Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            2B and 9S decide to complete a thorough circuit of the main body of the village before exploring the bridges branching off to separate platforms. The construction isn’t anything more sophisticated that either android had seen from machines in the past but is notable in that it’s almost entirely made of wood, with only the occasional scattering scrap metal. That means that the machines either found a lot of downed trees or they cut the trees themselves. While technically well within a machine’s knowledge and ability, the dedication to harvest and shape the planks instead of just repurposing scrap metal is unusual. That being said, there are some structures made of metal. The fence of I-beams that 9S noticed previously, for one. For another, the machines shaped dozens of small, one and two-room houses out of metal. Machines don’t need sleep anymore than androids do so their use isn’t immediately apparent. It’s only after they gain access to one, through 2B asking a nearby machine for permission, that 9S realizes what the buildings are for: they’re personal storage. It seems either the machine they’d spoken to or the one claiming to be their child–though what makes one machine a child and another a parent, 9S isn’t sure–likes to collect and disassemble locks.

            With this new knowledge, 9S starts to wonder about the layout of the village. There are a handful of houses within the main platform and on the ground below it and the platforms branching off of the main village each seem to contain a single house. He could have brushed off the strange disbursement as machine eccentrism if the houses were mere decorations–some strange attempt to mimic their village after human settlements–but their practical use of storage is hampered by the ineffectual use of space and materials. For each house not on the main platform, the machines would have had to build scaffolding, build a new platform, take down the scaffolding, and connect the new platform to the main one and 9S cannot understand what drove the machines to put in all that extra effort. Worst of all, 9S can't even convince himself that nothing the machines do has any meaning anymore, so the purpose behind the placement of the houses will continue to bother him until he can answer it.

            Luckily, they finish their lap around the main village soon afterward and it's time for 2B and 9S to investigate the outlying platforms. Maybe 9S can figure out their purpose by studying them up close.

           The first platform the androids visit contains two machines and one of the smaller houses. Neither machine are waving flags or even seem to notice the androids’ approach. But they aren’t interacting with each other either. Weird. One of the machines is ball-shaped and hovers a little above the androids' heads. 9S has never seen a machine like it. Maybe it's an older model like Pascal. The other machine is a Medium Biped wearing a top hat who is muttering to itself.

           “Um…” 9S tries to interrupt the Biped, but the machine just keeps talking.

           “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Additionally–”

           “Um, hello?”

           “Yes? And you are? Wait! Do not tell me! I have already deduced that you are here to listen to me expound upon the great mysteries of existence. Well! Let us begin by discussing the concept of existentialism. Essence and existence are two sides of the same coin. And yet, what IS existence. I’m glad you asked! To answer that well requires many long hours of–” The machine continues to rattle on without any regard for his audience. Just listening to it causes 9S’s head to throb in pain.

           “This is pointless," he snaps.

           The ball-like machine responds to 9S's comment with what sounds like sympathy. “There is no point talking to Jean-Paul. We stopped trying to figure him out a while ago. All he does is spout a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about something called ‘philosophy.’ If you’re curious about him, you’ll have better luck talking to his followers. They tend to use smaller words, at least.”

           Jean-Paul? Why does that name sound familiar? 9S holds his chin in his hand as he digs through his memories for the name. “This guy has followers?”

           “More like fans, I suppose. But yes, there are quite a few out there who buy what he’s selling. Don’t ask me why. Some folks just get into that sort of thing, I suppose. There’s even one Jean-Paul follower right here in this village. You know the machine with the thick paint on her face? That’s the one.”

           With the prompting from the ball-like machine, the memory of the painted machine flashes easily into 9S’s mind. It had been sighing about someone named Jean-Paul. That’s why the name sounded familiar! Though that answer still doesn't seem entirely right. 9S glances over at 2B. “What do you think? Should we talk to the painted machine or should we keep looking around the village?”

           “We should talk machine,” 2B answers immediately.

           9S nods. “A machine interested in philosophy. That should be an interesting conversation.”

