"It doesn't matter! None of this matters!" 9S screamed as he threw himself at her.
A2 blocked his sword with the white one, struggling to keep him at bay, she should have had the upper hand in terms of pure strength, but not with the virus coursing through his systems.
He was so much stronger, and determined to cut her head off for good.
"9S…" she barely whispered his name, but he didn't hear any of it.
There was no telling if he didn't want to, or if he couldn't.
"But if it doesn't matter… why do I long for humans like this? Why do I desire the touch of something that no longer exists!?"
It hadn't been clear to her if the second sentence was referring to humans again, or to something else… to someone else…
A2 couldn't hear 2B at the moment, perhaps she was just a loss of words much like her, but she could feel her sadness and despair very clearly.
Not only 9S was suffering from the lack of 2B's presence with him, not only he was suffering from uncontrollable anger towards the person that took her away from him, not only he was suffering from the virus, but also discovering the truth was literally destroying him inside.
To know that all of them were just as expendable as mere toys, it reminded her of that day in the server room again, after all, hadn't she acted just the same for years towards machines and YoRHas too?
She already knew about them being just a means to an end, so discovering they'd been fighting for nothing made little difference to her. They had been fighting for no reason since the beginning.
If anything, she felt resentment for all the people who died before, that died thinking they had been serving a good purpose.
All her comrades, her Resistance friends, Robin, and even 2B…
Especially 2B.
From her memories A2 just knew that 2B was so dedicated to the cause, despite all the pain it caused her to kill 9S over and over, because she truly believed she'd been doing good.
That one day humans would have truly returned. She did it so many times…
And 9S? The poor boy who had selfishly been sacrificed all these times, like he'd been nothing, like a doll someone would break and rebuild the way they wanted, discovered he had an even lesser reason for existing.
But…
"We live for each other, we're a family."
Rose's voice rang in her head. Even if androids had no reason to exist, they could still live for the people they cared for.
That had been what Rose and the members of the Resistance had taught her back then, even taking them four lost ones under their wing, and treating them all as equals.
As if they'd always been part of the group, of the family…
Even if they were made to love humans, they loved each other more, because they were real people right there in those moments, and not some distant voices with no names or faces.
"It's how we were made."
Loving humans was engraved in a YoRHa's programming, and because of it, A2 had even doubted her feelings for Robin back then.
The same person that was bound to keep her identity hidden, but if she hadn't, then who knows if it could have saved someone? Or could have doomed more of them?
A2 didn't guilt Robin over it, she wasn't even part of the humans that created the first androids of this planet, from who later followed more and more of them arriving to YoRHa ones.
"Androids were designed to protect their human masters."
And she had truly tried to protect the only human left, she tried all she could until the virus brutally tore her away from her too.
Even if it hadn't been the programming, A2 had the feeling she would have done the same, for the only person that treated her with care and respect after such a long time, human or not.
Honestly, at this point she didn't even know whether to call her a human or an android, she was both, and yet neither of the two at the same time. Android in body, but she still retained a human heart.
"Our core programming demands that we…"
"Shut up, Shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!"
He had to know that there was nothing they could have done about the way they had been made, if not just accept it, like she did long ago.
"Fine then… I'll just destroy it! If that all goes away, that'll solve everything!"
She hadn't expected with these words that he'd reach out with his hand, sending impulses through her brain and actually entering it right there.
The best she could do was to put all her defenses in her consciousness and memory region, where the two most precious things lied, for both her and 2B, along with the younger android herself.
She held a hand over her eyes, barely noticing he had hacked her visual sensors until she couldn't see much of anything but moving pixels.
"Damn it." she couldn't hold back a curse.
Forcing herself to take steps back, she relied on her audio sensors to try and pinpoint what 9S was and what he was doing, and before she knew it he disabled them too.
Had he always been so fast in hacking? Or was the virus enhancing his capabilities somehow?
Or maybe hadn't she been so preoccupied to keep 2B safe, then she could have countered him better than this. But her twin's life was more valuable than her own.
Always had been.
That was why she couldn't allow 9S to do what she wanted in her head any longer, because if he were to destroy her consciousness data, then 2B would be gone too, and all of their memories combined too.
She resorted to running for the time being, at least until she could see him again, ordering Pod 042 to keep him distracted, but mentally ordering him not to hurt the boy too much.
