the brown-haired girl.
While supportive of the human girl and her want to become stronger and more independent, the redheaded twins were ashamed to admit that they got a small bit of joy from seeing Leah's less than graceful movements and hearing her various yelps and screams of panic. Though they had to admit that she had improved greatly since her first lesson, one where the time-traveling girl had inadvertently struck herself in the face with her pipe, causing her nose to leak a substantial amount of blood until Popola handed her a handkerchief, which Leah graciously accepted.
"Well done Leah." Beaming brightly at the combat androids words of praise, Leah lightly dabbing at her face with a towel provided by the twins, sweat dripping off her brow as she tried to regain her breath after their intense training session. A2 was nothing if not a strict, yet fair, teacher.
The grace and fluidity of her movements while she taught, no doubt from her years of fine-tuning her abilities, made it hard for Leah to concentrate. Seeing someone so sure of themselves, a true master of their craft at work, dazzled the brown-haired girl.
"If you ever find yourself on the ground with an enemy approaching, try and stick your knife into their knee joints. That will stall them long enough or even topple them over for you to finish them off or get to a safe distance to properly eliminate them."
Listening to A2's instructions with rapt attention, Leah couldn't help the small smile that started curling at the corner of her mouth, her emerald gaze softening as the No. 2 model android continued her lecture. That she, Devola and Popola as well, would take so much time out of their day to help her, to be patient and understanding when she felt like yelling out in frustration at her lack of progress, to spend hours upon hours training her when they could be doing something more useful or exciting with their precious time, warmed her heart greatly. It made the human girl feel special, loved. That she truly belonged in this time.
Noticing that A2 had stopped talking, blushing slightly at the mock glare the combat android was shooting her, the sly grin on the androids face letting her know she had been caught daydreaming. Casting her gaze aside in shame, Leah's green eyes widened slightly when she noticed a couple of dark silhouettes enter the little makeshift training ground they had made for themselves at the back of the camp, their silver hair shining brilliantly beneath the suns rays.
"2B! 9S!" Leah called out to the returning YoRHa soldiers as she waved cheerfully at the approaching pair, an excited grin plastered on the brown-haired girls face, one 9S returned with just as much enthusiasm. 2B meanwhile opted for a simple smile of her own as she raised her hand to politely wave back at the beaming human.
It had been a couple of days since Leah had last seen the two soldiers, the various missions sent to them by YoRHa, as well as frequent return trips to the bunker, had kept them apart. Despite the rough times they had together, from their violent first meeting to Leah's blow up at the androids, they were slowly becoming an important fixture in her life.
"I hope we are not interrupting your lesson." 2B nodded pleasantly toward her combat brethren, the former YoRHa soldier returning it with a simple lifting of her hand in greeting. Though not as hostile as they once were, there was still a small underlying tension between the two female androids. "I do hope A2 hasn't been too hard on you."
"She's plenty tough. Give her some time and she'll be fending off machines single handily." Giggling bashfully at A2's praise, a small bubble of happiness growing in her chest from the androids kind words, Leah pulled the pair of soldiers into a friendly hug.
"Hey, no hogging her!" Yelping in surprise at the sudden feeling of another pair of hands around her waist, Leah was suddenly pulled from the YoRHa androids embrace by the redheaded twins, Devola and Popola lifting her onto their shoulders before retreating behind the stationary A2 for protection, sticking their tongues out at the baffled pair of soldiers. A2 merely shook her head at the twin androids childish behavior, the combat android having become quite fond of the two sisters.
"Our apologies." Giggling softly into her fist, the barest hint of a smile on her lips, 2B turned to address them formally, exuding her patented professionalism as she spoke.
"Pascal has informed us of another group of machines that live in the forest. They seemed to have formed some kind of kingdom there."
"I know of them. A crazy bunch that fancies themselves as knights." A2 scoffed derisively as she remembered her multiple run-ins with the fanatic robots, her anger bubbling up slightly as she remembered how they had endangered Leah's life the day they left the lab. "I'm surprised YoRHa decided to work with Pascal though."
