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Chapter 12: The Twin-Metal Alliance
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The mansion Emil had taken over following the rise of the tower and the destruction of his old hideaway was located on the outskirts of Relic City, the so-called 'suburbs' where the apartments and skyscrapers gave way to townhouses and manors.
Most of the Suburbs were completely reclaimed by nature, but here and there small pockets of concrete and steel existed, small islands of ruins that were either infested by animals, feral machines, or both, depending on who won that week's turf war.
The mansion Emil, and soon the rest of the group, lived in was large, in fairly decent condition, and most importantly, isolated. Unless you knew where it was, it would take extreme amounts of luck to locate it. And, thanks to a trio of massively overgrown oaks, aerial observations showed nothing but a couple tumbled down walls between the branches. Nothing to interest the Machine Lifeforms, YoRHa or the Resistance.
Hence why it was to a great amount of shock that the family found a Machine from Pascal's village at their doorstep, wearing a black beret and nervously rubbing its hands together.
"Um, hello? Can I help you?" Emil asked, looking down at the Machine. It quickly threw itself at the skullboy vendor's feet. Or rather, at his wheels, since he was still trapped in his scooter.
"Please Great Robot Ghost, have mercy on me!"
Emil wheeled back nervously. "Uh, guys? A little help, please?"
"Great Robot Ghost? Who's that?" 9S inquired as he approached from the kitchen. When the Machine spotted the shota android, it quickly crawled over to him.
"Quick, kind android, save me from the Great Robot Ghost before he eats my memories!"
"Ok, what's going on here?" 2B demanded, appearing from the kitchen as well. Back in the other room, A2 decided to keep Alexander out of sight for the moment. She was unsure what the sight of the last human would do to a Machine who'd divorced itself from the Network, but she did not want to risk it.
It took a few minutes to calm the Machine down, but they managed to do so after repeatedly assuring it Emil would not eat him.
"Why would you even think that in the first place?" 9S asked, awkwardly patting the Machine on the back comfortingly.
"The Great Robot Ghost eats the minds of us Machines and implants itself into our bodies! He is the great comeuppance of doom for all our mechanical sins!" the Machine wailed.
2B and 9S gave Emil a questioning look, who coughed and looked away.
"I may have become a boogeyman to the Machines a while back. See, I needed to repair and replace my bodies as my old ones broke down, but eventually I couldn't make any more of my old ones. After a while, all that I could replicate without much trouble was my head," Emil said, tapping the side of his metal skull with a jury-rigged arm Hatchet had made for him. It made a strangely hollow 'clunk!'
"So, you see, whenever I needed a new body, I would hijack a Machine or two. Do you remember how you two met me?"
"Yeah, you were inside the head of a Machine we defeated in the old shopping mall," 9S said, recalling the incident.
Emil nodded sadly. "Exactly. That's how I would do it. I would place myself in a factory and wait for a Machine to replace their head, where I would take over the body once I was attached. That's why I became known as a sort of ghost amongst the Machines in the area. I was basically taking over the bodies of their comrades."
"However, something went wrong when I tried it a few months back, and I was placed inside of a machine's head, instead of replacing it. It was hard, fighting against the Network. You two freed me before I could be completely consumed by the strange, alien Hivemind the Machines were all connected to," the skullboy explained.
"Alright, the makes sense. In a macabre sort of way. But why did you come here, exactly? From the way you reacted when you saw Emil, I take it you didn't come here for him," 9S noted, and the Machine nodded.
"Yes! I came here originally to find Lady A2."
"Well, you came to the right address, somehow, but she's not here at the moment," 9S said carefully, catching the gynoid in question making a cutting gesture across her throat when he glanced back at the kitchen.
"Oh. That is a shame," the Machine said sadly. It turned to leave.
"Whatever you needed her for, we can do just as good," 2B spoke up, surprising everyone.
"You would help us, Lady 2B?" the Machine asked in awe.
"Of course."
"Hurray! Now Pascal can sign the treaty!" The Machine began to move erratically. After a moment the audience realized it was trying to dance with joy.
"Wait, treaty? What's going on?" 9S demanded.
"Apologies, Sir 9S!" the Machine said, stopping mid-twirl. "You see, Pascal and Lady Anemone of the local Resistance branch are going to get together soon to write up a treaty of non-aggression and trade! She respects our territory, we respect theirs, and we trade for parts and other resources. However, we need a 3rd party to act as a Witness, according to some old laws we've uncovered based on such matters of treaties to make the deal legal and binding."
"We had hoped Lady A2 could take that role, as she is independent of both groups, but has helped them equally in the past," the Machine explained.
