NieR Automata: Life's Meaning

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Sorry for all caps but I know a lot of people don't read the author's thoughts at the bottom when they're just flicking through stories. For those of you who don't know what shadowban means its means the website is letting you see your comment/review but no one else can actually see it. The only reason I know this is because its been happening to me due to all my cursing and I also get glimpses of some of these banned comments through my notifications since I'm the author. Why webnovel feels the need to moderate on stories literally marked as not for kids? I have no idea but its what we got to deal with. Just wanted to let people so they know I'm not ignoring them but I literally can't respond or see the whole comment.

-Route A, No. 020-

Apex raised the sword Popola had once used, running a hand along its flat end. Black in color, it was more of an elongated machete than a sword but it was sharp enough. Durable enough to last in his hands? Questionable but he would keep it on him in the event they ran into other androids. He still didn't plan on using his abilities in front of us if he could help it.

Slipping the blade back into the black sheath tied around his torso and over his cloak, he looked to Devola and Popola. Both were double checking their weapons, Popola loading a fresh magazine into her assault rifle and Devola checking if there was a bullet loaded in the chamber of handgun. It was a bit jarring to see them go from things like cooking, gardening, and playing music to preparing for combat. Things out here were relatively peaceful especially with A2 around so they almost never touched the weapons excluding routine maintenance.

Popola slung the rifle over her shoulder and grabbed her bag off the dinning room table. She stocked it full of food for him and bottles of things called repair gel for them as well as A2. The explanation went over his head but it helped androids tend to an damage their synthetic parts suffered, minimizing the need to constantly replace entire parts of their body.

Together they stepped outside, A2 pushing off the side of the truck as they approached. She was back in her tattered clothing, some of the tears sewed back up by Popola, and her white sword was in hand.

"We stick together and don't take any unnecessary risks." Popola said looking between them. Soft-spoken as she was, she could take charge when it involved the safety of others. He and Devola nodded, A2 jumping into the back of the truck without a word, solving the issue of seating. They didn't have to worry about her. She said herself that she intended on keeping him in her sights.

They filled out the front of the truck, Apex between them as Popola started up the engine.

Between him and A2 everything should go smoothly.

-Route A, No. 020-

The city.

Apex looked between the tall crumbling buildings, keeping an eye out for anything interesting.

Encroaching overgrowth aside, it was like an entirely different world compared to the forest he was familiar with. Here urban structures melded with nature. Cracked stone and concrete often housed moss. Sizable hawks gazed down from the top floors of tilted high rises, nestling on floors where the windows were blow out. And there was no missing the machines that patrolled street and rooftops alike, fleeing herds of animals acting as an early signal of the approaching constructs.

It wasn't any of the taller buildings that caught his attention but rather a collection of three different ones in a single lot, crumbling hallways connected them to one another. The parking lot in front of it was massive as well, the many cars parked within rusted and missing different parts.

"Stick close." Devola reminded him, slipping her free hand into his as they approached the parking lot and slowing his pace.

After reaching the city ruins, they'd stowed the truck away just beyond it in the forest, using the overgrown foliage to hide it from view. It may not make much noise but cruising through unknown areas that the twins didn't have routes mapped out for was just asking for trouble.

He headed the group, Devola and Popola on either side of him, the latter keeping both hands on her rifle at all times, while A2 brought up the rear, quiet as they explored new territory. The twins might've made daily trips into the city before running in to him but they typically never veered off their routes between the cabin and The Resistance Camp. As for A2, she didn't offer any advice or input so he assumed she didn't have any information she considered relevant.

They stopped at the edge of the vast parking lot. Like most architecture here the ground was cracked and different forms of greenery managed to worm its way between the spaces. Heck, trees, much smaller than the ones in the distant forest, managed to grow here and there, their roots further splitting the asphalt and concrete.

"Machines." Popola pointed out a sizable group moving in a uniform pace, marching between the many cars.

A2 stepped ahead of them, lowering herself to take off in a sprint.

Apex grabbed her wrist and her head snapped to him.

"No unnecessary risks." Popola repeated what she'd said before they set out.

"Leaving them is a risk." A2 retorted.

"Not a bigger risk than starting a fight is. We have no idea if there are more machines hiding nearby."

A2 looked between them, practically glaring. She scoffed as she shook off his hand but remained beside them in spite of her dissatisfaction.

