Rise of the Machines: Chapter 2

By Icura and Vahn (Vahnhammer on SB)

~o~

On his knees with both hands pressed against the ground, John Connor puked out the leftover dribbles of bile and waste. Black spots dotted his vision, and his chest felt heavy as if his lungs were being squeezed. The breaths he could manage came short and heavy, drowning out sound with its rhythmic desperation.

"…ohn…!"

Sticky, polluted saliva dripped down from his lips, forming one last connection to the vile puddle below. Carried on those gulps of air were the putrid taste and the rancid smell, and when he finally noticed it, it sent him retching all over again.

"…Jo…!"

Beneath him, the yellowish puddle filled with bits and pieces reminded him of clam chowder—a nostalgic flash of memory—even as his throat felt raw from the passing of his stomach acid. It was enough to make him cough violently a few times, choking on whatever was left in his mouth.

"…John!"

He felt hands on him, but the sensation of touch wasn't there, just pressure. It was overwhelming…

"—listen to my voice!"

…but it brought him back.

Just like that, John could feel the sun's heating rays and the sensations of hands on his back—far too many. Like the world shifting back into place, he could hear the sounds of his name being called out by just as many voices. The noise and the chaos combined together into a blaring cacophony that threatened to send him over the edge, dialing everything from zero to one hundred within the span of a moment. And that wasn't even including the last things that came back to him.

The council.

Humanity.

The last of us.

"I'm okay," John choked out in a rasping voice. He spat into the puddle, but his saliva had thickened into a sticky mucus, forcing him to spit a couple more times to get it out. A cup was brought next to his face, and he took it without thinking. Bringing it to his lips, he sucked out whatever liquid was in it into his mouth. Swishing it around—and barely tasting it—he spat it out into the puddle, uncaring of the splash that it caused that sent the bits and pieces of his previous meal recoiling away.

His head pounded, but he forced himself to drink the rest of the liquid in the cup, washing back the horridness. Was this water? He honestly couldn't tell. Swallowing it down, he blearily looked up through watering eyes.

"…when did you get back?"

Commander White was on her knees in front of him. There was no mistaking her for Director Crin; the white dress that she always wore was familiar, even as dirtied as it was by the dust and watery remains of his food, though she didn't seem to care about that. Her worried eyes were focused solely on his, and her hands gently held his shoulders.

"I came back as soon as I received the news."

Of course, that was when John noticed the silence. The cacophony of noise had ended, leaving only a crowd of androids that watched on with worried and bated breath. The hands on his back and front belong to Popola and Devola, each on their knees, taking up a spot on either side of him. Their clothes were similarly dirty, but they didn't seem to take notice of it either.

Sorry.

The word was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say it. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.

I'm fine.

I made you worry about me.

It's okay.

Except that it wasn't fine. It wasn't okay. The failure of Project Gestalt wasn't just a step back.

It was the end.

"Sorry if I made you worry. It's fine now." The drink had done much to soothe his throat, making his voice sound almost back to normal.

Besides, the twins were probably feeling worse than he did, even though they had nothing to do with it. While it was a different set of twins who caused it, they probably were still taking it far harder than they should. Though, maybe he was projecting himself onto them. After all, if there was no hope, they would have probably fallen apart already.

Yes… That was right. There was still a way. As long as hope existed, he wouldn't—couldn't falter.

"Help me up." It wasn't that John couldn't get up by himself, but there were just too many hands on him, both holding him up and keeping him in place. However, after his words, he could feel them lifting him up to his feet, and the concerned looks on those three compelled him to fight back against the wave of dizziness and nausea that continuously assaulted him. White took a step back to allow him space while the twins had their hands braced on his back, ready to catch him if he fell. However, through his own willpower, he managed to stand up straight.

Taking steady, deep breaths, he took a look around at the many androids gathered in the courtyard. Their faces were visible displays of deep concern and worry. They stayed quiet, watching him with hands clasped and teary eyes. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend why they were acting so melodramatically, but he soon realized the reason.

This was the first time that John showed weakness. That he was less than invincible, smaller than the miracle he was made out to be who took everything in strides and calmly decided what to do next.

