Glory to Mankind (Nier Automata) ch 33

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She was on him in an instant, moving at speeds only YoRHa units could achieve. Adonis barely managed to hurl his Gotterdämmerung backward, the deserter's blade slicing through the air inches from his mech's frame. He retaliated immediately, hoisting his minigun and unleashing a hailstorm of bullets. The throne room burned. Dust and debris filled the air. Stone shattered and the remnants of broken machines scattered like shrapnel. A2 vanished into cover behind a fallen pillar, evading the onslaught with practiced precision. The relentless barrage chipped away at her shelter. Stone splintered and cracked under the pressure. Then, just as abruptly, the minigun stuttered and fell silent, its barrels spinning uselessly.

Adonis cursed under his breath.

Before he could react, A2 vaulted over the pillar, a blur that defied comprehension, and closed the distance. His systems failed to keep up. Her blade came down in a vicious arc, screeching against the mech's plating and carving a deep gash into its frame. The impact drove him back several meters. The mech's feet ground into the stone floor as his HUD blared with warning signals. Recalibrating his systems, he caught a brief glimpse of A2 darting to his flank. Desperation drove him to swing the mech's arm in a sweeping arc, but she ducked the strike with ease. In the same fluid motion, her blade lashed out again, severing one of the shoulder-mounted missile pods. Sparks erupted as the pod crashed to the ground, sputtering and inert.

"Damn it, Cruz, get the fuck out of the way so I can take a shot!" Parrot's voice crackled over the comms.

"I'm trying!" Adonis bellowed, engaging his thrusters to create distance.

As he backed away, time seemed to stretch. For a moment, he saw her face clearly. It was contorted by a storm of emotions. Anger, pain, and something else. Something he did not expect.

​Loss.

"Stop moving so I can kick your ass!" A2 roared.

Indignant at her demand and shaking his head, Adonis roared back. "No way! Fuck you! What the hell did I even do to you?"

Her reply was immediate. "You betrayed us!" she screamed, tears glinting in her eyes. "Humanity betrayed my team!"

Her words struck him like a physical blow, ricocheting in his mind. He faltered. A2 stood motionless for a moment, chest heaving, glare piercing.

Before he could form a response, Parrot yelled, "Danger close!"

The thunderous roar of Parrot's minigun filled the throne room as another wave of bullets tore through the air. A2 sprang backward. Her heels scraped across the stone. Missiles followed. The explosions shook the room and kicked up a dense cloud of dust and smoke.

"Confirm visual! Is she KIA?" Parrot demanded, his voice tight with adrenaline.

Adonis repositioned, his mech's arms raised defensively. The heavy footfalls of his Gotterdämmerung echoed in the silence that followed. "Smoke's too thick," he muttered. "Switching to thermal."

His HUD flickered. The display shifted. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a searing heat signature emerged, cutting through the haze. It moved with impossible speed. Heels clacked on the stone. Hair streamed behind her. Her blade was poised to strike.

"She's coming, she's coming!" Parrot's voice cracked with panic as he tried to line up a shot.

Before he could fire, A2 launched herself through the open window. Her war cry reverberated through the throne room. Sword raised high, she descended on Parrot, striking with a ferocity that overwhelmed his defenses.

Adonis bolted forward, his comms filled with Parrot's panicked cries.

"Fuck! Fuck! I'm going down!"

A2's blade was merciless, carving into Parrot's mech with surgical precision. Sparks erupted as her strikes tore through plating and circuitry, dismantling him piece by piece. The shriek of tearing metal filled the air, drowning out every other sound. Adonis's heart raced as he rushed toward the shattered window. Below, he glimpsed Parrot's Gotterdämmerung spinning wildly out of control, its thrusters sputtering before the hulking frame crashed into the distant forest. Smoke billowed from the treetops.

Adonis froze, helpless.

"Parrot!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Parrot, do you copy? Parrot!"

