Restoring Mankind (NieR Automata) Chapter 17 preview 2/5 (Patreon)

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A2 shared a look at the man seated across her. Being watched for too long was a uncomfortable sensation for the Attacker model. Being watched meant she was in someone's sights and that didn't mean anything pretty for her considering her past. If she was in someone's sights, she was about to get attacked or worse, sniped. Being gawked at was something new to her, especially if it came from a human being of all people.

"What?" she spoke up, her voice sounding harsher than she meant to. Maxwell winced at her tone, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I finally have a good look at you. I've already seen many of the androids, the resistance models at least, but not so much with YoRHa. You are really a step-up compared to them," Maxwell explained, scientific admiration in his voice.

Despite herself, A2 felt her cheeks redden. "I...I am not so special. I'm just a prototype model," she deflected.

"Not to me," Maxwell insisted. "Miss A2, when I went under, the idea of androids was a far off concept. And now, looking at you? My, you might as well be the latest model off the production line."

A2 looked away. She had no idea what the hell to say back. What, was she supposed to say that he was an amazing model of the line too?

"I don't know what to say..." she admitted, face still away. A light laugh registered in her ears as Maxwell leant back against the trucks wall, grinning.

"You don't have to. I'm a scientist, Miss A2. I'm fascinated with technology and advancement," Maxwell professed. A2 nodded, not really knowing what else to do other than that, as well as note that he was clearly the only one supremely interested.

Maxwell had all but ordered her to let him accompany her back to the Ruined City. What else was she going to do, say no? To a human? Going there, he had also commandeered a Resistance truck as well as two extra human soldiers as further security for himself. A machine gunner named Robert and a Combat Engineer who called himself Julius. They were in the back of the truck, clad in their jet-black armor. It seems she was staring too as the first one waved at her. "You do your thing, Miss YoRHA. We'll keep watch over the doctor," Robert assured her. His voice was rough, a large machine gun resting against his shoulder. It was rather comical in a way, considering that his power armor also had a mini-gun strapped to his shoulder just waiting to go off.

"Compared to the Legion, these tin-can fuckers ain't gonna be so hard to fight," Julius, the second man, nodded. "And if worse comes to worse...well..." A2 watched the Combat Engineer tap the pod on his shoulder. "I do love me some area denial weapons." He grinned wickedly behind his helmet, his pyromania apparent and naked.

While A2 could appreciate the sentiment, she had fought long and hard enough to know that the machines weren't simple to fight. "Sir, with all due respect, I've fought the Machines long and hard. They are dumb but they shouldn't be underestimated," A2 said with a huff. The humans with her were borderline arrogant if they thought they could simply show up in a area, kill everything that moves and move along without getting hit.

The two soldiers glanced at each other.

"Well, we did fight the Legion, Miss A2," Julius continued with a drawl. "Now those? Nasty biting, spiky, tanky fuckers who could tear through an Abrams like a driver ant? That's dangerous. From our point of view, the Machines and their little units look like teddy bears in comparison."

"Oh yeah," Robert nodded. The machine gunner lifted up his hand and traced across his chest. "Under my chestplate, I got a nasty scar from a Legion monster. It was at...Korea? Hm, yeah. Korea. Some clawed fucker went through my chestplate like it was nothing. And this was all before we had these fancy power armor. We were just grunts."

"How the fuck did you survive?" A2 blurted, looking at him up and down.

"Well, I am a hard motherfucker," Robert said proudly. "And the good doctor there saved me. Hell, he saved both of us, in fact. Me in Korea, Julius in...where was it?" He asked, turning to the Engineer.

"Mine was in China. Korea had fallen and we were retreating cross the Yalu," clarified Julius. He then turned to the Doctor. "I still think going out like this is stupid, retarded, and dumb. The only reason why both of us here didn't lock you up or report you to Doctor Naoka is because we owe you."

"Aw, come on, guys. Don't worry!" Maxwell said confidently. "It's your turn to patrol the area, right? We go out, I do my thing, and we come back and people will assume that you two were out patrolling and as far as people know, I'm sulking in my room because Naoka told me to fuck off,"

That was not assuring even for A2. "This isn't going to end well," Julius deadpanned.