"He has proven to be quite useful and very different from the rest of the machines." 9S responded coolly as the twins placed Leah back onto the ground, both of them grinning mischievously as they kept their arms wrapped around her back. "2B and I were planning on learning more about these forest robots and we were wondering if you and Leah would like to join us?"
"The forest?" Turning to stare at the human girl in their arms, Devola and Popola were surprised to find Leah staring wide-eyed and fearful at 9S, a slight tremor running through her body as she remembered just what was buried deep within that forest.
Due to the hectic and sometimes life-threatening events that had passed since leaving that forest, Leah hadn't had time to dwell too long about the place where she had first woken up in this new time, nor on the many lives that had been lost while she slept. Their decaying bodies, their peaceful smiles, so full of hope for the future, rotting away to nothing. Their wide-eyed stares as they desperately clawed at the door for freedom, hands bloody and broken, all flashed through her mind in an instant.
Her promise had not been forgotten, but the faces of the ones she had made it too had remained lurking in the shadows of her mind, prepared to remind her of just how lucky she had been, that her life could have been lost just as easily, one of many forgotten to time.
"Hey, Leah." A2's soft voice pulled the brown-haired girl out of her spiraling thoughts, the androids calloused hand gently placed upon her cheek as her steel-blue eyes stared warmly into her emerald ones. Leah's bottom lip trembled slightly as she gripped tightly onto A2's shirt, her fingers curling around the dark fabric in a vice-like grip. "You're ok. You're strong. I know you are."
Nodding slightly after a brief pause, taking in shuddering breaths as the trembling in her body slowly subsided, Leah placed her hand softly over A2's before lowering them both down, keeping a firm grasp on it as she gently interlaced her fingers with the silver-haired androids.
"Thank you, A2." Smiling softly back at her, A2 gave Leah's hand one last squeeze before letting go, the brown-haired girl immediately missing the warmth of the silver-haired woman's skin. Turning to the woman at her side, Devola and Popola giving her a knowing, yet still concerned, look, Leah pulled them tighter to her side in a makeshift hug. "Thank you two, as well. I'm ok, I promise."
Looking around at her android companions, each of them giving her a worried look, Leah waved them off with a reassuring smile, letting them know she was ok but grateful for their concern. Leah felt blessed to have so many caring and loving friends in this new world. It helped Leah feel more secure and confident in herself, knowing she has people there for her should she fall. She hopes to one day do the same be the same for them.
"I'd like to go. This society of machines sounds interesting, even if A2 and I had a bad experience with them before." Laughing nervously at the memory, Leah nevertheless gave them a confident stare, her previous fear all but forgotten. She had to be stronger for all of them. The time-traveling girl was determined to walk tall among them, to fight side by side with the androids without the need for worry on either side.
"We can head out immediately if you are ready to go. The earlier the better, right?" 9S clenched his fists together in excitement, bouncing on heels as he was ready to get this new adventure started, the scanner model wanting nothing more than to question the brown-haired girl all about the past and human civilization.
"Calm down, 9S." Reprimanding her partner for his lack of professionalism, 9S pouting slightly from the short-haired woman's harsh tone, 2B turned to Leah with a gentle smile, the only male android grumbling quietly at his fellow soldier's obvious favoritism toward the human. "We can leave whenever you are ready."
"I'm good to go now. I'm already dressed for the occasion." Dressed in tight-fitting black leggings, a pair of loose-fitting gray shorts, and a simple pink tank top, Leah was more than ready for action. It felt good to finally have clothes fitting for a situation, let alone having something new to wear every day.
"Very well. Shall we go?" Giving 2B a nod of affirmation, A2 retrieved Leah's weapons from the ground before handing them to her with a small smile, one the brown-haired girl returned ten-fold as she secured the knife and pipe securely upon her body before following the YoRHa soldiers toward the camp's entrance.
Stepping out into the city ruins, the ever-present sun shining down upon the destroyed landscape, Leah could feel a small pit starting to form in her stomach as she spotted the barest hint of the treetops off in the distance, a reminder of just where they were heading. Leah was still determined to see this through, but that did not mean she was completely over what had happened. Nevermind the fact that there was a long trek awaiting them, the city even harder to traverse now with the gigantic crater located at its center.