There had to be something she could do before that virus consumed him entirely.
There had to be a solution to this!
"It's okay… I told you I'd cure you…" the soft and winded voice of Number 21 reached her.
Those words, she'd said them to Lily right after she'd saved them from the virus. A2 remembered that moment, Number 21 had been so weak after hacking Lily so much, and for almost having been strangled by the small girl as well, she'd been the one holding the redhead until she recovered.
Right… Lily and the virus…
But she wasn't a Scanner type, she couldn't hack into someone… or could she?
As soon as her vision cleared again, her eyes landed on the gray Pod floating beside her, as it was shooting at 9S and his own Pod, mostly just trying to keep them both off her rather than hurting them, just like she had ordered.
It had helped her before to hack in the library and access Robin's files.
So it could help her again.
But once she was in then what could she do?
"Number 21… she's infected…" Margaret had told them in the elevator, and thinking about it now, A2 could guess the reason for the infection could have been her hacking Lily.
Or perhaps even transfering the virus into her own body, hopefully thinking her stronger defenses could have handled it on their own. They didn't…
And perhaps they wouldn't save A2 either but… it was a solution…
A solution to everything, just like he said.
She was tired of running, tired of fighting, tired of being a coward, tired of surviving alone… always alone…
"The arm, you've got to cut off that arm, it's probably one of those clones we saw earlier." 2B talked to her, probably sensing her intentions. She sounded… resigned.
With a small nod, A2 waited for the moment 9S would charge at her again, he was strong but so was she, and all she needed was a moment to throw him off balance to get the appendage off.
So when he ran at her attempting to hit her head, she blocked the hit with her own, holding it horizontally, but he continued pushing down on her, and with the additive strength the virus gave him, pushing him back was no easy task.
What she didn't expect was for him to simultaneously use his Pod's slowing program on her so she couldn't react as fast.
Her body felt so heavy…
He had managed to get her down to her knees, and if she didn't think at something fast she may as well die right there.
Something rumbled in her chest…
No, she'd save him!
With a scream she willed her fusion reactor to overload, and unleash all her power, as her body glowed and sparked of red electricity.
That had been enough of a boost for her to move again and push him off her, she too had the extra strength she could count on, better than the virus.
But she was tired and she had to settle the score quickly.
As he was successfully thrown off balance, she dashed after him, angling the white sword correctly as she did, and chopping the offending arm off.
He screamed, and she felt a pang of guilt, but there was no other way at the moment.
As he was distracted holding the missing appendage, she threw herself on top of him, holding a hand to his head, for easy access.
"Pod! Hack in!"
She didn't even feel the hit to the ground as immediately 042 swept her in 9S' mind with him.
"Pod, we're going to repair 9S' logic circuits." she asked as she picked herself up from the crouched position she ended up in.
"Acknowledged."
Without wasting more time, she began making her way through the maze.
"Tell me where to find the virus corrupting 9S."
"Affirmative. YoRHa unit A2, core data for 9S is stored ahead." Pod floated closer to her. "Alert, severe virus corruption. Probability of successful deletion extremely low."
Who said anything about deleting? She wasn't Number 21, she was not smart enough to do such a thing, and even so, her friend hadn't succeeded fully either.
"I think I know a way…" she said with a sigh of resignation, but she chose to do this, and there was no backing out of it now.
Enough running, enough cowardice.
"The idea under consideration is not recommended. This Pod is a YoRHa Tactical Support Unit, as such it cannot approve of actions that would damage its supported unit."
Was this his way to tell her he cared? Even after she treated him like nothing but a useless flying toaster? It was odd, but strangely comforting.
A small smile forced its way on her face. "You're not so bad Pod, you know that?"
"A2… are you sure of what you're doing?" first Pod and now 2B too? "There has to be another way."
But even to her own ears 2B just sounded desperate at the realization that it would have to be one or the other anyways, and not bothe of them surviving.
"There isn't, and you know it too." she kept walking as she talked, better not waste time.
"I know but…"
"2B, I've made my decision." and her serious tone didn't leave room for arguing. "I know it isn't what you would have wanted, but… it is nothing I will regret."
She walked up the staircase that would lead her to 9S holding her head high, it'd be all over soon, and this time, she was ready for it.
It was the right thing to do, and for once in her life, she would save a life that was precious to someone she cared for.
