CH. 07: 9S's Story/Casualty
Ch. 07: 9S’s Story/Casualty
“Destruction of the central units of the enemy network, Adam and Eve—confirmed. Currently there is disorder in the enemy government. Making use of this opportunity, the human forces have called for a full-scale attack on the Machines. Of course, we YoRHa squadron troopers are to cooperate as well.”
Out of the corner of his eye, 9S stared at the commander’s face projected on Pod’s communication display while he walked along the city ruins. A twig he stepped on produced a dry crack as it split.
“Remember! The pain of having your home taken away!”
It’s not like my home was taken away, 9S replied in his head. The YoRHa androids were manufactured in orbit, not on Earth. But the commander had not specified whose homes had been taken away. It didn’t have to be explained to the other troops, as he was probably the only one who thought this way. The subject, in this case, was “humanity,” and not “us.”
It was clever wordplay. It made you feel as if you had to fight, if you were fighting for “humanity’s pain of having their home taken away.” It made you feel like you had to act for humanity. That’s how androids were programmed.
“We will not give up! We will take back what the Machines took from us—the ocean, the sky, and the land!”
This was where the subject “we” came up. The words “we will not give up” were built on the feelings of obligation toward humanity and its “pain.” It made you feel that you could fight until the end for humanity’s sake. It was a textbook example of a speech to raise morale within the force.
He slightly hated himself for thinking this way. And he was a little bitter toward the commander, who had given him the freedom to choose. Talk about asking the wrong person.
He couldn’t believe it when he was told to make his own decision. There had been no punishment, even after he had confessed to accessing the main server without authorization.
9S had come across a small noise while syncing his and 2B’s battle data with the main server’s data. Unable to ignore the kink, 9S decided to investigate the main server.
He hadn’t ignored the issue and carried on, because recently he had been noticing some type of presence. A feeling of being watched, or that something was nearby. But it was such a minute presence that it was easily dismissible as a trick of the mind.
He had felt the presence for the first time in the server control room. As if someone were staring at the display over his shoulder while he was working. But Operator 21O had come in immediately after, so 9S had thought it was her presence and had forgotten about it.
Next was at the hangar. He felt as though he was being observed from behind a pillar while entering a flight unit. But it had been an emergency dispatch, so he didn’t have time to check. After returning he had investigated the hangar, but come up empty-handed.
In other words, a Type S had not been able to definitively detect the presence, even with its scanning capabilities. That was why, no matter how insignificant, he was reluctant to pass off anything that remotely resembled noise.
As a result, he was unable to identify the true nature of the noise, but instead uncovered an unbelievable secret.
The commander had told him that humans no longer existed. This happened when the commander summoned him after his unauthorized access to the main server was discovered.
It was an opportune summons for 9S as well. He wanted to ask questions, away from the other troopers and their prying ears. Why were the plans for establishing the human board on the moon contained in the YoRHa project? It would have made more sense for the YoRHa project to be contained in the plans for establishing the human board. Humans had been responsible for the creation of YoRHa androids, and humans had proposed the YoRHa project. It was certainly suspicious that the establishment of the human board was outlined in the YoRHa project. That made it seem like the commander had created the human board.
The commander coolly confirmed his doubts. 9S was right, androids had been responsible for installing the human board server on the moon. Furthermore, humans had already been extinct by the time aliens had invaded the Earth. The only thing shipped to the moon was humanity’s genetic profile data.
9S remembered hearing his own voice, sounding as if it were coming from far away, ask why they had done such a thing. But strangely, the commander’s words sounded clear as they reverberated in his ears.
“There’s not a single being that can fight without reason. We needed a god to devote our lives to.”
She handed 9S a chip with all the relevant information. She told him to decide what to do with it, and promptly left.
“Glory to mankind!”
These words. They made him uneasy, since he was already aware that humanity was extinct. But he wasn’t able to dismiss the phrase as slander, because his ingrained loyalty to humanity prevented him from doing so. Still, he was no longer able to naively hoist his arm up to his chest and salute with the same fervor as before. He was just going through the motions. That was what he felt.
“What am I supposed to do…”
He had considered sharing the information with 2B. He had even thought it was better for her to know.