"Do you want me to carry you?" Leah turned to her android companion, eyes widened slightly in shock as a light blush covered her cheeks, slightly embarrassed to be caught lost in thought twice in one day. "We can cross the city much faster that way. If you are alright with that, of course."
"You must have read my mind. That is a very good idea." Laughing jovially, Leah was prepared to jump onto the combat androids back like they had done when climbing up the elevator shaft, when she was suddenly lifted off of the ground into A2's arms, the silver-haired woman cradling her securely against her chest bridal style.
"Let's go." Dashing off at great speed, the trio of androids made their way quickly, yet safely, through the city, Leah blushing up a storm as the warmth from A2's body surrounded her, the feeling of the former YoRHa soldiers strong arms holding her close causing her heart to beat like mad in her chest.
"I THOUGHT YOU MEANT PIGGYBACK!"
"Is it really through here?" Stepping into the abandoned shopping center, their footsteps echoing loudly within it's destroyed interior, Leah looked about quizzically for the apparent entrance to the Forest Kingdom. The last time she and A2 had been here she had not seen such a thing, but, in her defense, she wasn't really looking for one, her mind too preoccupied with finding some new clothes.
"There should be an entrance near the back that leads into the forest." 9S pointed toward the general direction of a security gate, it's metallic shutters smashed outward with a giant hole in the middle. Something else had been through here and had not been gentle when they left.
Making their way through the central hall, Leah immediately noticed 9S bouncing around with barely restrained glee as his head swiveled around frantically, trying to take in everything around him at once.
"First time inside of a mall, 9S?" Leah grinned cheerfully when the male androids gaze snapped over to her, an excited smile on his lips as he nodded vigorously in response, the human girl catching 2B look of consternation at her partner's childish demeanor. Clearly, this wasn't a one-time thing with him.
"Yes, but I've read up as much as possible about them. Is it true humans would just come here to 'hang out'? What function did that serve? Why would they spend so much of their leisure time shopping instead of doing something productive? I heard-"
Leah stared wide-eyed as 9S kept rambling on and on at great speed, seemingly endless questions falling from his lips as he gestured wildly about, wanting to know anything and everything about what humans would do at a mall. He must have been holding this all back for awhile.
"Woah, woah! Slow down 9S." Stopping abruptly, his mouth clamping shut with a loud 'click', 9S looked around at his female companions, each with a separate emotion on their faces that ranged from overwhelmed all the way to annoyed. Noticing his faux pas, the scanner model android lowered his head bashfully, lightly rubbing his shoulder as he toed remorsefully at the ground like a scolded child.
Grinning at the boy's clear enthusiasm for learning, perhaps something to do with his classification?, Leah gave him a couple of pats on the back to try and cheer him up. Wanting to learn shouldn't be something you get punished for.
"Don't be so down. Just hit me with a lot there." Leah grinned as she looked around the ruined mall, a wistful smile on her lips. "The mall was mainly meant as a place to get all your shopping done in one convenient building, but with kids and lots of adults having more free time in their lives, it became a great place to go just to have fun with friends or look around. There was just so much to do and see in one place it was a great option if you just weren't sure what you wanted to do."
Continuing their walk, the androids listened to Leah's nostalgic ramblings with great interest, the mundanity of such a life a foreign concept to a race created simply for war. It sounded like a wonderful dream to them, to live life so carefree and self-indulgent, only caring about your own and others happiness instead of a 'greater good' imposed onto you against your will.
"You know what we should do?!" Whirling around to face her android companions, all of them staring at her with the same questioning gaze, Leah gave them a beaming grin before pointing excitedly at the various shops littering the building. "We should all come back here, together, some time and have our own little 'shopping' trip."
Three sets of blue eyes stared at their human companion in awe, Leah continuing to grin cheerfully back at them, before each of them broke out in a large smile of their own, clearly loving the idea.
"That would be amazing." 9S cheered happily as he turned to face his YoRHa partner, clearly looking for approval from his superior.
