Chapter Text
The amusement park was dusky but quiet when they arrived, 2B walking behind 9S while A2 took up the rear. It was startlingly different to when she had seen it before, when machines had danced and played around the entrance with a kind of vigour she hadn’t thought possible of them. Now, it was still, the air stagnant with an eerie kind of calm.
The three of them had met up in the City Ruins, 9S nearly bolting at the sight of A2 while she and 2B stared each other down. She held no animosity towards her for what had been done; there had been no choice with the logic virus eating away at her systems. What she couldn’t know was how A2 had felt about the decision; the other android was a mystery, and one that 2B wasn’t sure she could unravel. They were made of different personalities, different experiences, and there was an element of unpredictability about A2 that made 2B uncomfortable in analysing her.
Before all that though, there was whatever had happened between 9S and A2 while she had been gone. He’d given her a brief explanation of what had happened between them in her absence, but it was evident that he could barely speak to her. What he'd said had lacked detail and clarity, and 2B was unsure if it was because he knew now of her true purpose or he had done something that he couldn’t forgive himself for.
They were a trinity of unresolved conflict, and as far as they knew, the only remaining YoRHa left. 2B supposed it would have been stranger if everything between them was harmonious. As it stood, every secret had come out, battles that should never have come to pass had been fought, and furthermore, humanity was extinct. There was nothing left to fight for, and no orders left to take. They were free, but also without purpose.
“There are no Black Box signals in the vicinity.” Pod 042 said. It was the sixth time it had done so, twelfth if she counted Pod 153’s warnings too.
“If you say that one more time, I’ll dismantle you nice and slow.” A2 muttered, her arms crossed against her chest. “We’ve got nothing else to do except look. Accept it and move on.”
2B glanced at the Pod, but it didn’t seem to care for A2’s threats. It had changed somewhere between the bunker being blown up and 2B reawakening on top of that building in the City Ruins. It had gone beyond its programming.
They all had. There was something more to them now than what had been there before any of this had happened. It was why 9S had suggested they go travelling. The underlying reason was to see if they could find any other YoRHa units, as he was convinced there were others out there. "I met another scanner, 4S." he'd said, and if one had survived, surely there could be more. Even though the Pods kept coming up short when they scanned, he seemed driven. It wasn’t as if they had any other plans.
The silence between them was uncomfortable as they picked their way through the amusement park. 2B had taken it in at a basic level the first time, but now she was aware of the absence of the fireworks that had exploded into rainbow showers, how the sky looked so empty without them there. Brightly coloured balloons still swayed in the wind, tied to old stalls that once may have been manned by a person or a machine in cheerful garb. 2B decided not to think too deeply about it.
Something caught her eye. She paused by one of the stalls to pick up an old gear that might be useful in upgrading a weapon, but 9S didn’t stop. He went ahead without a word, Pod 153 following him obediently.
“Stupid kid.” A2 said, kicking away the debris at her feet. “Thought he'd be thrilled to have you back.”
2B looked up towards the castle where they had danced with Simone. That had been so long ago now, before anything had come to light and 9S could still look at her and grin. Their dynamic had changed so much. 2B didn’t know to talk to 9S, and outside of his initial thrill that she was alive, he seemed to have no idea how to talk to her back.
“It’s never that easy.” she said, turning half way. She could see A2 out of the corner of her eye, see the way messy hair obscured a face identical to 2B’s own. “What am I supposed to do?”
A2 shrugged. “Why ask me? When I shared your memories, I did what you wanted. Now you’re here, it’s not my problem.”
“Unit 2B should be blunt with Unit 9S.” Pod 042 said. “Pod 153 agrees, and suggests that you take up the issue with him.”
2B nibbled at her lip. She had already considered doing so, but the potential fallout had stopped her from taking action. “Would be better than you two shuffling around each other pretending the other doesn’t exist.” A2 said.
She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she didn’t. Without a sound, 2B stepped forward, going down the same paths that 9S had taken. He’d gone down the back alleys, where the machines had taken breaks and sold her items before. She heard A2 sigh and then footsteps as she followed.
It didn’t make sense that A2 was with them, but that wasn’t a surprise. Nothing added up anymore. 2B should have been dead and yet she was here when the bunker was gone. They were on Earth and they were living like the humans once would have; with one single life to do with as they pleased. It didn’t mean that everything was perfect. She missed 6O’s constant nattering away in her ear.
“Why did you come with us?” 2B asked.
A2’s response came after a few seconds of silence. “Because I can’t be with the ones I want to be with.”
There was something hidden behind those words, something sorrowful and sad that 2B wasn’t privy to. She felt no need to ask. There was plenty of time for them to figure each other out. If A2 wanted to elaborate, she could elaborate in her own time. “I see.”
“You can, though.” A2 said, and when 2B turned her head to look at her, there was a forlorn expression on her face. “Would be pretty stupid to waste that chance moping about because the two of you can’t fix what’s up. And anyway,” she shook her head, her voice softening. “He knows it wasn’t what you wanted to do. He knows you hated it.”
Together they climbed the fairground rides, following the only path 9S could have taken. Pod 042 lead the way, hovering a few feet in front of 2B at all times. They hopped over the buildings, and then stopped in the area where the tank used to drive through with balloons spilling from its sides.
“Unit 9S is by the roller coaster.” Pod 042 said, even though she could see that from where she was stood. He was sitting cross legged with Pod 153 in his lap, his arms wrapped around its rectangular body. “Would Unit 2B like me to speak with Pod 153 and tell him to come down?”