"And you can't go to YoRHa since they still don't like Machine Lifeforms at all, and are technically allied with the Resistance so it wouldn't be impartial," 2B mused. "Very well. We shall accompany you as Witnesses to this treaty."
"Wait, hold up!" Emil said, speaking up before anyone could celebrate further. "Aren't you and 9S both technically criminals in the eyes of YoRHa?"
"Yeah, but so what?" 9S asked, putting an arm around 2B as she winced at that painful reminder.
"'So what?!' It means that if YoRHa catches wind of this treaty, they will see it badly! Maybe even as an attempt on your part to create your own faction to oppose theirs!" Emil shouted at the Scanner-model android. "At best, they'll try to null and void the treaty. At worst, YoRHa will attack and wipe out both the Machines and Resistance camp for making deals with the enemy!"
When 9S and 2B looked leery and unconvinced, Emil shook his head sadly. "You know they'll overreact, you two. I mean, they slapped a huge bounty on your heads after years of service and saving the world! Any hint that you both are trying to gather power and influence, no matter what the truth actually is, will bring their troops down like the wrath of angry gods."
"…Damn it, you're right!" 9S shouted, angrily kicking the ground. "They would do that! Argh!"
2B clenched her fists hard in impotent rage, but knew Emil was correct.
"Then does that mean there will be no Witnesses?" the Machine messenger asked worriedly after a moment of furious silence.
"Actually, there will be." Everyone turned to Emil. "2B and 9S can't act as Witnesses, but they can still act as bodyguards to him. That is to say, me. I will be the treaty's Witness."
"You?" 9S asked incredulously. Emil nodded.
"I have no real stake in this deal. I am a truly neutral party. I sell my wares to anyone who wishes to purchase them, and I have had deals with the Resistance and Machines, albeit in a limited manner recently. Who better to act as a 3rd Party?"
Everyone exchanged looks. The Machine from Pascal's village was wary, but nodded in acceptance after a few moments of thought.
"The idea that the Great Robot Ghost will back the treaty could go a long way to ensuring peace, as well. Many newcomers to the Village are angry, and might lash out at the androids despite the treaty. But with the Great Robot Ghost on Pascal and Lady Anemone's side, those who have anger will be too afraid of angering the Great Robot Ghost to act on that anger. And, it might keep the Kingdom, the Cult, and the Masked Ones at bay as well if they know of it."
"Wonderful! When do we leave?" Emil asked eagerly.
"Could we do so now? It would take a day for me to return, and we wish to have this treaty signed soon," the Machine asked.
"Sure, that works. 9S, 2B, do you want to come with me as bodyguards? I can pay handsomely!" Emil inquired with a teasing tone.
2B nodded eagerly. She hadn't left the house in a while, not since word of YoRHa's betrayal had reached her. She needed to get some fresh air, and it was a sentiment 9S echoed as well. Taking care of Alexander was fun and rewarding, but they needed their space at times.
"Let us depart!" the Machine said, before turning around and hopping into the Suburban Jungle.
Emil followed behind, as did 2B. 9S lingered for a bit to speak with A2.
"Will you be alright here alone?" he asked, tickling Alexander as he talked.
"I will be fine. Jaqueline, Hatchet, and Sebastian might be gone, but I have 153 with me," A2 assured him.
The drug lord had left a few days back for 'important Resistance crap,' which was likely the treaty now that they knew of it. As for the mechanic and his son, they had returned to their old home in the desert to retrieve some of their personal belongings and additional equipment they'd left behind.
9S gave A2 a worried look, but she waved it off. "Don't worry, Nines. We can take care of ourselves. Better go catch up with the others or they'll leave you behind."
He nodded, smiled at Alexander, and left. Once he was gone, A2 left the kitchen, her precious child in her arms.
"Now that we're alone, let's go over our ABC's! 'A' is for A2, your loving mama. 'B' is for 2B, your favorite aunt. 'C' is for crush, which is what I did to my enemies, and what I'll do to yours…"
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The trip to the site of the treaty signing was not to far from either locale. In fact, it was taking place in the Amusement Park, the settlement directly between the two factions. The Machine Lifeforms of the Park were all pacifists, like those in Pascal's Village, and without the Doll ruling over them, the Park's inhabitants were free and happy to live a life of weird playfulness.
It made the perfect spot for a neutral meeting ground. Both parties were meeting in the Heart Castle itself, refurbished now that its old tyrannical ruler was gone into a place of culture, both Machine and human alike.