"It does sound lovely." 2B gave the excited boy an approving nod, her hand placed delicately over her chest as she imagined such a day where the four of them can enjoy themselves peacefully and without worry. A life free from the shackles of obligation.
A2 merely gave the human girl a nod in response, the sparkle of joy and happiness in her steel-blue eyes being all the answer Leah needed. Heart swelling with elation, Leah leapt recklessly at her companions, the androids deftly catching her in their arms before being pulled into a giant group hug by the brown-haired girl.
"Yesss! Alright! Let's get this mission over with and then we can plan our fun shopping trip!" Pulling out of the hug, Leah raised her arms into the air with a loud cheer, the androids simply smiling at the time-traveling girl's enthusiasm, one that ended up being quite infectious as they all joined in with a cheer of their own.
"I got you." Grabbing a hold of A2's outstretched hand, the android gripping her hand gently but firmly, Leah leapt off of the last rock outcropping sticking out of the river and into the silver-haired woman's arms. A2 held her there for a couple of seconds longer, just enjoying the feeling of her body so close to hers, soft and warm, before letting go, Leah giving her a thankful smile.
"Thanks. I really didn't feel like getting my new shoes wet today." Laughing softly at her human companion's statement, something she couldn't really relate to as she lacked common footwear to begin with, A2 and Leah made their way over to their awaiting companion, 2B and 9S scouting ahead for any potential threats.
The foursome had already been attacked three times since entering the forest, the machines, dressed crudely as knights, patrolling the area in great numbers. They had even stumbled upon a training field where one of them was motivating his troops with a rousing speech before turning to attack the so-called 'invaders' of their sacred land. Despite their numbers and rudimentary weaponry, they stood no chance against three seasoned soldiers, even Leah had managed to eliminate a couple with the techniques A2 had taught her.
Deciding to take a more roundabout way, one less likely to lead to another battle, the traveling companions managed to avoid more fighting, at least for the time being. Sadly, in this world, fighting seemed to be an inevitability.
"The place they mentioned must be getting close, the amount of enemies on patrol has increased significantly." Turning a sharp corner, A2 turned to check on her human companion, only to find Leah staring unblinking into the distance with the same distant, wide-eyed stare as before. "Leah?"
Stepping closer to the stationary girl, A2 scanned her surrounding to confirm her suspicions as she placed a comforting hand on Leah's shoulder, the brown-haired girl not even reacting one bit to the androids touch.
The overgrown vines, the obscuring outcropping of rocks, the faded remnants of a well-worn path. Gritting her teeth, her black box throbbing in pain for her human friend, A2 knew exactly where they were, the memory of that day, the good and the bad, seared forever in her mind.
This is where she had found Leah and where the last of humanity lay dead in their glass coffins.
Removing her hand from Leah's shoulder, A2 gently pulled the smaller girl into her chest, wrapping her arm securely across her shoulder, her hand running soothingly through the human's soft brown hair. Interlacing their fingers, the combat android held Leah's hand in a strong, caring grip, not saying a word as she let the human girl deal with her grief in silence.
The two of them remained in their silent embrace for several minutes, neither of them uttering a single word or making a sound, the only movement coming from Leah's gentle breathing. There was nothing that needed to be said as both of them shared the same pain of what they saw that day and would both be there for each other until it eventually faded away, always ready to support each other should it ever arise again.
Soft footsteps alerted the combat android to the YoRHa soldiers return, the pair obviously wondering what had happened to the other two in their group, but A2 continued to gently hold Leah in her arms, hoping 2B and 9S would understand to remain quiet for now, which, luckily, they did.
"I'm ready to keep going." Leah's words were soft and small that A2 had barely heard them, her hot breath ghosting across the combat androids skin. A2 simply nodded in response before slowly pulling away, their finger remaining interlocked as they walked over to their YoRHa companions, 2B nodding in understanding at her as they passed by.