Type B androids, because of their combat capabilities, were always thrown on the front lines. They were in more danger than anyone else. That’s why he thought she should know that even if she put her life on the line to take back Earth, there would be no humans to return Earth to.
But thinking of 2B’s feelings, he also felt that he should keep it a secret. She would certainly be flustered. She would be at a loss. At least, that’s what he was going through. He didn’t want 2B to suffer the same way…
In the end, he was unable to tell 2B the truth. As he was performing her system check, he repeated the process of starting to speak out, then closing his mouth and swallowing his words, only to try and speak yet again.
After the check, he even stopped 2B as she was leaving the room, but was still unable to break the news. All he could form into words was, “Be safe.”
Finally, the commencement of the full-scale invasion plan.
After using the transfer device to land in the city ruins, 9S felt that something was missing. It was boring to be alone. As he was walking, that feeling brought sadness and loneliness.
It was because he’d been with 2B for the recent Earth missions. Even when he had been walking through buildings on the verge of collapse, traveling through the desert with his shoes filled with sand, or walking through the grease-filled air of the factory ruins, 2B had been there with him.
He knew that this was far from the norm. Most of a Type S’s Earth missions consisted of solo research. It was even rare for a Type S to operate with their peers. Having 2B next to him was an exceptional situation.
“That concludes all the directives. Did you get them?”
He had been on a transmission with Operator 21O, who was at the Bunker. 9S kicked his head into full gear and tried to recall what 21O had said.
“Ummm… In preparation for the full-scale invasion, we, the scanner squadron, are to hack and neutralize the enemy’s aerial defense system.”
“That’s right. Good job.”
“Are you…treating me like some kind of child?”
21O had replied right away, but 9S could see through that lie. She had also told him “Good job” when he halted the Machine that was acting as the receiver for the enemy defense system.
That was not all.
“During battle, please stay as far away from the field as possible.”
“But then I won’t be able to provide support.”
Aside from research and information gathering, hacking during battle to support their comrades was a vital role for a Type S. Hacking couldn’t be performed on a target that was too far away, so while they would select positions that wouldn’t disrupt the battle, it was crucial for them to stay within the battle area.
“A scanner model like yourself is not suited for battle.”
“Aw, are you worried about me?”
“No, you would only be a burden on the battlefield.”
In other words, she was telling him that it was no place for a child like him.
“As an operator, I can see how you see me as a burden…but that’s so mean.”
She didn’t have to babysit him that much. Even when he was working in the server control room, she was always telling him to take breaks or fix his posture.
He sighed, complaining that he could take care of himself under his breath. That was when another transmission from someone else on Earth came in.
“11S to 9S. Do you copy?”
“Roger that.”
“We have completed our tasks. How are you doing?”
Other troops beside 9S had been deployed to neutralize the enemy’s aerial defense system.
“I guess…I have one more enemy.”
He had just finished halting a Machine that had taken position on a steel tower overlooking the sky. 9S slid down the ladder with the communication display still open.
“Roger. And when you return to the Bunker please sync your data.”
“Oh…I forgot.”
It was because he had been informed of that secret after pausing his data sync. He had forgotten about it until now.
“Since your data hasn’t been uploaded, all of the scanner models are unable to update.”
He had no excuses. It was true.
“Once this mission is over, I’ll take care of it.”
“Please do!”
After the transmission ended, 9S ran in order to halt the last enemy.
After neutralizing the enemy’s aerial defense system, 9S reunited with 2B, who had descended from the Bunker. The vanguard was already starting to take part in battles in various places. As the commando unit, 9S and others were to act as reinforcements wherever they were needed.
The enemy Machines were all detached from the network. It was easy to destroy enemies in disorder.
And 2B was next to him now. Things were finally back to normal for 9S.
“Don’t let your guard down. We don’t know what’s coming,” said 2B.
“All riiight,” said 9S.
The sense of security, that he could fight like he always did, lifted a weight from his shoulders. 2B had probably misinterpreted this as having let his guard down.
Either way, it was undeniable that their side had the advantage. 2B and 9S provided reinforcement to a unit that was being surrounded by enemies. They steadily shaved away at the enemy’s military force. They thought the end was near.
“9S, check the surroundings if there’s any more enemy reinforcements coming our way!”
The Machines only sent reinforcements when the Machine count in a particular area dipped below a certain threshold. It was common to clear out an entire area and come back a few hours later just to see the same number of Machines lumbering around.
