Rise of the Machines: Chapter 6

By Icura and Vahn (Vahnhammer on SB)

~o~

Looking outside the window, John Connor found the glittering sea to look especially beautiful. While he was currently inside a World War II style transport plane, its spacious interior and comfortable seatings were not really conforming to his expectations. Then again, there were only a few seats in the entire compartment, most of the rest having been taken out to allow more space. As for the androids and pods, they were working on repairing each other, taking out parts from the vending machines to supply their needs. Not that it wasn't morbid when they had first opened one of those up and started pulling out random android limbs, but he eventually got used to the sight.

While the thought of helping out did come to him, they looked like they had it well in hand, such that he would only slow them down. Instead, John was working on a different project. The assault rifle that he had in his lap had come from a Resistance supply cache that was already on the plane, but it now looked nothing like the M16 assault rifle that it used to look like. That was because he had taken apart two other rifles and used them to customize his current one. The rifle now sported a significantly makeshift appearance with exposed wires and power packs rigged to it, almost dangerously so. He had soldered on a protective casing over it, but it was pretty flimsy even to his eyes. However, it would work. That was something that he was sure of according to his engineering knowledge and calculations. As far as rush jobs went, it wasn't all that bad, but maybe that was a bit of creator's bias in there.

He still didn't quite understand why they liked using old aesthetics. They could have easily made weapons and vehicles that looked advanced, but instead, they chose an older style simply because of human history? They didn't even exist in that period of time so it would have made more sense to copy the aesthetics of when the prototypes were made, at least. Even then, they weren't entirely conforming to a specific theme. While the plane was World War II style, the M16 assault rifle only existed in a later era.

Still, that applied to the external appearance only; the insides were completely different. Even this plane—which had been hidden at the site for at least a hundred years—ran like a dream. The ride itself had been smooth as butter with not even the slightest turbulence. If he hadn't known they were flying low over the waters, he would have assumed that they weren't even moving at all. He didn't even wear seatbelts at any time, and there was honestly no need to. In fact, the only significant source of noise came from the repairs and the occasional chatter.

A2 was sitting on one of the three vending machines after finally allowing the newly repaired Pod 042 to start repairs on her. The damage had been so extensive that it was taking a lot longer than it took to get 2B up to snuff. Now, if only she allowed Pod 153 and Buddy to work on her, then the repairs would already be done. However, it was understandable that her experiences had molded into that way.

Even with him, John could barely build a working relationship with her because of her antisocial tendencies. Which was actually remarkable when he thought about it since androids were made to be companions to humans. The fact that a YoRHa soldier, even a former one, could develop so much that she could see him in a less worshipful light. To her, saving him had been a choice, not a requirement.

At first, A2 didn't even want to let Pod 042 work on her. Rather than the fact that Pod 042 had the schematics necessary for repairing No. 2 models, it seemed more like the pod's persistence finally got through to her. He wasn't quite sure why since he hadn't been paying all that much attention, but it was really an odd kind of situation.

"Looking at something?" A2 asked gruffly, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Just…" John looked mildly embarrassed at having been caught staring. "Admiring advanced technology."

"There's nothing advanced about my old frame." A2 pointedly turned her sights to 2B who was attending to the deactivated 9S at the back of the plane. "Should look over there then."

"Not from where I'm standing." John saw the girl look at him as if searching for any sort of mocking in his words. Then, in an oddly human-like way, she decided to just ignored him and went back to working on herself.

Feeling restless, John took his finished weapon off his lap and placed it down on the floor next to his chair. Getting up, he stretched out his arms and shoulders to work out the kinks in them. Having sat in the chair for so long to work on the weapon had made him feel a bit like how he used to be when he slaved over this or that on whatever project.

It wasn't long before he made his way over to the cockpit where a couple of the pods were. At his approach, the conversation between Pod 153 and Buddy came to an abrupt stop.

"Don't mind me, just wanted to know if you saw any bogeys yet." Looking out of the cockpit window, it was easier to see that the sun's light was starting to fade in the approaching region that they were heading toward. Normally, that would mean that the day was becoming night, but with the tidal lock, there was no chance of that happening. Instead, it signified that they were getting closer to their destination.

"Informative: Several dozen fliers spotted 160 kilometers ahead," Pod 153 answered.

