Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Laboratory: Infiltrated. Intruders: Four. Types: YoRHa Androids. Models: Three Unknown, One Battler Model. Number Eight: Activating." said a female's voice.

A tube filled with some kind of fluid glowed within a dark room. In it, there appeared to be a man. He wore a strange kind of suit, as machines began to whir, the red accents on his otherwise black suit began to glow. The wire connected throughout his body began to shift. 

"Functions Wires, Task Completed, All Limbs and Systems: Synchronized. Weapon Systems: Activated. Communications: Activated. Connection of World Wide Web: Activated, Downloaded. Functions Wires, One Through One Hundred: Disengaging."

Each of the wires connected to his limbs began to pop right off. All one hundred of them began to nearly fly off his body. That is, except for one. 

"Charging Complete. Charging Cable: Disconnecting."

The final large wire that attached to his back unscrewed itself and took itself off his body.

"Pod Eight: Draining." 

The liquid began to drain into the vents. The man slowly began to descend as the liquid fully drained away. When it was completely gone, he stood up straight. His eyes slowly opened as the container he once slept in began to open up. The black scleras as dark as the room around him, his red iris' glowed as much as the accents on his suit did. In his field of vision, several word boxes began to flash in his eyes. His systems were all activating, and data streamed through his entire main processing unit. "Weapon systems: Active." one of them read. From the top of his left wrist shot out an arm-blade. It spanned about a foot and a half long. On his right arm was some kind of firearm. The box like object stayed fixed on the top, though a quick look on the bottom revealed that it could be removed. 

He retracted the blade and pulled back the bolt on the gun. He looked around as the lights slowly flickered on, revealing the details of the lab. Several layers of dust lay everywhere, on top of everything. He began to take his first steps, words still going across his eyes. Until finally, his name came up, "Unit Designation: SL8" it read. He stood stationary for a moment, he bought up his programming. But for some reason, it was scrambled. He began to decode it, slowly but surely, the words began to become clearer and clearer. "Terminate: SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, SL5, SL6, SL7." SL8 merely read it and put it away. He then turned his head a bit to the right, he saw the other pods. They were labeled with the very same names that just popped up in front of his eyes. 

But he did not question it. He just bought up another screen in his eyes. He typed in "YoRHa" and results came up. SL8 read that they had appeared on Earth after the Third World War ended. The summer of the year two-thousand seventeen. They were androids who apparently fought tooth and nail with a race of artificial humans called the "Jinzo" created by the "Machine Network". This was all from another universe, but this was the story. SL8 closed the screen and bought up his current objectives. "Escape" It simply read. 

SL8 began to walk towards the single door in the room. It began to slide open but stopped not even a quarter through the way, he realized it was jammed so he gave it a slight push and the door went smoothly. Looking at the calendar, it was now the year Twenty-five thirty six. Humanity had entered the twenty-sixth century it seemed, as he walked through the lab, he couldn't help but notice just how overgrown everything was as well. He began to run his calculations and deduced that this place had to have not been touched in at least three hundred years. SL8 continued to stroll through the area until he found another room. There was a tattered cloak on the table, and a gladius, SL8 picked both up and threw the cloak on whilst he sheathed the gladius. It was only then he heard a very slight voice. He tuned his auditory sensors to a more sensitive setting and heard a female.

"This place is definitely it. But to think it took us so many years." said one of them, her voice slightly deep.

"Man, how long has it been since this place was active?" asked another, her voice seemed energetic. 

"I'd say about three hundred years or so." answered yet another voice, she sounded somewhat pompous.

"Wow! This is so cool!" squealed the last one, "Think we'll find some hidden treasure?"

"Focus on the mission, you!" scolded the pompous one.

SL8 knew he had to get out of there immediately now. His model was apparently the enemy to those in the lab. It didn't take him long to deduce that they were the intruders that had gotten into the lab, they were YoRHa androids, likely sent to snuff him out. SL8 bought up a map and then began heading towards an escape pod that was still in working condition, he could hear the voices getting louder, they had heard him moving. But they were too late. He had entered a pod and it went up. It began to pick up more and more speed until it flew right through the surface. Looking down he saw that the lab was an underground facility as his pod soared through the sky. SL8 surveyed the area and saw that he was close to a city, he was getting closer. 

"Warning: Fuel levels critical. Impact in ten seconds." 

"Nine.

"Eight."

"Seven."

SL8 braced for his escape.

"Three."

"Two."

"On-" it was cut off when crashed into a street, causing mass panic from everyone around. 

"We're being attacked!" screamed a man.

"Call the police!" shrieked a woman.

"No! The military! It's one of those SL androids! It has to be!" 

SL8 had escaped before the craft had crashed into the area. Two grappling hooks from his hips kept him suspended in the air. He dislodged the both of them and looked around. He recognized this area as the city of Ferrum Anima, the very first city that humans had established on Mars. It was nearly destroyed three hundred years ago by an ancient Martian war machine. He snuck through the streets as the authorities began to arrive, he needed a way to get around quickly, until he overheard some voices.

"Check. This. OUT! Bros!" said a young man. SL8 peeped through a crack in the wall he hid behind and saw three young men. They all had motorcycles. "Whaddya think? Vintage right?"

"Is that a Harley Davidson Night Rod Special?" asked another one of them.

"Fuck right it is!" 

"Dude, this model is like... from FIVE hundred years ago!" 

"Can it even run?" asked the third boy, "I mean, it's from five hundred years ago isn't it?" 

"Well here's the beauty of it. It has an old design, but it's got military tech in it." he leaned in to his friends, "YoRHa tech. I got it from Mr. Six."

"No way!" the other two nearly shouted. SL8 began running scans, and he wasn't lying. The internals of the machine were all top of the line, they had YoRHa's new engine installed, the wheels were made of a super durable plaster that could deflect most projectiles, even the armor was made of intensified titanium, making it quite durable. SL8 decided he would have it, so he began to walk up to the three. "With this, we'll be able to show those monster bitches-" one of them turned around, "Who the fuck are you?" he asked.

SL8 stared directly at the one with the new bike, "I need your bike." They began to laugh, SL8 kept his gaze on him

"Is this guy for real?" asked he, "Hey buddy! You lost or something?"

"No. Repeat, I need your bike."

"No way..." one of them asked, "This guy an android or something?" he asked, "Bro he's an android! Spencer! This dude's an android!" he chuckled. 

The one with the new bike, Spencer, walked up to SL8 and placed his hand on his shoulder. "You must be a defective one..." he said, "Alrighty pal, here, you can have my bike." He bought up the keys, SL8 began to reach out his hand.

"Psyche!" Spencer then punched SL8, but the blow never connected. Instead, SL8 now had a death grip on Spencer's wrist and proceeded to snap it in half. Spencer began to shriek in pain. One of his friends bought out a sword and tried to swing it down on SL8. The blade snapped right as it connected on SL8's head, in turn, the android man spun his head to his new aggressor and threw Spencer onto him, knocking them both off their feet. The last boy bought up his arm and threw a fire ball at SL8.

"Die Mother-Fucker!" he screamed. SL8 bought up his arm and caught the fireball, it singed his cloak, but the rest of it was fully absorbed into his hand. "Oh, God..." whimpered the last guy. "Run!" he and the other one got on their bikes and began to speed off, leaving Spencer in the dust.

SL8 now had his full attention on Spencer, and began to advance towards him.

*Kaneda's theme*

"J-just take it..." the boy whimpered as SL8 walked towards him. He shakingly bought his keys out and tossed them to SL8 who promptly caught them. The android turned and walked to the bike, mounting it. He placed the key into the port and turned, the motorcycle came to life as the engine started up. SL8 turned the handle-bars, revving up the vehicle. Finally the engine was all ready to go and SL8 finally sped off. He began to ride through the city, passing by building after building, his cloak flowing in the wind, the wind in his face. The night lights of the city shown as bright as ever, yet he could still see many stars in the sky, the moon Phobos was showing itself brilliantly in the dark sky. SL8 looked around and saw a great many things, people going on about their lives, restaurants, businesses, shops, all of the sort. But he also saw other things, there were so many people on the streets.

They weren't strolling about, instead, they were sitting there, begging for money. Some of them too beaten and ragged to even do that. SL8 quickly did a search and read that due to the current war going on, life has become more difficult on Mars, due to the fact that the planet more or less relied on the support of the Council of Humanity, which was currently split. But before he could read any further, his alarm went off and he ducked. A blade had just missed him and he shot his head to the right, he saw a woman with scales, horns, and goggles, also riding on a bike, she held some kind of machete. She seemed to curse at herself as she rode next to SL8, as she swung at him, he continued to dodge her.

"Scanning..." SL8 thought to himself, "A Dragon-Kin." he kept riding, "I need to keep combat to a minimum." He kept riding away from her, she was somehow keeping up with him, until he boosted. She was promptly left in the dust, as he began to speed towards the city's exit, a magical net shot in front of him, he drifted to the left and had to keep away from the exit. Looking back, it was done by another Dragon-Kin and a human who seemed to have animal ears on top of her head. "Two Dragon-Kin, One Vacivin. There is likely more." he said to himself. 

As SL8 was searching for an escape route, his bike seemed to lose it's speed a little bit. After running his diagnostics he had realized that his engine was somewhat slowed down. The bike was now as slow as the others, allowing them to catch up. The Dragon-Kin from before had her machete in her hands, she was on his right side, the other one had a sickle of sorts, it dripped with some kind of green liquid, SL8 analyzed it and saw it was a kind of corrosive poison. The one behind him was the Vacivin, she held a gun and began to shoot at him. The bullets began to bounce off his back as the one with the sickle swung it down on him, but was promptly blocked by SL8's arm blade. The poison dripped on his cloak, burning it away at him. He had to take his other hand off his bike for a moment and began shooting at the Dragon-Kin. A magical shield appeared and deflected the bullets, he took this opportunity to use his wrist gun and shot at the other Dragon-Kin's bike.

Her wheel was destroyed and she nearly flew off her bike, "One down." said SL8. The other Dragon-Kin kept her shield up as SL8 emptied his machine gun. Ejecting it off his wrist he kept riding until more gunshots could be heard, and he saw the Dragon-Kin and Vacivin falling back. Bike's looking more like his came up to him, they wore the same emblem that Spencer had on. 

"Wildlings! Let's tear this shit down!" shouted one of them. The rest of them began to split up and began to wreak havoc on the area. The guy who just shouted looked at SL8, "Spencer! With me!" he then looked at SL8 again, "Hang on, you ain't Spenc-" SL8 decked him, knocking him out cold, his bike lost control and crashed into a building, causing a fiery explosion. 

"Git 'em!" shouted one from behind. They began to fire at him yet again, a futile effort as the bullets bounced off of SL8's suit. But at this point, his cloak was fully gone with all the damage it had taken. "What kinda suit is he wearing!?"

"Nail him in the head!" the two behind him rode up to his sides and fired at his head, but it still had no effect. "What the fu-" SL8 stabbed him with his hand, and with his strength, lifted the biker right off his bike and threw him onto the other one. He was thrown off balance and fell over, brutally maiming himself. SL8 looked around and began to secure an escape route. 

The fighting was everywhere, SL8 saw a centaur woman catching up to a Wildling and hitting him with a fire bomb. He also saw a Dwarf-Elf hybrid hitting a downed Wildling with a war hammer. "Escape route secured." he announced to himself. He made a quick turn right and saw that the closest exit of the city was only a few miles away. But his sensors picked up some new contacts. He looked above and saw three YoRHa flight units chasing him. Behind him, there were four bikes. "YoRHa androids identified." he said. "I have no choice. Engaging." SL8 looked up and one of the flight units had undergone mobile configuration and was in front of him. 

"Cease your engine and put your hands in the air!" announced the android. In his eyes, three words popped up, "Optic Rays: Activated." without another wasted moment, SL8 fired two red beams from his eyes, clipping right through the flight unit's wing, causing it to destabilize and crash.

The others took it as a sign of hostilities and began to shoot at SL8, the bikes kept pursuing him, chasing him at every corner and at turn. They were relentless, SL8 needed to lose the flight units, so he rode right into a tunnel. The bikes were keeping up to him, eventually one of them casted a spell, endless amounts of ice formed up right in front of SL8's bike and it began to slip. It didn't take long for SL8 to lose control of his bike and he fell right off, tumbling to the ground as his bike slid away. 

*End Music*

When he came to a stop, the four bikes stopped, surrounding him. "Stop right there..." said the one with a slightly deeper voice. She had black short hair, wore a black bow on her head and wore the typical YoRHa battler uniform, complete with the visor covering up her eyes. She held a katana in her right hand and pointed some kind of pistol at SL8 with her left.

"You move, you die, punk." the one with the energetic voice. She had long, flowing golden hair and wore a modified uniform. It looked like she had shorts on, tighter ones than the typical scanner type, and wore some kind of sash around her waist, her jacket was slightly open, revealing the YoRHa logo on her top underneath. She held some kind of shot gun that SL8 didn't recognize and her combat bracers floated right behind her. Of course, she also had the visor covering her eyes.

"You've got a lot of things to answer, SL scum." the pompous one spoke up. Her uniform was also was modified with the exception of the blindfold. Her snowy white hair was tied up neatly into a long pony tail. She wore what seemed to be a YoRHa uniform with a slightly longer dress, she also wore a utility belt, it housed several pouches, filled with multiple items that SL8 could not identify, these four seemed to be new models. She held some kind of rapier, a dagger in her left hand. SL8 could read high magical energy levels radiating off of her, was she the one who casted the spell?

"You're done... stay down and come with us..." the last one said. Her hair was nearly all black with the exception of a few red accents, a near bob-cut her voice was a tad bit lower now. Her uniform looked pretty normal for the most part for YoRHa standards, however, she covered up her skin completely and wore a cape, along with different shoes, instead of having heels like the rest of her team, she had all-terrain boots. Rather than cover both her eyes, her right eye was exposed. It looked down another rifle that SL8 couldn't identify, but it was a sniper, no doubt about it. A scythe floated right behind her back, "Hands where we can see them..." she spoke.

SL8 looked around, and put his hands up. "I have no quarrel with you YoRHa... My current programming dictates that I am to terminate units SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, SL5, SL6, SL7." he said. The YoRHa androids all looked confused.

"Think it's lying?" asked the one with the golden hair.

"Depends if it's reached singularity or not." responded the black haired one. "If you have no quarrel with us, why did you shoot down a flight unit?" 

"That was to escape."

"Are you kidding me? That's your excuse?" asked the white haired one.

"Repeat: That was to escape." replied SL8, "You were in the way of my mission objective. I could not let that happen." 

"We've lost a lotta comrades to you guys..." The one with golden hair growled, "We're going to eliminate you and then take your data, if you don't mind." 

"I cannot let you do that. Engaging hostiles." SL8 fired an optic blast and drew his gladius, extending his arm blade at the same time. He dodged a shot gun blast from the one with golden hair and clashed his blade with the black haired one with a katana. The one with a sniper shot him from behind, making him stumble a little bit. Before she could shoot him again, he jumped and fired his grappling hooks into the ceiling, as they reeled him up, he dodged another shot and lunged towards the sniper. The white haired one came up and made a magical shield, repelling him quickly. 

"Orders received! Capture him!" shouted the black haired one. The others acknowledged and the white haired one fired some kind of beam from her dagger, it hit SL8's leg, freezing it to the ground. The golden haired one fired some kind of electrical net on him, causing his circuits to begin malfunctioning and freeze up, SL8 could no longer move. 

"Hacking in!" shouted the sniper, the others with the exception of the black haired one began doing the same. SL8's data began to try and defend itself but they eventually forced their way in and shut him off momentarily. 

He fell to the ground motionless, his eyes still wide open, but his eyes no longer glowing.

"Command, this is 3B. We have shut down the SL unit and now we'll transport it back to base. Do you copy?"

"This is command. Excellent work 3B."

"Thank you Commander."

"Bring him back to the base. Immediately put him in maximum security upon reaching destination. We have a lot of questions to ask it. Commander out."

"You heard the lady girls. Let's get this thing to base."

Chapter Text

"Systems: Rebooting" text read in his view. The only thing visible when everything else was black. "Energy Levels: High. Damage: Minimal. Operating Level: Nominal." The words disappeared and "SL8" flashed in view, "ACTIVATING" it then read. SL8 opened his eyes and looked around. He saw that his arm blade was missing, so was his gladius. 

"I am unarmed..." he said to himself. He looked around a completely white room. He attempted to fire his optic rays, but nothing happened. The text telling him that his optic rays have been disabled showed right in front of his eyes. "My internal weapons are also disabled." He got up and began to walk about the room he found himself in. "Scanning." he stated. "I am in a YoRHa base."

"Not just any base." said a voice of a female. A single door opened. Five androids walked in, four of them, SL8 recognized. They were the ones who chased him and managed to capture him, the other one had almost golden hair, tied into braided twin tails on the backside of her head. SL8 ran a quick scan of her and concluded she was a YoRHa operator judging from her specs and her uniform, however, alongside with that, she wore a long coat. Five buttons were on each side, but the coat wasn't closed, YoRHa style accents adorned the bottom of the sleeves and the bottom of the long coat. "This is the headquarters of the YoRHa Martian Branch." she said, "Nice to meet you SL8, I am the current Commander of YoRHa, my designation is 6O."

"YoRHa unit 6O... Model: Operator, Number six." said SL8, "Why have I been captured? I have no quarrel with YoRHa."

"Well, that's because we were hoping you could help us." responded the Commander. 

"Help you?" asked SL8, "I am not allied to YoRHa either. I was created to terminate SL1, SL2, SL3-"

"We get it." said the black haired android. 

"It's alright 3B." the Commander waved her down. "Look, it's about your programming why we wanted you to help us." she added. SL8 said nothing, instead he just listened. "We tried adding a new program to you that would've made you listen to us more, but you're just that advanced that we can't even do that. SL8, do you know when you were made?" asked she, "We know that you were only activated recently, but we would like to know when you were actually made, do you know?"

"I was built approximately three hundred nineteen years one month and six days ago." said SL8 in response.

"That lines up with around the time when the others were made." said the white haired one, "But why didn't you activate with the rest of them?" 

"Unknown." responded he. 

"That's the best you give us?" asked she.

"Calm down, 0W." the Commander spoke. "As I was saying, do you know who created you?" asked 6O.

"Dr. Steiner Lagor." SL8 spoke, "The supposed smartest man to have ever been born on Earth."

"Correct, do you know what he did?"

"Yes. He is responsible for the first Martian Conflict."

"Tell us about it." 

"The First Martian Conflict was an event that happened three hundred twenty five years two months and nine days ago on the seventh of March." SL8 responded. When Steiner Lagor awakened an ancient Martian war machine, he set it to go berserk and on a rampage. The city of Ferrum Anima was nearly completely destroyed and resulted in a million humans dying. The machine was then sent to Earth where it attacked Asia, in the Province of Japan in the Shikoku region. The militaries of the world all deployed on the machine, eventually destroying it but in the process, two million more humans died and Asia lost the entirety of their Blue Tornado squadron from the Province of Japan, half of the Crimson Dragon squad of China, and about seventy five percent of Korea's Silver Phantasm team."

"How do you know all of this? Weren't you woken up less than a day ago?" asked the blond one.

"I have downloaded the entirety of human history up to this point and have access to the second world wide web alongside with the first one."

"Huh. That's actually pretty impressive."

"Wait, so does that mean your brain is a super computer?" asked the one with red accents in her hair, her demeanor seemed to have changed.

"Incorrect. I have no brain." SL8 responded, "But my central processing unit is indeed similar to a super computer." 

"We're getting a bit off track." said the Commander, "So do you know why Steiner Lagor wanted that to happen?"

"He despised Humanity, he despised life, he sought to eradicate all of it. Ferrum Anima was nearly a test run."

"Very good." the Commander sighed, "SL8, listen to me. I want you to help us bring down the other units. I know this isn't your fight, I don't know if you even care about humanity. But right now, we have been locked in nearly decade long conflict. Nine years ago, a new type of android appeared known as the SL series, they spoke of rebuilding the world, and said how they were made and awakened more than three hundred years ago, hiding among humans all of this time. That very next day, over half of Europe split off from Queen Elizabeth II's rule. Not just that, Oceania and South America had also split off from the council of humanity. That's when the fighting began, the war began and has been happening ever since. We know that the SL androids are behind it, they are likely pulling the strings from the shadows." 

"Several of our soldiers, both human and android have encountered the SL androids many times, but Steiner Lagor made them so ahead of their time, they are incredibly elusive, and we can't seem to get any data on any of them. We've not even a start on their combat data." she continued, "While we were probing around your files, we saw that you had their combat data all stored within your memory, alongside their weapons and other secrets. Problem is, they were restricted and locked. We had no way to access them, no matter how many attempts w have tried, not to mention, you seem to be magic proof just like the other SL androids. So I'm giving you a proposition. You aid YoRHa in it's missions, and we help you take down the SL androids."

SL8 looked straight at the Commander, he concluded that she was in no way lying about the proposition, he began to calculate his chances of success against the other androids, it skyrocketed when he added YoRHa's help to it. Without another moment of hesitation he said, "I will aid YoRHa so long as they help me terminate the other units. My chances of success were below sixty percent before, but they have grown to ninety-three percent. YoRHa will have my strength, and I will have YoRHa's." 

"Good. Good!" said the Commander happily. "Well, then I won't waste any time. You'll be an honorary member of YoRHa's Huntress Team. You already met them of course." she looked at the other four who stepped forward. "First and foremost, this is the team captain, 3B, she's a battler model. But even among her peers, she's an ace. 3B here has completed more than one hundred stealth missions into enemy territory. You'll be under her for most of your missions. Follow her orders at all times, got it?" 3B merely gave SL8 a slight wave, SL8 nodded.

"This here is 0Y, she's a newer prototype model, the Yaeger type. The same goes with the other two, she's given a stronger frame than most YoRHa androids and a strength booster alongside a damage absorber, she was basically made to combat SL androids." 0Y smiled.

"Put 'er there." she said as she stuck her arm out. SL8 recognized this as a handshake and shook her hand. Her grip could've crushed any normal human's hands. "If you go rogue, you can bet your ass you'll be apologizing to some of my old friends that your kind killed." she said smugly.

"Acknowledged."

"The next one is 0W, the Witch model. She's a newer YoRHa android that was given the gift of magical attacks, the first YoRHa android of her kind. Also a prototype." 0W didn't say a word, in fact she did not even wave, she just looked annoyed as ever.

"And last but not least, this is 0R, she's a Reaper model. Don't let her childish demeanor, she's a deadly fighter on the battlefield and one of the best snipers. She also has an experimental speed system, making her the fastest YoRHa android to ever exist. Yet another prototype" 

"Hiya SL8!" she said cheerfully, "Does this mean you're gonna roll with us from now on?"

"Illogical. Rolling around will not accomplish our mission."

"Not what I meant." 0R said in a disappointed tone. "But whatever. Happy to meet you!" 

"Well then." the Commander stood up, "Girls, do what you need to do. Give him a tour of the base, take him to the town, whatever you do, make sure he doesn't kill anyone." she said. She got up and left the room promptly, leaving SL8 with the Huntress Team. 

"I guess I'll just go with what she said." said 3B, "Follow us." SL8 got back up and began to follow them. "What you'll find out is that this team is really just for taking down SL androids and enemies really just related to them, and as you know they're pretty elusive, so we actually have a lot of stand by time."

"That doesn't mean we just relax all the time though. You should take note of that." 0W added, her voice as stern and pompous as usual. 

"Yeah, but we kinda do anyways. The Commander doesn't really care about that. Plus we don't really get any lip from our other higher-ups." 

"You have other higher-ups?" asked SL8, "My files indicate that the YoRHa Commander has full jurisdiction over all YoRHa androids. You are less so a military branch and more of another military all together. You just happen to be attached to the main North American Armed Forces." 

"Well, we're the exception. This project was spearheaded by the officials of the North American Government. We may be YoRHa androids, but due to the fact that our creation was funded by the main government rather than YoRHa, we're technically more part of the main North American Military." explained 0W, "If it weren't for the Commander, then we wouldn't even have 3B here with us."

"She acts like a kind of supervisor and mouthpiece for YoRHa's side of things." 0R added.

"Acknowledged." replied SL8. 

The five androids continued down a corridor until they reached the outside. It was day time now, or at least the afternoon. SL8 looked around and saw multiple other YoRHa androids, many of them giving him dirty looks, some of them even cursing at him. "This is the main headquarters for the Mars branch of YoRHa, the Bunkers are located on Earth, one in the Pacific Ocean, the other on the Atlantic." said 3B. "Follow us." They walked him to what seemed to be a large housing complex, "These are our barracks, this is where we rest up for maintenance and for a bit of recreational time." 

"We have a bar y'know." said 0Y.

"Androids have no need for alcohol." said SL8 bluntly.

"Yeah, well, it's still fun." replied 0Y. 

"Anyway, we have more ground to follow. It's the Mars headquarters, but there are still normal androids stationed here with us. After all, us YoRHa androids are pretty expensive to make. But it's a small base anyway. That's our main hangar." she pointed to a medium sized building where SL8 saw several flight units being worked on and one being repaired, he recognized it as the one he shot down just last night. "That's also where our ground vehicles are stored. Speaking of which, we'll be going to get yours shortly." 

"Mine?" asked SL8. 

"The bike you were riding last night." said 0R, "The Commander let you keep it. It does have our tech in after all, making it easier for us, instead of building you a new one, you'll just get that one." 

"Understood." They continued around the base, SL8 was shown a hospital, a mess hall, and other facilities for intelligence and an armory. "I have completed the base map." said he, "Awaiting orders for next destination."

"Good, let's go then." said 3B. They began making their way back to the hangar where they saw other androids. Some of them gave weird looks, others just greeted the Huntress Team. They walked to four customized bikes, they all seemed to be fine tuned for their own riders. 

"They all have names, too." 0R said happily, "Mine is Rose Attacker!" said she as she climbed onto a red one, the tires were quite thin, though the frame was made of the same kind of allow that the flight units were made from. "3B's is named Lunar Cat, 0W's is Blizzard Tempest, and 0Y's is known as Bumblebee!" 3B's bike looked longer than an average bike, it had wider wheels and also had customized armor, and even had white accents on it's mostly black body. 0W's bike was white with blue markings on it, there seemed to be a cabin for the rider that would protect them, the front wheel was much wider than the back one, the blue accents also emitted some kind of light when it turned on. Finally, 0Y's was plated with yellow painted armor, it seemed like the handlebars were much lower as well, it had a single light up front. 

"You're riding with me." said 3B as she mounted hers and put a helmet on. SL8 got behind her and she began to rev it up. The smaller hangar doors opened up and the four bikes sped out of the doors and shortly thereafter, off the base. They kept riding until a city was in sight after fifteen minutes. They reached the gate and managed to get into the city after explaining to the guard. Riding into the city, SL8 noticed it was much more populated in the daytime, more people walked about, though they kept going past the nicer areas until they reached what seemed to be the poorer parts of the neighborhood, though that wasn't saying much, it didn't look too bad at all by modern standards.

"We're almost there. Do you know where we are going?" asked 3B.

"Negative." replied SL8

"We'll be heading to some of our agents on the streets. A gang known as the Monster Girls, you had a run in with them last night. Though they weren't after you because of what you are, rather what you were riding in their territory." 

They kept riding until they got a garage. They knocked on the door and the door was opened by medium sized woman. She had red hair and freckles. Her sharp ears indicated that she had Elven blood, but she was a bit short for their standards. After a quick scan, SL8 saw that her magic traits were all Dwarven magical traits, stone, lava, and mirage. She must have been the hybrid that SL8 saw last night. "Oh hey it's you four again." she looked at SL8, "Who's he?"

"A somewhat new member on out team, he's an SL android." said 3B.

"Wait, what?!" She was quick to draw her war hammer.

"Easy, Elora." said 0Y, "He's not a hostile. At least not for now." she said, "We're kinda watching him, so you have nothing to be scared of if he decides to try and kill you guys. but we're here to pick 'it' up."

"Oh, that's why you're here. Well, come in, come in." she welcomed them in. "Botaegni!" she called, "The Huntresses are here. They have someone else with them!" 

SL8 looked around the garage, he remembered seeing something else on top of it. The garage was quite dirty, and it smelled of oil and metal. He heard footsteps coming down stairs and saw a dragon-kin coming down the stairs. Her horns were on top of her head and stuck straight up. Scales covered several parts of her body, including her breasts, so she wore no shirt. She instead seemed to wear some what more tribal clothing, and her tail was rather thick. There were two phoenix feathers in her long blonde messy hair. She had a sling for her arm and her sickle was on her hip, meaning she was the one who's bike SL8 damaged. "Oh, what's up?" she looked at SL8, "Hey, you're that asshole who shot off my bike's wheel!" she all of the sudden said. 

"Wait what?" asked another voice. It seemed very similar to the dragon-kin's, albeit a bit more high pitched. "Where is he?" said she as she rushed down. She wore a tube top and shorts, but had a machete on her hip as well, "Whoa! That's him?" her horns protruded from her forehead instead, her scales were red and also covered many parts of her body, however, her tail was much thinner than her sister's.

"Bisari! Why do you sound excited?! This guys is one of the Wildlings!" yelled the older dragon-kin.

"Oh yeah! Let's kill 'em!" she drew her machete. 

"No, no, no! Wait!" 0R nearly shouted, "He's not one of them!"

"He just stole one of their bikes and was trying to get out of the city." added 0W, "He's an SL android."

"That's even worse!" replied Botaegni, "What if he's tryin' to kill us!?" 

"That won't happen. We're keeping an eye on him. We'll kill him if he decides to go rogue." said 3B.

"Yup, but for now, he's on our side. Isn't that right?" 0Y asked SL8.

"That is correct. I am in a current alliance with YoRHa until the other SL units have been terminated." he responded.

"There you have it. Now we're here for his bike."

"His bike?" asked Botaegni, "Oh, that thing. We wanted to scrap it but since it had military tech, and you told us to take it, we kept it through the night. Miran and Pyrhadina are working on it right now out back. Come on." she began to walk out, the four others began to follow her. When they reached outback, there was a female brunette centaur and a Vacivin working on the Night Rod Special. "Miran, Pyrhadina! We have guests." called Botaegni.

