Small Flowers

Written by: Jun Eishima
Translated by Shota Okui

The year 11939, outbreak of the Fourteenth Machine War. It had already been several thousand years since the arrival of the aliens and their invasion of Earth, and the battle was in a state of deadlock.

In order to overthrow the aliens' weapons, the machines, and reclaim Earth, humanity manufactured androids to fight on the front lines. But the machines evolved through constant regeneration, and the androids were struggling to keep up.

It was clear that something needed to change to overcome the deadlock. The androids needed to evolve. And a sense of competition would spur them to evolve.

Taking various factors into account, humanity's military command began developing a new model. "YoRHa" was a counter-machine measure in the form of an autonomous soldier. Then...

—December 8 of the year 11941, the Pearl Harbor Descent Attack—

"Forty-five minutes since the initialization of the attack."

Futaba's voice came through the transmission. No. 2 exhaled, relieved that everything was going according to training. The transmission reconnecting meant that all the androids had successfully crossed the stratosphere.

Next was a self-diagnostic. Armor fully intact, self-navigation nominal... No. 2 wiggled her arms and legs in the flight suit. Her range of motion had decreased a bit. Her artificial muscles were tight from her nerves.

"The current altitude is 50,000 meters. We have passed the point of maximum heat. Cooling the armor now."

Triggered by Yotsuba's voice, she glanced at the Earth's surface. It was strikingly blue.

"So that's the ocean..."

"It's beautiful," she muttered under her breath. She heard a chuckle through the transmission.

"Of course it is."

It was No. 16. While primarily a gunner, she had the maneuverability to keep up with models specialized in close combat. As one who specialized solely in close combat, it was hard for No. 2 not to feel a sense of inferiority.

"Hey guys, what do you think Earth is like?"

No. 4's voice was brimming with excitement. No. 4, like No. 2, was an attack specialist, and had also recorded mediocre results. Perhaps it was because they were similar, but being with No. 4 made No. 2 feel more at home.

But right then, as if cutting through her shenanigans, No. 21's cool voice echoed through the transmission.

"It should be identical to the simulation."

No. 2 thought to herself that No. 21's words were the epitome of rationality and composure. Perhaps her role as a scanner contributed to that.

"That wasn't what I meaaant—"

No. 3 interrupted No. 4 and No. 21's conversation.

"Everyone, we're in the middle of the descent attack. Speak only as necessary."

"Oh-kay..." No. 4 replied, clearly unhappy. "Well, well..." No. 2 heard a laugh.

"Don't be so hard on her."

It was the captain, No. 1. As expected, thought No. 2. The captain stayed neutral, but always knew how to keep everyone together.

"This is Command. YoRHa squadron, please copy."

"This is No. 1. The plan is going smoothly. We will arrive at the destination in forty minutes. No enemies detected... it's going to be a breeze."

Just hearing No. 1 say that it was going to be a breeze made it seem like it really was. It was their first descent attack, but it would probably go well. They had No. 1. As long as they followed what they did during the training...

"Don't let your guard down. You're approaching enemy aerial territory."

"You're always so worried, Ms. Command."

Only No. 1 would be able to talk so casually with Command. Consistently the best in both academics and battle, she refused to let anyone come close to her power and mobility. She was the ultimate YoRHa model. That was No. 1.

"The new canceler is working as w—"

What had happened? The sounds of an explosion had replace No. 1's voice. It was happening nearby. The transmission had suddenly cut off. That's the only thing that was certain...

"No. 1 is under fire!"

Even though she could hear Yotsuba's frantic voice and No. 16 incredulously exclaiming "What?!" No. 2 wasn't able to accept what was happening.

The flight unit that had been in front of her had vanished. Shifting her gaze, she saw a ball of fire dropping toward Earth. No. 1. "No..." a whisper escaped her.

This couldn't be happening. No. 1 had been shot down.

"What's happening?!"

No. 21's voice was muffled by more explosions. Looking over her shoulder, No. 2 saw another flight unit was missing.

"No. 12 is under fire!"

"I can't!" screamed No. 4.

"To think they would attack during our descent..."

In contrast to the frenzied voices before, No. 21 spoke quietly. How was No. 21 able to stay so collected, even though she was probably devastated as well? And as explosions were going off around them all the while.

"No. 13, No. 14 under fire!"

It was Yotsuba again. And this time they shot down two at once.

"No. 2, calm down!"

She knew. But she couldn't. There was no way she could stay calm when so many of her comrades had been killed so suddenly. It was impossible.

"No. 22, under fire!"

Again. Again, another one was shot down. She couldn't think straight. So much so that reports from Command that "Permission granted to engage in battle on orbit path" and "Attack source detected" sounded like gibberish to her.

Just then, in all the ruckus, she thought she heard a phrase she understood. Was it her code number?

Did somebody call me? Why? Why me?

"No. 2? Answer me, No. 2!"

"Y-yes!"

"Following mission procedures, the role of captain will be transferred to you."

"M-me?"

"No. 2, please approve the authority transfer."

She recalled that there was a decision for her to become captain in the unlikely event No. 1 was lost in battle. Their numbers were consecutive, so it was only natural. Still, that was only supposed to happen "in the unlikely event". The probability of that happening must've been something like 0.001 percent...

"No. 2!"

"Yes! Roger that!"

She had to stop overthinking things. First, she had to escape the current situation. To pull through with everybody left. That was the only thing she needed to focus on.

The current situation? Under fire from surface-to-air lasers. What about the cancelers? Not working. And the shields? Not working either. So? They had to rely on the naked eye to evade.

"Everyone, don't lump together!"

If they were all in a tight formation, they made an easy target. They had to diffuse enemy attacks at least until they landed.

"Spread out individually!"

The flight units instantly dispersed. The units that didn't make it fell to Earth, shrouded in flames.

"Command! Where's support?!"

Futaba had said that they had determined the source of the enemy lasers. Command had even relayed an order to blow up the entire island. The only thing left should have been to carry out the order.

"We will reach a fireable position in five seconds."

No. 2 was frustrated to hear Yotsuba's voice. Her comrades were getting hit right under her nose.

"Please hurry!"

The ground was still far away. After what seemed like an eternal five seconds, No. 2 heard Command's order to fire. Another two seconds. A white column of light rose from the point of interest, then the delayed sound of an explosion.

"Enemy fort, sunk."

But that was not the end. After a brief moment of relief, Yotsuba shouted, "Incoming heat source detected!"

"Twenty-three short-range missiles!"

No. 2 heard the commander order them shot down.

"R-roger that!"

They were near ground. If they could evade this, they could land safely.

"Initiating equipment F15! Everyone, let's go!"

The flight unit switched to maneuvering mode—from a form meant for mobility to a form meant to overwhelm as many enemies as possible.

"Initiate counterattack!"

They readied their weapons at once. Each flight unit had a specialized weapon suited to their user. No. 2 and No. 4 wielded laser blades; No. 16 was outfitted with a rail gun. Now the issue was how many missiles they could shoot down before they hit.

"Distance 21000."

First, No. 16's rail gun engaged the missiles as No. 21 calculated and uploaded the predicted projectile paths.

They had started with a dozen other comrades. Now there were only four units against twenty-three missiles. No. 2 suppressed her feelings of anguish and swung at the missile path. The shock wave released from the blade made contact with the missile. There was no time to confirm its destruction before targeting the next one. She swiftly adjusted her aim and fired off another attack.

"Seven shot down. Sixteen missiles remaining."

She could her Futaba's voice. It sounded indifferent, just like the training.

"Distance 9000."

There was still time. The laser blades howled and the rail gun roared.

"Three missiles remaining."

Just a bit more. How much time was left? Was there enough? Just then, No. 2 heard No. 21 yell, "They're coming!" No. 2 also raised her voice.

"Evade!"

"We won't make it!" snapped No. 16. At this point, there was nothing else they could do but brace for impact.

"Activate magnetic field-resistant skins!"

Though evading the missiles was now down to luck, the androids had a way to protect themselves against an EMP burst. But this would be the first time the magnetic field-resistant skins were deployed during a sortie. They were untested in battle.

It's all right, they worked well in training, No. 2 reassured herself. She thought about the smiling people that had risked their lives during the field experiments.

"The missiles have hi—"

Yotsuba's voice was cut off. There was a blinding flash of light. A powerful magnetic wave swallowed the surroundings immediately after.

[1208/08:05]

"Wake up, No. 2."

No. 2 sat up as No. 16 poked at her. How weird for me to be sleeping on my stomach, she thought. And it was rare for No. 16 to come wake her up.

"Good morning... Ah!"

The moment she realized she wasn't in her own room, she recalled that she was on a mission.

Apparently she had lost consciousness from the missile impact. She was probably slammed down into the ground, hence her awkward position on her stomach. That said, all her senses were intact and she wasn't experiencing any mobility issues. Thinking back to the probable size of the EMP, the magnetic field-resistant skins must have been even more effective than as in the field tests. Passing out was a result of her own neglect.

"Don't be such an airhead."

No. 2 was about to apologize, but quickly stopped herself. What they needed right now were not words of apology. She quickly scanned the surroundings. No. 4 was next to No. 16, and No. 21 was behind them. No other comrades in sight. Of course, that included their captain No. 1.

"Si-situational analysis, please."

"Yes," said No. 21 as she positioned herself before No. 2.

"Attackers No. 2 and No. 4, intact. Gunner No. 16 intact. Scanner No. 21, myself, intact. The four models above have successfully infiltrated enemy territory. With the loss of No. 1, the captain, all responsibilities of the captain have been delegated to No. 2."

There was no new information in No. 21's report, even though she had specialized skills in data collection and research. Put simply, they were in the worst possible scenario she could've imagined, and pretty much helpless.

"That's all, captain."

They clearly wanted a response, but all No. 2 could do was grimly nod at the news. No. 16 blew up in rage.

"Stop dillydallying, No. 2! You're the captain, you know?"

"I know, but..." No. 2 was clearly at a loss. She must have been wearing an extremely worried expression, because No. 4 gently placed a hand on No. 2's shoulder.

"It's not like we're in immediate danger."

Her hand was warm. No. 2 realized that she felt at home whenever No. 4 was there not only because they were alike, but because No. 4 was caring. In contrast to No. 4, No. 16 had no mercy.

"What are you talking about, didn't you see No. 1 die?"

No. 2 felt her chest tighten. No. 1, who had always been there, was gone.

"Get your act together!"

She knew what No. 16 was trying to say. After all, what they needed now was a strong leader.

"What should I do... I can't be a captain."

She couldn't. Why me, she thought. Why did she survive, and not No. 1?

"No. 2. If that's the case, executing the mission is impossible. We should tell Command to abort."

"Oh! Yes! I think that's a good idea!"

It was just like No. 21 had said. Why hadn't she thought of that? Her thoughtlessness was shameful.

Of the sixteen androids deployed, twelve had been destroyed. The projected acceptable number of losses for this mission was four. Nothing was going to plan. Even in terms of troops remaining, continuing was impossible—regardless of whether she was capable or not.

"Then I'll initiate a transmission to Command. There is jamming, but the laser transmission is back up and running."

No. 21 opened the transmission interface.

"Report to Command. Please copy."

Though heavily muffled, they could hear Futaba's voice reply, "This is Command, over."

"Command, under these conditions, continuation of the mission is impossible. Out of the sixteen of us, only four are still functional. I'll repeat. We request the abortion of this mission."

"This is Command to the YoRHa squadron. We prohibit the abortion of the mission."

"What?"

She thought she misheard the transmission because of the static.

"We order the continuation of the mission with minimum personnel."

She hadn't misheard. They looked at each other.

"But that's..."

She couldn't think of what to say. They had lost more than two-thirds of their squadron. Did Command understand what situation they were in? There was probably some kind of miscommunication.

"This is an order."

With that, their processing circuits instinctively stopped. This was the end. Even if it was some kind of miscommunication or misunderstanding, there was no going against Command's orders.

"This will conclude all communication through laser transmissions."

Following Yotsuba's words, all the static disappeared, and silence ensued.

After a pause, No. 21 said, "We've been cut off."

"I can't believe it!"

No. 4 tilted her head back in exasperation.

"We have four units. They're telling us to continue with four units?"

"I don't think it's feasible."

No. 21 replied indifferently. On the other hand, No. 16 made her anger apparent.

"Shit! We lost twelve!"

No. 16 snatched her goggles off in fury. No. 4 pointed at them.

"Hey, taking them off is against military regulations, you know?"

"Look who's talking!"

At first glance, it looked like the YoRHa squadron had black blindfolds wrapped around their heads. But these were not just black pieces of cloth, but actual goggles with heads-up displays about the targets the user was looking at.

So while it was a crucial piece of equipment on the battlefield, at times it was constricting and stifling. No. 4 was intentionally wearing her goggles crooked so she could keep one eye uncovered. No. 16 lashing back at her was well warranted. No. 4 would probably say that the goggles had slipped off or something of the sort, but in reality No. 2 thought she did it because they were annoying to wear.

Anyway, the relatively tame argument between No. 4 and No. 16 about their goggles didn't last long.

"Wait," interrupted No. 21.

"Machine heat signals detected. The number is—no?!"

"No. 21? What happened?"

After No. 2 urged her on, No. 21 inhaled sharply and continued.

"The number of heat signatures detected is approximately 128,000 units."

Everyone froze. They had never even fought that many during training. Because...

"That's more than eight times the size of the predicted enemy force."

No. 2's goggles started to pick up the heat signatures too, which were calibrated for close combat. It really was an unbelievably huge force.

"We got to do what we got to do!"

No. 16 readied her assault rifle. "Right..." No. 4 mumbled. No. 2 pulled out her military sword, thinking that No. 1 would have said a few words right then to spur the squadron.

"No. 4, let's go!"

"Leave it to me for support!" yelled No. 16 from behind. No. 2 felt like she needed to get in front of No. 4. No. 1 had always fought like that, protecting her comrades. No. 2 wanted to at least emulate her fallen leader. If she couldn't become as strong as No. 1, then at least she could become a shield for her comrades.

The first wave of enemies came forward. Their bodies were grotesque, with two long, thin legs protruding from their torsos.

And while they were bipedal, their gaits were slightly off. From legs that bent at close to 90-degree angles to bodies that contained the head within the torso, they were more insectoid than humanoid.

"So these are... machines."