Watching the pair leave, 2B felt a sudden jab in her ribs as she turned to growl at the scanner model at her side, a look of clear annoyance on her face. 9S, meanwhile, had a cheeky grin spread on his lips as he repeatedly pointed toward the pairs interlocking hands, blatantly trying to hint toward something about their relationship. 2B merely rolled her eyes at her partner's immature actions before following after the retreating pair, not willing to dignify him with a response.
It wasn't much longer until they finally found what they were looking for, the forest slowly giving way to old stone pathways lined with columns that led to a crumbling bridge, one protected by a hulking machine that took their combined effort to take down.
It was once they set foot upon that stone bridge, the tall canopy of trees giving way to the open sky, when they finally laid eyes upon an amazing and grand structure.
"Wow…I can't believe it's still here."
A magnificent stone castle stood before them, a large, protective wall surrounding the main structure, the ravages of time have left the immense building mostly untouched. Spires, rising like spears into the sky, as if they could pierce the heavens themselves, led to crumbling guard towers and overgrown walkways, the immensity and splendor of the castle has remained firmly intact despite the millennia of neglect.
The foursome stared in awe at the grand castle as they made their way across the crumbling stone bridge, A2 keeping a firm grasp upon the time-traveling girl until they clambered their way up onto the ramparts and dropping into the courtyard below.
"This is amazing." Leah breathed out as they passed through the looming castle gates and into the darkened entrance hall, her emerald eyes alight with wonder as she took in the ancient majesty of where she was. "How could it have survived for so long."
"What do you mean, Leah?" 9S asked curiously as he kept his eyes firmly locked in front of him, all of them aware of how at any moment they could be ambushed by a horde of crazed machines within the castles darkened halls. Climbing up a set of stairs, they walked into a well-lit part of the castle, ancient banners hanging in tatters on the wall.
"This place is much older than even the time I came from, by several hundred years. It was falling apart even then, but here it is, still standing. It's amazing."
"What was this place used for?" A2 asked as she leapt from onto a platform higher up with Leah in her arms, many of the staircases having collapsed over the years, leaving many areas inaccessible to the human girl with her limited climbing skills. Jumping down back onto the main level, A2 placed Leah back onto her feet, the human girl giving her a quick 'thank you' before they continued on, the group suspiciously having not run into any resistance so far.
"Castles were built a long time ago for nobility, usually Kings and Queens, to live in. They were meant to house many people at once, from their servants and knights, all the way to fellow nobility, mostly of lesser rank then they. Times were not great back then, the life expectancy and medicine of the time being extremely poor, but humans always looked back upon those times as something magical and regal. Something about it just sparked humanity's imagination."
Leah's voice echoed off of the castle wall as she continued her explanation, her words getting more and more passionate as she went on, her emerald eyes sparkling brilliantly with delight.
The androids were enthralled by the human girl's words, the wonder she was feeling exuding to them as she spoke of this long-forgotten time with so much reverence and passion. Catching movement within the shadows, the trio of androids noticed several pairs of yellow eyes peering out of the darkness at the human girl, the machines listening transfixed to the human's stories, not making a single move to attack.
"The stories of that time often turned into legends and myths, filled with fantastical beasts and magic, of knights fighting for love and honor while evil mages and tyrannical kings terrorized the lands. I was always fascinated by those times, not just because of the stories of magic and monsters, but of life within the castle walls. The regality and splendor, the thieving and backstabbing, the sheer perseverance to live in such harsh times. They made we want to be a writer, to share such splendid stories with others, to let their imagination run free as mine once did."
The group entered a library that rose several stories into the sky, the walls lined with seemingly endless rows of books, their spines weathered and faded over time, leaving the words completely illegible. Pulling a book from the wall, centuries-old dust covering every inch of the well-worn tome, Leah gently opened it up, several blank pages floating to the floor, the words having long since disappeared.
"I'm afraid to lose such stories."
A somber mood followed the group as they continued their way through the castle, climbing up ladders and jumping down broken staircases as they made their way through the seemingly endless maze of winding corridors and crumbled doorways. The human girl's last words hung heavy amongst the group, the notion of stories and imagination a foreign concept to the war-driven androids.