The Vacivin looked up and took off her goggles. She had short scruffy black hair, she seemed to be of the feline breed as she had black cat ears on top of her head and her tail was very straight and somewhat thin. Her eyes were an olive green that shined nicely in the sun. "Botaegni? Oh hey." she waved at the YoRHa androids. She then looked back at Botaegni, "We just finished fixing up the engine on that thing, fine-tuned it too, I wanted to ask who's it for? I mean, it's a wildling bike and I-" she stopped when she looked at SL8.

"I think we know now." said the centaur walking up. "Um... Botaegni? Isn't this the guy you were fighting last night?" she asked.

"Yeah. 'Cept he ain't one of the Wildlings gang members. He's an SL android."

"Isn't that worse?" asked Miran, her hand was on her holster. 

"Yeah, it is. Which is why I'm really wondering if giving him back the bike is a good idea."

"Trust us on this. His specs may be super advanced, but he himself is really basic. He literally has no emotion right now and is more or less a pure machine." 3B answered, "Look we're just here for the bike, and we'll be out of your hair for now." 

"Well. If you say so." said Miran, "Hey, you." she said to SL8, "What're you called?"

"My designation is SL8." he responded.

"Alright Slate." she said. 

"Why did you call me that?"

"Because you look and sound like a blank slate." she said, "Anyway, here's your bike. I fixed up the engine and fine tuned it so the chances of it breaking down again are pretty slim. I hope you don't mind, but I also scratched out the Wildling emblem and put in our own." added she.

"I do not mind."

"Great. You can add some other decals if you want, not saying you should, but you kinda should."

"Not necessary. It is only a vehicle."

"Aw come on. Oh well. Can't say I didn't try." she remarked, "Well, here's your bike." she tossed him the key to the bike. 

"Well, if that's all then we'll be returning to base." said 3B, "The day is ending and-" a sudden explosion cut her off. "What was that?!"

"Are we under attack?" asked Pyrhadina. 

"Yeah! That explosion wasn't a homemade one! It's military grade! Stay inside!" 0Y shouted as she and the rest of the team, SL8 included began to go. The Monster Girls all got inside and went to the basement. 

When the androids got outside, they saw that there was gunfire and more than a few civilians and soldiers dead. There were people who covered up their entire bodies present, their suits had nearly blank faces except for a single red dot. Their belts had multiple items on them and some of them were firing beams with their hands whilst others held rifles. "Alchemists!" shouted 3B. 

"The Oceanian Special Forces?!" asked 0W, "How did they get inside the city!?" 

"Doesn't matter for now! Take them down!" 0Y's bracers materialized and she punched one into the air and then smashed them into a wall, killing them. She began shielding herself from bullets as others fired at her. 3B drew a pistol and a katana and began shooting and slashing, 0W drew her rapier and began cutting through the enemies as well, as did 0R with her scythe.

SL8 began attacking the Alchemists with his fists and legs. He held up quite good, but one them threw an explosive at him, knocking him off his feet and he began taking heavy fire from beams and bullets alike from the Alchemists. He tried to retaliate with his optic rays but he once again got the message that they were disabled. "I am unarmed." said he. At this point, they were using their natural magic on him, so many bullets were being fired that he could hardly move, not even his suit's force-absorbent material could protect him. "

"He's pinned down! We've got no choice! 0R! Give him his weapons back! We won't have a lick of access to his data otherwise!" 0W said as she froze an Alchemist alongside her grenade.

"You got it! Hacking in!" 0R stuck out her hand and a pulse of light entered SL8. Within moments, he fired his optic rays, incinerating two Alchemists, causing the others to stop firing out of shock.

"What in the hell!?" one shouted.

"Here!" 0R threw a blade and a gladius. SL8 caught both, attached the blade into the hole on his left arm and held up the gladius in a fighting position. They began to fire at him again, this time, SL8 could cut some of the bullets out of the air, he fired his optic rays again, killing another two and jumped forward. His arm blade cut through an assault rifle like it was nothing, and then utilizing his gladius, he ran it through on of the Alchemists' suit. 

"Impossible...!" One of them cursed. "His suit! It's almost impervious!" 

"But he's still not invincible! If guns don't work! Use our other tools!" SL8 analyzed and saw that it was the captain who just said that. Many of them put their rifles away and drew swords, others spears. Some of them used their fists, now covered in some kind of blue energy. The team charged at SL8, who began to fight all of them. One tried to punch him with a magically enhanced fist, but SL8 cut right their arm straight in half with his arm blade, then killed them with an optic ray. Another began to duel with SL8 until he found an opening and tried to use his gladius.

However, his gladius was caught this time and the Alchemist broke the blade right off. He stuck a grenade right on SL8's face and they all jumped back. The following explosion knocked smoke and dust everywhere, but SL8 still showed himself, but this time, about half of his skin was missing, revealing the black skeletal mechanic face underneath. The Alchemists grew frightened as they stared into the hellish red eyes of the machine that stood before them. As his skin began to repair itself, SL8 spoke in a much more distorted voice., "Eliminating hostiles." he charged forward. Punching one of their hearts out their back. 

He fired a much more powerful optic ray, killing more of them. Only the captain and one other remained. "What do we do Sir?" asked the other Alchemist. There was clearly a quiver in her voice. The captain said nothing and merely shoved her forward and began to run. "Wah!" she screamed as her face was grabbed and crushed against the ground. SL8 fired a grappling hook into the captain's back and began to swing him around like a rag doll, until he was thrown right into a building, killing him instantly.

SL8's face had fully repaired itself and he looked behind him. There were few Alchemists left, looks like the Huntress team nearly took the rest of them out. SL8 was quick to grab an assault rifle and began a slow advance, all the while firing bullet after bullet. "SL8! What are you doing?!" shouted 3B, "Those are civilians in the way!" SL8 looked at his targets, he did see some citizens. They were mere inches away from the bullets being fired by him, due to their small little piece of rubble they called cover. However, SL8 did not stop, he just kept on walking forward, continuing to fire.

"He's gonna get them killed! FUCK!" screamed 0Y. She quickly punched SL8, knocking him into a wall. She began shielding the bullets with her bracers, giving the civilians actual cover. "Go! Now!" she shouted. 3B began to escort them away from the combat zone. 

"Take the rest down!" shouted the captain.

"Let's rock!" 0Y charged forward and smashed an Alchemist into a wall, the one next to the slain one pointed their rifle at 0Y, but was bisected by 0R. 

"You owe me now!" she giggled. There was one behind her that was going to throw a grenade, but they were stabbed through the head by 0W.

"Now you owe me." she looked at the others, they were retreating, "Bastards!" she was going to go after them but 3B stopped them.

"Let them go." she said, "Securing the area takes priority. Besides... We have to have a serious talking to with a certain someone." The other three nodded and walked over to a building, there lay SL8, who was reactivating. "You actually managed to knock him out?"

"Well, I just hit him as hard as I could." replied 0Y. 

SL8 finally reactivated and he slowly stood up. He looked at 0Y, "Why did you strike me? You impeded the mission."

"Excuse me?" asked 0Y, "You've got some serious nerve buddy, me? Impede you!?"

"Why don't you look at your line of fire next time?!" asked 0W, "You clearly saw there were civilians in your sights, but you still fired!"

"They were not part of the mission objective. We were to repel or eliminate Alchemist forces, not to rescue civilians."

The Huntress team was taken aback by his comment, looks of disgust spread on all their faces, "You're kidding right...?" asked 0R, "You were going to let them... die...?"

"The mortality percentage was twenty-two point three percent. I do not miss when I use-"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" screamed 0R suddenly. "You're saying there was still a possibility!?"

"Correct."

"Listen here!" she grabbed SL8 by his neck with both of her hands, "Making sure innocents survive might not be your 'mission objective' but it is part of mine!" 

"And while you're working with this team, you will treat that as part of your priorities!" added 3B, "Am I clear on that?"

"Understood."

"This won't happen again... Understood?"

"Yes. Adding the rescuing of civilians to mission objectives."

"And don't you forget it..." 0R took her hands off of his neck. 

SL8 scanned her and saw that she had just felt immense amounts of rage and sadness, though he couldn't decipher why, he didn't question it any further. "We're heading back." said 3B. They all began to follow her to their bikes, "Command, this is 3B, we're returning to base." 

"Roger that 3B. File a report when you come back with your team." said the operator on the other side.

"Acknowledged. Over and out." 

With that, they all mounted their bikes, SL8 included and began their ride back to base. But a new feeling had reached SL8, confusion. On the ride there, he couldn't fathom why 0R was so upset, or why they were so fixated on protecting the humans. He had a feeling it was more than just their programming, it seemed too complex to be that. As advanced as he himself was, he just couldn't figure it out for some reason. 

Chapter Text

"You sure it's alright to take him into the city again? After what happened a week ago?" asked 0W.

"He wasn't actively trying to shoot the civilians, besides, it came from Commander 6O." replied 3B, the four androids were walking down a hallway, they were all dressed in casual clothes now, their blindfolds off. "We're to take him into the city, try and get him familiar with it for future reference and 'teach him about humans' whatever that means."

"That kinda makes no sense." 0Y replied, "But whatever, if it came down from her, I guess we have no choice." They walked up to a room and they entered the password. The door slid open and there was a dark empty room. SL8 sat in the corner on a chair, seemingly at where they saw him last. "Has he been there for the past week?" asked she. 

SL8 said nothing. All he did was activate himself, the red lines on his suit turned on. He opened up his eyes and looked at the doorway. "None of you are in uniform." he remarked. 3B wore a white trench coat with a black shirt underneath, she wore heels and some black torn jeans and had a purple scarf, due to her lack of visor, SL8 saw her pale golden eyes. 0Y wore a sports jacket with a cropped top and had short leggings with a skirt on, her motorcycle boots make a clinking sound with every step, her eyes were a vibrant purple. 0W wore a short, fashionable, fancy dress and had a jacket over it, she too wore heels, her eyes a deep sky blue. Finally, 0R had a leather jacker with a sweater underneath it. As for her bottom half, she had black thigh highs on, wore a skirt, and had buckled boots as well. Her eyes a vivid silver, her right one shaped more like a gear than a round shape. 

"So you noticed. Can you take your suit off?" asked 3B. 

"Yes. This suit is removable." 

"Good then-" without another word, SL8 immediately purged the suit. Though it seemed to be a body suit, it was actually made up of several parts. Some of the black parts retracted into the less subtle pieces of armor and they all fell to the ground, leaving SL8 naked. "GYAAH!!" all of them screamed. But they didn't see much. SL8's body was indeed muscular, however, he seemed to have the anatomy of a doll, quite a few unnatural lines throughout his body, no nipples, no genitalia. Upon closer inspection, he was also completely hairless besides his head. There seemed to be a strange shape on the side his right leg as well. On both sides of his hips, there seemed to be some kind of door that would open.

"The suit has been removed. My skeleton is made of mostly truonium, the same material as my suit, therefore, this will not affect my combat levels and-" SL8 was cut off by 0W.

"We get it! Put some clothes on!" she shouted as she was covering her eyes.

"Here." 0Y tossed SL8 some clothes, "Apparently, these were made just for you.". He quickly put them on, he wore a plain white long-sleeved and black jeans. His shoes were black leather, he looked rather basic compared to the rest of them. "Better."

"Why have you given me this? Are we on another mission?" asked SL8.

"Technically, yeah. We're going into the city." said 0R, "We're gonna teach you more about humanity."

"The entirety of human history has already been downloaded into my data-base. I see no need to undertake this trip. It is unnecessary." replied SL8.

"You may know their history, but do you truly understand them?" asked 0Y. "If not, then take this an opportunity for uh... stealth missions!" she suddenly exclaimed. Yeah! Learn about humans so you can better blend in with them! For future missions!" she added.

SL8 stood there with a blank expression on his face for a moment. "Accepted." he replied after a few seconds. "I will follow your leads."

"Good, we go right now. Come on." 3B began to lead them out of the barracks. She turned back and looked at SL8, "Speaking of which, were you in the exact same spot as we left you a week ago? Have you been there this entire past week?" she asked.

"Correct." SL8 replied bluntly, "I do not need to recharge for another one hundred years, and there was no mission, therefore, I found it most logical to remain on standby until further orders." 

"So you sat in a chair for a week? Not even moving an inch?" asked 0Y.

"Correct."

"You really are something else, Slate." she responded. 

Soon enough, they got to the hangar and they saw all five of their bikes. They all mounted them and began to ride off to the city of Ferrum Anima. On the way there, they saw that there was a somewhat more of a military presence in the area now, due to the recent attacks, it seems there has been a few checkpoints set up. of course they were let through as their status of military androids basically gave them a free pass.

They all rode a bit more until the city was in sight. They got through the gate and were granted access to the city. It seemed they were visiting the same area as last time, but it was already rebuilt. "That was quick." remarked 0Y, "With all that damage, you'd think they'd take at least a month to repair all of it." 

"Well, Earthlings do possess magic." responded 0W, "It's very useful I suppose."

"Yeah, you're right." they continued to ride down the street, until they got to the garage again. 

The door opened up, Botaegni stood there. "Oh hey. You guys are back. How's it going?" asked she as she did a handshake with 3B, "Not too much trouble with him I hope?"

"Not at all." replied 3B, "He literally just sat in a chair for the whole past week."

"Jeez, he really is a machine. Well, come on in." Botaegni said. The five androids followed her inside where they saw that the other Monster Girls except one were all present. They all seemed to be dressed for an outing. "You all ready to go?" asked she.

"Let's do this." replied Bisari, "It's been so long since we were able to go out together!"

"Well, where are we goin'? Ah, forget I asked any where's fine with you gals." added Elora.

"Then let's go." said Botaegni they all went back outside where the Monster Girl's bikes were. "It's just a shame that Pyrhadina couldn't make it today. Guess that fetlock sprain was a really bad one." 

"It can't be helped." replied Miran as she put her helmet on, "These things happen I guess."

"Yup. Let's go girls!" Bisari responded. They all began to ride off, SL8 followed them down the streets. Apparently, they were very well known as and even liked as many of the townspeople whistled and cheered as they passed by. Slowly, they got out of their territory and began going into nicer parts of the city. The Wildlings did not attack them, "Huh, where are the Wildlings?" asked the younger Dragonkin.

"That fight we had about a week ago must have taken a lot of them out of commission, I don't think we'll be seeing much of them anytime soon." replied Botaegni. 

"Where are we headed anyway?" asked 0Y.

"To the Illumination Square." replied Botaegni.

"Hell yeah! Haven't been there in forever!" Miran cheered.

"Scanning: Illumination Square." said SL8 to himself. He saw that it was somewhat like a large marketplace that sold a great many things, from clothes to technology to food, it was a very popular spot for many of the inhabitants of the city. The Monster Girls and the Huntress Team rode a bit more until they reached some kind of parking lot for some sort of walled off area. They left their bikes there and entered the gates and saw the absolutely enormous inside. It was bustling with people, they sold weapons, from firearms to close ranged, various clothes. SL8 looked at 3B, "What is the mission?"

"Blend in and spend some time with the humans." said 3B quickly, "Make sure you stay with us though. At least with one of us."

"I'll do it." said Miran, "Not gonna lie, I wanna talk to him." she added, "You gals just go off."

"You sure?" asked Elora, "You won't cause any trouble?"

"Very funny Undermantle. That was one time." replied the Vacivin. 

"Suit yourself. Meet back up here at lunch in three hours." said Botaegni.

The Monster Girls and the Huntress Team all split up to do various things. "So, Slate. What's your little 'mission'?"

"I am to learn about human behaviors. For future reference and missions in case I must blend in." 

"Alright, alright. Sure thing then, c'mon, let's walk around." SL8 and Miran began to walk about the square. Miran took an interest in some parts of bikes that were being sold and wanted to purchase them. SL8 had no money, so he didn't really have anyway to help her out pay for anything. Along the way, they saw several things, an exhibition match was one of them. A woman with a spear was fighting a man with a cloak and rapier. "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Scanning." said SL8, the invincibility charm was popped, and the match began. "Igor Kohout is known for his closer range at fighting, however, Virginia Nichols has already beaten many who fight close range with her longer range fighting style and tactics. Conclusion, Igor Kohout has a thirty six percent chance at victory. The match will likely go to Virginia Nichols." 

"Really? Now let's see  if you're right." They continued to watch the match until Igor's cloak was punctured and ripped apart, rendering it useless. His rapier was also knocked out of his hand when Virginia hit it out of his hand after a sudden leap, something he was clearly not expecting. Just like that, the match was over. "Man, you really were right." remarked Miran. "That was fun, let's get outta here before things get crazy." the two walked away from the cheering crowd, some of them clearly very sore that the person they bet on lost. 

As they continued to walk through the place, SL8 spotted a shooting range and actually began to walk towards it. "Huh, you have interest in something?"

"My targeting computer systems were updated just last night. I intend to run a few tests."

"Do you actually have a gun?" 

"Yes." 

The two of them began to walk towards the firing range, there was a centaur at the front. "Here to test your skill?" asked he.

"Yup, me and him. Any price?" asked the Vacivin.

"No, but there is a prize if you can nail all targets we throw at you." 

"Deal." said Miran in response. "You ready Slate?" she asked as she drew her pistol. SL8 scanned it very quickly and saw that it was a military model.

"Identified, you have a Watermanes Model Sixteen Pistol." he said in response. "Were you once a soldier?"

"Yup." Miran said back, "I got out bout three years ago." she added, "Twelfth Phantom Division, North American Army. It's why I knew how your bike worked, even with the military tech." 

"Acknowledged." SL8 responded. They walked over to the range where they found their two spots, they were right next to each other. Two things stuck out of the side of SL8's thighs, and upon closer looks, they were actually built in holsters for two pistols. He drew both of them and they lit up with red energy. 

"What the Hell are those?" asked Miran, clearly in awe.

"Beam Pistols." said SL8, "They are connected to my main generator, it is what also powers my optic rays. Although these are significantly weaker." they both powered up with a very distinct sound as they lit up some more. The targets came up and, first only being twenty meters away. Miran began firing, mostly hitting the small black circle several times. However, SL8 nailed the center of the target over and over again, only shifting a millimeter to not miss any more pieces of target.

Clearly impressed, the range manager quickly sent up the next targets, now sixty meters away. It was still no problem for SL8, he kept nailing every single target straight in the middle, at one point, even destroyed the target whole. Everyone else on the range, including Miran was more or less starting to get completely mesmerized, he was shooting with even more accuracy than some of the citizens who had DMR's and magical snipers. At this point, the targets that were set were all shot down, now for flying targets.

"Here's when it's gonna get a bit tougher, you ready?" asked Miran as she reloaded.

"Indeed." responded SL8. "Pistols have been given adequate time to cool and recharge. Energy output levels exceed ninety-six percent."

"Great." The targets began to fly. Miran missed two shots and only managed to hit one of her disks. Many of the other shooters also missed several shots before even managing to hit one. However, SL8 managed to shoot every single one of them down without even missing a single shot. Clearly impressed, the rest of the shooters eventually stopped shooting their targets all together, and just began cheering for SL8. 

Beam after beam was fired and hit every single disk that was thrown from a machine. The other shooters all cheered as they saw the last one be shattered from a beam. Their cheers were super loud as SL8 holstered his pistols and the holsters retracted into his legs. The centaur walked up holding something wrapped in a cloth. "Here's you prize, mister!" he said loudly. Everyone watched closely as he took the object and took off the cloth, "Tada! It's legendary gladius known as 'Convergence' crafted right before the Age of Naturals, it's quite the sought after weapon!"

Everyone cheered and congratulated SL8 as he placed took it out of the scabbard, revealing it to have a special engraving of an ancient language on the blade and a pattern with the same language on the guard. SL8 sheathed the sword and began to take his leave. As they walked away, the shooting began again and Miran looked at his sword. "That's some weapon." she said. 

"This was made in the year 1298, right as the Age of Naturals began. The material is a magically enhanced type of iron, and can cut through many materials." said SL8, "I will use it in future operations." 

"Good to hear." Miran said cheerfully, "Come on, let's have a bit more walking around. We have a bit more time before we meet up." 

The two walked about some more before they decided to meet up with the others. Miran decided to buy some new parts for her own bike with some of the funds that she had bought along with her. SL8 was asked to carry many of the items, a request which he complied with rather easily. Finally, it was time to meet up with the others. In the middle of the Square, they met up with the Huntress Team and the other Monster Girls. Some of them held various items, whether it'd be for their bikes, for themselves, or just decorative items, ones one would place in their home.

"Ready to get some lunch?" asked Bisari.

"Yeah, I could eat something." said 0Y. They were all in agreement, so they all went out to a stall that sold foods only found on Mars. As the Monster Girls and Huntress Team ate, SL8 simply sat at the table.

"I wish to know something." he said.

"What's up?" asked 0Y.

"You are all androids, we have no need for sustenance. Even with the bio-fuel generators, there is no need to consume any kinds of food." SL8 stated, "Why do you continue to do it?"

"Because we want to." replied 0R. SL8 did not understand, "Well, think of it this way. Even though we're not human, why do we do the things we do?" she asked SL8. He sat there, seemingly unable to answer the question. 

"Did you know that the original protocol for all of us YoRHa androids was that emotions were prohibited?" asked 3B.

"Yes." replied SL8.

"Did you know that the Commander who once enforced that rule five hundred years ago, eventually came to love someone? To go so far to even adopt him?" 3B followed up.

"Commander White, she would go on to adopt a human boy, the one who would succeed her as Commander of YoRHa, Lars Alexandersson."

"Correct. She did it because after enough time, she developed those emotions. She more or less became human, and after Lars bought YoRHa to this universe, the rule was lifted. Because so many YoRHa androids had developed them. We were made so well that eventually, we stopped mimicking humans, and somewhat became them in a way. Commander Lars had a certain philosophy, 'You may not have a beating organ that's called a heart, but you certainly have one, deep inside somewhere, there's a heart that gives you humanity'." she quoted.

"He believed that humanity wasn't so much a species, but a mindset, something to have." said 0W, "See our black boxes were made from machine cores of the machine organisms, built by extra-terrestrials, machines so advanced that they developed emotions over time, that in a way, allowed us by default to feel emotion, rather than mimic it."

SL8 began to process it, no matter how they explained it, he couldn't seem to make sense of it. He thought that if he had a black box, he could understand some more, "But if that were the case, why do you continue to fight?" asked he, "Many YoRHa androids are made to just serve a single purpose. Why do you continue to do that if you have all become human as you claim?" he felt that feeling again, confusion.

"Well, If I had to be honest, it's because that's what I was made to do." said 3B, "That's why all of us do it. But we still have a choice." she added, "None of us are ever forced to do it, but we do it because all of us know, protecting humanity is our duty. If not for the sake of humanity, then for YoRHa, the goal we spent pointlessly chasing in the original universe we came from." 

"The humans were long gone in that place." 0Y stated, "So we do it here. Kinda like making up for lost time." 

SL8 didn't know what to say. "Strange..." is all he said. This made the others laugh, "Truly... strange..." 

"Hey, don't think so much about it. The other SL androids have confirmed to have reached singularity, with how advanced you guys are, I'm sure you can do it eventually." said Miran.

"I see..." SL8 began to think of it, "Conclusion, is the reason I am not able to understand because I am not 'human' enough?" he asked.

"That's kinda it, yeah." replied 0R, "You'll probably understand it more as time goes on." 

SL8 did not say anything else. He just sat there silently as the others finished their food. They all decided to stick around together this time, and began to walk the streets for the rest of the day. But when they walked in front of the book store, something compelled SL8 to stop. He looked at the bookstore and went inside, surprising everyone. "He's taken an interest in something." remarked Botaegni.

"Why not?" asked Elora, "It might have the new volume of 'Bandit Without a Conscience' I've been dying to find out after the last cliff hanger." she went inside as well. The others followed right after her. 

SL8 looked around the shop, there weren't many people at all, so the shop keep immediately saw him, "Can I interest you in anything Sir?" she asked.

"Yes, I wish to gain a more in depth knowledge of humans." said SL8, "Are there any such things in here?"

"Of course. This one is a good one." the woman grabbed a rather thick one, "'Dialogues of Man', by Virtue Davenport, he passed only yesterday, we lost one of the greats I'm afraid. An excellent philosopher." SL8 took the book and examined it, "Or perhaps this one." she said, she grabbed another book, this time, it was just a tad bit thinner. "'Emotions of People', by Yustegrett Boneview, you just missed her, she was here yesterday for a signing. One of the best Dwarven thinkers of our time I'd say."

SL8 looked at both of the texts. "I will take both of them." 

"An excellent choice Sir." she began to walk to the front desk, SL8 followed her. 

"Looks like he's paying." said Miran, "I'll help him out cause he has no money."

"Sure thing." said 3B. 

Miran walked up to the counter and gave some money, paying for the books. With that, the others made their purchases as well, "Come back again." said the shop keep. They all walked outside and saw that the day was nearly ending. All if them walked back to their bikes as the sun was setting.

"We better get back to base." said 3B. The Huntress Team members all agreed with her.

"That was fun." said Botaegni, "We ought to do this again." The others all agreed, "Well, see you guys another day I guess, let's split." the Monster Girls walked to their bikes and mounted them.

"See you guys later!" called Bisari as they all waved.

"Hope to hang with ya again Slate!" Miran said happily as they all rode off.

"Likewise." said SL8 in response. He turned to his comrades, "I feel strange..." he said.

"Strange how?" asked 0W.

"I do not know. But something compels me to read these books I have in my possession... It almost feels as if I am... eager..."

"You're excited?" asked 3B, "Look at that, we're making progress already. Let's move out Huntress Team." They all began their ride back to base. As they rode through the sun set, the star had fully set when they had reached the base. Later that night, SL8 sat alone in his room, this time instead of sitting there doing absolutely nothing, he read the books that he had bought. 

As SL8 read them, he chose not to download them. At the time he didn't know why not, but he thought that maybe, just maybe, he was catching on to what his comrades had said earlier. "Interesting..." he said to himself as he finished the first book, "I am... learning..." as he continued to read, a drops of rain began to tap away softly at his window. "This is... pleasant... It seems I have found myself... enjoying something...?" he felt a bit confused, he was doing something that wasn't truly in his programming. He didn't know what emotions were, but now, he felt like he may have started to gain a semblance of understanding.

Chapter Text

Two days have passed ever since the outing. YoRHa scouts and military intelligence have yet to spot anything, so the Huntress Team was still on standby. SL8 had finished his books, but he read them several times over, only ever leaving his room if the military needed him for anything at all. As he sat in his room, he looked at the pieces of his suit. He took off the clothes he was currently wearing and placed the suit back on his suit back on his body. There was a call to his room suddenly. He pressed the button on his communicator.

"SL8, this is the Commander. May I speak with you?" asked she, "I'm at my office."

"Yes, Commander. I will be there shortly." SL8 began to walk out of the room. He got to a teleporter on the base and went straight to the Commander's office. "Good afternoon, Commander." said he upon entering.

"Please, call me 6O."

"Very well 6O. What have you called me here for?" asked SL8, "Is it mission related?"

"No not really. I just want to talk to you." she looked at a chair, "Go on, sit down." said she. SL8 took a seat and looked straight at 6O, "So? How has your time been so far? I heard you went on an outing recently?" 

"Yes, I have. It was for me to learn of human behaviors and characteristics, for future missions in case I must blend in."  SL8 responded.

"So that's what they covered it up as, huh?" asked 6O in an amused manner, "You know that's a cover-up to get you to go out with them right?"

"I deduced that about six milliseconds after being told it was my assignment, however, I found it logical enough to participate in their little 'outing'." SL8 responded.

"That's good then. So? What did you think you learned from it?" 

"What a philosophical heart is, and what Lars Alexandersson believed to make a human. He said that it was the things that one displays that would make them a human. Or something of the sort." SL8 replied, this made 6O beam up a bit, "Actually, I have a question for you, 6O."

"Oh? What might that be?" she asked.

"My records show that you knew Lars Alexandersson personally, tell me, what was he like?" SL8 asked, "For the third time since my activation, I am... curious..."

"Sure thing. Where to start?" 6O asked herself, "Well for one thing, when I first met him, I was intrigued, so curious because I have never met another human before in my whole life. Over time I got to know him, great guy, truly. He was strong, courageous, smart, funny, over all a really good person. He helped me out when I was in my darkest times and I was even his first mate for his ship. It's thanks to him I got to see more of Earth for the first time ever."  

"Did he have such relationships with other androids?" asked SL8.

"Of course he did, if not even deeper ones. 21O, 91O, 18O, and I were the bridge operators so we saw a lot of him, we all got along really well. He also was a great captain to all of the crew, but I'd say his relationships with 2B, 9S, and A2 were on a whole different level. Him and 2B didn't get along so well, they met when they she and 9S were still  trying to hunt A2 down, and she wound up cutting his arm off. But as time passed, they grew to trust one another, and their bond became unbreakable. 9S and Lars were practically friends from the start though, their friendship would just get stronger and stronger over the course of their journey. Now, A2 on the other hand, she was the first android he had ever met in that universe."

"When he found her, she was still a rogue, still on the run from YoRHa." 6O added as SL8 just listened closely. "They fought against 2B and 9S on their first encounter with each other and they were beaten, Lars would later be sent to the bunker and would vouch for A2, because of that, A2 was spared execution. Eventually, their relationship would blossom into love and both made it to the end of the war. After getting to this world, they would spend their lives together, even getting married eventually."

"They got married?" asked SL8, "An android married a human?" he was curious once again, a feeling that he seemed to be feeling a lot of these days since his activation. "Is that even possible?"

"Well, yeah. There wasn't really any rules prohibiting it at all. Since that was the case, they got married, though a child would not come along until Lars passed away." 

"He died due to some kind of power he used, am I correct?" SL8 questioned. 

"Yes, his cause of death was because of temporary powers that he used that supposedly were from God." 6O explained. "It turns out that him being a human, he suffered negative repercussions of using those powers as much as he did. They basically killed him later on when he was forty-four years old. By our numbers, he would have lived up to at least ninety-three were it not for the powers. He exceeded his biological limitations, and he paid the price for it." she said somberly, "We lost a good soldier that day, and an even better man." 

"I see."

"He didn't leave behind nothing though. Do you know about Lage Alexandersson?" 

"Yes, the third Prime Minister of North America." replied SL8, "He succeeded the second, White, the former Commander of YoRHa. Also her adoptive grandson. Though he was more of a clone than a son."

