Thankfully for them, when Robin called for the twin's help, Rose and her group had already returned to the city, and were around the Tower again.
Upon hearing their call of aid they immediately headed back to the camp, dropping anything and everything they were doing, allowing Devola and Popola to prepare the infirmary for those who were hurt, that hadn't been specified, but seemed at least to be only two.
They were not expecting the extent of the damage when Number 2 and Number 4 rushed inside the camp first, carrying Number 21 and Dahlia on their backs respectively, 6O close behind, since she was the Healer.
The others were just a few steps away, with 2B helping Number 16 to walk, supporting her for some reason, but it was clear that she was not a priority.
And also, finally they found out where Dahlia went.
Of course she'd be with them.
And after the discourse they had before, Rose could very well guess why.
She wasn't pleased.
Even less since Dahlia decided to get herself hurt in the process too.
She overheard 6O explaining things to the twins, and from the large and missing gap of Robin's long skirt, it wasn't hard to imagine the cloth was used as makeshift bandaging. It was less visible on Dahlia, but Number 21 had a dark patching, dirty with blood, over the left side of her head and face.
The young healer had done what she could, but she couldn't fix everything without the necessary items, but at least she managed to contain the damage enough so the two could be carried here.
Immediately as Number 2 laid down the Scanner on the medical bed, Anemone was at her side as worried as ever.
The redhead was no longer conscious.
She hadn't been for a while after the scorpion fell at the hands of Number 16.
That was actually a positive thing, so she wasn't awake and in a lot of pain anymore.
"What happened?" she so much wanted to take her hand, but Anemone knew she had to let Devola and Popola work before doing so.
Otherwise there may no longer be someone she could love, and she was not going to lose her again, and much less before her own eyes yet another time.
Number 2 didn't reply, afraid that anger may get the best of her, but as her eyes looked over where Dahlia was lying, Anemone understood.
Number 21 hurt herself in an attempt to save her.
Even after all the bad things Dahlia had said about her…
The thought made Anemone's blood boil, but she'd deal with her when she was healthy, so she could hurt Dahlia herself.
First she dares not trust hers and Rose's judgment, then she leaves, and not only did she hurt herself but also got Number 21 injured as well?
She was so damn mad about it.
And from the way she frowned with her arms crossed, Rose wasn't either.
The others didn't express themselves on the matter either.
Dahlia was on forced sleep mode for now, so any word would be for nothing until she woke up.
"Number 21's memory data and cognitive functions don't seem to have been damaged from the impact, it was all external." Anemone heard 9S say, and she had the feeling that he said those words louder on purpose.
"She's missing one eye that we need to replace, while Dahlia's abdomen was pierced through. I stopped the bleeding and gave them a heavy dose of healing nanobots, but I couldn't do all the repairs with the items I had on hand." 6O didn't even have actual bandages.
She was so thankful that Robin plainly cut off her long skirt so she could use it.
Even A2 was willing to ruin the cape Anemone gifted her, hadn't the cloth been enough.
But it did, and Robin could fix and replace her dress easily.
Better to lose clothing than a friend, she had said with zero hesitation.
With the information provided from both the Healer and the Scanner boy, the twins put themselves to work with their aid.
And there was nothing else to do for now but wait.
She watched as Number 2 walked over where Robin was, seeking comfort as the woman wrapped her arms around her, she already knew what she needed. Number 4 laid a hand on the other attacker's shoulder, she stayed there for a bit, before heading over somewhere else.
Emil floated by, deciding to settle himself in a corner, he didn't speak and just stared in the direction of the infirmary.
2B sat Number 16 on a nearby chair so she could rest, no words were shared, but both the Battler and the Gunner spared a glance to where the twins, 9S and 6O were working, obviously worried.
And speaking of worry, 21O sat alone in a corner, blankly staring at the infirmary, before a curious Attacker approached.
"You look lost in thought again." because Number 4 remembered she did too back at the factory, while they rested on the broken bridge.
The blonde didn't reply, and since she didn't, the Attacker decided to sit next to her.