           9S quickly regrets that remark when he and 2B find the painted machine again, right where they had seen it originally. Just like Jean-Paul, it doesn’t listen to a word 9S says. All he’s able to do is ask if it knows the hat wearing Medium Biped and the painted machine rambles on about how great Jean-Paul is. “In fact, I was just thinking about how much wisdom he has to teach me, so I wrote him a letter asking for guidance. You’ll take it to him, won’t you?” Without waiting for a response, the machine shoves its letter at 9S.

           “Huh?!”

           “I can't let that lady in the desert get to him first! Or that harpy in the amusement park…”

           9S studies the letter in his hands. Where had the machine even gotten paper to write on? “Great. There are more of these weirdos? And wait, they have genders?” Could the ‘harpy’ have been the machine calling itself–herself?–Simone? Frowning, 9S remembers the data that he had managed to dig up on his own, before Simone had attacked them with her own memory data. A Small Stubby with a Medium Biped wearing a hat. Simone and Jean-Paul. Simone must have been one of Jean-Paul's followers. With that in mind, 9S is less than excited to see Jean-Paul again to give it the letter.

           Jean-Paul is still rambling to no-one when 9S and 2B approach. “A, yes. I see. Dreams are the mind’s version of reality perfected.”

           “Hey, Jean-Paul?” 9S snaps. “We have a delivery for you.”

           “Ah! Allow me to see it at once. Interesting. A letter, is it?”

           2B explains, “A female machine asked us to deliver it to you. She said she could rely on you, and that you know pretty much everything.”

           “Yes, yes. Now if I may, do you believe that existence precedes essence?”

           “Um, is this about the letter?” 9S asks, bewildered.

           “No.”

           “Right, but shouldn’t you maybe respond to the letter?”

           “Is one duty-bound to reply to every question spewed in their direction? If such is your claim, then what power was it who placed this burdensome yoke about my neck?”

           2B shakes her head and says quietly to 9S, “This is a waste of time.”

           “You got that right,” he agrees.

           9S is ready to explore the other platforms but 2B insists that they follow up with the painted machine before moving on from the Jean-Paul situation. The machine is standing as tall as she can when they see her again, her simplistic hands tapping together nervously until she spots them. She waves the two androids down as if they couldn’t tell her from the crowd, shouting, “There you are! Well?” she asks once they’re closer. “What did the master have to say about my letter?”

           9S is surprised by how bad he feels for the machine. Though most of her memories had been wiped from his own, 9S can remember Simone's pain and desperation.  “Actually, he said it wasn’t worthy of a response.”

           “I KNEW it! Isn’t he the greatest? I can’t get enough of him.”

           “You don’t say…” 9S can't help but feel like an idiot for trying to sympathize with a machine. Still, at least this machine isn't on-route to become another Simone. With that assured, 9S is quick to put the whole matter of Jean-Paul out of him mind and focus and checking out the other platforms. After doing so, 9S thinks he has an answer as to why some houses are sequestered away from the rest: the owners of those houses are weird even by machine standards. They probably built their storage places out of the way either to avoid the more conventional machines or the conventional machines stuck them on the outside of the village so they wouldn't have to interact with the likes of Jean-Paul and the machine who thinks himself a scientist.

           And now, with the platforms out of the way, the last place for 2B and 9S to explore is the ground level of the village. The machines here vary in size more than anywhere else, probably because it would be improbable to house machines like the Goliath Biped in a tree. 2B and 9S are cautiously making their way around the large Biped when a Small Stubby wearing a blue bow on her head spots them and calls out frantically, " Excuse me? Do you have a moment? Please, I need your help.” 9S glances at 2B who is, expectedly, making her way over to the machine.

           “Um, excuse me?” she repeats, sounding a little less panicked. “Can you please help me? I need to find my sister. She’s lost.”

           “Of course,” 2B agrees.