But that was only possible because their network had been functioning. Although thinking that currently the chances of reinforcements were low, 9S moved to ascend to a high vantage point anyway. It wasn’t a bad idea, to be sure, and he had the extra energy as well.
Climbing on top of a partially collapsed building, 9S checked for any enemies. The constant cannonballs flying through the air obstructed his vision. Still, the situation seemed much more favorable then the beginning of the battle…
That was when the incident took place.
“What’s this noise?”
9S heard 2B’s voice mutter the question through the transmission. Perhaps because of the distance to the roof of the building, 9S had no clue what she was talking about. He just had an ominous feeling.
“2B, what’s that noise you were talking about?”
He scoured the ground, wondering if he could analyze the noise from the rooftop. He spotted 2B and the others surrounding the few remaining Machines. Suddenly, the Machines peculiarly stopped whatever they were doing.
The spherical heads rose in unison. The Machines’ eyes were flickering erratically. Even from a distance, it was easy to tell that they were discharging electricity.
“2B!”
He heard screams through the transmission. 2B and the others were hunched over and holding their heads. It was an EMP attack at point-blank range.
9S grabbed on to Pod’s arm and jumped down. He assessed the situation as he glided down. A few small two-legged walking types. He had heard that some Machines of this type could perform EMP attacks. But it was rarely documented, and 9S had never come across one that could.
“Pod! Long-range fire!”
After shooting down the enemies generating the EMP attacks, 9S ran over to 2B.
“Are you okay?!”
2B shook her head as she stood up. She had apparently suffered a great deal of damage, and was struggling to stand straight.
“I was…careless. I have to reboot…”
With horrible timing, the enemy reinforcements started to fly in. The number was too great for 9S to handle by himself. But escape wasn’t even an option without a reboot. At the very least he needed to buy enough time for 2B to reboot.
He threw a dagger at a nearby enemy. Suddenly his vision faltered. His field of vision was dotted with dead pixels.
“Visual camouflage?”
When had Machines acquired the skills to use such a technique? Camouflage and stealth were supposed to be unique to androids.
“How is this possible?”
No, he had no time to be confused. There was nothing wrong with his visual mechanisms. It was just hard to see the enemies.
“I’ll protect you, 2B.”
9S lunged toward the enemies hiding within the dead spots of his vision.
He had been aimlessly swinging around his sword, but perhaps that had ironically improved his offensive power, because when he came to he had destroyed a few enemies. Eventually 2B finished rebooting and took care of the other enemies.
9S’s vision slowly returned to normal after clearing out the enemies. He looked around once again. There were no enemies in sight. The other squadron troopers seemed to have rebooted, and stood up one by one. They were most likely slightly wobbling because they hadn’t fully recovered from the EMP.
Suddenly, 2B toppled over. The other troops started to collapse to the ground. An alarm rang from the nearby Pod.
“A wide-area virus?”
9S had no symptoms himself. So during the time 9S was not here, probably around the time of the EMP attack, the virus was spread and activated.
He rushed toward 2B, who was clutching her chest in pain. While wide-area viruses were highly contagious, removing one was relatively easy. After hacking into 2B, 9S confirmed that it was merely a conventional type of virus.
This type was treatable using a vaccine. For the rest of the troops, it was probably faster to administer the vaccine than perform hacking for each one…
After he finished hacking and returned to his chassis, he saw 2B swaying as she tried to stand up.
“2B, don’t push it.”
2B’s replied, “Okay,” between heavy breaths. She had been infected by the virus before fully recovering from the EMP attack. Her chassis had experienced significant stresses.
Fortunately, there were no further enemies.
As 9S was planning to administer the vaccine to the other troops while 2B was resting, the moans of the other troopers, echoing here and there, suddenly stopped. They were replaced with the sound of sinister laughter.
“What is this?”
2B immediately positioned herself so she and 9S stood back-to-back. That was how wary 2B was of the situation.
The squadron troopers that had been slumped on the ground stood up. With a shrill laugh, they all raised their heads at once. The women’s eyes glowed red. By the time 9S had recalled that it was a typical symptom of virus infection, the corrupted troops had already started attacking.
“Are they possessed?” asked 9S.