"Thanks for your concern—"

John wiped his mouth on his sleeves, leaving the leftover saliva and residue on the clothes without a care. Standing awkwardly behind the crowd were the council members, unsure if to step forward or stay back. The worry that pervaded them wasn't just exclusive to them; it felt like the whole camp was watching him.

"—but I'm okay. Really."

That seemed to bring them back online as immediately, he was bombarded with questions and well wishes.

"I'm so glad! You—" "What happened? Why did you—" "You scared the batteries right out of me when you—" "Are you really okay? You're no lyin—" "You didn't eat Jackass' fish again, did you?" "Hey!" "Ow!" "Are you feeling bet—" "Devola! Popola! Get him some food. Maybe he's hu—" "Is it bad news? I hate bad ne—"

"ENOUGH!"

Commander White's voice ripped through the chatter like a saw through wood, silencing everyone. Her eyes were stern and unyielding as she glared, her gaze scything through the crowd. If any wanted to oppose her enforced silence, none spoke up.

"John is…" White's eyes immediately searched John's face. Seeing nothing but calm, she continued. " John's fine. Now, all of you. Get back to work!"

Now, there were voices that spoke up in opposition, but White enforced her order with such a threatening atmosphere that it eventually cowed the remainder of the crowd. Like a pile of ants, they scattered and wandered away, though not without looking back multiple times, enough that White had to personally stare at them to get them to finally leave. In the end, all those who remained with him were the commander, the twins, and the council members. Oh, and the pod that was now floating by his side again. Not to mention 33B who was hanging back, unsure of the situation.

Director Crin moved to approach him, but he held up a hand to stop her. The council members looked surprisingly hurt by the gesture, but at the moment, it wasn't a concern for him. Staring at Commander White, there was only one question on his mind.

"Did you know?" Seeing her questioning look, John lowered his voice. "The truth about the humans on the moon."

"The truth…?" White's eyes darted away, and she couldn't help but shuffle in place.

"The number of humans there."

"Ah."

"You knew," John stated, keeping his tone neutral. "All this time?"

"Yes…" The words were timidly spoken, unlike her usual mannerism.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Seeing the situation, it was Director Crin who decided to finally intervene.

"She had been ordered not to." Crin began walking forward, but when his gaze came upon her, her legs refused to move any further.

When John turned his sight back to White, the Commander of YoRHa couldn't meet his eyes and didn't elaborate further on Crin's statement. There was a silent tension in the air which was oppressing for everyone besides him. After a few moments of that, John sighed and then took a deep breath.

"I'm going to take a walk outside the camp."

Commander White's head snapped up.

"You can't!"

"Why not? It's safe, isn't it?"

"It…" White looked conflicted. "It is…"

They both knew that it was. John had been kept abreast of the military operations and logistics due to his requests so he knew how far the perimeter stretched and how secure it was. There was almost no way for anything to get through the perimeter without raising one alarm or another. That was just how tight the security network was. If anything had gotten through, a full-on manhunt would have immediately begun, and that would have raised so much fuss that nobody would have been able to miss it. Not only that, but there were regular patrols that went through their controlled areas periodically, ensuring that anything that had somehow gotten through the perimeter would eventually be found. To be frank, it was overkill for all intents and purposes.

"I just want time alone to think, away from everyone who knows about it," John said, his gaze taking in each of the crestfallen androids and, for once, not caring. "Don't worry, Buddy and 33B can come with me. If nothing else, they can keep the elks and boars away."

While he said that light-heartedly enough, the local wildlife was actually no joke. They were large enough to pose a significant risk to his health and well-being considering that more than a few androids had apparently been impaled by enraged boars before. Thinking of what that would do to human flesh was a no-brainer.

Of course, even though he alleviated Commander White's concerns, the other androids weren't so quickly convinced.

"This isn't a request," John said in a steely voice. "This is an order. Don't follow me."

Without waiting for a response, he simply turned around and walked away. While he didn't bother to look behind him, he did hear one set of footsteps probably belonging to his bodyguard following in his wake.

~o~

John walked aimlessly in silence. Despite his companions being a pod and a YoRHa soldier, they did not speak and allowed this quiet to remain. Through dust, soil, and cement, he walked, step by step. The sun's bright rays shone endlessly, heating his skin and clothes, with the only relief being when he entered a ruined building.