“That won’t be necessary.” she said. “A2, I’m going up there to talk to him. Give me a moment.”
A2 shrugged as if it didn’t matter to her, but 2B could feel her watching as she went up the stairs. 9S didn’t react to her as she approached, but Pod 153 shifted in his arms, freeing itself. “I will go somewhere else for the time being,” it said, before floating down the stairs.
Reaching up to her visor, 2B tugged it off as she sat beside 9S. Doing this while masked felt wrong, as if she was hiding something from him when the last thing she wanted was to keep anymore secrets. “You’ve been acting off with me,” she said.
He traced one of his gloved fingers against the rickety boards of the floor. “You’ve been acting off with me too,” he said, but it was a poor defence. She saw the sides of his mouth tighten. “A lot happened.”
“It did.” she agreed. “I’m just sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me.”
Silence, awkward and cold, stifled the air between them. When 9S spoke, it was stilted. “I did awful things.”
He glanced over at her and then away. She didn’t judge him for not removing his visor; if he wanted to hide his eyes, then that was his decision. “A2 stopped you, and you regret it now. It’s in the past.”
“You don’t understand.” he said. And she didn’t, because there was so much that he still wasn’t telling her, so much that only he’d experienced. “I know what I’m capable of. I don’t feel like I’m me anymore.”
In another life, where the bunker still existed and 2B still followed orders, he would never have gotten this far. She would have killed him and had his memories wiped and he would be none the wiser. Looking at him now, she begun to wonder if taking his memories was a blessing, if it saved him from this kind of agony.
She felt bad the second she considered it. No, it was no blessing, and she was cruel for even considering that it might be. “You still look like you to me.” she said, although she had no idea what she was trying to do for him. She was an executioner model, not one made to comfort. “I wanted to talk to you. To tell you I’m sorry.”
“I already know.” 9S said. “A2 told me, up on the tower. ‘She hated to keep on killing you.’”
2B felt choked, hearing him say it. “That’s right. It was killing me too.”
“I believe you. I do, 2B. ” 9S said, but he still wasn’t looking at her. He reached behind his head and undid his visor. When she saw his eyes, they were glassy, as if he wanted to cry. “I’m not stupid, I know what you were made for, I get it, but it just…there’s something in me that wants to hate you. And I don’t. I don’t hate you. I could never. But it’s…”
“It’s still there.” 2B said, reaching out to rest her hand on his cheek. He stilled beneath her touch. “You don’t have to forgive me. Just know that I won’t ever hurt you again.”
Closing his eyes, he reached up with his own hand and rested it on top of hers. “I just wanted this. I just wanted you back. I didn’t know what else to do, 2B.”
There was an ache deep inside her chest. She didn’t have a heart, not like the humans once did, but she still felt like something was broken within her. She took her hand from his cheek and pulled him close against her. He let her guide him, his head resting against her shoulder.
“It’ll be different this time.” she said into his hair. “It’ll never end that way again.”
She held onto him until he pulled back of his own accord, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “You done up there?” A2 called from below. “These pods are driving me nuts, I swear to everything--!”
“Unit A2 should consider the fact that without us, she would not be here.” Pod 042 said.
9S winced as A2 turned her anger on it. 2B didn’t think her words would have much of an effect. The pods lived as they wanted to now, and a lecture wouldn’t change their opinions. “She’s so loud.” 2B said.
“Yeah…uh, 2B?”
“Hm?”
“I know there are no YoRHa units here, but I actually wanted to see if the roller coaster still worked.” 9S stood and kicked the side of it. It squeaked. “It looks like it still does, so…maybe we could ride it? Properly?”
2B glanced over at it, her lips parting in surprise. She and 9S had ridden it before, but they had been fighting at the time, machines striking at them from every angle. “All of us?”
He nodded and then hesitantly leant over the railing. “Hey, A2? Could you come up here for a second?”
She took her time, still berating the pods. When she got to the top, she looked down at him through her hair. To 2B, her eyes were as icy and guarded as always. “What?”
Going over to the cart, 2B lifted the bar that covered the seats to inspect it. It seemed sturdy enough. “You ever been on one of these things before?”
A2 looked at it, one eyebrow raised. “No, but I’ve got your memories of it. It didn’t look very fun.”
“We’re going to try it again.” 9S said, following 2B on. “There has to be some reason humans enjoyed this, right?”
2B sat, waiting. She wasn’t dropping the bar back down until A2 got on. It was a quiet stand off between the two, until eventually A2 let out a sigh and said, “Fine.”
She dropped down next to 9S as Pod 153 and Pod 042 settled in the cart behind. 2B lowered the bar over the three of them and held on when the ride began to move. It began slow, picking up speed as it ran the length of the rails laid out before it.
“Come on, I’m here for the thrill!” A2 cried impatiently. The ride climbed higher and higher, the sky clear above them, and then stopped suddenly at the top.
She could see the entire park, impressive and wide. Once, human children would have played here with smiles on their faces and joy in their lungs. For a moment the world was frozen in place, incredible and beautiful.
The ride lurched forward, 2B gasping as 9S grabbed for her hand. Wind whipped through her hair as the pods let out a monotone scream. “It is customary to yell on a roller coaster.” Pod 042 said.
“Noted.” 2B said as the roller coaster began its ascent again. 9S’s grip on her hand was tight, but when she looked over, he was smiling. Beside him. A2 looked less despondent than usual; her eyes were wide with ecstasy. This was how things were meant to be.
Squeezing 9S’s hand, she said, “Ready?”
The roller coaster stopped at the highest point once again. 9S looked towards her, his smile not faltering. “Ready."