No response came. His HUD flickered, showing Parrot's signal faint but still active, not far from the crash site. Relief flickered in his chest. He could still make it. But his thoughts drifted to the deserter. Why the hell would she do this? What reason did she have to attack them? Betraying YoRHa? As far as Adonis was concerned, humanity wasn't exactly awake for most of the war, let alone be in any position to betray anyone.

He rang up 6O.

"Good after-" 6O's cheery voice came through, but Adonis cut her off.

"6O! We've got a Gotterdämmerung down at grid 2424512! Requesting immediate medevac and for local android units to converge, over!"

6O's expression flickered on his display. Her usual warmth faltered for a brief second before her gaze hardened. "Copy, Adonis. Deploying YoRHa Units 9S and 2B to the area. They're the closest."

Adonis gritted his teeth, his mech's thrusters roaring as he ascended above the treetops. "I'll be moving to assist. Tell them to hurry!"

6O hesitated. "May I ask, sir...who or what did you engage for Parrot to be brought down?"

Adonis's jaw tightened. "YoRHa deserter. ID was YoRHa Type A No.2. Ring any bells?"

His Gotterdämmerung pierced through the clouds, the wind howling against the cockpit.

"6O?"

A long pause. Her voice returned, but it was different. The cheer was gone, replaced by something colder. "I see. Expediting Unit 9S and 2B's deployment. Sir, for your safety, exercise extreme caution."

Adonis frowned. Suspicion crawled beneath his skin like a parasite. "Why? What the hell happened with that unit? Why did she desert?"

"I…" 6O faltered, her voice cracking. "I do not have clearance to disclose any information, sir."

Adonis's fingers tightened around the controls. He stared ahead, mind racing. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he forced himself to focus. "Save it for later. A man is down. Get aid here now. Adonis, over and out."

"Y-yes, sir! YoRHa units are en route!"

The connection cut, leaving Adonis alone in the cockpit. The only sound was the roar of his thrusters as he dove toward the forest, his jaw clenched and his mind clouded with questions. His bullshit meter may have not been at use for awhile but even it was ringing like crazy. But at this point, he had to focus. There was still a hostile YoRHa deserter around and a fallen comrade. He needed to get Parrot out, first.

He landed with a thud, animals and leaves fleeing as his Gotterdämmerung landed right before Parrot's crash. It was a mess, gashes to his armour plating, circuitry flashed and fluid leaked from his torn suit. Adonis's camera switched, tension in his stomach, as he examined the internals. Relief took over as Parrot's heartbeat was detected. He was alive, albeit unconscious. Some of his bones however were cracked, and his leg was fractured.

Then, Adonis's lips went thin as his HUD pinged, and he felt a tap on his back. Instinctively, he raised his arms in surrender, the Gotterdämmerung's servos whining.

"Take off your helmet," A2 demanded.

"No way," Adonis refused.

"Take it off!" A2 roared.

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A2 tensed, her ears catching the soft hiss of steam in the air. The human's back was to her, his face obscured. She could only see his hair, black and messy.

"Turn around," she ordered, her voice sharp. "Then get on your knees."

The human obeyed without hesitation, his heavy suit thudding as he turned around and went on his knees. When he finally turned and their eyes met, A2 felt a violent storm surge within her. Conflict boiled in the pit of her stomach. Protocols she had sworn to resist, to defy, clawed their way to the surface, whispering commands she refused to follow. Guilt and shame twisted around her like a vice as she stared at him. Her GOD. She had made him kneel before her. But just as strong as the familiar pull of devotion were the emotions that had fueled her. Hurt. Anger. Pain. The rawness of her comrades' deaths, the betrayal of Command, the unbearable truth.

"...Why?" A2's voice cracked, trembling with restrained fury. "Why did Command betray us?"

The human's brow furrowed in confusion, his expression unreadable. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Her eyes widened, disbelief flashing across her face before narrowing into a glare. "Pearl Harbor!" she snapped, her voice dangerously low. "Don't you fucking tell me people don't know about it!"

The human shook his head, his tone calm but firm. "I don't know anything about any Pearl Harbor." He paused, his gaze steady as it met hers. "I don't know if you're up to speed but my version of humanity has been asleep for thousands upon thousands of years."