"Have we been spotted?" John asked, his expression turning serious. With a quick conversion in his head, that came out to roughly a hundred miles.

"Reassurance: We will take the most optimal route to avoid detection," Buddy quickly replied, cutting into the conversation. "Estimated time of arrival to the Californian coast is approximately eight hours, fourteen minutes, and forty-four seconds, pending further route deviations."

"You sure you didn't miscalculate a few seconds there?" John asked with a smirk.

"Insistent: This pod 's calculation is 99.99942% accurate."

"I know, I'm just messing with you."

"Curiosity: This is the human ritual of joking?"

"Yup."

"Excitement: This implies a degree of human intimacy."

"Um, kind of?"

"Statement: Our relationship is approaching close human intimacy."

"I'm not sure I would word it that way," John said. "Can you not get so close?"

"According to records, human intimacy beyond friendship reaches the stage of becoming lov—"

"Okay, stop right there!" Any playfulness was gone from John's face. "We're just friends. Got it?"

"Confirmation: We are friends."

"Good."

"Satisfied: This pod is a friend of humanity."

"…sure, let's go with that." John tiredly turned to Pod 153. "Let me know if anything happens."

"Affirmative," Pod 153 replied.

John peered out into the darkening skies one last time, taking in the signs. They were approaching the western hemisphere, toward the west coast of the Americas. It was now called the Kingdom of Night, but how much darker was it? Was there an eternal moon or was it simply an inky, blackness that would be hard to see through without a flashlight? While they were undoubtedly going into a conflict zone—or rather, the periphery of a combat zone—visibility was probably going to be an issue. However, would it be a problem for the machines too?

From his examination of machine lifeforms like Pascal, they didn't come built-in with a flashlight, but that was reasonable since their area of operation was in perpetual sunlight. In the Kingdom of Night, it should be different, but that was all speculation.

Turning around, John made his way toward the back of the plane, moving past A2 who didn't bother to spare him anything more than a glance. Pod 042 at least bobbed its floating body in acknowledgment, though that elicited an annoyed look from A2 since the pod was using a soldering tool at the time. At the back of the plane, 9S was lying down with no blindfold and his eyes were closed as if he was peacefully sleeping. Sitting down on the ground beside him was 2B, her arms curled around her legs. However, at his approach, she stood back up to her feet.

"Sir."

"2B, how are you holding up?"

"My repairs are complete, and I'm at 90% efficiency."

"I wasn't talking about that," John said as he came to a stop before her, noticing her tense expression. "Is something on your mind?"

"I…I'm grateful for what you did for 9S, but I…am conflicted." 2B's fists tightened at her sides. "I should have done more to stop you. The risks were too great."

"Oh?" John looked amused. "Last I checked, I was the one that gave that order, not you."

"But your safety is paramount above all. Where we're going now is going to put you in greater danger." 2B dipped her head. "I should be doing everything I can to convince you–stop you–but I'm not. I cannot."

"Good." Even with the blindfold covering her eyes, John could feel her gaze boring into him. "That means you're not a slave to your programming and that you can think for yourself. Believe it or not, that actually make me feel better."

"Why? Unnecessary danger should be avoided," 2B whispered. "Even 9S would not have wanted this."

"Maybe. If he was awake, I might decide differently, but he isn't, and helping him is the right thing to do."

"What do you mean by 'the right thing'?"

"The 'right thing' is…hm, how do I explain this. It's something that you can do without regrets. It might not be the most logical or correct choice, but it's something that should be done."

"I…don't understand," 2B intoned.

"You felt the need to save 9S despite the dangers it might put me in." John looked at her evenly. "That feeling is not wrong."

"Feelings are against regulations."

"You know those orders had been revoked," he said. "You have as much right to freedom and your feelings as any other android."

"My feelings…"

"Just think about it." Knowing that pushing further would be counterproductive, John turned his gaze to the deactivated android. "And don't worry, we'll fix him. I promise."

2B was silent at that.

"Ow! Fuck!" A2 cursed, drawing his attention to her. Her stomach panel was open, and Pod 042 was working on something inside.

