Chapter Text
In the sand temple, 2B found an excuse to slip away from 9S. She would need to make her preparations quickly if she wanted to take him by surprise. “Pod, initiate short-range battle support and deploy weaponry,” she instructed, fighting to keep her voice steady. She gripped the hilt of her sword so hard her hands trembled.
“Affirmative: Initiating short-range radio-wave camouflage and activating short-range attack gear. Switching battle mode to anti-YoRHa. Disengaging ID signal.”
The question Can I really do this? flashed through her mind, but she quickly silenced it. Of course she would do this, because she had to. She had no choice. It was her mission.
(It was her mission, and emotions were prohibited. So why… why did it hurt so much?)
2B crept along the stairs. 9S was still on the lower levels. This was her chance.
Before he could react, 2B was on top of him, her sword through his stomach. He cried out in shock and pain. “Damn it!! 2B, why… why did you do that!?” He could barely get the words out around the excruciating pain.
2B hadn’t even expected the orders herself until they came, probably not even an hour ago. As such, there had been nothing to tip 9S off to anything past that 2B was troubled about something. Certainly, that was of concern to him, but even he never would have thought back then to connect 2B is troubled to an idea like 2B might kill me. No, that would come later, when 2B herself started learning the signs that she would have to end his life soon.
She did her best to stay composed. She was a YoRHa soldier and emotions were prohibited. That was final. Anyway, all emotions would do was make her hesitate; she could recognize that. “You tried to access highly confidential information… and as such… this is the consequence.”
“But 2B… I… trust…ed you…” His words were gasped, each inhalation feeling as though the sword through his abdomen was being twisted.
She could only hang her head, feeling the slowing beat of his heart as he started to bleed out. She had executed a number of androids before, but it had never… it had never felt like this.
Almost as though delirious from pain and blood loss, he whimpered out, “It hurts… It… hu…rts…”
His body went limp as his heartbeat stilled. Unable to hold back anymore, 2B started to cry. Her knees, on either side of his body to give her leverage in ensuring his death, were in a pool of his blood. Under her was the lifeless body of… of someone she had cared for.
He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t! He had broken the rules, but didn’t there have to be another way?
The 9S who had introduced himself to her so cheerfully… the 9S who had asked her to call him ‘Nines’… the 9S who had stood by her in battle and even tried to protect her, despite being an S-type and she ostensibly a B-type… those memories coalesced now into the image before her. His kindness, his consideration, his silly behavior that amused her even when she reused to let it on… she had stolen all of it. He would be rebooted, but it wouldn’t be him. It wouldn’t be the version of him that she had spent the past few months getting to know.
“Pod 153 to 2E.”
She had almost forgotten that was her true designation. Until recently, she hadn’t heard it in such a long time…
“Proposal: Delete 9S’s personal data and reinstall default personal data.”
A sob escaped her. “I can’t… do this anymore…” Being an E-type had never bothered her before, because she had never known any of the models she was asked to execute. She had never thought about the way their personalities were shaped by their experiences, and what they were losing by virtue of having ‘this’ version of them killed.
“YoRHa Unit Number 2, Type E. Unit 9S’s actions of obtaining sensitive information from the Bunker were within the predictions. Number 2, Type E should have understood that this mission’s outcome was already determined, and acted accordingly. Question: Requesting current status of Number 2, Type E, who, despite predicted events, has yet to complete the given mission.”
The incessant talk from this pod, who was literally incapable of understanding her inner turmoil, only served to distress her further. “Shut up…” She put as much anger into the words as she could, even through her tears.
“In addition, emotions are prohibited for YoRHa units. Proposal: Halt the expression of emotions, terminate Unit 9S’s current personal data, and reinstall—”
She couldn’t bear it. It felt like her body was being torn apart from the inside, yet she was being told to gather herself and finish the job. It wasn’t possible. “Shut up!” she shouted. She couldn’t just get up and carry on. Not yet. Her shoulders slumped, feeling helpless. “9… S…”
Crying brought her no relief. It couldn’t bring him back. It couldn’t convince Commander to use the most recent backup he had made, rather than forcing him to restart as though brand new. All it did was get her lectured and delay the completion of her mission. And yet, somehow it was so difficult to stop the tears…
Finally, she sat up, taking a deep breath. “Commencing deletion and default reinstallation of 9S’s personal data,” she said. Her voice remained unsteady and unusually quiet, but surely if she did her job, the pod wouldn’t have any reason to lecture her more.
When this was finished, she picked up his body and brought him back with her to the Bunker. He would obviously need repairs before they woke him up, and honestly, she wasn’t sure what the Commander was planning to do with him next.
By the time she arrived at the Bunker, her face was free of any sign she had been crying – of course, the goggles covering her eyes likely helped with that.
Commander was waiting for her. This was a top-secret mission, so it was little surprise she would be handling it so cautiously.
“The mission has been carried out in full,” 2B said, fighting her hardest to keep a tremor out of her voice.
She merely nodded in acknowledgement, as though she had no idea of the pain 2B was in. “3H is waiting for him. It will likely be about a day before he’s ready to go again, so you are free to take some time before the mission resumes.”
“…Pardon me?” She couldn’t have understood that correctly. Surely the Commander didn’t mean to imply…
“Because he’s a highly skilled S-type, we can’t waste his utility. However, it is most likely inevitable that he will try to access confidential information. As such, he will continue to require monitoring and restarts when he has broken the rules.”
