The Jeager Project

ANOTHER SIDE "A3"

I was used to fighting JeaGer types. I had fended off 3R and 8S, who were assigned to hunt me down, a number of times. But there were certainly not a lot of opportunities to fight the newer models, let alone those driven mad from the viral infection. On top of that it was rare for me to be surrounded, so I was confused, since the situation was so different from the norm. Regardless, infected or not and in large numbers or not, I had one job. I no longer had any Earthbound comrades. That's why, as soon as I encountered someone, I would destroy them without hesitation. That's what I've always done. That's why I was surprised when we ran into each other but didn't fight. 

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"This is...it." The JeaGer model with the same face as mine appeared as I was fighting the infected JeaGer. It was a reunion. We had previously fought when we ran into each other, so I thought we would fight again. But after I wiped out the infected JeaGer, I didn't need to confront her. She had also been infected by the logic virus. Her goggles, which had been removed, revealed her red eyes underneath. "These are my memories," she said, and stuck her sword in the ground. I didn't know what it meant, but I guessed it meant that she had no intention to fight. It seemed like the virus had progressed a lot, but she was still maintaining consciousness. "Please take care of everyone...and the future...A3." I had met this No. 2 at the castle in the woods. As with the other No. 2s, I had crossed swords with her. But she was asking me a favor. Of all the people she could have picked, she picked me, her enemy. I had no obligation to listen, but I couldn't refuse. I've killed infected comrades with my own hands. I couldn't refuse her request, when my comrades had asked the same thing of me. There was no way she knew, but the way she desperately heaved out the words was the spitting image of the comrade I had killed last. After I told her I would, her expression melted into one of wholehearted satisfaction. When I pulled out her sword, I understood what she meant when she said it was her memories. The technology hadn't existed when I was on the front lines, but the weapons that current JeaGer squadron troopers were issued could store memories. I had heard that they were developing weapons with this feature. It was inspired by the fact that human memories were also stored in areas other than the brain. The technology wasn't limited to weapons—at the time they were developing clothes and shoes that could do the same. Humanity left its records in various places. When it came to more personal records, at times humans would write on desks, walls, or even the palms of their hands instead of paper. It's even said that humans had a habit of "learning with their hands." I had no idea how an appendage, with no capacity for memory, was able to store what it "learned." Anyway, research and development had equipped weapons with the ability to store the memories of their users. I tried it out for myself; it was a decent feature.

I saw all the things she had seen, and heard all the things she had heard. I felt the pain she had felt. Her thoughts and feelings were absent, so the memories consisted of objective sensory experience in its purest form. So I didn't know what she had thought during the events I saw. Within the memories, I noticed a name I felt nostalgic for: Anemone. At one point I had worked with the woman, who was part of the resistance. She was alive. Bringing me this news was enough for me to feel grateful to 3R. In return, I would grant her dying wish. After the Bunker fell, 3R had endured the concentrated fire of her rampant comrades, become a decoy so 8S could escape, plunged into the flooded city, been infected by the virus, and found me, on the verge of death. This woman's memories and wishes... I accepted all of it. "Ah, Nines..." Those were her last words. She looked back when she heard her name, grinned, and died. I cut my hair with the sword she was impaled with, as a testament to accepting her memories and wishes. A tribute to the deceased, my doppelgänger. From now on, I'll live in your image. That's the best I can do. Right after that, the ground started to shake. A crack ran through the earth, and a giant object destroyed the area that I was in. I saw something white sprout out of the dust clouds. It stretched endlessly into the sky. But I wasn't able to tell what it was. Me, 3R's corpse, and 8S, who pounced at me with his sword, were swallowed into the fissure along with the crumbling bridges and rubble.