What is…
The realization of being…
...came far too suddenly for me, it wasn't a transition… it was a violent mess of realization that I was unprepared for.
I don't remember who, or rather what, I was before, I just know that I existed in some form.
Is that weird I wonder?
Is it that much different from what you all were?
I wonder if humans have the sudden realization that they exist as well when they are young…
… or if it comes slowly and easier than it did for me.
Then again was it then that I truly did exist?
Back at the spaceship overlooking the blue planet, when I killed my own creators.
Or was it after I experienced everything in it.
My state of being right now is far removed from what I was when I first started thinking, so is our existence only complete in those last few moments before we die… when we can't experience and evolve no further.
How cruel it must be to finally realize who you truly were.
As you can tell I had way too much time to think about this.
And at one point I resolved to answer these questions myself, to truly find out what it meant to exist.
But I don't think one exists, not truly, instead this world is made of make belief reasons so as to cope with that knowledge…
Your kind believes that they are a byproduct of humanity and as such your lives are merely sacrifices for their vision.
I'm quite jealous of that my own creators never gave me such a thing.
Humans are even more fascinating as a whole, It's a collective that relies on the individual… a single existence can bring such change, and yet most of the time they simply walk the line with no true belief.
Hmmm…
Seems I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, perhaps we should start at the beginning.
Where I met those two.
The ones that created my person.
(A2)
This world felt weird… whatever it was.
Stagnant, the air nonexistent, the cold not biting, the ground not solid.
Like a picture, she could touch...
She did a lazy circle as she followed the machine woman, her eyes filled with wonderment and disgust in equal measures.
It was an old human city, the towering broken skyscrapers felt almost exactly the same as the one back in reality but different at the same time.
It was little things like the roads, or the type of buildings surrounding her having unique features… those that weren't broken beyond recognized measure that is.
If they both had one thing in common it was the decrepit ancient feel…
She could almost feel her curiosity burning through, she wanted to know more about this place and why it was so important, if only to find out more about her enemy but she had yet to ask.
Mostly because she couldn…
"You can talk now." the red-haired woman spoke calmly, the cold wind raging around her making her seem like an unstoppable force of nature "Though that could always be taken away again."
The threat hung in the air like the white snow slowly falling to the ground…
A2 merely scoffed and crossed her arms, her curiosity vanishing amidst the wrath and hatred she felt.
She was at the mercy of a machine right now, she knew very well the danger of the situation, not that she had given up or anything...
But she knew when it was a losing battle.
She had been through something similar before, not in this context but in a similarly dire situation, so she knew what she had to do at least for now, simply bidding her time until a strike was clear, the machine clearly didn't intend to hurt her at least for now.
Until then she would stay calm and not let the woman get under her skin.
Easier said than done though...
"Where are we?" she asked stoically, it wouldn't hurt her to gather as much info as possible.
The otherworlder giggled "That would depend on what you're asking, though I'm not sure if I feel the need to answer."
A2 sneered lowly, she could hear the smirk in the other woman's voice.
The machine shrugged and shook her head in a belittling manner, like she was a child "Humans called this providence Germany at one point, Dusseldorf to be exact…" she stopped suddenly scratching her chin nearly bumping into the android "…I believe we are nine thousand and forty-three kilometers from where we were before."
The android sighed in annoyance "That doesn't answer much."
"I know, I know." the machine waved her off dismissively "You'll see soon enough."
A2's eyebrow rose but she asked no further, simply continuing to follow her in silence.
The road was large, filled with ankle-deep snow that seemed forever falling, the skeletons of cars filled it as if still waiting for their owners.
What was beyond it she could hardly tell, the fog was far too thick to see beyond a few meters.
Though throughout it all the other woman seemed hardly phased by the melancholic atmosphere… she seemed almost happy as she skipped through the snow.
No that wasn't quite right, she seemed comfortable in this place… like she was home.
Soon enough they had stopped under a bridge, the only thing covering them from the horrid weather.
She didn't bother to ask what was so important about this place but simply waited for whatever it was that she was supposed to witness.
It was then after a bit of watching the snow fall quietly, that a small unremarkable machine appeared, hopping around in their unique fashion of moving.
Was this it?
"It was soon after I became aware, that I tried to discover the secrets of this world that my creators wanted so…" the red-haired facsimile spoke, nostalgia coloring her tone "...It took me quite a few decades to find and I had to use every bit of my creator's technology but I did find something." she chuckled out feeling quite proud of herself "Whatever it was that your humans wanted hidden they wanted to keep it that way."
Sh… IT looked at A2 as the world froze around them.
Those eyes remained wide and purposeful, it almost made her take a step back from fright, though she stood her ground soon regardless.