It was strange. Losing consciousness and attacking comrades were terminal symptoms. Judging from when he hacked 2B, this type of virus shouldn’t have progressed so quickly.
“It can’t be… A new type?!”
He didn’t have time to think. He dodged the oncoming swords, and took his distance.
“Wha?!”
2B raised a voice of confusion while trying to counterattack. Her sword had stopped. Her attack functions were nonoperational.
“It’s the YoRHa signal ID!” yelled 9S.
In order to prevent unintentionally attacking comrades in battle, the YoRHa androids were programmed so that they would not be able to attack fellow androids that emitted the unique YoRHa signal ID. This function was most likely already broken in the corrupted troops, as they kept attacking without hesitation.
“2B, this way!”
9S and 2B dashed into a building on the verge of collapse. At this rate it was going to be a one-sided battle.
“I’m going to fry 2B’s ID circuits! Pod, cover me!”
While the two pods kept the other squadron troopers busy, 9S hacked into 2B again and shut off the ID circuitry.
Right after he finished hacking, 9S saw 2B raise her sword above her head. 9S quickly created some space. Now 2B was unreceptive to 9S’s signal ID as well. Rather than save himself, he wanted to stay away so 2B could fight without reservation.
“Pod!” yelled 9S.
“Initiate a transmission to Command!”
He wanted to grasp the situation while 2B was fighting. Small-type Machines that could use EMP attacks, wide-area viruses with an unbelievably fast progression—something was out of the ordinary. Perhaps from up in orbit the source or reason for these phenomena would be apparent. However…
“Report: Transmission unavailable. Signal jamming by Machines detected.”
“Where?! Which one is doing that?!”
Pod 153 switched over to locating the source of the signal jamming.
“Report: Location of the source was identified. Marking the map.”
It was the signal of a large Machine. Its location was not far away. 9S called 2B through the transmission.
There were no problems with transmissions within the area. 2B replied, “9S?”
“I’m going to head over to the Machine responsible for this signal jamming!”
“Roger that. I’ll come once I clear out this area.”
She had nonchalantly said clear out, but in reality she was facing multiple YoRHa squadron troopers at the same time. Not to mention, a few of them were the same Type B as her. It was not an easy task.
After cutting the transmission, 9S ran toward the heart of the crater zone. That was where the signal jamming Machine was. He promised himself that he would defeat the enemy before 2B could get there.
In the end, 2B was the one who dealt the decisive blow. 9S had hacked the Machine multiple times, damaging its maneuvering capabilities, triggering explosions of certain parts of its body, and slowly nudging the enemy toward destruction. But things moved much faster after 2B joined him.
The enemy was silenced with one blow from 2B. As a result, its electrical discharge stopped, and the jamming should have been released as well.
2B ordered Pod 042 to transmit details to Command. Now they would be able to know what was happening. And they had lost so many YoRHa androids in the process. The corruption could still be spreading. It was imperative for them to report back.
“Pod!” 2B snapped, irritated that Pod was taking time to open the communication display.
“Transmission lost. Unable to connect to Command.”
“Shit! So there’s still jamming!”
“Negative: Transmission conditions are favorable.”
What did that mean? 9S and 2B gave each other quizzical looks. The explanation that 042 gave them was far beyond their imagination.
“Connection was lost due to a lack of confirmation. Currently all transmission functions of the Bunker are down.”
“What’s happening at the Bunker…” said 9S.
If the Bunker’s transmission functions were truly down, it was no longer a simple problem of transmission malfunction. It meant that Earth forces were isolated. They were in the same boat as a Machine detached from its network. Just before, 9S had thought it was easy for them to destroy enemies in disorder, but to think they would fall into the same trap…
But they had no time to think it through.
“Report: Multiple hostile YoRHa squadron troopers approaching.”
Hostile YoRHa androids. So there were other troops infected by the virus. And apparently multiple ones.
By the time he looked up, there were troops dressed in their black battle uniforms surrounding the crater zone. The number was far greater than what the two of them could handle. Perhaps it would be different if they were both Type B.
“A scanner model like yourself is not suited for battle.”
What Operator 21O had told him crossed the back of his mind. It was true, in an outright battle, Type S were just a burden…
Squadron troopers, with their eyes glowing red, slid down the slope. The enclosure was shrinking rapidly from all sides. 2B pulled out her sword and braced herself.