           “And it’s all my fault… It seems she overheard me complaining about how one of my parts was starting to seize up. So she went off to the desert in search of a replacement. It’s been days now, and she’s still not back. Please, you have to help me! I’ll pay you whatever you want!”

           “We’ll find her for you,” 2B assures the machine.

           “Thank you. The desert is too big for me to search by myself. Especially with my faulty parts.” Almost as an afterthought, the machine adds, “You'll know my sister when you see her. She has a bow like me, but hers is pink.”

           “Understood.”

           The machine continues to thank them even as the two androids start to walk away. 9S glances back at the Big Sister Machine curiously. What’s with these machines and building family units? Androids have no need for them, after all. “She sure cares about her little sister, huh? Still, it’s pretty funny to hear machines talk about siblings. Do you think she just means they were built at the same factory or something?”

           2B answers with a noncommittal, “Maybe.”

           2B and 9S finish up their look around the ground level of the village– during which they even run into some Resistance androids–before climbing back up to the bottom catwalk level of the village and start heading back the way they came.

Chapter Text

            “Do you remember what Jackass said about using bait to ride the animals?” 9S asks as he and 2B leave their room.

            “Yes.”

            “Do you think we could try that out?”

            “Why?”

            “Well, the only animals of ridable size in the area are moose and boar–two animals well known by humans to be terrifying in their ferocity and durability. I wonder if taming them would be an asset to our mission.” And 9S really wants to try riding a moose. “Besides, we should probably check to see if the traders have stocked up yet.”

            2B studies 9S and he does his best to keep a straight face under her heavy gaze. “Fine," she eventually concedes. "Let’s go buy some bait from the trader.”

            9S manages to keep most of his celebration internal but he can’t help letting a small, gleeful smile slip through his mask. It falls when he sees a female android waving the pair over from the medical bay, her distress barely concealed. 9S taps 2B lightly on the arm to get her attention and gestures over to the android. 2B reacts quickly, first glancing back at 9S and then toward the female android. It’s what 9S had wanted her to do but something about 2B’s response feels wrong. 2B pauses to observe the other android and, deciding to hear her out, changes course to meet her. It all takes under a second but it’s long enough for 9S to realize what it was about the exchange that bothered him. 2B felt it when he touched her on the arm. She shouldn’t have been able to do that. They’d never managed to get her sense of touch to work. Did it spontaneously fix itself or, more horrifically, had 2B felt everything he’d done? No, no, there’s no way. 2B isn’t the kind to mess around like that. She had no reason to lie to him about what she did or didn’t feel during the test and she probably would have killed him if she could have felt everything. It would save him the hassle of dying from shame and embarrassment, at least.

            2B is already talking to the Resistance android when 9S finally makes his way over, the only indication that his appearance had been noticed by either of them is 2B taking a small step to the side to make room for him.

            “Say, you’re the new YoRHa models, aren’t you,” the Resistance android observes awkwardly, as if she just noticed.

            9S nods. “I guess we are the newest, now that you mention it. Did you need something?”

            “I bet new models like you can handle pretty much anything, huh? You might even be able to… No, no. I shouldn’t ask. That would be rude. But yet…” The android sighs.

            “Why don’t you tell us what’s wrong,” 9S prompts. “Maybe we can help.”

            “Oh! Well, if you insist,” she says, a little too easily. 9S feels like he’s been tricked. “It turns out one of my friends has gone missing.”

            “Missing? That doesn’t sound good.”

            “Where was this friend last seen?” 2B inquires.

            “At the material storage site where he works.”

            “The storage site, eh?” 9S rubs his hands together, a bit too eagerly given the situation. They hadn’t had the chance to explore that area of the camp yet. “Maybe we should check it out.”

            “Oh, please, would you? Without him, I… I… Please!”

            Prompted by the android’s desperation, 2B and 9S skip perusing the shops for now and head straight for the material storage site–the entrance of which is in the back of the camp, requiring them to walk past the two traders they had been planning to visit on their way in. A large chain-link fence separates the material storage site from the rest of the camp, keeping out unauthorized personnel. Including 2B and 9S. Another android is seated in front of the gate so 9S walks up to her in an attempt to gain entry.