"What's wrong?" besides the evident worry they all shared.
There had to be something else.
And knowing how protective their personality type could be towards those they were close to.
She watched as 21O stared at her hands. "My power."
"There's some kind of malfunction?"
But she shook her head. "No but… if I had used it with the correct timing then…" a sigh.
"Then she wouldn't be in that state."
There, she said it.
Had she used the barrier in time, then the rockets would not have thrown Number 21 of the platform, and hadn't it been for Robin, she would have melted in the lava, and now this, when she used it too early and didn't have enough strength to use it again to save her and Dahlia…
"I wouldn't have put my sis… I mean Number 21 in danger, if I knew how to use the barrier properly."
"You can call her sister you know?" Number 4 just shrugged, hoping to lighten the topic. "She'd like it." and she was sure that the Scanner would.
But the Operator gave a dry laugh. "I think she'd just be disappointed."
"Why? Because you didn't manage to help her in time? Well in that case she'll be disappointed in all of us, following your reasoning." maybe with the exception of Robin the first time.
Though she still failed too earlier, so in reality she wasn't all that different in that regard.
There was a moment of silence before Number 4 spoke again.
"I believe she'd be proud of you instead."
"You're saying that to make me feel better." but the Attacker didn't think so. "No, I'm saying that because I believe it's what Number 21 thinks."
"She was with you when you began working on this system and how to control it, no?"
The Operator just nodded, not sure where the other woman wanted to go about this.
"Well I believe she's proud of you for finally managing to use it now, even if you blame yourself for the wrong timing, but it's still something new, you can't be expected to know when and where to use this power." she shrugged.
"But if you're so worried why not talk to her about it?"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea." she wasn't even sure if she could approach her now, ashamed as she was.
"Number 21 will not be mad at you for making a mistake." Number 4 spoke in a tone that left no room to argue, she was sure of this statement.
"How can you be so sure?" 21O frowned.
"Well, would you be if it was the opposite way around?"
Would she?
Thinking about it, and about what Number 4 said on being proud for mastering the barrier, if Number 21 would be the one doing it she'd be surely happy to see her become strong, and… would she truly blame her for not being able to predict when to use it to protect her from incoming attacks?
No… she would not.
"I don't think I would." the blonde finally replied.
But…
"How did you know?"
"Because you two are the same." Number 4 flashed her one of her trademark grins. "You may look different, but you have the same personality, and if I am sure to know something about Number 21, is that she cares about others so much more than she'd ever care about herself, to the point of risking her life for them."
After all, that was why she had gotten infected and died…
"And that she's too nice to blame others for a mistake they made, she's the type to try and find a workaround rather than point fingers." the Attacker spared a glance where the Gunner was sitting.
"It was what she always did when Number 16 refused to listen to her suggestions. Or when we messed up." as in her and Number 2.
Number 4 placed a hand on 21O's shoulder. "It'll be alright, just talk to her, she'll listen."
With that, the albino didn't say anything more, but she just stayed at her side, waiting for their friends to recover.
But she was right.
She should finally gather courage and speak to her older sister, but she'd been busy looking up to her, and was so afraid to disappoint her to the point she didn't consider herself to be worthy of calling herself sister at all, to talk to her.
The blonde replayed the words the Attacker just told her, and something struck her, as she looked at the group at the infirmary that was still fixing the Scanner's head as a priority.
Her green eyes stared at the other two redheads present.
Maybe…
It would work just fine…
It passed some hours before the repairs of both Number 21 and Dahlia were completed, hours where none of them truly moved but the ones working, that could finally awaken the two women and rest up.
The first they decided to wake up was the Scanner, to make sure that there wasn't some lasting damage on her from the hit she received, 9S said there wouldn't be but it was better to be sure.
Immediately as her blue eyes opened, the left one a brand new implant, Anemone was at her side, finally she could take her hand.