Was there any way that they could call for help? There was an emergency back door for the Bunker. If he could infiltrate through there and then communicate with the Operator via the server… No, there wasn’t enough time. They wouldn’t last until a rescue team could descend.
Or maybe there wasn’t a need to call for help?
“Pod, you said that transmission conditions are favorable, right?”
153 replied “Affirmative.” It should be possible to upload a massive amount of data with the transmission bandwidth near the crater zone. After all, that was why the signal-jamming Machine had chosen to interfere with the signals at this particular location.
“We’re going to blow this area away with a black-box response.”
2B made a shocked face. 9S quickly explained.
“The Bunker has an emergency back door, so I’ll just upload all of our personal data through there.”
They were going to sacrifice their chassis and go home. 9S didn’t remember, but he had heard that him and 2B had destroyed multiple Goliath-class enemies that way.
The squadron troopers pounced on them as soon as 2B had answered, “I got it.” 9S simultaneously started the data upload.
9S evaded the slashes that came from all directions, and focused on defending himself. When he was uploading data, he was unable to rely on the Type S specialty of hacking enemies. Besides, there were so many enemies. Even if he weren’t uploading the data, hacking would have been infeasible.
“9S! Are you still not done?!”
2B’s voice was imbued with panic. The uploading had just passed 70 percent. Even though the transmission conditions were favorable, the amount of data he was uploading was enormous.
“Just a bit more! I’m at 92 percent!”
He felt a burning pain on his back. He had suffered a direct hit, but he didn’t care. This chassis would be useless in a few more seconds.
“2B! The black box!”
He had completed the upload of the log data. 9S rushed toward 2B, taking out his black box.
“9S!”
He saw 2B extend her black box. His view was rattled. The squadron troopers had knocked him down.
He heard a bone break. Unfazed, he put forward his own black box. He could see 2B’s black box. Just a little bit more. But 2B was being pinned down by the troopers as well. Various parts of his body were being crushed and snapped, so much so at this point that he couldn’t tell which parts were broken or where it hurt. His hand trembled. 2B’s black box crept closer. His eyes were blinded by a white light. It was something he would forget very soon, anyway.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the ceiling of his room. He could only recall up until the moment he took out his black box, but he was at the Bunker now, so the plan must have succeeded. He jumped to his feet and went into the hallway. Pod was already waiting for him. Previously, for the extermination mission at the factory ruins, he had been unable to upload Pod programs on the low-transmission bandwidth. But this time he was able to upload both his and 2B’s personal data as well as 153 and 042’s programs. The Pod programs didn’t take up much storage in the first place.
He ran toward 2B’s room. He was a little worried over whether 2B had safely returned to her chassis. After all, the Bunker was going through an unprecedented situation in which its transmission functions were completely down.
But there was no need to worry. Right as 9S was about to knock on her door, 2B came flying out of her room.
“Let’s go report to the commander.”
2B started running as soon as the words left her mouth. 9S followed. They needed to hurry. At this very moment the control room could have its alarms blaring, in utter chaos…
But his prediction was far from the truth. The control room was quiet. The monitors that should have been dead due to the transmission outage were operating as usual, displaying scenes from Earth. They showed the YoRHa squadron and Machines in battle, a very uneventful and typical scene.
“This is…”
That was impossible. Most of the YoRHa squadron troopers on Earth had contracted the virus and lost their consciousness. The battlefront should have been dissolving. But the commander was calmly giving orders to troops in the room and on Earth, and the operators were controlling the computer terminals. Not one soul questioned the integrity of the monitor feed.
“Commander!” said 2B.
“2B? And 9S.”
The commander looked over with a puzzled look.
“What in the world are you doing here?”
“The YoRHa squadron troopers on Earth were infected by a virus! We had to quell the rampant troops with our black box…”
9S stopped talking. It wasn’t voluntary; he had stopped because he had been silenced. The commander had shot him a piercing stare.
“Virus? What are you talking about? We haven’t received any reports from Earth.”
“Those are fabricated!”
The monitors were displaying fake footage. If the commander believed the footage was legitimate, how was he going to convince her?
“Currently, the Bunker’s transmissions are down…”
“Why did you leave the battlefield without authorization in the first place?”