Leaving 2B alone to ruminate on their conversation, John walked over to the cursing android. Now that he was closer, he could see that the pod had its hands inside A2, pulling out wires and replacing them wholesale. The already removed wires that were littering the floor weren't just cut and frayed; they were also melted and fused, warped by both high temperatures and constant abuse. To get them working for this long without problems or leaks seemed like a miracle. No, maybe they were actually leaking.

Every time that Pod 042 yanked out a wire, A2 couldn't help the flinch that went through her, coping with it the only way that she seemed to be able to.

By cursing a lot.

"Goddamn it, fuck!"

"You know, it probably would be better if you just shut down for a while," John commented. "It'd hurt far less."

"What do you want?" A2 didn't quite snap at him, but he could tell she was frustrated.

"Same thing as before." John squatted down to take a closer look at her exposed circuitry, a lot of which was damaged in some way or another. "It'd be faster with my help."

"It's fine."

"Doesn't look fine to me." He was tempted to poke at her damaged parts, but that probably wouldn't go over very well. "You already have Pod 042 working on you. What's the harm in another set of hands?"

A2 was silent.

"We don't really have all that much time left. Do you really want to go half-baked?" John said. "I promise I'll be careful."

"…fine, but you better be." A2 didn't look quite as unhappy as he thought she would be. "If you mess it up…"

"I might be a few millennia out of date, but I was putting together androids by hand long before you were born." John jokingly boasted, though the fact was technically true. Besides, there was just something about working with his bare hands on a machine that was relaxing. "Pod, think you can pull up A2 schematics for me? Or whatever you got on her."

"Affirmative." A holographic display appeared in mid-air in front of him. The damage in particular was helpfully highlighted in red.

"Looks pretty severe," John murmured, bringing his hand up to the display, pressing against it as he manipulated the image. In fact, with this kind of damage, it wouldn't have been surprising to simply write off the android as a total loss. Repairing all of that was going to be a hassle, even with how much Pod 042 had already done. "How did it get this bad?"

"Try constantly fighting and being hunted for a couple of years with barely anything to make repairs with," A2 said gruffly, almost indignantly. "Or are you saying you can do better?"

"Not at all. You're pretty amazing to last that long and learn on the fly. I know that combat models tend to only have the bare minimum of repair knowledge," John stated, watching as A2 took on a more mollified expression. "We'll see what we can do to get you back into tip-top shape."

"Statement: A full rebuild for perfect optimization is impossible with current equipment and supplies."

"I didn't mean it that way. Just as best as we can. For the rest, we can save for after California."

John scrolled through the holographic image, taking in the details. The more that he looked at it, the more he wanted to praise it. It wasn't so much of an upgrade from regular androids that it was alien to him since he could figure it out easily enough. So that was why he knew that, unlike regular androids, this prototype YoRHa was a marvel of military upgrades and optimization, specializing the unit for that singular purpose. If they had these kinds of androids back then, Legion wouldn't have been as much of a problem as they had been. As he stared at the design, the silence stretched on for longer than normal.

"W-what is it?" A2 finally spoke up. "Is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" John shook his head. "Nothing at all. Hell, I would even call it perfect."

So focused on studying the design, he did not notice A2 turn her gaze away.

"Hell, your form, function, and features are all things I could've only dreamed of before," he murmured, almost in spite of himself. "You're truly a work of art."

"J-John…?"

"Oh, sorry. I got lost in thought." He bent over and opened up a nearby toolkit, the one that A2 had been using to repair herself at the same time that Pod 042 was fixing her. "Can you hold out your arm? I'm going to start working on your wrist."

After a few seconds of silence from the unmoving android, John glanced back up.

"A2?"

"W-wh—" A2 abruptly clamped her mouth shut and thrust out her hand to John, making him flinch at her action, though he quickly recovered.

Moving closer, John took her wrist into his hands and pressed firmly around it, firmly exploring it. The synthetic skin was still firmly intact which was obvious by sight, but he would have thought it would be looser or gone with the amount of fighting she had been through. Searching for a bit, he found the panel he was looking for and popped it open. Just like what was shown to him, he found that some of the wirings had actually fused to the circuits, requiring a delicate operation to separate them without further damaging the circuitry. Then again, it was probably better to remove and replace them outright since they did have enough spare parts. He just hoped that she would be able to adapt to the new components without problems.

"Okay, A2, I'm going in now. Let me know if I mess up too much since this is my first time."

