NieR Automata: Life's Meaning

Crumbling upper floors, a roof with various holes punched through it, grass and moss beginning to grow in darker damp corners.

"What is this place?"

"A mall, miss 2B." 9S said, her own eyes jumping from the shattered windows of what had been countless different storefronts and analyzing whatever might've been left behind with the help of her scanner. "I've read a bit about them between my missions. Humans used to come to places like this to shop and have fun."

She wished they still did. Imagining so many humans able to live out their lives without fear filled her with both determination and anger. If only it weren't for the damn machines and their leaders.

"2B." 9S pulled her eyes away from the stores and looked to her side, caught off guard by the response. 2B, sword in hand and short hair swaying along with the breeze that came from the holes above, didn't even look like she acknowledged 9S, too busy scanning the area around them for possible threats.

"What ma'am?" 9S asked.

"Calling me ma'am or miss is unnecessary. 2B is fine."

"Really?" 9S perked up. "Then you can call me Nines. It's what all my friends call me."

"What sort of things did humans do here, 9S?" 2B said, the click of her heels filling the place as she walked forward.

9S couldn't help but deflate.

They hadn't been together long but she was still surprised by how little she understood 2B. One moment her new partner almost seemed nice and more than willing to entertain what 9S friends called her eccentricities, only to do a complete turnaround and become cold and rigid, no nonsense tolerated. It wasn't easy to tell how the taller woman would react to things.

That just meant she had to try harder to understand her.

"Besides shopping, a lot of malls were said to serve multiple functions. Some had these things called photobooths, theaters, and I think there was also a place to eat." 9S explained as she jogged to catch up with 2B. They passed several stores, their respective pods quietly floating behind them. 9S did her best to catch glimpses of whatever she could behind their shattered glass. "What do you think miss- erm, 2B? Should we explore and try to find one of-"

"We have our mission." 2B interrupted. "Focus on it."

"Come on. Aren't you a little curious about what the things humans did for fun?"

"Emotions are strictly prohibited." 2B dulled out the cold statement without ever stopping her stride.

"Well, scouting is just a fancy way to say exploring." 9S muttered. She didn't understand 2B at all but there was one thing about this whole situation that baffled her even more so. "Not that I don't enjoy having a partner but why do you think command stuck us together in the first place? We S units usually work alone on scouting missions."

"I am certain that command has their reasons."

"Come on. You're really not curious about that either?"

"Emotions are strictly prohibited." 2B repeated getting a sigh from 9S. Why did she expect anything else? This time though, 2B did stop and turn to face her. The blindfold acting as her scanner might've hid 2B's eyes from view from 9S got the feeling she was being fixed with an intense stare. "Trust in command's decisions. They know what they're doing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." 9S begrudgingly agreed. There were hundreds of operators back on the bunker, coordinating countless missions across all of Earth at once, all beneath the watchful eye of Commander White. Odd as this partnership was, there was some reason behind it all that she wasn't able to see due to a lack of information.

…Which only made 9S twice as curious!

"Destroyed machine lifeforms ahead." 9S's support pod, 153, suddenly stated, drawing their attention.

"Proposal: Units 2B and 9S should investigate." 2B's pod, 042, added.

Naturally, 2B led the way deeper into the mall and towards the machines in question. Punctured by the sharp end of sharp spear, the things were laid about, lens colorless and inoperable. There weren't many weapons that could leave marks like them and from what she understood about their scouting mission, there shouldn't be many, if any, other YoRHa units operating in the area yet.

"Pod, are there any black box signals other than ours in the area?" 9S questioned.

"Negative." Pod 153 said.

"Suggestion: units 2B and 9S should follow the trail of machine lifeforms and confirm the cause of destruction." 2B's pod recommended.

Despite her apparent lack of curiosity, 2B never wasted a moment when it came to their assignments, already on the move to the deeper parts of the mall. 9S followed, curiosity growing with every destroyed machine.

-Route A, No. 024-

A fellow YoRHa unit, head crushed into mechanical scrap, laid in a pool of her own dried blood.

The last thing they expected to find.

Unlike the inside of the mall, where it was clear that the machines had been easily dispatched, whatever she fought up here had matched and ultimately overwhelmed her. Scratches and stab marked the roof alongside the burns and gunfire that a support pod would've been capable of.

Just what was this YoRHa unit doing here? What kind of machine or machines were able to match her in battle? And where was her support pod?

"Pod, scan the rest of the roof for anything that will tell us what happened here." 2B ordered. With a quick affirmative, it flew off, following the marks left behind by the battle.

"Pod, establish contact with 21O." 9S said. While 2B's pod handled the physical search, she could try to get answers to their questions in a different way. 153 followed the order, displaying a holographic below it that the familiar veiled face of her blonde operator flickered to life on.