"Follow me." Apex said as he crouch down, a brief burn spreading throughout his ears and eyes. The world sharpened so much so that he could differentiate between the faintest color differences on rusted cars he took behind, able to tell where the process started oh so long ago. More importantly he could hear far more; the faint breaths of the girls and the hum of what powered them. The sounds of the machines' steps. Their internal parts.

Using his enhanced senses, Apex was aware of all the machines in the parking lot, marching and motionless. Too aware if you asked him. Fighting off the involuntary winces that the heavy steps of the grouped machines brought about, he led them through the parking lot, breezing past cars and changing directions at the drop of a hat to avoid being seen.

Once they made it to the front of the building's entrance, entering was as simple as stepping through its shattered panes.

Illuminated by sunlight shinning through various holes in the ceiling, his guess turned out to be correct. Consisting of no more than three floors, the places was home to defunct stores, every few steps marked by a new pair on either side. The first floor also contained plenty of stands and other machinery meant to entertain though all of it was falling aparted.

"How did you do that?" A2 questioned after a quick scan all around them, referring to his quick navigation of the parking lot. He'd made sure they never stopped once, clearing the thing in one fell swoop.

"I can make small changes to how my senses work." He explained, raising a hand to wipe the blood leaking from his left ear. He could already feel a headache coming on to though it was quickly being snuffed out by his regeneration. "I try not to though. Bigger changes are easier to control." A2 grunted in acknowledgement, curious but not bothering to ask more.

While Popola and Devola checked him over, Apex looked between the many stores. They'd be to get a lot more than clothes from this place.

-Route A, No. 20-

They didn't make it very far into the mall, having only bounced between a few stores too ruined to offer anything useful, before coming across machines. Normally that meant combat but unlike the ones outside, these machines were already destroyed.

Kneeling over a machine propped against what remained of a shop's window, Apex ran his finger around the hole that likely resulted in the stubby thing's destruction. It was unnatural, clearly made by the sharp end of some kind of weapon. Every machine they passed since coming into the mall had the same sort of holes in them, some suffering multiple stabs before their destruction.

"Another android must be here." Popola said from over his shoulder. "Though no model we know of would be capable of doing something like this on their own."

"Well, we do know one." Devola added.

Apex stood and looked over to A2. She was looking over a few of the machines herself. "What do you think A2?"

"That we have a few less machines to worry about." She answered far quicker than usual, stalking deeper into mall without looking back at them. "Let's pick up the pace."

Strange but he supposed she wasn't wrong. They abandoned their examinations of the machines and followed after her.

If there was an android wandering the mall skilled and strong enough to take down groups of machines with some kind of bladed weapon they'd have to be on par with A2 or at least more advanced than the models back at the Resistance Camp. With YoRHa being the only group that fit such a description it wasn't hard to guess why she was in a rush to wrap this up least they come face to face with a member of the group.

"You're staring." Devola said pulling him out of his thoughts. At one point or another his gaze had wandered down to A2's hips.

"I'm thinking." He corrected.

"And staring?"

"And staring." He admitted. Why was an android built with combat in mind outfitted with hips and a rear that, no offense to them, put the twins to shame? The answer was as much a mystery as to why she wore heels. Either way, who could blame him for admiring the view with those shorts did little to cover her up?

"You know, as advanced as she is A2 still shares some of the same functions as they two of us according to our scans." Devola said lowly. She gave her usual playful smile. "I just thought you'd want to know that."

He wasn't going to deny having been a little curious about that but he wasn't honestly a little surprised Devola was bringing it up with him. Popola was one thing but A2 was a bit of an unknown still; were the two incapable of jealousy or was their some other reason she wasn't bothered by his admittedly obvious interest A2?

Catching a glint in a nearby store, Apex stored the question later. Best to focus on the here and now.

-Route A, No. 20-

Kneeling in what must've been an electronics shop of some kind, Apex lifted a compact radio off the shelves of old technology. It was rusted, the knobs on the front refusing to turn but otherwise intact, the antenna on top baring no signs of clear damage like the rest of it.

According to Popola and Devola, the Council of Humanity conducted daily broadcasts over the radio. If he, or rather they, could get this thing working, he'd might be able to gleam more information about the group and YoRHa. A public broadcast wouldn't share anything important, but any information was better than no information.

"Its been thousands of years since humans were last here, right?" Apex questioned as he stood up. Popola, who remained at his side, turned, allowing him to open her bag and store the radio inside alongside a few intact books he found. "How come all this stuff hasn't worn away yet? I figured the city would've been completely gone after so long."