John began peeling the wire from the circuit, but when no response came, he finally looked up and blinked in confusion.

"A2, you can't make sure that I'm not screwing up if you're not looking."

~o~

In the end, it had taken quite a few hours of meticulous work to repair most of the damage. Well, actually, rather than repair, they had to actually replace the components more often than not. It was to the point that he could safely say that more than half of A2 was brand new. However, these spare parts were designed for models like 2B so that was why, after he was done fixing up A2, there were more tasks that needed to be done.

John had gone on to study the schematics for both 9S and 2B. Mostly, it was to make sure that what he had put into A2 would function without problems, but it was also a precaution in case he needed to repair 9S or 2B on the fly. He had thought that the upgrade from A2 to 2B would be as significant as the one from a regular android to A2, but it turned out that wasn't the case. There was no doubt in his mind that they were in fact state of the art, but the improvements from A2's model were as extensive as he thought there would be, given how A2 talked self-depreciatively about it. A little change here and a little change could be more quantified as side upgrades rather than a straight upgrade. To be frank, he wasn't quite sure if A2 actually knew what the differences between their models were in the first place.

Rubbing his eyes, John brushed his hand through his messy hair. He had been looking at these schematics for a while, and it was starting to get to him. They had a bit of time left so he could definitely study more, but it was necessary to take breaks every once in a while. He could practically imagine Popola and Devola incessantly bugging him to do just that. It was always sobering to think about the twins, and he hoped dearly that they had survived the fall of the camp. Still, he was going to honor their wishes, even in their absence. Motivated by the memory, he stood up and stretched, working out the kinks in his body.

"Okay, I'm done for a bit. What's our ETA, Buddy?" The holographic schematics disappeared with the aforementioned pod floating in the air beside him.

"Answer: We are 35 minutes and 32 seconds from our destination."

As if to emphasize its point, Buddy brought up a holographic map that showed North America from an aerial view. It zoomed in to focus on the west coast of the former United States.

Looking at it, John couldn't help the feeling that overcame him. He was finally home. Even though he had taken a long detour, he was back on American soil. Knowing its fate, however, brought his mood down. Still, he couldn't help but feel happy at the same time. Watching their blue dot approach the coastline, he could say that this had been the smoothest ride of his life in both comfort and absence of problems.

So, of course, something had to go wrong.

"Alert: Enemies on approach," Pod 042's voice echoed out from the cockpit. "Emergency path alteration."

On the map, three red dots appeared in the west on an intercept course. The blue dot turned to change its route, but once the red dots reached that point of change, they adjusted their flight paths to continue interception.

"How did they even find—no, that's not important." John stared at the map. "Can we lose them?"

"Negative," Buddy responded. "Machine lifeforms exceed speed of transport."

"Can we take them out?"

"Transport has limited, outdated weaponry."

"Is that a yes or no?"

"Yes," 2B said. "But it will take longer than optimal, and it'd attract the attention of nearby machines."

"Not like we have a choice, but if they see me..." While it was possible that they might ignore the androids' presence, it wouldn't be the same for him. The machine network would go on full alert if John was spotted even once. "Are they in visual range?"

"Night conditions and coastal fog prevents visual acquisition," Pod 153 answered.

"What if we all jumped out of this plane? Would they follow us or the plane?" John asked, not taking his eyes off the map.

"The machine lifeforms are currently investigating our vessel's continuous discharge trail. Probability of changing targets is currently low."

"Good. In that case, we should descend closer to the ground and jump out," John said. "A2 or 2B can bring me while the other one can carry 9S. The pods can fly out so they should be fine."

From the cockpit, Pod 042's voice came.

"Confirmed new orders. Descendin—" The plane jerked as Pod 042's voice heightened. "Alert: Newly activated machine signals detected near left wing."

The transport rumbled as the aerial machines commenced a strafing run. On the map, four new red dots had moved past them after appearing out of nowhere, but they were circling around. Worse was the fact that more and more red dots were appearing within scanner range as if they had poked a hornet's nest.

"Activating automated turrets."

Loud booming noises resounded even through the soundproofing, but for every dot that disappeared, more popped into existence as if they were spawning out of the void.

A2 walked over to the crate from the Resistance's supply cache and pulled out two M16 assault rifles. She tossed one over to 2B who caught it.