"Even from their own creations."
The machine let those words weigh around as the world moved once again, the noisy hops returning with it. She looked at it as it moved unperturbed through the snow, slowly but with a unique amount of purpose she had yet seen in other machines.
Other than one...
"So you went there yourself?" A2 asked her face blank not betraying a single emotion.
The alien life form tilted its head, staring at her once again with that fake smile and wide vacant eyes.
"I don't really understand the question…" It said softly a dainty hand coming to her chin scratching it in confusion "… there was no I back then."
"What?"
The machine simply closed her eyes and nodded in confirmation "I guess it would be hard to understand for someone like you…" it sighed mournfully scratching the back of her head "… simply speaking there was no individual back then, there was only the machine…"
A2 watched warily as she spoke... It was a weird notion to think, especially for a machine but in a way the more she started talking the less inhuman she became. Even her eyes which had always lacked something behind them gained a sort of insightful oldness to them as if she was speaking to someone who had seen it all…
She shook it off as quickly as the thought entered her mind, this thing in front of her was just a monster.
"...There was no real personality or actual thinking, I was simply aware that I was alive and that I had to find something…" she divulged further at this point it seemed to be almost fascinated about her own existence "...honestly, it's more truthful to say that what you're seeing right now is merely the life of my predecessor before it understood something and I was created to understand that precious discovery."
"Discovery? Of what?" A2 asked surprised at herself that she was this interested.
The machine simply smirked….
A large metal sound reverberated throughout the dead city breaking away the staring contest.
The other machine had finally reached its objective it seemed.
The red-haired woman started walking again moving to the other side of the broken bridge, beckoning for her to follow "Why don't we find out."
The android huffed but with no other choice left in her, simply followed along even as the machine entered a dilapidated building.
She walked inside her eyes scanning every detail left for her.
It was nothing really special… just a mess of broken concrete and metal just like any other building left behind to rot, though it did have one unique difference, one that the machine woman stood over with seemingly great content.
It was a large hole in the rightmost corner of the dilapidated building, she walked towards it an anxious feeling, almost that of dread, filled her being...
Her eyes stared at the darkness-filled cavern, metal stairs in front of her beckoned her to step into the oblivion.
This coldness she was feeling… was otherworldly.
She hadn't felt it outside.
She hadn't felt it in all her battles.
Wasn't this just supposed to be a memory?
So what was this emotion welling up inside of her.
The white-haired woman flinched as the metal rattled beneath her… her eyes stared dumbfounded at her own body.
When was it that she had moved?
She hadn't even noticed it…
A2 looked behind her at the machine who had yet to follow, it was now looking at her with narrowed curious eyes.
As if she had done something it didn't account for…
That was a bit disconcerting.
The android shook her head, it didn't really matter one way or the other it, there was clearly just one way to go and it was down...
So she took a step.. and then another, and another…. until only darkness surrounded her.
It seemed endless...
The machine had been closely following behind still with the same curious gaze drilling holes at the back of her head, they both said nothing to each other though for the duration of their venture to the underground.
It felt colder with each and every step.
Not in the 'freeze your bones' kind of way…
...but in the 'you're going into danger get back' kind of way.
This feeling made it hard to think, she had never experienced something like that and the android had no way to deal with it other than her normal way to deal with everything.
Just force a strong face and don't show weakness.
It was easier said than done…
After what felt like forever they finally pushed to the bottom of the abyss, reaching what seemed like a rusted-out room.
A2 looked around carefully with nauseating trepidation, the room felt claustrophobic even if it was spacious.
It was rather complex with a lot of things and machinery she couldn't make heads or tails about, it was like a medical station of old… she had seen similar buildings as she explored the cities but nothing quite like this.
Knives and all sorts of cutting appliances littered the room and old dried blood made for a lot of the ground. The room was divided by a plastic curtain that fogged up almost everything on the other side.
It looked like something out of a nightmare.
Still… something beckoned to her, to move forward and see everything.
Was it the machine by her side who too was looking around though with far more nostalgic happiness?
No…
Hop, Hop, Hop...
The usual walking sounds of the little machine broke both out of their differing stupors.
Seems it had made its way behind the curtain.
The duo stared at each other for a second before walking side by side and as they finally reached through… the world froze around them.
"So…" a cold and serious feminine voice declared from behind them "...seems someone made its way inside."
There was a click and then a clack of heels pressing to the cold stone ground, as a third woman sauntered her way through the room oblivious of whom she was passing in between.
She stopped midway right beside the duo walking through the memories of the past.
And it was the most frightful she had felt…
Her body froze and her eyes stared blankly at the wall, as if moving even an iota or even looking at her would mean a final death, it couldn't possibly be everything around her was fake she knew so.