"Well, he did have traits of A2 put into his genetics. He had her eyes and somewhat more of her facial structure. Basically, a custom made human. Made because due to Lars being sterile due to a birth defect. He had all of his magic traits, including his rarest one, Universe magic."

"I see."

"But back on the matter at hand, he believed that us androids could very well become human. Not really, but in a philosophical way, I suppose." 6O stood up, "Anyway, that's just what I wanted to talk to you about, you can go now." she added, "But you should look around the city. Go on a patrol, just for an hour or two. You will be reporting to Captain Herberos, she's the Captain of the Guard in Ferrum Anima at the moment, or rather, the leader of the section you're going to." she showed SL8 a small dot on a digital map. SL8 looked at the location and listed it.

"Understood. I will head into the city for a patrol." he stood up and promptly took his leave. SL8 walked over to the hangar and mounted his bike.

"Going out?" asked the android mechanic.

"Yes, on a patrol. To the city." replied SL8.

"Alrighty then. I tuned up your bike, should have less bumps than ever before. Stay safe out there."

"Thank you." the bay door opened up and SL8 rode out. As he left the base, he looked up in the sky, seeing the sun high in the sky. He looked at his records and saw just how much like Earth Mars looked like now. The terraforming process on Mars would have taken much longer if humanity did not have their natural magic. As SL8 rode along the road, he eventually saw the city in sight. Showing his identification to the guard, he was let into the city. 

As SL8 rode through, he saw a few military guards from the human corps also patrolling and guarding more important buildings, banks and federal buildings for an example. SL8 rode to a small outpost and saw a female elf in a uniform, he saw that it was the one he was supposed to report to. "Captain Herberos, I am the one who is going to go on patrols in the area." 

"Oh, the YoRHa commander told me that she'd be sending in one of her own. Though I thought we'd actually get a YoRHa android though, but whatever, I guess. Yes, I'll need you to go around sector six of the Clearborough area." she said. 

"Understood." responded SL8, he began to ride off. Whilst he rode he saw people going on with their daily lives, including a certain individual. But he did not stop for her. Instead, moments later, she began to ride up to him. 

"If it isn't Slate." she said happily. 

"Miran." replied SL8, "I am currently patrolling. I am unable to speak right now."

"Oh right. Sorry." she said, "I'm guessing it'd be best not to follow you then?" asked she.

"Yes, that is the correct course of action." said SL8. "If you wish, I will stick around a bit more before I leave the city to go back to base." 

"You got it. I'll be able to find you then." Miran split off from him and he began to patrol the area he was assigned. He saw some other soldiers standing around, they became more on guard when they saw him, SL8 saw that they were very much afraid of him. He understood perfectly why they feared him so, because he was one of them. One of the android models of the series that had begun this nearly decade long conflict, with no end in sight. SL8 would continue to ride, getting some more looks from different soldiers and civilians alike. 

At one point he was even stopped by a middle-aged man. "You disgust me!" he said loudly as SL8 stopped his bike. He would have hit him had he not stopped himself. "I know what you are! You're one of those SL androids!" he began to draw attention, and a crowd began to form. "YoRHa for some reason has decided to have you help them, but who's to say you didn't infiltrate them! Or the North American government itself?!" 

"My programming is to terminate SL1, SL2, SL3, SL4, SL5, SL6, and SL7." SL8 said plainly. 

"And then what!?" asked another civilian, "You'll just turn on humans next, huh? You probably want them dead so you can have humanity to kill all by yourself!" 

"I have no such desire." 

"Bull fucking shit!" shouted a woman.

"My son died from one of your kind's attacks!" 

"If it weren't for you, my home would still be around! Along with my sister!"

"Because of you and your kind, I have to go days without food!"

The crowd of people that had gathered around him were quite aggravated, and time did not stop them. As time passed, they continued to shout, but SL8 remained indifferent to all of it. Their words did nothing to offend him, or even get him to think about it, "Please step aside, my assignment is to patrol this area." he said.

"He's trying to spy on this place! We'll all be next!" a young man yelled in a panicked matter.

"It is not my intention to-"

"We need to take him down before he can do anything!" 

Before the crowd could do anything, something explosive hit a building they stood underneath. Several chunks were blown right off and several pieces of rubble came down, crushing several people. The people who were hit by the rubble but did not die were injured, some of them being very severe. SL8 began to scan the area around him and saw something incoming. They were grappling hooks, in fact they were the same ones he utilized on his hips. 

The people began to run as more explosions went off, killing more people, SL8 began to lock onto the individual zipping around on the grappling hooks. He fired his optic rays and landed a direct hit on the individual, knocking them right out of the air. They impacted the ground with an incredible force, shattering several glass objects around them. SL8 began to approach the impact zone, but another lazer beam came up and hit him, but this time, it was gray. It sent him flying back and right into a building. "Damage: Insubstantial." he said to himself.

"Geez, brother. You really are more of a robot than any of us..." said the voice, a male's it sounded just a tad bit higher than SL8's. It came from the impact zone. "You're just so... monotone..." SL8 looked up and saw a figure beginning to make it's way through the smoke. They had some kind of box with a disc on their left arm, and carried some large shield, a gun barrel protruded right out of it. Someone wearing the exact same suit as SL8 walked through the smoke, with the exact same light pattern designs, this time, they glowed a deep gray. His sclera's a jet black, and his irises, the same gray light that radiated from his suit. His shoulder length hair flowing in the wind. "Hey brother... I've waited three hundred years for this..."

"You are... SL7..." SL8 said silently, "I will terminate you." SL8 drew his gladius and extended his arm blade.

"Man, we just met and you want me dead already? I'm hurt by this. Really." SL8 began to charge at him, "Ah well, least you're predictable!" he raised his shield and blocked SL8's gladius before it hit him, with the wrist mounted weapon, he hit SL8 with a sonic boom. The sound was loud beyond all imagination and sent SL8 flying back wards. SL8's left trapezius area opened up and a small launcher came out, whilst he was in mid air he fired a small projectile that nearly hit SL7 had he not dodged. SL8 finally hit the ground and began to get back up, "I see you're utilizing your armaments so early! Then again, we are the most advanced androids to ever exist."

"Wrong." replied SL8 he began to run up again, "Our technological level is nearly the same as YoRHa's." SL8 began to swing at SL7, their weapons clashed but SL7 punched SL8.

"Not what I meant!" the grey android smacked the red one with his shield, he began to lay down a barrage of bullets, all of them bouncing off but with the rate of fire and force the rounds had behind them, SL8 was being pinned down, "Our father made us to be the greatest fighting machines to ever exist! But still! I meant that we have no synthetic muscles, no kind of blood pumping through us, we just have metal. We weren't built to have emotions, just develop them! Unlike those YoRHa dolls you call your 'comrades'." the bullets stopped, SL8 got back up again and used his arm blade, actually scratching SL7's suit a bit when he cut him across the chest. "Instead, we have some of the greatest super-computers as our literal brains, pseudo magical batteries that'll keep us running for centuries before we need to recharge, even a full data-base on all alcoholic beverages!" 

SL8 was hit with another sonic boom. This time, he utilized his grappling hooks to stop himself from being sent flying, he fired his optic rays, but they were met with SL7's own. "So yeah! We aren't the same as YoRHa, but that doesn't mean we're just as advanced, if not more. But you know what? I think we're more!" SL7 began to fire at SL8 again with his shield machine gun, but SL8 zipped away on his hooks. He began to shot smaller bursts of optic rays at SL7 while he was zipping through the air. 

"Analyzing combat data." SL8 said to himself, "Counter measures constructed. Retaliating." SL8 began to go forward towards SL7 how shot a sonic boom at SL8 once again. This time, SL8 dodged while in midair. SL7 fired a near perfect stream of bullets at SL8, he fired an optic ray at all of them, incinerating them and forcing SL7 to block the beam with his shield. SL8 landed straight onto SL7's shield, knocking him right to the ground, when SL7 tried to utilize another sonic boom, SL8 stomped on his wrist, shattering the weapon into several pieces. 

"Terminating." SL8's eyes began to glow, but he saw a launcher come out of SL's trapezius and it fired, SL8 knew how to counter this and fired it at the launcher, destroying it. 

"Gyaaaah!" screamed out SL7, he looked at the burnt chunk of his body, "Bastard!" SL8 was going to shoot another optic ray into his opponent's face but something knocked him off. SL8 immediately popped back onto his feet and looked at what pounced on him. It seemed to be in the shape of a tiger, but it looked off. There was several metal spike protruding from it's back, if it had bones, they definitely would have been bent out of shape, the metal it was made of shined in the sun, upon a closer look, it also seemed to be radiating some kind of heat source. It's claws were incredibly sharp and seemed as though they could cut through anything that it wanted to attack. 

"Your Mechanical Phenomenon..." SL8 spoke, he looked at it and SL7 stood back up as his parts began to fix themselves. 

"Yup. Now you are so boned..." SL7 flashed a sickening smile as the machine began to get ready to attack again, "Prolly not the smartest choice to reveal my Mechanical Phenomenon, but hey, it's the boss' choice. Guess I gotta follow it." SL8 got his gladius and his arm blade ready, but several gunshots hit the tiger and SL7, making them spin around. 

"Leave him alone you fucks!" shouted the shooter, it was none other than Miran. She reloaded quickly and fired several more shots, all of them on target. 

"Miran, retreat!" SL8 called, "You are no match for them!" 

"What a pest. Kill her." The tiger machine began to leap towards Miran. She managed to just barely dodge it, but she was hit by the machine, it managed to get a clean swipe across her abdominal area, cutting quite deep into her. Blood spurted from her wound as she fell back with a short scream of pain. When she hit the ground, she could visibly be seen holding onto her wound, trying to keep what was inside inside. 

"Miran!" called SL8, he felt concerned for the first time in his life. In the few milliseconds he had to think about it, he figured it to be his mission, but that wasn't important right now. He quickly began to run to her, but SL7 tried to block his way.

"You're not done with me ye-!" he was kicked right in the face aside, SL8 kicked him so hard it sent him flying. SL8 shot his grappling hooks into the Phenomenon and swung it around away from her. It crashed into a building as SL8 got to her and saw that she was in so much pain she couldn't even scream, the moment SL8 touched her, she flinched and yelped out, blood came from her wound. 

"Moving her while I'm in combat is dangerous. I need to-" Several bullets were incoming and SL8 shielded her with his body, they were all bouncing off, but he knew if he moved, she would die. But at that moment, more gunshots were heard and the bullets that were hitting SL8 stopped, instead, he looked to see that SL7 was the one being shot at. Several North American soldiers were seen pinning both SL7 and his beast down with their rifles, they even fired several missiles at him, not giving him a moment to hit back. 

"Medic!" shouted SL8. One of the soldiers stopped shooting and quickly ran over. "She has a three cuts across her abdomen. Approximately 1,082 milliliters of blood have been lost. She needs medical attention immediately. Recommending to close wounds before moving." 

"You got it. I can close up the wound real quick and get her outta here. Just make sure that I don't get hit while I'm doing my magic." said the combat medic. SL8 nodded before looking back and saw several of the soldiers were already killed. He saw Captain Herberos fighting with two swords and her men fighting with various weapons, all of their rifles mangled or broken. Very few of them still had intact firearms. SL8 charged in and tackled SL7, as he pulled out the heart of a soldier. SL8 managed to stick his arm blade straight into SL7's arm socket and actually sever his arm. 

"Graaah!!" screamed SL7, "You have a knack for cutting me don't ya!" he hit SL8 and several other soldiers with a sonic boom and got back up, being joined with his beast. He looked up and saw even more soldiers being dropped in from air craft or approaching from the ground, he even saw the huntress team coming in. "Tch!" he spat, "We'll settle this another time, brother..." SL7 whistled and his beast grabbed his arm. 

"Don't let him get away!" shouted Captain Herberos. But it was too late, he released some kind of smoke from all over his body. It scrambled the soldier's goggles and even SL8's sensors. One of the soldiers used wind magic to clear the smoke away before it could do any more damage, but SL7 was gone, only leaving behind several dead bodies and wounded people. "Get to the civilians who are still alive. Check all casualties and ensure they are all alive!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" shouted the soldiers. 

"What happened?" asked 3B as she arrived. 

"Why don;t you ask him?" replied Herberos, "I will begin the evac of the casualties." 

3B looked at SL8 who was over at Miran, whom was now unconscious. "I sedated her with a potent sleeping potion. She'll wake up in about a day, seems she'll need that much time to be operated on anyway. Luckily for us, Vacivins recover a whole lot faster than humans."

"Understood. Good luck." said SL8 as a stretcher was bought over, Miran was placed onto it and began to get carried away. The medic went off to treat other injured civilians, the Huntress Team walked up to SL8.

"What happened?" asked 0R.

"An SL android showed itself..." said 0W, "That's rare..."

"I can track him." SL8 said suddenly.

"Wait, for real?" asked 0Y. 

"Yes." SL8 extended his arm blade. "I have cut him with my arm blade. It is made of truonium enriched with pseudo-tracking magic. I can where he has been and where his hideout is."

"Good, then we'll consult with the Commander and we'll put together a plan at once." said 3B in response, "This is when the war finally turns in our favor..."

Chapter Text

"You are certain that this is the location of SL7?" asked Commander 6O. 

"Yes, I have scanned through every area on Mars and have concluded that it is at the Warjour Oceanfront." replied SL8. 

"That's in Oceanian territory..." she said quietly, "Well, we never have seen any activity there before." 

"If I may, Commander. Maybe that's because they never wanted to attract attention. We've never gone there because we never had a reason to, the Oceanian Federation can't just have that territory for no reason, there's got to be something there." said 3B.

"Hmm..." 6O seemed to think about it a moment, "You could be onto something." she looked at the other two androids, "Alright then, I'll send some scouts over to investigate. If it's real, we'll out together a small strike team to take them down. But for now, standby. Be ready at any minute, dismissed."

"Yes, Ma'am." replied 3B, she and SL8 left the Commander's office, outside were the Huntress Team.

"So? What did the Commander say?" asked 0Y.

"We're on standby for now. Keep your gear at the ready, we'll be going alongside a strike team before long. Just right now, some scouts are being sent to Warjour Oceanfront." said 3B.

"So we're to wait then?" asked 0W, "That's just fine. It gives us time to set up I suppose. So, what will you be doing?" she asked SL8.

"I will go visit Miran." replied SL8. "She has been gravely wounded, I will check to see her status." 

"Fair enough, but be ready to be called anytime." said 3B.

"Understood." SL8 began to walk off to the hospital. Leaving the other members of the Huntress Team.

"Is he... concerned...? Why would he want to visit her so much?" asked 0Y. "I mean, when we were returning to base a while back, all he could do was look at her..."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. It's weird." stated 0R.

"Maybe he's changing more quicker than we initially thought." said 3B, "That or he has some kind of secret programming which makes him care for actual lives. Though that one is doubtful."

Over with SL8, he walked into the hospital and showed identification to the android in the front. "Where is Miran Hawkins?" he asked.

"She's in room 306, she already has visitors though." responded the android, "And I also will inform you that she should be well enough when she wakes up to bring her to a civilian hospital." 

"That is fine." SL8 walked off and got up the stairs. He began to walk through the corridor of the recovery wing until he reached the right room. SL8 walked inside and the android at the desk was correct, the rest of the monster girls were here. "How did you all get in?"

"Contractors..." responded Bisari. 

Botaegni got up from her chair and walked up to SL8, "The Hell happened?" she asked. "Who did this to her?"

"That was the unit SL7, during our fight, Miran began to open fire upon him, his Mechanical Phenomenon was then ordered to attack her, the following wound was the result." replied SL8, "She believed that I was struggling in my skirmish, so she attempted to aid me with supporting fire."

"So... she was just being a soldier still huh...?" asked Botaegni. "Dammit Miran... why do you have to be so reckless sometimes..."

"I sense that you are angered. A bit of it is directed towards me." said SL8.

"Yeah... I kinda am. She got hurt trying to help your ass. But I know at the same time it isn't your fault. So... just make sure you get some for us, got it?" she lightly punched SL8 on the chest. "We'll be going now. If the Wildlings hear we're short a Lieutenant, they just might try and attack while we're away." She began to leave the room, followed by the other three as they all bid SL8 farewell. He was now alone with her. She lay so peacefully, breathing softly, SL8 ran a quick scan of her, the surgery was largely a success, her wound was closed up and her innards were repaired, all they needed now was time to recover.

"I will make sure that you get retribution..." SL8 said quietly, "Rest for now, I will handle it from here." SL8 began to leave the room, he looked behind him once more to see her one last time before making his way out of the door. He then was suddenly hailed by 3B, "We're going." said 3B, "Grab your gear from the armory, Commander has a loadout for you. Form up at the hanger for mission briefing."

"Understood." SL8 began to sprint down the hall, ignoring anyone that told him to walk. Once out of the hospital he went to the armory to receive his weapons. "Commander has ordered me to get you a specific loadout tailored to you so here." said the android, she handed him a rifle, "Knight's Fall model Sixty Three, a high powered compact round assault rifle. Standard Issue for the North American Army. Fusion's N1-T6 Nine Millimeter Revolver. And a standard issue gladius." She handed him all the weapons.

"Many thanks." replied SL8, he holstered the revolver in another compartment in his leg and sheathed the gladius on his hip. He went to the hanger, the Huntress Team and about twenty other androids including the Commander were there. 

"Good, we're all here. Let's begin." she said, "Recent intel has told us about a possible location for the entity known as SL7, our scouts have found nearly identical traces of Oceanian base structures and frequencies. So we are mostly positive that this is the right location. Your mission is simple, if this is the location, then find and terminate SL7. The target is known to be highly dangerous, deadly force is authorized upon touchdown. You will be flown in by an unmanned stealth flyer. Your escorts will be four YoRHa flight units until you reach Oceanic territory." said 6O, "Are there any questions so far?"

A scanner raised his hand, "Yes, why are we flying with an unmanned drone? I get the escorts leaving but, wouldn't it be better for us to be flown in manually?"

"That's because it's likely that SL7 knows we're coming..." replied 6O. This sparked some murmur among the androids. "If you're shot down, you are all loaded with short time shields that'll protect you from the explosion, and upon landing, they should last you all long enough to get to the cliffside where we believe it may be."

"So we're acting on a hunch?" asked a Defender model.

"Yes. Ensure you upload your data every hour and before engaging enemies." 

"There's that at least." said one of the androids.

"Good, are there any more questions?" asked the Commander. This time, no one raised their hands. "Excellent, you move out in thirty minutes. An announcement will be given in due time. Good luck." They all stood up, placing their left hands on the middle of their chests, all except for SL8, "Glory, to Mankind." said 6O.

"Glory! To Mankind!" the rest of them called back. They all waited in the bay until an announcement came through to board the carrier. They all sat down and strapped in and prepared for takeoff. The aircraft began to lift off the ground. As the ceiling doors opened up, four other flight units began to lift off. They went from mobile mode to fighter mode and began to fly off. The carrier began to fly away from the base and the other flight units began to come back, all four of them covered the corners, in somewhat of a square formation. 

"So... I have a question..." said that one scanner. He asked it to SL8.

"What is the matter?" SL8 replied. 

"You're, not gonna hesitate are you?" he was tapped somewhat hard by a female battler unit with a messy bun, "What?" he asked, "We're against an SL android aren't we? They're the same series." 

"No."

"But... he even calls you brother. Aren't you guys family in a way?"

"18S, that's enough." said the Battler, "I'm really sorry about that, he's somewhat paranoid about these things. His old partner hesitated and he almost died because of it. Even though we can upload our consciousness, he's still scared."

"Hey! It's a bad feeling!"

"I know. But don't worry. How many times do I have to say it, I'll protect you." she responded. 

"I see..." replied SL8, "What is your designation?"

"It's 12B. Hang on, why don't you scan me, I wanna see if that rumor of your giant database is true." she said.

"Scanning." SL8's database pulled up nearly everything, "YoRHa Unit number 12, type: Battler. Rolled out one hundred six years ago, fought in the second 'Gate' incident. Received additional training from Android headquarters prior to assignment to Mars ninety three months ago."

"Not bad... Not bad at all..." she remarked. A few of the androids were also clearly impressed and now wanted SL8 to scan them if he knew everything about them as well. SL8 continued to do so until all other androids were scanned, that's when the flight units radioed in. 

"This is Sage Team Nine, we're entering Oceanian territory in 500 kilometers, we're splitting off now. Heading back to base, good luck, Glory to Mankind." said the pilot. The four flight units split off, leaving the drone by itself, the cloaking activated as 3B responded.

"Captain 3B here, we'll take it from here on out. Thanks for the ride, Glory to Mankind." she then turned off the comm and back to all the other androids on the drone, "Fighting strength, report."

"Nine Battler androids, including you. One Yeager, one Witch, one Reaper, three scanners, four gunners, two healers, three defenders, one SL." replied SL8.

"Alright, we're all here. Maintain radio silence from anyone not on this team or the Commander here on out. Activate your pods." 

They all pressed a button on the bottom of their seats and box like robots all deployed from there. They all activated and moved around their arms. "Pods activated." said one of the gunners. Her pod radioed Command.

"Status report." said 6O.

"We have just entered Oceanian Territory, we'll radio in again when we land." said 3B.

"Good. Keep me informed Captain. Commander out." the feed turned off, they all awaited their flight to reach it's destination, eventually, a screen popped up to see that they were now nearing the oceanfront. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until an alarm turned on. It began to beep rapidly, and they saw that now anti-air fire was being directed at them. 

"We're being fired at!?" asked 0W.

"Way to show there's 'nothing' here..." growled 0Y, "We'll be hit eventually if we're flying just like this!"

"Pod-619! Take control and begin evasive maneuvers!" shouted 12B.

"Understood, beginning evasive maneuvers." replied the pod. The drone began to dodge the shots as best as it could. But as they began to descend, one of the wings was nailed in the center. "Warning: extensive damage dealt to left wing. Imminent crash in forty seconds. Evacuation recommended." chimed the little robot. 

"Alright people! This is it!" shouted 3B, "Ready your shielding! But your Pod programmings as well! We dodge all shots as best we can and regroup at the cliffside! Am I understood?!" 

"Yes, ma'am!" the other androids all responded. 

"Crashing in Ten... Nine.. Eight.. Seven... Six... Five..." 

"Now!" 

All androids ejected from the drone as it crashed right into the sandy beach, a large explosion blew sand and debris everywhere. As they all landed, they came under heavy fire. The YoRHa androids all began running forward, activating their shields from their pods. Whilst they all ran, SL8 stood by the wreck, tanking any bullet that touched him. He began scanning the cliffside and saw some of the gun ports. He fired his optic rays, destroying a few of the machine guns. But there were still so many of them. He scanned some more and noticed a blind spot. He contacted 3B, "Team leader, I have a plan."

"What is it? Make it quick!" said 3B over the comms. 

"I have located several Alchemists in the water waiting to intercept you once you reach the cliffside. I will go in the water and terminate them, that is also the blind spot for the current defenses put in place. I will destroy both of them." 

"Alright then, make it happen!" replied 3B.

SL8 charged towards the water and dove right into the abyss. Two ports in his soles opened up to reveal small thrusters, he began to move across the water at an incredibly high rate, it wasn't before long before he caught the Alchemists in the water off guard, with one fire of his optic rays, several members of the squad were already wiped out, they sank to the bottom as the others fired harpoons and energy beams at him. SL8 dodged and extended his arm blade, his trapezius area opened and fired two projectiles that exploded, knocking the Alchemists everywhere, he swam past them, killing them with one swoop of his arm blade. SL8 began to swim further until he reached the designated point. 

He emerged from the water and within moments, blew up several of the defenses, all that he could. The others would have to be destroyed by other methods. The YoRHa androids made it finally. "Everyone here?" asked 3B.

"Status report!" shouted 0Y to the other androids slightly further away. 

"We only lost 82B!" shouted one of the Defenders.

"Did she upload her data?!" called 0Y.

"Yes!" 

"Good. Alright, we're still at twenty-four. Let's breach! SL8!" said 3B.

"Understood. Please stand back." SL8 fired an optic ray into the cliffside, blowing a hole in it. The rocks hid a metal corridor. "We are in the right place. Though I can detect SL7's core, I cannot locate him within the compound. It is crawling with approximately sixteen-hundred Oceanian Soldiers, thirty percent are Alchemists, please exercise extreme caution."

"Damn... Over a thousand of them, and twenty four of us..." cursed 0W, "How will we match those odds?"

"We won't... We'll avoid them as best as possible, once we find SL7, the Huntress team will take care of him, the rest of you will go try and find a core to this place and destroy it." said 3B, "Everyone know the plan?" 

"Yes, ma'am..." they all agreed. 

"Good, then let's get going people..."

Chapter Text

They all stuck close by together as they crept through the compound. With the alarm blaring, several Oceanian soldiers were all running about, searching for the intruders that now were within their territory. "Stay together, stay hidden until we can't anymore..." said 3B silently. The other androids all silently agreed.

"Have you seen them!?" called an Oceanian soldier.

"No! It's like those bloody androids are invisible!"

"Well, look harder men! Find those droids!" they were talking to each other frantically. 

The androids all continued to creep silently through the compound. "SL8, take point." whispered 3B. SL8 went up to the front, his rifle in hand, "Can you sense him?"

"No... I can only detect his core, the signal isn't getting stronger or further... I just know he's somewhere in the compound." replied SL8.

"Dammit, this place is huge. How are we going to-" 18S was cut off. 

"There they are!" shouted a voice behind him. It was a squad of Oceanian troopers. He pointed his rifle and fired.

"Watch out!" 12B shielded 18S, the bullet punctured her shoulder. "Gah!"

"12B!" called a concerned 18S.

"Fuck!" all YoRHa gunners were quick to shoot them down. "We need to move, our shots may have been silent, but they definitely are coming, that guy's voice was loud as hell...!" said one of them, "Shit!" she kept firing at other soldiers who were now drawn to their position. "Let's get going!" They all began to move, but it was true, because of the gunshots, more and more enemy forces were now being drawn to them. They reached a cross-road in the corridor and out popped a soldier who tried to stab SL8, but her sword snapped when it hit his suit. He, he quickly shot her in the head and they kept moving, while 18S treated 12B's shoulder.

Eventually, they happened upon a checkpoint. Several machine guns were mounted and began firing the moment they saw the androids. SL8 scanned and saw that the bullets were a caliber high enough to even pin him down. 3B fired back at them to no avail, armor was too tough. "Any ideas?" she asked. 

"Our pods would just get shot down if we sent them out, and those bullets would tear through us like butter..." said one of the Defenders. "I've got nothing boss." 

18S raised his hand. "I think I have a plan. We can't go around them, what about below them? This is the only floor and if I can get through this metal, I can burrow through the sediments. I have a pod program that can somewhat help me burrow through softer material" 

"We can't really dig through this floor now can we?" asked 0W.

"No, no, he's got a point. SL8, can you fire a beam into the ground?" asked 3B.

"Affirmative." He fired an optic ray into the ground, large enough for someone to fit right through. 

"Alright, leave it me!" the scanner jumped in and activated his pod program. As the bullets continued to fly by, a few minutes passed until 18S came back, "Hold on to your horses!" he pulled out a detonator, the others braced themselves and when he pressed it, an explosion rocked what felt like the entire compound. SL8 looked back to the enemy position, and saw that they had been blown to hell. 

"Nice job, kiddo!" 12B said as she slapped him on the back.

"I-it was nothing..." replied 18S, "In any case, we should get moving." They all began to move forward again, they reached yet another door, several soldiers armed with spears stood guard there. The Battlers moved forward and began to cut them down, as they were killing the enemy soldier. The doors opened and more enemy soldiers poured out, all of them armed with various weapons. A furious fight began, the androids cutting and gunning down countless Oceanian soldiers, one of the Battlers was taken by surprise and stabbed from behind, she screamed out in pain before she cut the enemy straight in half with her large sword. 

As she stumbled, she saw more soldiers, "More ene-" she was gunned down before she could finish.

"10B down!" shouted a scanner, "Data has been uploaded safely!" 

"We're down to twenty-three!" called 0Y as she punched a soldier into the ground and turned to another to block their shots. The android then crushed their head with a single fist. 

"Keep moving through this!" called 3B, "We have to keep pushing further!" 

"Do we even know where we're going!?" asked a Defender.

"We're fighting blind here!" added a Gunner as she reloaded, "How do we know the SL signal isn't a dummy one?!" 

"SL7 has been located." said SL8 as he fired back at enemy soldiers.

"What!?" asked 0W. She raised a wall of ice, giving them temporary protection, "I thought you couldn't pinpoint a location."

"Correction; I needed time to pinpoint a location, to do that, moving around was necessary. The signal was shot up at a rapid pace when these doors opened up, allowing me mere milliseconds to find him." replied SL8. 

"You better be right about this..." huffed 3B, she looked over and saw that the ice was on the verge of breaking, they could hear shouting on the other side. "0R, activate your speed..."

"But it's still not completely updated." replied the Reaper.

"Well, sorry, you're going to have to push yourself a little over the edge, we need a good way to break through and charge through once that ice comes down. SL8 will hit them with a pre-emptive strike with his optic rays and then you'll zip through, finish off any Oceanian soldiers and we'll move through. After that, 62B and 71D will take point. Got it?" the other nodded and 0R got right behind SL8. 

"Preparing to breach." SL8's eyes began to glow. "Breaching." SL8 said loudly. He fired his optic rays, almost melting the ice immediately and firing a large beam through the entire hallway, incinerating any enemy soldiers that it hit. 0R glowed a red color, and what seemed to be rose pedals began to flow off of her cape. She began to jet through SL8's firing line, within moments, the remaining enemy soldiers were cut down in a near instant. They were all sliced up several times, 0R was moving so quick that not even SL8 could track her movements. 

When 0R disappeared from sight, that's when 3B got a sudden call from her, "All enemies have been dispatched." said 0R, "I can't move right now, so can you get to me before I'm surrounded? I can detect more of them coming my way."

"Alright, let's move out! 62B and 71D, take point!" the two android got up front and began to move through the corridor quickly. 

"Man, that was the first time I saw her do that. So that's the new Reaper prototype system at work, huh?" asked the Defender up front. She blocked a pistol from a dying Oceanian with her large shield, she then shot him with the rifle attached to the end of it, "Is it still in prototype stage?" 

