Robin waited, she waited for hours, her internal clock said, so, lying against one of the broken arches, hidden under its shade she silently admired its structure, she still loved these things after all, and she'd been rather pleased that none of it got damaged further from the fight between her and A2.
She stayed as still and silent as possible, but eventually, someone found her.
Some small machine scurrying about alarmed the others about her presence, and just like that the things charged towards her. She wasn't even a threat, at least, not at the moment.
But if they wanted one, that was exactly what she would be.
These machine imitating knights wouldn't know what hit them, she didn't want to fight, their fault for wanting to. So, sword in hand, she charged back.
A2 didn't know what kind of thing possessed her into actually listening to that unknown Executioner's words, but she did, as each of the past days she returned to the location they fought, again and again, when she could have chosen to stay hidden in one of her many safe spots the entire time, and let the other woman rot in hell like she deserved.
She did not trust anyone anymore, she hadn't for years, and yet, for the umpteenth time she found herself walking towards that place once more, hoping to see the mysterious black haired woman.
Hiding in the thick foliage she made her way to the clearing, expecting to be met with disappointment this time too, because no matter how many times he headed there the other android was never there, machines at times, but her? Never.
Had she been lying? That was entirely possible, YoRHa was known for lies, especially the Commander. But, A2 knew full well what YoRHa did to people that knew too much too, their personality and memories would get rewritten, becoming another person, and whatever they knew would be gone forever.
She knew it because time and time again she saw the same models over and over, and never they had ever remembered her, of having seen her, or anything she said.
She used to try and dissuade the first Executioners that were being sent after her, that she was not a deserter, that she was the victim, that White was lying, but it never solved nothing, no one would ever listen, and if any did, they wouldn't remember. And the cycle would repeat again.
She met 2E and 9S way too many times to not know that, and she couldn't help but wonder if that somewhat kind Executioner woman also met that fate.
A2 didn't know why, but when she saw that eye of hers, she felt like she was staring in a mirror, so much pain, and… understanding…
She convinced herself that it was the only reason she wanted to see that person again, she wanted to know why she felt like this stranger understood her. It didn't mean she would believe what she said, if she said anything, if they met again though.
A2 had never been a smart android, she hadn't been programmed to be smart, but she was not so dumb to fall in a trap, and this whole situation smelled like one, as much as it didn't too.
But by now she was too invested into it to back out.
Because this time her ears could pick up the sounds of someone fighting, instead of complete silence like the other times she came here. Unconsciously speeding up her pace, she walked over to the source of the noise, still keeping hidden in the bushes.
A2 half expected some random android or just machines there, and those tin cans were indeed there, but the android in the middle of the fight was all but random.
She came for real…
But she couldn't risk alerting her nor the machines, not yet, so, tightly holding her side she waited for the battle to be over, only then she would make her move.
Taking her sword back from the head of the last stubby machine, Robin looked around her once more, hoping that like last time noise would have attracted A2 again, but once more she was just met with disappointment.
What the hell was she expecting? That she'd trust the words of a stranger that had been sent to kill her?
She herself would have never done such a thing, so why did she expect A2 to do just that at all?
With a sigh she willed her weapon to float on her back and turned the way she came from, no point in lingering around anymore.
She just took one step when the sound of something being thrown and the clank of metal behind her made her turn and dash a few meters away, hand on the hilt of her sword on her back.
Her eyes scanned for signs of hostiles, but all she found was another sword piercing through the head of a machine she already killed. A Type 40 Sword.
A2's sword…
Had she thrown it? Was she here and was she trying to gain her attention?
She heard the sound of rustling leaves from the bushes in front of her, tightening the grip on her own weapon she waited, fearing an attack still.
She could only relax when A2's long mane of hair came into view, and just now she realized why the woman did not expose herself to the machines. The white haired android stared at her with a scowl, a hand holding the side Robin herself had stabbed through, as she walked, limped, towards her.
A2 was hurt, hurt because her…
This is all you're good for. Her younger self called out, she forced herself to ignore it, but she knew it was right, it had always been.
Robin waited unmoving, for A2 to get close enough to retrieve her own weapon, she did not want the other woman to think she was being a threat, not this time.
"You kept your word." was the first thing the white haired android said, her voice was neutral, but a hint of surprise was there still.