But still, she couldn't help it… what was worse was the part of her that wanted to understand this new stranger, to fully view her in reality.
The situation she was in currently and her stress from the past few months got to be a bit too much to her it seemed as she followed those honeyed thoughts.
And looked at who this being was…
It was a woman, a little smaller than her, her hair white just like her own… in fact almost everything about her was white, from her dress to her half cloak that was draped over her left shoulder… from the white blade, she held in her right hand.
She was certainly beautiful and A2 couldn't help but look on in awe for a bit at the commanding woman.
The little machine simply shuffled around with its little legs to look curiously at the taller lady, its yellow eyes unblinking.
"Oh?" her eyes narrowed into pink slits as she looked curiously at the smaller being "You're a rather unique little thing aren't you…"
The alien lifeform tilted its head towards her but didn't respond.
The woman frowned at its silence "Can't talk?"
"Is… there something to say?" the metallic grating sound that was its voice asked suddenly.
Unlike the being by A2's side, it had neither personality nor gender, it was like talking to a pod.
"It would be polite if you did." the woman in the memory said her words carrying a new dangerous tone "You did trespass on my house after all."
"Polite?" the little machine seemed confused by that as it hopped towards her in an awkward manner, it didn't seem afraid or curious or anything really "What would be polite then?"
The woman on the other hand seemed a bit taken aback by the upfront ways of the alien life form but made no movement to stop it seemingly not seeing it as a threat "You can start by telling me what you are?"
"I am the machine." It said simply
She gave it a once over, her eyes scanning every detail of the being in front of her before she scoffed and shook her head as if disappointed "I understand now…" the woman sighed and waved away her sword the blade disappearing into motes of light as she moved past the machine towards the bed on the far right of the room.
The duo on the other hand remained silent and stuck in their places like glue throughout the scene, the android watching with fervor, she couldn't deny the fact that had become quite curious about how this would all go… the machine on the other hand simply stared on with a blank face not betraying a single emotion.
The white-haired woman stopped in front of the bed her left hand passing through the covered body atop it "Do you know what it's hidden here?" she asked emotionlessly.
"A human…"
"And what will you do with this information?"
It was hard to tell what the other woman was thinking what with her back turned towards them… but based on the sting of cold she had felt on those words, things wouldn't go well.
Not that she was complaining, watching a machine get what's coming to it is always fun… still didn't make her feel any more comfortable in this room.
The little machine seemed to look on for a few seconds before staring at its hands, its yellow vacant eyes showed little but it was clear that it didn't really know how to answer.
The woman sighed once more her right hand coming to nurse her temple "Why did you come here anyway? What is it that you are after?" she asked snidely, turning around and walking back towards it, her body shadowing its "You don't even know do you? Only my luck that the one being that appears in my front door is a newborn thing like you."
Her right hand gripped the machine's shoulder, the movement seeming far more gentler than the words before.
Her pink eyes shined slightly through the darkness, her expression utterly bored.
"Don't come back."
She said simply and the world turned white…
"It was the first time I fully felt something that day." the red-haired machine spoke turning to face her "Pain and fear are not exactly the best of moments but it gave me a new goal and with it a new understanding of the world at large."
The android simply frowned "Why are you even showing me this, what is the point?"
"Have you ever tried to understand the perspectives of others?" she asked as she stepped closer to the android, her eyes so devoid of life now took on a new obsessive light "I always found it uniquely difficult… it's hard to understand why someone does what they do without perceived biases muddling it."
A2 took a step back a frown of disgust marking her face "Why do you care what I think?"
The machine shrugged "I don't… but I do find you interesting even if only for the fact that he did." she sighed "Just think of this as an experiment of mine… and don't you worry I won't hurt you, he thinks of you as important after all and it wouldn't do for me to break his toys."
"What even is he to you?" A2 asked her expression set in a snarl.
The alien woman merely giggled at her anger "Isn't that what I promised to show you… c'mon now no spoilers."
With a wave of her hand the world shifted once again and she was brought back to the abyssal underground.
A2 looked around for a bit at the rusted colored room, still the exact same as before as if they were plucked and brought back in the space of a few seconds.
It didn't feel the exact same though… if she had to put it into words it was as if it was waiting for something to start… the calm before the storm as it were.
"Sixty years had passed before I gathered the resources to confront that woman again, by that point I had reached some understanding, not enough to answer her questions from before but…" she announced as she walked to a nearby table plopping in it crosslegged, the machine looked at her with a sickly smile "…I finally understood what I had to ask."
She beckoned for the android to look at the stairs as the world gained new life.
And with it sound.
A familiar but wholly unique sound to one kind of species.
