Restoring Mankind (NieR Automata) Chapter 11 preview 2/4 (Patreon)

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The skies roared with the fury of jet engines thrusting man and machine forward. 2B took the speed rather well, nestled comfortably on Damian's Yggdrasil, eyes scanning the horizon and the sands below. 

"The desert. I love it." Damian remarked, his voice distorted by his suit's speakers. Despite that, 2B could hear the naked sarcasm from him. 

"You dislike the desert, sergeant?" 2B asked, wondering if her voice could be heard as the Yggdrasil's thrusters drowned out everything in its mechanical roar. Surprisingly, Damian managed to hear her as he responded. 

"I'm getting bored of this place, to be frank," Damian admitted, his eyes glancing over the images of his HUD. It showed nothing but desert and sand, and sun, and a bunch of scorched rocks. Nothing particularly interesting or fun. "It would be nice to have night, I can see the stars that way at least. But damn, the planet's locked on its axis or something. I'll miss the night." 

2B perked up at that. She had heard much from 12H and the other androids who raved what the humans were like. 12H having more to say about Damian. While she could appreciate the way 12H spoke about how Damian did her in ways that was not appropriate for her to hear, she did latch on to the how alive he felt and how many stories he had of a world before everything, a world that while had its troubles, was one without apocalyptic threats that locked them in a never ending cycle of life and death. 

"What was night like, Sergeant?" 2B asked, unusual curiosity perking up in her. 

"Hm, night?" Damian said, he hummed. "Imagine the world as you see this now, but dark and the stars are all in the sky pulsing brightly with the stars and the moon. That's how best I can describe it. Perdon, but I am no poet, you know?" 

"It is sufficient, Sergeant," 2B replied, a small smile on her face. It was already good enough for her to hear from a human. "I suppose the best way I can relate to that is like watching space from the Bunker." 

"I heard about that," Damian perked up this time, interest in his voice. "12H tells me that you YoRHa have a space station! Talk about advanced!" 

From the way Damian spoke about 12H, his tone suggested that what he and the Healer shared was more than just friendly. And from what 12H was willing to gossip, they had already done more than hold hands, the filth. 2B wasn't dumb nor was she clueless. She knew that Damian and 12H were in love with each other. She could quite feel it from the way they spoke about each other. 2B herself though...she knew what love is. She felt it, craved it. But deserved it? 

After everything she did? 

No. She didn't deserve it. 

She could never. 

"Oi, chica. You look more grim than usual, eh?" Damian noted, his helm having fully turned towards her. "It's just...it's nothing, sergeant." A derisive snort left his lips. "Look, you may be an android but you are still una guapa mamacita, you know? You're still a pretty woman. And I know when women say it's nothing, there's something wrong. I know we ain't exactly friends but, you's got me curious anyway. What's up?" 

Was she really that obvious?

2B wondered how she would tell it to Damian. Actually, should she even tell Damian? This was essentially her deepest darkest secret. Why was she seriously considering on telling him? Simply because he was human? She felt...safe around him. Her trust for Damian was ironclad. Did he earn it? She...she figured he did. He had fought with her after all. She tilted her head up. "I...I have a colleague who's...struggling with her emotions." 

Damian listened patiently, realizing how surreal it is to have such a intimate conversation while flying high above the sands, while in a mecha suit and carrying an android woman on his shoulder. 

"She knows that she has..." 2B paused. "strong emotions for a certain colleague of hers." Strong couldn't even begin to describe it.

"Hm," Damian thought. This was starting to seem less of a hypothetical colleague and more of 2B trying to cover up her own infatuation. "Hm. So this colleague...what does this colleague make your friend feel?"

Despite herself, 2B flushed. "Warm. Like...like I-she is in the clouds. This colleague...he's just wonderful. His curiosity is infectious." 

"Uhuh. And this friend of yours is totally not you," Damian deadpanned. 

"Yes." 2B lied. 

Pod 042 seemed offended at that. Erstwhile, the pod had clutched at Damian's suit. While the Pod could keep up, the Yggdrasil was simply too powerful. "Alert: YoRHa Unit 2B is showing signs of heating in her core. Recommendation: Inject coolant to calm your core." 