The doorway was simply an empty frame, a part of the cement construction and devoid of all wood. The inside had no flooring, having long given away to soil and plant life. The stairs were similarly made of cement, gray and overgrown with vines. Taking it one step at a time, he climbed the stairs.

Each floor that he passed by was similarly empty, consisting of only cement. Even the plants began receding the higher he went. The windows that he could see were hollowed-out rectangles and squares, only qualifying as windows by their barest attributes. Exposed to the outside, the floors would have been poor shelter—if the weather ever changed from the sunny skies.

Going up as slowly as he did, it took a while before he reached the floor that he wanted. There was a cross mark on the wall, carved into the cement by a knife, that showed that this was the correct floor.

"Observation: Signs of habitation detected. Advising caution."

"No, that was just from me. I had lived here for a while."

A week before he had met the twins, John had stayed here to observe the comings and goings of the androids by watching the entrance to the Resistance camp. After all this time, he could safely say that it really was only a barely decent shelter. Walking over to the middle of the large room, he found the residue of his old campfire within a circle of rocks: ash and heavily charred blocks of wood. Scattered here and there on the floor around were the old makeshift tools that he had made, fashioned out of wood and scrap metal. There was even the small pile of fish bones that he had left in the corner. Normally, the food leftovers would have stunk up the place, but the floor was so large that it generally wasn't a problem. And if it were, he would have simply dropped it off on another floor by going up or down the stairs.

John walked over to the campfire and sat down next to it. It was a very familiar spot to him. While he hadn't been cold, the warmth of the fire had been comforting all the same. Something that was familiar in an unfamiliar world. Just being here felt nostalgic, even though it honestly hadn't been that long. Suddenly feeling the urge, he began picking up the unused branches nearby and placing them within the circle of rocks. Just as he was about to use a fire starter, the pod interrupted his reverie.

"Query: Would you like me to set it ablaze?"

"Be my guest."

"Confirmation: Understood, assigning guest role to Pod 'Buddy'."

"Err, I meant that you could go ahead and start the fire for me."

"Affirmative. Reversing guest role assignment."

The pod hovered over to just above the circle of rocks. Once in position, the front of the pod lit up and a sprout of flames erupted out of it. The fire seared the wooden branches, setting them alight. With its task done, it rose up and away.

"You're pretty useful, aren't you?"

"Joking: It is what I'm made for."

"Sure," he said with a small chuckle. "Thanks, Buddy."

Sitting down next to the lit campfire, John felt the warmth seeping through his clothes. Before, he had mostly used the campfire to smoke the fishes he caught in order to make them last longer. At the time, he didn't know what the next day would bring or whether he would even survive. Those days had been a frantic frenzy of work. In comparison, he had been taking it easy in the Resistance camp for the weeks afterward. It was practically night and day.

Even though Buddy and 33B were right by him, John didn't pay attention to them and continued to stare into the flickering fire. It was only now, in this quiet moment with only the sound of burning branches, that everything that he had bottled up finally hit him once again.

Humanity's extinction. For him, it was a fresh wound and the realization of an old nightmare.

His mother had always told him that he would become the savior of mankind. That, without him, there was no hope. Even when the crises of the world consisted of biological terrors and magical plagues instead of murderous robots, he had thought—in a way that he would never admit out loud—that this was simply another facet of his destiny. Constant fighting was his life. On the battlefield or in the laboratory, it was all the same. Just another path in the race to fight back against total annihilation.

In a way, John had always thought of it flippantly. As long as he survived, then humanity would survive.

Except that it hadn't worked out that way.

It was hard to put together how he felt about it. Distress? Anger? Guilt? Both yes and no. It was complicated.

Project Gestalt had seemed outright stupid, but there were smarter people than him in the world. Wouldn't they have noticed? Of course, they would, but they still committed to it anyway. Before he had gone to the future, he had thought of the project as a ridiculous pipe dream, and his opinion on it wasn't exclusive to him. Surely, Daniel would have made a big stink about it. His partner and nominal boss had shared his opinion about it over a few beers when they had first accepted creating specialized androids for the project. He couldn't imagine a change of opinion unless something drastic happened. There were so many unknowns that it was practically useless to try to logic it through.

