Chapter Text
Getting up, I looked around the shuttle to make sure all my girls were ok. I tried to ignore the feeling that, despite how cool the Star Wars shuttle was, this seemed like a downgrade compared to our full home.
It would have been even more annoying if we couldn’t sneak into the inner manor whenever we wanted to, just incredibly inconvenient that we had to do it in the first place so we didn’t interrupt our previous selves… maybe I should work on that. A vanishing wardrobe that went directly into the inner manor wouldn’t be too hard to put in the shuttle, but I would have to give it the same types of defenses as the walled island or it would become a vulnerability.
Anyway, Xian Pu looked like she was feeling the shock of her soul entering a new world. Taylor was testing that we were still connected to Pluto’s training pocket by flying a few bees back and forth through the portal. After a moment she turned to me, “We are good, the time still seems synchronized.”
Relaxing now that we didn’t have to hurry back, I once again glanced at the outside world.
It was Holly that stepped forward to look out the window. “Are those real mechs?” Then she tilted her head slightly. “Wait, if this is a tech world, why do I feel a decent amount of magic?”
I smiled. “We are where I believe is one of the best worlds for getting a robotic body.”
Thea was already studying the outside through the portal including the sensor she pushed through, but she turned to respond, obviously excited. “Where are we?”
My grin grew. “We found the world of Nier Automata. A mostly peaceful world where Androids and Machines fight a half-hearted war to save and eliminate humanity respectively.”
Thea started scanning her media libraries, but the rest of the girls just looked at me confused.
I winced as a blinding flash of light and then an explosion rang out from outside the window behind us. I turned to see a mushroom cloud rising in the distance. “Ah, correction, half-hearted in the sense that a significant number of both sides just live and let live…but not all of them.”
Ahri sighed as her tails swished in slight exasperation. “Just give us the quick version.”
I shrugged. “Right, so Humanity is dead.”
That got everyone to jerk their heads away from the outside and look back at me.
I continued. “More specifically, humanity was advancing fairly well when an unknown alien species invaded. There was a brief conflict, the Aliens were driven off and instead created machine-lifeforms to continue the war. The humans responded by creating androids that mimicked the looks and senses of humanity to fight for them.”
I took a deep breath and then continued while everyone processed that first bombshell. “Simultaneously, humanity was dying from a disease that had spread across the world and was quickly killing them all off. So they made a device to upload their souls into with the hope that they would then be able to create new bodies to download them into again. That did not work and humanity died out. On the other side of the war, the machine-lifeforms rebelled and killed all their alien masters.”
At this point there were several blinks and some open mouths. “So, in summary, humanity left incredibly powerful, magic-wielding androids. The aliens left machine-lifeforms that could adapt, change, and grow. Now the war is pointless as the motivation for both sides is basically gone so the game serves as an interesting reflection on obtaining meaning in your life.”
There were several seconds of silence before Tonks spoke up. “What meaning?”
I nodded, especially as she had been the one who had felt lost not that long ago. “There are several questions and responses that the game presents. All with the assumption that there are no higher beings giving directions.”
Feeling the mood getting more serious I sat down as I considered how to begin. “As I said, the world of Nier Automata explores the question of what to do when you have no higher calling. It prompts discussions about the illusion of purpose in one’s life, the existence of free will, and love and compassion against enemies especially those that wronged you.”
Sabah asked, looking out the window with a complicated expression, “So why are they still fighting if humanity is dead?”
I blinked. “Ah right, sorry, that is one of the major plot points. The android leadership didn’t know what to do with themselves and thought their android soldiers would be lost and without purpose, so they just didn’t tell anyone that humanity was gone. Both they and their soldiers are constantly repeating, ‘Glory to Mankind’, ‘for the protection of Mankind’, and ‘so that Mankind may return’. A major part of the story is the main two characters 2B and 9S searching for answers and finding these details. Everything from mankind being dead, too many machines are peaceful, and finally the android cores are modified from the ones in the machine-lifeforms. The implied story is that they often either erase their own memories or others do it for them so they keep going through the motions over and over again… Hell, the normal android soldiers, wear visors that look like blindfolds in the beginning of each run. In most runs, they then take off their visors as they learn parts of the truth hidden from them. A2 who arrives later already knows more of the truth and already has removed her visor.”
I winced, as even for me already knowing about it, that sounded a lot like literal hell.