            “Why can’t I stop thinking about it…?” she mumbles to herself.

            “Stop thinking about what?”

            “Gya!” The android startles so hard that she almost falls out of her chair. “What?! Who are you?!”

            “We’re with YoRHa. Anemone told us to make ourselves at home.”

            “Oh… r-right.”

            “So. What can’t you stop thinking about?”

            The android re-settles in her chair. “Oh, it's just... One of my friends has a box that makes music when you open it, and I can't get the damn song out of my head. It's just so beautiful! I've never heard anything like it! And to make it worse, I can only remember the first part of the song... Daaah, it's driving me nuts! I wish she'd just come back to camp so I could hear the damn thing again!”

            She is very animated when she talks. From rubbing her neck in embarrassment at the start to waving her hands wildly when talking about the music her friend’s box would create to short, sharp, emphatic gestures that emphasize her annoyance at the earworm.

            2B lets the android rant before voicing the question that 9S had come over to ask. “Who do we have to talk to in order to gain entrance to the material storage site?”

            “Oh?” The android brightens up. “That’d be me. I’m the manager of this place. Name’s Saudade. Why do you need to get in?”

            “We’re looking for a missing android.”

            “Missing android?” The manager taps her mouth, humming thoughtfully. “I doubt that they’d be here. But maybe there’s something that I or my team have missed. Here, let me just unlock that gate.” Saudade reaches toward her belt, coming to a confused stop when her hand grasps nothing but air. Her eyes widen first and then narrow in annoyance. Tsk . “Sorry guys. It seems I’ve misplaced my keys. I’ve been kinda distracted by that song lately.”

            Under her breath, 2B mutters to 9S, “It looks like we’ll have to find that item for her.”

            “Yeah.” That 2B chose to initiate something as intimate as a whispered conversation takes 9S by surprise. “If we don’t help her, she’ll never get any work done.” To the manager, 9S offers, “Would bringing your friend’s box back help?”

            “Maybe. It’d be nice to hear that song again anyway, and see my friend.”

            “Do you know anything that might help us find them? Where your friend went, for example?”

            Saudade shakes her head. “No, sorry.”

            “Tell us their name and we can see if Anemone knows,” 2B suggests.

            Saudade snapes her fingers excitedly. “Oh, good idea! Her name is Vanitas. She’s a scout.”

            A scout. 9S hums thoughtfully to himself. It's a job that he's familiar with. It can be dangerous, which makes Vanitas's absence a concern. But, at the same time, it's not that unusual for scouts to go quiet for a while. That's probably why Saudade wasn't all that worried yet. Or maybe that's just her personality. “We’ll do our best to find your friend,” 9S promises.

            “And I’ll look around for those keys.”

            With the deal struck, 2B and 9S retrace their steps back to the main body of camp, their initial mission delayed until they can find Vanitas. Two missing androids. The Resistance isn’t very skilled at keeping tabs on their members, are they?

            “A box that plays sound?” 2B wonders, mostly to herself. “Odd.”

            Pod 042 chirps, “Analysis: The item in question is likely a ‘music box.’ Music boxes were created by humans to allow for the enjoyment of music without the need to have musicians or singers physically present. They came in a variety of sizes, the most common being small enough to be easily carried. Sound was produced by a steel comb within the box. Each tooth of the comb was tuned to a different note. Strategically placed protrusions located on a rotating cylinder or disk would cause the teeth to vibrate in the proper order to reproduce a piece of music." 

            “For something so delicate to survive for so long,” 2B says, almost in wonder.

            “Part of the Resistance’s job is to maintain human artifacts,” 9S reasons. It’s not a priority, but it’s obvious that some effort has been put into that goal. The ruined city is evidence of this. The buildings and roads, though crumbling and inhospitable, would have disappeared long ago without the Resistance androids warring with nature to preserve them. 9S is aware of this due to his information focused role but, as a combat model, there’s a good chance that 2B was never told of this aspect of the Resistance.