John wanted to complete his original mission to return back in time and prevent the spread of the White Chlorination Syndrome. However, even if he could somehow recreate the Time Displacement Equipment and miraculously find a large enough power source to send him back ten thousand years into the past, there had always been discrepancies about time travel that had never made sense to him. If the timeline could be affected and the future rewritten, then the moment that the T-800 Terminator came back to try to murder his mother, then the future should have been changed. Kyle Reese should not have been able to go to the past since he wouldn't have existed anymore since that future was gone. However, that was not the case.

He didn't have any issues with creating the Time Displacement Equipment in his own time because the Red Eyes would never have been able to operate the device since they simply didn't have many working brain cells. However, the machine network here was a different story. With their stranglehold over the planet, what was to stop them from finding the Time Displacement Equipment several years or even centuries down the line? What if they used it to go back to the past? Skynet had certainly made multiple attempts on his life, but it had lost the war so it only had a small timeframe to do so. The machine network wasn't held down by the same restrictions since they practically owned the entire planet. In theory, once they figure out how to make a flesh suit, they could send machine lifeforms back in time endlessly until the planet finally crumbles to pieces or possibly even longer than that. One machine lifeform could be stopped, but a million could pretty much rewrite history completely.

And what would happen to the androids left behind?

"God…" John ran his hand through his hair. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

Both the androids and the machine lifeforms had originated from the things that Daniel and he had built to fight off the Red Eyes. To think that the children of man would inherit the Earth, only to fight each other for different overlords. The absent aliens and the nonexistent humans. It sounded like the plot of a science fiction novel.

If he could somehow defeat the machine network, then anything could be possible, but that was—in itself—an impossible task.

However, wasn't defeating Skynet an impossible task as well? He had heard the cassette tapes that his mother had painstakingly recorded, recited from her memories of the stories that his father, Kyle Reese, had told her. The chances of victory had always been razor-thin, but in the end, Skynet fell anyway.

The results spoke for themselves.

"And I had never been good at giving up."

As long as there was a chance, there was a way.

"Alert: Short-ranged communication has been jammed. Switching to laser satellite commu—bzzzt!"

Buddy fell down on its front, hitting the ground face-first. In its back was a small metal dart that had an electrical charge sparking through it.

33B barely managed to bring her greatsword to bear in front of her before the blade of a sword crashed into it, causing an eruption of sparks at the point of impact. The cause was from a white-haired woman holding the sword by its machine handle, seemingly having charged at 33B in mid-air without her feet ever touching the ground. With a grunt of exertion, 33B's feet cracked the ground as she swung her greatsword, sending the assassin flying back through the air.

With the grace of a cat, the woman landed halfway across the room, her high-heeled shoes skidding across the floor and leaving trenches in their wake. She turned her head quickly to the side, flinging her white hair out of the way of her face. Clad in the ruined remains of the black articles of clothing that stuck to her skin, her lithe form swiftly rose up. However, unlike the speed she displayed before, she began walking toward them, step by step. In her hand was the Type-4O sword, a weapon that resembled a katana, though the blade was thicker and had a stylized machine handle with a trigger. While her face was beautiful—unblemished and shapely—it seemed stuck in a perpetual frown, and there was something about it that was very familiar to him as if he had seen her before.

John reached for his plasma rifle before he remembered that he hadn't taken it with him since it was supposed to be completely safe. Giving a frown of his own, he watched the assassin steadily move toward them.

"A machine lifeform…?"

"Attacker Type Combat Unit, Model Number 2," 33B answered as she stood in front of him.

"You mean she's a YoRHa unit?" John asked, having already learned a bit about how they classified themselves.

"Not anymore. She's a known traitor," 33A answered, brandishing her greatsword at the approaching figure. "A2, how did you slip through the perimeter?"

"Didn't have to deal with that since I was already here before all of that," A2 said dismissively, her steps slowing as she got closer. "Get out of my way. I got some questions for him."

"No." 33B glared at her, pulling back her greatsword to ready it for a swing. It wouldn't be long before the traitor got within her range. "Leave, deserter. This is your only warning."