"Before the war got so bad and we we're forced to hide rather than face the machines outright, we androids used these structures as bases. Its possible that this mall might've been one at some point." Popola explained. "Those who weren't needed on the front lines were often maintaining or repairing human creations. We still do from what've heard but its on a much smaller scale than before."

Given their loyalty to humans, he expected as much.

Most of the other tech wasn't of any interest to him though Popola and Devola swiped a few to take apart.

They moved on, bouncing from store to store, making small talk as they took whatever caught their interest. It didn't take long for them to come across a wider area that Apex managed to recognize as a food court despite the overgrowth and damage. He doubted any of the stores that lined the wide area would house anything other than spoiled ingredients, but he approached one anyways, peaking over the counter.

A whole lot of nothing as expected.

Devola suddenly jumped on the counter and spun herself on to the other side, facing him with a smile.

"And what will you be having today?" She asked.

Apex raised a brow but went along with it, settling down on one of the squeaking stools on his side. "What's on the menu?"

"Let's see." She ducked down and quickly popped back up. "We've got a jar of…mystery juice?" She placed a cloudy jar full of questionable dark liquid before him. "A rusted can." She placed an empty and bent tin can beside the jar. "and…whatever this stuff is." Packets of sauce, their logos and wording too faded for their exact contents to be known, were added to the mix.

Apex snorted. How was a man to choose between any of that.

"If you don't like any of that-" Devola leaned forward, fist placed beneath her chin so they were face to face. "-I do have a secret menu I can offer you." There was no mistaking the look in her eyes for anything other than flirting.

"Is this secret menu for everyone or am I just special?" He teased.

She reached out with her hand, walking her fingers over the back of his hand. "Special doesn't even begin to-"

"Must I remind the two of that there could be machines anywhere?" Popola, who been on the seat beside him rummaging through her backpack, slid a plate full of vegetables and fruit between them. "You should eat and keep your energy up while we have a moment."

"Great job sis, just ruin the moment." Devola grumbled.

"This is hardly the time to be having a moment." While the two argued details, Apex did as Popola suggested, scarfing down the food. It was no meal, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey." A2 called out to them. She stood a good distance away, keeping overwatch of the wide area, and while he expected that from her, she seemed especially on guard. That paranoia of her worsened the longer they were here.

She pointed up towards the second floor. "You came here for clothes didn't you? Get them so we can get this over with." Sure enough, she was pointing towards glass panes, old clothing visible through the dirt and grim staining them.

Looked like they'd finally be getting hands on some proper clothing.

-Route A, No. 20-

Apex stuffed several pairs of sweats and tank tops into a dark duffle bag he'd found on one of the shelves.

The store A2 pointed out wasn't big but there was plenty of variety. Up until now he'd been pretty invested in getting hold of a shirt but in hindsight it wasn't that good of an idea. His abilities would just lead to them getting ripped up so he stuck to sleeveless stuff to save Popola the hassle of fixing all that. She'd, without a shadow of a doubt, spend an entire day sewing any damage to their clothes.

He'd done away with his torn pants, now wearing a plain black tank top, his cloak, dark cargo pants, and boots. For the first time, he didn't look like some homeless guy.

'Like, master? Is that not an accurate-

'Shut it, Navi.' He thought back with a shake of his head. She really love insulting him.

As he stood up, he spotted the twins in a different part of the stores looking through some clothes. They gotten his opinion on a few different things before establishing his taste as Navi put it, and grabbing things that matched it.

Then there was A2.

"Hey." Apex called out as he approached her. There was no visible reaction, A2 continuing to gaze outside of the store's entrance as he stopped beside her. "You sure there's nothing you want to grab? There's still plenty of stores we haven't been in."

Silence again.

"I can-"

"Quiet." She suddenly ordered as she stepped beyond the store, her eyes darting towards the left pathway. At first confused, Apex focused, enhancing his hearing bit by bit. Metal crashing into metal. The sparking of destroyed machines. And-

Apex flinched, clenching his now bleeding ears. There'd been something akin to gunfire followed by a harsh sound that left his ears ringing. An explosion? He'd heard some of the machines explode but it never sounded quite so destructive.

A2 grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him back into the store. "Stay here and stay quiet. I'll be back." She ordered. She didn't give him a chance to get a word out, sprinting in the direction of the sounds. Could all that noise be the source of whatever had her on edge this whole time? Maybe it was even connected to whoever put the machines they'd been passing?

Whatever the case, he didn't plan on just waiting around while she rushed towards a battle.