            2B makes a sound of understanding in response, ending the conversation just in time for the two androids to approach Anemone and inquire after Vanitas.

            “Vanitas?” She looks at the YoRHa androids in surprise. “Last contact I had with her was at the abandoned factory.”

            2B asks, “How long ago was that?”

            “About a month. She was the one who gave us the information about the Goliaths being manufactured there.”

            “Shouldn’t she be back by now?” 9S wonders.

            Anemone shakes her head. “The factory wasn’t her only mission. I had her do a survey of all the territories surrounding the city. Besides Pascal’s village, there are also the machines that took over the factor, the desert machines, the ones in the forest, and the amusement park. The desert, forest, and–until recently–the amusement park machines were considered hostile. With so many enemies around, it’s important to be aware of their movements.”

            “Well, where was Vanitas supposed to go next?”

            “The amusement park."

            “Do you think she would have tracked us down if she were there when we were?”

            “Maybe. But you didn’t do a lot of fighting while you were there so there’s a chance that she wasn’t even aware of you two.”

            9S nods. The place is big. If Vanitas had been on the other side of the park, it’s possible that they had missed her notice. “We’ll let you know if we find her.”

            “I hope you do.”

            On their way out of camp, 2B and 9S agree to check out the factory first. Since that was the place of last contact, there’s a chance that Vanitas never made it to the amusement park. 9S hopes that they don’t find her there.

            They thoroughly search the complex of buildings that make up the factory, decimating the machine population as they go. 2B leads the way expertly. They’d both been here not too long ago but only she remembers the event. 9S tries not to think too hard on that and just focus on the mission but the ringing echoes and rusting metal seem to scream at him to remember. The sharp clack! of 2B’s heels on the metal walkways sound particularly demanding. By the time they finish their search, 9S feels like his skin has been rubbed raw by the angry rust and his head rings with the echoes’ accusations. The only bright side is that they weren’t able to find any trace of Vanitas. That must mean that she made it out alive. Oh, and they found the complex gadget that the runaway couple requested. Just the outcome that 9S was hoping for.

            At the amusement park, the androids have an easier time looking for the missing scout as they don’t have to fight for every foot of ground they travel. They try to ask the machine lifeforms if they knew anything about Vanitas but, as before, all most will talk about is having fun. A few of the more verbose machines mention having seen her but offer no help in actually tracking her down. It’s only after about two hours of searching do they find something. An ancient metal box laying abandoned in a back alley.

            9S kneels down to study the object. “Is this the ‘music box’ she was looking for? Man, this thing is all rusted over…” It looks like it’s been sitting out in the rain for the entire month Vanitas has been missing. It takes some effort but, eventually, 9S is able to pry open the lid. Soft, tinny music floats from the contraption. 9S is captivated by the simple tune. It really is pretty.

            “Look,” 2B says, the edge of warning in her voice enough to put 9S on guard instantly. “A corpse.”

            9S looks up from the music box to where 2B is, investigating some rubble at the side of the alley. Following her gaze, 9S lays eyes on the body of an android. Synthetic skin hangs in tatters from her mechanical shell. Dust coats the exposed metal and wiring. Chunks of what look like destroyed wall pin the bottom half of her body to the ground.

            “You think the box belonged to her?” Do you think it’s Vanitas? “Poor girl died a long time ago, by the looks of it.”

            2B is silent as she studies the deceased resistance member’s body. Then, eventually, she turns to look at 9S. “Let’s bring this back to her friend.” It’s Vanitas.

            9S carefully stores the music box away. “I guess we should head back.”

            2B shakes her head. “Let's deliver the complex gadget to the runaways first.”

            9S swallows his ire at their mention. “Fine. We’re right next to Pascal’s village anyway.”