Instead of answering, A2 dashed forward at a blistering speed, practically vanishing with each step in a blur of motion.

33B dashed forward in a burst, swinging her greatsword in an overhead strike. Her opponent parried the attack to the side and slid her blade across to slash at 33B's face. However, 33B lashed out with a kick to A2's stomach, forcing the traitor to backpedal. She followed it up with a rising slash that was barely dodged by a backstep. The counter stab was aimed at her face, forcing her to quickly tilt her head though she couldn't avoid the blade ripping a gash in her cheek.

The two separated after that exchange of blows, but that pause was only momentary. They immediately charged at each other once again, their swords meeting each other in a flurry that sent sparks flying continuously. Their feet danced across the floor, pushing and pulling. 33B was the first to pull back, her greatsword ill-suited for the flurry of exchanges. For every swing of her greatsword, it was counteracted by multiple stabs of A2's blade, such that she was put at a disadvantage. She had suffered more gashes and shallow wounds than A2, but if a single swing of her greatsword fully connected, it would have sheared her opponent in half. As it was, most of the damage that A2 suffered was from 33B's punches and kicks which—in the end—didn't amount to as much as the stabs.

In the midst of all this, John knelt beside the pod. The dart was only shallowly embedded, but there was still an electric current running through it. The amount that was necessary to disable the pod was probably more than what he could safely handle. However, it wasn't like he had to directly touch it.

Grabbing one of the leftover branches next to the campfire, he swung it at the dart, knocking it out of the pod. The dart itself fell off to the side, rolling across the cement floor even as electrical sparks continued to run through it.

"Buddy, you gotta get up."

"I-I-Informative: R-r-restarting primary systems. S-s-standby."

It was at times like these that he would have liked some physical instruments to connect to it and speed up the process. Glancing up, he saw that the fight had progressed to the point where 33B was completely on the defensive.

"15% complete."

The fast and furious stabs of the 4O-type blade were blocked by the wide flat side of 33B's greatsword. However, more than a few strikes had made it through, tearing through 33B's skin to expose sliced wires and torn synthetic tendons. If A2 had looked worn out before, 33B was now looking far more damaged. However, that was all that was. 33B's body was far more robust, consisting of multitudes more layers of subdermal armor that only the stabs could penetrate; all the slashes so far could only scratch the surface layers.

"57% complete."

Realizing that it couldn't go on like this, 33B charged forward, using her greatsword as a shield. A2 dodged to the side, but 33B followed with a strong side slash that was deftly avoided.

"76% complete."

Just when A2 was about to counter, 33B slashed her giant blade upward, forcing A2 to backpedal. However, that wasn't the end. Swinging her greatsword with a speed that far exceeded her specs, 33B created a maddening barrage of slashes that continuously pushed A2 back. However, even with this burst, there were gaps, and A2 was quick to take advantage of them.

Moving in between the slashes, A2 pressed the trigger on the machine handle and stabbed her blade forward.

"92% complete."

As if on cue, 33B sidestepped the blade by mere centimeters and smashed her knee into A2's stomach, interrupting her opponent's attack. Taking advantage of the pause, she reached out her other hand to grab the smaller android. However, just when her fingers were about to touch A2's neck, the traitorous YoRHa unit's eyes began to glow.

33B's fingers folded inward, grasping only air. It had only been less than a second, but the blur—that couldn't properly register in her blindfold's enhanced vision—slipped back and then around her grasping hand.

A flash of light, scything through the air under the sunlight that filtered into the room from the windows.

33B barely registered it as half of her arm floated into the air, sliced off at the elbow. Red hydraulic fluid sprayed out, tinted by the hint of agony, but she could not comprehend it. All this time, A2's slashes couldn't penetrate her subdermal armor. How did this traitor get so strong…?!

Gritting her teeth so hard that her molars were registering damage, she swung her remaining hand down with the greatsword using all the force that she could muster. However, the majority of her combat experience had been against machine lifeforms, not humanoids. In contrast to the many fights with YoRHa executioners that A2 had fought, it paled massively in comparison.

A2 deftly sidestepped the slash, steam wafting off of her body as her blade flashed through the air.