Number 2, Number 4, and Number 16 were also standing closely as soon as she awakened, the other YoRHa trailing close behind, but when Number 21 sat up with the aid of Anemone and gave them a soft smile, they knew there was nothing to worry about anymore.
"Thank you." she bowed her head a little in the direction of the twins, 6O and the fellow Scanner type 9S.
"How are you feeling?" 6O asked, wanting to know if all was in working order.
"I feel fine." the redhead laid a hand on the new eye. "Maybe a little dizzy but it'll pass." it was a normal reaction to having received hits to the head, even after repairs.
"I think the eye is working perfectly too, but if there was something wrong I can fix it myself." but it didn't seem like she needed to fiddle with her settings at all, it seemed to have been calibrated the same way as the other, there was no visual impairment.
Once made sure all was fine, Number 21 was finally free to leave the infirmary… and into the arms of her comrades, Anemone and Lily.
And she let them, not feeling like pulling away like she would have done long ago.
Not knowing what she was missing back then.
She was too preoccupied with making sure she kept calm and collected for the sake of her role, and personality, that she hadn't realized how much of a cold fool she was being.
All it had taken was Lily and an unexpected affectionate hug to make her realize it.
"I'm fine, I'm fine." she repeated to the others that despite everything they were still fussing over her.
It hadn't been her intention to make anyone worry.
If only she could be just a little stronger so she wouldn't need to make them feel bad when they failed to protect her…
Even though it had been her decision to attempt to save Dahlia.
Her instinct to protect people had gotten over her again, and she could do nothing to resist them. Nor she wanted to.
It was one of the few ways she knew to be useful still…
And speaking of Dahlia, it was about time she woke up too. As the twins awakened her, she immediately sat up with a yawn, stretching her arms and checking out her abdomen, acting as if nothing happened at all.
Little did she know that she was not a good liar like she thought she was.
"Oh you're awake too, Number 21, nice." she grinned at the woman but the redhead didn't reply, her expression neutral.
"Not thanks to you." Number 16 went on the attack. "It was your fault she got hurt." she accused, but the Scanner laid a gentle hand on her arm.
"It was my choice to step in, I had overestimated the strength of my shield." and that was true, but inwardly she knew her mere physical power would not have been enough to hold against that massive tail.
But she wanted to try, just like she had tried to save Lily.
After all, things have been going beyond her calculations all the time ever since they were deployed, this time was no different.
Perhaps she wasn't that fit as a Scanner.
But at the moment she wasn't willing to see yet another fight break out between Number 16 and Dahlia on her behalf again.
She was fine now, no?
But the Gunner wasn't the only one mad at the woman, Rose had the most disappointed look on her face they'd ever seen her make.
"Why did you leave?" even though the question was rather pointless, Dahlia would lie again, and pretend she did nothing wrong.
If that was the case she'd have to tell Nico Robin herself.
"Oh I just wanted some action." but Rose's eyes hardened even more, before turning to the human. "Nico Robin…"
"I know." she just replied, cutting her off.
She knew?
Robin turned to Dahlia, pointing her different eyes at her.
"You don't trust me." she put it bluntly, not wanting to walk in circles around it. "So you came along with us to watch me."
From the look, it didn't appear that Dahlia expected the response, or that she expected her to notice she was keeping an eye on her, but, Robin was going just the same thing too.
"Don't be surprised, I have been hunted for my whole life, I am more than used to people feigning ignorance and watching me closely."
Some people even didn't bother to be discreet.
At least Dahlia plainly didn't say anything in her face, or in front of the others.
Perhaps she meant to discuss it in private after the fight, but never got occasion to, and Rose was very much displeased too.
"Now you've made her mad, Dahlia…" Margaret walked over where the woman was sitting, the tone of her voice wasn't accusatory, but rather, she sounded scared of her reaction.
And Robin could very well guess why.
"You misunderstand me, I am not mad, I am simply stating a fact."
It was true, she wasn't angry or anything.