A2 froze, dumbfounded. "What?"

The human stared back at her, his expression calm but resolute. "Asleep. Cryogenics. If it wasn't for the Resistance stumbling on our bunker, I wouldn't be here talking to you right now."

She searched his eyes, looking for a flicker of deceit. There was none. Still, her instincts rebelled. "Bullshit," A2 spat reflexively.

"Call it what you want. It's the truth," the human replied evenly.

A2's grip on her sword tightened as she stood there, unsure of what to do. All the pieces of the past months crashed together in her mind. She had been thinning the machines in the Forest Kingdom when YoRHa descended from the sky. From the treetops, she had watched their aircraft sweeping the desert region, performing coordinated strikes. At first, she thought it was just another skirmish. But then she encountered Resistance soldiers and even YoRHa units gossiping about humans. She'd dismissed the rumors until the Resistance received reinforcements. She saw them: massive, bulky war machines soaring through the skies and raining destruction on the machines below. They were too crude, too ugly to be YoRHa designs, yet too advanced for the Resistance to have built. There was only one explanation. They were piloted by humans.

After all these years, after all this solitude, she finally had one of them at her mercy. And he had no idea what she was talking about. That infuriated her even more.

"I don't know what's happening or what's got you doing this," the human said, his voice calm but firm. "But I want to know. What did you mean Command betrayed you? What happened at Pearl Harbor?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you?" A2 snapped, her voice trembling with rage.

"Because I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" he shot back, iron sharpening his tone. "How am I supposed to know something I was never told?"

Her glare hardened as she stepped forward, her blade aimed directly between his eyes. The human flinched slightly but didn't look away. Instead, his gaze was resolute, filled with curiosity rather than fear.

A chasm opened inside A2. She wanted to strike him, to make him feel the searing pain that had clawed at her soul for so long. But the way he looked at her with something genuine made her falter. Slowly, she drew her sword back, just slightly.

"We..." Her mouth moved before she could stop it. "We were tasked with destroying a Machine Server that controlled their coordination. That's what we were told. But our real mission wasn't that. It was to gather data. Data for future models to be based on." Her voice cracked. "When the mission was done, we were...discarded."

She bit her lip, cursing herself for saying so much.

The human was silent for a moment. The only sounds were the faint sparking of Parrot's Gotterdämmerung in the background, the distant hum of cicadas, and the occasional birdsong. Then, he shifted slightly and looked up at her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

A2 blinked, her eyes narrowing. "What?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated. His voice was steady, but there was a weight to it. "I don't know what else to say."

"You're sorry?" A2's voice rose, her anger surging again. "Sorry isn't going to bring my squad back! Sorry isn't going to make it hurt any less!"

The human remained still, letting her vent. She huffed, her breaths heavy and uneven. Slowly, he spoke again.

"Listen..." He straightened slightly, his tone calm but authoritative. "I don't know what's going on. But I can see there's more to your story. I can't fix that, but my commanding officer might be able to. He's a good man. I can vouch for him."

A2 watched as he began to rise from the ground, his servos whining softly as he stood to his full height. She immediately straightened her sword, halting him mid-movement. He stopped but didn't back down. Despite the looming size of his frame, his face remained soft, his voice calm.

"What's your name?" he asked.

Her glare deepened. "Why do you want to know?"

"There's the name YoRHa gave you, but you've been on your own for a long time. I figure you might go by something else," he said, his tone light, almost conversational. He gestured to himself. "I'm Damian. And you are?"

"...None of your goddamn business, human," she snapped, her voice low and venomous.

"Long name," Damian quipped, a small grin tugging at his lips.

A2 stared at him, her expression blank with disbelief.

"I'm going to stab you," she threatened coldly.

"If you wanted to do that, you would've done it by now," Damian replied confidently. "No, I think I'm pretty safe."