She gave him a chilling glare. 9S started to think that she would never believe anything he said. Then, 2B, who had stayed silent the whole time, yelled,
“The YoRHa squadron troopers were out of control!”
The commander made a small gasp, perhaps because she was shocked by 2B’s outburst.
“Aren’t you two the ones that are infected?”
“No!”
Why didn’t she understand? Why didn’t she understand that Earth and the Bunker were both in dire danger?
But 9S’s desperate voice was ignored.
“2B, 9S. I’m detaining you two on suspicion of virus infection.”
“Wait!”
Without a word, armed troops pointed their guns at 9S and 2B. While they were wasting time like this, the YoRHa squadron troopers on Earth were busy killing each other.
9S stared down the gun barrel in despair. The barrel wavered. The squadron troopers all sighed in unison as they bent forward. The guns clunked onto the floor.
“Is this…”
Laughter came out of nowhere. “Coooooorrect,” mocked a voice, the same one as Operator 6O’s. The troops that were crouched over stood up and raised their heads. Their eyes were red.
“Infection?!”
It wasn’t only the armed troops. The operators in the control room had glowing red eyes as well. On one hand 9S questioned why this had happened, and on the other he felt like he had known this would happen.
“So the virus infiltrated the Bunker…”
He knew it. He knew the moment he saw the footage on the monitors.
“That’s cooooorrect too!”
“Operator…”
No, said 2B in a strained voice.
“9S, that’s…”
“That’s right. I’m a Machine.”
The thing disguised as Operator 6O laughed amusedly.
“I’m talking to you through the network and the virus.”
Using the virus? Was that possible?
“You all were quite entertaining, but this base is done for.”
Laughing with an unpleasant cackle, 6O, the other operators, and the armed troops lunged at them.
“Commander! We’re going to retreat!”
2B flashed a glance at 9S. 9S nodded. They were going to protect the commander and escape.
As 2B brawled with the squadron troopers, 9S led the commander out into the hallway.
The voice of Operator 6O saying, “This is soo fun. This is soo fun,” trailed behind them. 9S could hear her boasting that the virus she had planted had bloomed so fruitfully.
If the virus was planted, then that meant the Machine had infiltrated the Bunker a long time ago. That feeling of being watched—he had forgotten about it after he searched in vain, but that was probably the presence of the Machine.
The squadron troopers in the hallway had been infected, without exception. He had to shoot down troops that he had completely trusted up until moments ago.
“Why aren’t you two infected?
“Most likely because I paused our data syncs. When I tried to sync, I heard a small noise, so that bothered me and…”
It hadn’t been his mind playing tricks on him. The small noise had been a Machine disguised as a virus. If he had realized back then and exterminated the virus, he could have prevented the loss of many of his comrades.
“I probed the main server, but…”
No, it would have been impossible. How could he have exterminated a virus he couldn’t detect?
“I see. So that’s what it was…”
The commander mumbled under her breath. She was aware of 9S’s unauthorized access. 2B yelled as she hurled the attacking squadron troopers aside.
“Commander! This base is hopeless. We need to escape!”
9S heard an explosion in the distance. The Bunker was being destroyed from the inside out.
“The transfer device is infected. Let’s escape with flight units from the hangar.”
They weren’t anywhere near the hangar. How many comrades would they have to kill on the way?
Some squadron troopers were completely possessed. Others kept a fragment of their consciousness. Then there were some that repeated, “Glory to mankind,” while recklessly firing their guns. 9S and party shot or cut down all of them to move on.
They eventually arrived at the hangar door. 9S heard another explosion. It was bigger than the last one. The shock was so great the floor looked as if it were rippling.
“Commander, hurry!”
2B grabbed the commander’s arm. But her grasp was slowly but forcibly shaken off.
“I can’t go.”
The commander, who had kept her head down the whole time, looked up. Her eyes were already red.
“I…had synced with the server as well.”
“Then 9S can exterminate the virus by—”
“There’s no time for that!” the commander interrupted 2B with a resolute voice.
“You two are the last remaining members of the YoRHa squadron! You have an obligation to live!”
“Commander…”
“Besides, I’m the commander of this base. Let me act like it until the end.”
Just as 2B started to say, “But,” a large explosion resounded. The jolt threw 9S’s body in a random direction.