No. 2 forcefully cut them down, driven by an innate hatred, rather than just the fact that they were enemies. She wanted to cleanse them from her sight.

The machines toppled over so easily it was almost disappointing. Their behavior and their gaits were hideous. Just when No. 2 was about to fling her sword down to put an end to those she had thrashed, they quickly spun around and stood up. It seemed they had just lost their balance because of their high centers of mass, and had hardly taken damage.

No. 2 swung her sword wildly. Machines collapsed and got back up again. She wanted to cry, because she knew her actions were futile. Still she whirled the sword in all directions. There was nothing else she could do.

When she looked over her shoulder, she saw No. 4 struggling. No. 16 was having a hard time too. They were hitting their opponents, but inflicting little damage.

Why me, she thought again. No. 1 should have survived, not me. No. 1 would have come up with some gambit to turn the tide in our favor...

If not, maybe No. 3. She had recorded the most kills during the training, and would have faced all these enemies without hesitation. Or No. 5, who was the fastest YoRHa. Or No. 11, who could use both gun and sword. Or No. 14, who used multiple guns simultaneously.

Why? Why was she here? She wasn't strong or exceptional, just mediocre.

Before she knew it, her attacks were deflected. No. 2 awkwardly fell on her bottom. The machines crept closer with jerky movements.

"Sorry. I can't..."

"At this rate, we'll all be dead," muttered No. 16. The machines drew nearer.

"We won't let that happen!"

The machines in front of her suddenly collapsed. She thought she could hear gunfire. Somebody had mowed down the machines. They lay on the ground, motionless.

"You all get out of the way!"

As if that were a cue, unfamiliar androids streamed in. Probably older models, and ancient at that. They wore clothes that completely disregarded temperature. The guns they had equipped were also clearly of antique vintage. But yet, the androids were killing off machines as if it were a game.

"Use your thermo sensor! The cognitive unit swims in coolant. That's their weak point!"

The only thing she knew was that these women had come to save them from their predicament...

"R-roger that!"

She wasn't going to be dead baggage for her saviors. No. 2 stood up, and readied her sword.

"Thermo sensor, on!"

Just as the unfamiliar androids had said, the machine heat signatures contained a peculiar cooler spot in their torsos.

"There's the weak point."

She stepped forward and closed the distance with the nearest enemy. She thrust her sword at the section with the lowest temperature. It didn't feel any different from before. But after its long legs trembled for a moment, the machine stopped moving.

"I... beat it?"

She heard a series of explosions beside her. It was No. 16. Once they knew their weakness, it was easy. All they had to do was fight just like they had done in the training.

The waves of enemies that had once seemed endless gradually dwindled. No. 2 started to think that victory was possible.

"New enemy signals detected. It's their reinforcements!"

No. 21 had sensed them first via radar. The signals showed up on No. 2's goggles after a slight delay. The number of reinforcements was far greater than the number of enemies they had destroyed.

"There's no end! At this rate, we'll be wiped out!"

No. 4 screamed the near identical words that were going through No. 2's mind. Even her tone of voice, on the verge of breaking tears, was similar...

"Withdraw!"

It was the same android that had alerted them to the enemy's weakness. On her cue, all the other androids began a systematic retreat.

"It's going to plan."

"As expected, Rose!"

It seemed that the leader android was named Rose. Rose glanced back at her comrades.

"Gerbera, what's your status?"

"Preparations complete. I can blow them away at any time."

"What's happening?" No. 16 questioned Rose.

"We drew all the enemies to one spot. You were all a big help.

They gathered all the enemies in one spot... to wipe them out? Did they set some kind of trap?

"If you don't want to be blown into smithereens with the rest of them, retreat! Hurry!"

A smaller android pulled her arm as she scolded No. 2. She didn't know her name.

"R-roger that. Everyone!"

No. 21, who seemed to understand the situation, nodded and started running. A hesitant No. 4 and discontent No. 16 followed.

"Land mine!" Rose yelled.

"Okay! Let's do it! Everyone, lie flat and brace yourselves!"

No. 2 followed Gerbera's order and lay flat on the ground. Immediately after, a roar, vibration, and shock wave assaulted them at once.

"So this is a land mine," mumbled No. 2. It was her first time seeing such an old-fashioned explosive in action. She had knowledge about it, but had never used it during training.

The thick smoke covered her line of sight. But through her goggles, she could see moving heat signals beyond the smoke. The enemies were beginning to retreat.

Eventually No. 21 reported, "No machine heat signatures in range." We survived, No. 2 thought. She held back No. 16, who was obviously still wary about the situation, with a glare. Then No. 2 thanked Rose. Without them, they would have surely died.

"Thank you for saving us. We are..." No. 2 started to introduce their group.

"I don't recall saving you."

"What?"

Rose raised her right hand. The guns of her comrades, which had been shooting machines just a few moments ago, were now pointed at No. 2 and her squadron.

[1208/08:37]

They're clearly a suspicious bunch, thought Anemone. They were wearing frilly clothes, entirely unsuited for battle. To top it off, the clothes were all black. That would have made sense at night, but provided no advantage now, during the middle of the day. Their black blindfolds also seemed fishy.

When her leader Rose had told them they would use "that bunch" as bait to blow away the machines, Anemone had hesitated because there was the small possibility that they were allies. But Rose had made the right call. Using this group as a lure hadn't bothered her at all.

"Who are you?" Rose asked calmly, but the dingy bunch replied aggressively.

"You wanna go, punk?"

The one carrying a rifle was obviously ready to fight, and the one with the crooked blindfold looked back at them with suspicion in her eyes.

"Please stop!"

The one that screamed the loudest was the naive one who had thanked them.

"We are your allies! We're the newer models! The squadron name is YoRHa, I'm Attacker No. 2, and this is No. 4. That's the Gunner No. 16, and Scanner No. 21. I don't know—"

Anemone cut off the member that was allegedly called No. 2.

"We didn't receive any report that such a squadron was coming."

"Our mission was top secret, so I assume no one on Earth would know about us."

"Hmmm, top secret, eh?"

That was a smooth reply. If they declared it was "top secret", they wouldn't have to explain it. It was something Command would do. That was one reason why the resistance didn't trust Command.

"If it's top secret, then there wouldn't be any problem in killing you now either."

Anemone quickly slipped behind No. 21 and put a knife to her. I would only need two seconds to kill this sluggish tramp, she thought.

"Anemone!"

Anemone loosened her grip, following none other than Rose's command. But not enough for her to return to her place.

"Stop it."

"But..."

Even though Rose was her leader, she couldn't accept the order. "Yeah," said Lily, who agreed with Anemone.

"There's a possibility that they're humanoid machines."

Recently, the machines had been evolving at an alarming rate. The lot had been evolving to meet the challenges of the war for two centuries, but the velocity at which they improved themselves had been surging as of late. As Lily had said, it wasn't unthinkable for machines to appear and take the form of androids.

"You! Don't be a fool!"

No. 16 rushed at Lily. Before Anemone could attack, Shion stepped in front of Lily to protect her. If Shion were to be described by ancient terms, she had a "motherly" aspect to her.

"Stop it! Don't touch her with your dirty hands!"

"What'd you say! You!"

"This will be interesting," Dahlia quipped as she pulled out her sword. No. 16 pulled out her knife. Anemone could tell that though No. 16 was technically a gunner, she had considerable skill at close combat as well.

"Just stop!" Yet again, No. 2. In between a shriek and a cry, her voice carried rather far. She must've been desperate. Whether she was actually desperate or not, Anemone had no intention of listening to her. She was going to continue the fight.

"Dahlia, Anemone, don't," Rose interrupted.

"But, Rose..."

Before Anemone could object, Rose turned toward No. 2 and them.

"We don't want to question you either. But..."

With her gaze still locked on the dingy group of four, Rose took a step back. Seeing that, Anemone could tell that Rose had not let her guard down either. She had probably held back Dahlia and her so that they could initiate a battle with better coordination if it was necessary. Anemone gripped her knife and waited for her next order.

"Recently there have been sightings of suspicious enemy activities. We can't trust you, complete strangers, even if we wanted to. Even if what you said was true, and you are newer models, we don't have the means of confirming that information."

"What? Are you trying to negotiate?" No. 4 said in a joking tone, and flipped her palms up.

"Don't move!"

"You too, stop acting so strange!"

"Whaat?!"

Dahlia and No. 16 started to argue.

"Please wait!"

No. 2 stepped between them. "Shut up!" yelled No. 16.

"Move! I'll shoot you too!"

No. 16 was not bluffing. Even Anemone, who was technically an enemy, could tell. But it seemed that No. 2 could not. No. 2 suddenly started to reach for No. 16's rifle.

Is this girl stupid? Anemone thought. She probably intended to stop No. 16 by force, but suddenly grabbing a rifle was a reckless move. If she did that...

A bullet fired. Anemone could see No. 16, her eyes wide, over No. 2's shoulder. The bullet had graze No. 2's ear. A few of No. 2's hairs were charred and shorter than before. If the shot had been a few millimeters off and to the side, No. 2's ear would've been torn off. And if the shot had been a few millimeters off and down...

It grew quiet. Everyone had imagined what could have happened.

"We..." No. 2's voice was trembling. "We were a group of sixteen. We were intercepted during our descent... our cancelers weren't working. Everyone... was shot down... one after another..."

No. 2 stiffened up. At the moment, there were No. 2, No. 4, No. 16, and No. 21. The other twelve had died. It was a simple but devastating act of subtraction.

"We requested that our mission be scrubbed, but it wasn't approved. We have no reinforcements either. Command told us to continue in our current state."

"Us" probably referred to the four of them. This was not the first story they had heard of Command being unreasonable. But if this story was true, they were heartless. If it was true, that is.

"What we need right now are comrades! Please understand!"

"They're desperate," mumbled Erica. Sonia furrowed her brows.

"Are you saying that we're similar because we were both abandoned by the moon?"

The human board on the moon had for a long time been unavailable for communication. Anemone and her group had tried to contact them many times, but to no avail.

"So we're in the same situation. All right. Everyone, lower your weapons."

If it was the leader's order, it was absolute. Anemone put away her knife. Dahlia clicked her tongue, and reluctantly sheathed her sword as well.

"We will hear you out. My name is Rose."

Because of the old weapons they used, when Rose said, "We are a group of older android models," none of the four looked surprised.

"We are survivors from the Eighth Descent Attack."

This time, all four of them gasped. No wonder. It was a mission from two hundred years prior. Most likely before any of them had been created.

It was the largest descent attack ever assembled, with 160 androids deployed to Earth—ten times the number of No. 2's original troop. Regardless, the enemy had outnumbered them, and the mission ended in failure. Since none of them returned, it was recorded that the whole squadron had been killed... in the database.

Some of it was true: they had descended, been surrounded by an overwhelming number of enemies, and their numbers had been slowly ground down by the enemies. But it was not total elimination. There were survivors. Anemone was one of them.

The survivors established the resistance, with Rose as the captain. They used completely different methods than those they had learned during training, and battled their way toward the creation of an Earth-bound base. After that, they prioritized the restoration of the transmission facility, and eventually made communication with the moon-side human board possible. Now they would be able to call for reinforcements, and even if it took time for them to arrive, the resistance could scavenge some materials to survive for a bit. Everyone felt relieved.

But there was no reply from Command. They adjusted their location and tested different frequencies during their multiple attempts to make contact. But Command persistently ignored every single attempt from Earth.

It eventually dawned on them that Command had no intention of saving the survivors left on Earth. They had been abandoned.

That said, they had to keep fighting. This was enemy territory. The moment they put down their weapons, they would be killed. They needed to fight to survive.

The battles dragged on, and the resistance was slowly driven into a corner. They lost numbers, one after another. In battle, in an accident, from chassis or cognitive malfunction—as well as via a weaponized logic virus unleashed by the enemy.

Rose, of course, would be moved by hearing that the group of four had been senselessly ordered to continue their mission. After all, Rose, as captain, was the one that had been tortured by overwhelming hopelessness and a doomed future.

That was why Anemone decided to stay wary of the group. It was always better to have at least one person on guard...

[1208/09:07]

The resistance took No. 2's group to a camp on Mount Ka'ala. The trees grew dense, and from above there were no signs that anyone resided among them. The battle two hundred years before had collapsed parts of the mountain terrain, which provided an abundance of locations to hide the small resistance group and their weaponry.

The overgrown foliage obstructed sunlight, creating a dim area even in the daytime. The air was damp, saturated with the smell of mud and moss.

"It's been a long time. We've been fighting here for a looong time," said Sonia, as they walked along. Her way of speech reminded No. 2 of a child. As a member of the resistance, Sonia was a soldier who had survived many harsh battles, but she didn't show it.

Or perhaps that signified how strong she was, considered No. 2. Two hundred years in this place—much longer than she or any of her comrades could imagine—and Sonia had still been able to keep her childishness.

No. 2 herself had been panicking because Command hadn't replied to their transmission. She was still worried, even now. The transmission conditions were poor, and all they could do was keep sending unheard missives.

Ten kilometers away from our destination, we encountered and merged forces with the local resistance.

That was all they had to say. Had Command received it? No. 2 missed the voices of Futaba and Yotsuba. She had never engaged with them in casual conversation, but they had been there ever since her training had begun...

While No. 2 was thinking such thoughts, No. 21 was busy explaining their situation to the resistance in a collected manner.

The objective of this descent attack was to destroy the servers maintained by the machines. Deep in the bowels of Mount Ka'ala was a server that controlled all the machines in the Asia-Pacific region. There was one entrance to the server room. They had to board the elevator at the top of the mountain and make their way down.

The descent attack being organized with only sixteen androids was a result of this fact.

Using infrared sensors from orbit, Command determined the elevator was an older model with a limited carrying capacity. The number of people that could infiltrate the server rooms at once was limited.

But if they succeeded in destroying the server, the effect on the war would be tremendous. While their enemies were in chaos, the androids could seize control of the whole Pacific Rim. Maximum reward for minimum expenditure. That was the mission.

"...those are the circumstances."

Sonia, who had been sitting on the side, yawned quietly as if bored by the talk. No. 21 glanced over at Lily, but quickly looked back and continued her report.

"Did everyone understand what I just said?"

"An elevator, huh?"

Dahlia's tone was, as always, edgy. She was making it known that she was only listening to the story because the leader had ordered her to, and not on her own volition.

"The top of the mountain? I don't remember ever seeing anything like that."