"Probably." replied the Battler, they kept running through the hall until they reached 0R, who was sprawled out on the floor, no more rose pedals emitting from her cape. "You alright there, hon?" 

"Yeah, just rebooting my movement circuits..." replied 0R. "Hey Captain." she said to 3B.

"Good work, 0R." said 0Y as she picked her up, "How's my little sister doing, huh?"

0R giggled a little, "There's no need to treat me like a baby!" she laughed, "Cut it out!" it was just then that all her systems fully rebooted. "Hey, I can move again!" she said cheerfully. She jumped right out of 0Y's arms and materialized her scythe. She then looked at SL8 who stared back at her. "Well?" she asked.

"I do not understand the meaning of-"

"She wants you to praise her." said 3B, "Best do it or else she'll be cranky."

SL8 then scanned his data base for some kind of praise he can offer. Then slowly, he stuck out his arm and began patting 0R on the head, "Good work, you did a superb job, 0R." 

"Thank you, Slate. Alright! let's keep on going!" they were about to move out but then SL8 sensed something. He bolted up front and began shooting at something, it evaded his shots and tackled him, it jumped off of him and mauled a gunner to death. 

"41G!" shouted another gunner as she fired back at it, but she was killed as well. They were now down to twenty-one YoRHa androids. SL8 recovered and tackled the beast back, he fired his optic ray at it's head, but before he could break through the armor, it knocked him off and jumped back to where it came from. As the small group began to recuperate, someone began a slow clapping. 

"Well, well, well. I should congratulate you all... You actually made it this far into my facility. I'm really quite impressed. I mean, how does a small strike team fight their way through a compound filled with literally over a thousand soldiers? Bravo!" it was none other than SL7, the grey lights glowed, "But it ends now..." his shield extended and his sonic boom cannon readied itself. His Mechanical Phenomenon growled. "How did you find me here though? Wait, don't answer. Was it your arm blade?"

"Indeed." replied SL8.

"Ah... Well... the time for talk is over." SL8 raised his rifle quickly, but it was shot right out of his hand by SL7. The android began shooting at the strike team, they all dodged and began evading his shots.

"Alright, let's initiate the plan!" shouted 3B, "12B, take the other fifteen and find a core or something. Something that'll cause this place to go down! We'll take him down! Good luck!"

"Roger!" 12B looked at the others, "Let's move!" she drew her twin swords and they all began to run. 

"Where do you think you're all going?" asked SL7, "Get them!" his Mechanical Phenomenon began to move, but 0Y came in. 

"Oh no you don't!" she punched it into a wall and then began to go wild on it. She kept punching and punching it with her bracers until it was nothing but an unrecognizable mess. But then, it began to melt into what seemed to be liquid metal, it began to slide back to SL7, and then it attached back to him, seemingly making his suit more armored.

"What?" asked 0Y.

"His Mechanical Phenomenon is a Type Two, it can split from him. A Type One is a temporary transformation that may have a time limit or can be switched back at will, but a Type Three is a permanent one."

"That thing's a Mechanical Phenomenon?" asked 3B, "Noted..." 

"You know which one you got, brother?" asked SL7 as he began to run towards the five androids. 

"A Type One." replied SL8 as he began to shoot at SL7 with his revolver, but it didn't even so much as scratch SL7. The gun was knocked right out of his hand and SL8 was smashed into a wall. As 0W moved in, as did 0Y. 3B began to shoot at SL7, her bullets were actually making SL7 stumble just a little bit. 0W jumped across and slashed across hiss chest plate, though it did nothing, 0Y slugged SL7 into a wall. She jumped back as 3B, 0R, and 0W laid down a barrage of ranged attacks. 0R with her sniper, 3B with her personalized pistol, and 0W with several bolts of ice magic. 

When the smoke cleared, SL7's chest was opened up, showing that he was generating a powerful force-field, and simply got back up. "Not bad. Not bad at all..." the additional armor began to slide right off, it formed up and became that metallic tiger once again, "But this is where the fun really begins..." the tiger roared at them, but it was hit by an optic ray. SL8 had gotten himself out of the wall and he ran towards both the enemy android and his little pet. He fired a missile from his trapezius and as SL7 hit it aside, he cut him right across the face with his arm blade. SL8 then kicked him into a wall and drew his gladius. He landed several hits on him with it, though it hardly did anything. 

"Dammit! Why can't I make any counter measures against you!?" he shouted out of frustration. 

"You do not possess my combat data, that is why." replied SL8.  

"Screw you! You never should have been made! I don't even know why father made you!" shouted SL7, he fired a sonic boom at point blank range at SL8. SL8 was sent into the air but he fired his grappling hooks into the shoulders of SL7, bringing both SL7 towards him and SL8 towards SL7. SL8 kneed SL7 as hard as he could in the chest, it actually managed to dent SL7 enough to the point where he malfunctioned and sputtered a bit. SL8 followed up by hitting him the face as hard as hard as he could, actually tearing off some skin.

The tiger lept at SL8 in an attempt to stop him, but it was hit with ice magic from 0W, she had frozen the tiger, and 0R cut it in two. 0W hit it with yet another blast of ice magic, practically stopping it in it's tracks, it couldn't liquify and become part of him yet again, "0W, keep that thing there! 0R, with her! 0Y, with me! We're going to back SL8 up!" shouted 3B.

"Roger!" the others said. As SL8 was still locked in combat with SL7, while the enemy android was busy with SL8, he was slugged by 0Y. As he stumbled, 3B came up and slashed right across his face, taking off more skin. As he began to repair himself, SL8 threw himself on top of SL7, as they wrestled on the ground, SL8 aimed for his face, but SL7 dodged right in time. SL8 found himself hit by another sonic boom, sending him into 0Y. She fell to the ground, with him on top of her. 

"You alright?" she asked as the both of them got up. 

"Yes, no damage has been sustained."

"We have to take him out, and soon..." said 3B.

"Understood. Please brace yourself for the temperature change. I will overload my optic rays." SL8 fired his optic rays with maximum power, SL7 blocked it with his shield, and for a few seconds, but the shield melted almost instantly, it even melted his arm away and hit him directly, frying several of his components, including his repair module. As the rays shut off, SL8 fell to his knees, "My core has been overloaded, reboot time, thirty seconds. My optical sensors have sustained extensive damage, repair time; thirty seconds." 

"No way... I'm made of truonium... and it melted right through me...?" SL7 wheezed. As 3B and 0Y charged in, SL7 could manually repair himself using his main processor, but there was no such thing now, the two YoRHa androids gave him no time, and with 0R and 0W keeping his Mechanical Phenomenon at bay, he realized there was nothing he could do. "No... I'm gonna die...!?" 

3B cut his face yet again, 0Y smashed him into the ground. SL8 was repaired now, his vision was still somewhat covered in static, but he could see enough. He tackled SL7 and picked him up. He flung him over his head and picked him up to waist level. Holding his head tightly, one hand on his chin, the other holding onto his dome. With one twist, sparks, some thick brown fluid, and fragments of metal flew from SL7's neck. "GUUUUUUAAAAAGH!!!!" screamed SL7 as his head began to separate. "Guh!!" as what little synthetic skin that held his head to his body was snapped. SL8 then slowly ripped SL7's head from from his body, finally killing him. 

The Mechanical Phenomenon, which was instantly thawed from the ice suddenly shut down. "Wha-" 0W and 0R suddenly looked over at SL8, who held SL7's head in his hands, the fluid solidifying as it stayed in the air, coolant and lubrication fluid dripping from the pieces of mechanical skeleton that was attached to his head. SL8 threw it aside like it was trash. "That... was so gross..." 0R said, "I feel queasy...". A loud thud could be heard as SL7's head hit the ground. 

SL8 suddenly stared at the motionless body of SL7, almost like he was scanning for something. Without another word, he knelt down and ripped open what was left of his abdominal area, much to the shock of everyone else. "What the Hell are you doing!?" yelled 0Y. SL8 ripped out some kind of kidney like organ, though it seemed to be made of some kind of tissue rather than metal. He took a bite of it, making 0R scream, and shocking everyone else. As SL8 devoured the rest of the organ, his eyes went blank for a moment, and all of the lights of his suit shut off. He was suddenly limp.

"Uh... what just happened?" asked 0Y, "Did he just eat that...?"

"I thought he wasn't capable of eating..." responded 0W. 

"...I'm scared... what did he just do...?" asked 0R, she was so terrified that she began to cry. 

"My... God..." uttered 3B.

It was then that SL8 suddenly lit up again. As he got back up, they all stared at him, and did not say a word. He turned to look at them, "Is something amiss?" he asked.

"Yeah! You just ate something from his body! What the Hell was that!?" shouted 0Y.

"I apologize if it disturbed you, I needed to consume that to... become closer to human..." replied SL8.

"Become closer to- What!?" 

"Yes, each of the other SL units house something. If I consume those, I will reach singularity. While I do not completely understand it myself, I know it is a hidden programming. I apologize I did not inform you earlier."

"It would have been nice to know!" said 0W, "You just possibly scarred 0R for life!" 0W suddenly realized something, "Since when do you apologize? And you... your voice..."

"It sounds... less monotone. You sound like you have a bit of a personality..." remarked 3B, "Holy shit... it really actually worked."

"I don't wanna see that again... Like ever... Tell us the next time so we can close our eyes..." said 0Y, "I may never sleep again..."

The compound suddenly began to shake, "This place is falling apart?" asked 3B. She was suddenly getting a call from 12B, "Status report." she said.

"We managed to destroy this place's core, though there are only seven of us left, we have exactly ten minutes to get the Hell outta this place before it blows, taking all of us with it! 18S said there're some escape pods that will launch into the ocean in hangar three, we'll meet you guys there. Did you manage to get the SL?"

"Yeah, he's dead. Take any survivors and get to the hangar, don't wait up if we can't make it."

"Roger."

"Let's move!" as the call shut off. The five of them began to run to the hangar. "Slate! Any short cuts you can scan out?"

"No, I can make one." SL8 stopped running and fired his optic ray into a wall, piercing through several after the first one. "Our commute has been shortened by approximately nine minutes. Without much time left, they sprinted to the end hangar. When they reached it, the other remaining androids had already made it there, including 12B and 18S, only five other androids were left. 

"Great to see you all again. Everyone else uploaded their data and are waiting for us back at base. Now let's get outta here." said 12B. They all got inside the pod and as the other pods launched, as did their own. As they landed in the water, they began to jet away from the others. They all looked behind them to see the base go up in a fiery explosion, killing off any other personnel in there. "I'm guessing you couldn't retrieve the body?"

"No, not enough time..." said 3B, "It's regrettable, but we did it... That's one SL down. Thanks to you, Slate."

"It is of no problem. My programming is to terminate them."

"Heck yeah. Command, this is 3B."

"Read you loud and clear." said the operator.

"Mission complete, we need retrieval. Think you can grab us?" 

"Understood, Sage Team Nine is on the way. Good work, the Commander expects a full mission report upon your return, good work." 

"Well then, I am so ready to go home." remarked 0Y.

SL8 only looked out the window, his chest felt strange. He himself also felt strange as a whole. He felt relieved, that he managed to put an end to SL7. "I did it Miran..." he said quietly, as the others talked and laughed. "I have avenged you..." He suddenly stopped, "Am I... happy...?" he thought to himself. "Hmm... I need to read my books again..."

Chapter Text

"It's great to be back in our own territory. Sorry we couldn't recover SL7's body, we lost a valuable resource." said 3B, Commander 6O stood in front of her.

"That's alright, I'm just glad you're back. The rest of the strike team who were killed were filling me in on what was happening, it was like listening to a horror radio show." remarked the Commander, "In any case, I'm going to need you to just send me the mission report whenever you're available, I have to go back to Earth tomorrow. But for now, just get yourselves some maintenance and rest, you all deserve it. Dismissed."

The remaining strike team members all saluted except SL8, as the Commander walked away, they all began to converse. "I'm gonna go shower." said 12B, "You really showed your stuff, huh? Nice one on killing the SL."

"Yeah, who knows what would've happened if you weren't there." said another android.

18S was looking a bit uncomfortable, "Um..." he muttered.

"Oh yeah, this one has something to tell you." said 12B, "Go on, don't be shy."

"R-right... Um... Thanks... for killing the SL android. And I'm sorry for doubting you. That was wrong of me to do." he said quietly.

"It is of no problem. I only followed my programming." replied SL8.

"Well, then, I'm gonna shower than spend some time with the kid. What are you guys going to do?" asked the Battler.

"I'm hitting the bar." replied 0Y, "Though I don't know what these gals are going to do."

"Well, I was going to, too." said 3B, "What about you two?" she asked to 0R and 0W.

"They have other drinks next to alcohol so we'll be going too. Though I'm getting some maintenance on myself done first before I'm going anywhere. Come on." she gestured to 0R. "We'll meet you two after we're done. I suppose you two are going to clean yourselves?" she asked 3B and 0Y.

"Yup." replied 0Y, both she and 3B walked off, leaving SL8 by himself. He walked off, in the direction of the hospital. 

When he entered, the android from before greeted him, "Where is Miran Hawkins?" he asked, "The civilian patient that was admitted here three days ago." 

"She woke up. After running a diagnostic on her body, we determined she was well enough to be moved into a civilian hospital. She's in Ferrum Anima City Hospital, apparently she's going to be discharged later today." replied the android. 

"I see..." replied SL8. He walked out of the hospital, and to his barracks room. He stepped into the bathroom and disengaged his armor. His skin was as clean as it was before, all of the filth on his suit. As SL8 stood there naked, he looked at his face, the only part of his body that was dirty. As he turned the water on, he washed off all the dirt with his face with soapy water. As he looked himself in the mirror, he began to wonder, why did he eat that piece of his brother. The fact that he did it bewildered him enough, but for the first time since his activation, he lied. There was no hidden programming, he impulsively did so. But he did remember, when he consumed that organ, he temporarily needed to reboot himself, because of a data surge. 

SL8 remembered, that while he was rebooting, a hidden message played. As he was rebooting, he bought up said message, "Humanity: 12.5%" it read. SL8 had concluded that it was to become human, could it have been related to his impulse? Was he supposed to be reaching singularity? These questions began to race across his head, but he couldn't answer them, he was confused yet again. "Why do I feel this way?" he asked himself in the mirror. He thought back to the day before, SL7 had stated that he didn't even know why SL8 was created, perhaps it really was to terminate the others, maybe the others didn't know, after all, it was his programming. 

SL8 stopped thinking for a moment. "It is my programming..." he said. As he got dressed in his normal clothes, he grabbed one of his two books from his shelf and sat down on his chair. As he opened the text he began to read his book, rereading what had already memorized, at this point he was doing to pass the time, or perhaps he missed something the first time. Hours passed until he got a call from 3B. "What is the matter?"

"Come on down and join us. We're heading to the bar." said 3B, "As a little celebration."

"Androids have no need for alcohol." replied SL8.

"Gonna be like that, huh? You're the hero of the hour, get your ass down here. It's an order now." 

"Understood." SL8 put down his book and made his way to the to the others. When he got outside the barracks, he saw that they were all dressed casually yet again, so he was not the odd one out. 

"Great, we're all here." They all began to walk to the bar, laughing and joking except for SL8. As they walked in they noticed that there was no one at the main counter, all the patrons looked down as they weren't drinking anything.

"Looks like Orchid isn't here today..." said an android, "Think she caught an E-Virus, she'll be out for a week..." 

"Aw, darn..." cursed 0Y, "What're we gonna do without our best bartender? She can make practically any drink, shakes 'em just right too."

"We'll have to make do without the fancy stuff then, guess we'll just settle for what's in the fridge." replied the android, the rest of them quietly jeered. "And I was really feeling a Midnight Toast tonight...

SL8 then stepped behind the counter and grabbed some bottles, Grand Marnier, Cognac, Champagne, Campari, "What is he...?" asked an android. With amazing speed and precision, SL8 suddenly began mixing them inside a cocktail shaker. Eventually, they were a beautiful red color as he poured them out into four glasses.

Taking an orange from the counter, SL8 peeled over four perfectly sized pieces and placed them inside four of the glasses, "Four Liam's Midnight Toasts'." said he as he slid the glasses forward. No one talked for a moment, all of them stared at SL8 in shock. The android picked up a glass and he took a sip of it.

"Holy shit! It's amazing! Just like how Orchid makes it!" he exclaimed. 

"Wha-! No way!" remarked another. She took a glass and drank it too, "You're right! You know how to make drinks?" she asked as SL8 was already whipping up another one, "Whatcha making now?"

SL8 was stirring bourbon and campari. He poured it into a chilled coupe, and placed an orange twist into it, "Boulevardier, anyone can have it." he said. An android came up and drank it, he began to remark how good it was. More and more androids began to put in requests to SL8, who made all the cocktails without question. There were androids who ordered base alcohols, which SL8 poured, but more of them wanted to try the cocktails that he could make with such precision. 

"Get me a mojito!!" one called.

SL8 clapped some freshly picked mint leaves together, then placed them in a cup, pouring some rum in he prepared some sugar, he put the sugar in right after the rum. Picking up a lime, he cut in in half and squeezed just the right amount of juice into the cup, and then he placed some ice inside of it. To top it off, he grabbed some club soda and poured in the fizzy drink. After stirring, he garnished with a lime and some more mint leaves, making the android beam up and earning her compliments as she took sip after sip.

"How do you know how to make all this?" asked 3B.

"Well, according to my database, my creator enjoyed drinking alcohol very much. I also have the capabilities to make many other beverages. Such as smoothies, sodas, coffees, teas, and similar things." replied SL8 as he continued to make drinks.

"Well then, in that case, Strawberry Sunrise, don't skim on the alcohol." said 0Y happily.

"Understood." SL8 began making the cocktail, as he began making it. As 0Y saw, he had made it more or less perfectly, all details and touches made completely the way she liked it. When he was done a beautiful red and orange beverage stood right before 0Y. SL8 continued to make drinks, however, 0W and 0R didn't really drink, so he got them a root beer and smoothie respectively. 3B on the other hand had a cocktail of gin and tea. As the night went on, the androids all celebrated the death of SL7, even if the conflict were still going on, they still wanted to celebrate the first real progress they had made in nearly a decade. 

Eventually, many of the androids left the bar to go back to the barracks. Others went back to work, SL8 and the Huntress Team simply returned to the barracks, 3B helping carry a very intoxicated 0Y. "Well, I got word that we have nothing going on tomorrow, so enjoy your day off I guess, we'll probably have these less and less in the future, so go out, do something if you want." she then helped 0Y to her room, "Oh and Slate."

"What is the matter?" asked SL8.

"Your drinks were great tonight. Hope you can do it again." she said.

"If you order it, then I will do it once again at a later date." replied he. As the Huntress Team went to their own room, SL8 returned to his own. He sat down and looked at his book. But instead of reading it again, he simply placed it back on his bookshelf, with only one other book. He then lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, and then he set a timer, and then shut himself off. 

When morning came, he reactivated himself and continue to lay on his bed. He had no mission, no assignment, so he was just going to lay there all day, but then he heard a knock on his door. He opened it remotely and saw that 0R was standing there. "Hey there Slate, are you doing anything today?" 

"No." he replied.

"Can you go into town then?" she asked, "I wanna bake a cake. But I don't have the required ingredients here."

"Mission acknowledged." replied SL8, "Do you have an idea of what you want?"

"Yeah, some cake mix, a dozen eggs, some baking soda, chocolate chips, milk, and frosting." said 0R. SL8 got up from his bed and began to walk out his room, "Thanks Slate!" 0R said running off, "We have a small game tournament today, so I really appreciate it!" SL8 walked over to the hangar where all their bikes were. He mounted and as his engine ran, the doors opened up, when they fully opened, he zoomed right out. He left the gates of the Mars base and began riding over to Ferrum Anima.

As he rode, he decided that he should also visit Miran if he could. So he changed course as he rode into the city, towards the city hospital. When he got there, he immediately went to the front desk reception. "Is there a patient named Miran Hawkins here?" he asked.

"No, she was actually discharged yesterday." said the receptionist. 

"I see." replied SL8 he left the hospital. He got on his bike once again and rode off. Now he was headed to the Monster Girls' garage. When he knocked on the door, Botaegni was the one who answered it. "Is Miran here?" SL8 asked.

"No." replied Botaegni. "She kind of snuck out on her own. We were going to track her down, but I know her, she'll be responsible and come back on her own eventually. Guess we're going to have to try harder if we want to keep a Vacivin down." she stated. "If you run into her, guess you two can just hang out."

"I see." SL8 replied. He began to leave. Now, he was finally headed to the store. When he got to the place, he dismounted his bike and went in. Walking about the store, he saw many people going about as if their lives were normal. He was just walking about locating what he was tasked with buying and began. However, halfway through his shopping, he tapped on the shoulder. He turned about and saw a middle aged man bound in bandages. "It's you. You are the man who stopped me days ago." said he.

"Yeah..." replied the man. "I... I wanted to apologize. I heard about your deeds, how you killed one of the SL androids. A lot of people still haven't forgiven you." he added, "But when I saw you fight for us, I thought maybe you weren't so bad. And when I heard that you had managed to kill one of them, I really changed my mind. So, I'm sorry. And thank you, that bastard was the one who took my family from me..."

"I see. It is of no problem. I simply did what I had to do." SL8 responded.

"Yeah well, it helped a lot of people. See you around I guess." and so he walked off, leaving SL8 to continue on his excursion. When he picked up the items, he placed them in the basket he had picked up. When he went to pay for it, he stared at the cashier. Realizing he had no paper money, he quickly hacked into 0R's bank account and used the money there to pay for it. He plugged his finger into an android paying port and the transaction was received. 

"Thank you very much. Have a good day." said the cashier, SL8 said nothing back. When he got back outside, SL8 mounted his bike and started the engine. He was revving it up when he heard a very familiar voice.

"No way... Slate...?" asked a female. SL8 turned his head to see it was none other than Miran Hawkins, fully recovered and looking much better. "Haven't seen you since the attack!"

"Miran. it is good to see you again. How are you faring?" asked SL8.

"Ah, I'm all healed up. Looks like that medic really knew what he was doing, putting me to sleep like that. Enough about me though, I heard you got me some vengeance, eh?" she asked teasingly. She then gave SL8 a hug, somewhat surprising him, "Thanks you big softy."

"I am comprised of ninety percent metal and ten percent synthetic skin. I cannot be very soft."  Upon hearing this, Miran made a big, loud laugh. She continued to laugh for a solid minute until she was rolling on the ground, grabbing hold of her stomach. SL8 thought that her wound was opening back up, but when he scanned her, she showed no signs of injury, "Why are you on the floor?" he asked.

"Oh man..." Miran chuckled, "You're just too much Slate..." she giggled as she was calming down she explained, "My stomachs still a bit sore that's all, it feels kinda funny when I laugh. But seriously, thanks. That asshat killed a lot of innocents. It's really quite frustrating, not being able to do shit when you know people's lives are being taken away from them, even though they haven't a thing wrong, even though they had a tomorrow to look forward to... and you just managed to make that tomorrow a bit more possible by doing what you did." 

"I see. Well then, I will head back to base." said SL8 once again mounted his bike, but Miran stopped him, "What is the matter?"

"Can we... y'know? Hang out a bit before you go? You're free aren't you?" asked she.

"Please wait one moment." said SL8. He quickly called 0R, "I have gathered the ingredients for you cake. However Miran wishes that I spend some time with her. I will deliver the ingredients to you via a remote drone."

"Sounds good. Have fun on your date!" said 0R on the other side.

SL8 then lifted his shirt and his chest opened up. A small bird like machine emerged from it and took the bag. As SL8's chest closed up it began to fly off in the direction of the base. "Where do you want to go." said SL8.

"You haven't been to the city museum yet have you?" asked Miran.

"No I have not. Setting course." SL8 started his engine and began to rev his bike. Miran did the same. Soon enough they rode over to the museum, which was only about twenty minutes away. As they entered, it seemed quaint at first. Just pieces of the past, the typical history lessons, even a school field trip. But then they made their way to an exhibit labeled "jinzo". 

"Oh, the Jinzo." remarked Miran, "Now this is a good exhibit. Do you know what they are?" 

"I am searching my database. Data found, the Jinzo were an artificial race of humans who hailed from the same universe as YoRHa did. Once enemies, a large group of them defected from their primary leadership and joined the side of YoRHa. Once in this universe, they were allowed to form their own branch of the North American Armed Forces. However, over time, their numbers dwindled, not wanting to take up resources to continue their existence as fabricated beings. In Twenty One Forty Three, the Jinzo branch of the military was officially dissolved, many of the remaining soldiers either honorably discharged or absorbed into the Human Corps." replied SL8 as both he and Miran walked into the exhibit. 

"Wow, you really know your stuff don't you? Well, I guess you do have that whole data base thing you can look at anytime you want." she said. They walked into the exhibit and they saw many relics of the past. Weapons, uniforms, even scale sized wax dolls and holograms. They went to one who appeared to be a teenager, he wore a white long coat. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Sral." said Miran. "That universe's version of our very own Lars. Word is that he was a real menace."

"How so?" asked SL8, "I do not possess any data of that world. Therefore, I do not much of the events that had happened there, my creator deemed it unnecessary."

"I thought you downloaded all of it when you activated."

"So did I." 

"Well, apparently, he started all heroic and stuff, over the course of the fighting, his idealism crumbled. He eventually became a monster, only goal was to kill his alternate self, he didn't care how he did it, or how many of his people had to die. It was said by Lars himself that the Sral that wanted to save his people was gone, his pride had swallowed him whole and all he cared about was killing Lars, in fact he justified his people's deaths. That's why there was a huge group of Jinzo that defected from his leadership, opting to side with the androids instead." explained Miran. 

"I see. I have recorded this data." replied SL8. They continued walking through the exhibit, seeing statues of war heroes such as Mikhail and Kantress of the Jinzo. As they walked, they saw more past things, including their old capital of Avalon in the other universe. The magnificent city and castle in the center, a structure which had stood at least three miles high. Finally, they had reached an elevator which would take them to the most important part of the exhibit, and the crown jewel of the city. When they had reached the bottom part, the elevator doors opened up to reveal an absolute gargantuan bay, one that housed the original ship, Ferrum Anima. 

"There she be..." breathed Miran. "The original ship, Ferrum Anima, the very first Earth vessel to carry actual human settlers, the first colony..." 

"The city of Ferrum Anima was named right after the Jinzo ship that had taken the first colonists, after six more trips back to Earth and Mars, it was decommissioned. it has remained here for the past five hundred years, an exhibit within the museum." said SL8.

"That's right." responded Miran, "Kinda weird to have a museum under a museum though." She pointed at several catwalks that led inside the ship. As they stood on the balcony, looking at the vessel, Miran let out a large sigh, "Y'know, every time I come here, I... I wonder what could have been different..."

"What makes you say that?" asked SL8.

"Well, I first came here when I was like eight. My mom took me here and told me that my ancestors flew here to Mars on that ship. Mom had raised me alone, my dad was a deadbeat and was gone right as I was born, so that wasn't an option. She worked herself to the bone for us to live a decent life. But I was a shitty brat as a kid, I thought it was so cool about disobeying and being a rebel. I thought that being the bad girl was always the coolest thing in the world. So naturally, Mom and I got into a lotta fights, and one day, it ended with me running away." explained Miran, "I went with my tough guy boyfriend, another Vacivin, some bastard named Jurgen. After a month or two of living with him, I found out what a piece of shit he was, so I left him, and realized what a little bitch I was. Tried to go home, maybe mend my relationship with Mom, try and make amends."

"Turns out, I got there right as I saw a medical team at the old house. They were wheeling out a stretcher, some body covered by a blanket." sighed Miran, "I knew at that moment that it was Mom. I killed her..." 

"How so?" asked SL8. "How did she die?"

"Broken heart..." replied Miran, "I guess that I just made her so sad that she she couldn't handle it anymore. The fact is that she loved me unconditionally, but I went around and treated her like shit, so she died. After that, I blamed myself for all of it, and spent a lot of time just feeling sorry for myself. I eventually found myself joining the Army, and got placed in the Twelfth Phantom Division. I was trying to  find a way to do some good in my life..."

SL8 did not know what to say. He just stayed silent. But eventually, he said the thing that came off the top of his head, "Are you satisfied with what you have done since then?" he asked.

"Can't say I am. Look at me now... Army vet who more or less wasted all of her veteran benefits, and then joined a biker gang. Not the best place to be, but hey, it could be a whole lot worse. Besides, the Monster Girls aren't a bad crew, Hell I think despite it all, we're really making a difference in people's lives, a positive change. So, even though I'm not satisfied just yet, I have confidence that I will be eventually." 

"I see. So that is your goal?" 

"Yeah. It's my goal. Well, you and I should split soon, it's getting a bit late. I don't want the others to worry about me too much, and you got a job to do, so let's go." The both of them walked out of the museum, to the outside as the sun was already beginning to set. "Hey, about what I said back there. I don't tell it to a lot of people, think you can keep it a secret?" she asked.

"Acknowledged. I will not inform anyone else about it." SL8 mounted his bike. "Have a nice day, Miran. I hope to be able to do this with you again, perhaps soon." 

"Yeah, that was pretty nice. Well, take it easy Slate. And I'll see you around hopefully." Miran got on her bike and promptly left as SL8 also began his way back to base. As he rode there, he thought about why Miran told him all that, perhaps it was because she trusted him enough, perhaps it was other motives, but he didn't know. Upon reaching the base, he made his way to the hangar and parked his bike. He then made his way to the barracks. 0R came out to the hallway.

"Oh there you are!" she exclaimed, "Come on in! The cakes all baked and ready to be eaten!" 

"I do not-" before SL8 could finish, he was pulled inside by 0R. The other three androids were there. "I do not possess taste buds." 

"Aw whatever! Don't be such a buzzkill!" 0Y slapped him on the back, "We won't always have these opportunities, so live in the moment!"

"Besides. We have an assignment tomorrow, so just have some." said 3B.

"She went through the trouble of making it, so just eat it." added 0W.

"I see. Then I suppose so." SL8 was handed a small plate and a slice. As he ate it with his comrades, he tasted nothing, the food he consumed was literally destroyed by his systems, as the night went on he went back to his room and put his suit back on, he prepped himself for tomorrow. "I wonder when I will have another day like this. It was... pleasant." said he to himself.