“2B! The base is about to…”
It wouldn’t hold up any longer. 9S grabbed 2B’s arm.
“Commander!”
Nevertheless, 2B kept staring at the commander. Her gaze desperately tried to cling on—an expression 9S had never seen from 2B. He knew that 2B had full and utmost trust in the commander. But he never knew why. Now he knew that reason was something forbidden and taboo.
However, as much as 2B wanted to rescue the commander, 9S wanted to rescue 2B just as much. He wanted to protect 2B no matter what.
“Let’s go 2B!”
The commander simultaneously pushed 2B away as 9S pulled on 2B’s arm, dragging her into the hangar.
“Go!”
Right as the door to the hangar closed, it looked like the commander’s lips parted to say “2B.” He wasn’t sure what kind of face 2B made.
“2B, we need to hurry!”
9S let go of her arm. He knew that it was ok to let go now.
“Okay!”
2B answered in a dark voice. They equipped the flight units and unlocked the launching ramp. They flew toward the cold darkness. Just as they hit full throttle, a light as bright as sunlight flashed behind them. The Bunker had exploded.
Still they flew. Dodging the scattered remains of the Bunker, they flew toward Earth. The commander’s words that they had an obligation to live echoed in their heads.
The remains that rained down through the atmosphere glimmered, letting off heat and light. 9S thought they looked like the fireworks they had seen in the amusement park ruins.
That day, 2B had stared, fascinated, at the material courier that had been streaking up the sky. They would never see such a sight again.
The YoRHa squadron Bunker, their home, had exploded without a sound, and disappeared without a sound.
After they entered the atmosphere, they headed toward the city ruins. There was a possibility that they would run into the infected squadron troopers, but they had nowhere else to go.
In fact, it was probably their duty to kill off any of the remaining troops. If they were left alone, they could pose a threat to the resistance.
Along with Pod’s voice, a location data display appeared.
“Report: Multiple pursuers.”
“Enemies?!”
That was right. There were still Machines left on Earth. There were probably still some in the sky. 9S had thought that with the destruction of Adam and Eve the whole Machine network would be rendered nonfunctional as well, but that was not the case. The Machine that had infiltrated the Bunker had said, “I’m talking to you through the network and the virus…”
“No!”
2B almost sounded as if she were screaming through the transmission.
She didn’t have to say any more. The pursuers’ markers on the display were green. They were YoRHa squadron troopers. Obviously they were not here to save them.
It was an obligation for YoRHa squadron troopers to sync their data with the server. 2B and 9S had avoided the virus by failing to sync their data, which was not a commendable action in any way.
As a result, a majority of the squadron troopers were infected with the virus. Perhaps everyone except them.
“Since your data hasn’t been uploaded, all of the scanner models are unable to update.”
If what 11S had said was true, all the other scanners had completed the data sync.
The flight units of the infected squadron troopers began to attack at once. 9S immediately turned on stealth mode, but with this many enemies it was just a minor advantage. The infected squadron troopers were unconcerned with friendly fire. They were spraying bullets in every direction and blindly firing missiles.
9S felt an impact similar to being hit in the back with a metal rod. He had been shot. The fact that Type S were unsuited for battle wasn’t limited to ground combat.
“9S! Transfer your flight unit controls to me!”
“What?”
“We’re going to break through.”
2B had clawed her way through enemy aerial defense systems a countless number of times on her descents to Earth. Her aerial combat skill was leagues beyond 9S’s.
“Okay.”
It was probably a burden for her to control multiple flight units, but 9S figured anything was better than controlling his unit himself. He just didn’t want to be deadweight.
“Pod.”
“Affirmative: Flight unit controls transferred to 2B.”
9S’s limbs suddenly became lighter. The weight of the flight unit had been lifted from him.
“Controls of 9S’s flight unit acquired.”
He heard the voice of Pod 042 through the transmission.
“Flight path automatically set.”
The flight unit dipped down.
“Taking departure route from warring airspace.”
All of a sudden he was yanked sideways.
“Hey! Wait! What is this…”
9S squirmed inside the flight unit. He knew that it was useless. He had given 2B the controls.
“YoRHa unit 2B, deactivating stealth mode.”
The silhouette of 2B’s unit appeared amidst the flying bullets.