Her legs almost gave out right there, but in front of the Commander, she couldn’t show emotion like that. Her lungs burned, holding her breath for fear she would cry if she dared to breathe. The only response she could give was a nod.
“Very well. Go ahead to the maintenance bay.”
Once 9S had been entrusted to 3H, 2B withdrew to her room. Hiding her emotions from everyone was more than she could take right now. She sat on her bed, back to the wall and knees hugged to her chest, and fought back tears. In the Bunker, there was always a chance of being caught. If it was discovered that she couldn’t even complete her mission without emotions becoming an issue, who knew what would happen to her?
Sure enough, the door opened. But rather than it being Commander or someone else who would be upset with her for her current state, which was clearly one of sadness, it was 6O.
6O’s expression was sad enough that it looked like she wanted to cry too. She sat down on the bed, wishing she could provide some comfort.
It felt like it took every bit of willpower in her body not to turn to 6O and cry. Instead, she continued to stare straight ahead, wishing she truly didn’t have emotions at all. She could never get close to anyone again, she vowed. If this was what she was setting herself up for… she could never do it again. That included 6O.
At the end of the day, she would always be an E-type. An executioner model… a model built for nothing more than to murder her fellow androids. For whatever reason, she had been built to bear this sin, and it was one she knew she would never be able to escape. E-types were among the rarest, so a transfer request would never be approved.
6O seemed at a loss for words – unusual for her, who was prone to rambling. After a while, she moved to sit right next to 2B, so close that their arms just barely touched. If she had guessed that anything more overt would be rejected, admittedly, she was exactly right. And yet, even the ghost of a touch was unexpectedly calming.
“I’ll stay as long as you want me to, okay?” 6O sniffled, barely holding back tears.
She wanted to be angry, to demand to know what right 6O thought she had to cry when she wasn’t the one who had just killed one of the only friends she had ever had… and then learned she would continue doing so repeatedly for the foreseeable future. But right now, she didn’t dare to express anything, foreseeing too clearly how that would end up. “…Okay.”
Her eyes were wet, but she was trying her best not to cry. If 2B wasn’t allowing herself to cry after what she had just been through, wouldn’t it be insensitive to cry in front of her? And she could hardly say ‘it’s okay to cry’ when she knew 2B might get in trouble for doing so. So instead, she just sat, hoping her presence was enough.
The process of leaning into 6O’s touch was so gradual that 2B didn’t even notice she was doing it until she realized that their arms were pressed fully together now and her head was approaching 6O’s shoulder. This was decidedly counter to her resolve not to get close to anyone, she noted, and so she made herself sit back up fully. As if punishing herself for allowing herself to lean on her, 2B scooted just enough away that they were no longer touching at all.
She had felt so hopeful that maybe she would be able to support her, and yet just as soon as 2B began to accept… now they were further than ever. Why wouldn’t 2B allow herself to accept comfort? Was her presence really making things better, or was she just bothering her? 6O felt helpless. 2B was suffering, and she was going to keep suffering, and there was nothing that could be done about it. With that thought, she started to cry.
2B couldn’t help the look of surprise on her face, jarred out of her own thoughts by the sound. How was she supposed to navigate this? If she didn’t want to get close to her, she shouldn’t comfort her, but she couldn’t bring herself not to respond. “Wh-Why are you crying?”
“I’m sorry. But it’s—it’s not fair. Why do you have to be put through this, 2B? You—You shouldn’t have to…” There was that rambling that had led to her putting her foot in her mouth on more than a few occasions.
She blinked, though the action couldn’t be seen beneath her goggles. “You’re… crying for my sake?”
6O nodded. “I know, emotions are prohibited, so you can’t even cry… How are you supposed to bear it if you can’t even cry?”
The words struck 2B deeper than she wanted to admit, having thought so similarly earlier. She pulled her knees just a bit closer to her body. “I won’t tell on you if you cry.”
“I wouldn’t tell on you either,” 6O promised.
“Emotions are prohibited.” The response came automatically, as though she was reminding herself in the face of a tempting offer. “As a field unit in particular…”
It was 2B’s distant way of saying she wouldn’t cry, but didn’t mind if 6O did… or at least that was what 6O hoped she meant by it.
It hurt to see 6O cry and not respond with any reassurance. But if she was going to stick to her resolve to minimize hurting others and being hurt by not getting close to anyone, it was what was necessary… and perhaps what was better in the long run, not only for herself but also for 6O.
6O hid her face in her hands as she cried, wishing there was more she could do for 2B. She still didn’t know if crying for her provided any comfort or if she was just rubbing salt in the wound. But… when she started to calm, her crying giving way to small sniffles, she looked up and saw that 2B’s body wasn’t quite as tense as it had been previously. She couldn’t really read her expression, since 2B’s eyes were covered, but… she hoped it wasn’t just wishful thinking to believe 2B was feeling a little better.
“2B… you know I’m always here for you, right?”
She hesitated, her lips thinning for a moment as she thought over her response. “Of course. You’re my Operator, after all.”
You’re my Operator, after all. Why did that make her so happy to hear? My Operator. She had already known she would do anything for 2B, but on that day, she made a renewed vow to do whatever she could to bring bright spots into 2B’s life. Whether that was convincing Commander to put parfaits in the cafeteria, or… hm, maybe there would be something nice in those human records they had lying around?