"I did not expect you to believe me." it was the only thing Robin could respond with.
"You said you'd give me an explanation, start talking then."
Straight to the point it seemed, too bad Robin was not in the mood to sit around and just reveal things in the middle of enemy territory, so once again she was forced to have A2 trust her, and she could very well tell the woman's patience was very thin.
"I'm afraid I can't, not here at least." she could see A2's grip tighten on her weapon.
"I didn't say I wouldn't, but there's too many enemies here, I don't want to risk an ambush."
"You didn't care about it when you were trying to kill me." A2 snarled, unfortunately true, but what she would tell did not have to be heard from anyone else but her, at all.
"I can't risk the machines listening in, I came here to talk to you alone." Robin replied, she'd have to thread carefully with her words.
"I am just saying to move away from here, and I know a safe spot not too far from here."
"How do I know you're not trying to lure me into another trap?" so she had noticed that she had purposefully let herself be chased from machines the other day, with the intention of having her kill them.
"How can I be sure you're not trying to rat me out to White? You're one of her dogs after all." though A2 had to admit this one didn't seem that loyal if she truly was saying the truth.
The black haired woman didn't look all that trustful in the Commander, if she lied to her to meet her again, because she was sure some kind of lie had to be involved. She should have perished that day, A2 knew that much, and somehow this person must have convinced White of the opposite.
She'd never seen anyone smart enough to not be entirely wrapped by the leash White held her soldiers with, but this one outsmarted her even.
Who the hell was she?
"If I wanted to follow orders I should have just killed you that other day, don't you think?" A2 couldn't see it, but she could tell the woman was frowning from under the visor from how crooked the fabric got.
She got pretty good at reading emotions and at completing faces during the years, and besides, it wasn't like she had never worn that thing herself. And hated it with all her might, it and all it represented.
"Look, I know I can't give you proof of what I say can be trusted, and I am not asking you to trust me, at all, it is not what I am looking for." the woman continued.
"There is a safe place I can take you to, I have found a secret entrance in the Commercial Facility not too far from here, I have been using the basement as a personal base whenever I want to be left alone. There's a jammer that prevents the signal of our black boxes from being picked up, and I stoked up on medical supplies, and I can see you need them."
Robin extended a hand towards A2. "That is the best offer I can make you."
Again with that hand… the woman had done the same when she offered to take her back to the Bunker instead of just blatantly wanting to kill her right away. A2 had ignored it and attacked first, she thought she'd been mocking her with the gesture of peace, other Executioners wouldn't waste a chance to do so, but this one was different from them all.
A2 couldn't help but feel that this woman's feelings of compassion towards her were all but fake.
Defiant, she held her hands at her sides, making her sword float at her back together with the other bigger blade in sign that she no longer wanted to fight, but she didn't take the hand. Part of her still thought this was some kind of elaborate trap her brain couldn't understand, she'd never been made to think strategies anyways.
However the side that won over was still the one that believed the woman was being truthful. Perhaps after years of being on the run alone, she was desperate to find someone, anyone, that still held some little bit of kindness towards her.
"Just lead the way."
The other android just nodded, not questioning the still unfriendly tone. "As you wish."
A2 watched as the black haired android turned her back on her, and started walking away, showing the back meant being exposed to attacks, but also meant placing trust in other people, and at this moment this Executioner was indeed trusting her.
This unnamed person was showing her every single sign that she wanted A2 to believe her, and for some damn reason she couldn't say no to that, she found out that she couldn't oppose the wishes of a mere assassin and it disgusted her to no end.
But this was also the first ever person that ever gave two shits about her in forever.
So A2 followed, keeping her eyes on the woman's back the entire time, in case she'd try to fool her, and she was sure the other android could feel her staring, yet she never questioned her about it.
The woman just kept walking ahead of her, yet not too far, nor too close, she deliberately kept her pace slow to make sure A2 would be able to keep up with her, given her wounded side. The stranger's fault she reminded herself.
The treatment she received did something to help her, enough to move, but she'd be a fool to not admit it didn't hurt still, and unluckily she did not have any healing supplies that could have been helpful in the closest hiding spot from the clearing they fought at. The promise of actual medical supplies sounded like heaven to her at the moment.