"Reboot complete."

Just before A2 could slash off 33B's other arm, an erratic spray of plasma bolts forced A2 to evade backward. The moment that her feet touched the ground, she sped across the room as a stream of purple plasma shot after her, shattering and bursting the walls in her wake. The pod "Buddy" followed her with its single optic, firing continuously as A2 reached the end of the room.

"Target locked."

Leaping onto the wall, A2 ran along it as a series of missiles pursued her, her body blurring in and out of sight due to the speed. Each missile crashed into the fading afterimage of her body, bursting the wall open with their explosion. Bending her knees, she boosted herself off of the wall, spearing through the air toward the pod.

The pod charged up a shot—building the energy in front of itself—before firing a thick laser beam that lanced through the space in the blink of an eye.

In mid-air, a glowing seal appeared under A2's feet, allowing her to use it as a platform to jump up to the ceiling and over the beam. By the time the pod could drag the laser upward, A2 had already landed behind the pod. She grabbed John from behind, pulling him to her. Raising her Type-4O blade threateningly to his neck, she stepped backward with him as her hostage to keep both the pod and 33B in sight.

By this point, steam was drifting heavily off of her body, but that soon dissipated as the luminescent glow in her eyes faded. Still, her body was heated, warm to the touch. One step backward became two as 33B glared threateningly, taking a step forward while ignoring the red fluid slowly dripping out of her stump. In contrast, the pod didn't move at all.

"Pod, circle around the other way. She can't take us both at the same time."

"Negative. The probability of collateral damage is significant."

"All you need to do is force her to step away from him."

"Proposal: Cessation of violence until safety of administrator is confirmed."

"As the leader of this protection detail, I'm ordering you to do it!"

"Counter statement: YoRHa unit 33B lacks the authority to command this pod unit," Buddy responded monotonically. "Only the administrator, John Connor, has the authority to issue commands to this pod unit."

A2's grip on her sword's hilt tightened.

"I knew it."

It was hard to say if there was something that John could do to get out of this situation, but even then, it was unlikely that 33B would last much longer. Besides, Buddy had made so many explosions that it was likely that reinforcements were already on their way. That meant that he only needed to hold out for a while. Seeing as how his throat hadn't been sliced open already, he would say that his chances of survival weren't that bad at all.

"33B, stand down and attend to your wound."

"You can't be—"

"This is an order," John said firmly. "Buddy, get her patched up."

"Affirmative: Beginning emergency application of medical gel and vaccination programs."

33B gritted her teeth, but she lowered her greatsword as Buddy came to her side and began secreting the medical gel onto the stump.

Glancing at A2, John saw that she had a look of bewilderment and wariness. However, there were questions that he had for her.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I don't need to answer you."

"I remember you saying that you had some questions," John said. "Answer one of mine, and I'll answer one of yours."

"Fine. I'm doing this to find out the truth. Happy?" Without waiting for him to respond, A2 said. "Now, tell me this: are you human?"

"Yes."

"No android would ever answer yes to that question." If there was any hint of happiness in her voice, A2 didn't show it. "Why did you abandon us?"

"Us? I don't even know who you are." John felt her grip tighten fractionally.

"Stop lying!" A2 glared at him. "Less than two years ago, the Pearl Harbor Descent Mission took place on the island of Oahu. Does that jog your memory?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't know of your mission," John said in a soft and soothing tone, a psychological tactic for calming down an attacker in a hostage crisis.

The hand that was grabbing onto his shirt tightened even further.

"Even though they gave their lives for the glory of mankind, were their sacrifices not worth mentioning?" A-2 demanded as she pulled him closer. "Not even worth remembering?!"

"I'm very sorry, but I really have no idea what you're talking about."

There was a tense silence for a few long moments before the grip on his shirt was abruptly gone, much to John's surprise. A2 pulled her blade away from him and staggered back with a dazed expression on her face. 33B didn't miss this chance; she rushed around John to swing her greatsword in a one-handed overhead slash at A2.

John have no idea what possessed him to do it, but he stretched his hand between them, watching as the blur of 33B sword stopped just before it could chop off his arm.