But, hearing Leah speak about kings and knights, of such a romanticized time, had sparked something within the trio of androids, a want to make the human girls dream a reality. To learn these stories, to share them with others, to give them the same feeling of awe and wonder they had felt as when Leah had told them. They wanted to preserve her stories.
Jumping over a collapsed bridge, 2B and 9S sharing their Pods with A2 to help get Leah across, the group entered what seemed like a throne room. The room was much bigger than the rest, columns rising high to the ceiling as large banners hung from the walls, a mysterious staircase leading to a room overgrown with trees resting at the end of it.
As soon as they stepped foot within the throne room, they were attacked by machines hiding in the shadows, clearly unwilling to let them go any further, the momentary peace from Leah's storytelling being broken the second they stepped foot into this area. Brandishing their weapons, the androids swiftly jumped into the fray, Leah keeping her steel pipe poised in front of her, the lessons A2 taught her running through her mind as she kept her eye out for any robots that might try and attack her.
Pressing the machines backward with their attack, the robots started fighting fiercer and more desperate the closer the androids got to the stairway, whatever they were protecting clearly to be found in that room behind them. It was while they were pushing them back that the androids failed to notice a single robot slip past them and charge toward the unprotected human.
"Please!" Leah screamed desperately at the charging machine, his red eyes locked directly on her as he pointed his makeshift spear at the human girl's body. "You don't have to do this! We don't have to fight!"
Leah's words went unheeded as he continued to close in on her with the clear intention to kill her, the tip of his spear glinting menacingly as it pointed directly at her heart. Steeling herself, Leah placed one front in front of the other into the battle stance A2 had shown her earlier, her pipe held protectively in front of her as she tried to remember what to do in this situation.
Glancing quickly behind the approaching robot, Leah caught a glimpse of A2 rushing toward her, the combat android running as fast as she can to try and take out the machine before it can get to her, her steel-blue eyes wide with fear as she desperately yelled out to Leah.
Knowing she would be too late to help, Leah waited for the machine to come within range of her pipe before deftly deflecting the spear to the side, the top-heavy robot stumbling slightly at the sudden shift in balance. Turning her body sideways to avoid colliding with its body, Leah swung her pipe with all her might at the robot's knee joint, the sound of metal colliding with metal ringing in her ears, the force of the impact vibrating up into her hands causing her to almost drop her weapon.
The perfectly placed hit was all that was needed, the loss of balance and strike to the knee causing the machine to topple over onto the ground in a heap. This split second was all A2 needed as she quickly closed the distance and leapt onto the robot's back, plunging her sword fatally into its head. Red eyes flickered briefly before extinguishing forever.
"Leah! Are you ok?" A2 called out frantically to the brown-haired girl, steel-blue eyes scanning over her body for any injuries, a relieved sigh escaping her lips when she found none.
"Why?" Staring worriedly at the human girl, A2 followed her line sight, Leah staring unblinkingly at the machine's corpse as she shook her head in dismay. "Why wouldn't it listen?"
"Like myself, Machines can be quite dumb." A2 said as she turned to face the robot's lifeless body, it's tattered clothes hanging limply over its rotund form, the once glowing eyes now just dull cloudy glass. "All we know is to fight."
"Shut up!"
"W-what?" Taken aback by the human's sudden angry outburst, A2 stared wide-eyed as Leah stalked up to her, the shorter girl glaring angrily up at her as she poked her repeatedly in the chest.
"You are not stupid! How dare you call yourself that! Did you think I was just going to stand here and agree with you about something so idiotic!? Goddammit A2, you are amazing, stop thinking you are less than you are!"
All A2 could do was nod dumbly in response as Leah pulled her into a rough hug, the android staring at the human girl in shock, her black box beating strongly in her chest. A couple of giggles pulled her attention away from the girl wrapped around her waist, A2 glaring darkly at the scanner model android, 9S unabashedly laughing at the fact that an android was just berated by a human girl for calling herself dumb. Even 2B was amused by it, the usually more proper of the two demurely holding a fist in front of her face to try and hide the growing smile on her lips, A2 growling in annoyance as she felt Leah's body start to tremble with barely restrained laughter.