"The entrance is disguised as a boulder. We had a tough time detecting it with infrared sensors from orbit. We went through tens of thousands of images to—"

"We don't need to hear about that."

Sonia bluntly interrupted her. Sonia, like Lily, had probably had enough. That said, not hearing the whole explanation was irresponsible. While they couldn't reveal military secrets, it was imperative to cover everything else as thoroughly as possible—that was surely what No. 21 was thinking too.

"But if the elevator descends from the top of the mountain, then that must mean it passes near the spring water. But we've been there to collect water, and we've never heard an elevator. We've never detected a heat signature in the area either."

It was Shion who made the long counterargument. She was the soldier who had stepped in between No. 16 and Lily, and yelled, "Don't touch her with your dirty hands!" Even now, Lily was leaning on Shion as they both sat.

No. 2 thought the two had a strange relationship. It was understandable for the captain, Rose, to display a parental relationship to Lily. But Lily and Shion were just squadron members, and thus ultimately peers. Why was there a need for one to protect the other? Did the resistance instruct their members to operate in such a rare manner?

"The elevator does not run straight down. More accurately, the elevator runs in a screw motion, which is an ancient mechanism that reduces momentum..."

"Again! We don't need to hear about that stuff!"

No. 2 was fairly certain that the woman who had burst out in irritation was named Erica. She kept saying, "Get to the point!" during No. 21's explanation. She spoke as if the long-winded explanation was somehow all a ploy to distract and deceive the resistance. No, it wasn't just Erica. No. 2 could tell that the other members were getting angry, just from the looks on their faces.

It was then that Margaret spoke up. During the land mine explosion, she was the one who had said, "If you don't want to be blown into smithereens with the rest of them, retreat!" and pulled on No. 2's arm to guide her to safety.

"In other words, unless we destroy the server, our enemies in the Pacific will remain active and organized, right?"

No. 2 emphatically affirmed Margaret's question.

"Yes! That's right!"

That was the central point of the story. Control of the Pacific hinged greatly on whether or not they could destroy the Mount Ka'ala server. As long as they understood that part, No. 2 thought. Just then, Rose, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up.

"How did you locate the server?"

"That's..."

No. 2 hesitated.

"That's a military secret. I can't tell you."

And to be completely honest, No. 2 and her comrades had not been told that information either. Other than the fact that locating the server took an exorbitant amount of resources and time.

They had heard the reconnaissance squadron, which had been deployed before them, had located the server. They hadn't been notified of the reconnaissance squadron's well-being since. So No. 2 had thought to herself that they had all died.

Total elimination was a phrase that would make anybody uncomfortable. Command most likely decided to keep the news a secret since it would affect morale. Of course, this was only No. 2's hypothesis.

"What do you mean?" Anemone asked cynically. But No. 2 couldn't just directly say, The previous squadron was probably totally eliminated, so we didn't receive the details.

"That's the important part too."

Erica mumbled, from beside Anemone. Even Margaret, their sole supporter, was furrowing her brows.

What should I do... No. 2 panicked. She searched for words that would persuade them. But before she could find them, No. 16 burst out in fury.

"Whatever! This is a waste of time!"

"Wait! No. 16!"

No. 2 followed No. 16, who had started to storm off with big strides.

"Wait!"

No. 2 was ignored without a second thought. No. 16 strode farther and farther away at a disheartening pace.

"Wait, please!"

She ran and ran, finally catching up. She grabbed No. 16's arm, but was quickly batted away. This time No. 2 ran in front of No. 16 to make her stop.

"I think if we explain just a little more, they'll understand!"

No. 16 didn't answer. It was No. 4 who answered in her stead. "For how impatient No. 16 is, she waited pretty long, don't you think?"

What she said seemed to have irritated No. 16 even further. No. 16 glared back at No. 4.

No. 21 sighed.

"It's no use."

"No. 21? What do you mean?"

"If we can't elicit their cooperation, we'll have to carry out the mission ourselves."

"What? But you just said that we'd definitely fail with only us..."

No. 21 was the one who had suggested they request a mission abort.

"We will probably fail. The difference in force between us and the machines is clear. As such, I requested a mission abort."

"Yes. So that's why..."

"Anything other than a mission abort is the same to me. Everything else is a lost cause. Whatever we do is futile. Whether we work with them or not, the result will be the same."

"That's not true! If we join forces, we can succeed!"

"And your reasoning is?"

She didn't want to jump to conclusions. If a possibility existed, even a small one, she wanted to bet on that.

"You see? There's a sea of possibility awaiting you."

Strangely enough, No. 2 recalled those words. That person couldn't have known this situation would arise, but ever since that conversation, the word "possibility" had taken on a deeper significance to No. 2.

Either way, "betting on a possibility" was probably not enough "reasoning" for No. 21. At the very least, she wouldn't acknowledge it.

"You don't have a reason, do you?"

No. 2 had nothing to say. "That settles it," No. 16 said in a spitting tone of voice.

"But! Something like that!"

She had to stop them. Four people would amount to nothing. She didn't want to die in vain. She wanted to avoid that at all costs.

"Wow, wow. Is this a falling-out?"

Dahlia was poking fun at them. Looking over her shoulder, No. 2 could tell the other members of the resistance shared Dahlia's sentiment.

"Stop it, Dahlia. Rose wants to talk," chided Gerbera. Next to her were Rose, and the other resistance members.

"W-what do you want?"

No. 2 braced herself, because she thought they would point their guns at her again. After all, Rose had kindly told them that they'd listen, only for No. 2's squadron to ruin the conversation.

But Gerbera had said that Rose wanted to talk, instead of jumping straight into an attack. What talk? thought No. 2.

"We'll accept your request. We'll cooperate."

"What?" yelped No. 4. No. 2 froze, her mouth open in shock.

"I told you we'll help. Did you hear me?"

"Y-yes. I heard you."

"I think it's hopeless either way," muttered No. 21 from the side.

"No. 21, don't say that. Let's bet on the possibility for now. Okay?"

No. 4 had articulated No. 2's feelings.

Indeed, they had no reasoning that would satisfy No. 21. But Rose and her members had accepted them. They had trusted No. 2... or so she wanted to think.

"Hmph," No. 16 snorted.

"We'll fight with you."

"What kind of tone is that!"

"What?"

Margaret separated No. 16 and Dahlia, who were starting to argue yet again. Margaret looked gentle, but observing how Dahlia would unconditionally listen to her made No. 2 think otherwise.

"Are you all okay with that?"

Rose moved to the front of her group. "From now going forward, I prohibit all hostility toward these four individuals."

It looked like Dahlia and Anemone scowled. But even though they looked like they wanted to say something, there were no rebuttals.

Erica, Shion, Gerbera, and Margaret wore somewhat tense expressions, and Lily and Sonia were openly displeased. Yet all the women nodded. They would follow their leader, putting any suspicion and discomfort aside.

That was how much trust they put in Rose. No. 1 had been a slightly different type of leader, but Rose was probably a good leader as well.

"We are comrades fighting for the same cause!"

"Comrades," mumbled No. 2. What they wanted the most, in unfamiliar enemy territory—they had obtained just that. It was difficult to say that the others trusted them as of now, but their leader had promised they'd fight together. So it would probably go well.

They were going to succeed, no matter what...

[1208/09:31]

"What are you two doing?"

Rose's exasperated question brought Dahlia and No. 16 back to their feet. They had been on their stomachs, hands clasped, seeing who was stronger. It was called "arm wrestling" back in the human civilization days, and was a particularly popular activity because it didn't need any extra equipment or much space. But neither No. 16 nor No. 21 knew about this activity—most likely because they were newer models, and information exchange between their comrades had been sparse.

Anemone and her group had known about "arm wrestling" because one of their comrades had been programmed with simulated memories. The more time they spent together, the more stories they heard. Even if those stories were simulated.

"Dahlia, if you've got time to play around..."

Dahlia replied, breathless. "I. Just finished. Showing. How strong. I am. To this fool."

No. 16 retorted, also breathing heavily. "What... are you saying? It's. Your. Utter. Loss!"

"What?"

"Hmm? Come. At me!"

"That's enough!" Rose scolded.

"If you have time to play around, go gather some water!"

That's right, Anemone agreed silently. They were being so irritating. Since the number of meatheads had doubled, the number of distractions had also doubled.

"Then I'll be the one to go gather it. Since I'm faster!"

"What?! I'm definitely faster!"

"It's a race!"

"Don't be a sore loser!"

Dahlia and No. 16 dashed off.

"You two! Don't forget the water tank!"

"Gosh! They're so irresponsible."

Margaret chased after them with the tank. It was finally quiet. Anemone sighed. They were getting along pretty well.

It had been nearly an hour since Rose announced their allegiance. They had just giving the newer models a tour of the camp. It was too early to let their guard down.

"We're going to exchange information. No. 2, No. 4, Sonia, come with me."

After Rose took the three of them away, Anemone, Shion, Lily, and No. 21 were left alone. While Anemone was grateful that the noisy ones were away, now it was too quiet and a bit awkward.

Anemone wasn't good at small talk to begin with. She couldn't find any meaning in exchanging irrelevant words. That's why she felt relieved when Lily started talking to No. 21.

"You don't have to wear your blindfold?"

"I take it off during non-battle situations, since it's irrational. And it's a set of goggles, not a blindfold."

"Is that right?"

"Isn't it hard to move when your vision is obstructed?"

No. 21 turned nonchalantly toward Lily. Lily took a step back.

"What's the matter?" No. 21 asked with a puzzled expression. Anemone couldn't blame her. She didn't know how wary Lily was.

"Well... the YoRHa are a bit scary."

At this point, Anemone thought that wariness was necessary. Being a little scared was perfect. Not like the meatheads that started to get along in no time at all.

"You're scared?"

"It was just us for a long time, you know? We're like family. For other androids to show up is..."

Lily hid behind Shion.

"Sorry, Lily gets scared pretty easily." Shion replied, in lieu of Lily. "She always has nightmares at night too."

Shion chuckled, as she glanced back at Lily. "I can't help it," Lily said, pouting.

"I see a lot of nightmares at night. Sometimes I feel like I'll die in the nightmare."

"You can't be killed in a dream," pointed out No. 21.

"You're quite irrational."

"You don't know that! Ghosts might appear too!"

"Ghosts don't exist either. You're just trying to run away from your real fears. Most likely your fear of machines."

Listening halfheartedly to the trio's conversation, Anemone determined No. 21 to be a brainy type. Now that she thought about it, No. 2 had called No. 21 "Scanner No. 21". Maybe her explanations were so long-winded because she specialized in intelligence gathering and research.

"I'm scared of both. Ghosts scare me, and so do machines. I'm so scared that sometimes... I think I'm human."

"Human?"

This was the first time Anemone had heard this. She knew Lily was cowardly, but she hadn't known that Lily suspected herself to be human.

"I see dreams, and have emotions. Why am I not human?"

"Because you're not a living being. Our bodies are artificial."

"But if we break, we die, you know? I'm scared of dying. I'm scared..."

Lily trembled. Even though Shion attempted to comfort her by telling her it was okay, Lily kept repeating that she was scared.

Anemone, as well as all her comrades, feared their destruction. It was an emotion hard-coded into their programming to promote higher chances of survival.

But for Lily, that fear was stronger than that of the other androids. Whether or not creating a model capable of experiencing extreme fear was the result of intention or error was unknown.

"No. 21," said Shion, suddenly. "You are all new models, right?"

"Yes. This is the first time our models are being deployed on the field."

"If you're newer models, I wonder if you have greater tolerance for fear."

"I'm not sure. It's not like we can measure that."

Just like humans, androids were capable of hiding or faking their feelings, so measurement was out of the question. Anemone was about to sarcastically say that measuring wasn't the same thing as understanding, when...

"Show yourself!"

She had felt a presence, and drew her gun.

"Don't shoot me!"

No. 4 appeared, with her hands above her head. Anemone clicked her tongue and put her gun down.

"Eavesdropping? Serves you right."

"No. I left everything to No. 2 and came back."

"Then don't do anything misleading like sneaking in."

No. 2 and No. 4 were both apparently attackers, but their personalities were completely different. Anemone didn't like either of them. She couldn't like them.

"Jeez, Anemone. There's no enemies, so no need to be so uptight."

"Shion. We had tons of comrades who died just like that. Don't you remember?"

They had been too careless. Not just Shion, but Rose, Dahlia, and the other members of their troop.

"Are you also afraid of dying?" No. 21 asked, her head tilted to one side. As if she couldn't imagine Anemone being scared of death. That irritated Anemone, and she flung the question back at her.

"Aren't you scared?"

That was probably petty of her.

"I am scared. Death means you're nothing. Your body, consciousness, they both disappear from the world. That is something that's very frightening."

"I am too."

That said, Anemone had an inkling that No. 21's fear and her own fear were slightly different. No. 21's fear seemed more irrational, and her own was more instinctive and emotional.

Well, either way, the important thing was to fear destruction. That inspired caution. It discouraged actions with avoidable risk. For example, trusting an unknown group that identified themselves as newer model androids.

It was best to keep their distance from the four of them. Anemone was going to walk away, but No. 21 turned around first.

"Where are you going?" Lily asked her as she was leaving.

"I'm going to check up on the surroundings. Just scanning is not the same as actually seeing for myself."

Lily, who had been hiding behind Shion this whole time, trotted off to catch up with No. 21. Anemone's eyes were wide with surprise. What Lily said next really shocked her.

"Can I come with you?"

"If you're not scared of me."

"Okay. I think I'm getting used to you."

Anemone looked over at Shion, who was still and had her mouth agape. Recently, Shion spent more time with Lily than Anemone. Her surprise must've been greater than Anemone's.

"Wait! I'm coming too!"

Shion scrambled after the two.

"Then me too!"

No. 4 stopped, and looked back at Anemone.

"You aren't coming?"

Without answering, Anemone stood up and turned her back toward No. 4.

"Okay, then I'm gonna go."

From her tone of voice, it didn't seem like No. 4 took it sourly. Anemone heard a "See you later" from behind her. She kicked at some dirt. It felt like she was being really childish by herself.

[1208/10:02]

No. 4 left after Rose had finished explaining the vicinity's topography, the attributes of common enemies, and the weapons and equipment the resistance had on hand. She said she would "take a look around", so it wasn't as though she had left without warning.