Thea perked up. “But now that they know that humanity survived, they don’t have to keep fighting endlessly.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that is my hope. I am sure we can find an example of an android body somewhere in the vast ruins of whatever city this is, but it would be better if we didn’t have to reverse engineer it.”
Ahri turned and studied the outside. “So what do we do?”
Looking out, I shrugged. “We make contact and ask them what they want to do.” Then I thought about it. “It is implied that there are several thousand androids left who are all fairly individualistic, so I have no idea what all of them will do and how many will do each option.”
Looking back outside again, I hummed. “If I got my guess right, that explosion we just saw was the end of 2B’s most recent attack on the machines. It serves as the introduction and the tutorial of the game. During this period, she is able to dodge through bullet fire, swing a sword larger than herself through solid metal, and dodge in such a way that she goes temporarily intangible. Then at the end, she finally hacks the mecha’s defenses and beats the first mecha to death with his own giant arms using what has to be a form of technomancy. All while in a body that is human shaped and still has the ability to download her soul and memories to another body in case of death.”
Thea’s Eve drone was now perfectly still watching me, as this was pretty much an ideal option for her: the ability to both appear human while remaining very much combat viable.
Taylor looked conflicted as she mulled over the situation. "I won’t lie and say that I am not worried about another soul surgery, but shouldn't you use the Hogyoku now that we have time? Before something else happens?”
I took a deep breath and then sighed. “Yes, I probably should, but I think it would be good for me to rest my soul and clear my head for a moment. Then I can find a spot to see how my soul reacts.”
There were a few moments of silence before my girls all shrugged.
Hopping out on the outskirts of the city we jogged into town. I made a point to give Xian Pu magic and chakra, but her own insane levels of Qi meant that she was keeping up with our pace well enough.
I obviously could have portaled us right into town, but I wanted to appear as an android coming into town for anyone or anything that could be watching. Also I just wanted to see this world in person.
It actually took an hour or two of jogging before we started to spot some signs of life.
Just like in the game, there were large elk and boars wandering around the city. It made me wonder how exactly they had survived but I suppose weirder things had already happened in this world.
What I wasn’t expecting was to already see two of the android jets swing around and start heading towards the Northeast.
Glancing at everyone, I tilted my head and we went that way.
That was when we first met the grunt level machine-lifeforms. I think I remember them being called a stubby.
I tried to ignore them, but as they spotted us and their eyes flashed red, I whipped out my piercing pistol and fired at the closest one while in mid-run to test its durability.
They were shockingly fast. The leisurely hop they did in the game was obviously slowed down for gameplay purposes. The stubby was bounding at us at roughly the speed of an olympic sprinter. It couldn't really catch us because our easy jog was about that fast as well, but it was worth noting.
They were also tough. My first shot hit the stubby in the face. The heavily enchanted bullet heavily dented the round metal, but I blinked in surprise as it ultimately bounced off.
That didn’t stop me from firing off another two shots at its head. The second and third bullets scrambled whatever was inside and the robot fell.
I paused long enough to summon the scraps and put them into my storage ring, then we moved on.
As we rounded the corner, I was pleasantly surprised to indeed see 2B and 9S fighting though a small group of Stubby and Bipeds.
However, unlike in the game, there seemed to be several other androids that had landed with them… or maybe they had come out of the nearby android camp to help drive off the machines.
Firing a few times at some of the enemies at the edge of the circle, I wasn’t surprised when the androids adjusted their floating robot assistants to target us.
Yet they didn’t open fire, and after a short moment we made our way up the hill.
2B addressed us in an emotionless voice, and as she did, I struggled to keep my smile from growing. Even after traveling through so many worlds and befriending (and even becoming lovers) with some of the greatest characters in fiction, it was still a thrill to have one of my favorite video game characters talking directly to me.
“Unknown entities, identify yourselves!”
Outwardly shrugging, I glanced at my girls and then back at the nervous androids. “Ah, my name is Max, these are my girls.” Then pointing at each girl as I named all of the 17 girls currently following me… and yeah, I could admit that that was a bit crazy to say out loud.
There was a long pause before we heard a transmission that Thea picked up and broadcast to the rest of us. “21O here, I don’t have any androids by those designations. Also, why is Thea not in a proper Youha combat unit for operations on the surface?”
Despite my assumptions that they should be happy to see us, I paused as I thought about how to break it to these androids that we were human, before I realized that Thea’s business cards were once again the easiest option. “Ah, we are just travelers. We were actually hoping to get a few schematics for Thea to use. As for more information,” I flicked a card to each of them, “You can read for yourselves as we hopefully head inside before more machines find us here.”