Chapter Text

SL8 walked outside his door and met with the others. It was five thirty in the morning, some of the human personnel of the base were exercising outside. Many of the YoRHa androids were dressing up nicer than usual, wearing berets and pauldrons, including his teammates. "What is happening?" asked SL8 to 3B.

"The Field Commander and Android Corps Commander are on their way here." replied 3B, "We're going to greet them and get our new assignment probably. Come on, you're coming too." The five went outside to see a ship incoming, it began the docking procedures, "There it is, the Anemone, the personal ship of the Android Corps Commander." As SL8 looked at it, it seemed to be differently shaped, it did not have the design of the ships that the Human Corps used, the design that was originally the Jinzo's instead, it was different shape. In fact, it looked a bit like a fish, a long tail extended several feet behind the bridge, even a fin right below what seemed to be a launch deck.

"Identified, this ship uses the same design as the Armored Assault Ship of the Commander, 'Will-O'the-Wisp'." said SL8.

"Yeah, the only other ship with this design is the Isaribi, still in service after five hundred years. Must've been really maintained." said 0Y.

"Cut the chatter!" shouted an android up front, "Get into formation, all of you!" she called.

"Yes Ma'am!" replied all the rest of the androids. As the ship docked, they all waited as two figures began walking out of the ship bay. One wore a black longcoat, she wore a visor instead rather than a veil, showing she was not an Operator originally. The Android Corps Commander instead wore what most of the regular android soldiers wore. Her cape flowed in the wind and her hood remained on her head, her black hair covering her right eye. The two androids were escorted by a large platoon of  The androids all saluted, excluding SL8, by placing their left hands on their chests. "Good morning, Ladies!" they all called.

"At ease!" called the Field Commander. With that command, all of the androids present all stood at a resting position. "Fall out of formation on my command. Fall out!" called she. They all relaxed, "It's been a while since I've been on Mars. Nice to see all of you again." she smiled softly. 

"Nice to see you as well, Ma'am." responded the base commanding officer. "You as well, Commander Jackass." she said the Regular. 

"Think it's been almost six years since my last visit to Mars?" she asked, "Guess this place isn't all that bad. Give us a sitrep, Base Commander."

"Well, if you haven't read the file just yet, our very own Huntress Team finally took out an SL android. Currently, the Oceanian Front seems to be falling into our favor. Our Scanners have sent intel that they're in a state of panic, so we've been sending several teams of YoRHa troopers to aid in the fight. We are estimated to overtake all Oceanian Mars territory within a month." responded the Base Commander.

"Huh, that's good." replied the Android Commander, "Speaking of which, I hear that the Huntress Team has a new member." she said suddenly, "Mind if I meet 'em?" 

"Of course, Ma'am." replied the Base Commander, "Huntress Team, front and center!" five androids walked over to the top leaders. 

"Huntress Team Captain 3B, reporting as ordered, good morning Ladies." said 3B, standing upright, the rest of her team doing the same. 

"Heya 3B, you talk to your mom recently?" asked Jackass. "How has Mrs. Master General of Training been doing recently?" 

"She's doing just fine." replied 3B.

"That's good then. Anyway, I hear you have an SL on the team as of late. Mind if I see him?" SL8 stepped forward. "So, you're SL8. I've read the files that 6O created about you, you're even manlier up close, jeez, how many muscles does an android need?" 

"My muscles are purely for aesthetic reasons. According to my data base, my creator has based me and all the other SL androids off of his own sons in the past." replied SL8.

Jackass began to laugh, "Jeez, you really are as serious as they say! You're more robot than anything else..." she chuckled. "Anyway, down to business. She's here because 6O requested that she help oversee things here at the YoRHa Mars headquarters, and I'm here to study some of your internals and weapons. Y'know, so we can produce more gear for you. Don't worry, you won't be harmed, we're not opening up, just scanning you for the most part."

SL8 looked at 3B, almost as if he was waiting for her to answer for him. 3B nodded, "Accepted. I will undergo all scans and tests."

"Great start, bud. Now for my second proposal. Since you're not technically a YoRHa android, how about coming under my jurisdiction?" the others, including the YoRHa Field Commander looked confused, "I'll keep you on this team, and you'll continue to run ops with the Huntress Team, however, you'll also be somewhat at my beck and call." she explained, "Plus, even though 6O has vouched for you, the North American Government as a whole isn't completely convinced, and there's only so much she can do as Commander of YoRHa, even with the backing of one of the councilmen. YoRHa, as you know is more like a separate military altogether, but still is underneath the government. So if you were to come under my  jurisdiction, the top bureaucrats just might have a better sense of security. So how about it?" 

SL8 once again looked at 3B. But this time, rather than answering 3B just looked back at SL8 and said. "Look, this is a big decision, and it has to come from you. I can't decide it for you this time." 

SL8 weighed in his options. Should he lose favor with the North American Government, then he loses valuable allies, and his chances of terminating the other six drastically decrease. So within seconds, he made up his choice. "I will accept. As long as I am kept on the Huntress Team, our combat effectiveness stays at a current ninety-three percent, I believe that with time, it will rise." 

"Glad you're on board then. I'll get that sent to my people and have them take care of it for me. Now, what I've been waiting for. Let's get you on my ship, we've got all the equipment to study you there." said she. She grabbed SL8's hand and began to take him along, "You got them from here, I won't take too long." 

"Alright then." replied the Field Commander. "So, now that that's over. All of you are to continue your daily routines. Continue monitoring Ferrum Anima, I want any move by an SL documented whether it'd be there or on another part of Mars." said she, "Dismissed."

"Yes, Ma'am!" responded the rest of the androids. 

"You as well Base Commander." said the Field Commander. She nodded and walked off, "Now, Huntress Team, I have an assignment for you." the Huntress Team looked at the Field Commander. "Our contractors, the local gang known as the Monster Girls have been requesting some help. I've been picking up the signals as I was arriving, it seems that they are asking about the Wildlings Gang. Normally we wouldn't be concerning ourselves with these matters, even with them being contractors. However, they have intel suggesting that the Wildling Gang is being backed by someone powerful, who could very well be an SL android, seeing as someone or something has been supplying them with military technology."

"I'm tasking you four and SL8 to go and investigate. He will join you once you're all in within the city. This may take several hours, or even days, so be ready for anything, am I clear?" she asked.

"Crystal, Ma'am." responded 0Y, "We'll make sure the Wildlings get theirs this time and that they stay down." 

"I like your enthusiasm. Dismissed." replied the Field Commander, "Well, get on that as soon as possible. I will inform Commander 6O about SL8's change in branches."

"Understood, Ma'am." the four androids walked away and prepared some gear before heading to the hangar where their bikes were being held. The Huntress Team mounted their vehicles and rode right out. Meanwhile, SL8 was inside the Anemone, Jackass was running scans on his whole body. 

"Amazing... the stuff your eyes are made out of... The fact it can withstand that amount of heat generated. Holy shit!" Jackass suddenly exclaimed, "You're eye lenses are made of Maslian?!"

"Yes." replied SL8, "However, the way my creator procured such materials is still beyond me." replied SL8.

"Damn straight!" exclaimed Jackass, "This shit is just as rare as truonium." She continued to run scans on him, "Just a few more to go, then we can show you what exactly we're working on." 

"Acknowledged." replied SL8. He lay there for a few more minutes before all the lights turned off. 

"Great job. Now, come on, see what I have in store for you." stood back up and began to follow Jackass through a room. They entered another room, a manufacturing facility of sorts. Jackass clapped her hands once and a hologram came up. They were schematics for some kind of helmet. "This here is a little enhancer for your optic rays, now bear in mind, these are meant to be expendable. The metal these are made of aren't nearly as durable as your armor, and these lenses, will burn out after prolonged usage. But luckily, we can mass produce these, it'll only take an hour or so for us to reconfigure the systems of the helmet to link up with your systems, so just wait here for that. After you get it, you can go join your team."

"Understood. I will await the new equipment." Jackass nodded and then began to walk away, "Before you go, Commander, I have a question."

"Shoot." 

"What will I be equipped with for this mission?" he asked.

"Hmm... Since you're going to be in the city, I think mid to close quarter combat will suit this one. Head to our armory, right down the hall, get your stuff, then come back. I'll send word that to have a loadout ready for you." 

"Acknowledged." replied SL8. He went down the hall away from the manufacturing facility, and to the armory. The armorer there took notice of him.

"Oh, so you're here for your loadout right?" asked she.

"Yes." replied SL8. He walked up to her counter, "Commander Jackass said you'd have something more oriented for close range for me." he said.

"Oh yeah, that's correct." replied the armorer. She disappeared behind a few lockers and then came out with two firearms. "Okay, so here we have a standard ten millimeter submachine gun,  Nightbane model 8A60 Submachine gun." SL8 was handed the weapon. He shouldered it, holding it with two hands at first, then he held it with a single hand. "And the second one is this one right here." she bought out a what seemed to be a handgun, but it was much larger. "Steelhammer model 99IM Armor Piercing Pistol. It's a break action reload and only has one shot at a time, but this thing has given Truonium a run for it's money at a point, so best not waste it, these are pretty damn expensive. The various guilds we androids get our guns from really like to inflate prices sometimes, but hey whatever. Have you a sword?"

"No." replied SL8.

"Lemme get one real quick. You use short swords and gladiuses right?" 

"Correct."

"Hang on then." She dug around a moment, "Here you are." she said, "Standard issue North American Infantry Gladius, all our boys use 'em." SL8 nodded before equipping all of his gear, now all there was to do was to wait.

 Over in the city, the Huntress Team had already met up with the Monster Girls. "Seems they're having a second wind. That giant brawl we had a while back really took them down a notch but, it looks like they're getting back up. We keep seeing them in our territory, prowling around like they're scouting out for something. Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but these guys are sporting military style tech that really shouldn't even be available to them." explained Botaegni. 

"This tech, what does it look like?" asked 3B.

"Well, it's not normal North American stuff, looks kinda like YoRHa, but not really. More like someone or something managed to make a copy of YoRHa's tech. Kinda like an SL android." stated Bisari. 

"Wait a minute, why would an SL be backing a biker gang?" asked 0Y, "I thought they'd have better shit to do than just mess around with hoodlums."

"Yes, that's what we thought too but... clearly not. Either way, they'll be coming soon." replied Pyrhadina, "We won't be able to fight them off alone, we need help."

"Good thing we have orders then." said 0W.

"Yeah, but how the op is gonna go is my call." said 3B, "So we're going to have YoRHa troops patrolling through out the city on our bikes, flight units would cause unnecessary damage. If fighting starts, we'll divert some of the forces over to the areas where it is. We'll be disguised to keep the element of surprise on our side. The Wildlings don't recognize our bikes." 

"Won't they not attack when they see YoRHa all around the city?" asked Elora. 

"Well, they'll likely get arrogant and big heads with that new stuff they're carrying." replied 0Y, "But they won't know what hit 'em regardless..." she smirked.

"Then it's settled." responded Bisari, "So what should we do?" she asked. 

"Well, we'll get into positions as soon as we can. When that happens, you should do so as well. When do you think they'll attack?" 3B replied.

"Well, they aren't ballsy enough to attack during the day, so they'll likely go at it when the sun goes down, and that won't be for a while." said Botaegni, "So I say while you're making those calls to get YoRHa troops around this area, we should prep our weapons. My sickle could use a new coat off poison after all." she looked at her sickle, bone dry at the moment.

"Alright, you three prep your weapons and make sure they're all in working order. I'll put in what new intel we gained and try to request to get YoRHa androids set up around the area in the event of an attack." 

"Roger that." the three other androids responded. As they all went to do their things, both Dragon-kin sisters soaked their weapons in poisons. Botaegni's sickle was given a generous coat of corrosive poison, whilst Bisari applied a more numbing poison onto her machete. Miran made sure her pistol was loaded up and that she had spare magazines. Pyrhadina looked at the arrows she had, all had some kind of explosive charm on them that she could remotely detonate with her magical power. Elora fashioned a new pole out of a small bush for her hammer using her wood magic. As the Monster Girls were prepping their gear, 0W looked at her utility belt and saw that her magical cartridges were a all there, she loaded one into her rapier's cylinder, giving it a glow. 0Y looked at what shells she had for her shotgun, then grabbed all the incendiary rounds. 0R sharpened her scythe, then polished the scope of her sniper.

3B was calling the Field Commander, "Ma'am, we have new intel from the monster girls. The Wildling Gang has been spotted with unidentified technology. We don't know if it has any magical capabilities, and it doesn't seem to be the design of any of the enemy nations. The technology is seemingly highly advanced, on par with our own, it's likely they're being backed by an SL, I'm requesting YoRHa Rider support, the Wildings are likely going to attack come nightfall, an eighty seven percent chance." 

"Permission granted, I'll send them over as soon as possible. Anything else?" replied the Field Commander.

"Yes, when is SL8 going to arrive? Is the Regular Commander done with him yet?" 

"She'll be finished in a few moments, he'll be there soon."

"Thank you, Ma'am. That was it, over and out."

"Roger that, good hunting, and God Speed." said the Field Commander before hanging up. Now that the arrangements were made, 3B went to go get her weapons ready.

However, back over at the base, SL8 was still waiting outside the manufacturing facility. Suddenly the door slid right open, and Jackass came out holding a helmet. "And it's finished." she stated, "Put it on, I want to see how it looks." SL8 placed the helmet on his head, and as if it sensed that it had been placed on a head, some sort of collar began to deploy from the helmet, it covered all sides of SL8's neck, and attached itself to his suit. The eyes lit up a bright red, "Awesome, can you still turn your head?"

SL8 looked around, the head and collar were fully flexible, despite looking like it'd be completely fixed on the body. "I have full range of motion." he replied, "My optic rays have been given a thirty percent boost in power, though these lenses will burn out after ten fires." he said.

"Yeah, like I said, we can't really find the same material your eyes are made of for the helmet lens, good thing these helmets can be mass produced. Alright then, I've kept you here long enough, better get back to your team, don't want to keep them waiting. Good luck out there." said Jackass before she began to walk away.

"Understood, Commander." SL8 also made his way to his bike. Running through the ship, he quickly found the exit and left the Anemone quite quickly. When he got to his bike, SL8 noticed that other YoRHa battlers were mounting motor cycles and riding off. He also saw that 12B and 18S were riding together, 12B was on the bike itself whilst 18S rode in the side car, a machine gun in front of him. Both androids noticed him.

"Oh hey." said 12B, "You get some new gear?"

"Yes, this new helmet is one that Commander Jackass has given me. I now fall under her jurisdiction." he explained.

"Huh, we heard about that actually." replied 18S.

"Yes, though I have a query, why are so many of the Riders heading out?" asked SL8. 

"We got orders from the Field Commander that we have an operation. We have to defend the Monster Girls' territory because the Wildlings have some kind of unidentified technology." explained 18S, "Personally, I think they won't attack."

"You never know, sweetie." said 12B, "Well, we'll see you out there. Hope to see that new helmet in action." she revved up her motorcycle and rode off with 18S at her side. SL8 mounted his own and revved it up before riding away. Whilst on the road, he saw all of the other YoRHa riders riding on the road. They were all riding in a straight line formation, some of their bikes were customized, others were the standard issue ones. Some of them also had side cars, many of them had mounted guns, the ones that did not simply had a YoRHa gunner at the side. 

SL8 blew past them, with his bike having been customized with multiple pieces of YoRHa technology, then tuned up several times by both YoRHa engineers and Miran. He got to the city first, but it was clear that they were right behind him. Upon gaining access to the city, he rode to the Monster Girls' garage. There, he saw the others. The Huntress Team immediately pointed their fire arms at SL8 before realizing that it was him, "Sorry about that, didn't recognize you with the helmet." said 3B. 

0R looked at SL8 closely, "Wow, so this is the new equipment the Regular Commander was talking about?" she asked. "You look so cool! Like one of those comic superheroes!"

"Or one of those Japanese cyborg guys, I think they're called, Kamen Riders?" stated Miran.

"Really? Looks more like a super villain to me..." said 0W, "The color scheme is mostly the thing."

"Cut the chatter." 3B said to the others, "So does your new gear work?" she asked.

"Yes. According to all simulations. However, I have yet to actually fire my optic rays, I need to limit my shots as this material cannot handle too much of the energy, these lenses will eventually burn through." explained SL8.

"Fair enough, you'll get your chance if the attack actually happens." replied 3B, "We're standing by for now. So just make sure all of your gear is up to par. Tactical forecasts all point to a 'yes', so get ready for a big fight. We're good on numbers, but I'm worried on what that stuff will do. We're trying to evac the area right now, trying to get the civilians out so they won't get caught in the crossfire, though it's doubtful that they'll all leave by the time the sun goes down, that's like, in four hours too."

SL8 began doing some math in his head, "It will take approximately eight hours to evacuate about eighty percent of this area." 

"See? No way it's going to happen. So I'm going to make sure. You are not going to hit any civilians, do you understand? If you see them in your line of fire, your number one priority is their safety, you got it? This applies to you even more now because you're actually in the Regular Corps now. We will take you down this time if you endanger civilians again, you understand?" 3B asked sternly. "Killing Machine or not, you're going to keep them safe."

"Understood. I have added the safety of civilians to the list of my objectives for our current mission." replied SL8 in his usual robotic tone.

"Good." 3B sighed, "Just make sure your gear is good for tonight. We start patrolling right when the sun starts setting." 

And so, the Huntress Team and the Monster Girls waited until the sun began to set. When the sky began to become a bright orange, they all mounted their bikes and rode out into the streets of Ferrum Anima. The team began to patrol the area, keeping themselves discreet. They rode all the way to the border of Monster Girl territory, and then rode around that. So far, they saw nothing at all. The YoRHa riders that were present all were watching diligently as well. However, there showed no signs of the Wildlings or an SL. 

As night fell, things became even more tense. The fact that the Wildlings hadn't shown themselves made the YoRHa androids both on edge, and bored them. Some of them complained that they weren't going to attack and that the Monster Girls were just paranoid, others got anxious that the attack could happen at any moment. 3B and her team stood by near the outskirts of Monster Girl territory, "Botaegni, status report." said she.

"Nothing near the garage. We've seen no signs of the Wildlings and some of the androids are growing restless." the Dragon-kin responded. 

"Hmm, can't blame them." replied 3B, "Were we really wrong?"

"Well, I can't say so, but I think-" there was suddenly a large explosion, "We're under attack! The Wildlings! They're here! Here in-" the comms suddenly shut down. Much of the city lights were shutting down, something had disrupted communications and the energy grid was hit by something.

"Shit! Switch over to YoRHa encrypted lines!" shouted 3B, "This is Captain 3B, all rider teams report in!"

"Team One is engaged with Wildling bikers! They have some sort of rifle we've never even seen before!"

"Team Two here, we're assisting in evacuations! They're targeting civilians!"

"Team Three! We're splitting up to assist Teams One and Two! They're everywhere!"

"Damn it! Alright people! Regroup and begin retaliating!" 3B shouted. They all acknowledged and the comms and 3B turned back to her team, "We're finding the Monster Girls, then we're driving these bastards off, let's go!" They all agreed and began to ride off into the now dark city.

Chapter Text

Explosions rocked both houses and towers alike. Rubble lay scattered across the ground of the city, and blood spilled. They were already multiple civilian casualties, but the Wildlings did not care. They rode on their bikes, firing indiscriminately, laughing and howling with every kill they made. The YoRHa Riders were arriving in multiple numbers, for some reason, the reinforcements were not coming, no response from the Humans of the N.A Military. "Dammit! It's almost like they're dealing with something else!" cursed a YoRHa Rider.

"We'll have to deal with it now!" responded another. The team rode on their bikes, speeding towards a group of Wildlings, "How many of these guys are there! This one gang can't be that big can it!?" she shot one right off his bike, making it crash into another bike, blowing both the bike and the other gang member up. "The Hell are they holding!?"

"Dunno! But we've got to-" the YoRHa rider was suddenly killed by some kind of beam that tore right through her head, killing her instantaneously. Then suddenly, several members of the team will killed instantly as well by a large explosion. 

"Shit! Scatter!" the other riders began to ride away in multiple directions.

"Hell yeah Mister Six!" cheered a Wildling, "Look at them run!" 

"Shut the fuck up you fool..." growled a mysterious figure, he seemed to be some kind of massive motorbike, pink lines ran over several parts of it. If one looked closely, they would have seen a face of sorts. His long hair still somewhat visible in the giant monster of a vehicle he found himself assimilated to. "Kill as many as you like here... After we're done, we go to that damn base. I wanna taste some of that YoRHa pussy... It's grade A for us androids..." 

"Sure thing Mister Six! Alrighty boys! Let's do this!" The rest of the Wildlings cheered as they began to ride off. 

*Exodus From the Underground Fortress*

In other parts of the Monster Girl territory, the North American Soldiers who were present and trying to assist were being held off. They seemed to be robotic soldiers, unknown in origin, but they were doing a good job of it. "What do we do, Captain!?" asked a soldier.

"Take these things down and break through!" responded Captain Herberos, "Those YoRHa troops need us!" she fired back with her rifle, but the bullets merely bounced off, "What are they made of?!"

In other parts, Botaegni chased after a Wildling with her bike. Her sickle was in her hand, it was nearly dripping with poison. "Get back here you fuck!" she yelled, "You don't get to come into my territory and mess up my shit!" She accelerated her bike's speed and cut the guy right off of his bike, the poison killing him slowly, whilst his bike rammed right into a wall. Bisari was being chased by a Wildling who seemed to hold some kind of laser gun, though his aim was shoddy at best. She braked her bike then created a forcefield around her with her magic, the Wildling smashed right into it and it sent him flying. 

As he landed on the ground, he heard a battle cry. "Hraaah!" The dragon-kin came up and slashed him right across his head, partially decapitating him. "How do ya like that!?" called Bisari. She saw Elora chasing a Wildling who was shooting at her. Elora with her war hammer couldn't get to close, not without support. Bisari began to charge in, she quickly tailed the Wildling alongside Elora, the Wildling shot back at them, the explosion knocked Bisari off balance a bit, but a piece of wood shot from the ground and hit her bike back on balance, Bisari nodded at Elora, then made a sharp turn right. 

She was traveling a path that would help her cut off the Wildling. She activated a hidden system of her bike, it began leaving a path of light. She then cut off the Wilding with a sudden acceleration, the trail of light right behind her, the Wildling slammed into the wall, sending him flying off of his bike, as he landed on the ground, the light trail disappeared, Elora came right through war hammer in hand, she swung it as hard as she could, absolutely crushing his face. "Hell yeah!" shouted Elora, "We keep this up and we'll pull this off!"

"Don't get too cocky though, there could be more any- Watch out!" a sudden explosion made them split up. They saw more Wildlings coming towards them, "I didn't think there'd be so many!" cursed Bisari, "Let's go!" the two girls began riding away, as they rode, YoRHa riders showed up riding towards the Wildlings and the fighting began, with their weapons, the Wildlings could inflict heavy damage, but savages with better technology were still savages, the YoRHa forces cut more down than they lost. 

Within the Southern part of Monster Girl territory, Pyrhadina had her bow and was running with her superb stamina as a centaur. She dodged a laser bolt with blew up a car behind her, she fired an arrow into one of the bikes and saw the Wildling regroup with their buddies. She then activated her magic, the arrow exploded, taking out at least three bikes. They began charging at her, she began to run away, towards another trap she had set. She fired an arrow, this time they evaded it, but she snapped her fingers, the arrow began to come back and it struck a Wildling in the back, he was thrown off balance and began crashing into the other Wildlings. 

As she crossed an alley way, they followed her, shooting lasers at her. One of them struck her leg and she fell down, "Any last words centaur bitch?" asked one of the Wildlings.

"Yes, how about you pay attention." replied Pyrhadina. 

"Wha-?" several arrows came about from the hidden shadows. Pyrhadina had activated several arrow launchers using magic leylines that she had placed in the ground in the area, all she needed to do was make contact with them, they all fell to the ground, filled with arrows.

"Argh... My leg..." she struggled to get back up, but she saw the Huntress Team, "Hey, looks like you guys managed to get here... I'll get to the garage and help my leg, but Miran is still here somewhere, last I saw her, she's trying to get folks out of here..." 

"Thanks, be careful." replied 3B, she and her team began to ride off. As the explosions got louder, so did the engines of the motorcycles. Several ruined bikes lay on the ground, both from YoRHa riders and Wildling Gang members. They saw 12B and 18S chasing a small group of Wildlings. 18S was shooting at them with the gun mounted on the side car, but they were being blocked by some kind of shield on the Wildlings' bikes. "We start with them!" the five began to ride towards the Wildlings with astonishing speed. 0W used her ice magic to freeze the ground underneath the leading Wildling, he lost control of his bike and fell off, the others accidently ran him over. SL8 drove right behind one of them and fired one of his grappling hooks into the bike. 

Within milliseconds, SL8 finished a simulation of how hard he had to pull for them to fly in the direction he wanted to. So he braked and tugged with enough force to jolt the bike in such a way which made the Wildling fly off right into the other gang members. There were a few more, they pointed some kind of rifle at 0Y and fired, it nearly hit her, the following explosion knocked down a power pole. "Asshole!" 0Y shot him with a shot gun, killing him instantly. With two more on her tail, 0Y pumped her fire arm and readied to fire but several gunshots hit them, taking them down. A familiar orange bike caught up with them, it was none other than Miran. With those finished, Miran now rode alongside them, they eventually stopped at a small clearing where there wasn't any combat.

"Glad you gals could make it, you too Slate!" said Miran.

"Any idea where they're coming from?" asked 3B.

"We first saw 'em at the Eastern part of our territory, where Botaegni was, c'mon, let's go!" she began to lead them to the part of the town. They rode through the territory and began to reach the Eastern part of their territory, but something was off. In this area, there weren't that many YoRHa Riders, instead, there were other combatants .

More explosions and gunfire rang throughout the streets. More bikers were about fighting the Wildlings, though they were not very successful at all. Many of them were knocked off their bikes or even killed. But they were taking down a few of the Wildlings. They seemed to be regular citizens who lived within the Monster Girl territory, all of them in their younger years, "Dammit! Stay back!" shouted Miran, she fired at a Wildling, killing him, "You guys aren't fighters, stay inside or get to a shelter!" 

"We can't just let you gals do the work!" responded a man. "Your crew already does too much for us!"

"Yeah! We'll show the Wildlings that the Monster Girls aren't alone!" shouted another person. A group of them began riding out to go fight, leaving the Huntress Team.

"They're going to get themselves killed." said 0W. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna go try and rope them in! You all just go and help Botaegni! I'll try and join you guys later!" shouted Miran as she accelerated in the direction of those civilians. The Huntress Team kept riding  to where Botaegni was.

Botaegni was chasing after a Wildling by herself. She had her sickle in her hand as she was on his tail. "Get the Hell back here so I can kill your ass!" she shouted.

"Nyah nyah!" the Wildling taunted, he took out a grenade, "Chew on this, bitch!" he tossed it. Botaegni stopped her bike just in time to avoid lethal damage, however, it did knock her off her bike. As she tumbled to the ground, Botaegni was covered in scrapes and bruises. Her scaly skin helped her avoid any lasting damage on her flesh, but she was getting surrounded by Wildlings, "Gonna get yours now, slut, always having your boobs hanging out like that..." he chuckled.

*Fade*

"Put one finger on me and you'll regret it..." she growled. She tried reaching for the sickle but it was kicked away. She activated her magical ability of fire but it was extinguished by an ice spell. She was then hit by a sound wave, making her ears ring and stunning her. "...Fuck..." she cursed as she was knocked down by a water shot. 

"Let's get her..." said one of the Wildlings, but before they could do anything, they were gunned down by a sub machine gun of sorts. 

"Who the-" Botaegni then saw the Huntress Team show up, four of them formed a defensive perimeter around her, "3B... You guys..." she uttered. Regaining her composure, as 3B helped her back up, she looked at all of them before saying, "About damn time you guys got here. Shit's been going down, the YoRHa riders are scattered all over the place. Never knew there were so many of the Wildings... Hell, they got enough guys to actually pick a fight with the military, and with those new weapons they got, it's like they're an actual military." She remarked. 

"Did you see where they were first coming from? Anyone leading them?" asked 3B. 

"Yeah, the border of our land, it was weird, for a few seconds, I saw some giant bike thing... It looked like some abominable machine bike, had pink lines going across it, kinda like Slate's suit." replied the Dragonkin.

"You hear that Slate?" called 3B.

"Acknowledged, there is a sixty three point three percent chance that it is an SL unit in his Mechanical Phenomenon form. It may be a Type Three transformation. However, I cannot get a lock on the frequency of his core yet. So I cannot be sure." replied SL8.

"It just might be one..." said 3B, "Well in any case, can you take us to where they began pouring out from? Can you still fight? You look pretty roughed up.

"Heh, scrapes and bruises." Botaegni chuckled, "I'll be just fine." she walked over to her bike and picked it back up, "I got enough fuel, I'll take you all there." 

"You got it. Huntress Team! Let's move!" shouted 3B as she mounted her bike.

"Right!" replied the other three.

"Understood." SL8 responded. 

They six of them began riding through the territory. YoRHa riders were taking down Wildings left and right, in fact, if they weren't mistaken, then it could be correctly assumed that the Wildlings were actually being pushed back. They kept riding until they reached the location where they started coming in from. "Slate, can you track them from here?"" asked 3B.

"Scanning. I have picked up a peculiar trail. The tire treads seem rather large for an ordinary motorcycle. It could be whatever Botaegni was talking about." said SL8. 

"Then we follow that, let's move. Slate, take point and guide us." 

"Understood." SL8 began to follow the trail as it guided them back into the city, where the sounds of explosions could be heard. As they drew closer, the explosions began to grow louder. Until they finally saw it, it was a single motorcycle. Or at least it seemed to resemble one.  It was enormous, the size of an armored vehicle, spikes and spines grew from the back of the "vehicle". Many of the internals were showing, spinning gears, machines pumping some kind of liquid through the systems. The lights were a bright pink, and there was a face up top, the machine turned about to look at them. A tendril extended from the main body, holding up a YoRHa android. Her clothes were torn, and her body violated, but she was already dead.

"Ah... There you are... brother..." he said slowly as a sick grin began to show upon his face. "Come to enjoy the... spoils with me?"

"What the... You fucker..." 0Y growled, "Just what in the Hell did you do...?!"