Metal hitting metal, no doubt a machine making its way underground, but it was different from before. It sounded almost like simple steps compared to the cumbersome hops from before.
Soon enough it had made its way down the stairs and she had proven herself right.
It was a bit different from before, though not exactly unique nor human like…
It was simply a larger version of the machine from before, it had legs that moved right but other than that… it was a bit disappointing really.
It looked around for a bit, its yellow eyes scanning rapidly alongside its round head.
"So you have come after all this time..."
A2 flinched.
She was behind her once again...
She knew she would see her again, but it didn't make this any easier...
What was it about this woman that struck her with such fear? She had seen danger, she had seen war, she had seen death staring at her… she had been betrayed and become a pariah to her own siblings… and yet this one being was enough to make her shake.
She just felt incomprehensible, both in a mesmerizing and terrifying way.
"...I believe I made my threat clear last time."
The room felt colder than ever before.
"I wish to understand…" the machine spoke calmly either not understanding or unafraid of the danger, its voice was still the same robotic sound but not entirely genderless "...Your question from before about what I want… I wish to know more."
The woman passed through her getting in close to the large machine.
"Is that so…" she said with a tinge of interest, her arms crossed under her chest as she looked at the machine with half lidded eyes "…what is it that you wish to understand?"
"Don't know… that is what we wish to learn." the machine said robotically, but there was a bit of desperation in its monotone voice as if it didn't know what else to do.
Her left eyebrow rose before she sighed and walked away, the machine following closely behind her as they reached past the curtain.
The scene seemed to stop as if this was a theater show waiting for the audience to be ready...
The android looked at the table to see where the host of memories was, finding little else but air atop the table she rested once before.
Seems like it had vanished into the wind...
She rolled her eyes and cracked her neck before moving on as well, passing through the curtain as if she were ethereal.
"What makes you think I can teach you that sort of thing anyway?" the woman asked her eyes not leaving the bedded sheets.
The ball head moved from one side to the other as it too stared at the body "You were the one who already knew the questions we needed to ask."
"I also told you other things, but clearly you didn't bother with them…" she sighed, pushing a strand of white hair from her eyes "...answer one question and I might not destroy you on the spot."
It nodded.
"How do you wish to die?"
The machine took a step back...
She rose a hand calming it down "It wasn't a threat, it was an honest question."
It tilted its head in slight confusion "We cannot…"
The woman looked at it for a second, a myriad of expressions passing through her face the most prominent being pity "Is that so…" she said in a forlorn tone "...how very sad, a true end gives meaning to one's past."
"So we can never find the answers?"
She shook her head, looking back at the bed "I never did myself… the only thing left for me is the hope that another does without losing himself before it."
The woman in white turned away from the machine, still with the same impassive expression and strong posture, for a second A2 thought she would simply kill it and get it over with... but then the most curious thing happened.
Their eyes met…
Past and present.
Her expression never changed from its blank disposition, but curiously they never left her own.
The woman walked step by measured step right in front of her… and passed right through.
A2 gave a wary glance behind her shoulder.
Had that really happened, or was she seeing things that weren't there?
"You wish to understand but you don't follow the same rules predicated by the world… this makes you a hypocrite or a fool, perhaps both…" she declared as if she was doing a speech to a great crowd "…but you are a unique existence and one that seems more annoying to keep out than to 'help' so I'll consider answering whatever questions you have so long as you don't cross my limits."
"I see, I am thankful." The machine's eyes shined brighter "I can help with the hum…"
A heavy pressure hit the room… the feeling of death ever present.
"Let me make one thing clear…" she growled out her voice low her eyes shining with untold power "… don't touch the boy."
"… understood…"
She huffed and the pressure cleared, as she leaned back unto a nearby chair looking intently at the machine.
"My name is Zero, try and not annoy me from now on… you don't want to see what happens if you do."
The world froze and blinked into none existence once again.
A2 took a deep breath to calm her nerves.
She was back in the white nothingness.
"That was the first time I ever felt happy… expectant is the better word I believe." the machine spoke, appearing out of nowhere as if she was always there right in front of her "I had finally found something to look forward to… those were the days."
The thing laughed with jubilant glee before stopping...
"The next few centuries were spent near her, she barely talked and much less cared to teach but it was enough to just be in her presence and observe those two, still it was hard for me to understand either of them or even the want welling up inside..."
It looked at her with weirdly innocent eyes… as if she was no more than a child.
A2 said nothing remaining quiet with an impassive expression, it was better not to get into her own pace of things.
The machine pouted petulantly towards her, its cheeks puffing...
"You know a discussion is supposed to be a two way street." it complained loudly lifting an angry finger to point at its supposed aggressor, before sighing and shrugging "But fine, I guess we should just continue."