"I am very well aware of what kind of first impression I may have made on you, and Captain Rose can confirm that we spoke a lot about this. Believe it or not, the side you saw of me is something I am deeply ashamed of, it's the part of me that killed many people in cold blood without thinking twice, and I try to keep it hidden as much as possible. I hate it, I hate that monster."
But she couldn't get rid of it, it was part of her, and not by her choice.
"I was trying to protect something dear to me, now that I have people that love me, and that I love, and… so did Dahlia, right?"
Again, she had a similar reaction as before.
"How…"
"Because I also have been observing you all, and this is just the way you act, you're not very good with words, so you choose the only other way you know, with facts." she replied.
Dahlia and Number 16 were rather similar in this, perhaps that was why they argued so much.
But the Gunner didn't seem as worried.
None of the older YoRHa did, as far as she could see.
Or maybe they were just better at hiding it.
"You wanted to make sure I am not a threat to you friends, for the reasons I just said."
"Yes but if there's no trust between us, then this project won't work." Rose spoke up, and even though Robin nodded she had other ideas.
"I know, and in their way, though they are hesitant, they do trust me, because they trust you, and I am willing to wait for them to build this trust, if they want. I know it's not easy, most of you don't know me well yet after all, but if you're willing I won't say no if you want to talk with me."
And it was true, she'd let them come to her on their own terms.
"I know, but it started with distrust with Number 2's group too, and look where we are now, why is it different this time?"
Rose could not understand why they were hesitating so much, when in such a short time such a tight friendship developed with the four YoRHa they had saved, that lasted way beyond until this day.
"Because I'm a human." Robin simply stated.
"Am I correct?"
When she got no response she knew she was right in her assumption.
"What does this mean?"
"Captain Rose, you've been built and abandoned from a humanity that only just now you've learned never existed, even though it was all a lie and they know it, as much as they know I am a human from a different planet, they can't be expected to put aside centuries of suffering, distrust and abandonment in such a short time." Robin explained it as easily as if she'd been thinking about this for a while.
And matter of fact, she did.
"Perhaps we're asking too much out of them, for the time being. I'm sure they will come around, and I will wait for that day."
She turned to the whole group again, that still didn't say a word, they didn't need to, no one was forcing them to talk to her. Just a look in their eyes Robin knew what she said was what they had been thinking.
"This doesn't mean that anything changes, I still wish to take you all with me, if you're willing."
She didn't expect an answer, and she said all she had to say.
However…
"We want to see the night." it was the voice of the person she thought she'd heard the least.
Lily.
"Rose told us you've shown her a lot of things we've never seen, that's why we want to come along, and live in a world that is… alive." Gerbera could say that, even after centuries of being on this planet, besides the plants and some animals, and the occasional rain, they've never seen much else that could be considered as life.
"And with our own eyes." Dahlia concluded.
"Of course." Robin nodded. "That's why I mean to take you with me, I feel that none of us have had the chance to experience what life truly means."
Locked in a war with seemingly no end…
"Also if I may be selfish, going back home just by myself, I don't think I could handle being alone again." it only took her this long to understand it.
But A2 and the others were her life, and without them, she could go anywhere and it'd still be an empty place.
"And I have a promise I mean to keep." her eyes met the woman at her side, as A2 smiled at her, reminiscing of that promise she made under the sunset of the Amusement Park.
2B, 9S, 21O and 6O already knew her, and were willing to tag along with no doubts.
The other three YoRHa were another question still, but they seemed to follow A2 as if she was still their captain.
And as if on cue.
"We trust Number 2's decisions." it was Number 4 that spoke up, the girl that never had any doubts.
"It was her that hoped for an alliance with Rose and the Resistance when we wanted to give up and die." and Number 21 was a bit ashamed of her suggestion back then, but she truly thought there was no other way.
Back when she still believed her calculations, wrong ones given wrong wrong data, were the only path to follow.
She almost led everyone to their death, hadn't it been for Number 2.
"Hadn't it been for her we probably would have died and no one would have remembered our existence."
And even though most of them still did sacrifice themselves, Number 2 and Anemone still lived on, and it had been because of them they found each other again.