"Do you think they'll show up?" Anemone wondered aloud as she sat in a chair across from Pascal. The Machine shrugged.
"I do not know. They are good people, and I hope they will be of assistance one more time for both of us."
"I still think they'd be crazy to come here," Jaqueline said with a scoff. "Not with bounties that size on their head. Plus, they couldn't act as legal Witnesses. Not in YoRHa's eyes."
"Who else is there, then?" Anemone demanded sharply, turning to look at her Chief Science Officer. "The Park Machines have no real leader, and none of the other factions out there would have anything to do with us."
The eye-patch wearing android shrugged helplessly, mimicking Pascal's motion from earlier.
The signing was taking place on the stage in the main auditorium. The seats were packed with Free Machines and Resistance androids. The former were chatting inanely about this and that, mostly discussing the silliness in the idea of a piece of paper, or plastic in this case, with words on it could tell people what to do.
The androids, for their part, were standing around keeping a wary eye on the Machines and their weapons in easy reach. No one expected there to be violence, but one could never be sure in these dark times.
On the stage were Pascal, the Item Merchant, and one of the few remaining guards. Across from the Machine delegation were four androids. Anemone, Jaqueline, and two red-headed twins.
Suddenly, a radio near the signing table crackled to life and Anemone reached for it.
"Yes?"
"Hey, boss, we can see the messenger-bot returning, and he has 2B and 9S with him."
Jaqueline slapped a palm to her face. 'For fuck's sake, couldn't they have had a little bit of common sense? This is why I didn't tell them where I'd be!'
"Excellent. Please escort the two of them here as soon as they arrive at the Park," Anemone said, smirking smugly at Jaqueline.
"Uh, actually, here's the thing. There's three of them."
"Three androids?" Pascal asked, surprised, and Jaqueline began to twitch nervously.
'Please not A2. Please not A2. Please not A2!'
"Um, no, it's not an android. Actually, it sort of looks like a skull riding a moped?"
Everyone stared at the radio for a few moments.
"You're joking, right?" Anemone demanded.
"No, there's definitely what looks like a skull crossed with a machine riding a scooter towards in sandwiched between 2B and 9S. It seems like their escorting it."
Silence fell, which was soon broken by a Machine crying out, "The Great Robot Ghost comes for us all!" sparking panic instantly amongst the overtly metallic members of the peace talks.
"Everyone, please, keep calm!" Pascal pleaded as the androids looked around nervously, hands on their guns and blades.
"Yeah, shut yer tits!" Jaqueline added. "If 2B and 9S are bringing Emil in, it means they're smarter than I gave them credit for!"
"You seem well informed about what this thing is," Anemone mused, giving the one-eyed gynoid a searching look. The two red-heads exchanged curious glances of their own, tinged with nostalgia and faint hope.
Jaqueline shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't. It's my business either way."
"Perhaps, but it won't be that way for much longer," Anemone warned. "We're going to have a talk about this later, mark my words. Your sojourns away from the bases have not gone unnoticed, you know. By myself or the Bunker."
The eye-patched android winced at that. "I… will see what I can do."
Further conversation was put on hold by the arrival of the Messenger Machine, 2B, 9S, and Emil, whose presence caused the other Machines to freeze in terror at the sight of him. More than a few Resistance androids gasped as well, though twin red-heads had their own reason for gasping as if they'd seen a ghost.
"Hey, everyone!" Emil called out happily. "I'm here to act as a Witness!"
His words caused everything to go silent and still.
"Um, that's nice and all, but who are you?" 'And why did the Machines start acting all crazy around him?' Anemone wondered, though she kept that last part to herself.
"I suppose introductions are in order," Emil said with a stiff shrug. "My name's Emil. I am an old, old weapon created by the humans to fight off the aliens and their mechanical soldiers. I am the last of my kind."
Somehow, the skull managed to frown at far off, almost forgotten memories, before creating the impression of a smile. "However, that is all behind me. Now, I am just a wandering scrap merchant who deals with anyone willing to play fair and pay well."
"And the two androids at your side?" Jaqueline demanded, giving the stink-eye to 2B and 9S. "They look awfully suspicious."
"Ah, that's right! Thank you for reminding me!" Emil declared. Before 2B or 9S could wonder what Jaqueline was playing at, a bag of scrap metal and parts materialized in front of 2B, and honed reflexes let her catch the bundle.
"Here you go, you two. Payment for safely escorting me to this meeting," the skull-boy said jauntily.
"What is…?" 2B began, but was immediately cut off by Emil.
"Don't worry, the rest of your pay will be received at the end, once the treaty is signed and you've escorted me back to my domicile," he stated.