The duo spent the time traveling in silence, save for the clicking of heels on grass and the whirring of Robin's Pod no more words were exchanged until they reached their destination.
The commercial facility had always intrigued A2, but she had never actually been able to find an entrance herself, so the fact that this woman did, honestly embarrassed her. She'd spend years around these areas after all, though she did not know how long the other android had been operative, but less than her for sure.
She'd been part of the first squad after all, and no other android of YoRHa apart from White herself was older than her. None that existed that was.
A2 watched as the woman made her way through the thick roots in the back of the building, and how by slightly moving one away with her strength of android revealed an opening in the broken wall.
The Executioner made her way in, and A2 was amazed how she'd been able to even pass through, the hole was not big enough for someone as tall as her, yet she squeezed through with effortless ease, probably she'd known this place existed for quite a while.
Regardless, A2 made her way in too, or rather stumbled through, but the woman was quick to catch her before she fell, though she couldn't help but whine a little as the motion strained her wound.
"Easy there."
Her hands, her voice, this stranger was so damn gentle, it made A2 sick…
Executioners, no, combat models were made to kill and destroy, she and her and all the others, their hands hurt and tore things, they did not know gentleness.
And yet… A2 found herself leaning into the woman's touch.
Robin did her best to hide her surprise at the gesture, but if A2 caught any of it she didn't voice it. She couldn't believe how touch starved this woman appeared to be.
So are you, aren't you, Robin?
Just what in the name of the great blue happened to A2?
Robin guided the wounded android in the facility where the basement was. Saying that this place was in shambles was an understatement, grass, roots and moss had pretty much claimed it as their own, the walls had cracks, holes, and some were entirely broken down.
She'd been lucky to find something salvageable the first time she came here, that she took to the basement, at least, while no longer in function, the escalators served as stairs.
She took what she could, the remnants of a bed and a couch, tables and whatever else she could find, and set up her own space where she could keep the relics she found, books, papers and objects.
The only thing she brought here herself is her old worn out bag, currently hidden away, but that had been the reason why she looked for this sort of safehouse. White had been very strict about the bag, because it could have been source of curiosity from other people, and actually it had been, she eventually found out how 9S was able to piece together her whole being a human all those years ago, and that was because he had sneaked into the room and found the bag.
And with that, he also had given her first execution, she remembered well how it ended up.
So in the end White either asked she'd get rid of it or found somewhere to keep it safe, here seemed safe enough, no one else but her ever sneaked in before, and now only A2 knew about this place.
A bit risky, but she needed to gain her trust somehow. She just hoped the woman wouldn't start rampaging and destroying everything she worked so hard to retrieve and restore.
Robin helped A2 sit on the makeshift bed, which wasn't much more than a mattress and some blankets, but it did its job, before looking for a med kit she was sure she bought some a while ago when she went to the Resistance's camp.
She could feel A2's eyes never leaving her as she looked.
"So you were telling the truth then." the white haired android spoke, even sounding a bit surprised.
"I did not have a reason to lie. Again, if this was a trap then I might as well have finished you off that time I could." Robin approached her, med kit in hand, she left it on the mattress.
"Well, now we're here, you said you'd talk, do it."
"Always straight to the point aren't you?" Robin chuckled a little. "Very well, then, let me tell you a story."
She started pacing around the room, trying to choose the best words to come up with, she did not have to make A2 suspicious of her, nor could she blatantly tell she was a former human and pirate and that she knew what being hunted felt.
A2 would never believe her.
"There was once this young kid, she lived on an island with a giant tree in the middle of it. That tree was the biggest library in the world. This little kid lived with her aunt, her uncle and her cousin, however those people did not love her, saw her as a burden, they'd make her do chores and they would yell at her all the time."
Her fists unconsciously clenched at her side, at the memory of how many times aunt Roji had scolded her and treated her like nothing but trash, at her cousin Mizuira that loved to bully her, telling Roji she had done things the never did, and of course, her uncle never took her side but sat there and watched all the time.
"This little kid found refuge in this library and its books, she made friends with the archeologists there, she studied and studied, because she believed that one day, when her mother returned home she'd take her to the sea with her, she wanted to make her proud."