After getting all the laughs out of their system and taking a couple of minutes to apologize to a pouting A2, the foursome ascended the final staircase into the awaiting throne room, bits of sunlight creeping in between the roots crawling through the collapsed ceiling.
There was only a single item to be found within, the room completely devoid of anything else besides a strange-looking crib sitting upon a raised dais at the end. Cautiously walking up to the crudely constructed crib, the four leaned over to stare at its contents, their eyes widening at what they saw.
"It's a baby." A small machine lay swaddled up within the crib, it's green eyes staring up at them in wonder as it rolled it's head back and forth to stare at the strange newcomers, a single screw mirroring a pacifier placed on its face. "Is this the King they kept screaming about?"
They all stared at the child in confusion for a long time, the sheer absurdity of what they had found leaving them in baffled silence. After hearing all those crazed robots scream reverently about their leader, their King, as they threw themselves one by one at the seemingly unstoppable intruders, only to find it to be a baby, left them all stupefied
"Should we kill it?" A2 was the first to voice the unspoken question among them, none of them reacting shocked at the violent option presented to them. Machines tried to kill them and they killed them in turn. In a way, it was the most natural option to them.
"No." Leah said firmly, her emerald gaze remaining on the child king in the crib, her lips drawn into a thin frown. "Machines can't grow old, right?"
Nodding in response to her question, the androids turned to stare at the child once more, aware of what the human girl was getting at.
"He's stuck like this, possibly forever. A child is no threat." Leah said softly as she began rocking the crib back and forth, the baby cooing gently at the soothing movement, a tiny smile coming to their lips as they watched the small machine wiggle in excitement. Only A2 remained quiet, her steel-blue gaze pointed fixedly at the machine laying in the bed.
"I agree."
All of them turned to the combat android in surprise, having not expected someone who hated machines as much as A2 did to agree to something like this. Leah smiled proudly at the combat android, remembering how hard it must be for her to let go of such deep-seated resentment and let one of the things that had brought her so much pain to live.
"Come on. We should head back. There isn't anything else for us to see here." 2B said as she turned back toward the staircase, 9S following dutifully behind her after taking one last look at the strange machine they had found. He was excited to share these findings with command.
Leah was the next to go, the brown-haired girl rocking the crib back and forth a couple more times, before waving goodbye to the child. Stepping off the dais, the time-traveling girl looked over her shoulder at her silver-haired companion as she made her way out of the throne room, a look of worry etched on her face when she made no move to follow her, A2's eyes never wavering from the child king.
This left A2 all alone, the former YoRHa soldier's piercing gaze still centered upon the childlike king within his bed, her hand repeatedly clenching open and closed at her side as the memories of her past flashed in her mind. All the deaths, the destruction, the never-ending pain the machines had inflicted upon her life ran through her head. Their existence brought nothing but suffering to the androids, to her. Only recently had she finally been able to let go of all the hate, to finally let go.
Lifting her hand, A2 placed her palm softly against the baby's head, it's green eyes turning to look at her. Smiling softly, the former YoRHa soldier gently began petting the king, her calloused hands running across its rough metallic surface in a soothing motion, the babies excited twitches and coos letting her know he was enjoying it.
Giving its head one last pat, a soft giggle escaping her throat as it let out a whine of protest at the loss of attention, A2 went to follow after her companions, feeling like she could finally begin to let the pain of the past go.
A/N: Baby robots don't deserve stabs.
A little of character progression for A2 here as she takes a step closer to letting her past go. There is still a long way to go for her, something so traumatic and left festering for so long does not just simply go away. But she is on her way there. She is not alone anymore after all.
This chapter was also a big step forward for Leah when it comes to being more active with fights and dealing with the dangers of the new world. But the past still lingers. We also got some bonding between the four of them and we learn a bit more about Leah's time in the past, of what she had hoped to become before everything went to hell.
Next chapter: Buy from his store.
Big hearty thank you once again to all you wonderful, wonderful people. I am so blessed and honored that anyone even gives this story the time of day, something I am eternally grateful for. I love you all and hope you all are staying safe! This story is far from over and I hope you look forward to more!