"That pod needs to keep piloting," A2 said, quickly checking her weapon's integrity. "The other two pods can carry you and 9S down to ground level."

"What about you and 2B?"

"There's not enough pods to fly us out." A2 hung the weapon's strap over her shoulders. "But we'll get out after we lead them far enough away. Should be closer to the ground by then."

"But—"

"We don't have time for this!"

"YoRHa weighs two and a half times the weight of an adult human," 2B commented. "Pods are only optimized to handle exactly that weight for gliding downward. Any more than that risks structural deterioration including arm breakages and failure of their flotation devices. We cannot put you at risk so, please, leave this to us."

For John, the hardest thing to do in war was to leave people behind, but there was reasonable and unreasonable stubbornness. There was simply no other option.

"…fine," he said, though he leveled a stern gaze at the two YoRHa androids. "But both of you have to stay alive. Consider this an order."

"Feh," A2 groused, though 2B simply nodded.

"We'll head there first then," John stated grimly. "Find us at the coordinates we discussed earlier."

The plane rumbled as more energy shots hit the hull, signaling to them that there was no more time to waste.

Pod 153 had already taken 9S and dragged him over to the door.

As for Buddy, the pod had already wrapped its arms around John from behind as if it were a parachute backpack. Even as the pod did so, John picked up his custom rifle and hugged it to his chest. 2B grabbed the door handle and yanked it open, the fierce cold winds flooding in at the moment that she did so.

John looked into the dark sky and set his jaw. It wouldn't be the first time that he had air-dived into a hot zone in the middle of the night. However, it was hard to say which was the worse situation.

"Go!" 2B yelled.

John ran to the open doorway and leaped out, falling downward. The winds buffeted him as he fell through a cloud. The ground level was far, far into the distance—making this skydiving range—though it was only barely visible due to the fog. He held out his arms and legs to create more resistance and slow his fall, though he soon realized that probably wasn't necessary since Buddy—still holding onto him—was decreasing their descent speed.

Still, they had to go fast to avoid detection by the machines. The speed was enough to make his heart feel like it was bursting out of his chest. The adrenaline—and he knew instinctively that he was undergoing that high—was slowing down his perception, making everything seem longer than it really was. He could feel his eyes drying out and getting blurry from the intense winds, forcing him to close them. However, not being able to see where he was going made the entire experience more terrifying.

It was only when he could feel their descent slow that he finally risked opening his eyes. At this point, they were at the height of a skyscraper, and they kept slowing down even further as Buddy did its best to make sure that their landing would be smooth for a human's physiology. Down below, he could see Pod 153 holding the deactivated 9S's hands, struggling to halt their increasing speed. Those two hit the ground first, a bit rougher than he was expecting, but 9S's android frame seemed to be able to handle it. Pod 153, on the other hand, had rolled and bounced on impact like a bowling ball.

In contrast, Buddy set him down gently onto the grassy field, as if letting him off of a roller coaster ride. It was almost surreal how gentle it was compared to the other two's descent, but then again, weight was the biggest issue. Still, Pod 153 didn't look worse for wear when it floated back to them.

"Any sign of the machines?"

"Negative. No signal detected," Buddy replied. "Nearby Resistance signal detected. Should we inform them of our presence?"

"No." John shook his head. They were maintaining radio silence to prevent discovery, but even then, they didn't have time to get those androids up-to-date on his existence and organize a fast enough raiding party before the machines would catch on. "How far out are we from our destination?"

Buddy brought up a holographic display of the map of Los Angeles. Their blue dot was positioned further inland than their expected landing zone, giving them a shorter distance to the target destination. However, it was still a good ten miles out. For a YoRHa, that was probably nothing, but for a human with an android baggage? It wasn't going to be fast, to say the least.

"Buddy, Pod 153," John said, catching their attention. "If both of you carry 9S, can you float him up without dragging him on the ground?"

"Confirmation: 9S's weight will be within allowable perimeters," Pod 153 answered.

"Okay, that'll let us move faster and quieter. The only trail we'll be leaving is my own, but I know to minimize that," John said, looking up at the foggy sky. "We need to hurry."

