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2b ran for miles. Her heels clacked rhythmically against the stone ground, echoing into the ether where not even the monotonous noise of machines could be heard. It was almost uncanny, being alone in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Earth that was once blooming with life and vigour. However, that was the least of her worries at that moment. At that point in time, her only concern was running as far as her legs could take her. She needed to escape this dreadful place, she needed to be anywhere but here.
Unfortunately her efforts were soon proven to be in vain when she ended up right back where she was to begin with.
It was the same circumstances for every timeline: she would be trapped in the desolate wasteland where no matter how fast or far she ran, it would take her nowhere. The only way to reset the timeline, and possibly free her from this agonisingly endless time loop, was to kill 9s, over and over again and always seemingly to no avail. And, without fail, every time the horrible deed was committed, 2b would always find herself in the same place and the same situation once again.
It wasn't a punishment, nor a curse. It was 2b's duty, her sole purpose in fact, to kill, and then to be killed when it was decided that she was no longer needed. She had been aware of that fact for a long time. Aside from that, what was she, really, if not a bunch of meaningless code and circuits? Her existence, in and of itself, was meaningless. She wondered if anything was ever really meaningful anyway, but pulled herself out of that trance when she stumbled upon 9s, in the same spot he always was in every past timeline.
He was unconscious, sitting upright against a rock wall, barely breathing. Raspy breaths escaped from his parted lips and his chest rose and fell slowly and heavily as if it took great effort. She looked down at this helpless thing with a pained expression and a tightness in her chest that shouldn’t be there, as she had no heart, only circuits where a heart would be. In some ways, he was reminiscent of a doll like this: innocent and unmoving with an ivory pallor that looked as delicate as porcelain.
2b crouched on her heels and gently removed the black blindfold over his eyes and half expected 9s to be staring back at her with empty eyes. They were closed, and she was relieved that he at least wouldn’t have to witness what she was about to do. She wondered momentarily if he remembered previous timelines as much as she did, and shuddered viscerally.
She drew her sword and her hands trembled as if she hadn’t already done this countless times before. Emotions had never once before gotten in her way of slaughter, as it was forbidden, after all. But this time, when she looked down at the pitiful creature at her feet, an emotional detriment she had never felt before seized her. She dropped limply to her knees and let out a cry of anguish that had been trapped in her throat for more timelines than she could count. 2b’s pained voice echoed through the wasteland and was carried away by the wind for miles. She hoped that if a God did exist, he had heard her. She hoped that somewhere, on this barren planet where not an indicator of any life could be found, a single living soul had somehow heard her too.
She examined the blade of her sword and the reflection of her face within it, which she scowled at with disdain. From behind her blindfold, hot tears stung her eyes and caressed her cheeks before splashing onto the blade and distorting the visage reflected in the metal. 9s remained as he was, slumped against the wall like a doll tossed haphazardly. He did not stir once.
A realisation came to her, and it was one she couldn’t believe she hadn’t considered before. 2b took one last look at the unconscious android's porcelain face as she raised her sword, her hands steadier now. In one quick movement, she turned the blade to face herself and plunged it through her own chest, startling crimson all of a sudden being the only thing she could see.
She didn’t remember feeling any pain, only the feeling of falling through an abyss of nothingness for what felt like an eternity. At the same time, 2b’s body felt both as weightless as a ghost and as heavy as rocks. She felt a solace that lasted for only a moment before it was taken away by the fear that she would wake up and find that the timeline had been once again reset. 2b would find herself back at square one and forever trapped in that endless purgatory. Was this what death felt like, or was this a fate worse than any death?
She tried to scream, but no voice could be found in her throat.
At some point, 2b found herself able to open her eyes. Immediately, they burned upon contact with a dreadful white light. She realised that she could move her fingers, then her arms, and then her legs. There was no pain in her chest. Attempting to adjust her eyes to the light again, 2b opened them gradually until she could make out the details of the room she was in. It was not heaven, or hell, or some kind of strange afterlife, but her room at the bunker.
The door opened and a black-and-white blur of a figure entered the room. It was 9s, with his blissful, smiling face and cheeks pink with vigour approaching 2b’s barely conscious body, and after seeing that her eyes were open when he moved her blindfold, an expression of relief came over his face.
2b smiled a genuine smile that she didn’t think she was capable of. She sat up, slowly, and to 9s’ surprise, she pulled him into a hug so tight like she was afraid to let go of him, in fear that he could slip out of her grasp and she would lose him once again like she had almost lost herself when she fell into that void of darkness.
As he returned the gesture and enveloped her shoulders in his arms, 2b felt a pleasant pang in the spot in her chest where a heart would be.