Besides, she hadn't left because she got bored of the discourse. She had most likely gone to check what the other resistance members were doing.

It was hard to tell from her casual way of speech, but No. 2 knew that No. 4 was not as frivolous as she seemed. Talking a lot was her way of gathering information. As such, No. 4 was surprisingly well aware of her comrades' personalities and actions.

But whenever No. 2 pointed it out, No. 4 would avoid the topic. She always blew it off by saying she just liked cute and exciting things.

Either way, her nature was often misunderstood. Especially by people who she'd just met.

"I'm sorry about my comrade's selfish actions."

Rose replied generously to No. 2, who had her head down in shame. "I don't mind. I explained the important parts. The rest, including exchanging information, is just details."

Rose's smile as she said "I don't mind" reminded No. 2 a little bit of No. 1. No. 1 was also generous.

"You said that... you've been fighting here for a long time, right?"

Sonia nodded. She was the one that had said, "It's been a long time."

"Without any help?"

It was Rose, not Sonia, who answered that question.

"The only people you can trust on the battlefield are your comrades. Not that we have many left at this point."

No. 2 had heard that 160 androids had been deployed on the Eighth Descent Attack. The number of androids left in the resistance was in the single digits. They had lost the rest.

"What about Command?"

She had hesitated to ask. She was scared of what the answer might be. But she asked anyway.

"We've been abandoned by the moon."

As expected, the answer No. 2 didn't want to hear. Sonia shrugged and continued.

"All Command kept saying was 'top secret,' 'top secret,' 'top secret.' Only that. We knew they wouldn't be much help, but still, to be actually abandoned..."

"But, still you fight."

"Because that's what we're made to do."

Cleanse the Earth of the machines. That was their purpose, No. 2 knew that. The question was whether or not she could actually execute.

"We have to take back the Earth, for humans..."

"No. Not for anyone else. For ourselves. Our comrades are pretty much family. We fight to protect our family. It's only natural, right?"

Family. It was a foreign concept to No. 2. She found it extremely odd that Lily and Sonia called Rose "big sis". Even though she knew what "family" and "big sister" meant as words, she didn't understand them.

They're different from me, No. 2 sighed internally. Not just because she couldn't fathom the concept of a family; aside from that, Rose and the late No. 1 both had determination and a sense of responsibility that she didn't have.

"As expected of a captain. I... I can't do it."

"Of course you can. You showed some guts back there. You risked your own safety to shield your comrade, and contain her temper."

Realizing that Rose was talking about her breaking up the fight between Dahlia and No. 16, No. 2 shook her head. She hadn't intended to "risk her own safety". It was all in the heat of the moment.

"You sounded sincere."

"What?"

"You were sincerely trying to survive with your comrades. That made me want to cooperate."

She had been desperate when she had screamed, "What we need right now are comrades!" She had just spat out some random words that came to mind. Those words had swayed Rose...

"Those weren't my words. I was just repeating something I'd been told. Someone taught me that joining forces with allies is the key to victory. Those words have been stuck in my head ever since."

She could hear the voice in her head. That person had taught her many things. Thinking of them, a warmth spread through her chest. But it didn't last. As soon as she realized that person was gone, the warmth disappeared.

She would never see them again...

"You're almost like a human."

No. 2 looked up in surprise. She had been told a similar thing before, by the very same person she had been imagining.

"Have you... seen humans?"

"No, I've never seen them directly. I've just heard about them. Don't you hear about them a lot?"

When Rose and her companions had been manufactured, there had been rumors and stories about humans. No. 2 felt a bit of a generation gap. A difference of two hundred years was no small amount of time. No. 2 rarely heard stories of humans.

"I just thought you were similar to the impression of humans I got from back then. Well, I might be biased, because I want it to be true."

"Want?"

"I want to meet humans. I want to love as the humans do... It's a very common wish."

Androids, regardless of when they were made, had an innate affection and admiration for humans as an emotional support to carry them through the harsh war with machines.

Perhaps the resistance, which had been fighting on Earth, had a greater attachment to humans compared to the new YoRHa. Fighting for two hundred years meant two centuries of worshipping humans.

"Is that why you call each other by names?"

"That's right. I named everyone. So that we could communicate with each other as humans."

"I see."

This was another one of the things that No. 2 had thought was odd. Aside from a select few that made significant contributions on the battlefield, most androids were only assigned a code number, and they called each other by those numbers. Single digits were attackers, the tens were gunners, and the twenties were scanners. The system was created so that specialization of an android could be determined instantly by their number.

No. 2 had assumed that all the resistance members were given their names due to their meritorious accomplishments, but it turned out Rose had just named them herself.

"I'm thinking of naming you all as well."

"Fantastic!" Sonia squealed at Rose's suggestion. No. 2 frantically shook her head.

"N-no. Please don't!"

"Why?"

Sonia cocked her head.

"That's... uh, wasteful."

"What? No, it's not wasteful."

She had no right to have a name, not without having produced any results. Besides, Command was in charge of honorific naming. It wasn't something androids should do of their own volition. Even if they had the right to perform honorific naming, they had to fill out a request form, and get approval from the board. But she hesitated to explain that to Rose. What could she say?

"After the mission, please."

What came out was just an excuse to delay the incident. But it was better than confronting her outright, No. 2 thought. At the very least, it wouldn't make things awkward.

If, after the battle, both No. 2 and Rose's group were alive, and No. 2 had to tell them the real reason, she would let them scold her all they want—that was, if they were alive.

"I see..."

No. 2 was startled by Rose's tone of voice. Did Rose see through her? That by saying after the battle, she had stuck in a tiny fragment of hope.

"I'll think of a good name for then."

No. 2 was relieved that Rose had ended the conversation at that.

"Hey, can I help you brainstorm? No. 2's impression, let's see..."

It seemed that Sonia wanted to continue the naming conversation. No. 2 sighed internally.

"Rose! Kalmia and Clematis are here!"

Gerbera brought two unfamiliar androids with her.

"That's rare for Kalmia to show herself. What happened?"

"When I told her about the newer models, she said she wanted to see for herself."

Gerbera glanced back at the two behind her. One of them made a big nod. Which one was Kalmia, and which one was Clematis?

"Are you the new model?"

Caught by surprise, No. 2 nodded after a slight delay.

"I'm Kalmia, a weapons merchant. This is my secretary Clematis."

Weapons merchant? Was it accurate to literally interpret the title as a person that sold and bought weapons? Currency economics had existed a long time ago. She remembered hearing that the occupation of merchant disappeared along with the collapse of the system...

"And you are?"

"I am code number No. 2."

"What's your name?"

She bore a small grudge, as Kalmia brought up names yet again. "I don't have one," she answered. Sonia interjected from the side.

"She's going to get one after the mission. I'm going to help brainstorm too."

Even though she hoped the introduction of new faces would veer their conversation away from names, they were back at it again.

But it didn't go how No. 2 expected. Their conversation was cut short as they heard a cry in the distance.

"Screaming?"

Rose didn't stay around to listen to someone say, "It's Rose." Sonia and Gerbera followed. Unaware of what had happened, No. 2 blindly chased after them.

[1208/10:23]

Ashamed to face anyone, Anemone had walked away from everyone else.

But it was times like this that she would inadvertently run into people. This time as well—she ran into No. 21, Shion, Lily, and No. 4. They said they would "take a look around", so it wasn't too great a coincidence when they encountered Anemone loitering around the camp grounds.

That was fine. It was her fault. But then No. 16, Dahlia, Erica, and Margaret appeared. They had just come back from gathering water. What bad luck. She'd run into eight people at once.

Still wanting to be alone, Anemone was slowly backing up when it happened.

"Ugh. Ah... ahhh!"

Lily collapsed, clawing at her neck. Erica screamed, "Don't touch her!"

Anemone held back No. 21, who had tried to run toward her. She released the safety on her gun.

"She's infected."

Right as everyone save No. 4 and No. 21 aimed their guns, Rose appeared. She understood what had happened at a glance. Rose gave Anemone a signal with her eyes. Sonia and Gerbera drew their guns.

"What are you doing?! Stop it!"

No. 2 jumped in front of Lily. This idiot again, Anemone thought to herself.

"No. 2! Don't go near her! It's an infection! She must've contracted the logic virus from the last battle!"

The logic virus that the machines spread could all of a sudden overwrite data in an android's cyberbrain. Then it would destroy the android's consciousness and take over their body.

"What about the shield? Is it not working?"

No. 16 tilted her head to the side. The newer models might have them, but Anemone and her generation did not.

"Lily!"

No. 2 carelessly approached, but Lily pushed her away. Her body-control system was already affected. There was no way to prevent further infection, or save her. There was only one thing to do: kill her before the infection progressed and she went rampant.

"Wait!"

But this time it wasn't the idiot, No. 2.

"Aren't you all family? Lily said so. Are you going to watch your family die?!"

No. 21 stood in front of Lily. Dahlia shouted.

"Move over! We're going to shoot you too!"

"I won't! I can't accept her death without trying anything!"

"We're doing this because there's nothing we can do!"

"I can! I'll eliminate the virus!"

"There's no way..."

Dahlia's words were cut short. Looking up, Anemone could see No. 16's gun aimed at the back of Dahlia's head.

"No. 16, stop."

Rose spoke up.

"Once you're infected, there is no cure."

"Shuddup! If No. 21 says she can do it, it's possible!"

Using her voice as a cue, No. 2 and No. 4 held Lily down. They moved without hesitation. They mumbled, "Reprogramming, start," as No. 21 started typing on her terminal. Lily's body jerked off the ground. No. 4 screamed.

"What is this strength?"

Lily's right leg tried to kick No. 4, who was holding down the left leg. Anemone's body had started moving before she could think.

"Anemone?!"

Rose's voice brought Anemone back to reality, realizing that she had thrown her gun away and was holding down Lily's right leg. No. 4 was right—Lily was impossibly strong.

"The ghosts are coming... Nooo!"

Lily's voice was strangely cracking. The infection was spreading to her vocal mechanisms. Were they going to make it?

"There's no such thing as ghosts! I'll fix you!"

Lily's legs kicked up in the air, as if they were disagreeing with No. 21. Before she knew it, Anemone was sent flying back. With too little time to brace herself, Anemone groaned as she hit the ground with full impact. Yet she still got up. She had to contain Lily, or else No. 21's procedure would be interrupted.

As Anemone stood back up, swaying, she saw Dahlia and Margaret already holding Lily down. "Captain!" Dahlia cried.

"I don't want to lose anyone else!"

Dahlia, Anemone, and the rest of the named androids had killed comrades that were infected by the logic virus before they became a threat. They couldn't do anything else.

But if there was a way to save them without killing, they wanted to bet on that possibility. Killing comrades didn't get any easier after the first time; in fact, it became harder with every comrade they had to end with a bullet to the head. If there was another way...

"But..."

Rose probably felt the same. But being the leader, making the decision was a lot harder.

"Rose! Trust us! Isn't protecting your comrades the responsibility of the leader?" No. 2 said as she held down Lily's shoulders.

But suddenly No. 2's expression grew strained. Anemone wanted to ask what had happened, but before that she felt her own face pucker up into a scowl. It was hard to breathe, let alone talk. Her lungs were about to burst.

"Gravity... attack..." Dahlia said, her voice a low moan. She had been knocked off her feet, and was pinned to the ground. Anemone was also on her stomach, unable to move.

"This is bad! She's starting to acquire enemy attacks!"

As expected of a newer model, No. 4's voice was the same as usual. They probably had better resistance to gravity attacks than the older models.

"No. 21! How much longer?"

No. 16's voice carried panic. "Just a little more," said No. 21, as she removed a small chip. Lily tried to bat it away.

"No!"

No. 2 clung on to Lily's left leg. She couldn't move because of the gravity attack. Anemone desperately dragged herself toward Lily. She grabbed Lily's right ankle. No. 2 held on to the left leg. If they could hold down Lily's legs, they could restrict her movements...

"Installing data!"

No. 21, who had finally moved behind Lily, raised the chip in the air. It most likely contained a vaccine program.

"Please! Come back, Lily!"

Lily's beast-like howling drowned out No. 21. No. 21 wrapped herself around Lily to stop her writhing. Their bodies intertwined and fell down.

Right as Anemone started to suspect that the vaccine had failed, her body lightened. The gravity attack stopped.

No. 2 and Rose rushed forward at once. Rose lifted Lily into her arms, as did No. 2 for No. 21.

"Virus eliminated from the central nervous system. Force rebooted."

While she was slightly out of breath, No. 21 was as calm as always, to the point where Anemone thought she could be a little happier.

"Big sis?"

Lily looked up in confusion at Rose. It seemed she didn't remember how she got there or what she had been doing.

"You were infected by a virus. No. 21 returned you to normal."

Lily's eyes opened wide, and looked over to No. 21.

"I told you. That I'd... fix you."

No. 21 was calm, but clearly exhausted. She leaned her head on No. 2's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I told you it'd be okay," No. 16 said a little boastfully, which Dahlia followed up by poking No. 16's head.

"You were panicking too, weren't you?"

"Shut up! You wanna go?"

"What did you say? Bring it on!"

Margaret sighed, "Again?" as Dahlia and No. 16 started to squabble again. This time, Anemone didn't feel as annoyed.

While she wasn't planning on getting close with them, Anemone decided she would acknowledge the new group. They had kept her from having to kill a comrade. That was an act of pure sincerity...

[1208/14:14]

It was a quiet early afternoon. All of a sudden No. 21 was standing beside Anemone.

"You don't have to rest?"

"Yes, I'm okay."

The newer models probably recovered faster too.

"What about the others?"

"They in a meeting with Rose. About tomorrow morning's mission."

"Ah, I see."

The mission for infiltrating the server room via the elevator at the top of the mountain was set for tomorrow morning. Given their capabilities, the YoRHa would be vital to mission success.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

From No. 21's profile, Anemone thought she could see that something other than fatigue was bothering her.

"Aren't you tired?"

"No, that's not it..."

No. 21 faltered. Anemone urged her on with a look. She was being uncharacteristically nosy.

"I was thinking, in terms of close combat, there's not much a scanner can do. Is there even value in someone that can't contribute?"

Ah, so that's what it was. If a battle broke out tomorrow, it would most likely be close combat. The road to the mountaintop was narrow, and the elevator was also cramped. No. 21 was worried that she would be useless in that situation.

"And you're asking me, of all people?"

