NieR:Remnant

VI - Bearings

A2 held her weapon tight, still as a statue but for a slight flow in her hair.

"Everything. Everything. Everything." Pascal was still shaking beneath her blade, his two metallic hands planted hard on the sides of his head. "It's all there. It's all there."

"That's not possible. This is a trick." She took her first good glimpse at their surroundings. Android and machine, the latter green in pitch, stood alongside one another dressed in flowing cloth that looked to serve as shelter from the mist of the sea. They were all in varying stances, some aggressive, others frightened, but none made a move. It was an insane sight, in a world of insane happenings of late. A2 jammed the gigantic sword into the plated surface not an inch away from Pascal's head. "That thing, did it get all of you too?" There were a few murmurs, but no clear reply. She set her eyes back on Pascal. "You have five seconds before I split this one apart like the damned machine it is, so someone start talking!"

"A2, listen to me." Anemone pulled her away with a strong hand on her torso. "A lot has happened, which you're clearly aware of, and I'll tell you all about it, but not here. Just-"

"Let me see your eyes."

Anemone paused with a blink. "Uh-"

A2 grabbed the resistance leader by the jaw and pulled her closer. The nearest onlookers moved in, weapons drawn, but Anemone signaled them off. Sure enough, her irises were consistent pools of green, not a pitch of violet in sight.

The attacker model looked to her lodged weapon. It vanished, and Pod-006's inert body fell from where the hilt had been. A2 stepped over Pascal, her glaring sight on him as she moved to grab the pod.

"Alright, back to work!" ordered Anemone. "Move us south, sporadic route, and give us some cover!" Pascal moved to stand as everyone sprung to action. "A2, 9S. This way."

A2 looked to 9S, who was staring into space without having uttered a single sound since completing his climb. She gestured towards him, and after a brief moment, he moved to follow with a slow, almost reluctant step. Some sort of energy, like a shield, started to form above them all, but everyone kept going paying it no mind, so A2 did the same.

The large metal door slammed behind them.

"What the hell, Anemone?!"

"Listen, they saved us." Anemone stepped back, hands raised toward her guests. "We had nowhere else to go. All of them, they're with Pascal."

"Pascal's gone!" shouted A2. "Along with his entire village, I saw it myself!"

"I know, I know," replied Anemone. "There's an explanation, like you-"

"No, it's different," she interrupted, looking towards 9S. "Pascal didn't... It wasn't that kind of 'death.'"

"As I've heard," replied Anemone, eyes also on the scanner model. "I've also heard that 9S's resurrection faced similarly impossible trials, that being the supposed loss of his personal data, and yet, here he is." She crossed her arms. "Lot of impossible happenings in our post-YoRHa world, aren't there?"

Both female androids kept staring at 9S, who hadn't moved since making his entrance.

"Look." He gestured forward with two diffusing hands. "I don't understand the full extent of how I came back, nor do I know if we can trust Pascal, or even my own mind." One of his hands came to rest on his temple. "All I care about right now is..." he paused, a sudden wince in his eye. "That thing took 2B." His hand moved to his forehead. "I-I dropped her... That thing took 2B..."