2B stared at the Pod clutching at Damian's other shoulder. Despite lacking a face, 042 stared back. Damian simply laughed. "Chica, you love this...this lucky man. What is his name?" 

Openly checked, 2B simply had to admit it. Her lips quivered, trying to say his name. Her core overheated, the black box inside of her pulsing with emotion. "N....Nuh...."

"Nuh?" 

"9..S," 2B admitted. Her voice became softer. "His name is 9S." 

"This 9S...he is a android like you?" Damian asked. 2B nodded. The latino man hummed. "I see. And does he know about your feelings? Does he like you back?" 

"He...he does," 2B admitted. It was plain to see that the Scout model loved 2B as much as she had hidden feelings for him. But, she kept those feelings away. They...they can't. Not after what she had done. 2B was simply her name on paper. Her true name was 2E, a android solely designed to kill other androids. And she had done her work towards the Scout far too many times. 

Too many. 

Damian however didn't know about that. All he saw was two androids wasting time. "Then, what is wrong? If you two had the hots for each other, why haven't you two got together now?" 

At this, 042 chimed. "YoRHa regulations forbid attachments within its ranks. It would distract YoRHa units from their mission and jeopardize operational success." 

"And in YoRHa, emotions are prohibited," 2B reported. 

Damian however, raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I understand the no attachments stuff. It is the battlefield after all but, no emotions?" 

"The prohibition of emotions is a rule that was created by the creators of YoRHa as a safety measure to prevent the androids from engaging in unethical or potentially dangerous behaviors. It is intended to help the YoRHa androids maintain their primary mission of protecting and serving the humans on the surface without being influenced by their emotions," 2B answered robotically. 

Silence befell them. 

"Yet, you, 12H and the other YoRHa androids I have met are so alive, you know?" Damian pointed out. 

"We...we are not totally incapable of emotions. We are granted a level of it to be closer to our creators." 2B replied. 

Damian shook his head. "It just seems cruel, you know? What sort of sadistic monster would grant you all emotions, yet prohibit you from practicing it?" 

At that, 2B had no answer. She turned away, her face looking at the horizon beyond. "I...I can't answer that. I..." She sighed. "This was a ridiculous conversation. I am sorry for wasting your time, Ser-"

"No no, is not a waste of time. This is you and your emotions we are talking about. You and your lover, eh?" Damian said teasingly. 

"9S is not my l-lover," 2B protested, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. 

"Yet," cheekily replied Damian, earning an even fiercer blush from 2B. He chuckled at her embarrassment before finally, his tone turned serious. "Look. chica. Take it from me. Before all this...I had the same situation. She had invited me out for a party. I...I told her I was busy." His voice was soft, regretful. "By the time the morning came, she alongside her wing were all killed in action."

A sickness fell appeared in 2B's stomach. YoRHa could all come back from termination in a whole new body. But it was going to be a different one. A whole new different 9S. 

Damian sighed. "The point is, there is only so much time in the world we have. Regret is shit, 2B. Don’t wait for  this 9S to approach you first. Sometimes, you have to take the first step. You never know when it's going to be the last time you see them, you know?" 

"I see..." 2B whispered. 

"So when you see him, go and take him to the nearest room, and let your heart out. You two are already crushing on each other, as you tell me, so why not?" Damian chuckled. 2B managed a smile. The sergeant was right in that. But...

It wasn't so simple. 

Just as 2B was about to open her mouth, her audio receptors perked up as the sound of an explosion echoed in the distance. It wasn't just her though. Damian craned his head, turning right. "Explosion detected, 20 meteres." Damian reported, his voice turning professional. "Scanning." 

For what seemed like a heartbeat, Damian continued. "Resistance six-wheeler. They're engaging...something. Some Trade Federation ship looking as-. Wait...is that a YoRHa unit? I thought only you and the ones that came with 1D were the only ones here." 

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A/N: OMG, IS GONNA BE A2!

She perked up. What?