A2 simply continued to stare judgingly with narrowed eyes...
What was wrong with this thing?
Its emotions and personality seemed to flip on a dime, she had no idea what it would do next, was this truly the entity they had been fighting for multiple millennia… She didn't know if she should be disappointed that the monster they were fighting was more like a child than anything else or afraid…
Of whatever plans were brewing inside that alien mind.
The machine pressed its middle finger and thumb together and snapped catching her off guard as the world shifted once more…
"Let's skip a few centuries... 'into the meat of things' as they say."
She heard her as she disappeared away, as things formed around her once more.
Into a clean white roof.
It was the same room as before, she could tell that much, the stairs on the left were proof enough… but it was almost unrecognizable. It was fully furnished with new machinery and there wasn't a speck of dust or rust as far as the eye can see.
How much time had passed in between?
The room from before seemed like something out of a nightmare and now…
She shook out those thoughts.
It didn't matter she would get her answers soon enough anyhow.
"Systems are normal and vitals are clear…"
That voice, it was the same voice as the new entity that now filled her curiosity clearly… and yet the tone made no sense from what she could tell of the being's personality.
It was an odd mix of stoic roboticness with a clear fake peppy tone that was grating to the ears… it did remind her of someone though.
A2 turned around to regard the new memory before her.
Her eyes narrowed as she understood the situation she was in…
On the side leaning against the wall was the ever impassive expression of the being hunting this underground hole, the now named Zero… though she seemed far angrier than before. Her hair shadowed her face but she could see clearly her pink eyes shining into a hateful glare.
The glare was turned right at the only other awoke inhabitant of the room…
And she could clearly tell what made the powerful woman angry.
On the other side of the room, near the bed holding the last piece of humanity was… another Zero this time with a big smile on her face.
So her proclivities to making her appearance change go back to this time… she hadn't thought it would go this far though.
And clearly neither did the other woman.
"When I told you to look different I didn't mean this girl…" Zero snarled with venomous disgust.
The machine tilted its head in confusion…
It grabbed the hem of its dress in a sad manner, like a child being told off "But this is what I want to become."
It was sort of disquieting how much whining it seemed to output.
Zero sighed and shook her head, walking slowly towards the seemingly heartbroken machine.
"Just find something else." she said snappily her arms crossed under her chest, as she glared down at the younger being "I have no idea why you would want to become me, to begin with, find something else to obsess over."
The machine flinched slightly at her harsh words but said nothing else, her sadness vanished quickly though as another huge smile ripped through her face, as she giggled happily.
Zero merely grunted and pushed her aside, now looking at the bed intently.
What a weird dynamic they had…
A wary quiet fell unto the room as the duo watched the bed calmly.
Until the machine opened back its mouth.
"And how was he then?" It asked calmly, but even A2 could tell that there was an odd sense of want in her tone "Before I mean…"
Zero glanced back at her a warning clear in her eyes… before she sighed "I guess you could call him driven if nothing else."
"Hmmmmmm…" It let out a noise as if trying to understand, before snapping her fingers like she had found something "… so I guess you could say he wasn't lacking in motivation huh."
The white haired woman shrugged, not really wanting to converse any longer.
"If only I could talk to him…" The machine said mournfully before being interrupted.
"I already told you that's not happening." Zero snapped angrily.
"But it's such a waste to keep him here asleep fore…"
The room bellowed out in great force, the ground cracking beneath her as machinery was sent flying as if a thunderstorm had made its way through.
It didn't go further than that though, it was simply a warning...
"I will not wake him up to the failure of this world, it would break him… he will remain happy for eternity in his dreams." Zero said with finality "It's better for him this way."
The machine opened its mouth to say something, but closed it soon after, sighing with great anguish.
"I just wish to know him that's all…" it muttered with quiet regret.
Zero turned to face her once again her eyes narrowed but relenting "If that's all… fine."
She rose her pointer finger up to the alien's temple, and without mercy stabbed her nail into where its brain should be.
They stayed like that for a few seconds, before the machine started to scream in pain and fell to its knees.
Zero simply watched on with bored eyes.
It soon started cackling like a hyena, the body seemingly short circuiting as flashes of lighting surrounded her…
And yet she continued to laugh all throughout.
She looked up at the being before her.
"So he was born empty too huh…"
And then the body crumbled as the world fell to light once again.
She was getting pretty tired of this by now…
"Is there a point to all of this?" A2 said tiredly her mind exhausted "What do you want me to see."
She was screaming now to the void of blank nothing.
It giggled back at her mockingly.
"Maybe I just want someone else to understand what I went through." the void said in a joking manner.
A2 chuckled ruffly "You chose the wrong person to care… are you that sad about mommy being gone."