Anemone returned even more cynicism to No. 21, who had been unknowingly cynical.

"For two hundred years, I haven't been able to finish off the machines."

It sounded self-deprecating. Both Anemone and No. 21—no, perhaps Anemone even more so than No. 21—were useless puppets.

"I've been unable to die for two hundred years. And yet I wanted to live. Even though I wasn't valuable in the least."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"I know."

No. 21 had no ill will. Words with no ill will became cynicism when they were true.

"From the time we entered the stratosphere and landed on the ground, I've lost many comrades. But I'm alive, somehow. Does luck determine the value of a person?"

"Do you feel guilty? If you feel bad about living, there's a simple solution. Kill yourself, right this instant."

Anemone held out her gun for No. 21. This was ill-willed cynicism.

"I can't do that. I have to make sure the mission succeeds, for my fallen comrades as well."

"Then don't ask."

Whether or not their individual existences had value, or whatever reason they had to live, there was no choice. It was a foolish question, to ask something she already knew the answer to.

"You'll know when the time comes. Even if you don't want to know."

"You're probably right. No, you are right."

No. 21 shook her head and corrected herself. Anemone kept quiet. She didn't know what else to talk about.

It's not that she was being wary. All her suspicions evaporated when they saved Lily. In fact, Anemone was glad she didn't have to take the initiative and talk. Put simply, she was bad at conversation. Whether that be small talk or in-depth discussions of research.

Thus, No. 21 was the one to break the silence.

"There's really nothing to see on Mount Ka'ala, is there?"

"It's been that way. There's nothing there."

She lied, just a little. Back when there used to be night and day everywhere on Earth, this very spot looked out at a crimson sky and sea, or so she had heard. But that was before the Earth's axis had tilted, so it was a description from ancient times. Even before Anemone and her squadron had landed on Earth.

"Have you always been like that?"

No. 4 appeared from behind No. 21. When did she get here? She had approached them without making a sound.

"What do you mean?"

"You seem so bored. Just like the view from here, nothing there. Have you always been like that?"

"Who knows?"

No. 4 asked some stupid questions.

"I don't remember what I was like before."

"Androids should have customized simulated memories, though?"

Perhaps she was influenced by No. 4, but No. 21 was seemingly interested in this irrelevant topic. "I forgot," said Anemone, deciding it was better to let it go.

"Huh? Doesn't that mean there's something wrong with your brain?"

Anemone felt her shoulders drop. She just didn't like No. 4.

"Why are you all so prying?"

"Because we're interested."

"Leave me alone," Anemone replied, as she turned away. Yet No. 4 continued the conversation without regard.

"If we lost our memories, would we be different people? If we lost our memories and we became different people, would that still count as living on?"

"I didn't lose my memories."

"Oh, so you do remember."

"This is stupid."

"Are they stupid? Fake memories?"

What value did fake memories have? They never happened in real life, so they weren't practical, like real experiences.

"Memories are just baggage in our artificial brains."

"But memories meant a lot to humans. They treasured them. They weren't baggage in human brains. Maybe, unbeknownst to us, there's a significance to them."

No. 21 even says sentimental things sometimes, thought Anemone, taken by surprise.

"But once you die, they disappear. That's the kind of thing memories are."

Anemone hissed those words, wanting to put an end to the useless talk. No. 4 and No. 21 didn't say anything else.

[1208/15:44]

"Is there anything else we need?"

"Mines. They're completely out."

"Ah, that explosion. What a reckless bunch. Don't you think so, Clematis?"

Upon hearing those words, No. 2 deduced that Kalmia and Clematis were doing an inventory check of the weaponry and gunpower. Apparently she had accidentally come across the pit the resistance used as an armory.

No. 2 softened her footsteps as she stepped back. It would be embarrassing if they found out she had gotten lost in the camp when it wasn't even that big to begin with. But Clematis's words stopped her in her tracks.

"Something is wrong with Rose."

"What do you mean?"

"Please look at this."

"Hm? Isn't that number wrong? There's an extra digit."

What was off by a digit? Even though she knew it was bad to eavesdrop, No. 2 strained her ears.

"No. There's no mistake that this is the amount of weapons she ordered. That's why I thought it was strange."

No. 2 knew that Rose had ordered weapons from Kalmia. No. 2 was there when she'd done it. But she didn't know the specific number. Rose had just said, "I'll send you the list, could you gather them for me?"

"It isn't new for Rose to be reckless, but this number is just absurd. It's almost like..."

Clematis hesitated to go on.

"It's almost like?"

"It's almost like she's planning for an all-out war. Their final battle."

"Don't be so dramatic."

"I understand, but..."

"An all-out war? Against the machines?"

"Looking at the order, that's the only thing I can think of."

"Are you crazy? Or maybe you're being deceived by the messengers from the moon."

From the moon? Are they talking about us? No. 2 instinctively clutched her chest. Her breathing was tense. She couldn't. They would hear her. At this rate...

No. 2 backed away, careful to not make a sound. After she was far enough, she ran. She was still struggling. There was a dull pain in her stomach.

Rose is going into her last battle? Because of us? No, Rose isn't such a rash person. Clematis is probably misjudging. Or maybe she's being overanxious.

But actually—am I sure about that? Aren't I trying to reject Clematis's words because I don't want to bear the responsibility of them? No, that can't be. Rose would never choose to put her comrades in danger. The weapon order is large because us four came. That's got to be it...

She had no clue where she had run off to. Suddenly, she almost butted heads with No. 21. No. 2 could barely keep a scream in.

"No. 2?"

No. 21 said with a puzzled look. Next to her was Lily.

"Uh... so, you were here."

"Did something happen?"

No. 21 was sharp. No. 21 ignored that, and turned to Lily.

"Lily, are you feeling better now? Is it okay for you to be walking?"

No. 2 had tried to smile, but perhaps her goggles hid her eyes, and it didn't come across how she wanted. Lily hid behind No. 21.

I didn't mean to scare you, was what she wanted to say, but Lily's glare made her shrink away.

"You may be No. 21's captain, but Rose is my only captain!"

Lily announced that and turned around.

"No. 2, I'll report you later!"

No. 21 followed Lily. Unable to fathom the situation, No. 2 was left standing on the spot. What Lily had said, that "Rose is my only captain," was stuck in her head.

"I know that."

She didn't need to be reminded that she wasn't captain material. She just didn't expect to hear it from a member of the resistance. That meant it was obvious to people outside of her squadron as well...

"Just as I thought, captain is too much responsibility for me."

She suddenly felt tired, so sat down right where she was standing.

"You're being all weak again."

She heard a familiar voice. She wanted to cry.

"I can't do it. Seed, I can't."

She had never wanted to be with Seed as badly as now. She wanted to see her one more time. She wanted to cry and tell her about her fears—and she wanted to be scolded by her.

By the person that had taught her many things.

[11941 11 15~]

"Duck!"

She was pushed to the ground as soon as she heard the warning. Her head was pinned, her nose in the dirt. The moment she tried to raise her head, she heard an explosion. A heat wave rushed over her back. She got goose bumps after realizing that she would've been hit directly had she not been ducking.

"What are you doing, wandering around like that. Are you an idiot?"

The android that had pushed No. 2 down was clearly an older model.

"Th-thank you. Sorry about that."

"What are you doing here?"

"Uh, well... where am I? I got lost."

She was going to be reprimanded, she knew it. How the hell could an android get lost? She thought she would be suspected as a defective model. But her reply was unexpected.

"Well, I'm not surprised."

"What?"

"This is an experimental area that simulates conditions where location data is not obtainable."

I see, thought No. 2, relieved. She had lost track of how far she had walked and which direction she was heading in, so much so that she was about to cry. But apparently that wasn't due to her incompetence.

"But how did you get in here? It doesn't look like you're an experimental subject or a staff member?"

"W-well, I got lost."

"Huh? In this small orbiting base?"

This time for sure she expected a scolding, but again she was wrong. She burst out laughing. No. 2 stared at her, surprised.

"You, would an android say that?"

"I'm sorry..."

"I thought you were joking at first, No. 2."

She laughed again.

"You know about me?"

"Yeah. I know about you YoRHa very well."

No. 2 widened her eyes in shock. Why? Who was this android?

"I'm Seed. An older-generation experimental model."

Seed was apparently in charge of the weapons and equipment for the YoRHa squadron. It made sense—no wonder she had data of No. 2 and the rest of the YoRHa as well.

"From up close, you really do look like humans, don't you?"

"Have you seen humans?"

"Yep."

Seed had said that so nonchalantly, but to No. 2 it was so incredible she seemed almost divine. There were very few androids that were allowed to meet with the humans on the moon. The more androids that came, the more bodyguards needed. Therefore, for an android to have seen a human meant that it was one of the chosen few. Just thinking of it made No. 2's heart beat faster.

And that wasn't all. Seed had more to say.

"I lived with humans, shared experiences, and stormed the battlefield with them."

"Battlefield?! You've been to Earth?!"

"Only three times."

"Wow!"

Only three times? That was a lot. Seed was a veteran who had fought on Earth three times. And unbelievably, No. 2 was talking with her right now. Her excitement made her babble a bit excessively.

"We're also going to Earth soon, but I'm a bit worried..."

"Hey, hey, isn't that a top secret mission?"

"Oh! That's right!" She covered her mouth with her hand in a hurry.

"You're funny. If you're bored, come again. I wanted someone to talk to. Oh, don't enter the experimental area though, okay? You wouldn't last," Seed said with a snicker.

The Earth is blue.

The first human to see the Earth from space had said that, Seed taught her. Apparently she was just passing down information. She had heard the story from some of the humans on whose side she'd fought.

"But from the ground, it's not blue at all. Everywhere you look is the color of sand. I felt duped."

For her first landing, Seed had touched down in the desert. She had apparently landed in the middle of a sandstorm and fought machines there.

"After the battle with the machines, I was told to look up. I was so beaten down, I just wanted to go home, so I was like why am I doing this—and when I looked up, the sky was blue."

The sandstorm had passed. The blue sky extended forever, nothing in its way, recalled Seed, nostalgically.

"Earth from space and space from Earth are both blue. Even though neither of them are actually blue. Isn't that interesting?"

"Are you still worried?" Seed asked, staring at No. 2's face.

"I'm worried, but now I'm looking forward to it too."

No. 2 occasionally sought out Seed between her trainings. She was told to come see her again, but No. 2 genuinely wanted to see her. Even though she was a "chosen one" who had fought alongside humans, she was really openhearted and friendly. It made her happy.

At times she would whine or confide in her about her worries, but Seed never criticized her. She always teased her by saying "You're whining again?" but her tone of voice was gentle and her eyes smiled when she said it.

On this day, Seed was again telling her stories of her battles on Earth as she was repairing her chassis. Apparently there was a specialist that performed maintenance on her chassis, but she chose to do it herself unless there was a serious issue.

Seeing her expertly swap out parts for her right femur was exhilarating.

"Ms. Seed, why did you..."

"You don't need to use a 'Ms.', just Seed is fine."

It made it feel like they were a bit closer, which made her happy. She decided to ask her a slightly rude question. They were at the point where she didn't have to worry about formalities, and could focus solely on her curiosities.

"Seed, why did you take over the role of testing new equipment?"

"Is it weird?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I heard that the experiments can be... pretty rough."

There were often many blemishes in the prototype equipment, and the experiments, which simulated various situations, put quite a bit of stress on the chassis. Not to mention older models had less durability relative to the new YoRHa. To be honest, it was extremely dangerous. Then why did she want to take part in such a thing?

"Well, I should be retired by now, after all."

Seed's chassis was covered in scars. Perhaps they had stopped production of her original parts; much of her body used parts that were obviously not of her original design.

"I left everything on the battlefield. Do you understand?" she asked, to which No. 2 shook her head. She had never even been in a battle, so she couldn't imagine a battlefield either.

"Anger, sadness, fear, and even happiness. I have none of it now. There's nothing in this empty head of mine." Seed looked down at her hands. "But when I'm holding a weapon, I forget all of that. Even if this is a simulated battlefield."

Considering Seed's point of view, why did No. 2 feel a bit of sadness? It was hard to imagine Seed, a celebrated warrior, being sad.

"What are you doing?" barked the commander.

No. 2 rushed to salute her. The commander looked over at Seed and No. 2 and slightly cocked her head.

"Seed, it's rare for you to be talking to a new model."

"She's interesting to me."

"No. 2? She's a mediocre specimen lacking extraordinary qualities."

"Sorry," No. 2 said, as her shoulders drooped. Just as the commander had said, she was average in every way and had nothing she was exceptionally good at. No. 2 knew it too well.

"An average model, huh. That's good."

"What?"

What did she mean? What could be good about being an unexceptional model?

"Being average means she has the potential to improve in every way."

"Potential..."

"I guess you could say there's more room for hard work to factor in. You can improve any aspect of yourself with hard work and adaptations. You can decide how you want to improve."

She had never thought of it like that. A boring, unexceptional model. That's what she thought she was.

"You see? There's a sea of possibility awaiting you."

All of a sudden, it was almost as if she could see a bright light in front of her. But it was too bright. At least, too bright for now.

"And a person who knows they're average is strong."

"Strong? Me?"

"You know that you can't accomplish things alone, so you try to engage the help of others. You know how to trust and treasure your companions. That's the strength of an average person."

It didn't click for her, even if she was called strong. Seed saw that, and nodded, "Yeah, well, it's okay if you don't understand now. Just remember that you can win if you fight together. That's enough for now."

Then Seed looked over at the commander standing to the side and gave her a knowing look.

No. 2 couldn't believe it when she heard that Seed had died, even though the news came straight from the commander.

She replayed the message from the commander over and over. She thought she was being pranked. She thought a laughing Seed would appear on the screen saying, "Were you surprised? Sorry." That's what she believed. It's not like she had evidence, she just believed that was the case.

"Hey, No. 2. You still alive?"

Seed was laughing, like always. See, she was still alive. Her dying was just a joke after all...

"If you're seeing this message, then that means I'm no longer a part of this world."

She stopped breathing. She thought her heart would stop beating too.

"Unlike humans, we're told that androids have no souls. This message is the closest thing to a soul that I can leave you with."

"No..." Her voice sounded far away.

"Due to the invasion of the machines, and the human retreat to the moon, Earth has virtually returned to a state of nature. Looking at Earth now, filled with greenery, I'm starting to think that humanity were the bad guys..."