"2B, play along," 9S hissed at his gynoid companion. "He's giving us an alibi! This way, if and when YoRHa finds out about us attending this meeting, everyone can claim we don't know each other, and that he paid us for a protection job. No dirt falls onto this treaty, and thus gives YoRHa no reason to do anything to us or them!"
"So be it," 2B said aloud, partly to agree with 9S, mostly to give a bit of a show. "I'll expect the rest of the amount after we get you home. And don't try and cheat us."
"I would never!" Emil protested, gasping in mock shock. Their bit played, 2B and 9S retreated to a corner of the room and sat down, leaning up against a wall as they waited.
Emil then wheeled over to the stage and hopped up. Somehow. They weren't sure if it was magic, or he'd install a Boost Jet into the bottom of his scooter so he could reach higher elevations.
"I understand that I am to be a Witness for this treaty signing. May I please see it first so I know what I am helping facilitate?" Emil inquired.
Pascal, having finally managed to calm her people down, nodded and handed the slip of thin plastic over. Given that paper was scarce and the facilities to creating it could be used to produce other, more necessary items, YoRHa printed sheets of special plastic that could be used as paper. Ink would stick to it, allowing for traditional writing to live on. And since it was hardier than paper, many old human texts had been reproduced onto this plas-paper.
Emil read over the lines of text, bobbing his head and humming in thought.
"Hmm. Yes, this all seems to be level and fair. I do have one question; what is the name for this treaty?"
"Pardon?" Anemone asked.
"In the past, all important documents and files were given names by the humans, especially treaties," Emil explained.
"What on Earth would the point of that be?" Pascal inquired, curious as always about human practices.
"It gives it a sense of connection between the signees. A bond, of sorts. Humans named pets, you know, and loved them and cared for them because of it. Humans give names to things they saw as important. Cities, landmarks, mementos, other humans. All earned names one way or another. A treaty might be held in higher regard if it can be quickly identified as well with a catchy moniker," Emil explained, dredging up old memories and facts. "It would certainly be memorable."
"Makes sense, I suppose," Anemone mused, nodding her head. She could see the morale benefits to putting a name on such on momentous occasion. Her camp had been badly damaged by the Feral Machines, the Tower Rising, and so much more. Her men and women, those who'd survived at least, needed an icon to rally behind as much as YoRHa did.
"Very well, I can see the appeal. Pascal, do you have any suggestions for a name to give to this treaty and the alliance it will forge?" Anemone asked, glancing over at her mechanical counterpart.
"Hmm. A name. A tricky question," Pascal mused. For a long time, she was silent, then, she clapped her hands. "How about the Treaty of the Twin Metal Alliance?"
Everyone in the audience paused and thought it over. Resistance androids nodded in agreement. It was snappy, and gave the whole situation an air of dignity and refinement they found they rather liked.
The Free Machines, on the other hand, were also glad, but for a different reason. Many still longer for the Network, and the grand unity it provided. But they also wanted independence. Hence why they formed little cliques and settlements out in the wild. Imitating the old human ways of families, nations, and communities gave the best of both worlds, in their opinion. And this treaty went a step further and gave a name to this great joining.
Seeing no objections, Anemone nodded and jotted down the treaty and alliance names onto the document with a pen.
"Alright, done. Now, shall we sign?"
"Agreed," Pascal said in affirmation. She pulled out a pen of her own, and together, the two leaders signed the treaty. Emil nodded, and then put down his own signature as the Witness.
"As the Witness, I declare there was no falsehoods or foul play! Congratulations!" Emil said, clapping politely. Soon, androids and Machines went wild with cheers and applause as well. It wasn't much, but it was a big step towards establishing non-hostilities between androids and Machines. Peace was a long way off, but it was now proven to be an option, and in this manner both sides could rebuild a bit easier.
"That was faster than I expected," 2B admitted to 9S.
"They'd probably spent weeks working together in secret to draft the treaty beforehand," 9S pointed out. "This was just a formal event to make everything public and legal."
"Odd thought, to have our ancient enemies joins hands with us like this," the elite gynoid commented, a tinge of nostalgia in her words.
"It's something, alright," 9S agreed. As the party continued, Emil wheeled over to his companions.
"Come on, guys, let's head back home," Emil suggested.
"Good idea. Sneak out while they are distracted," 2B said with an approving nod.
That hadn't been his intention at all, but Emil could only sigh and go along with it. They left as the celebrating continued, unaware of the twin pairs of eyes that watched them leave. Or more specifically, observed a certain magical skull-bot.