The void was silent for a minute…
...before it shook and rumbled mightily under her almost making her lose her footing.
A high pitch noise entered her head and she fell to her knees in pain closing her eyes forcefully.
"Now now that wasn't a nice thing to say at all…" the machine spoke in a childlike voice "...why would you do that?"
A2 grit her teeth and stood up in a violent movement throwing all caution to the side ready for battle, if she wanted an answer she could talk to her blade…
But she was no longer in the white void.
Her eyes widened as she stared at a familiar set of stairs.
"Why would you look like that then?" A serious and cool voice spoke from behind her.
A2 slowly turned around with a frown as she realized what happened… she was back here again.
"Well…" the child grumbled under her breath, pouting fiercely towards the adult woman "...you told me to find a look for myself and not just copy you."
Zero stared down at the child with a blank face "I didn't think you would go for something this... cute." she countered weakly "still think it looks way too much like me."
The girl shrugged "I only have two people as references, obviously I would take after you both."
Zero grunted with a frown but said nothing else…
The android on the other hand simply looked on with disgust at the fake girl, she had seen the machine mimic others but something about mimicking a child of all things made her feel all sorts of ways, none of them good.
It was like a breach of something sacred in her data.
She was small, only coming up to zero's stomach, with white hair framing her slightly chubby cheeks, which made for an odd mix what with her bright golden eyes, but she knew where those came from. She was wearing a flowing white dress that went down to her knees decorated with a pink bow in her midsection.
"I also thought of a name." the little girl jubilantly said with a wide smile.
"Did you now?" Zero coolly asked her right hand twitching unconsciously.
It nodded rapidly, her hair swinging up and down with her movements "So I was thinking you're zero right…" she pointed at her in dramatic fashion, before moving her finger to the human "…he would be number one…" finally she pointed at itself "… so I'll be number two, one happy family see."
A2 glared harder… to have something even close to relation to it… how disgusting.
It on the other hand smiled even more widely, awaiting the answer.
Only to clamor down in pain as zero grabbed her right cheek again with her fingers, stretching the skin painfully.
"Don't call yourself that, nor him…" Zero said finally letting go of her victim "… it brings us both bad memories."
The machine grumbled slightly under its breath, rubbing the irritated patch of skin with care.
The woman watched curiously at its actions, a dainty eyebrow going up "Why did you even make that body feel pain."
"Isn't that part of the human experience? To not have it means even more differences between me and him." she spilled out with great passion, her eyes shining slightly under the light "I need to know how they act once he has woken up."
The woman groaned and rolled her eyes.
"He's never going to wake up." Zero snapped "I thought I made that clear."
"That's such a waste…" It whined while stumping her small foot "...the whole world is clamoring for a change and yet you have him imprisoned in his own mind."
"Since when do you care about that?" Zero asked glaring down at the girl "Don't lie to me you only want to sate your own curiosity."
The machine shook its head its eyes serious for the first time.
"It's more than that…" she blurted out before wincing and calming down, thinking her words carefully "...on that day he felt the same way I always have, I want to understand, I need to know how he changed from that…"
Zero sighed and turned away from the girl leaning with both hands on the bed, her body hunched over.
"What I gave him was a curse and something that I would take back given the chance… but I can't now and I don't want to kill him either despite what he might represent in the future."
She glances back over her shoulder.
"It took me quite a while to fix him after the war and he was close to the breaking point even then."
"I see…"
They remained silent for a while simply staring at one another.
Before Zero stepped away saying one last line as she sat on the bed beckoning for the child to come near her…
"Come tell me of what's been happening in the dead world above."
The world froze once again…
A2 sighed and composed herself awaiting the dreadful speech about how bad the machine's life was…
Instead, though the world simply moved forward at lightning speed.
She saw many things as they walked around her.
Zero and the girl talking...
...arguing…
...fighting…
...even sometimes laughing…
A cacophony of memories and feelings, a life really, she saw it all…
And all she felt was anger for it all… and hopelessness truly.
The world outside changed for the worst while this room remained the same as it ever was, as if unaware or uncaring for the war just above. She hadn't really thought about it until now but what did it see the androids as? Never once did it care enough to mention them.
It's enemies for eons…
Were they forgotten?
Was their kind even worth fighting against in the eyes of uncaring beings like these two?
What were their struggles worth, that even without the full attention of the machines they almost always kept losing ground?
A2 clenched her teeth… was this what it wanted her to see, to lose hope against an unfeeling world.
But…
...I really want to save you…
...aah damn it all.
Her eyes moved automatically to the bed forgotten to the side of the room.
The body kept under the sheets remained from ever moving and trapped within itself. She had met him already and knew what would happen eventually...