"As long as I get to shoot something, I'm good." Robert said with a shrug. "And what's Naoka going to do, scold us?"

"Let's just do this nice and quick, no fucking around," Julius coughed.

"And you were so enthusiastic just a few seconds ago," Robert pointed out.

"There's a difference. I love explosions. What I don't love is doing all this risky shit," Julius deadpanned again.

"And android ass," Robert added. Julius nodded. "And that, but you don't see me raving around about it."

They continued on in silence, the truck's engine and rocks being crushed underfoot registering, as well as the songs of birds. The sound of it all flushed A2 a sense of comfort. This was her home and her lifestyle since YoRHa betrayed her. She found it ironic that here in the heart of the city where there were machines and YoRHa operatives who'd try to kill her in a hearbeat far more calming than being deep underground in a safe facility of humans. 

Her core was silent for once, not trying to flush her with anxiety compared to earlier. She leant back against the wall, taking a breath. 

She was at home here. And those alien bastards were trying to ruin that Home. 

"We're almost there," their resistance driver called out. "Ready up!" 

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The truck stopped a good distance away from the alien ship's entrance. A2 stepped off first, her heels testing itself against the ground. Her balance was good. Then, a bright flash as her weapons came into view. Loud thuds echoed from behind her, the two UN troopers as heavy as the truck they rode on. Maxwell followed afterwards, his lab coat swaying in the breeze. A sense of wonder was on his face as he turned on where he stood, watching the ruins with a careful eye. 

"God, look at the size of those trees!" Maxwell gaped, glancing up at the massive floral overgrowth which had gripped one particular building. 

"Gives Redwood's a run for their money," Julius commented, servo whirs playing their music with each step he took. 

"You should see the Forest Kingdom," A2 said, some manner of amusement on her face at the human's wonder. She shook her head as the scientist gave an excited tirade on the state of the city. A bit macabre considering that they were standing on what was essentially Tokyo's corpse. She glanced at the distance, towards the tower. 

Well, this was it. She only came here just for that. She took a step forward, ready to break into a sprint when suddenly, Maxwell called out. "A2, wait!" 

She stopped, annoyance flashing on her face as she turned back to Maxwell. "What?" 

"Aren't you gonna stay? Help us out? We could use the extra security, you know?" Maxwell asked, walking forward, a bag in his hand. 

An annoyed tick came to her face. "With all due respect, I am here to kill aliens. Not be a guard dog," she pointed out. 

"And we are going into that ship! Better to go together, right?" Maxwell said, clearly looking for the YoRHa model's protection. 

"The slower I go, the more the aliens live. Sir, I have to do this," A2 argued. She didn't want to purposefully slow down and get bogged by a impromptu escort mission. But as much as her bloodlust and desire for vengeance yelled at her, her inner programming to serve overpowered that. 

There simply was no refusing a human. 

"And you will! But, with us. I need you here, alright?" Maxwell said, stepping forward and tapping A2 on her shoulder. The gesture was meant to be friendly but to A2, it gave her a surge of unexpected pleasure. A human's touch was among all else, the highest desire of any android. And even she was not immune to that. "So, come on. We're wasting time. And besides, if the aliens or whatever wanted to leave, they could have done it sooner rather than later." Maxwell drawled as he marched off. 

And so they marched, A2 quietly grumbling to herself as Maxwell got to work doing...whatever. She frankly didn't care about his enthusiasm or the little trinkets he picked up her and there. She was so goddamn close but the scientist was keeping her so far away from what she wanted. She needed to kill those alien fuckers. The memory of her squad demanded it, needed it. Her core all but yelled at her to kill and kill and kill. 

But the human had to be obeyed. 

And obey, she shall. 

The marched through long winding corridors, ancient by the state of things, and abandoned. A2 had thought that they would see machines wandering down the halls at least. Was this not the ship of their masters? Where was their security? 

"We're inside a alien ship...we're inside a alien ship," Maxwell excitedly chanted to himself, poring through everything that caught his attention. "Jesus, if had told me that I'd be walking through shit like this before I went under, I'd think you were insane," 

"Better believe it doc, it's real," Robert commented, the filter of his helmet making him sound robotic. 