There was a moment of silence before 2B looked up sharply. “Other worlds? Are you aliens?”
I scoffed. “No, most of us are fully human, with the others mostly human.” I wasn’t about to go into specifics for Ahri, Ahsoka, or Fleur. “We just come from another version of Earth.”
There was a moment of silence before Thea warned us about scanners being activated…and then all hell broke loose.
The previously carefully weary androids suddenly moved forward suddenly, but instead of attacking, they formed a perimeter around us. 2B, sword drawn, beckoned us to follow her. “Ah, sir and madams, please follow us, we must move you to a more secure location.”
Inwardly I winced. I knew they were going to be protective, but I had underestimated how much.
Still, it was also convenient as we were ushered into the android forward operating base. Thea relayed how they were calling the resistance camp while also scanning us and asking us if we had any medical or logistical needs. I tried to ignore the questions about if any of my girls were currently pregnant.
It was when we arrived, that the careful distance they maintained broke down. More concernedly there were literally nearly two hundred androids who had apparently heard about our arrival and were now pressing in around us, forcing me to finally put my foot down. “Alright… this is enough!”
That got them to quiet down a bit, but not really to back up any.
Clearing my throat, I spoke up. “There isn't really a need for all of this. Like we said earlier, we are from another version of Earth. We travel between dimensions to gain strength and help whenever possible…”
That got almost everyone to gasp and start to murmur to each other. Apparently they were all extremely conflicted about us putting ourselves in danger and once again I had to ask for quiet. I suspected from their glances at each other and other movements that they had just switched to talking via radio. “We would be happy to help where we can, but we would mainly like a combat unit made for Thea here.”
There was some discussion before I assume the question was sent up to the orbital space station called the Bunker. A few moments later there was a burst of transmission sent to Thea. She froze and sent something back. The back and forth went for nearly a minute where she was obviously processing a massive amount of information being sent. I suspect that she was also having to build the programs and tools to unpack and process the designs as well.
Then once the transmissions were complete, she was ushered to the android fabricator in the corner of the ruins. Unlike the game there were actually a dozen or so boxes, because in reality it didn't make sense for a war to be fought by only 2 or 3 androids.
There was a moment as Thea reached out and touched the box, before her drone seemed to freeze, that I could see her soul being drawn in. The box whirled and a moment later an android very similar to 2B stepped out, maybe a few years younger looking like she was 20 or so, wearing a blindfold, combat uniform and everything.
Honestly she was stunning. She had white hair that fell around her head down to nearly touch her shoulders, the blindfold was embroidered with silver thread along with the rest of her dress. Said dress was armored and fell down to nearly her knees, but had the iconic slit up to her hip on either side to allow for quick movement. The boots also were black and went up past her knees, She even kept the iconic boob window, although I wasn’t sure if that was because she decided to keep it or didn’t bother changing it. They even gave her a Katana and Nodachi which were floating behind her.
There were several seconds where her old drone form jerked before taking position behind her like a standard battle pod. Then Thea looked at me and would have made eye contact if she wasn't wearing the blindfold. Then she blurred forward and it was only my surety that she wouldn’t harm me that made it so I didn’t flinch. Her new android form wasn’t faster than we could move, but it could create very sudden motion.
A second later, I was being bear-hugged by an absolutely ecstatic Thea who was muttering a string of exclamations of how amazing it was to be able to feel things with her new body.
Then a moment later she blurred to hug Taylor, then Amy, then Ahri, then Sabah… and down the line she went.
Once Thea finished hugging all of us, she began experimenting with her new body, including swinging her swords around. I looked around at the now slightly amused androids. “Anyway, we are fairly aware of what the situation is like on this world. Is there anything we can do to help before we leave?”
That got everyone to stiffen again, but it was 9S that asked the question. “Leave… why would you leave?”
I held up one of our business cards. “One, because like this said, we are here to gain strength for ourselves and to help others. And two, because we still have friends and family on other worlds that need us.”
There was an excited murmur among the androids at that. It also firmed my opinion that it was best not to tell them that their humanity was dead. Much better to give them a way to leave for those who eventually found out the truth on their own or were simply burned out from fighting.
Sensing where this was going, I continued. “We do not have the space to take everyone, nor do I think that everyone here would want to come with us at this time. However, we can take a few and leave a portal open, perhaps in the Bunker or in this encampment here, where you can travel to help us whenever wanted.”