"Wait, thirty-three. Stand down!"

Her greatsword did not continue forward nor did it move to try to attack from a different angle.

"Sir, let me end her."

"No. If I have any authority at all, I'm asking you to stand down. Please."

33B slowly and reluctantly pulled away her greatsword, though she still held it at ready just in case. A2 simply stared at him, though the confusion on her face quickly cleared up.

"So that's why you stopped her. To ask me questions," A2 said. "Fine, I asked five so you get five questions too. After that, I'm leaving."

"Okay, sure, that works for me," John said, going with the flow. "First question. You were part of YoRHa, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Why did you turn against them?"

"They were the ones who betrayed us!" Just as quickly, A2 forced herself to calm down, though she didn't look happy. "You have three more."

"Why didn't you destroy 33B and Buddy? There were multiple opportunities, but you never took any of them even though it would have made things easier for you."

"They aren't machine lifeforms," A2 said. "Two left."

"The Pearl Harbor Descent Mission. Why did you assume that I knew about that?"

"You're on the Council of Humanity."

"That's wrong. I'm not."

"But aren't you an administr—no, never mind. I don't care," A2 said flippantly. "Last question."

"Do you think there are humans on the Council of Humanity?"

"What kind of question is that? All of them are human."

"That's wrong as well."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"There are no human beings on the Council of Humanity," John stated in a tired tone. "All of them are androids."

It wasn't only A2 who was shocked. 33B couldn't stop herself from openly gaping.

"What? N-no, that doesn't make sense. Mankind would never allow that," A2 said in denial. "Wait, you just said you aren't on the council. How would you even know that?"

"I just found out not even an hour ago. The Council of Humanity—the real one—told me…"

John took a deep breath, firming his resolve.

"…that I am the last human alive."

It had been a hard decision, but her answers compelled him to reveal it. Whether it was right or wrong, he didn't know, but to him, it just felt like she was an unjustly convicted victim rather than a heinous betrayer. He had been so concentrated on current events and future plans that he had never really read up on or found out about the past. From what he could extrapolate from their current conversation, A2 had participated in the assault on Hawaii. The thing that bothered him though was what 33B said. Was A2 really a deserter?

It sounded like she abandoned her mission, but from her tone, she clearly cared for her former teammates and something bad happened that may have been caused by YoRHa. After all, she did say that YoRHa betrayed them. Not her, them.

Was she really guilty? So far, it didn't really sound like it, especially since he couldn't say that he had the best impression of the council's actions because of what they did to Popola and Devola.

Not only that, but there was something familiar about her as if he had met her before. However, that was impossible since a traitor would never be allowed into the camp. Yet, despite that, it wasn't only her appearance that reminded him, but also her mannerism.

John's thoughts were interrupted when he saw A2 recoil away from him.

"Th–that can't be true!"

Unexpectedly, the one who had shouted that had not been A2; it was 33B. Glancing over, John saw her frozen in shock, her mouth openly gaping. It was only then that he remembered that everyone in the room wasn't aware of this secret as well.

"So all this time…" A2 looked up at him with a complicated expression on her face. "We were fighting for you?"

"Not exactly," John said awkwardly. "I…have been out of the loop until a little more than a month ago."

Telling her the truth of humanity was already pushing the envelope, and that had been decided by a gut feeling. If he said anything more, especially about time travel, then it would be putting all of his cards onto an unknown, and he couldn't really justify it. He didn't even know what the consequences would be if the words that he already said were to be leaked out to the machine network. Imagining the length that the machine lifeforms would go to in order to kill him was…

Honestly, John doubted that the androids would be able to stop them. Revealing all of this was a massive risk to his life, but he couldn't simply just stand by. If he was like that, he would have never joined the military and fought against the Red Eyes.

"I—"

Want to hear your side of the story. Those words were left unsaid as numerous YoRHa soldiers simultaneously leaped through the hollow-out windows, landing roughly into the room and cracking the cement floor. Following in their wake were their pods, all of them slightly glowing in front of them as they charged up their shots. Even from the stairway, a couple of YoRHa units came out from both the stairs heading up and the stairs leading downward. Those soldiers quickly spread out, such that in mere seconds, it became a perfect encirclement that denied any room for defense or escape.