They began their trek, moving from the grassy plains to the cement roads and ruined buildings. Buddy and Pod 153 were carrying 9S with each holding onto one of the android's arms. With the YoRHa being limp, it made it seem like they were carrying a prisoner instead of a comrade, but it wasn't like there was anybody besides him to see. Off in the distance, there was the sound of gunfire, but they seemed to come from a lot further to the east and outside of their route. Maintaining their pace, they moved swiftly and silently with the pods using periodic surface scans to ensure that they wouldn't be snuck up on.

Despite the pods' insistence otherwise, John led the way. Quite frankly, having two pods carrying an android lead the way was just asking for trouble, especially since the pods could not move in perfect synchronization which led to delays in their reaction times. That proved fortunate when John peeked around a corner and found a dormant large machine lifeform sitting in the middle of the street. He quickly pulled his head back.

"There's a large-sized machine around the corner."

"No machine signal detected. The machine lifeform may be in hibernation mode," Pod 153 said. "Recommendation: Alternative route five miles to the south."

"That's far, and we don't know if it won't be guarded as well."

Time was definitely a factor here. When their plane had disturbed the hornet's nest—so to speak—the majority of the machine forces in the area probably went after the source which would explain the relative emptiness during their trek, but that would only last so long. Eventually, those machine lifeforms would return back to here, and when that happens, there would be no way to deal with them stealthily. That meant that they were on a time limit, even if he didn't know how long.

There was a chance that they could sneak by the large machine, but that was risky. If the machine woke up at any time during that, then it didn't take a genius to figure out what would happen to them.

He didn't relish a fight with them; the last time that he had faced a machine of this size, it had taken a lot of effort and firepower to even hurt the thing. More than enough time to report his presence and bring the iron fist of the machine army down upon them. However, that was for a regular fight. For this, he had something in mind to tip the scales.

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to hit with the strongest charge I got on my rifle and then hide. Both of you are going to go up to it and finish it off. If you detect any more machine lifeforms, break off and we'll just escape. You guys good with that?"

"No issues detected," Buddy replied.

"Suggestion: Alternative route recommended," Pod 153 said.

"We'll do that if there are too many machines," John retorted. "There's no reason not to try, as long as they don't spot me."

If they did actually spot him, it probably wouldn't be long for the entirety of the machine army to descend upon the area. At that time, it would be over for them. It was best to take care of this as fast as possible so that they could alert the least amount of machines as possible. If not, there was no shame in escaping and taking the other route.

No shame, indeed. Just survival.

John flicked on a switch on his custom rifle, starting up the charge. He leaned around the corner, bringing the custom M16 assault rifle up, making sure that it was only set on single shot. The last thing that he needed was to waste a full charge on multiple shots instead of one concentrated blast. As the power level climbed on the gauge, moving from green to yellow, he aimed the gunsight at the dormant machine. When the gauge turned red, he pressed firmly on the trigger.

A glob of charged plasma shot out of the barrel's tip, the recoil slamming the stock into his shoulder. Despite the pain, he held firmly onto the rifle as the purple plasma raced down the street, its form barely contained in its constantly shifting bubble-like containment field. The moment that it touched the machine's torso, the fragile field broke, splattering out plasma in all directions like a grenade. The machine activated, its eyes glowing red, but it was only for a moment before flickering and fading out. Its head fell off, its body half gone. In fact, the entire surrounding vicinity looked like a black hole had erupted and eaten away at everything in a radius.

John stared blankly at the results and then glanced at Buddy.

"…any machine signals?"

"No machine lifeforms detected," Buddy promptly answered. "Recommendation: Cease use of weapon. Fragile containment field may result in premature explosion, resulting in self-termination."

"I know," John powered the weapon down calmly, despite knowing that it had as much chances of saving him as killing him. Honestly, it was human ingenuity at its finest. "Let's get moving before more shows up."

While staying cautious, they quickly moved up the street. When they reached the blast radius—just to be on the safe side—Buddy ferried him over. After that, Buddy went back to help carry 9S over alongside Pod 153. Once that was done, they resumed their journey.

There were a few scattered machine lifeforms, both of the small and medium variety, but they were easily avoidable despite their seemingly haphazard patrols. Or maybe because of them. In any case, they didn't encounter any more machines that they needed to actually fight.