Seed stopped talking. She looked down, as if she was thinking about something, or was trying to remember something. She spoke up again.

"Recently I've been thinking. If my memories of living among humans are real. If they're artificial, what are we fighting? I don't know anymore."

She remembered Seed's face when she had said, "I have none of it now." She had a sad expression, unbefitting of a strong warrior.

"No. 2. I don't want you to become like me. I want you to find a reason to live."

A reason to live? She didn't know what Seed meant. She didn't know what she was saying, or what she was being told to do, because it seemed like she'd never see Seed again.

"Thanks for talking to me. Goodbye."

After Seed disappeared from the screen, No. 2 couldn't move. It felt like something within her would collapse the moment she moved.

"This message was recorded before she died. In case something happened to her."

Seed was dead. No. 2 said that over and over in her head, but it wasn't sinking in.

"What happened?"

"An accident during an experiment. The new equipment failed."

The new equipment she was referring to was probably the magnetic field-resistant skin. Seed had said that her experiment would protect the latest generation from all EMP attacks.

"I can't believe she died!"

No. 2 had planned to visit Seed right after returning from the descent attack. She wanted to talk to Seed about Earth. Tell her how she felt when she looked up at the sky. How she felt when she stepped on the green Earth...

"I know! Aren't there spare chassis?! What about her personal data backup?!"

Even if her original body was gone, as long as they had her personal data, they could upload it to a temporary body. That way, No. 2 could see Seed again. But the commander's words destroyed any meager hope that No. 2 had.

"This is already a decided matter."

"But!"

"We can't fix her."

"Wait! Commander!"

"That is all."

There was nothing she could say. No. 2 fell to her knees on the spot.

"No... it can't be..."

Why couldn't they upload the personal data to a spare chassis? Technologically speaking, avoiding death was possible. Yet.

"Why? I can't accept that!"

The commander had already disappeared.

"I can't... accept that..."

Her shoulders involuntarily shook. Pain rose from the bottom of her throat. No. 2 cried alone in a deserted hallway.

[1209/04:59]

Before No. 2 could say, "I can't accept that," No. 16 blew up in anger, yelling, "Are you kidding?"

"We can't approve the deployment of reinforcements. Command wishes for resolution with your current manpower."

No. 2 couldn't hear any emotion in Futaba's voice. Didn't she know she was pretty much telling them to die?

"There are hostiles gathered near the elevator of the server room. Please swiftly make your way to the destination."

They had called for reinforcements precisely because they couldn't do that. The path to the peak of Mount Ka'ala was infested with an unbelievable number of machines. Even though the troop had embarked bfore dawn, when they expected the machines to be sluggish, the machines were not as inactive as they had hoped.

Furthermore, the number of machines was not the only thing that was unexpected.

"It's no use! Can't locate the cooled area in their torsos!"

Dahlia's voice contained traces of panic and irritation. Up until this point, all they'd had to do was use their thermo sensors to identify the cooler brain section of the machines and attack that point. But the enemies today had no distinguishable contrast in heat throughout their bodies.

"As expected. They most likely put some heat-insulating material around their cooled brain unit," No. 21 said, with furrowed brows. The machines had analyzed their attacks, learned, and come up with a countermeasure...

"We aren't like you, floating safely in orbit! Send us reinforcements already!" No. 16 roared at the transmission device. She was clearly panicked. But the replies that came back through the transmission were blissfully unaware of their predicament.

"I'll repeat. Use the local resistance to protect the YoRHa squadron, and make your way to the elevator."

"What is the resistance to you—just pawns on a chessboard?"

Dahlia's face was red with rage. It was only natural. The lunar stronghold had ignored the resistance for so long, only to use them when it was convenient.

"Let me talk to the commander! I demand an answer from the commander!"

Talking to the operator was getting nowhere. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to reach the elevator, much less destroy the server.

"This is a direct order from the commander."

"There's no way..."

No. 2 was speechless. This is the second time, she thought bitterly. Command had given no explanation when they rejected the mission cancellation request. This time too, her call for reinforcements had been rejected without a single concrete reason.

It wasn't like their request was obviously impossible from a technical or time perspective. But Command wasn't lifting a single finger to help. What was Command thinking?

"Leave this to me! Everyone go on ahead!"

Lily's voice brought No. 2 back to reality. Lily had both arms raised, standing in the way of the enemies. The red eyes of the machines all locked on to Lily.

"Watch out!"

Just as No. 2 saw that Lily was in danger, she felt her limbs weigh her down. That's when she remembered the report she had gotten from No. 21 the night before.

"Sorry! I don't have full control over it just yet!"

Lily yelled with her arms raised. It wasn't just No. 2 and the resistance that were being pinned down. The machines were also frozen in place.

"Is this?"

No. 2 knew the answer already.

"Gravity wave! Lily can use enemy attacks now!"

Struggling to keep herself from sitting, No. 2 repeated No. 21's words in her head.

The night before—after Lily had told No. 2 that "Rose is my only captain!"—No. 2 had curled up in a fetal position at the edge of camp. No. 2 had felt unreasonably dejected until No. 21 came up to her to explain the situation.

"Sorry about Lily back there," No. 21 said, as she began explaining the series of events that happened within the past hour.

"You ran into her right after she activated her gravity wave."

"What do you mean? Why Lily?"

"Logic viruses take over a chassis and make it attack its comrades. The majority of these viruses force the chassis to fight past its natural limit, making it stronger in close combat. But I suspect that Lily's virus was the type to copy its own attacks onto the infected chassis, or perhaps Lily's attack potential was too low and the virus decided to use its own attacks through Lily's chassis."

"W-wait. Sorry. I can't keep up."

"In other words, Lily is capable of machine-style attacks now."

"That's amazing!"

"That's if she can control them though."

And No. 21 told No. 2 to not tell anyone else, because Lily wanted to keep it a secret for now...

"Wow! They aren't moving!" No. 4 said as she jumped in the air, probably because gravity had returned to normal. No. 2 almost fell on her behind as a result.

"I did it!"

Lily swung her arms in a big circle. No. 2 and the troop were able to move, but the enemies were still fixed in place.

Lily, who had mastered her gravity wave, looked back with a satisfied smile.

"Head toward the elevator now! Hurry!"

But Lily's technique was but a way to slow combatants down. It didn't destroy the hostile units. So while the enemies were stuck in place, so was Lily—which meant...

Rose shook her head firmly, as if she had read No. 2's mind.

"We're not going to leave without you!"

They didn't know how long Lily could sustain her gravity wave, but it was most likely not for long. The machines that were now frozen would start moving after the wave dissipated. When that happened, Lily would be left in a horde of enemies, all alone.

"It's okay! I want to be useful!"

Lily stared down the enemy. Her straight posture exuded her strong determination.

"I was a scaredy-cat. I was a useless coward. But you saved me. You told me, of all people, to come back. That's why I want to be useful!"

"Fine," Dahlia replied, as she walked over to Lily.

"I'll support you."

"If Dahlia is staying, then I am too," said Margaret.

"Then I'm staying too," No. 16 said, and turned toward No. 2.

"YoRHa squadron Gunner No. 16 will now accompany the resistance to defend Mount Ka'ala!"

"But No. 16..."

"No. 2—no, captain. Once we return, let's kick Command's ass," No. 16 said in a jesting tone.

"And, if I left it to an incompetent person like Dahlia, I would be too worried."

"Who you calling incompetent?" Dahlia replied as she looked back.

"You wanna go?"

"Let's do it!"

Dahlia and No. 16 laughed as they bickered. Now they would have two people for close combat, and two people for long-range combat. Still, it was uncertain whether they would be able to contain the situation...

"I'm against it. Splitting up our forces is dangerous."

Dahlia emphatically interrupted Rose.

"If we all stall here, the mission can't go on! Captain Rose, let us do it!"

That was a good point. Since they couldn't expect any reinforcements, they needed to create an opening. No. 2 agreed that at this rate they would all die. On the other hand, splitting up their already small group was also dangerous. Separate groups might end up being too undersized to handle waves of enemies.

Either choice was dangerous. As a captain, which way was No. 2 supposed to choose...

"Okay. We'll split into two and continue."

If she had been the one to decide, No. 2 would not have reached a decision this quickly. She might've still been hesitating, on the verge of crying. But, realized No. 2, she and Rose had reached the same conclusion. Whatever the chance, if there was even the smallest possibility, they would bet on it.

And she wouldn't want to waste Lily's desire to be useful. She understood how Lily felt, because she also had an inferiority complex of feeling like useless baggage. Wanting to be useful to her comrades. If she had a chance, she wouldn't want to waste it either.

"No. 2, is that okay?"

"Yes!"

No. 2 looked at No. 4 and No. 21. They both nodded. After saluting to No. 16, No. 2 chased after Rose.

[1209/06:01]

The elevator hall was cold. The mountain peak reached a dizzying altitude. Because of that, of course it would be cold, but it was freezing past those expectations. It was well suited as the entrance to hell.

Anemone brushed those thoughts out of her mind; it was out of character to be thinking of things like that.

"Rose? What happened?"

Sonia ran around Rose and looked up at her face. Now that she said it, Rose looked more solemn than usual.

"I shouldn't have left Lily and the others after all..."

No. 2 was the one that stopped Rose, who was about to turn around and go back.

"Wait!"

How many times had Anemone seen No. 2 stop someone? She seemed quiet, but in times like this she became heated.

"Lily said she wanted to be useful! She isn't going to be a pawn! Dahlia, Margaret, and No. 16 are all desperately fighting, I'm sure! If we go back now..."

No. 2's voice trembled and broke off. She couldn't say the rest. How naive, Anemone thought. But that was okay. She was naive because she had never been betrayed. It was better for her not to experience the pain and despair that came with betrayal. Serious and good-natured, that's how No. 2 should be.

"Okay."

Rose painfully agreed. She leaned against a boulder that was off to the side and peered at the elevator door.

Lily and the rest would die. It was the obvious truth. The death of comrades; they had experienced such over and over.

I want to name us. We're family. Doesn't it feel more natural to call each other by name?

Anemone still remembered the face Rose had made when she first said that. She wore a forced smile. Her voice shook, as if it were being blown around in the wind.

At their feet was a pile of bodies—comrades who had been infected by a virus. That day, they lost five. Their code numbers were strangely consecutive.

Up until that point, losing numbers had tormented them with intolerable sadness. Numbers were cruel. They would be reminded of their fallen comrades by their numbers.

Five code numbers were lost. That hole brought unparalleled pain. A hole, wide and deep.

"How lovely! Like humans!"

"And I'm going to call captain 'big sis.'"

Everybody agreed. They decided to ignore the countdown to a harsh future.

They knew. That someday, everyone would be gone...

"What's wrong, No. 21?"

No. 2's puzzled voice brought Anemone back to reality. No. 21 was crouched before the elevator, scowling. Half her face was covered by goggles, so all Anemone could see was her puckered mouth. Her expression made Anemone worried.

"All we had to do was go to the server room... but the elevator won't activate."

"Why?"

"The enemies put up security. I need to release it in order to access the bottom floor."

"No..."

"It's okay. I just need to hack it. It's easy."

No. 21 smiled and started to operate the terminal. Anemone thought something was off. Was it really easy? Then why had she seemed so upset a moment before?

"See, easy."

The elevator doors slid open. Rose and the rest of the group entered. Anemone followed. No. 21 didn't budge. Anemone's suspicion was confirmed.

"Go on without me."

"Why? Let's go, No. 21..."

"I want to, but if I stop the operation, the elevator will stop as well. I need to stay here and keep hacking until the elevator reaches the bottom floor."

No. 21 said so in a swift manner. Anemone jumped out of the closing elevator.

"I'm staying! On to the server room, everyone! Leave support for No. 21 to me!"

"Okay! I'm counting on you!"

The elevator doors closed on Rose's voice and No. 2's surprised expression.

"Since when?"

Anemone slowly pointed her gun at No. 21.

"You can... tell? I don't dislike how intuitive you are."

"It's not intuition. I know. I've seen many people go through this."

No 21's body swayed erratically. It was a distinguishing symptom of the logic virus.

[1209/06:20]

Minute vibrations and a sinking sensation accompanied their descent. The only problem was, since the elevator was ancient, the trip was excruciatingly slow.

"I wonder if Anemone is okay."

Gerbera mumbled. "It's okay," No. 2 replied.

"The elevator is still moving, so they should both be okay."

No. 21 had said she needed to keep hacking to keep the elevator moving. The fact that all of them were heading toward the bottom of the shaft was an indicator that the two of them were still alive.

"But No. 21 was infected."

No. 2 and No. 4 gave each other a look after hearing Sonia speak.

"I know. I've seen a lot."

"What do you mean you've seen a lot?"

"Androids infected by the virus have their motor functions damaged. Their movements become irregular, and..."

No. 2 met eyes with Erica.

"So you mean..."

Erica averted her eyes before No. 2 could finish. Erica had noticed too. Then Anemone must've been aware as well. Anemone had seen just as many infected androids as Sonia and Erica.

"So that's why she said she'd stay," No. 4 mumbled gloomily. Then, they suddenly heard a rumble. It wasn't from nearby. Sonia glanced around nervously.

"What was that?"

The heat source was displayed on No. 2's goggles. She looked at the location—the last known coordinates for Lily, Dahlia, and Margaret—in dismay. And one more person.

"No. 16..."

The temperature and the scale implied that this was no simple explosion. A suspicion that their fusion reactors had acted up crossed No. 2's mind.

"We need to go back!"

She reached for the elevator control panel, but she was grabbed by the back of her neck and pulled away.

"What are you doing? Let me go!"

But Rose grabbed her by the collar, and pushed her against the wall.

"Who chose to leave them there?"

"But—"

"You know what happened!"

Earlier, No. 2 stopped Rose from going back. This time, Rose was trying to stop No. 2 from going back. They both knew... Rose and No. 2.

Of course, No. 2 knew what happened. No. 16 had detonated her fusion reactor in hopes of exterminating the enemies, along with Lily, Dahlia, and Margaret. Infected No. 21, who was still hacking, and Anemone, who had stayed behind to kill her. If they pulled back now, all those deeds would be meaningless.

"But I'm... sad. This is..."

"No. 2," said No. 4, as she rested a hand on her shoulder. "Don't you want to fight?"