A flash of white hair appeared in her mind, odd how A2's own hair reminded her of her mother's, so she forced herself not to look at her.
"However, these archeologists were studying something dangerous, something forbidden, but this kid had a strange power that the kids of her island bullied and called her names for, and hunger for knowledge. So, hidden from everyone she spied on them, and when she was found out the archeologists sent her away, for her own safety, though she felt nothing but hurt. So she ran to the sea, there, she found a man that had washed ashore, that man became her only true friend."
She skipped the part about Saul being a giant, it would have been too unbelievable. And what a gentle giant he had been too…
"A few days later, the worst of the worst happened. The government had found out about the secret studies, so they arrested all the archeologists and held them hostage in the main plaza for everyone to see, meanwhile, two government soldiers had carried one woman over, said woman was the kid's mother who had returned home trying to warn her colleagues about the government that was after them."
Robin held a hand to her visor, as if she could somehow erase the memory of her mother Olvia lying on the ground before them in a pool of her own blood. Used as a mere example, displaying what happened to those who opposed the CP9.
"Said kid recognized the woman as her mother, the woman denied with all her might any ties to her, wanting to protect her, but the kid, young and naive, had spilled out the secret that she knew how to read the forbidden writings, in hopes her mother would be proud of her."
How stupid she'd been, but all she wanted was just for her mother tell her she was a good kid…
"When the government found proof of the writings, they didn't waste a second in launching an all out attack, ten warships started bombarding the island with no regard for anything or anyone."
There had been so much fire, so much fear and terror… she could still hear the noise of the cannons shooting today…
Robin didn't realize she was shaking until A2's voice brought her out of her thoughts.
"Are you okay?" she asked. No, no she wasn't, and she just wanted to scream out loud how much pain it had been, how much she just wanted to say the truth, but she couldn't. So, forcing herself to calm down she just nodded, resuming her tale of sorrow.
"Thanks to the sacrifice of her mother and of her dear friend, the kid remained the sole survivor of this slaughter. But the government put a bounty on her, and so the hunt began…"
No one had ever cared she'd been so young, everyone just wanted the money.
"The kid ran, and hid, from place to place, forced to survive on her own with nothing but her own dress. The kid grew, she became a woman with a cold heart that didn't care about no one else but herself, she kept living for the sake of keeping the memory of her people alive, trying to find out the truth about the forbidden stones, and why the government kept them hidden, despite how empty and lonely her life was."
And then…
"The woman died from an enemy attack, she died with much pain and many regrets."
She still couldn't recall the dynamics, but she knew very well how it felt, to be the only survivor, having to live at all costs, only to die and having achieved nothing if not staining the memory of the people that sacrificed themselves for her.
A2 just listened in silence, this whole story hit way too close to home, how a sole survivor like her kept living for the sake of an empty promise. She wondered if these were the Executioner's own false memories, just like she had her own.
But the memories of a kid planting flowers with her grandmother could not compare to this… madness…
She recalled well the reactions the woman had while she told the story, how she was shaking, how she was being affected by it. Was it that there was so much pain to handle that she just had enough?
A2 knew YoRHa was cruel, she knew first hand, but they had passed any kind of mark with this one.
"Why did you tell me all this?"
"Because you remind me of this person, those tears of yours, they told the story of someone that like that person would have died with still so much to tell. I could not bring myself to lower my sword on you." she fully recalled how much her hand was shaking that time, and it never did before.
"You spared me because of these memories?" Robin just nodded at the question, not trusting herself to say more about them.
"You wanted the truth, and I told you, whether you will believe me or not, that is up to you." she turned away to leave. "Feel free to stay here if you wish, I have a mission to do, or White will get suspicious of me."
Right, she still lied and risked herself to be here, so despite how many questions A2 wanted to ask, she couldn't keep the woman here, she'd get in trouble for her, and she did not want that to happen.
For the first time in years that someone had been kind, she was not going to let said person pay for it. Too many people already paid for her existence.
"May I at least know your name?" A2 still didn't have any kind of way of calling her except a stranger.
The woman seemed surprised at the question. "I am so used to having other YoRHas know who I am I forgot to tell my name, how rude of me."
Maybe she could just…
"Well, officially it would be YoRHa Number 26 Type E, or 26E, but… you can call me Robin."