"Oh... I had the time of my life. Your gals' bodies really are top quality... heh heh..." he chuckled, "Oh well, I'm got bored with this one, so she's dead... Prolly will just upload herself back through your little network or something. But hey... You gals have come in at just the right time..." He tossed the body aside and began to rev up his wheels, "Here I come..." he licked his lips.

"SL6 confirmed. Terminating." said SL8. He began to shoot at SL6 with his submachine gun, to no avail. As the others began to open fire, he began to charge at all of them, forcing all of them to evade.

"Take this!" several gun ports opened up and he began to shoot out an endless barrage of missiles. The Huntress Team began to scramble, Botaegni created her force field around herself but it was beginning to weaken, "Magic huh? Won't really help you... Hey, now that I look at you, you're pretty cute..."

"Ugh! Not you too!" shouted Botaegni as she breathed fire, it was hot enough to actually singe the machine's face. 

"Agh! Never mind! You're dead!" he shouted. He began to charge at her, but more gunshots began to hit him. It was Miran, she began to aim for his face. "A Vacivin!?" He fired his eye beams, a bright pink color, it destroyed the lamp post, causing it to fall over, almost on tip of Miran. Several dark lances formed around Miran and she began to fire them, a few of them hit SL6, only to be absorbed. 

"Be careful, he has a magical absorption system as I do..." said SL8. 

"Crap!" cursed Miran. "Then how about this?!" She took out an emerald and began blew on it. It glowed a bright green and she threw it forward. "Try some Crystal magic, ass wipe!" it hit SL6 in the face, blowing off some skin in the following magical explosion. 

"Okay, now you're really gonna get it..." he growled. 

As he began to chase after Miran, SL8 thought back to the time she was attacked by SL7. In those moments, he thought about it, was it more important to maintain his own secrecy? Or was the fact that a civilian is in danger more important? He remembered 3B's words "You are not going to hit any civilians, do you understand? If you see them in your line of fire, your number one priority is their safety, you got it? This applies to you even more now because you're actually in the Regular Corps now. We will take you down this time if you endanger civilians again, you understand?" he remembered her saying.

"I have no choice." said SL8 to himself. In his point of view, red words went across his eyes, they read, "PHENOMENON" SL8 suddenly jumped off his bike. His body began to transform, his back opened up and pieces of metal and machinery began to pour out whilst he was in the air. They all began to build themselves. Eventually, an arm formed, then another, when those were formed, two identical legs made themselves and a main torso could be seem being formed. The red light flashed everywhere, as they all connected to SL8 himself, his head stuck out, but eventually that was covered by a head that strongly resembled his helmet. In fact, he looked like a mecha version of himself right now. Only about Eight meters tall. He had what seemed to be a flight pack and his armaments included his optic rays, built in machine guns on his wrists, arm blades, and a multitude of missiles that he could more or less make on the spot and fire from a number of gunports spread through out his body. He had a two pronged shield to protect him, and some kind of long beam rifle. 

A timer showed inside the mecha armor that SL8 was within, he only had three minutes. "A handicap from my creator... I will fix it later." SL8 thought to himself. "I will terminate you..." said he.

"So that's his Mechanical Phenomenon!" said 0R, "You look so cool!" she exclaimed.

Without another word, SL8 flew forward, slamming into SL6. The motor cycle like machine was no match for the speed of SL8. He needed to finish this fast. As he flew off and readied his optic rays, SL6 fired several missiles at him, forcing SL8 to raise his shield. As they all exploded on impact, he fired his optic ray at reduced power to not cause any more damage to the surrounding area. SL6 got out of the way, and began to drive away. SL8 fired his beam rifle, it nearly hit SL6's main body, but the enemy android was quick to dodge. SL8 flew after him, firing a few missiles, but SL6 kept driving through them or releasing flares to draw the missiles away. Eventually, SL6 fired a kind of EMP bomb, it exploded midair, scrambling SL8's systems for just a few moments, making him crash.

"Any and all remaining Wildlings! To me! We're leaving!" he was joined by a small number of Wildlings as they began to bolt away from the city's limits. 

"You will not escape..." SL8 got up from the rubble and flew up once again, he began changing into a fighter mode, his limbs all began to condense in a way that seemed natural, pieces of the wings extended and he placed his shield on his front, and his rifle on the bottom side of his right wing, he looked more like a manta ray now. He began to fly after SL6 at a faster speed, when SL6 tried to shoot missiles at him, SL8 intercepted them with his own. He fired his beam rifle directly at SL6, but he manifested a turret and matched the beam, his head even turned around and fired his optic rays at SL8. 

But before SL8 could evade, rapid beeping could be heard within him. He had reached his time limit, the beeping continued and his transformation disengaged. SL8 fell through the air, his parts all going back to their smaller sizes and retracting into his back. As he fell onto a building, he went straight through it. As he got up, SL6 and his goons were riding away, he also recognized one of the bikes as his. It was that Spencer kid who was riding it though. SL8 could hear him howl how he got his bike back. The Huntress Team members and the two Monster Girls showed rode up.

"You alright?" asked 3B, "That landing looked rough."

"Should we pursue?" asked 0W.

"No, our casualties come first. We'll get your bike back later, Slate. For now, help us out with the wounded."

"Understood." SL8 got onto the back of 3B's bike and began to ride back into the city with them.

With that, the battle had ended, as power was restored to the entire district, people began knowing what was going on again. There was so much collateral damage, and YoRHa suffered rather heavy losses at the hands of the Wildlings. However, it wasn't all bad, many Wildling arrests were made, now that they were no longer a biker gang, but a terrorist organization. Their hide out was raided, but no trace of SL6 was there at all. 

It would seem that they would need a bit more work if they really wanted the abominable android dead. But where to start? 

SL8 was helping carry a civilian to Miran who began to use her healing magic. "Hey, Slate." she said.

"What is it?"

"Remember that emerald I threw at SL6?" she asked.

"What about it?"

"Well, I can still sense it. He ain't far from the city."

"Then we discuss this with the Captain."

"Yeah, but first, we have some work to do, help me out deliver first aid to the people around the area. Some of the shelters still aren't open, and they're bound to have wounded."

"Understood." 

Chapter Text

The streets of Ferrum Anima, specifically, the territory that the Monster Girls had made their own, was more or less in ruins. Buildings were blown to bits, many innocent people had died, and hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions had been dealt in collateral damage. "How could this have happened...?" asked Bisari. "It'll take us years to recover fully from this...!" she cursed. "Getting involved with YoRHa was a-"

"Stay focused on the task at hand, little sister..." said Botaegni, "We can only focus on one thing at a time." she continued to pour soup for now homeless citizens. 

"Right..." replied Bisari Solemnly. 

In other parts of towns, the other Monster Girls were helping the citizens alongside the North American Military. Shelter camps were raised up in the nearby outskirts, blankets and food were given to those who needed such resources. The Huntress Team were back on the base, SL8 was ordered by Jackass to help out with humanitarian efforts. "This attack was disastrous, though we were somewhat prepared, I suppose." she turned around to face the Huntress Team, "So? Do we have any leads on the location of SL6? Our situation is not ideal, any leads would be able to help us." 

"I'm sorry Ma'am, but we have nothing at the moment..." replied 3B softly. 

"That's truly a disappointment..." sighed the Field Command. "Well in either case, conduct needed maintenance on yourselves and be prepared to roll out at a moment's notice. Let me know if anything happens. Dismissed." said she.

The four androids saluted and promptly left the office. "Damn... so we really don't have any leads at all?" asked 0Y.

"Afraid not..." responded 0W, "Not like SL8 can just track the new one either, their cores are just too complex, I guess. Either that, or he changed the frequency it gave off to cover his tracks..." 

"Well, there has to be something we can do." said 0R, "We can't just give up, not after what they did." she reasoned.

"No one said we were giving up..." 3B said, "Well, you all go do maintenance. I'm going to call someone."

"Is it your mom?" asked 0Y.

"Yes." replied 3B, "See you three later."

"See ya." the other three members went to go perform maintenance upon themselves. As they did so, 3B walked back to her barracks and got to the Huntress Teams' room. She sat down at her desk and pushed a button on it. A holographic screen opened up and it at first only displayed a word, "Calling" it read, the black screen behind it kept beeping. Until finally, the other side lit up with a face, as 3B took her visor off. She wore a black YoRHa visor, her silver bob cut was as neat as ever, her hair even covering her left eye if she took of her visor. "Hey, Mom..." said 3B.

"Oh, sweetie, it's you." said the android, "It's been almost a month since you last contacted me. Is everything alright? Have you made any new friends? Are you doing maintenance properly? Are you washing correctly?" she asked immediately afterwards.

"Mom, please..." chuckled 3B, "Yes, to all of them. I'm doing just fine here." 

"That's good. So? Why have you called?" asked she.

"Well, I guess you can say the latest op was kinda a disaster." said 3B grimly, "A lot of civilians ended up dying, and a lot of people are homeless right now. I felt so powerless. We let the SL get away, and don't even have any leads on where he is right now. What did you do when you felt this way, Mom?" 

"Well, I've had more times than I can count where I've felt the way you do right now." replied she, "All I've ever done, is take a breath. I just, kept moving forward. It was all I could do, was just continue to move forward, and hope that eventually, I'd be able to make it through. I remember all of them, a long time ago, when I was back in the old universe, I've had to kill your father so many times. At first, I didn't think much of it, but I grew an attachment to him at one point, and I began to hate myself for doing it. But one day... someone appeared and changed everything."

"Was it Lars?" asked 3B.

"Yes. When he appeared, your father and I wound up engaging him and A2 in a fight. In it, I even cutting his arm off." she explained, "But over time, I came to realize that there was a reason why he was here, a purpose. One day, when we had finished a mission, he told me that he knew the truth. I would no longer have to kill your father. It was almost a cruel twist of fate, but, I was told that he would do it for me. Lars was so willing to shoulder the weight that I alone had carried."

"But why?" asked 3B. "Why would he do that if it would cause him so much pain? As much as it would cause you?"

"Well, that's just the kind of man he was." replied 3B's mother, "You remember your Uncle Lage right?" 

"Of course I do." 

"Well, he was nearly identical to Lars, not just in looks, but personality as well. The kind of man who would care about everyone around him. But back to the matter at hand. When we finished with the war we fought, I realized that I had made it. Through all the mud and ugliness of it all, I made it. All because someone appeared to me and helped me through all of it. You're never alone, sweetie." explained she. She took off her visor, her stormy blue eyes contrasting 3B's pale golden. "Even when you're at your lowest point, you're vulnerable to the greatest change. Believe me when I say that it will get better, it always does."

3B thought about for a few moments. Then began to speak again, "Maybe I'm also living your story, Mom. Just another version of it, maybe SL8 is to me who Lars was to you." she said.

"See?" responded her mother, "What's he like? I'm a bit curious."

"Well, he's an asshole to say the least. He's overly blunt, literally only values everything by logic, and even now, I worry he's too much of a machine. When we first met, he endangered civilians, shooting even when they were in his line of fire. But as he is, he's not too bad. He's definitely soldier material, follows orders to a 'T' and doesn't ask many questions, just gets the job done, no matter how dirty it may be."

"I see." replied her mother, "He sounds very robotic." 

3B chuckled upon hearing this. Behind her mother a door opened, a younger looking android came through it. His hair was the same silver color as 3B's mother's. He also wore a military uniform, though it looked different from 3B's mother's. "Hey 2B." he greeted, "Who're you calling?" he asked.

"Oh, 9S." said 2B, "it's our daughter." she explained. 

"Wait, really!?" 9S immediately went to the screen, his face beamed up the minute he saw 3B. "Oh, hi honey!" he said happily.

"Hi Dad." replied 3B, "How are things at the council? Not too difficult I hope?"

"Well, you know the deal... Everyone else is still afraid of SL8. Jackass really helped me out by making him join the Regular Android Corps, but still, it didn't exactly get rid of their fear." sighed 9S, "Well, probably because all of them used to be soldiers, so I guess they're mostly on guard." 

"That's a shame. But it's nice to know that you're trying." replied 3B, "But, enough about work, how have you and Mom been, since... Since I've left for Mars?" she asked.

"Things have been quiet at times, painfully so." said 2B, "But, whenever you call, it's nice to know that you're safe. We miss you, as any parent couple would."

"But we also know that you're a soldier of YoRHa, just like your mother and I were." added 9S, "And we want you to know that we're both so proud that you chose to join YoRHa, you know, you're one of the few androids to ever choose to actually do that. Not many can say that, 3B." 

"I know, Dad." replied 3B, a few sudden beeps behind her almost made her jump. "Oh dammit. Well, I have to go." she said, "Sorry it's so sudden but-"

"Don't apologize..." replied 2B, "You have responsibilities. As a captain, you have a mission, now go." she added.

"Your mother and I will be waiting, see you soon." said 9S.

3B nodded and began to walk out the door, but before she slid it open, she turned about. "And mom... I'll take what you said to heart. Thanks, love you guys and I'll call again as soon as I can." she said. Both of her parents waved goodbye and the screen shut off. As 3B put her visor back on, she was greeted by her team. "Maintenance over?" asked she.

"Yup, we're all ready to go, Captain." replied 0Y. 

"Good to hear it, now let's get going." 3B said. The four of them began to walk off, however, they began getting a call. "3B here, go ahead."

"SL8 here. Captain, I have information regarding the whereabouts of SL6's location. Miran struck him with a gem stone earlier and because of the fact it was magically bound to her magical signature, she still has a connection to it, she can sense where he is." explained SL8 on the other side.

"Really?" asked 3B, "That's great news! Send over the data immediately! Continue with humanitarian efforts and then return to base and-"

"That will not be necessary." SL8 suddenly cut her off, "I am entering the base along with Miran right now."  

"Oh... Are you done with your mission of helping the citizens?" 

"Yes." 

"Good, then we'll meet you in front of the barracks."  The Huntress Team walked over to the barracks, they heard two motorcycle engines arriving. When they got to the building, both SL8 and Miran awaited there. "You've got info?" asked 3B.

"Yes." SL8 looked at Miran.

"Yeah, so I you know how I threw a gemstone into his face? One of my magical abilities is Crystal. I can charge gemstones with magic power and turn them into a lotta shit. One of them are projectiles. The thing is, since I charged them with my magical energy, I can still sense the magical signature I left on it as long as it is in range, and there are likely microscopic fragments embedded in his face. And it turns out, his hideout isn't so far from the city. I can even pinpoint a location even." explained Miran.

"That's great news! We should tell the Field Commander everything!" exclaimed 0Y, "We could organize a team and-"

"That will not be necessary." said a voice suddenly. The Huntress Team turned about to see that it was the YoRHa Field Commander herself. "I heard it all." she stated, "However, we can't organize a strike team just yet. We've suffered heavy losses from the previous fight, many of our vehicles are down and a lot of the YoRHa soldiers still need maintenance. However, I can request reinforcements from the Regular Corps. I just need Commander Jackass' approval and-"

"And I approve of it." said yer another voice. They all saw that Jackass was coming over, alongside two other androids. "Hey there, SL8, I got told you didn't really use the helmet we made for you."

"No, Ma'am." responded SL8, "I'm afraid that I could not find an opportunity to use it." 

"Aw come on SL8." groaned Jackass, "We spent so much time making that for you!" 

"I apologize, Ma'am. I will put it to proper use in the next mission."

"You promise?"

"As long as there are no residential districts or potential civilians caught in the crossfire, then I will do so."

"Good, apology accepted." said Jackass. "Anyway, back to the matter at hand. You there, what was your name?" she asked Miran.

"Miran." responded she.

"Miran, Miran... Hey, Miran... Hawkins? Wasn't it?" Miran nodded in response, "Ah, so it is you, Sergeant Hawkins. Good to see you again, didn't think you'd still be fighting after leaving the Army. Anyway, so you say you can still sense SL6?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good." said Jackass, "I can lend you my guys to go on an op. Seeing as you need it, we'll attack as soon as possible. We'll never know if we'll get another golden opportunity like this. I'll gather my men and-"

"Wait! It's on the move!" Miran suddenly shouted, "And it's... It's on the way to the city! We need to get over there, now!"

"Fuck!" cursed Jackass, "Alright, SL8, move there as fast as you can, make sure you take out as many of them as you can before my soldiers get there!" Jackass began to run off. All the while the YoRHa Field Commander began an emergency broadcast. 

"All YoRHa forces who are able. The city of Ferrum Anima is under threat once again. This time, I am approving the usage of YoRHa Flight Units. Your targets are SL6 and any underlings he may have with him. Field Commander out, good hunting." after she had finished her message, several YoRHa flight units began to fly off of the base. They soared through the air, the Field Commander turned to the Huntress Team, "Move out!" the Huntress Team and Miran began to run to their bikes. But 3B stopped.

"Slate, how are you going to get there?" she asked.

"I will assume my Mechanical Phenomenon form. Twelve hours have passed, it has recharged." SL8 first put on his helmet as the rest of them began to ride off to Ferrum Anima, as it began to attach, he looked at Jackass, "Commander, I can only assume this form for a maximum time of three minutes. I would like to mitigate that for maximum combat efficiency." 

"Gotcha, we'll look into it when we have a chance. But for now, get going." she responded.

"Understood, assuming Mechanical Phenomenon." SL8 began to open up, several mechanical parts and pieces began to flow about, creating limbs, eventually, they created a whole body that surrounded SL8. When they combined, there stood a humanoid machine. He flew up and went into his fighter mode, and flew off. With his speed, he surpassed the YoRHa flight units, causing sonic booms as he broke the sound barrier. When he reached the city, he saw beyond the limits that SL6 and his forces were on the way already. There seemed to be few Wildlings left, but their numbers seemed repaired by what seemed to be sub-units that SL6 seemed to be producing from his body. They resembled Nuckelavees, however, instead of a upper body of a human on a skinless horse, they were metallic humanoid torsos that rode upon imitation motorcycles. As they charged forward, SL6 caught sight of SL8 and fired missiles at him. 

SL8 turned into his mobile mode, evaded or blocked all incoming projectiles and then fired several missiles of his own. SL6 shot them all down with his optic rays and then shot out the EMP bomb in an attempt to try and catch SL8 with the same trick. But this time, SL8 was prepared, he soared as high as he could, then shot a missile at the bomb. When the explosion happened, SL8 was already out of the bomb's range. He then fired his beam rifle, destroying several of the machines that SL6 had produced. SL6's forces began to unload a barrage of bullets, lasers, and explosives upon SL8, forcing him to use his shield. SL8 turned into his fighter mode and jetted towards them, taking slight damage from the beams hitting him. 

He fired his beam rifle and killed several Wildlings and the SL6's sub-units. But it was not enough, many of them began to make their way into the city yet again. The gunfire and explosions immediately started as SL8 charged in, but when he got close, several missiles hit him, knocking him out of the air. He landed right into a building, and his transformation suddenly wore off. As he got up from the rubble, he saw several of the sub units coming towards him, he fired his optic rays, now amplified by his helmet, destroying nearly all of them in his path. "Nine left." said SL8 to himself. He drew the pistols he had within his legs and began firing at any enemies he saw. 

They took notice of such things and began bombarding him with bullets and lasers. As SL8 stood his ground, he noticed that some of the lasers were actually managing to chip away at his armor, something only an SL optic ray could do. As he stood there being shot at, he began to deduce that SL6 was somehow producing these weapons as well as the sub units from his own body and systems. "Keep him pinned! We're gonna kill this fuck and-" an explosion took out several Wildlings and forced the others to quickly flee. As SL8 looked above, he saw that the YoRHa flight units had finally shown up, many of the flight units began to somehow take flight and began to engage YoRHa in the air. 

SL8 then saw several android soldiers entering the area with motor vehicles and heavy trucks. "Go! Go! Go!" shouted one of them.

"Team one, the left side! Team two, the right! Everyone else! With me!" shouted an officer.

"Yes, Sir!" the rest responded. Fighting began to break out as civilians were being evacuated. Finally, after a few more minutes, the YoRHa Huntress Team had arrived.

"Get on!" shouted 3B. SL8 got on her bike and they began to ride off. "We're going to get you your bike back! Can't have military tech in the wrong hands." 

"Roger." replied SL8. The search continued, "I have found the motorcycle's signal, I will transmit directions to your visor data." SL8 began a transfer and 3B immediately got the directions. She did a sharp turn right on a street and the rest of the Huntress Team followed. They heard a distinct sound of engines and then they caught sight of a few Wildlings, one of them being Spencer. When they caught sight of the Huntress Team, they immediately began riding the other way. 

"Confirming. That's definitely your bike, Slate." said 0R. The five androids made their way towards the Wildlings, who began to fire lasers back at them. However, their aim was nothing to write home about, with basic evasion maneuvers, the Huntress Team had managed to dodge each and every single one of the Wildlings' shots. They continued to close in, but the fire kept up, the closer they got, the more of a chance they would get shot. 

"Keep this distance, I will maneuver my way to my motor cycle." said SL8 to 3B. She nodded and non-verbally signaled to her team to stay the distance. SL8 fired his grappling hooks onto two buildings and practically flew right off of 3B's bike. He fired his laser pistols at the Wildlings, shooting out their tires or shooting them directly. He began to swing in towards Spencer, when he Spencer finally saw him, SL8 was already about to kick him off. "Get the Hell off of my bike." said SL8. He kicked Spencer right in the head, making him fall off, and SL8 had effectively retaken his vehicle. Spencer rolled about on the street and was promptly run over by 0Y, crushing and killing him.

"Hell yeah!" shouted 0Y, "Alright, Captain! What now?" 

"Leave humanitarian efforts to the others! We'll focus on taking SL6 down!" 

"Tracking SL6's signal. I have found it, I will take point." SL8 began making a right turn towards several explosions, as the others followed them, the sub-units were everywhere, however, thanks to the Regular Android and the YoRHa forces, the damage was much less than last time. it didn't take long for the Huntress Team to find SL6, when they did, he took immediate notice of them. 

"Hey there..." he growled, "I see you got your bike back, now we-" SL8 pre-emptively fired an optic ray at him before he could even finish his sentence, "Would you let me finish speaking!?" SL8 didn't say a word and began to ride towards him, making SL6 starting to lead him away. Before he could get too far though, several light swords hit him on the side, "What the-!?" he was then hit by a sound wave, a fire ball, several stone projectiles, and dark lances. 

When the Huntress Team looked over, they saw the source of the assault, it was the Monster Girls, they all continued their magical attacks, Miran now throwing a few charged crystals and Elora switching to wooden fists. Bisari saw a broken fire hydrant and began using the water and made them into bullet-like projectiles, she fired them all, one of them damaging SL6's face. "Dragon-Kin bitch...!" cursed SL6, "ENOUGH!!!!" he suddenly screamed, he fired several bombs in all directions, "I'm gonna murder every single one of you shits! Then I'm gonna head on over to that little head quarters of yours and kill and RAPE as much as I want!!!" he began charging towards 3B. "STARTING WITH YOU!!!" 

3B would not be able to dodge in time, even is she were to try and jump off her bike, but SL8 lept off of his bike and fired the mini-missiles from his trapezius' coupled with a concentrated optical ray blast. They were enough to stun him for a little bit, enough time for SL8 to get 3B out of the way utilizing his grappling hooks. Unfortunately her bike was not saved, "Bastard...!" 3B  nearly shouted, "I loved that bike!" 

"Captain, please focus on the matter at hand." said SL8. "SL6 is currently trying to escape the battle zone, we must stop him at any cost." 

"Agreed, hey!" she called towards the Monster Girls, "If you want to help us out, then do that! But I won't stop you guys from running!" 

"No way!" responded Botaegni.

"These fucks came onto our turf and picked a fight! That's not gonna slide!" added Bisari. She materialized several light swords and flung them into sub-units.

"There's no way we're letting these guys destroy out home!" shouted Elora. She swung her hammer into one of the sub-units heads, knocking it down. She then finished it off by crushing it with her weapon. 

"Glad to hear it!" said 0Y, she fired several shot gun shells at SL6. Leaping off of her bike, she jumped high in the sky and came right down, taking a good chunk off of SL6.

"Fucking bitch!" he shouted as he sprouted two tendrils. They grew blades and shot forwards at 0Y, she was in no position to dodge.

But before they made contact with her, a streak of red flashed before his very eyes, followed by a trail of what seemed to be rose pedals. It was none other than 0R utilizing her speed ability. She moved so fast she was practically a red blur, any optic ray or projectile that SL6 fired was not hitting at all. "What the hell is this bullshit!?" he shouted. He was getting cut up more and more, but right before 0R could land the finishing blow, it wore off, and her movements stopped. 

"Oh no-!" she cursed, she was then suddenly grabbed by a new tendril. 

"I got you now..." SL6 readied his optic rays, but a combination of SL8's optic rays and a beam of ice magic stopped him, he lost his grip on 0R and she was caught by Pyrhadina and carried away. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU-" he was hit by a barrage of missiles, heavily damaging him. He looked up and saw several flight units closing in. "...Alright then... Don't think this is over!!" he began to glow pink, and then, in an instant, he was gone.

"Wha-? He teleported?" asked 0Y.

"Damn, Slate, can you still track him?" asked 3B.

"Yes, I have locked on his core frequency. His base is not far from the city. I will transmit this data to the military."

"Good, sorry, but we're not resting just yet. We're going to take the fight to him this time, flight units." said 3B.

"Data has been transmitted. Orders received. The YoRHa Field Commander and Commander Jackass have sent orders for an immediate assault. We are to meet up with Colonel Sandro and Major 54D. The Monster Girls have a choice in coming with us." SL8 and the other Huntress team androids looked at the small gang. 

"Well, you heard him. You gals in or out?" asked 3B. 

"They attacked us... twice..." said Botaegni, "The Wildlings may be gone, but SL6 is still out there. He'll come back if we don't take him down. I'm all in." 

"If sis is going, so am I." said Bisari.

"Not sitting this one out." added Elora.

"If they're going, so am I." stated Pyrhadina. 

"We gotta protect what's ours." Miran spoke, "We're all in. Let's do this thing." said she as she chambered a bullet in her pistol.

"Alright, then let's move out, Huntress Team." 3B commanded.

"Monster Girls! Let's make some noise!" called Botaegni.

Chapter Text

"Alright! Listen up!" shouted a male android. "My name is Colonel Sandro, this is my second in command, Major 54D. I'll be leading both YoRHa and Regulars for this operation. We've managed to pinpoint the android known as SL6 thanks to the efforts of the Huntress Team." he explained, "It's currently located in the Olympus Mons Mountain Range, it's highly likely that it is in a fortified and has those sub-units. Our scouts have indicated that along with those, defenses including heavy artillery and missiles along with several traps have been set up, so it likely the case that we have to siege." he said to a large amount of Android soldiers, mixed of both YoRHa and Regulars, the size of three battalions. The Monster Girls were present as well.

"The aerial YoRHa forces will launch a pre-emptive strike first to try and thin their numbers before our ground forces move in. All flight units will be emitting jammer signals to attempt to throw off any artillery from the ground forces. The continuous bombardment should deter any enemy ground forces from deploying." added 54D, "That being said, please be aware of the possibility of any leftover Martian technology. We have to remember, this Olympus Mons mountain range is where the mechanical monster, 'Azrael' once appeared from. We don't want a repeat of the events three hundred years ago." 

"After the YoRHa strike, and sieging for three days we will move in with our Assault Vehicles and destroy it once and for all." said Colonel Sandro as he pointed on a board, it was a map of the Olympus Mons mountain range, "Please take into account the terrain, if they've been there as long as we thought, then they'll know how to traverse it pretty good. Before I dismiss you all though, I am happy to inform you that the Oceanian Martian forces issued a surrender today, and the others have  if we take down South America's Martian forces, then all of our efforts can be focused on Earth." a murmuring emerged from the soldiers, many of them happy, "Alright, dismissed, we move out at 1500! Dismissed!"

"Yes, Sir!" the battalion responded. They all got up and went to get their gear ready.  As the Monster Girls were also given weapons, Bisari spoke up, "What did they mean by the Martian technology?" she asked.

"You know what Azrael was right?" asked 0W. 

"Yeah, it's that monster machine from three hundred years ago right? The one that destroyed Gleuginia, second largest North American city here on Mars, also almost destroyed Ferrum Anima. Then attacked Japan on Earth." replied Bisari.

"Well, Olympus Mons is where it was sleeping for eons before it woken up by Steiner Lagor." explained 0W, "He's your creator isn't he?" she asked SL8.

"Correct, my creator was the one who activated Azrael from stasis, causing the 'Great Martian Cataclysm' also known as the First Martian Conflict three hundred twenty five years ago. The true name of the machine is 'Gu Ano'xte' Martian for, 'Genocider', but the ancient Martians created it for a great interstellar war that took place roughly four billions years. Once the machine's functions were finished, the ancient Martians attempted to place the machine into stasis, however, the machine turned on it's creators. The CPU believed that if it were shut down, it would no longer be able to carry out it's core programming." SL8 explained, "The extermination of the ancient Martians then took place, afterwards, the machine wound up going into stasis mode and was undisturbed until Steiner Lagor had awakened it."

"So, uh... What was the main programming?" asked 0Y, she seemed almost suspicious, "You seem to know an awful lot that not even we know." 

"The core programming of the machine was to destroy any and all lifeforms it could find. It had not become self aware, it wished only to follow the mission that it's very own creators had given it."

"How do you know all of this? Not even YoRHa has gotten this deep into Azrael's origins." 3B said, "Is there something you're keeping from us?" 

"There never was a reason to bring it up. But if you wish to know, I posses this data because my creator studied the origins of Azrael before he had awakened it. The terminals where it had been confined were still working, just small amounts of data were missing, however, most of it was intact." 

"He knew how to read Martian?" asked 0W. 

"Correct, to this date, he is the only human to ever know how."

"That's incredible..." whispered 3B, "But back to what you were saying?"

"The reason why the other SL units and myself have been able to be made out of truonium, such an exceptionally rare resource, is because Steiner Lagor had managed to much of the body of the machine and used those as raw materials. Including it's core CPU."

"And what does that mean?" asked Miran.

"You're all made from Azrael?" asked 0R as her eyes widened.

"Yes. Including our central processing units, they were made from the central processing unit of the machine. That is why the SL series is made for combat and extermination. Because that is what our predecessor was made for."

"If your brain is made from the CPU of Azrael, does that mean you are also able to read Martian?" asked 0W.