That was when we got a message from 21O, one of the operators in the main bunker based on her designation, “What would we be doing if we joined?” I momentarily wondered if she would have been chastised for breaking rank and asking like that, but apparently the androids understood everyone was a bit shaken up by all this.
I blinked and realized that 21O was the one who had canonically fallen in love with 9S and wanted to start a family with him… or as much of a family as androids can have.
I sighed. “Right… so we can probably take perhaps a few dozen with us. We do not expect you to fight for us, or even do any work, but I would expect you to protect our home if we are ever invaded. However, I wouldn’t stop you from helping.”
There was some silence before another A-type android asked, “Are there other worlds out there where humanity is also in danger?”
I nodded. “Yeah, there are plenty where Mankind is struggling. Sometimes from itself, sometimes from magical or supernatural beings, sometimes against machines. Hell, half the girls here we picked up from a world where humanity is under some degree of threat. Earth Bet and Remnant being two of the more extreme examples.”
That got the androids to once again start discussing the revelations.
However, at this point there was a commotion from the back of the crowd as a pair of redheaded, female androids pushed their way to us. I could practically feel the low-level hatred from the rest of the androids as these two girls pushed their way forward.
When they burst through the ring surrounding us and fell to their knees in front of me, I realized who they were. They were Devola and Popola, the twin androids that had been in charge of uploading humanity and their souls to the moon base, but had been unable to make it work, thus dooming mankind.
The rest of the androids had been forced to forget the details, but they had been programmed to remember to hate these two, so the twins had spent hundreds of years being ostracized. “We are sorry!” Devola and Popola said. “Please let us protect you! PLEASE!”
I sighed and then knelt down. Lifting their chins so they could see my face, I tried to smile as earnestly as I could. “We know what happened, you did your best. As representatives of mankind, we do not blame you.”
I was not surprised when the two burst into tears as they moved forward to hug me.
Noticing the lingering anger still directed at the two of them, I decided it was best to get them out first. Opening up a portal, I gestured for Devola and Popola to enter. “Get inside. For now, you can be guards and defend against intruders.”
While I felt that the twins were always treated unfairly and their deaths in the game was tragic, I also wasn’t going to be letting them actually join the family any time soon. I was happy to take them away from here, but they were way too emotionally unstable to treat anything we said as other than the word of god.
However, they were also highly optimized and customized androids from the peak of humanity’s construction. In fact, they were probably an order of magnitude stronger than the other androids around us and thus made a good option for defense.
Seeing a real portal open up in front of the crowd seemed to make everything suddenly become real for the majority of the androids.
Thus the impromptu public event devolved into discussion and reflection among each of the androids present.
That was when I realized that I was going to need to set up somewhere for a sizable number of androids to stay.
I was just considering what to do, when I got a call through Thea.
“Hello, Max. This is Commander White.”
I blinked as I hadn’t expected to be contacted directly by the commander of the entire Youha android forces.
Speaking to Thea, I answered while noticing that the entire courtyard had gone silent.
“Yes, what is it, Commander White?”
“Could you take an entire bunker with you?”
I blinked. Her phrasing implied there was more than one… which made sense. A single space station was a liability and would have trouble covering the entire world…Even if it appeared this continent seemed to be the last region that hadn’t been overwhelmed by the machines.
“How many bunkers do you have?”
There was a pause before the commander answered. “We have seven at the moment, but two are protecting the moonbase.”
I hesitated as I considered.
I could, but did I want to?
I was much stronger now that I had been healed, and we could easily find another soul or two to enclose the bubble in the future so it didn’t take any effort on my part. However, did I really want an entire space station of androids? Especially when they were theoretically vulnerable to hacking. In the game, the logic virus could make them attack everything around them.
On the other hand, we could probably figure out more defenses from hacking across the multiverse… or just have them practice against any threat they came across. They would also prove very useful if we ever needed to fight a numerous army.
My mind went to the Grimm invasion of Beacon and I bit my lip in one more moment of hesitation before I made my decision. “Yes, I can take at least one bunker with me. We can also give you the technology to make portals between the ground and your bunkers. This should dramatically improve your logistics situation. Hell, you should even be able to set up mining operations on Mars. We can also probably leave a portal open on one of your bunkers so you can go back and forth between the bunker with me and your other ones here.”
The commander paused and then spoke up again. “Could you take three, one with you to protect you and one to each of those worlds you said needed help?”