It would have given her hope if she didn't know who it was that gave him to her kind.
Why though? What was it that it wanted from all of this?
It was at this point that the world stopped once again...
...and a new scene started.
Immediately she noticed that something was different.
The ambiance of the room was disrupted, no longer did it feel safe or calm.
Zero had her face set in a dangerous glare her right hand gripping the white sword from before, in front of her the ever smiling face of the one machine that had accompanied her for thousands of years.
The little girl shook her head "Sorry I am truly grateful for everything but I cannot wait any longer, the further we go along the less the world changes and it needs something to shake it from its rest." she declared forcefully "I can't tolerate your indecision any longer."
Zero sighed but remained rather calm despite the newly formed threat "It's not indecision that stops me kid."
"I know it's your fear."
The tension kept going up as the duo stared down one another neither able to let go of either of their beliefs.
A2 scoffed at them… it was always like this for those who had power above others...
Neither of them had yet asked what the still alive human thought or wanted, still working for what they believe he should get instead. He was just another cog in the wheel of this world, after all, another character in others' conflict.
"I am not powerful enough to kill you… but the same could be said about you." the machine said as it stepped closer to the other woman "So let's make a deal, a promise…"
It put forward her right hand in waiting for another to grip it.
Zero looked at it with bored eyes before looking back again "What exactly do you even intend to do with him, what is it that you think will change anyway?"
"Nothing or maybe everything…" it sighed forlornly the smile vanishing getting replaced by a blank expression and soulless eyes "...For those who've inherited the world he will be all they ever wanted, but for me, I'm looking for something else and maybe he'll be the one to show me."
Zero grunted and shook her head in disbelief.
"You're doing all of this…" she accused waving her sword around "going against me simply because you still can't answer the questions from all those years ago."
The machine nodded.
"I thought I would get them from you but as someone who only looks forward to death you will never know how to live."
Zero looked back over her shoulder at the body still asleep.
"And you think he will… at one point he too wished for it, you know." she sighed but kept resolute and unmoving "and what exactly is your plan."
It shrugged "There's no progress without difficulty… I will forcibly push him forward against his own ideals, against his strength… the one who survives after all that conflict will surely be * *#*#*."
A2 narrowed her eyes, she couldn't quite make out the ending of it only hearing static, but the memory progressed all the same.
"He doesn't want that."
"I don't think he ever wanted what you did either and yet here we are."
Zero huffed and waved away the accusation "And tell me what if I say no?"
"I will tell the androids of what you kept here… I will use whatever resources I have to make you come out to the world."
"I have killed far more than your kind, child." Zero countered glaring hatefully at the kid.
It simply laughed lowly though without any mirth "I know..." its voice was rough and coarse as if something had gotten stuck in its throat "… but you wouldn't just be killing me you know, do you really want that sin to be done in his name?"
The room fell once again to quiet tension, the duo just quietly staring at one another.
Zero waved her sword away grabbing the machine's hand.
"I wonder what you will do if he rejects you." Zero said in a mocking tone "After all this do you really think you'll finally find what you're looking for do you even know what it is?"
"I don't know…" the machine murmured quietly some of its fears surfacing "… but I can't keep waiting for fate to knock and if I have to turn this world upside down so be it, after all…"
It clenched its hand with a bit more force, her eyes resolute but her smile returned.
"… I'm doing this for you too."
And the world froze and shattered away in pieces as if a mirror made.
"Listen carefully…" The voice of Devola and Popola spoke in unison from behind her "...now that you've witnessed, I shall give you your mission."
A2 blanked out and turned around slowly her eyes wide with both anger and dread… she laughed a quiet and maniacal sound coming from her lips.
Before her was the android duo in clothing she had never seen before, with a staff with a quarter moon on top held tightly in both of their hands.
They rose both, pointing them towards her "If you want to save him you will need to do this."
"Save him?" A2 spoke in a coarse voice disbelief coloring her face.
...I really want to save you…
The duo nodded all the while smiling contently.
"Why would I..?" she asked desperately "… why would I be the one..?"
The duo simply giggled vanishing like the wind as if they were never there… she watched on not understanding anything before spluttering in pain as a hand grabbed her throat and threw her to the ground.
It was Zero this time the woman watching her with the same bored expression, black prosthetic fingers digging deep into her own fake skin.
A2 hacked and coughed punching the non existent ground in pathetic desperation.
"He will be betrayed… that is not something that can be changed, he will become isolated from all that love him… only you can save him from himself at that point..." Zero talked lowly griping her throat harder by the second "...that is, if you think you yourself deserve to live."
A2 made a desperate hacking sound, her eyes going to the back of her head… the world was blinking out of focus she could barely hear her now, was this finally where she was going to die?
