Chapter Text
"Always in the dream, it seemed as if there were a destination: a something -- he could not grasp what - that lay beyond the place where the thickness of snow brought the sled to a stop. He was left, upon awakening, with the feeling that he wanted, even somehow needed, to reach the something that waited in the distance. The feeling that it was good. That it was welcoming. That it was significant. But he did not know how to get there."
- Lois Lowry, The Giver
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"Rise and shine! Command has sent down some hefty intel and a long list of assignments with it so time is of the essence."
Just eighteen hours, twenty-four minutes and three seconds into this cycle, and already the feeling of existential dread crumbled atop her head and shoulders like detonated cinderblock. Listening to the unassuming cheer in a freshly-reformatted 9S was a calculated kind of torture 2B could only hope to be the sole recipient of. Time is finite, unchanging in its pace, but mankind's penchant for theatrics created the concept that it could slow down significantly under excruciating circumstances. 2B understood that now. That feeling.
Four seconds...
... Five seconds...
Six--
"Uh, hello?" 2B almost barely flinched from the tap of 9S on her shoulder. "Ma'am? You're not experiencing any lag when you power on, are y--"
"I told you to stop calling me that," 2B found herself abruptly interject with her eyes still shut. When they opened, 9S was expectedly there, wearing a startled frown while a nervous hand rubbed at the back of his head. He took a step back from his previously looming posture over her bed.
"... Did you? I'm sorry, I must've missed that, uh. 2B."
That's right. Like it never happened. Every time.
2B sighed as she sat up and set her feet on the ground, wasted no time in strapping her goggles over her eyes. It was easier to look at him that way. 9S opened his mouth and quickly shut it, as though he changed his mind on whether or not to ask. 2B's hope that maybe he noticed must have come from this sudden intimate knowledge that such an irrational thought of time born from human emotion. That's all this was: irrational.
"What's the assignment?" 2B asked lowly. There would be no more slipping up this time.
9S lingered in a tiny silence, then let his arm hang back at its side again and brought himself back to business.
"A Scanner model got some reads of what might be a preserved apartment unit in the City Ruins. The images are pretty fuzzy because of the height they were taken from, though. The place is full of aggressive Machine Lifeforms, so no one has been able to get close enough for better picture quality. Or to even try and actually get to it. Command wants any data and samples we can find."
9S smiled and brought a fresh breeze through the room, growing increasingly eager as the assignment almost immediately became clear. The enthused lilt in his voice made the gaping wound in 2B's chest bloom like a lotus flower. It would be so easy to make that face of unabashed wonder turn off; she could make it quick and painless for him. But the fortnite 2B would go waiting for this to all start over again was worse than the inevitable reassignment itself.
"Can you believe that? It could be the remains of what an actual human home looked like from the inside! Our database is bare-bones when it comes to visual recordings of the ways mankind lived on Earth, so the possibilities are ground-breaking."
With a cold grace, 2B stood to full height and straightened her dress, eyebrow curved as she judged over his nearly bombastic notion.
"That's a far reach for just a few muffled signals in a collapsed residential building. Command wouldn't make any official presumptions until the data is actually collected. Be more realistic with your reconnaissance."
9S stiffened for a brief moment, before visibly deflating while his smile turned into a wobbly frown.
"It's not unrealistic," he whined. "They weren't just questionable signals. The GPR images they got show the place full of obscured shapes. Sure, they're not great pictures and it could be just an excess of debris, but..." 9S watched as 2B turned her back on him and brushed past him.
"There's nothing wrong with being cautiously hopeful, is there?"
Her hand on the doorknob, 2B heard the quiet squeak of her leather gloves as she squeezed it none too gently. They were afforded this small room by the Resistance. It was a small slice of a private world that felt suffocating every second she and 9S shared it.
Hopeful, he said. What a useless, unfair concept. And yet, the unmistakable feeling of jealousy for 9S and his impenetrable ignorance stuffed a painful lump in her throat.
With maybe a little too much force, 2B shoved the door open. Her tone perhaps matched a little too much with the action.
"Being anything but pragmatic is against YoRHa standard. There is no room for 'Hope' in our mission. It either is or is not."
As 2B's heels clicked along the gravel of the outside ground, the unmistakable patter of 9S' boots followed close behind. Their steps were a touch faster until he sidled along beside her. From the corner of her eye, she could see him idly adjust the strap of his bag across his chest, then direct a blatant pout to his feet.
"Whatever you say, I guess." 9S sounded dejected; 2B wanted to self destruct in spite of her audacious tongue.
The silence that stretched beyond their departure from the Resistance camp and into the fields leading to the open expanse of the concrete wasteland afforded 2B some reprieve. If only she could try and lighten up. None of this was ever the fault of 9S. Never could she place the blame upon him for this. For her.
They made it ten whole minutes without exchanging a word, quiet as their Pods idly floating along, and that was enough time for 2B to process whatever mess that tangled in knots in her head. Her mind clear enough that when 9S would inevitably lose his own over the lack of conversation, she could exude calm without effort. Predictable as ever, 9S met 2B's pace at her side and leaned forward to catch her face. That smile was back in full force, and it shone brighter than the sleepless sun above.
"You know," 9S began, "I've never been assigned to a partner before. Exploring is fun and all, but who knows? Maybe sharing the experience with another set of eyes could increase the quality of data. Even if my model is designed to not miss a single detail."