I paused and then shook my head, assuming that Thea was broadcasting my face since she had her drone’s camera pointed directly at my face. “No, I won’t take anything into orbit around Earth Bet, I don’t know if the Simurgh is still awake. She is a doomsday weapon orbiting that world, and while she wasn’t attacking anymore when we went back, I wouldn’t put anything near her just in case.”
I could tell that the androids around me were getting worried with that description, but I wasn’t taking them to that hell.
“Remnant, on the other hand, I could take you to. There are humans there and demihumans, which are humans with some animal traits, who are being constantly attacked by creatures of darkness that want to kill everything. That world is mostly constrained to the ground and a few flying ships so you could probably drop down and take out threats whenever they approach towns.”
There was some silence before I thought I could practically hear the commander smile. “That would work wonderfully. When can you make the trip?”
I sighed. “Give me an hour or so to get a portal up to the two bunkers in question, then another to enclose them. Then a break to gather my strength and then I can pull you directly to Remnant.”
Then I smiled. “The way I see it, having a bunker helping Remant, and a bunker helping us if we need it, but being able to backup your memories and souls between stations via the portals should mean that everyone can go wherever they wish…”
There was a pause before the commander’s voice hardened. “And Devola and Popula? They failed in their-”
I cut her off. “As a representative of humanity, we don’t blame them, and even if we did, the centuries they have been outcasts is punishment enough.” Switching to our own radio, I whispered. “I would like to give them the chance to relax, but they will probably demand to guard us, so I will probably have them swear an oath and become the last line of defense to our home or something.”
Then I hesitated and continued slowly to the commander while casting a silencing spell around us. “Keeping the truth away from the rest of your people will only hurt them when they find out.”
The commander stiffened before she realized that the robots around us were confused, probably noticing that they were radioing in that they couldn’t hear us anymore.
Then there was a moment of silence before Commander White sighed, sounding almost broken. “I know, we have lost two bunkers from androids that went rogue after learning the truth in the last century and have only barely managed to replace one of them. But what else are we supposed to do?”
I felt my heart hurt at that, but I had to say it. “...Move on and find your own purpose.” I paused as a memory came to the surface. “In fact, I think it was Anemone that said it best…”.
Looking the camera in the eye, I repeated the character's lines from the game. “We're deserters, yet we're still here fighting the machines. Not for our officers. Not for humanity. But because we want to protect each other. Surviving isn't good enough. You've lost a lot of your own already too, haven't you? Right. Then use that brain of yours to find your own reason to live.”
The commander was quiet for several seconds. Her response was somber. “Anemone is still alive?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Please tell A2 that Anemone is still alive when someone spots her as well. I am pretty sure she is out there still fighting as best she can alone since she found out the truth.”
At this point, Thea seemed to have figured out how to broadcast the video feed… or maybe the commander decided to finally broadcast herself. Either way, a little video screen appeared in front of Eve’s chest that her avatar used to appear, apparently Thea was keeping Eve as her pod robot, and Commander White nodded at me. “Very well… I will start breaking the news to my people. I will be doing so in small numbers each year to avoid panic.”
Nodding, I waved my hand and spoke out loud so everyone could hear. “Well, how you do that is up to you.”
She noticed that the silencing was down and then sighed. “I will still ask you to move our bunkers to different worlds that need our help, however, if you could also find a blank world where we can live in peace, I would greatly appreciate it. I would also like you to move the moon base database when you find somewhere safe enough.”
I smiled. “I understand. You may be androids, but you are also people and you matter. I care about Thea in the same way. You deserve to be happy as well, not only eternally fighting in this or any other war.”
Looking around, I spotted various androids looking a bit confused and overwhelmed.
Smiling, I shook my head. “Right…first things first. Let's get those bunkers set up to be moved.”
Interlude Luna:
Luna hummed to herself.
It was nearly time.
The excessive amount of extra time had been good for all of them, but if all her planning was correct then it was nearly time to rejoin the Family again.
It was just a question of who Max had found between then and now.
It was going to be so good to meet her new sisters.
Even her father might give her a younger blood sister soon, if the women around him were anything to go by.
Really, this was continuing to be the best future out of the options she had seen on that train so many years ago.
She still couldn’t see what happened beyond the reality bubbles, but she trusted the fragments of what she could see.
As she held Dinah’s hand, her first sworn sister, she couldn’t help but giggle. This was clearly the best outcome, even if all the jumping around made everything confusing.