A2 had a look of anger and betrayal on her face as her eyes turned to John.

"…you tricked me."

One of the YoRHa soldiers drew her sword and pointed it at A2, prompting the rest to do so as well. The look on her face was something that he hadn't seen on an android before: a very real and human expression of pure unadulterated fury.

"For crimes against humanity, you are sentenced to immediate execution!"

"Belay that order," John said as he stepped in front of A2. That action caused the YoRHa soldiers to stiffen though it was symbolic more than anything else since they were actually surrounded on all sides. "I don't believe she's the traitor that she's made out to be."

"But sir, she's a filthy deserter, having abandoned the glorious cause of mankind!"

"I'm not so sure that she did…" Without waiting for a response, John turned around to face A2 and held out a hand to her. "Come with me. I'll be more than happy to hear your side of the story."

There was a moment of silence before A2 slowly shook her head.

"No."

The surrounding YoRHa units tensed at her response.

"I see." John slowly lowered his hand. "Can I ask why?"

"It's none of your business," A2 snapped off. However, the moment that she said that, there was a slight sign of regret on her face as if that hadn't been what she wanted to say. The YoRHa soldiers around them bristled at her words, some of them carrying their anger on their faces. However, they remained dutifully silent as John nodded his head.

"Okay, I hear you."

John turned to look at the YoRHa soldiers who were actually preparing to attack once again.

"I'd appreciate it if you all let her leave unharmed."

The surrounding YoRHa units looked bewildered. However, they still complied with it and began lowering their blades. A couple of them started using their communication link to relay his words so the jamming had probably been taken down. In this mess of confusion, A2 was not the exception.

"Why…?"

"Does it matter?" When she continued to stare hard at him, John said, "Let's just say it's because you remind me of someone else who fought a war on her own."

A2 stared at him for a few more moments before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. Without any more hesitation, she turned and ran over to a window before swiftly jumping out and disappearing from sight.

John took a deep breath.

Even though he came here desperate to get away from it all, things just kept stumbling onto him. However, he couldn't find it within himself to be angry or annoyed; this android came here in desperation to find answers, and there was something terribly human to it. He honestly couldn't help but marvel at the humanity these androids continued to show, the good and the bad. Both the desperate hope and the harsh cruelty.

"Sir, are you okay?" One of the androids had spoken up, though all of them were looking at him worriedly. Even 33B, who was busy retrieving her severed arm, was paying attention. That wasn't even mentioning Buddy who had silently taken his position floating next to him.

"I'm not hurt."

John stared at them. Then his eyes turned to 33B. Despite how tough she looked, it wasn't hard to realize just how vulnerable she was on the inside due to her slight trembling. She was biting her bottom lip so hard that her teeth were piecing through the synthetic flesh, but she quickly turned her face away so that he wouldn't catch sight of it.

Reflections of humanity, weren't they? But they were more like children…

"33B, please get yourself repaired. I'll need my bodyguard back as soon as possible," John said, knowing what would happen if he didn't say anything. The fact that he had been taken hostage wouldn't look good and thinking about how they would punish her churned his stomach, especially since it had been out of her control. Despite doing all that she could, she didn't succeed, and he wouldn't be surprised if they try to crucify her for it.

He purposefully ignored the envious looks the other YoRHa units threw at her.

"And if someone could be so kind, please tell Director Crin and the rest that I'd like to meet them at their earliest convenience."

"Sir!" All of the YoRHa androids snapped off that weird-looking salute of theirs in perfect synchronization.

John would need to look into A2's case, but she probably wasn't the only one. He wouldn't be surprised if there were more like her or the twins.

He looked at all the YoRHa present and resolved to earn the devotion that they had unconditionally given him.

"Let's go back to base."

~o~

Authors' Note:

Icura: If you want to support me, please consider donating to my Ko-fi. I would really appreciate it. This Ko-fi is now for both me and Vahn. Thanks to previous donations!

It's good to get back into the flow of things. Thanks for reading!

Vahn: Thanks for reading, whoooo! Best Girl A2 is here. Wait whats that 2B is best girl? White? Devola? Popola? Heh, there always a best girl for someone.