Chapter Text

            “Science will pay you back for this, I promise. Now… FIGHT!” Jackass commands, slapping a monitoring device onto the YoRHa androids and shoving them down into the hollow. Well, 9S gets shoved down. 2B is able to stand firm against it but follows after the bewildered Scanner. She leaps at the Medium Biped before sliding all the way down the slope, elegantly flying over 9S’s head. 9S shakes his head in annoyance at the situation they’ve ended up in and joins in on the fight. Despite finding itself rather pathetically stuck in a hole, the machine is a tough one and puts up a good fight. But 2B and 9S strike it down with easy teamwork born of experience.

            “Oh man. Oh man. Oh man,” Jackass crows from atop the slope. “That was GREAT! Hey, did you know that android battle fever is actually quite similar to the human emotion of ‘love’? So if we want to know what all those old human records are always going on about, all we need to do is let our fists fly! Makes this whole thing feel more romantic, don’t you think?”

            "What?" 2B questions sharply.

            9S’s voice wavers as he asks, “Is that what you learned from the data you just collected?”

            “What? No.” Jackass sounds annoyed, as if the answer should have been obvious. “You’re not the first androids I’ve run this test on. I just need data from the newest models to finish my research.” 9S relaxes. Maybe he and 2B don’t have that weird quirk built in. “But the readings y’all gave me does support it.” 9S straightens back up in shock. “But I need to run more tests before I can actually put this information to use. So get back in there and fight!”

            There’s a rumbling and 9S turns around to see three more Medium Bipeds. Where they came from, 9S isn’t sure. Most likely there’s a well camouflage door in one of the walls that someone opened to let the machines out into the hollow. But the why’s and how’s are unimportant. There are machines for them to kill and a question that 9S is more interested in answering on the other side of them. They go through two more rounds of tests before Jackass has enough data for another breakthrough. She shares the readings with 2B and 9S before they’re even able to join her at the top of the slope. 9S is sure that if she were able to physically shove it in their faces, she would.

            “Here, look at this. See this reaction? It proves that android brains contain an algorithm which allows them to derive pleasure from battle! Without that, we’d probably have stopped fighting a long time ago. What a brutally efficient piece of evolution! It’s possible this is based on an identical pleasure center in the human brain. Man, those fleshbags really were something!”

            So it’s not love. It’s pleasure. In humans, it would be the release of dopamine. Many things could trigger it. Exercise, eating, achieving a goal. It’s a part of their reward system. That makes more sense to 9S. It makes so much sense to 9S now that Jackass has spelled it out that he's surprised no one else has realized it. Of course the humans would want to motivate their soldiers. It’s not romantic; it’s practical. 9S can feel a relieved grin tugging at the corners of his mouth but something the researcher had said still bothers him. “‘Were’?”

            “Huh?”

            “You said humans ‘really were something’.”

            Jackass waves her hand dismissively. “Were, are, whatever. It’s not like I’ve ever seen a human. Might as well be extinct for all I know. Or care.”

            “How can you not ca-”

            “If you two could just help me with one more test. I just need a teensy bit more data…”

            9S isn’t even annoyed when he and 2B plunge back into the hollow. Jackass seems to have him beat when it comes to single-minded curiosity.

            Jackass is visibly vibrating when they finish the last test. “Bloody hell. Blood, nasty, gut-strewn HELL! Do you know what I just discovered? The excitement we feel in battle is caused by a type of pleasure-generating chemical produced in our circuits! Anyway, I think I can localize this substance and turn it into a drug that will help expand our combat capabilities. All these advances, and it’s all thanks to YOU!” Jackass puts her hands and her hips and puffs out her chest proudly. “See? I told you science was the best. Anyway, keep an eye out for that drug. Once I get it synthesized, it’s all yours. Oh, by the way, I got a fish I want y’all to try. To study how its oil affects a YoRHa unit. You know? For science? Anyhoo, it’ll only take a second.”

            “I think it’s time for us to head back to camp,” 9S replies quickly.

            Jackass shrugs. “Oh, well. I’ll be here if you need me. Or if you want to try that fish. Thanks for all of the help!”