Because yes, she did care about 2B despite everything.
The time she spent with Robin, showed her that not everything was black or white, that not all her enemies were evil, and that they were just all suffering, just like her. That in the end they were all the same, even if with different stories to tell.
Her sister of number, her superior model, had been her crutch for when Robin went, she did so without any demands, like a sister.
So now, as the older sister, it was her time to give back the favor.
And looking at 9S' sleeping form in front of her, she knew just how.
"I'll take care of everything." she told both to him and to 2B as well, leaving a gentle caress to the boy's cheek as she did.
These hands hadn't known anything but destruction, and it had been Robin again that showed her she wasn't made just to break things.
As she touched him, she opened her system for transferring and absorbing the infection in her own body.
She felt heavy, everything hurt, her head was spinning, static flooded her eyes and ears. The infection was advanced, yet not in its lethal state yet, so that she retained a bit of control and self consciousness.
Just what she needed.
But first…
"Pod… take care of 9S."
She couldn't see it, but as 9S' image disappeared as the transfer was completed, she assumed that Pod took him in his arms to take him away from this cursed place.
"What of you, A2?"
"I've still got something I need to do…" she replied. "You go ahead."
Empty words, those last ones, they wouldn't be seeing each other again, if she didn't die here then the virus would have done the same thing. It was just a matter of time.
Besides, she made a promise when she entered here that she'd end it all, for her fallen comrades and lovers.
She had to.
Hacking 9S, put her in direct contact with the server of this tower, where the virus was coming from in the first place. She would be a fool to waste the opportunity now.
She was still an android, and androids were made to fight and kill machines, it was her nature, her reason for existence.
Just as she was about to reach out to destroy everything, with the very same weapon that had exterminated YoRHa in the first place, 2B appeared before her, her eyes full of sadness.
"You don't have to die too."
"It's too late now." looking back at her twin, all she could see was red, a sign that the infection was spreading even further.
When they saw each other the last time, it had been 2B the one looking at her with glowing red eyes, funny how the roles reversed, and all just for one boy.
She took a shaky step forward, giving 2B the best imitation of what she could do of a tired and bitter smile.
"I'm tired 2B… of everything…" and she should know that.
"I'm tired of running, of being a useless thing that can't do anything right, I'm tired… of always ending up alone no matter what happens…"
She barely felt it with the virus messing with her systems, but there were tears running down her cheeks.
"I just want to see them all again… I miss them so much…"
2B just looked back but nodded.
"Thank you, for having stayed at my side 2B, however…" she took the white swords from her inventory in her hands. "It is time to separate."
"You be happy for me too, okay little sis?" you still can be.
With those words, she placed the two weapons down, leaving them there, as she resumed walking towards the pillar of data coming out of the server.
She could faintly hear the laughs of child machines not yet born coming from it, and that will never be.
"I'm sorry…" barely a whisper, as she extended her hand and sent the virus into the stream of data.
The effect was immediate, as everything began shaking and crumbling around her, even in the real world, as pieces of the tower itself fell apart at her feet. Yet, she didn't move from where she sat, raising her head towards the sky.
And even though her eyes were su red, it looked so beautiful…
She'd been caught up in her anger and hatred for so long, that she failed just to see how much beauty there was around her, of nature and of the people and beings that lived in it, and the bonds they shared between each other.
Of old bonds restored, and of new ones blossoming in something new and precious.
"I never quite realized… how beautiful this world is."
Her voice was fading fast, as was her strength, yet, she willed her old and worn out body, broken and battered from battles and time, and ravaged from a logic virus, to raise a hand towards the sky.
Sky where beyond the sun there were stars, and memories of all the people that were lost, that she'd lost, that hoped had been watching down on her.
And that no longer had to…
"I'm coming, everyone… I'm… coming…"
Voice dying, strength vaning, she let herself fall on the shaking floor, and closed her eyes.
As the tower fell, and herself with it, she could only allow herself one last tired smile before it would be all over.
Finally it would be over… she could put her broken body and damaged soul to rest for good.
And she wondered… even after all this time, would the others still be waiting for her on the other side?
Unknown to anyone, there were three little things that had been observing the fall, a white one, a black one, and a purple one. All three from different places but all equally interested.
Orange lights flashed on their tiny heads, words and messages were exchanged.
And one single decision was taken.