His audacity paralyzed her. He continued, his voice softer now. "Come with me. You're hurting. Let me help you. I promise you, humanity's been out of the picture for a long time, but we're back. Stronger than ever."

Her breath hitched. His voice was honey to her ears, soothing the ache in her chest. Her lips trembled as she tried to hold her composure. But before she could respond, the roar of jet engines filled the air. A2's head snapped up, her eyes narrowing as two YoRHa flying units streaked across the sky, heading straight for their position. She glanced back at him, and still, he was looking at her with that long expectant look.

This...this was too much. Too damn much.

"Go fuck yourself," A2 cursed before she turned, and ran.

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"Sir, are you alright?"

The faint hum of androids filled the air as a team carefully hoisted Parrots Gotterdämmerung onto a container. Adonis sat on a nearby rock, watching the Resistance androids handle the operation with meticulous care. Beside him, 9S stood stiffly, his lips quivering as he shifted awkwardly.

"Yeah," Adonis replied, his tone dry. "I'm peachy, YoRHa."

"Thank goodness," 9S sighed in relief. "It was brave of you to confront that deserter alone like that." His fists clenched. "If I'd been here, I would've taught her a lesson!"

"Clarification," Pod 153 interjected, its robotic monotone cutting through the moment. "Scanner Units are ill-suited for direct combat with YoRHa Attacker Models. Without intervention from Unit 2B, YoRHa Unit 9S would face significant difficulty in subduing Unit No.2."

"Pod!" 9S snapped, his pale cheeks flushing red.

Adonis chuckled quietly, unscrewing the lid of his canteen and taking a sip. Shaking his head, he said, "I'll be fine. I'm just worried about Parrot."

9S's expression fell. "I'm sorry we took so long, sir. 2B and I were assisting the Resistance with an errand."

"Don't sweat it. It's not like you two can teleport," Adonis said with a faint smile.

9S brightened slightly at the remark, then turned his attention to the crumpled Gotterdämmerung.

"YoRHa Type-4O blades are the latest issue for elites," 9S noted, his tone shifting to one of admiration. "Each strike builds a charge, making them more powerful. And the suit…" He hesitated.

Adonis raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"Um…" 9S stammered, his voice faltering. "Well…Mr. Parrot should've been sliced in two by the fourth strike. T-thank goodness he wasn't!"

Adonis stared at him for a moment before breaking into a laugh. "Ah, that. Gotterdämmerung's armor is specifically designed to react to trauma. The harder the hit, the more it resists. A necessity, considering the old Legion were literal monsters."

"Really? Man, I'd hate to fight them," 9S said with a shiver.

"Believe me, you would," Adonis replied with a sigh.

9S tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "What's the armor made of, then?"

Adonis smirked. "Nanomachines, son."

The sharp clicking of heels echoed in their ears.

"I did a sweep of the area. The deserter is gone," 2B announced, her voice composed, her Pod floating beside her. She paused, her gaze catching Adonis's. His eyes lingered on her, studying her intently, as if trying to piece together a puzzle. A strange discomfort churned in her stomach.

"...Sir?" 2B asked, her voice tinged with unease.

Adonis shook his head, breaking the moment. "It's nothing. Just...I heard some things from her. Concerning things. I'll need to clear it up with my CO."

"Don't believe anything she said," 2B cut in sharply, a rare venom lacing her words. "She's a deserter and a traitor. She attacked a human."

"Yeah!" 9S chimed in, his voice indignant. "Why the hell should we trust anything she says?"

Adonis didn't respond. Instead, he rose slowly from his rock, the faint hum of servos accompanying his movement. 2B and 9S watched in silence as he took a single step forward, then hesitated. He stopped, glancing over his shoulder.

His gaze settled on 2B once more, piercing and unreadable. A palpable tension hung in the air as he shook his head faintly and walked away without another word.

"What was that about?" 9S asked, his eyes following Adonis as he disappeared into the distance.

"...Likely nothing," 2B said, her tone carefully neutral. "...Nothing for us to be concerned about."

"Right," 9S agreed.

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A/N: Happy times is over.