"I don't like the way this place is. Feels dead," Julius muttered, his fingers nervously tapping against his weapon. 

"If it looks dead, feels dead, acts dead, then it is most likely dead," Robert bit back. 

"Look! A chamber!" Maxwell excitedly called out. He ran ahead of the men and A2 who dutifully followed after, not exactly wanting the doctor to hurt himself. They went up some stairs, noting the long wires that were glowing a certain blue running across the floor. Coming up, they came upon an observation deck of some kind. At the very end of the deck stood Maxwell, transfixed on something. 

A2 came up to him, her heels noisily echoing. "Don't you go running ahead of us, yo-" 

Her voice died in her throat as she was beheld to what Maxwell saw. 

Corpses on levels much lower than they were, alongside burnt vehicles. The corpses looked emaciated and grey, sunken and empty eye sockets on bodies that looked akin to walking trees. The very air surrounding was dark, a musk that assaulted all her senses. Maxwell did the honors of turning green. He hunched over and vomited, a disgusting mix of bile and his lunch flowing freely out of his mouth. A2 quickly rushed to him, holding him by the shoulder. The two troopers alongside them marched, inwardly thankful for their helmets. 

"Jesus Christ. Those are the aliens?" Julius whispered. 

"I'm okay! I'm okay," Maxwell breathed out, green on the face. "This just...it smells like..." 

"Death?" a new female voice joined. 

A2's blade appeared in her hand, she turned in speeds that was a blur to the human troopers. There behind them stood a woman, her hair was as white as A2's but cut short and spiky. She wore nothing else save for tight pants and boots that hugged her fit frame. Her breasts were bare, abs shining under the light. A wicked smile was on her face, manic if A2 could best describe it. 

"You're not YoRHa," A2 half observed/whispered. She could not feel any black box signatures from her. Which could only mean that she was a machine. 

"I'm not," the woman revealed. "The name's Eve. My sister ought to be done with those YoRHa on the other side. Now, give me those humans with you, android." 

The accompanying UN men quickly took positions before Maxwell who was slowly realizing what was going on. He tried to take a step forward but the troopers blocked his path. A2 seethed. Did this cheap copy think she could make demands of her? 

"Go to hell!" A2 roared out as she charged. Compared the the grace of the newer models, A2 was pure brute force. Her blade shone under the light as she barrelled her way towards Eve. But just as she was about to make contact with her face, Eve vanished, appearing a good distance further. She snarled, rushing forward again and missed yet again. 

"Stand still and die!" A2 roared. 

"Forgetting something?" Eve asked, leaning forward mockingly. A2 leaned in, confused. 

"A2!" Maxwell cried out from behind. She turned to see a veritable copy of Eve standing before Maxwell. The The two UN men were laying limp together, the accompanying doctor was on his knees, his hands desperately grasping at Eve's copy and failing. 

Seeing this, A2 froze for a second, her systems registering the sight before her until rage did the rest. "Get your filthy machine hands off him!" She took a step forward, ready to show the machine the meaning of pain but she merely took Maxwell and dangled him before the ledge. The doctor struggled, trying to catch his breath. 

"I would not do that, YoRHa," Adam said mockingly. "You wouldn't want to hurt your precious humans now, would you? Drop your weapons on the floor and he does not die." 

Gritting her teeth, A2 shifted from the downed UN men and to Maxwell dangling over the ledge. With a lack of options, she threw her blade on the floor. "I am going to hunt you down and tear you apart, limb from limb," A2 vowed, her voice a deadly edge. 

Satisfied, Adam instead tossed Maxwell at her. He slid across the floor before her feet. Gasping for breath, he sat up as A2 knelt by his side, concern in her eyes. "Enjoy your human, adnroid," Adam continued. "We will enjoy ours. Don't worry. We will make sure that they will be well-taken care of." She ended with a smile. 

Eve appeared next to her, her hands landing on the unconscious UN men's shoulders. And with a bow, they vanished, leaving A2 and Maxwell alone atop the piles of alien dead. 

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A/N: ANd here be update. Be warned, next update will have lewds but it's going to have femdom and non-con in it. You are warned.