Arriving at the location after being on high alert was somewhat of a relief. The building itself was a nondescript building that should have been seven stories tall. Now? It was basically a ruin where the second floor had become the rooftop. The fact that it had a seemingly intact first floor and was structurally sound was more of a surprise than anything. Even after reading those reports about it, he still couldn't get over how well-preserved everything was. Of course, that didn't mean the machines couldn't desecrate the sites themselves, as evident when they scavenged for scraps to turn into more of their pals. Glancing through the open-air windows, there was really nothing to be seen in there except lifeless halls and empty rooms.

"Detect anything, Buddy?"

"No machine lifeform signals detected," Buddy intoned. "Black box signals of YoRHa unit 2B and A2 detected."

"Where?"

As if on cue, the front door of the building was pushed open. The hand holding the door open belonged to A2 who seemed mildly annoyed. She motioned to them to come, doing it impatiently multiple times even after they started moving toward her. Once everyone was inside, she closed the door. Standing in the shadows nearby were 2B and Pod 042. Despite looking a little banged up—and dirty—they seemed to be faring well enough.

"You all made it," John said, letting his relief enter his voice. As much as he wanted to believe that they would have gotten away fine, there were a whole host of machines after them. The fact that they didn't seem to have taken any significant amount of damage felt like a miracle. Then again, maybe the injury was internal. "Do you need any repairs?"

"...the work you did surprisingly held up." A2 only gave a tight nod before she crossed her arms over her chest. A glance at 2B was answered by a shake of her head.

"Just asking. Well, let's get going then." John began leading the way, not seeing the slightly disappointed look on A2's face. "Hopefully the hidden elevator is still in good condition. Otherwise, we might have to dig for a while."

The empty passageways, devoid of any wallpaper and decorations, stood at a stark contrast to his memories. Dark, dirty, and empty, it was the opposite of what it once was. In spite of that, he knew the way by heart, following it like he was going down memory lane. In fact, it matched his memories so completely that it wasn't long before they reached an emergency stairway. From there, they went down three flights of stairs, each dustier than the last.

At the bottom, there was a metal rusty door with a label that was gone. What it used to say was "Storage" even though a storage room this far down would be out of the way for most workers to use. At this point, 2B took the lead and pushed open the rusted door, ignoring its squeaking protest. Once it was wide enough, they all went through.

There was another hallway with open doorways on both sides of the passage. None of them had any labels anymore and looked almost uniform in design.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five." John turned left into the fifth room.

It was an empty one, devoid of any piece of furniture or features. In spite of that, he walked to the very back wall. Pressing his hand against it, he felt along the wall until the tips of his fingers pressed against a crevice. As he scratched at it, the dirt fell, showing that the crevice was a little deeper than it first seemed.

"Here," John said, patting the wall before backing away. "The elevator to my lab should be behind this slab. No power, though, so I'll need to borrow your YoRHa muscles."

The two android women took out their swords and jammed into the crevice, one higher and one lower. Putting their strength into them, they pried that part of the wall loose enough that they could grab it with their fingers. It wasn't long before they swung the slab open, revealing a closed elevator. The power, however, was off so A2 placed her fingers into the slit between the two elevator doors and pulled it apart. The doors screeched loudly, sparks flying from their resistance, but they yielded all the same.

What was there was an elevator cabin that was heavily tilted, hanging by only one set of cables on a single side. Even if it wasn't in a broken state, they wouldn't have been able to use it without power. Leaving it there while they headed down was a recipe for disaster.

"Cut the cord," John commanded.

2B slashed out her sword, slicing through the thick elevator cables with ease. The elevator cabin immediately fell, bouncing off the walls as it dropped deeper and deeper. There was eventually a loud crash, signifying just how far the shaft went.

"I can make my own way down." Without waiting for a response, A2 leaped down into the darkness, bouncing off the walls as she made her way downward.

John, 2B, and the hibernating 9S were ferried down by the three pods. Before they even reached halfway, the pods turned on their flashlight function, flooding the shaft with their bright light. When they reached the bottom, A2 was waiting at the only exit there was.

"Information: Pod 042 confirms that there are no active hostile machines in the facility. It is safe for John Connor to enter," Pod 153 informed them.