"9S? It isn't time for your scheduled report yet. Did something happen?" 21O asked.

"2B and I have come across the remains of another YoRHa unit. We're unable to identify them due to the damage they've sustained." 9S explained. "Do you know of any units that were deployed in the area of the ruins?"

"A destroyed unit?" 21O questioned, her blue eyes shifting away as she typed away. "Have you determined the cause of the unit's destruction?"

Before 9S could answer they were interrupted by 2B's pod returning to them. In one arm it carried the blackened remains of what once was a functional pod not too different from itself. In the other was a bone? The scanners built into her blind fold focused on the former, determining that the pod was too damaged for much of anything to be recovered without extensive repairs they had no way to carry out on the field.

Then her attention flicked to the bone or more specifically the blood staining it.

"Organic material compromised of…human…DNA?" 9S trailed off. Had her blindfold suffered some kind of damage? With 2B taking care of almost all their fights on her own that was unlikely but what other possibility was there?

Humans were all on the moon. There was no way the DNA of one would just pop up on earth after all this time.

9S looked to 2B and found that she looked just as confused. Was her scanner reporting the same thing? No. That couldn't be possible could it?

"Sensitive material has been recovered." 2B's pod said. "Suggestion: Operator Two One should put units 2B and 9S into direct contact with Commander White."

"Sensitive material?" 21O questioned.

"Suggestion: Operator Two One should put units 2B and 9S into direct contact with Commander White." 042 repeated after a brief moment of silence.

"I see. Patching you through to Commander White." Despite clear signs of confusion 21O went through with the pod's suggestion and her face was replaced by the serious visage of their blonde commander. Floored and out of sorts as she was, 9S still managed to straighten up, left arm held out to her side and palm held over where her black box was located, the programming of the salute overriding all else.

The same went for the still quiet 2B who shifted into the salute far faster than 9S.

"2B. 9S. Has something gone wrong with your assignment?" Commander White questioned, attempting to cut to the heart of the matter as soon as possible.

"This support unit has discovered genetic material belonging to that of a human." 042 answered for them.

"What?" Commander White questioned, disbelief a match for theirs. Not once in the few times 9S had seen her had she ever seen the commander's composure crack nor were did ever any stories about such a thing happening. It was one of the reasons that she was the commander. No matter the situation, they could rely on her to keep calm and guide them through it.

But news like this would shock any of them.

"This support unit has discovered genetic material belonging to that of a human."

"Yes, I heard you the first time." As if sensing the commander's intention, 9S's pod shifted and focused on the two of them rather than 042. "Explain what's going on. Now."

"R-Right, I mean, yes ma'am!" 9S exclaimed. "While scouting the city's ruins 2B and I came across destroyed machines within a mall. We followed them up to the roof where we discovered an unidentified YoRHa unit. We aren't sure how but she as well as her support pod have been destroyed."

"And this genetic material? How does that come into play?"

"The genetic material is that of a bone with density far beyond the expected ranges of any know organisms. The dried blood on it is complete match for that of human DNA." Pod 042 explained. "Damage to the unknown YoRHa unit's support pod indicate that the bone may have been used as a weapon against the pod."

The silence that hung in the air, interrupted only by the sound of distant animals and passing wind, was heavy.

"Not only are you suggesting that there is a human present on earth but you believe they may have played some part in a battle that resulted in the destruction of a YoRHa unit." Commander White summarized. Her face was unreadable, more so than even 2B's and that was saying something considering the commander's face wasn't obscured by a blindfold. "The YoRHa unit and her support pod, can their data be recovered?"

"The unidentified YoRHa unit's cranial portion has been destroyed. Data recovery is impossible. The support pod storage drive has been damaged to a lesser extent." Pod 042 said. "Inquiry: does there exist a way for units 2B and 9S to repair the drive and begin an immediate pursuit of the source of recovered genetic material?"

"…there is a resistance camp within the city ruins. According to our data there should be a Popola and Devola unit among them that specialize in repairs." Commander White revealed. "All of you are to upload data involving this genetic material for review as well as keep it safe. 2B and 9S, head to the resistance camp and make contact with the Popola and Devola units. Any updates on the situation are to be reported directly to me."

Commander's White expression hardened growing sterner than what 9S thought possible. "All of this is classified. You are not to share anything you see or learn concerning this discovery with anyone, including your operators. Understood?"

"Understood." 9S and 2B said simultaneously.

Commander White returned their salute. "Glory to Mankind." She stated before the transmission ended.

"...2B?" 9S questioned.

"Yes?"

"What just happened?"

"I…am not sure." 2B admitted, focused on the bloodied bone just as she was.

For once 9S was sure she wasn't the only curious one.

Genetic material from a human? This unknown YoRHa unit that the Commander didn't even seem surprised by? Possible conflict between one of them and a human? And to top it all, its all been declared classified?

What was going on?