How easy would it make things if she replied that she didn't—that she had always hated it. Even though she was a soldier, deep down she wished they didn't have to fight. But saying that was prohibited.

"No. 4, aren't you sad?"

"I'm sad. But we need to fight. That's why we exist."

"That's true, but..." Not wanting to bother her comrades. Not wanting to be a burden to her comrades. That was how No. 2 had fought, in training and on the battlefield. Everything she did was for the sake of her comrades, but her comrades kept dying. That was unbearably sad.

"Why do we have the emotion of sadness? Even though we're androids."

"In order to adapt to various situations. Humans, who had no fangs, claws, or wings, were able to emerge victorious via the process of natural selection and thrive due to their adaptability. We were made in the image of those humans—that's what I heard a long time ago. Back when I was still in orbit," explained Gerbera.

"But isn't that a paradox?" No. 4 interrupted. Because she had her goggles on crooked, as always, it was easy to tell what she was feeling from her expression. No. 2 was familiar with the look in No. 4's eye.

"What do you mean by paradox?"

No. 4 turned toward Shion, whose head was turned to the side. Hearing how No. 4 said, "Because," confirmed No. 2's suspicion. No. 4 was trying to change the subject. So No. 2 wouldn't brood over her thoughts.

"Because we were made to do things that humans couldn't do. Destroy the machines. This is something humans couldn't accomplish."

"Yeah," said Shion.

"That's right. If it's better to be like humans, then we should be like humans. But we're also tasked with doing things that humans couldn't do."

"It's true! It is a paradox!"

The elevator was moving along at a consistent pace. The bottom floor was still a way to go. Gerbera spoke up.

"Perhaps humans wanted that paradox to defy logic. For example, via our simulated memories."

It wasn't only No. 4 that wanted to change the subject. Everybody was trying to find a lighter subject to talk about, especially because they were trapped in such a small space.

"Simulated memories, huh?"

Rose's eyes lightened up a little. From that, No. 2 could tell that her simulated memories were filled with happiness.

"Rose was a little boy. A little boy with a military dad."

Sonia said with a chuckle. She had certainly heard of Rose's days as a a boy. "Lucky," No. 4 said enviously.

"I was a girl who wore a uniform to school. A high school student. I only have memories about fooling around with friends every day."

"Yours are better. Mine are about being a bullied child." Gerbera sighed.

Compared to Gerbera, her own simulated memories were happier, thought No. 2. Her memories were about living with her grandmother in the countryside—warm and peaceful memories. Her parents passed away early on, so it was just her and her grandmother living together. She "remembered" tending to the fields every day, the feel of the soil, and the smell of grass.

"I only remember growing up on the battlefield. My parents were killed, and I was handed a gun at an early age," Erica revealed with a dark look.

"Me too," replied Shion.

"Apparently Lily had similar ones too. She was always dragging bad memories around with her."

Sonia's words made No. 2 recall when Lily had said, "I was a scaredy-cat." Lily's sense of exaggerated fear must have been born of her memories.

"Sonia was the same. Sonia was always sad and alone. But right now she's Rose's little sister. Sonia and Lily are also both little sisters to Rose. Those are the real memories. That's why I'm not sad anymore."

Everyone was aware that simulated memories were not real. But to the individual, they all seemed real. Simulated memoreis were just as vivid as, if not more vivid than, the real memories they had.

No. 2's own memories weren't awful, but other people were not as lucky. There were people who struggled constantly from the terrible memories they were given. Just to "be like humans."

"The time we spent together has overwritten our fake memories. By experiencing joy and sadness together, we've accumulated real memories."

Rose patted Sonia, who was standing next to her, on the head. No. 2 understood that this was what a "big sister" was. Her hands had a hidden strength that would protect her family. Those hands existed because she was humanlike.

"Maybe..." started No. 4. "Machines don't have emotions, but if they've acquired them..."

Machines, which simply and emotionlessly executed orders from the server. If they had acquired emotion, if they had begun to experience camaraderie and learned to protect one another, wouldn't they become an even more terrifying foe?

The mere thought made No. 2 shiver with fear.

[[1209/06:30]

No. 21's fingers shook as she typed commands into the terminal. The progression was faster than she had expected.

"Aren't you able to eliminate logic viruses? Can't you do what you did to Lily, but this time for yourself..."

"I want to, but it seems the enemy is evolving. They've adapted to my patterns and are resistant to my hacking."

"Right. If you could, you would've done it a long time ago. I asked a dumb question. Sorry."

"It's fine," No. 21 replied, her voice strained.

"I'm glad you stayed. Once the elevator gets to the bottom floor..."

"Yeah," replied Anemone. "I'll kill you."

A sigh escaped from No. 21's lips. It sounded like she was relieved or in great pain. Perhaps it was both.

Either way, it wouldn't be long before No. 21 lost consciousness. First her sense of balance would deteriorate. If the tims of her fingers and toes were being affected already, it meant the infection had progressed pretty far.

The limited time remaining slowly whittled away. The elevator's floor display wasn't changing very quickly.

Anemone feared what would happen if she had to kill No. 21 before the elevator reached the server room. That fear irritated her.

"How much longer? Has it not arrived at the bottom floor?"

"Wait. A little longer. Just a little bit."

No. 21's fingers moved frantically. She was panting. She probably would've struggled just to sit up. At the same time, it was depressing that Anemone could decipher how far the virus had progressed. She had seen so many of her comrades die that she could tell the status of the victim from just their mannerisms and expressions.

"They made it."

No. 21 let go of the terminal. Her hands ripped off her goggles. No. 21 slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey, those eyes..."

Anemone was speechless. No. 21's eyes were both blood red. It was a symptom from the terminal stages of infection. It was a miracle she was operating the terminal in this stae. It wouldn't have been surprising if she had gone rampant minutes ago. She must have held it together via sheer willpower, to get No. 2 and the group to the server room.

"Please. While I'm still myself."

Anemone leveled the gun at No. 21. She struggled to keep her hands steady.

"Any last words?"

No. 21's mouth distorted into a smile. Or rather, she tried to smile.

"Who would you pass them on to, even if I had any?"

"I'll hear you out. Even if I die right after this."

"I'm glad I met you. These memories are real. Thank you."

"Okay."

"Come on, hurry!"

Anemone quietly pulled the trigger. A familiar pulse passed through her arm. No. 21 flew into the air. Anemone thought she could see a smile on her face. The matter that had previously been No. 21 fell to the floor with a thud.

"I'm coming soon..."

Lily, Dahlia, Margaret, and No. 16 were all dead. No. 21 had told her that an explosion induced by fusion reactors had occurred. The heat signature was just around the size of four exploding reactors. There must have been enemy reinforcements, and they were forced to self-destruct, she said.

It was unknown how many of Rose's group would survive as well. There was a possibility that they were all already dead. In fact, that was more likely. There was no chance that the enemy would leave a server room that controlled the entire Asia-Pacific region unguarded.

Anemone pointed the gun at her own temple. All she had to do was pull the trigger. She could do it with her eyes closed. It was incredibly simple...

She couldn't move. Her hand, which held the gun, was frozen in place. Her finger wouldn't move to the trigger. She struggled to breathe. A cold sweat burst from her pores. Her vision wavered erratically... Her legs were shaking.

"Why?!"

She forcefully moved her arm, which felt as though it had a mind of its own. The gun dropped from her hand. She heard the gun fire. Anemone fell to her knees in defeat. She realized she had thrown away the gun, not dropped it.

Anemone had her hands on the ground and was gasping for air. She couldn't breathe. It wasn't cold, but she couldn't stop herself from shaking.

"What a mess..."

To think she had killed so many comrades, yet was having second thoughts when it came to killing herself. Pull the trigger. That was the only thing she had to do. Just that.

"Shit!"

Anemone searched No. 21's body for whatever weapons she might have been carrying. She remembered No. 21 sheepishly admitting she didn't take part in battles very often. As a result, she wasn't outfitted with anything particularly useful in battle. There was only the most standard equipment: a small-caliber pistol and a knife.

Anemone put No. 21's pistol and knife on her belt. She scooped up her own gun and dashed out of the elevator hall.

If she couldn't kill herself, she would let the machines kill her. Of course, she wasn't going down easily. She would take as many of them with her as she could.

"Hey, you suckers! I'm here! Kill me if you can!" Anemone screamed as she rushed into a swarm of hostiles.

[[1209/06:39]

The bottom floor was even more frigid than the elevator hall, and smelled of rust and dust. While it wasn't pitch-dark, the dim light required them to watch their feet when they walked.

"What's that?"

Rose, who was leading the group, stopped. No. 2 strained her eyes to see what Rose was pointing at.

"Humans?"

Rose cautiously moved closer. As they approached the figures, it became clear from their silhouettes that they were indeed at least humanoid. They were small, and were wearing wide-hemmed clothing.

"Red clothes? Girls?"

Two girls wearing identical outfits—a short one-piece in a vivid red that was visible in the darkness.

No. 4 spoke in an unusually deep voice. "Those red girls... they don't look like your average children."

At the very least, they weren't human. Their heat signatures didn't match those of humans, and there weren't any humans left on Earth in the first place.

"Welcome."

"They talk," exclaimed someone. It was surreal for them to look like humans, and also talk. Their voices were raspy and clearly artificial. The red girls were that strange.

"We are an extremity of machines."
"We were modeled after your form."

It took a long moment to process what the girls had said. Machines. Extremities. It was hard to make the connection between those terms and these two girls.

"W-we need to contact Command..." No. 2's voice got stuck in her throat. No. 4 yelled into her transmission device, in lieu of the struggling No. 2.

"Command! Please answer! Command?!"

The transmission device was dead. No. 4 tried different frequencies and even laser transmission, without a single answer.

"They won't answer. We're blocking transmissions."
"Because we want to have a long conversation with you."

The red girls spun around, as if they were dancing.

"We were waiting for you to come, this whole time."
"We were watching you, this whole time."

The two girls tilted their heads to the side in a mirrored fashion. The girl on the right tilted her head toward the right, and the girl on the left toward the left. The way they acted made No. 2 very uncomfortable.

"Why do you try so hard?"
"Why do you want to die so much?"

"Don't be stupid!" screamed Rose. "It's because of you fools, isn't it?! You're the ones that stole Earth away from humanity!"

The girls ignored the accusations, and instead started giggling.

"You were only created to die."
"You were only sent to Earth to die."

Wanting to drown out the girls, No. 2 raised her voice in a frenzy. "That's wrong! We came to fight! We weren't created to die!"

The girls scoffed at her reply.

"Even though humans abandoned you?"
"Even though you're being used?"

No. 4 suddenly drew her sword and attacked. "Shut up!"

It was an uncharacteristically intense shriek from No. 4. She was swinging her sword as hard as she could. Perhaps that's why the girls dodged her attacks so easily.

"We hacked into your servers and found some interesting information."
"It's very important, so listen carefully."
"The YoRHa squadron were deployed as experimental weapons."
"The unexpectedly severe battles and conditions were anticipated by Command."
"Command wants to use your battle data to create a more advanced autonomous soldier."
"Command planned all of this."
"You're the only ones that survived."

"These kids... what are they saying?"

Their request to scrub the mission was rejected. Their request for reinforcements was rejected. Command rejected them, repeatedly, without reason.

"And you still want to fight?"
"And you still want to resist?"

No. 2 was opposed to Command's decision. She had thought it was strange. She kept trying to ignore it, but a doubt had sprouted in the back of her mind since the time Seed had died.

"From the beginning, Command was going to..."

From the beginning they had planned on abandoning the YoRHa squadron. Perhaps Seed was declared dead because she had too many attachments to YoRHa? Or did Seed know all along, and act nice toward No. 2 because she had felt guilty?

"No. 2! Don't be fooled! We don't know if it's the truth or a lie!"

No. 4's voice brought her back to reality.

"We didn't survive for no reason!"

Rose's voice gave No. 2 enough strength to grip her sword again. She was right. How many comrades had they lost on their journey to this subterranean level? Ending this mission would mean that the sacrifices of their comrades had been in vain.

For now, all they had to do was what they were told. They could ponder their existence after they completed the mission.

"Then fight."
"With this boy."

The girls beckoned with their hand. A silhouette appeared from an area that had been empty just a few moments ago. It was a machine with a body slightly larger than any of the machines they had fought before, with eight legs protruding out of it. An appearance that could only be described as repulsive.

"Where did it come from..."

There was no time to dwell on the question. The machine started to move. It manipulated its legs, which were bent at right angles, to move around, giving it a freakish gait. But it was unexpectedly fast. No. 2 could sense danger in the back of her mind.

She promptly turned on her thermo sensor, but couldn't perceive any temperature differentials. Just as they all feared their enemies would, the machines had studied the resistance's attacks and adapted.

Rose readied her sword.

"Let's destroy it!"

Gerbera, Shion, and Erica all said, "Yes," in unison, as they spread out. After flanking the machine, they began to attack at once. Three of them formed one group, and Rose and Sonia composed the second. On the third flank were No. 2 and No. 4.

They knew it would be a tough battle. Any machine deployed on Earth was encased in extraordinarily resilient armor. They were far more formidable than any simulated foe androids might face during training. And to think they didn't know what its weaknesses were.

That wasn't all. The eight-legged foe suddenly rose up. Before they knew it, it was on its six hind limbs, and attacking them with the front two.

"Everyone, dodge it!"

The two legs crashed down, their tips leaving deep gouges in the ground. Had she been late to dodge, she would have ben crushed, thought No. 2 with a shiver.

She hadn't expected the enemy to use its legs, a means of motion, as a means of attack. And the enemy hadn't slowed a bit since switching to six legs.

Erratic motion, hard armor, and an unexpectedly powerful attack—how were they going to destroy it? And more importantly, how long could they dodge those attacks...

The feeling of desperation, like that had accompanied her first battle on Earth, took ahold of No. 2.

"This one's strong!" Erica cried hopelessly from behind No. 2. Gerbera and Shion were gasping for air. No. 2 panicked, because she knew they would have to end this as fast as possible. The longer they took, the more Rose and her group would struggle. She knew how fragile the chassis of a two-hundred-year-old model could be. Seed had been like that too. Every moment outside of field tests was spent repairing her chassis...

"Erica!" Shion screamed.

"No!"

No. 2 thought she heard the scream of someone nearby, but in reality it was herself. The same unsightly legs had crumpled Erica's left side in one swipe. Red liquid gushed out. It was definitely an instant death.