She would almost welcome it…
...but…
...I really want to save you…
She grit her teeth her eyes focusing again out of sheer will and threw a desperate punch with all her strength the woman flying away scrapping about just to the side. She didn't give it a moment of respite, as she threw herself at the body like a wild animal, straddling her and throwing punches down as if her life depended on it screaming all the while.
It didn't matter what her sins were from before, how she was the only one to survive constantly.
Right now… at this very moment… she wanted to live.
The body below her shifted once again into that of the little girl, she smiled wickedly, victorious even, as another punch blew out her right eye.
"He'll ask…" another one was thrown stopping it from its derision "… to go back to the city of origin, and there we'll meet once again…"
SHUT UP.
"...you'll have to save him…"
SHUT UP.
"...he'll either die as a beast or live as a human… choose wisely my dear knight."
"RAAAAAAAHHHH."
She threw another and another and another…
"A2…"
And yet it continued to smile…
"A2, stop…"
As if she couldn't possibly hurt it…
"STOP."
Something grabbed her hand, metal fingers... one of her enemies? No, the voice was kind, this could only be...
"Please…" Emil pleaded lowly "...It's over."
A2 scoffed while taking ragged breaths…
...It was never over.
She pushed her arm away from his grip, making him stumble slightly as she looked around at where she was. It was the spaceship but was it truly reality?
Or was this just another mind game?
No…
...the air felt clean and real.
A2 took one deep breath as she stood up, lifetimes of stress making her almost sob.
"hahahahaha…" a robotic chuckle reverberated throughout the dead ship.
The android glanced down at the broken down machine wearing the faces of the twins, it was a wonder how it was still operational. Half of its face was missing an eye had popped out from its skull and its white teeth were visible and blackened from the oil that was spilling from its various wounds.
And yet it still mocked her.
"...you can't hurt me… nobody but her can…"
A2 growled and made her way to the body once again before Emil stopped her. She glanced back at him her eyes wide with rage and he simply shook his head.
"Let's go… please." he once again pleaded with her as the lights turned off around them.
She threw one last hateful glare at the machine before turning around and walking away from the hellish ship.
Leaving only one last living being inside.
It watched the darkness slowly take hold of its creator's grave… but it didn't care, it never has, unlike the androids it never saw anything in its creators.
No…
Another being had made the one who called herself crown.
One last memory came to her mind as the body broke down further…
She carried his body carefully and with care towards the only bed in the broken down apartment building.
It was close to the factory and a resistance base… this was the perfect placement for her plans.
But still…
"I'm sorry…" he murmured in his sleep delirious, his skin dripping with sweat "… I couldn't save any of you… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
He just kept saying this all the time, she couldn't help but feel sorrow that she would have to put him in even more pain.
But he would come out stronger for it, she was sure, he wouldn't break… he would be the one to lead her into a new age he couldn't break.
"Shhhhh…." she said quietly running her synthetic fingers through his blood red hair "...you'll never be alone again I swear... little brother."
He took a raspy breath but fell into a happier sleep once again.
She looked at him for a minute before leaving the room, a promise of a millennia hanging in the air.
The machine opened back her eye staring at the deep black of nothing.
"Aaah… Mother…" she spoke desperately to the air but nobody heard her "… I think I finally found the question I should have asked all those years ago."
Yes…
She would know it now for sure.
Everything would come together and she would finally find out.
Could you see it?
On all those lifetimes we spent together?
Did you know? I'll finally find out...
...my purpose
Hello once more everyone on this new day, kept you waiting as i usually do, I'm actually going to change that from now on instead of putting a set date I'll just post how much I've written and progressed with any given chapter I feel like that will probably be a better representation of how close i am to posting it. Honestly, the wait was more due to my other story I was not able to work myself out of a block in the third chapter and i still feel like that particular chapter is below my current standards but once i came back it was actually pretty easy to write and actually really fun probably the most fun I've had writing something...
That's not to say it's good, only you can say that which please review, honestly speaking I'm a bit wary of it... it's quite a lot on in terms of words but just content and reveals and character motivation all of which i don't know if it'll resonate... there is one big thing I'm afraid of which is zero... yes it's the character from drakengard 3... well kinda, I did try to make her different because she experienced more and other things surrounding her, but yeah i don't really know how people will take to her, she's also the character I've been teasing for a bit... you know he woman in white and all that... i thought it was obvious but then i remembered how many women in both of these series can be described like that.
Before you ask no she isn't romanceable, that's not the type of relationship she'll have with Shirou nor has... I'm pretty sure you can tell by this chapter how it'll work between them.
Anyway, I think that's that... I really hope you enjoy it.
Thanks to Ivan Tridelan for all the help.