“No…! 2B!”
2B had planned to become the decoy all along, to let 9S escape to safety.
“Don’t do this!”
He’d given up his controls because he’d thought that they would break through together. He’d thought 2B had a plan to keep both of them alive.
“I hate this!”
2B’s flight unit was under concentrated fire, besieged by the infected troops.
“This…I never wanted this!”
The flight unit continued to drift away against his will. Eventually 2B’s flight unit and the horde of infected troops disappeared from his sight.
Another Side “A2”
I was used to fighting YoRHa types. I had fended off 2B and 9S, who were assigned to hunt me down, a number of times.
But there were certainly not a lot of opportunities to fight the newer models, let alone those driven mad from the viral infection. On top of that it was rare for me to be surrounded, so I was confused, since the situation was so different from the norm.
Regardless, infected or not and in large numbers or not, I had one job. I no longer had any Earthbound comrades. That’s why, as soon as I encountered someone, I would destroy them without hesitation. That’s what I’ve always done.
That’s why I was surprised when we ran into each other but didn’t fight.
“This is…it.”
The YoRHa model with the same face as mine appeared as I was fighting the infected YoRHa. It was a reunion. We had previously fought when we ran into each other, so I thought we would fight again. But after I wiped out the infected YoRHa, I didn’t need to confront her.
She had also been infected by the logic virus. Her goggles, which had been removed, revealed her red eyes underneath.
“These are my memories,” she said, and stuck her sword in the ground. I didn’t know what it meant, but I guessed it meant that she had no intention to fight. It seemed like the virus had progressed a lot, but she was still maintaining consciousness.
“Please take care of everyone…and the future…A2.”
I had met this No. 2 at the castle in the woods. As with the other No. 2s, I had crossed swords with her. But she was asking me a favor. Of all the people she could have picked, she picked me, her enemy. I had no obligation to listen, but I couldn’t refuse.
I’ve killed infected comrades with my own hands. I couldn’t refuse her request, when my comrades had asked the same thing of me. There was no way she knew, but the way she desperately heaved out the words was the spitting image of the comrade I had killed last.
After I told her I would, her expression melted into one of wholehearted satisfaction.
When I pulled out her sword, I understood what she meant when she said it was her memories. The technology hadn’t existed when I was on the front lines, but the weapons that current YoRHa squadron troopers were issued could store memories.
I had heard that they were developing weapons with this feature. It was inspired by the fact that human memories were also stored in areas other than the brain. The technology wasn’t limited to weapons—at the time they were developing clothes and shoes that could do the same.
Humanity left its records in various places. When it came to more personal records, at times humans would write on desks, walls, or even the palms of their hands instead of paper.
It’s even said that humans had a habit of “learning with their hands.” I had no idea how an appendage, with no capacity for memory, was able to store what it “learned.”
Anyway, research and development had equipped weapons with the ability to store the memories of their users. I tried it out for myself; it was a decent feature.
I saw all the things she had seen, and heard all the things she had heard. I felt the pain she had felt. Her thoughts and feelings were absent, so the memories consisted of objective sensory experience in its purest form. So I didn’t know what she had thought during the events I saw.
Within the memories, I noticed a name I felt nostalgic for: Anemone. At one point I had worked with the woman, who was part of the resistance. She was alive. Bringing me this news was enough for me to feel grateful to 2B. In return, I would grant her dying wish.
After the Bunker fell, 2B had endured the concentrated fire of her rampant comrades, become a decoy so 9S could escape, plunged into the flooded city, been infected by the virus, and found me, on the verge of death. This woman’s memories and wishes…
I accepted all of it.
“Ah, Nines…”
Those were her last words. She looked back when she heard her name, grinned, and died.
I cut my hair with the sword she was impaled with, as a testament to accepting her memories and wishes. A tribute to the deceased, my doppelgänger.
From now on, I’ll live in your image. That’s the best I can do.
Right after that, the ground started to shake. A crack ran through the earth, and a giant object destroyed the area that I was in.
I saw something white sprout out of the dust clouds. It stretched endlessly into the sky. But I wasn’t able to tell what it was.
Me, 2B’s corpse, and 9S, who pounced at me with his sword, were swallowed into the fissure along with the crumbling bridges and rubble.