Nico Robin couldn't have offered them a way out if Number 2 never met her.
Probably people like 2B and 21O would have never existed either, since their data was the leverage for their creation.
"Then, since we're talking about trust and showing things, I feel someone else here should say her true intentions out loud." Rose turned to White that was silent in a corner. "Or I will."
Her true intentions?
"Is there something you're still hiding?" Number 16 was the first to frown at the blonde woman.
"I meant to say it once your quest with the guardians was completed." and they met again.
Perhaps she would have been more prepared.
"What is it?" Robin asked, hoping to loosen some tension between the parts, but she could feel A2 tightening her grip on her arm.
"I asked for the aid of Captain Rose on this, to separate you in two groups, specifically keep you YoRHa into a single one, and I did it for a precise reason." when they looked at Rose for confirmation, she just nodded.
"May I ask for the aid of your Pods for a few minutes, it'll make it easier for me to show what I mean."
Without a word, the three support units floated near the Commander.
When she gave the order, they displayed a number of data of multiple different units.
"I took the time to analyze the data 9S found in the fallen Bunker, where you found me, and that you've used to rebuild 6O as well. There's the data of many units, some incomplete, but I hold the database in my brain too so using it, if we find the resources on this other plan I would…"
She took a deep breath.
"I would like to rebuild YoRHa, and give it a better purpose." to everyone.
And that was kind of an obvious wish, but there was more.
"It doesn't explain why you wanted to separate us."
"I'm getting to it, Number 16." as impatient as always. "I took advantage of the opportunity of this quest to do so, because I saw the potential for you YoRHa to strengthen your bonds, between new and old units, and I did it for a precise reason."
White forced herself to hold their gaze, even though she felt like hiding so intense some of their glares were.
"I would like the nine of you to become a single squadron."
That was why she wanted them to bond over this, so that they may become even closer.
A2 for now had been enough to keep the group together, but one person wasn't enough.
She turned her eyes on the human.
"And, I would like if you, Nico Robin, accepted to become their captain."
Shocked, the only thing she could do was to point at herself. "Me? But why? You've never assigned me as a squadron captain before."
"Because I can't truly ask anyone else, Number 2 would hate me more than she already does, 2B would be a candidate, but for the same reason I won't ask her predecessor I don't want to pin this duty on her."
And the others weren't fit for it, well, A2 hadn't either, but she had left her no choice.
"I've seen you in action, and I have seen the way you act, you decisional skills are on point, also, you care about your teammates and friends. I believe you have the perfect qualities, I always did, but I had never had the chance to test it out when you were with us."
Now she could no longer do that.
"You already act like a leader, without knowing it." Rose nodded to her. "I saw it immediately from the way you acted when we needed help, how you took hold of the situation. You do that often, but you don't realize it."
"There's potential in you." White added.
Robin gave a sigh, crossing her arms she thought about it.
Should she accept?
She didn't feel like a leader, but like White said, she couldn't do this to anyone else, they weren't prepared for it.
But still…
"I will accept only if they want me to be their captain." she stated.
Because she wouldn't have it any other way.
"I thought you already were?" Number 16 frowned, scratching the back of her head.
"Besides, how could we not trust the person that saved Number 21 from death?" the Scanner nodded at the Gunner's words.
"I guess we're just making it official now." Number 4 grinned, holding an arm around both the raven and the redhead.
Robin knew no one else would have had objections on the matter.
White just nodded, acknowledging this as a proper thing, like she imagined it would.
"So we're all friends still?" Emil asked, he had listened to the conversation, and was worried something bad was gonna happen.
"Of course." Robin laid a hand on his head.
"So what now?" he asked.
"Well, I suppose it's best to rest a little, those other guardians can wait one more day." Robin stated.
Today had been too full of emotion, and of close calls.
She did not like it.
As the group disbanded, 21O finally took courage to approach her Scanner predecessor. Since they were in the mood to talk, then talk they would.
But this time in private.
"Number 21, I have something I wish to ask you."