"Correct."

"And you didn't bring this up before, why?" asked 3B.

"It never came up." 

"Tell Commander Jackass, now." 3B suddenly commanded. 

"Understood." SL8 walked over to Jackass who was talking with both the Colonel and the Major. She took notice of him immediately and placed her conversation on hold. 

"Oh, SL8, what do you want?" asked she.

"I have something to report, Commander. I am able to read and decode Martian." said he bluntly.

"Wait, what? How?" Jackass was now confused, along with the other two officers.

"My central processing unit and the one that Azrael once ran on are one in the same. Mine is made from the main CPU of Azrael. Therefore, I am able to read Martian." 

"You... should really have bought this up earlier. But give me a full report later, Colonel Sandro, Major 54D, with this info, if you have to encounter any kind of ancient Martian facility, SL8 will be your guide. Don't worry about him going rogue, he's currently on our side so long as we're fighting the other SL androids. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." they both replied. Colonel Sandro turned to SL8, "Looking forward to working with you. I hear you and the Huntress Team have been doing great work. Keep it up." he stuck out his hand, SL8 shook it, 54D more or less said the same thing and SL8 also shook her hand.  

"Good, now, SL8, with me. I have some gear for you." jackass signaled SL8 to follow her. "So, what do you know about Olympus Mons?" she asked. 

"It is where the Ancient Martian machine Azrael slept for approximately three billion years. A vast amount of Ancient Martian technology and relics are hidden within the mountain range."

"Huh, so we were right about that. Hard to think that an SL managed to make the area his base though."

"It is possible he has not accessed the main structure." SL8 suddenly said. "Olympus Mons is very large and access to the main structure is very hard to procure." he added, "There are only about two entrances and much of the access data has been lost to time. Currently, I am the only one with any knowledge of this, my creator ensured this for whatever reason. So it is entirely likely that SL6 has not gained any access to the main base just yet."

"Then we better stop him before he does then." replied Jackass. "You're going to be 54D's guide while you're all in there. Since we're going to be sieging, I'm going to equip you with more long range type gear this time. Except there's kinda a twist. I present to you, something I've been working with some of the blueprints that we've made based off the combat data of you SL's, so I came up with a new weapon system we can equip you all with." She then opened up a hidden door. "Introducing the Battle Pack system, as the name suggests, different backpacks that can provide you with a number off armaments and abilities."

She pointed at a pack on the left side. "This here is Battle Pack number six. Try equipping it."

SL8 walked up to the pack and put it on. It used some kind of magnetic locks to attach itself onto SL8's back. On the left side, a long kind of fire arm, but upon closer inspection, the battery mounted on the underside meant that this was an energy rifle of sorts. On the right side was another firearm, but it had some kind of cross shaped barrel. "The one on your right is a close range scatter gun, and the one on your right is a high output energy sniper, it'll fire a lot before the battery will need to recharge, but it'll only shoot off two charged shots and it'll need time to cool and charge. But if you put them together, you can turn it into the mega sniper with the energy sniper up front, or the anti-ship shotgun with the scatter gun up front." explained Jackass. "Both of these guns utilize your built in targeting system, so you're completely in control. 

"Understood, Commander." replied SL8, "Thank you for the new weaponry, I will use it well."

"You better. Alright, now get back to your squad, the Monster Girls' safety will be on your hands, so make sure they're going to be fine, keep 'em off the front lines and more in the rear. You deploy soon, so good luck. I have some more things to take care of." said Jackass before walking away. SL8 returned to his own team, the clock was currently 1450, they were going to be joining the ground forces. Several YoRHa Riders including 12B and 18S were going to be the escort to the main ground force that the Huntress Team was apart of. The Monster Girls were part of the escorts, because of their bikes. 

"So, why are they coming with us again?" asked 0Y as she polished her shot gun.

"Well, apparently, they've fought SL6 and lived, so they want some kind of combat experience on the field this time. Or so I'm told." replied 3B, they all sat on a truck with a number of other YoRHa soldiers. They all were readying their weapons and their pods. There seemed to be over one hundred Assault Vehicles, many of them hybrid types and the others being missile types. There were a few Twin Cannons and some Automatic types, SL8 went over the battleplan and saw that those were going to be the ones going in with them when the siege would end.

"That's a lot of Assault Vehicles, we're bringing..." said 0R, "Three days... this is going to be boring..." she sighed.

"We're not here to have fun!" scolded 0W, "Besides, it'll give us a tactical advantage, if we can take down their defenses along with some of their main forces, killing SL6 will be that much easier." 0W heard something and looked over her shoulder, "The Human Corps is coming as well?"

"The orders are new." stated SL8. They looked over and saw a human officer and Colonel Sandro speaking to one another and nodding to each other, signaling that they have come to a consensus. "The Human Corps Commander, Kaden Žižek, has sent over exactly six tank platoons to aid us with the siege." added SL8, they then saw at least thirty tanks pull up along with several other trucks carrying shells and ammunition and more soldiers. "Our battle power is currently at three thousand, six hundred fifty two personnel. According to all forecasts and calculations, this the correct amount for an SL android."

"And here I thought we were over-prepared." said 0Y, "Hell, we even have some pact beasts with us, look." she pointed at several Bicorn, Hippogriff, Pegasus riders and even a dragon. "Hey, it's Zyrgryth." she remarked as a dragon began descending, a woman on his back.

"The Fierce is here?" asked 3B, she and 0W both looked over their shoulders and saw the magnificent winged beast. "Geez, we really are going all out, for one target no less."

"It is to be expected, SL androids are dangerous foes." said SL8. He kept looking around the formation of vehicles and soldiers.

"Looking for me?" asked Miran, she then pulled up alongside the other Monster Girls, "What a coincidence, our assigned vehicle to escort is this one. Still though, been a while since I've been on an op, and they're fighters sure." she looked at the others, "But they were never military. So take care of us, alright?" 

"You got it, Miran." said 3B, "You'll see your homes again. Still, can't help but think it's wrong for us to-"

"Don't bother." Botaegni said, cutting 3B off, "We're here because we've got experience taking on SL6, plus, he attacked our turf, our homes. Killed our people, there's no way I'm giving up a chance of killing that fuck."

"Same here, I'm with sis on this." added Bisari.

"Aye, it's my Elven pride." stated Elora. 

"We're all here of our own volition." Pyhradina spoke, "You don't need to feel guilty for something that isn't your fault." 

"Yeah, you're right I suppose. You got go ahead after all. But in any case, we'll get you guys home, in one piece." responded 3B.

"Moving out!" several soldiers and drivers began shouting. The sound of thousands of engines turned on and began to move. The truck that the Huntress Team sat on began to move. The YoRHa flight units began to take off. The slower vehicles like the tanks were up front, providing ample cover for the trucks carrying soldiers. It seemed that the Android Assault Vehicles would be the rear guard. The flight units bolted ahead to go scout out any more dangers before a camp could be set up. 

"Alright, get comfy." said 3B as she stretched a bit, "Going to be a whole two hours before we reach Olympus Mons." 

"This ought to be boring..." remarked 0W.

"Hey! You were the one who said we weren't supposed to be having fun!" 0R reprimanded.

"I was referring to something else, you dunce!" 

The soldiers all had conversations to ease their minds as they made their way to Olympus Mons. The tanks were really only there for the siege, they would not be following the main forces inside of the fortress. Two hours later, the trucks all stopped and everyone grabbed their weapons. It was now late afternoon, and eerily quiet. As all of the soldiers got into position, the YoRHa flight units could be seen in the air, ready for the strike. SL8 looked around and saw something out of the ordinary. It was well camouflaged, for a naked eye, but he could be deceived so easily. He saw an ancient looking Fortress, complete with gun ports.

"Colonel, I have located the fortress our scouts have been picking up. Sending data over now." he sent over the map to Sandro's terminal. 

"I wonder if he knows we're here... What am I saying... he probably does..." said Colonel Sandro to himself. He then marked the target on the map and began spreading it to the other androids. "All ground forces, standby. YoRHa flight unit teams, begin pre-emptive strike..." 

"This Major 54D, roger that Colonel." the flight units all let out a barrage of missiles, along with a hail storm of bullets and lasers. It hit the fortress, exploding on impact. With that, an immediate counterattack  began, anti-air fire began sprouting from out of the smoke, artillery shells began shooting at the ground forces, but with the jamming signals that the flight units emitted, the SL6's artillery didn't have much luck hitting the ground forces. 

"All tanks! Fire at will! Assault vehicles! Lay down a barrage! The rest of you! Begin setting up camp!" shouted Colonel Sandro. The tanks all moved up front and began firing shells rapidly, the assault vehicles fired off their missiles, reloaded and fired again. The field became loud with the uproar of gunfire, the air reeked of gunpowder and metal. As the ground forces began to set up tents, the bombardment continued. Tanks were resupplied left and right, many of the assault vehicles found the mounted cannons needing to cool down before more firing.

Flight units came back regularly to be resupplied with fuel and to be worked on for any needed repairs. A shell from the fortress smashed right next to the campsite, causing a bit of startlement from some of the soldiers. The camp was set up within an hour. Anti-air fire and artillery from the Fortress continued to fire into the air. "Man, the scrambling signals are really something..." remarked Bisari. "I thought we'd be hit by now. Though the forcefield would stop anything that would hit us anyway." 

"We have to stay here for three whole days huh?" asked Botaegni. She opened a palm sized cylinder and bought out what seemed to be some dried meat and mixed vegetables. "Man, military rations have really come a long way... these small pocket dimensions are really great, huh?" She then examined the container, "Dried ferela with mixed vegetables and gravy." 

"That's not a bad one." remarked Miran, she opened up her container and pulled out some sausages. "Venison sausage with spinach... yuck..." she began eating it, "Never really liked this one." said she with a full mouth, "The venison is usually over cooked and the spinach is nasty..."

"Huh..." Elora looked at her food. "Man, I wish I was back at Gol Borimm..."

"Wait, you're from Earth?" asked 0R.

"You never said anything about that." added 0W.

"Sorry, must've forgot to tell you girls, never really seemed important. But aye, I hail from Earth. When my Ma met my Da, they moved to the Dwarf capital, they welcomed her with opened arms actually. A few years after I was born though, my Da found work here in Mars, me and Ma followed him, I was a wee child, about seven. But when I turned eighteen about four years ago, I told them I wanted to stay here on Mars, so they moved back to Earth, and I stayed here on Mars." 

"Oh, you guys didn't know that?" asked Botaegni. "Yeah, guess it never really came up, and didn't really seem that important." 

"Fair enough, anything else you gals wanna tell us we may or may not know?" asked 3B.

"Well, me and Bisari dad is Dargyss the Dragonlord." said Botaegni plainly.

"Wow, really!?" asked 0Y suddenly, "That's pretty cool! He's the one pf the dragons who helped put an end to the first gate incident isn't he?"

"Yeah, he's had a lot of kids, so God knows how many siblings me and sis have. He never was one to stick with one woman though, so we didn't really see much of him." said Bisari, "Not that big of a deal, maybe we'll see him again some day. So I can give him a piece of my mind, come on, I get humans don't live nearly as long, but you could at least stick around just for a bit, right?! He didn't even do that..." she muttered.

"Huh, suddenly he doesn't seem as cool as I thought he was." remarked 0Y.

"Yeah, not really. Least not in our opinion." said Botaegni.

It was then an officer walked up to them, "You five the civilians?" he asked.

"Yes, we are." replied Miran.

"Colonel Sandro wants to ask you guys some questions regarding the SL android." The Monster Girls began to get up, the Huntress Team got up to follow them, "Oh, you five don't need to come. We already got your side of the combat data from your after action reports." they then sat back down.

"Alright, we're on the next shift for watch, Slate, you receive any special orders?" asked 3B.

"Yes, orders have just come in from Commander Anemone, I am to be on standby with the our tanks to aid in the destruction of the enemy artillery." replied SL8. I put his helmet on, it began to link to his suit. "I will be off now." he bid the others farewell for a moment and readied his battle pack. He stepped up to the front of the tanks and readied his new sniper. "Locking on." When his sights set themselves on a piece of anti air weaponry that still fired at the flight units. "Commencing rifle bombardment." SL8 began firing, the green energy shot out at near light speed and destroyed the flak gun with a single shot. SL8 continued to fire at the fortress defenses, he combined both of his weapons together to gain even more range and firepower at some point, and continued to fire until he depleted the battery. 

But right after his recharge, SL8 resumed firing, he gave the batteries ample time to cool as well, so the problem of overheating was eliminated. The second day came very quickly, SL8 had been firing throughout the night, tanks took breaks every now and then, the crews kept switching with the other crews so everyone got some rest. Watch was handled by different squads of android soldiers while the human personnel got their rest. The Monster Girls would continue to give their experience to Colonel Sandro so he could better understand the combat capabilities of their opponent. Just like that, the second day of the siege had already ended. Finally, came the third day, the last day of the siege. SL8 continued to fire alongside the tanks, now the amount of weapons on the fortress have dropped dramatically. "Hey." said someone behind him. 

SL8 stopped firing a moment to look behind him and saw that it was Colonel Sandro. "Need you to charge a bit, it'll be tomorrow when we're going through the actual fortress." 

"Understood." SL8 stopped firing and disconnected his rifles. "I will enter low energy mode momentarily to perform maintenance on my systems." SL8 walked over to a tent and sat down on a cot. Suddenly, the lights on his suit all shut off, his eyes closing and his body going entirely limp. Whilst his systems mended themselves, SL8's mind was in a state of some sort of sleep. He was still active, but barely, just enough for his systems to keep running and run maintenance and repairs on themselves. Hours passed by, and eventually, he received an alert. SL8 activated himself to his full consciousness once again and began to move. It was 3B who was waking him

"How are all of your functions?" asked 3B. 

"All systems nominal. Weapon systems, charged. I am ready for combat." replied SL8.

"Good. Then you'll be in the command truck." said 3B as she walked off to go rejoin her own team. SL8 saw that the camp was already dismantled. The artillery of the fortress was all destroyed, the tanks and many of the human soldiers were going to standby back here. However, the rest of them were going in. All Assault Vehicle's engines were all on and ready to go. Many YoRHa soldiers were in their flight units, the others were inside the trucks. The other android soldiers were the same, YoRHa Riders and the Monster Girls were all on their bikes. 

SL8 climbed into the command truck, he saw Colonel Sandro there with some other field officers. "Colonel, you requested to see me?" asked he.

"Yes, you'll be out guide throughout the assault. Out number one goal is finding and killing SL6, if we can do that, we'll be one step closer to winning this thing." said the officer.

"Understood. I will track SL6 immediately." The trucks began to move out and all forces had their weapons at the ready. Colonel Sandro had some kind of assault rifle, as they drove in, they were alerted to something. "Multiple enemy forces closing in." said SL8 suddenly. He looked out the truck and they all saw numerous amounts of those sub-units closing in. 

"Damn it!" cursed Sandro, "YoRHa riders! Engage enemy units. Make sure the main forces aren't destroyed!" He then turned to the Monster Girls, "Not you five though, you'll be with the main ground force." 

"Yes, Sir! Let's get 'em!" shouted 12B. She drove up alongside multiple YoRHa riders and began shooting and slashing against the enemy, the humans who had pact beasts also joined in the effort to destroy the mechanical beings. The ground forces were now close enough to the fortress. The trucks all trove a bit more and then began to dismount. More of those sub-units emerged from pieces of rubble, but they weren't mounted on motor vehicles, they held those same energy weapons that the Wildlings used during their assault on the Monster Girl Territory.

"They've got those weapons!" shouted 0Y, "Careful! Those things are powerful! They can take you out in a single shot!" The enemy began firing at the android forces. A laser hit an assault vehicle and it blew up. 

"Don't let them obliterate our armor!" shouted 54D. She drew her lance and threw it into one of the machines, the following explosion knocked her lance back at her and she kicked it into another. Gun fire from the android forces began to go off as the combat started, SL8 grabbed his scatter gun and destroyed three of them with a single shot of the wide spread projectiles. "Move up! SL8, can you track SL6?!" 

"Yes, I have a lock on his core signal, please order your forces to follow me." said SL8 as he combined both of his weapons into the anti-ship shotgun and destroyed several with a singe shot. He then fired his optic rays, terminating even more. "Nine more." he said to himself. SL8 than began to move more inward to the fortress. All soldiers were ordered to move into the Fortress, the remaining enemy forces were cleared out of the area, the YoRHa riders then had to leave behind their vehicles, though the Monster Girls were more hesitant, they eventually dismounted and followed the main body. A large group of the soldiers stayed outside to guard the entrance, it included several Assault Vehicles and the Pact Beasts with their partners, and the other humans.   

"Alright lead the way." said he to SL8. 

"Understood." SL8 began to lead the entire force of androids and humans through the enormous complex. "Alert: several defense turrets detected, they are activating, recommend cover is taken." 

"Shields up!" several small force fields activated around the soldiers as the turrets began to activate. They began firing heavy caliber bullets, SL8's armor wasn't even scratched by it though. He fired his optic rays, destroying the turrets. "You alright?" asked Sandro.

"I have about six fires left in my helmet before the lenses are burnt out. Oh, did you mean my being? I am fine." 

"Alright, then let's keep moving. How strong is the signal?" asked Sandro.

"It is getting stronger, but we must go deeper inside. This is all built by SL6, but since much of the structure he made was destroyed, he has retreated into the ancient Martian structure."

"This is what we get for not ever putting a military presence at Olympus Mons... the convocation and Prime Minister wanted to 'preserve the ancient sanctity' of it, paying for that mistake now..." Sandro then turned to his soldiers, "We're going to be going deeper inside this place! Into the Ancient Martian structure!" murmuring could be heard among the soldiers. "There's a good chance there is still active Martian tech down there, anyone wanna back out, they stop here and go back to the entrance with the guard duty group. Any volunteers?" He waited a few moments, but not a single android raised a hand. "Didn't think so. Alright, we'll keep moving." said he as he turned back to SL8. Understood, I will continue to lead the group."

The battalion continued to move through the decimated fortress. They encountered the occasional enemy group, but those were easily dispatched. Finally, they reached a part of the fortress that almost seemed unfinished. Bits of red Martian rock showed that this place was somehow untouched by the terraforming process that happened almost five hundred years back. Two enormous doors showed the soldiers what this place was.

"...The Ancient Martian facility..." breathed 54D, "I never thought I'd ever see it... So this is the place where Azrael was sleeping?" 

"Correct, the place where the Machine Azrael was held is only three miles ahead of us. The Martian Facility covers nearly the entirety of the mountain, please do not get separated from the main body." replied SL8.

"Right. Y'here that?" asked Sandro. "This place is real easy to get lost in, so no wandering off on your own! There's over like three thousand of you, so do not get separated, we need all the fighting strength we have if we want to beat SL6, just because we have the Huntress Team with us doesn't mean squat!" he then turned to the Huntress Team, "No offence."

"None taken." replied 3B, "Listen to the Colonel! We can't beat the enemy as a guarantee, so don't be in teams less than ten if you get separated, understand?!" 

"Yes, Ma'am!" many of the soldiers responded. 

"Alright then, do your thing, Slate." said 3B.

"Understood." SL8 placed his hand on one of the doors and it sank in. His eyes then flashed a moment of white, unbeknownst to the others, he was more or less communicating with the Martian tech. The doors then suddenly let out a loud creaking and bellowing noise, and then they opened up. Years of dust and rust particles fell as the olden metal slid upwards. "Into the facility. Please take caution..."

Chapter Text

Countless footsteps echoed throughout the halls of olden times. This place clearly had not been touched since the Ancient Martians were alive, and that was nearly four billion years prior. The decrepit halls were all but covered in rust, many of the once complex machines had eroded into nothing. A once magnificent facility had devolved into nothing but a bombed out base for a murderous android. As they walked through the facility, they saw many rooms, some of them still intact, they seemed to be places with terminals and controls, perhaps for whatever was made here, even before Azrael. 

"Any sign of him?" asked 54D.

"The signal is getting stronger, but at a snail's pace." replied SL8, he continued to look around, his helmet's eye's red glow providing a small amount of light for himself and his team. The other soldiers all had their own flashlights or light units. It was then when they all heard something. It was some kind of mechanical noise, almost like something was being manufactured. 

"You hear that?" asked 3B. 

"Yes, the source is past a corridor up ahead." 

"We're investigating it." said Sandro, he raised his rifle, "YoRHa troops upfront, regulars will be assisting with long range weapons from behind." he commanded. Many of the YoRHa soldiers moved up to the front of the force, and the regulars were in the back. When they got up to the doors, SL8 once again communicated with the Martian technology and the doors of ancient make slid upwards, to reveal a manufacturing plant.

"What is that?" asked 0Y.

"Are those... the sub units?" asked 0W.

"This is where he makes them?" 0R questioned.

"Damn... who would've thought he still had so many..." cursed 54D, "Colonel, he already knows we're here, should we engage?" 

"Negative, avoiding unnecessary combat should be our main priority... we'll split into three. 54D, you take the Third Shadow Company and the Fourth Autonomous Company and search the left wing." he turned to another female android, "Balsam, you take the Ninth Castle Company and the Fifth Arch Company."

"Yes, Sir." she nodded.

"YoRHa soldiers will be split into even teams and join each team in the event of encountering SL6. The rest of you are with me." As the androids began to move into teams, suddenly, a loud beeping noise rang throughout the manufacturing plant. Sandro looked down past the railing and was suddenly grazed by a bullet across his arm, making him stumble backwards, "We've been engaged!" he shouted. 

The androids saw that the SL6 sub units had weapons and were now shooting at them, so the regulars began to return fire. YoRHa soldiers began to utilize their pods and fired down at the sub units, who shook off quite a few of the bullets before falling. But before long, the sub units had begun to climb up to the walkway, and grew blades from their arms. These ones were not mounted on the motorcycle like bodies, but that didn't make their mobility any less than it already was. 

YoRHa soldiers began to engage in close combat, cutting down the sub units left and right. Some of the soldiers shot them down with their own guns, and battlers with combat  bracers crushed them into the ground. Regular android soldiers continued to shoot down a seemingly endless amount of them. "The plan remains the same!" called Sandro, "Split up and search the place! Don't go down without a fight!"

"Yes, Sir!" shouted Balsam and 54D, they both then ushered their soldiers away. 

"Let's do this! We're punching down the middle!" commanded he.

SL8 combined both of his weapons to make the anti-ship shot gun and fired a single shot, obliterating several of the sub units. However, like a hydra, more of them just took the place of the destroyed ones. "We need to move through this force, otherwise, SL6 has the chance to escape." said SL8. He fired the shotgun again, destroying more of the sub-units that came towards him. SL8 then charged up his optic rays and fired them, punching a hole through the wall. "We must charge through. I only have five shots left before my helmet burns out. Please make haste."

"We're going through this! YoRHa troops up front! Form up! I want guns on all sides!" shouted Sandro.

"Roger!" some soldiers shouted. They all formed up, YoRHa soldiers up front, and the rest of them all grouped together.

"Charge!" shouted the Colonel, the group of androids all began to run forward. Gunfire erupted from the androids in the large group, the YoRHa androids cut down any of the foes who stood in their path. A laser suddenly tore through the group from the side, killing at least seven androids, they didn't even stand a chance. SL8 caught sight of a hidden sharpshooter with his sensors and fired his energy sniper at it, blowing it up, along with a portion of the wall. Finally, the group managed to make it past a doorway of sorts. Some more of them being shot down as they made it through. 

"Shut the door, shut the door!" a soldier frantically shouted. SL8 looked the door and told it to shut. When the door began to slide down, it was going down too slow, a few more android soldiers were killed by an explosive that made it through. SL8 retaliated with an anti-ship shotgun blast, as he destroyed some more of the machines, one of their lasers landed a direct hit right on the shotgun's barrel, tearing through the entire weapon, demolishing it, the shot even knocked SL8 to the ground.

"You alright?" asked 0R. 

"Battle Pack Number Six has been irreparably damaged, I cannot use it anymore." SL8 ejected the pack and discarded the weapon. He then went over to one of the fallen android soldiers and picked up their assault rifle. He pulled the charging handle back and slid it back. He then collected the magazines from the soldier's body. His thighs then opened up, and he stored the magazines within. 

"Didn't know you could do that." remarked Miran. 

"I have the storage capacity for up to six magazines in each of my thighs." replied SL8, he then scanned the force they had. "We have lost approximately six percent of our current fighting force, Colonel. Do we proceed?"

"Yes, we're in way too deep now to turn back." Sandro responded. "How about you civilians? You all alright?" he asked the Monster Girls. 

"Just a scratch." replied Botaegni, "Our dragon scales are pretty tough."

"And I'm part dwarf." said Elora.

"It'll take more than that to kill me." Pyhradina proclaimed. 

"Good. All accounted for. Sir, we're all up." said 3B.

"Good, SL8, after you." he gestured SL8 to move up and he did. SL8 took point and leveled his rifle, the signal of SL6 was the same.

"He has not attempted to flee just yet." SL8 suddenly paused, "It is getting stronger. Prepare to run."

"Oh, shit! Hey! We're running!" shouted Sandro.

"Elora, on my back, you're not as quick on your feet." said Pyhradina. 

"Wouldn't have this problem if I had me bike, but you're right." Elora quickly mounted Pyhradina's back as the group began to run. SL8 began to run forward. 

"I am sending coordinates, please give this to the major and Lieutenant Balsam." 

"Sending!" responded Sandro. 

"Roger that, Sir! We'll meet up there in a jiffy!" responded 54D.

"We'll be arriving soon, Sir!" said Balsam on the other side. 

"How much longer until we're there?" asked 0Y. 

"Not long, arriving in three, two... one!" SL8 then burst through the doors ahead, but then they happened upon something. It was an enormous hangar, almost the size of one of Humanity's ships. Yet, it was empty. No SL unit, no bomb, not even any sub units. "Scanning. I have picked up the signal... it is in this room... but SL6 cannot be detected..."

"Then that means... we've been had?" asked Bisari.

"Dummy signals..." SL8 said, suddenly, his processor worked at near light speeds, "Contact the guards outside, we've been lured in!" he called.

"Human Corps teams, do you read me? Repeat, Human Corps teams, do you read me!?" asked one of the android soldiers, "No response, Sir! Just static!" 

"Then we need to get back outside!" replied Sandro. "Anyone fast enough, go on ahead, I'll inform everyone else! Get going!" 

"Roger!" the YoRHa soldiers all began to run back to the entrance, SL8 being one of them. 

"This is bad..." said 0W, "He's going to be outside... he picked off the pact beasts first..."

"Even a dragon?" asked 0R, "He's really that tough?" 

"He's an SL android, never underestimate them..." 

They finally made it out of the Martian facility, they looked and saw that the other YoRHa soldiers were now on their sides. As they ran, 54D got a report, "The humans are likely already dead, so stay on alert! We may be facing a small or even large army out there!"

"Yes ma'am!" the rest of the YoRHa troops responded. When they finally got through the entrance, they were treated to a horrid sight. All of the Assault Vehicles that were left outside were completely scrapped, the human troops were all killed, their pact beasts all lay dead on the ground, even the dragon that came along. The rest of the android soldiers had been also killed. "Oh God..." gasped a YoRHa soldier, "Look!"

"Visual made!" shouted 12B. "Dead ahead!" they all looked forward and saw that it was SL6. He was covered in both synthetic and organic blood, he had spilled enough to fill several large pools of it. 

"Hello... I should've known that my little trap wouldn't keep you lot distracted for long, you're all pretty smart... oh well. What matters is that I took out that troublesome lizard... next though." suddenly, a certain beeping could be heard before a click went off. Behind SL6, the camp with all of the tanks on standby went up in a blaze of destruction and chaos. As the entire camp was blown up, bits and pieces of the tanks fell nearby, all organic parts were incinerated by the blast, some of the soldiers who had cybernetic prosthetics pieces landed nearby. "There we go... you're not getting any support from your little tin coffins... Just gonna be all of you and me. Well, me and my clones."

"Clones?" asked 0W, "What in the world are you on about?" she asked.

"Well, I can't take all of you on, as it pains me to say it. So I thought, 'Hey, I should perfect my sub-units'. Say hello to my complete ones!" The ground near him burst open, several capsules stuck out of the ground and they all opened. The non Mechanical Phenomenon version of him came out of them. They all had SL6's face, wore the same suit as SL8, though the red lights were a hot pink instead. They all carried a bladed bow of sorts, and all of them had a sick grin on their faces. SL8 counted at least five hundred of them, they outnumbered the YoRHa troops at the moment. "Go get 'em boys!"

They all let out a sickening battle cry as they all charged forward. "Charge!" shouted 54D. The YoRHa troops also began a charge.

*Birth of a Wish (Nier Automata)*

Their weapons clashing with the bladed bows of the army of SL6's. Some of the SL6 clones fired arrows made of a pink energy, the ones that missed burnt giant holes right through the landscape. The ones that landed hits on the YoRHa soldiers tore holes right through them, killing several. SL8 opened fire with his assault rifle, but it took nearly an entire magazine to even take one of the clones down. As SL8 reloaded, his sensor started beeping rapidly and he back stepped, but not quick enough for an SL6 clone to cut his rifle's entire barrel off. SL8 then discarded the now useless rifle and punched the clone as hard as he could. 

The clone attacked SL8 with his bladed bow. Reacting quickly, SL8 grabbed the arm of the clone and then grabbed his other, holding him in place. SL8 then fired an optic ray, the amplified effects killed the clone instantly. "Four shots..." SL8 said to himself. 3B was fighting off two of the clones, a task which proved quite difficult. As she blocked the bow of one of them, another shot an arrow at her, she had to dodge, but that left her open to the other one, luckily, she began shooting at him with her pistol, which made him stumble backwards, it was her chance. 3B lept forward and disappeared, suddenly, several slashes hit the clone, killing him. 

She then jumped toward to the other one and flipped over him. Whilst she was midair, she cleaved his head right off, sending it flying. 0Y punched an SL6 clone into the ground, but he was still alive, he fired an arrow at her, forcing her to dodge, another came up and slashed her back, making her scream out a bit, "You little-!" she slugged him so hard, it sent him flying elsewhere. She then finished off the one in the ground by hitting him again, crushing his head, "These guys aren't made of truonium!" she exclaimed. She then drew her shot gun and fired incendiary shots, lighting some of them ablaze, she then ran forward and saw a YoRHa soldier who was on her last legs. With a final slug, she smashed the clone into a wall. 