Suddenly, the machine crouched. Just as No. 2 processed the motion and braced herself for its next attack, the enemy disappeared from her line of sight.

"It jumped?"

It happened in a flash. The machine leapt into the air as if it were weightless.

"Gerbera!"

There was no time to stop it. The machine landed, twisting Gerbera's neck in an impossible direction. At the same time, its front legs assaulted Shion.

Shion, who had been paralyzed in fear, was slammed to the ground. She had been pierced by legs as thick as her femur. She probably had no time to even feel pain.

That wasn't all. The machine spread its eight legs and splayed itself onto the bodies of Erica and the other troops, looking to crush them all.

"You shit!"

Rose whipped her sword over her head. No. 4 grabbed her arm.

"Wait! It's behaving weirdly!"

Right as the machine started to move, the bodies of Erica and the others took to their feet. They weren't alive. There was no chance that anyone with a pulverized heart, snapped neck, or gaping hole in their torso could still be alive.

The three of them swayed as they walked. No. 2 had seen those movements before. Slight irregular swaying, as if they were being pushed around by wind.

"Were you... infected?"

It sounded like Rose was on the verge of crying. No. 2 was shocked that Rose could sound like this, and it brought with it a sense of despair. Erica, Shion, and Gerbera were all silent. They had no expression and said no words. They just kept walking.

Gerbera, who had sighed and confessed about being a bullied child. Erica, who had said, her expression dark, that all she could remember from her childhood was battle. Shion, who had said she went through the same experience. It had hardly been an hour since that conversation.

"Just stop!" Sonia screamed as her knees buckled. The infected trio started to move differently. Their leisurely gaits turned into agile leaps. The three of them were scrambling for Sonia, guns and knives drawn.

"Watch out!"

She wanted to stop them but couldn't. There were now machines engaging No. 2 and No. 4. Just a little while ago, it had been seven of them against one enemy. They didn't stand a chance then. Now there were only three of them, surrounded by enemies...

Rose wailed. Sonia screamed. No. 2 glanced at them while dodging the machine barrage.

Rose stood in front of Sonia, impaled by a knife still gripped tightly by Gerbera. The wound was clearly mortal. The little girls shrieked in laughter.

"The wound is deep."
"You're done for."

Even still, Erica was heading for Rose and Sonia, knife in hand.

"Don't be... stupid!" Rose spat, as if she were coughing up blood. But that was it. No. 2 saw Sonia colapse.

"Big sis... Sorry..."

Erica's knife was tearing up Sonia's throat. Rose fell on her knees beside them.

"It's okay, Sonia." Rose embraced her.

"And your actions were in vain."
"Like we said, your sacrifices were meaningless."

Rose stood up. She was most likely using up every bit of her strength—her knees were buckling wildly.

"I found... a reason to live."

Rose slowly shuffled toward the girls.

"Do you two have a reason to... live?!"

Those were her last words. Rose succumbed before her sword could reach them.

"Why do you fight?"
"Why do you want to die?"

No. 2 felt murderous hatred toward the little girls. She wanted to slice them both open, slowly. This was the most animosity she'd ever felt toward a machine.

"Shut up! Lowly extremities shouldn't be asking questions!"

No. 4 jumped into action before No. 2.

"Can you beat us?"
"Why are you wasting your breath?"
"Why won't you give up?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

No. 4 went berserk, swinging her sword wildly. She left herself open thanks to her raging attacks. It was the first time No. 2 had seen No. 4 so furious. No. 2 wanted to run in and act as support, but the machines stalled her and kept her from doing so.

If only I were more powerful, thought No. 2. She wished she had the power to protect her comrades, from the bottom of her heart. But in reality she was painfully average—

No. 2 dodged the front legs and ran.

"No. 4, I'm coming! No. 4?"

No. 4 collapsed, all three of the infected androids bringing her down. No. 2 braced herself for them to attack her next, but it didn't happen. The little girls beckoned to the three, and they withdrew from No. 4. Even the machine, which had been attacking constantly, scrambled back beside the little red girls.

Perhaps they wanted to give No. 4 time to say her goodbyes. Or they wanted to see No. 2 cry over the body of No. 4...

That didn't matter now. No. 2 ran to No. 4, and held her heavily wounded body.

"No. 4! Hold on!"

"Sorry, No. 2... Was I... useless?"

"No, you weren't! I was... I was the one... who dragged everybody into this."

No. 2 had suggested that they cooperate with the resistance. No. 16 had been against it, and No. 21 thought it wouldn't make a difference. No. 4 hadn't been supportive of the idea either. She must have agreed to it so No. 2 wouldn't have to operate solo.

If the four of them had gone on to attempt the mission, their success rate would have been zero. The four of them would have died anyway.

But Rose and the others—they wouldn't have had to die if they hadn't fought alongside the four of them.

Because I begged them to join forces with us...

"It was my fault. Now everyone's—"

"No, No. 2." No. 4 gripped No. 2's hand. Her hand felt so feeble. "We all chose to be here. Rose said so too, right? She found a... reason to live."

That's right. Rose's last words.

And...

"I want you to find a reason to live."

Those had also been Seed's last words. A reason to live.

At the time No. 2 didn't understand their meaning. Even now, she didn't. If everyone had a different reason to live, maybe it was normal for her not to know her own. But...

"But...!"

"Thanks for giving me a reason to live."

"No. 4...."

Perhaps No. 4 had used all her strength to talk, because her grip loosened. No. 2 firmly held on to her hand.

"Is this self-sacrifice?"
"Is this a story of self-sacrifice?"
"I want to laugh."
"It's funny."

The little red girls laughed. They were amused, after all. They were fascinated by what No. 4 would say with her dying breath, and how No. 2 would mourn her.

"This... this is..."

Her hand shook as it gripped her sword. No. 2 had to bite down to keep her anger from overflowing.

"Unforgivable..."

Right as she was about to rush the girls, No. 4 beat her to it again. Where she got the energy was a mystery, but she sprung up and swung her sword at the girls.

"Die!"

Just a little more. No. 4's sword stopped just before it hit the little girls, who were still laughing. Erica and the other two had stepped in to protect them.

The knife that originally wounded No. 4 slashed her yet again. No. 4 fell without a sound, a comrade who had covered for No. 2 right until the very end.

"Unforgivable—I won't forget this!"

No. 2 slashed at Shion. She too had been a comrade until the team breached the server room—until she had been possessed by the machines and killed Sonia, Rose, and No. 4.

No. 2 split Shion's skull in half. She felt a delayed pang of pain in her chest.

"We're doing this because there's nothing we can do!"

No. 2 recalled what Dahlia had said. So this is what she was talking about, she thought in the back of her mind.

She turned and mowed Erica down. Her half-crushed head went flying through the air. It felt like pieces of her own body were being torn off and flung across the room.

She leapt on Gerbera, switching to a backhanded grip, and used the momentum from her fall. She stuck the sword in Gerbera's head, and pushed down. No. 2 felt something die inside of her.

Sorry, everyone...

She thought about when Anemone had pointed a gun at Lily. Rose had shouted, "Don't go near her!"

"How horrible, it's so sad."
"What a horrible child; it's so terrifying."

Their voices. So repulsive. This had all happened because of them.

"Shut up!"

Everyone had died because of them...

She reared back and swung her sword with all her might. Machines got in the way. She slammed them out of the way. Her sword sliced their bodies easily, as if all her struggles before had been a dream. In one motion, she hurled them away and sliced the girl on the right.

"What?"

She'd definitely made contact. The girls kept grinning. No. 2 stuck her sword through the girl on the left. They kept grinning.

"Why..."

No matter how much she slashed or thrust her sword, she felt no pressure or resistance on the sword's hilt, even though the little girls were definitely right there in front of her.

"You can't kill us."
"You can't kill us."

"Why?" she asked, her voice shivering. She couldn't tell whether that was from fear or anger.

"My name is Terminal Alpha."
"My name is Terminal Beta."
"We are extremities."
"We are manifestations of the network."
"We are memories."
"We are nothing more and nothing less."

No. 2 couldn't understand anything they said, but she realized now that a normal weapon would be ineffective. She looked around. If they were extremities, then they must actually exist in the server. If she destroyed the server room, wouldn't the two of them also be destroyed as a consequence?

"Are you planning on destroying this place?"
"Just you alone?"

Perhaps they had read her mind, or she had betrayed her emotions with her expression. Either way, it made her uncomfortable that they had guessed right. She tightly grasped her sword.

"You don't know how many years that'll take, you know?"
"You'd need as much energy as a fusion reactor, you know?"

Then all she'd have to do would be to let her own internal fusion reactor explode. Like No. 16 had done.

"That's right. Your fusion reactor."
"That thing that's in it."
"That's right. If you scan it, you'll know."
"The bomb embedded within it."

No. 2 clutched unconsciously at her chest. She had noticed that something was off. That something had been attached to the fusion reactor inside of her. But she hadn't thought about it. It hadn't crossed her mind to investigate the object. She had been manipulated so she wouldn't think about it...

"When you all become nonfunctional in a certain location."
"That bomb will go off."
"The first condition is to arrive at the server room."
"The second condition is to be nonfunctional."
"When you all lose."
"We lose our victory as well."

The bomb had been embedded during manufacture. Command had overseen the manufacturing process. Which meant that...

"In conclusion, it was planned from the beginning."
"This battle plan assumed a losing scenario."

Now she knew why there were no reinforcements. If only one of them made it to this room, and then was killed, the server room would be destroyed.

"Don't androids laugh, in times like this?"
"Don't androids laugh, because they experience emotion?"

Their unpleasant laugh echoed around the room. She couldn't forgive them. She wanted to kill them. But that wasn't enough. That wasn't enough retribution for her fallen comrades...

It was then that No. 2 heard a noise behind her. Glancing back, she saw No. 4 stand up. At first she was afraid that she had been infected, but that wasn't the case.

"We're... durable. Because we're... new... models..."

No. 4 stood, taking labored breaths. Her footing was surprisingly stable, even though it was already incredible that she was still conscious.

"Go... No. 2. Leave this to me."

No. 4 grinned. Her outstretched arms approached No. 2. Contrary to her weakened hands from before, No. 4 forcefully shoved No. 2. to the ground.

"Don't! No. 4!"

No. 2 shrieked as she hit the ground. She needed to stop No. 4. If No. 4. died... if she was rendered nonfunctional in a certain location...

"No!"

A white explosion drowned out the little girls' laughs, and No. 2's scream.

[1209/08:00]

She couldn't tell what happened.

When No. 2 came to, she was buried in rubble. But she was still alive. She climbed out of the mess; she was dirty, and covered in cuts and bruises. She could feel her body complain with every breath.

She looked around. There was no trace of the server room. She was outside. The shape of Mount Ka'ala had changed. The explosion had apparently been colossal. She wasn't sure if the shock wave had blasted her away or if the mountain had collapsed and exposed the basement of the machine complex. Either way, she had survived an explosion of this scale. It was a miracle.

Why me? she thought. She thought the same thing when they landed on Earth. But there was a definitive difference from then to now. At the time, she had thought, It would've been better if somebody stronger than me survived. Not this time.

It wouldn't have mattered who survived. Whether it had been the greatest leader, No. 1, or the android with the highest kill count, No. 3, the result would have been the same.

What determined who lived was not power or intelligence. It was sheer luck. Even so, she was chosen to live. A fate chosen on a whim. Then, she had to do whatever being a survivor entailed.

Destroy the machines. Destroy everything. Nobody would get in her way. She would kill anybody who tried. Whoever that person would be.

"No. 4..."

No. 2 recalled No. 4's smile as she had left No. 2 with a simple "Bye." Command had planned the explosion that vaporized No. 4 without a trace.

No. 2 ripped off her goggles and slammed them on the ground. "That's against military regulations, you know?" She remembered No. 4's expression. And No. 16's reply, "Look who's talking!" And No. 21 saying, "Go on without me."

"Everyone..."

No. 2 ground the goggles under her heel. She didn't need them.

Machines approached, their movements jerky. Apparently, some were still active, even after the server was destroyed.

"You scraps..."

She scooped up some debris and flung it at the machines, who quickly collapsed. It was effortless.

From somewhere, she heard a rumble. The explosion had probably caused many landslides to occur. She carefully started to walk along the landscape.

First, she had to escape this shitty place. After she repaired her chassis, she would go massacre the machines. She would ruin them, one by one. That was her reason to live...

Glaring ahead, Attacker No. 2 drew her sword.

[11945 06 26]

She had had the dream many times. She fought with her comrades, heard her comrades scream... and she cried. She had it so often that she was aware it was a dream even while experiencing it.

"Good morning, A2."

But she hadn't expected to be called when she woke up. That was the only thing that was unusual.

"What?"

"YoRHa model A2 was rebooted 5 minutes and 42 seconds ago. Cause: Damage from an encounter with a large machine."

The monotone voice from the floating box. Now she remembered. She engaged a large hostile in the desert, was exposed to an EMP attack, and lost consciousness right as the battle ended. She brushed sand off her and stood up.

"Shit! All this sand is annoying!"

"Report: Your fuel filter is damaged. It seems that particulates infiltrated your filter during battle. Recommendation: Swift replacement of the aforementioned part."

"Well, it's easier said than done."

The box was always saying absurd things. She couldn't see how it was supposed to be a "support assistant".

"Records indicate that a filtration unit was recently active at the resistance camp."

She stared at the box in surprise. She hadn't misheard. It had definitely just said what she thought it said.

"Resistance camp..."

She knew that Anemone was alive. She had recently been told that information. Until then, she thought she had been the only survivor.

That day, after frantically escaping Mount Ka'ala, she removed the bomb in her. She threw away anything that seemed like it could contain location-sensing hardware and left behind almost all her equipment issued by Command. She wandered the Earth with just her longsword in hand. Destroy as many machines as possible. That was the only thing on her mind.

She had died during that battle. Her old self was buried under the rubble with her comrades.

That's why even if she knew Anemone was alive, she didn't go out of her way to contact her. She didn't know what to do if she met her. But now she had a perfect excuse, in the form of a fuel filter, to go talk to her.

She peered toward the direction the box specified. She could see some high-rise structures beyond the sandstorms.

"Guess I'll go."

She walked, kicking sand as she went. She called out her comrades' names in her head. But she felt nothing.

She was empty inside.

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