|3rd POV|
Devola and Popola move around anxiously at the thought of meeting a human. Their minds work overtime as question after question appears. Will he be mad about their failure? Will he be disappointed in them? Will he discard them when he is done with them?
The last one makes their bodies shudder. They don't know what they will do if their creators discard them. All their lives, they have had only one single goal. They want to atone for their sins in the eyes of their creators.
However, when their creator decides to discard them… They will lose their will to live. Without any will left to carry on, they most likely end their lives.
"Oi! What with that look?!"
They snap out of their thoughts and see Jackass, a member of the resistance and a demolition specialist, looking at them with a frown.
"We are off to see the humans, you know!? You don't want to give a wrong first impression, right?!"
Truthfully, Jackass knows the reason why the twins have that kind of expression. She knows the sins the twins carry on their shoulders. The massive failure of Project Gestalt, and how it almost wiped out humanity in its aftermath, is something you never forget.
Lucky for them, humanity is still alive and reaching for the moon. If humanity is wiped out, their model will be decommissioned, and the one already produced will be destroyed. The memory of the Devola and Popola model will be erased from all memory banks and physical storage, including writing and similar processes.
It is lucky for them that they do not know the truth. At least with the humans on the planet, the truth will be more bearable.
The twins look at Jackass for a second and take a deep breath. Popola is the first one to say something.
"Right. You are right, Jackass."
"Of course!" Jackass, smirk, and puff her chest. "I am always right."
Devola smiles a little and says.
"Just like the time you eat an insect you never saw before? How is that going, by the way?"
Jackass looks away in embarrassment as she remembers that particular event. The insect fluid causes her coolant to congeal, and she requires an emergency repair. Luckily for her, it does not spread and remains in one place.
However, that is still a potentially lethal situation, and she decides never to eat anything she has never seen before, at least without an intensive test.
"Shut up. It was one time."
"Really?" Devola leans over with a teasing smile. "What about the time you thought that blowing up a certain part of the desert was a good idea? What is your word when the entire cave falls down? Ah, yes. It goes like this: Shit! Shit! Shit! I was wrong~"
Devola mimics Jackass' voices and continues to tease her even more. Jackass can no longer take it and says.
"Alright, fine! I am not always right! Happy?"
Devola chuckles and says.
"Fufufu~ Better."
"Anyway, how are you feeling now?"
The twins look at each other for a second before Popola says.
"Thank you for that, Jackass."
The demolition expert waves her hand and says.
"Think nothing of it. I am just happy to finally see a human! I wonder if he is willing to let me perform an experiment on him…"
"No!"
"You cannot do that!"
Devola and Popola immediately shout when they hear what Jackass is saying. Jackass looks at them for a second before she widens her eyes in realization.
"What?! No! I will not do anything that will hurt him! I mean by scanning him and such! There is no way I will do an invasive experiment on him!"
She is lucky to quickly explain her words as the other androids look at her with an expression that is ready to blow her apart. This is the first human they will ever encounter in a hundred or even thousands of years.
There is no way they will let her harm a human unless it is an emergency situation that requires them to do surgery and such.
The YoRHa androids coming with the resistance also nod their heads. Just like other types of androids, they are also created to serve humanity and will do anything to ensure their well-being.
9S is among the YoRHa androids sent here alongside seven others. Their group consists of 2B, 22B, 71B, 43D, 10G, 59G, 27H, and lastly him, 9S. This is the largest squad YoRHa has ever deployed in a single data-gathering and scouting mission.
And he understands why.
If the information is proven correct, it is no longer a data-gathering and scouting mission, but rather a defend and fortify mission, where the Command will send more androids to the location.
9S himself cannot help but be excited to see humans for the first time. He wonders if this human is willing to answer some of his questions. There are many questions he wants to ask the human, after all.
He wants to know the use of the Amusement Park. He wants to know the reason why humans drink alcohol even though it is bad for them. He wants to know the reason why they smoke cigarettes even though it is bad for their lungs. Lastly, he wants to know if they are disappointed in the androids for not being able to retake the planet from the machine lifeforms.
The last part is something that makes him nervous. What if the humans hate them for it? Or worse, disappointed in them? For some reason, the humans hating them for their failure is better than watching them disappointed in him.
They deserve the hate for failing their creators, but when 9S imagines the face of their creator disappointed in them… It makes him shudder.
"9S"
The monotone voice of 2B snaps him from his thoughts.
"Yes?"
"We are about to reach the coordinate. Focus."
"Yes, ma'am!"
9S rubs the back of his head when he can feel the gaze 2B uses when he calls her ma'am.
"Right, 2B."
She nods in satisfaction, and they continue their journey. When they reach their destination, they can see the wreckage of a building. Half of it is buried underneath the sand dune. The Resistance and YoRHa get off the trucks and look around.
Jackass walks toward 9S and says.
"Oi, pretty boy. Are you certain this is where the signal originates? I do not see anything other than sand and wreckage."
9S frowns and double-checks the data in his system. After a few seconds, he nods and says.
"This is the location. However, according to Sir Ryan, he is hiding somewhere here so the machines do not find him before turning off the stream."
Anemone, leader of the Desert Resistance camp, nods her head and says.
"Very well. Let's spread out! We will search through this area and—"
Before she can finish her words, someone interrupts her.
"You don't need to do that."
All the androids point their weapons to their right and watch as something rises up from the sand. They widen their eyes when they see a man wearing a stealth suit that allows him to blend into the sand.
When the man removes his mask, the others widen their eyes and lower their weapons.
"Yo! It is nice to meet you guys."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank you for reading! If you want to help me, please go to my Ko-fi (ko-fi.com/ryusenka) page. For every 10$, I will post 1 chapter, and if we reach the goal, I will post every day for two months.
Or if you want to read more and support me, you can go to my P@treon: [email protected]/ryusenka