The pods released their passengers onto the surprisingly clean tiles of the laboratory. Looking around, John could see that this was the front reception and security checkpoint, an additional measure in case anyone were to discover the elevator. Though, it was hard to make out the details with only the light that the pods were giving off.

"Surprised: Scans show internal wiring is in good condition. Rare metal coltan used as electrical conduits. Very durable and long-lasting." Pod 042's voice echoed in the empty room. "Facility is still being powered by trace amounts of energy and able to receive wireless signals. Possible to restore power to full capacity."

John blinked in surprise. Power? Were the Maso generators still working?

"Do it," 2B spoke.

It took a few seconds before the lights flickered on, illuminating everything.

After his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting, John looked around, taking in the sight. It reminded him deeply of the past, but the room was far sparser now, though surprisingly well-kept. Even the words and signs on the walls were in good condition, helpfully pointing out in which directions the various rooms were. Not that he needed them. As if on auto-pilot, he walked through into the hallway in a daze.

Even though it felt like a lifetime had passed since he had arrived in this reality, it had only actually been a month or two since he had once walked these halls, but in every room that he passed by, they were completely empty and sterile. None of the equipment that should have been there was, and there was no sign of any inhabitants at all. In hindsight, it should have been obvious that there would be no sign of habitation, given the amount of time that passed. It had been nearly ten millennia, after all. His androids, no matter how well-made and durable they were, would have probably shut down over the lack of power. It was even possible that they had left the facility and been destroyed topside, maybe looking for a replacement battery.

"John?" The worried words from 2B brought him out of his reverie.

Blinking, the sight of an arm assembly laboratory was replaced by an empty and lifeless white room. John shook his head slightly, worry starting to settle into him.

"Don't worry about it." He began walking again, moving down the passage. "Let's continue."

As they passed more and more empty rooms, John's walking pace started speeding up. It wasn't long before he was jogging, and then he was running. Sprinting across the hallway, ignoring both the empty rooms and the worried words from his companions as they kept pace. It was only when he reached a large set of double doors that he finally slowed to a stop with his heart pounding from the exertion. Running a hand through his sweat-soaked hair, he reaffirmed his resolve and pushed the doors open.

It had always been referred to as "The Room." To do otherwise was to give away what it contained, and that was a security risk that they couldn't afford. However, the sight that met him brought him to an immediate halt.

A huge auditorium stood before him, but it contained nothing. No time displacement device, no rings, no coltan-laced walls. Only the Maso generators were still there, running sluggishly.

Vaguely, he realized that he was running again, leaving the auditorium behind him. When he came to, he was standing in front of another room. This time, he didn't wait or take it slow; he pushed open the doors with all the speed and power of a charging rhinoceros.

Inside, this room was far smaller, but it was similarly empty. In the center, there was a hole in the floor and ceiling where massive bundles of wires were supposed to stretch out from. He should have already realized it when there had been no greeting over the intercom, especially after they turned on the power. Maybe he had subconsciously realized it, but he had fervently hoped that it would be otherwise.

"Cameron…"

Gone. Just like everything else in this facility. All of his equipment and research data had been stripped bare, but he couldn't find fault with it. If Daniel had gotten his message, this was what he should have done to ensure that everything didn't fall into the wrong hands, to make sure that they had another chance at fixing the past. He couldn't fault him in any way because it was what he would have done, and nobody had expected the time displacement device to malfunction.

However, in the end, his hopes were still dashed.

A deep, weary sigh escaped him, leaving him feeling melancholic.

To top everything off, there was nothing here that possibly help him with 9S.

"Alert: Writing on the wall does not match previous writings in style and contains numerous inconsistencies," Pod 153 announced. "Conjecture: It was handwritten."

John turned his gaze to the left wall where there was writing on it, just like what the pod said. Though, this writing seemed to have been done in some kind of permanent black ink or black paint that would have been practically invisible if they hadn't turned on the power. Was that why the generators were left behind? There were only two lines of writing, and the first one…

"Zero Eight Two Nine One Nine Nine Seven…?"

It didn't even take a moment before he realized what those numbers were.

"Judgment Day."

A cold, old feeling took him as his gaze went to the second line.

Our First Home.

"Mom?"

~o~

Authors' Note:

Icura: Whew, another chapter written.

Vahn: (Shows up behind reader and ambushes them, covering their mouth) You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?

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