2B's eyes narrowed secretly behind the shield of her goggles. How many more times was she meant to hear this script over and over again? When would it ever just stop? Could it stop?
9S never ceased his chatter, but she knew he was blatantly ignoring her hint. Whether or not he intended to. The whimsy fluttering between his words seemed to almost do so in time with the idle flower petals and grass carried by the breeze.
"Drawing hypotheses together, sharing perspectives between two different models. I know you're just a combat android, but any thoughts are valuable when it comes to discovery. And there is no shortage of intelligence between the both of us, even if I'm programmed to be more..."
2B turned her gaze on 9S, scrutiny in her lifted brow.
"U-Um! I mean..." 9S fumbled, then waved both his hands in defense. "I'm just equipped with stronger analytical processors. I wasn't trying to imply that you're any less smart or... anything. Sorry, I guess I'm just a little nervous."
It seemed like it was so long ago that 2B was first assigned as 9S' arbiter. The experience was fresh and new, where there had been flimsy walls around her that easily crumbled beneath 9S' love for knowledge and unwavering curiosity and adoration for their creators. He didn't know how he had taught 2B to see their world in a different light, that there could be more of a purpose beyond saving mankind. She found purpose in just being with him, learning how it could be so easy to feel and revel each moment of their time together. He was her first friend, her first confidant, and the affections that swelled within her could perhaps have been the only time she felt... like more than just an automaton.
The first order to execute him had, in turn, executed that reverie. It was the first time 2B felt anything that resembled a special pain she had no tolerance for. She couldn't let it happen again. Or so she tried.
This was impossible. That conclusion was drawn a long time ago.
"You're simply stating fact. I'm capable of analyzing what is applicable for my model. I'm not offended, but you'd do well to dial back on this unnecessary anxiety you're displaying. If Command sees our arrangement as beneficial, then we'll continue as we are."
9S exhaled an exasperated sigh.
"Man, it doesn't seem like you're all that jazzed about the new initiative, huh? Well, I've marked our destination on the map. Might as well just get started. Let's go."
"... Understood."
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Deft hands, the swing of precision that delivered a brutal end to a stampede of Machines made 2B like a greater deity that showed no mercy. The inky carnage was both a work of art and a devastating tragedy for an enemy that deserved it. While 9S was responsible for whatever Machines manged to make it past her, he couldn't help but look on in awe and admiration. Being in the audience of a combat model is an honor in itself, but 9S had never seen one with the finesse of 2B. He could watch for hours. It triggered something... Well.
9S couldn't put a word to it-- Maybe the tingling meant his nerve receptors needed tweaking. Even stranger was that he'd had that feeling since they first met barely a day ago. 2B was pretty, he always felt some type of way around those he deemed so, but this was different.
Must be a fault in his code, and yet he didn't feel compelled to get it fixed.
The metal swish of 2B flinging the vitals of her victims echoed sharp in the air. A single note in the song of victory. 9S let his own weapon disappear into his hammer space, and he smiled with warm cheeks as he swiped through the readings across the holographic screen hovering in front of him.
"Our current coordinates aren't too far from where we need to be. Better start looking for a way to get inside," 9S spoke cooly and swiped the screen into thin air.
2B's weapons vanished in glittery sparks, 9S watched her from behind with a lingering gaze at the way her white hair flowed along the wind's current. The sun made those pale locks shimmer like it would on undisturbed planes of snow. They were created in the human image, and yet how could anyone be truly prepared for the beauty of their kind? Of 2B's kind. If only she were less distant-- 9S wanted so badly to know more about her. About what's inside her when you drive past that aloof, serious demeanor.
He exhaled a self-depricating laugh at himself. What had gotten into him so suddenly?
"Something funny?" 2B turned her head sideways, regarding 9S with her profile alone. It left 9S frozen solid and mouth agape like a fish.
"O-Oh! No. No, nothing at all! Just..."
When 2B fully faced him with hands on her hips, expectant of something, 9S took a step back as if the distance would cover the returning heat in his cheeks.
"You're... a hell of a fighter," 9S spoke softly, rubbing the back of his neck and idly kicking at the dirt beneath his boot.
"You just make it look so easy. I'm far from a combat android, but... I still want to keep up with you. And your strength."
2B's gaze locked on him. Even under that shroud over her eyes, he could see it. Feel it. For just a moment, he looked at her too. And after what felt like both a split second and an eternity, 2B turned on her heel and began leading the way further into the complex.
"... Your strengths are collecting data and strategy, which bring a necessary contribution to our shared mission and benefit our partnership. You are proficient in what I lack."
The goggles hid the way 9S' eyes grew wider than saucers, but the bottom half of his face showed plenty with parted lips and a pink glow. Given 2B's demeanor, there was no missing that high praise.
"I-I see. Ah... Thank you! I'll make sure to keep meeting your expectations. Exceed them, even."
2B continued ahead with a swagger that went on as if that veiled compliment never came from her lips. Mysterious as she was from the start. Maybe someday, he'll figure her out. All he knew now was that he wanted-- Needed to get this right.
9S didn't realize he hadn't moved an inch until 2B called from ahead.
"Hurry up. You've already wasted enough time with all this chatter."
9S, forced to snap out of his reverie, fumbled in his first few steps before catching up in haste.
"Yeah, yeah. I got you."
And although his tone became forcibly exasperated, 9S kept his soft smile to himself. It looked like this partnership would be the opportunity of a lifetime. With pride and gratitude to his superiors, he thought:
Glory to Mankind.