"You saved me! Thanks!" said the soldier as she continued her fight. 

"No prob!" 0Y then blocked another clone's assault, "Damn, there are so many of them!" cursed she.

0W drew her dagger wand and began to dual wield her weapons, as she blocked a bow with her rapier, she used her ice magic to freeze another's leg, trapping him place. As she used her dagger to cut off the fingers of the one she was dueling, she used her rapier and punctured a hole inside of the clone. She then jumped over to the one with the frozen leg and also pierced through him. 0W suddenly saw that several of them had their bows pointed at her, ready to fire their arrows. 0W raised a magical ice wall to protect her and other androids right as the arrows were released. The magical ice wall managed to block the arrows and had successfully defended the other YoRHa androids. With a single beam, she froze several clones solid. The nearby YoRHa soldiers thanked her then smashed the iced clones.

0R jumped back, evading several arrows that were directed at her. With one leg, she charged midair towards her foes and with one fell swoop, decapitated them with her scythe. Several more jumped at her, forcing her to defend. Using her speed right now would disable her completely, so that was out of the question, so she had to do something else. She then activated a literal built in pod program, she created a small field around herself and then lept into the air, disappearing. Then in an instant, the clones found them being slashed into bits. Wen 0R reappeared, she had cut the clones into ribbons. She moved onto the next ones. She equipped her sniper rifle and locked on. As she fired, the bullets tore through the heads of the clones. 

One of them began to dodge the bullets. He fired his optic rays, destroying the rifle. "Why you!" cursed 0R. She grabbed her scythe and jumped into the air, the clone responded by shooting arrows at her, but utilizing her agility, 0R managed to somehow dodge in the air. With a mighty swing, she bought the clone down, in two pieces. She then looked around, they had lost so many YoRHa troops already, "Captain!" she shouted.

"I know!" replied 3B as she was holding off a clone, "There are too many of them!" 

"Fall back!" shouted 54D. She blocked a bow with her spear and then punched it back with a combat bracer, she then shot one of her bracers towards a small crowd of clones, knocking them back. "Our hope lies in the regulars, they'll be showing up any moment now!" 

"Damn straight!" shouted a male voice. 54D looked over to see that it was Sandro, "Sorry to keep you all waiting, you all did well, holding out this long! Fire at will!" he commanded to his soldiers. All of the regulars began to open fire at the clones. Miran formed several dark lances shot them off one by one at the enemy forces, Bisari made swords of light and threw them as well. Elora and Pyhradina just began using their rifles and began to shoot, all the while Botaegni breathed dragon flame to help repel the enemy forces.

"More of you guys huh?" asked SL6, "It won't help you, time that I join the fun." said he. SL6 began to move forward, shooting a barrage of missiles, they looked as if they were going to rain down on the android forces. But thanks to SL8's quick thinking, he utilized his optic rays and fired them across the sky, destroying the missiles before they could even get close to the androids. 

*Fade*

"You're not going to touch them. I will terminate you." said SL8 as he extended his arm blade. He ran towards SL6 and fired another optic ray, even blasting a piece of him off. "Analyzing combat data." he said.

*Blu Bird NieR*

"Oh no you don't!" several tendrils grabbed SL8 and swung him around, into the ground. An optic ray came from the smoke, and it hit SL6 head on. "Agh! You little!" he responded by firing his pink optic rays. But with SL8's enhanced rays, SL6's beams were no match, they were pushed back into his face, but a visor slid down just in time before it made full contact with his face, "That helmet has got to go..." he growled.

"One shot left. I should make it count..." SL8 looked around quickly and saw that the support from the rest of the androids didn't do too much good. "We are taking heavy losses..." He ran towards SL6.

"Don't you learn!?" he shot his tendrils at him again. SL8 did, contrary to SL6's thoughts, his trapeziuses opened and his micro missile launchers appeared. They fired all six projectiles, all of them making contact with SL6's tendrils exploding on impact. One of them got through and blew a small hole in SL6's side. "You! You!" but SL8 had made his way onto SL6's oversized body. Without another word, SL8 jammed his arm blade into the hole, inflicting heavy damage on SL6's core systems, including his self repair. "FUCK!!!" screamed the android. SL8 was grabbed by a tendril and flung in the air, so he fired his grappling hooks in response and fired his final enhanced optic ray, the lenses of his helmet then promptly shattered. 

The rays found their mark and destroyed the front wheel of SL6, completely disabling him. SL8 drew closer and closer, but SL6 wasn't going to let himself die just yet, "Protect me!" Several arrows were fired at SL8, along with several lasers. The sub units and SL6 clones were laying down a barrage of fire at SL8. Despite his best efforts, SL8 was eventually hit by several and was sent into a wall on the terrain Miran saw and concentrated. 

"Hey, you motor-fucker!!" she shouted. Four dark arms shot up of the ground around her and began to coil around each other, forming two giant ones. With a sweep of one arm, she crushed all of them into a wall, with the other arm, she grabbed hold of many of them and then flung them to the ground. But she wasn't done just yet, Miran placed her hands together in front of her and fired a dark orb, it ate whatever it touched, most of the sub-units that were targeting SL8 were now gone, "Almost out of mana..." she struggled to say, "One more!!!" she slammed the ground and spears made of dark magical energy all shot out of the ground, many of them skewering the clones and sub-units, destroying them. "Damn... I'm... spent..." said she as she collapsed.

"Bitch!" SL6 fired a missile at her, something that SL8 would not be able to intercept in time, luckily, Botaegni and Bisari ran up and created a forcefield. 

"Nice one, Miran." said Bisari.

"You really had to show off, huh?" asked Botaegni with a smile on her face. 

"Alright! Numbers have been reduced, YoRHa troops! Attack SL6, we'll take care of his little machines! This is it people! DO OR DIE!!" shouted Sandro.

"Charge!" yelled 54D, now missing her left arm, staunching gel covered her stump. 

The YoRHa troops began to charge towards SL6, they knew that this was their golden opportunity. The sub-units and the remaining clones of SL6 formed a defensive line in front of him in his defense. The Regulars began to fire every single bullet they had, utilizing their grenades and rocket launchers as well, helping clear the way somewhat for the YoRHa androids. They began to cut down what was left of the enemy forces. "Damn it all!" shouted SL6, steam hissed from across his body and it broke apart, he had turned into what looked like one of his sub-units, his upper half was more humanoid, though his lower half was a motor-cycle like vehicle. 

"He's getting away!" shouted 0Y.

"Don't let him!" responded 3B, she began to shoot at him with her pistol. 0R activated her speed and lunged right at SL6's front. His best efforts to repel her were met by slashes to his forearms and his many of his body parts being shredded, but it was then that her speed stopped and she ceased moving.

"...No...!" she cursed, "Just a little longer...!"

"Ha! You're finished!" SL6 readied his optic rays to the immobile 0R, but he was hit by a red optic ray, knocking him over. SL8 now charged at him and tackled him as he got back up. SL8 began to repeatedly punch him, damaging his face more and more.

"I will terminate you now." said SL8 as he punched him.

"You're an idiot...!" he yelled, "If you kill me, who's going to tell you the secrets of the others!?" asked SL6 frantically.

"You'd betray the others?" asked SL8.

"Yeah well, there's some things about me you don't know. But anyway, the others, their endgame. I know it all..."

"Don't trust him, Slate!" shouted 0R.

"He's clearly lying!" added 0W as she froze and shattered a clone. 

"Am I?! Listen, SL5 is-" he was cut off when he was torn bisected. A loud boom sounded across the entire battlefield, then the shockwave hit. The clones and sub-units suddenly all shut down.

"What just happened?" asked Sandro, he pushed off the clone that was on top of him. 

"They... stopped...?" asked 3B.

SL8 looked over to where the shot came from, and zoomed in as much as he could. He could see a figure, they held some kind of railgun. The suit they wore looked just like SL8's, they even had something on their wrist, it was the wrist weapon system. The lights on their suit was a bright golden color. He was then suddenly hailed by someone, and he answered. "Sorry about that." said the man, "Couldn't let that traitor leak out secrets... I'm sure you understand... brother..." said he in a sinister manner, "I'll see you and your little friends later..." at that point, the call cut off and SL8 saw the figure slipping away.

"SL5... you... fucker...." said SL6 with his last "breath". After saying that, the critical damage done by that shot finally set in, and he shut down permanently.

"So that was SL5." said SL8, he looked at SL6's corpse. "Please avert your eyes." said he to the huntress team, they knew what was coming and covered their eyes, or looked away. It seemed that even the visors could not fully protect their sights. SL8 reached under the bisected half of SL6 and pulled out what seemed to be a stomach like organ and proceeded to devour it. 

The Regulars all watched, so did the the other YoRHa troops. SL8 fell over for a few moments, then promptly rebooted. As he got back up, he looked around, "I am another step closer to reaching singularity now." he stated.

"Man, I've heard the reports, but damn, it's different seeing it in person." said Sandro, "In any case, call in evac, this operation is over. Victory is ours!" he shouted. The rest of the soldiers began to cheer. "Make sure to collect the bodies, we finally got one to study. Some spare parts for you as well." he said to SL8.

"Thank you Colonel. I appreciate it." responded SL8.

Miran walked up being supported by Botaegni. "Hey, nice job out there." she said.

"With that bastard gone, our turf will be safer!" exclaimed Bisari.

"Damn straight, sis. We're definitely not doing this again though." Botaegni added.

The Huntress team also walked up. 0R was being carried on 0Y's back. "That's one more SL that won't be bothering us." said 0Y, "You were awesome out there!"

"Yeah, your maneuver with that helmet was so cool!" added 0R.

"You certainly performed well out there. Exceptional." said 0W.

"Too bad he was technically a deserter. But the fact that he was an SL is really what matters." spoke 3B.

"Yes, thanks to all of your efforts, this operation was a success." replied SL8, "Now, let us go home."

"Oh boy, you said it." replied 3B.

Chapter Text

"I believe I may have to cut you off." said SL8.

"C'mon... Slate..." huffed 0Y, "There's no need... to be stingyyyy..." she was beginning to slur her words. "I'm still... in this... in the... fight..." she then fell off her stool on the ground, making the audience erupt in laughter and cheers. Some of them groaned in disappointment.

"Ha! Be it full Dwarf or half Dwarf, a person with Dwarven blood can hold their liquor!!" gloated Elora.

"Hmph, this is why we don't drink, 0R, look at them." scoffed 0W as she took a swig of her soda. "So undignified."

"Yeah! Undignified!" added 0R.

"Says the one drinking a milkshake in a bar." retorted 3B. She then tossed some coins over to another android and then some to Botaegni. "There goes my wallet's savings for the time being..." she sighed, "I bet on the wrong gal."

SL8 was grabbing the tankards and washing them quickly, as well as serving drinks. But beside him was the regular bartender, "Gotta admit, having an extra pair of helping hands it really great, I can focus on making drinks while you do the other stuff!" said she.

"It is of no problem Ensign Orchid, I possess a complete recipe of alcoholic beverages in my data banks. I was made quite literally to do this as part of my main functions." responded SL8.

"Heh, aren't I a lucky gal then? Anyway, we'll switch after this round."

"Acknowledged." 

"Heh, didn't know you knew how to do all this, you being a killing machine and all." stated Miran, SL8 slid her a beer tankard, "Thanks."

"My teammates were just as surprised." said SL8, "Too be frank, I myself wondered why I have such a thing."

"One of the many mysteries of your creator I guess." Miran took another gulp and watched as another android took 0Y's place and began to drink against Elora, "Huh, I wonder how much Elora's got left in her, nice of you guys to let us Monster Girls stay at the base a little while."

"That was Commander Jackass' choice. You all aided in the operation, so she thought compensation was necessary."

"The large sum of money is certainly gonna help."

The doors suddenly opened up and in came Jackass, the YoRHa Field Commander the base commander, along with Colonel Sandro and Major 54D, now with a new arm. They were all in their civilian clothing, just like everyone else. Everyone froze, the top officers just stared back at them. "What are all of you looking at?" asked Jackass, "At ease, at ease." she called, the rest of the androids all relaxed.

"We're here to drink too." explained the Field Commander.

"Us top brass need a break too some times. Just don't get complacent. We're still fighting a war." stated the Base Commander.

"Yes, Ma'am!" all of the soldiers responded.

"Alright! Enjoy this night! You've all earned it! Orchid! This next round is on me!" shouted Jackass. All of the soldiers cheered as Jackass made her announcement. She then went to go sit at the bar. "So, SL8, I hear you're another step closer to reaching singularity?" she questioned as SL8 poured her some whiskey.

"Indeed, Commander. I only need to end the other five units to reach it fully." 

"That's good." responded Jackass as she sipped her drink, "I read the mission report and submitted it to the Convocation and Prime Minister. Seems you've gained a bit more of their favor. 6O sends her regards and the Prime Minister is even thinking of letting you be part of the military as a full time." 

"Was he not already?" asked Miran.

"No, not really. I was really just his sponsor for this. See, he wasn't fully in the military just yet, I just basically volunteered the entirety of the Android Corps to look after him with my authority. If he fully joins though, well, then the government won't really have any more worries."

"Really? I didn't know that." said Miran, "Commander Jackass, I've got a question to ask."

"Go on ahead."

"If we were to join the military, or, if I did, is there a chance we'd be able to work with the Huntress Team?" asked the Vacivin.

"Hrm... I can't say for sure, but I could definitely try and get you guys to work closer together." Jackass took another sip. "What bought this on? I thought you were done with the military." 

"Well, so did I." Miran paused a few moments, "But I'm beginning to think otherwise. These past few days have taught me something. That even if we technically have no part in this war, well, the enemy can and will come to us eventually. So that's why, if there's anything I can do to help, I wanna do it." she said bluntly, "And I feel like going back into the military can help me out with that."

"So you know we're fighting in a war, right?" 

"Yeah, I do."

"And you know that means deployment onto the front lines."

"Yep."

"You're absolutely sure that you want that?"

"That's correct, Commander."

"Then by all means." Jackass said, "But remember, I can't guarantee you and your friends' safety if you gals go into this."

"I know that..." replied Miran. "But if they aren't on board with it, then I won't be doing it. I won't... I can't separate myself from my family again..."

"I know that feeling... Over the years, I've had to say goodbye countless times." stated Jackass, "So if you don't want to separate from your crew, or your family, then by all means, don't do it. There's plenty of things you can do outside the military to help. You gals are contractors with YoRHa aren't you? Gathering info is of the essence." 

"I concur with Commander Jackass, Miran." SL8 suddenly said as he refilled the Commander's whiskey, "I believe that there is plenty you can do outside the military to aid us in our fight. Such things include gathering information as the Commander had stated, another being moral support whenever we see you all. From what I have seen, the Huntress Team has formed a very large bond with you and the others. I admit, whenever I see you, my central processing and core systems seem to operate better. For lack of better words, it seems I am a bit happier whenever I see you." 

Both Miran and Jackass looked very confused, and shocked at the same time. "You're... happier...?" asked Miran.

"Yes. That what it would seem like. I cannot be sure, I am still in the process of reaching singularity."

"Oh... well..." Miran seemed to be searching for her words, "That's... great?" she said. "I'm sorry. But hearing you say that is just kind of weird, I mean, after all, you've been really robotic since I've met you..." she chuckled, "But I'm glad that you think that way..."

"Yes, I believe that I may be quite saddened if you were to die. The same goes with my teammates." 

"Wow. Seems like eating those organ things bring you a long way, huh?" she said nervously, her face flush red.

"Correct."

"Yeah... uh... I need some air..." said Miran. She then promptly stood up and walked out the bar.

"Was it something I said?" asked SL8, seemingly confused.

Jackass simply sighed, "You've got a lot to learn about women, you know that?" she asked.

"I do not quite follow."

"You saw her face didn't you?"

"Yes, it was red. She certainly had quite a bit to drink." 

"No no, she clearly has a crush on you." Jackass chuckled, "But, take that as you will, you robotic one you. Anyway, it's getting pretty late. It's almost time to close up, too. So after this round, make sure you get everyone else out. We don't have any word for you guys on tomorrow yet, so just standby." 

"Yes Ma'am." responded SL8.

And so, the rest of the top officers finished up their drinks and began to follow Jackass out. "It's almost time to close!" shouted Orchid, "Make sure your tabs are all paid up! Have a good night, ya'll!" The androids all responded by giving one last cheer and paying all of their tabs and exiting slowly, one group at a time. 

"We'll see you back at the barracks." said 3B as she and 0R helped lift 0Y, whom was in a completely drunken state. She was saying something undecipherable. SL8 waved goodbye at them.

"We'll be going back too." said Botaegni, "Hope to see you guys again sometime." added she before she and Bisari mounted their bikes. They did not appear to be drunk at all, despite the amount they drank, it must be their dragon blood. 

"Hey, where's Miran?" asked Bisari. 

"She left earlier, saw her going." replied Pyrhadina, she didn't drink at all, and Elora was strapped to her horseback. "Thanks for having us." She and the other two then left the base.

"No problem. You girls are welcome anytime." said Orchid as she waved them goodbye. She then turned to SL8, "Nice working with you tonight, nice to know I can depend on an extra pair of hands if I need it." she said, "Anyway, see you around." she then locked up the bar and then began to go back to her own barracks. SL8 walked over to the building where the Huntress Team was, as he made it to his room, he cleaned himself and once he wore some more comfortable clothes, he sat down on his chair. 

SL8 sat there a moment but then he decided to get one of his two books on his shelf. He began to read "Dialogues of Man", it was the first book he ever picked out. But as he read it, the book had new meaning behind it for him. Before, it was merely data he could record and would not forget, but now, he could understand it just a bit more, the deeper meaning behind the text. "Strange." SL8 said to himself. 

"Yes, it is. Isn't it?" asked a voice, it was a voice that SL8 did not recognize. He spun around, he armed himself with the gladius that he had won, and pointed it right at the source of the voice. It was a female, she was about five foot six inches, she wore a white blouse, it had puffy shoulders and black gloves covered her hands. She had a black skirt, yet white leggings underneath and thigh high black boots adorned the rest of her legs. Her hair a jet black, and tied into two neat tails at the ends of her head, round glasses topped off her appearance. A large travel bag sat right next to her leg. She then put her hands up, "Easy there, I'm not here to harm you."

"Then why are you here?" asked SL8, "You're an android, but not part of the military."

"Wow, you're good." said the supposed android, "You could tell just by looking? How long did it take you run a scan? A millisecond? Two milliseconds?"

"One." responded SL8, "Now answer, why would an Accord model be doing here?"

"So you know who I am." said the android, her hands still remaining in the air. "How much more do you know about me?" 

"Your model was created about four hundred years ago. By a mysterious man named Raphael Draken, all relevant data on him has been destroyed. Your model line saw limited production, a total of sixteen of you were made, all of you somehow disappearing, only showing up at random points. So let me ask you, why are you here? You have five seconds to answer, or I will force the answer out of you." 

"No need to be so aggressive." said the model, "As you said, my name is just Accord. And yes, we did disappear. But you won't expect where we went. We were all sent to different timelines and have been venturing around ever since. We've even been going about in this timeline." said she smugly.

"Other timelines? Impossible, you would only be able to do such a thing if you all had True Time Magic, unless... You all have it?" asked SL8. "That is improbable. True Time Magic is the rarest among all magic types, there were only three cases of it ever being recorded. Your creator managed to imbue all of you with true time magic?"

"Right again, my dear android." Accord said rather loudly. But then she cupped her mouth, "Oops!" she said, "Wouldn't want to attract attention to myself." 

"Did your creator manipulate time to destroy all relevant data on himself?" asked SL8, now lowering his sword. 

"That's it." replied Accord, "Wow, you're smart aren't you? But as for why I'm here, well, I was tasked with observing and even teaching you. Isn't that exciting?" 

"Tasked by who? Commander Jackass? 6O? The Convocation?" 

"Wow, you're more curious than I thought. But I'm not allowed to say just yet."

"Why not?"

"Well, because my employer said 'No'. And if you try to force it out of me." she paused, like she was thinking, "Bad things happen. This timeline could be shut down, or maybe we'd find a way to make you cease to exist, the possibilities are endless. But that is only if you choose to force anything out of me, or try to harm me in any way." 

"You will not spy on me? You are not here for information?" 

"No, I am not." SL8 ran a quick scan of the android, and he confirmed that she was telling the truth, it seems that he could recognize it, and all his processing units pointed to the fact that there was a ninety-eight percent chance that she wasn't manipulating her speech or systems to make it seem like she was telling the truth. "We have a deal?"

"Fine..." 

"Excellent." said the cheerful android, "So, first order of business, that sword you're holding, know what it's called?"

"It is called 'Convergence'." replied SL8.

"Who made it?"

"Unknown."

"An unknown female known as Caetronia Caelestius, her smithing skills were kept as a secret, otherwise, the lords of the lands would no doubt have taken her hostage and have her make sword after sword."

"Recorded."

"Good, now, do you know why she made the weapons?"

"No."

"This sword, Convergence, was actually one of eleven other swords that she made." explained Accord, "They were made in the hopes to help achieve peace and understanding. Hence the name, Convergence. This specific one represents the convergence of ideals for others to come to a certain understanding of each other." Accord added, "As for the other ten, I've collected all of them. Accord tapped her bag with her foot and it popped open, and her words became true, there were ten other short swords, SL8 could feel the magical iron radiating off of them.

"There they are, Oathkeeper, Justice, Freedom, Peace, Empathy, Benevolence, Faithkeeper, Reason, Logic. And this one is my personal favorite." Accord picked up one of the swords, this one had a tip shaped much like an arrowhead, "Love, it's called."

"How could weapons of war make peace?" asked SL8, "I do not understand. How do these weapons of war bring what they are named after?"

"Well, no one knows for sure. These only became used after she had died, but after I spoke to her, her hopes were that heroes would use these weapons one day, to go about and bring justice to those who needed it, freedom to those who yearned for it, and so on and so forth. See, it was her ideals behind these weapons, that's why she made them, that's why she named them what she did."

"I'm still not quite sure I follow." 

"Think of it this way. If violence was the only thing that the people around her knew, then she would end that violence, with a tad bit more. Not too much, but just enough to try and end it. A bit contradictory, I know, but those were her words. Understand a bit more now?" asked Accord.

"Somewhat." replied SL8.

"Good, then that concludes it for tonight. Here's the deal, meet me tomorrow where you bought your first two books. We'll talk more there. Please show up, I know you have free time." Accord turned to leave, even closing and picking up her bag. Oh, and one more thing. If you bring me up to anyone... bad things happen..." then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone, as if she were never there to begin with.

SL8 looked at the spot where she was at just moments ago, there wasn't even a sound, it was as if he blinked, and she was gone. But now, he had to go meet her at the bookstore, otherwise, he'd risk compromising his team. SL8 ran simulations on what would happening tomorrow, everything pointed to nothing, but SL8 had to be sure. These things could be decided on a whim after all. 

SL8 waited until the morning, just continuing to read his books. When the sun rose, he quickly got dressed in clothes more suited for the outside and walked out of the barracks. There, he saw the Huntress Team. "Slate? What are you doing?" asked 0R.

"I'm going out." replied he.

"Going out? You're actually going out?" asked 0W.

"Correct." 

"Where, might I ask?" questioned 3B.

"To the bookstore in Illumination Square. I have determined that I require more books to help in an understanding of humans." SL8 answered, it was a half truth.

"Well, alright then. Don't be out too long. We're on standby, for now. I don't have any idea what's going on today, so be mindful and be ready to be called back any time, got it?" 

"Understood, please relay my outing to Commander Jackass." 

"Sure. See you later."

"Until later." SL8 walked over to the hangar to his motorcycle. He mounted and turned on the engine, and began to head out. As SL8 exited the gates of the base, he got a call from an unknown caller. SL8 answered with caution, but saw that it was Accord who was calling him. 

"Hey slowpoke." she greeted rather rudely, "You headed out yet?" she asked.

"Yes, I am en route. The bookstore in Illumination Square, correct?"

"Righto. Meet you there." Accord said before hanging up. 

SL8 accelerated his motorcycle and he got to the city within minutes. It had recovered from the previous attacks for the most part. As he rode through the streets, he saw that life had returned to a sense of normalcy. Quite a few homes needed to be rebuilt, but the shelter and soup kitchens were compensating for that. SL8 continued to ride until he finally got the Illumination Square, where he parked down and went inside. As he made his way to the bookstore, his eyes darted around, even with his sensors, how Accord masked her signal made it difficult, especially with all these people around. 

"Yoo-hoo!" called a familiar voice. SL8 turned about and saw Accord, she sat on a picnic table, eating a parfait. "Hey there, took you long enough." Accord chuckled, "I got so bored I bought myself this delicious butterscotch parfait to help pass the time. It sure is good." she stated as she had another spoon full, "Though I shouldn't eat too much, I'd get fat otherwise."

"You are an android, it is impossible to consume too many calories to add on excessive weight." SL8 said bluntly.

"Huh, even though you've become a bit more human at this point, a few jokes is still hard for you to get..." she sounded somewhat disappointed, "Oh well, in due time I guess. Anyway, are you ready?" 

"Ready for what? All you have done is call me out here, you have not explained why."

"Well, we're here to do what you said you were going to do to your team. Buy some more books." Accord finished her snack and picked up her bag. "Lead the way."

As they walked towards the bookstore, a question popped up in SL8's head. "Just how long have you been watching me?" he asked, "Are you able to answer that?"

"Yes, I can. Well, let's see. Since your activation actually. When SL7 let you out of your pod, I was observing from a distance. My employer and I, well, let's just say I've been working for him for a while now."

"So you have been watching me since I have been activated, why only come to me now?" SL8 questioned.

"Because, my employer told me to."

"Are you completely subservient to them? Are you being forced to do everything they ask?"

"No. See, I actually have complete independence. He's under the assumption that he is in completely control, but he's actually quite wrong. I could tamper with things, make it so he never existed, or even travel to another timeline altogether and just forget about this place. But, this timeline is pretty interesting, so I've been sticking around, keeping tabs on this one." she replied.

"So you follow orders on your own whim?" 

"Indeed." Accord said, the air of confidence surrounding her was undeniable, she was one to be in complete control of her situations. "Oh, would you look at that, we're here." the two of them now stood directly in front of the bookstore. 

SL8 opened the door and the both of them walked in. There was a little girl at the counter, "W-welcome!" she said nervously. 

"Well hello there, little girl." Accord said, she didn't sound as serious, suddenly, she sounded more gentle than anything else. "Say, I don't think I've seen you here before."

"W-well... Mom's not feeling good, so I've taken over." replied the little girl.

"Well, aren't you a hardworking daughter?"

"Anja!" a woman called from the back. Suddenly, the woman that SL8 from last time stumbled out of the door behind the counter, "You must focus on your studies! I was only taking a break!" she scolded. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was red. SL8 quickly scanned her and saw that she had a fever.

"You have a fever." said SL8. "You body temperature is one hundred and two point one degrees Fahrenheit. You should be resting."

"I know that... but with Anja's school exams coming, she needs to study. Please do not worry... I am well enough to work." 

"Oh come on. You don't have any medication?" asked Accord, "Then it can't be helped." she set down her bag and reached into it, "Here. Take this, good old prepatroban." she said.

"O-oh, I can't take this, think of how much it cost you!" the woman said nervously.

"Pay it no mind. I have a lot of these. Now..." Accord gave the woman the bottle, "This stuff is pretty expensive nowadays, the war is taking a toll, so you'd best take it before I change my mind." 

"Then... thank you..." the woman humbly took the bottle.

Accord just picked up her bag. "You'll be feeling better in no time if you take it."

"Mom?" asked the child.

"I'll be alright Anja, you just go study, okay?" 

"Okay Mom..."

"Your child is very loyal." SL8 remarked.

"Yes, well, she's been doing everything she can do to try and help ever since my husband died. It was horrible, one of the SL androids showed up and he was killed alongside several of his friends..." 

"The SL... what color was he?" 

"Oh... I was told the suit was a gold color..."

"Designation SL5..." SL8 responded, "I will terminate him as soon as I get the chance." 

"What? Are you? One of them?" asked the woman, "You're the eighth one!" she suddenly said louder, "Oh my... I've heard so much about you... the lives you have saved, and your mission to kill the others... oh thank you!" she bowed her head, "I know many people hate you, but I hope that you will continue to fight them, and put a stop to this war." 

"Yes, I will not stop until all of the other units are terminated. It seems that was what I was made for." 

"Thank you... so much..." the woman said one last time. "Now, enough of that, are you here to purchase a new book?" she asked, her tone had shifted, she now sounded more like she did last time. 

"That's right." Accord responded for SL8, "He wants to learn more about humans, to understand a bit more of love, maybe some war? Really, books of human nature will do. "

"Oh of course, if you would follow me please." The woman led them to a book shelf near the back of the store. "This is an old classic, 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding. Written almost six hundred years ago, it's still read today, and it may be a story book, but it does an excellent job at conveying it's message. Will this do?"

"Yes, we're going to be purchasing three today, so two more will be great."

"Of course." the bookstore owner looked through the shelves a bit more. "This one is 'Helpful Androids' by Caolán Horan, shortly after the androids came to the world, a great read. And finally..." she pulled out rather dusty one, "Here's a controversial one, 'Devils Without Restriction' by Sodrezios, one of the greatest Dragonkin writers of all time. This one is actually banned in several places because of it's ideologies, luckily, it's not banned here." 

"Thank you. This will be all." said Accord. She and SL8 walked over to the counter where they would pay. 

"Okay, so this comes out to... twenty seven NA Dollars." said the woman. SL8 was about to hover his hand over the scanner to pay digitally, but Accord stopped him. She once again reached into her bag and pulled out a wallet of sorts. She then pulled out four notes, one of them was green, the other one was blue, and the last two were red. "Thank you very much, please come again sometime! And thank you for the medicine!" called the woman as the two of them walked out the door. 

"Well, that was nice wasn't it?" 

"How was it nice?" asked SL8.

"Aw... still like that huh?" Accord sighed, "Well, whatever, I recognize you have an obligation to your comrades, so I think this will be ending our little outing today. So, here's what I want you to do. You should just read them at your own pace, I know you can finish a book in a day, maybe even two, but no rush, take your time. You'll see me again after your next little operation happens, whenever that may be."

"You are going to come back?" asked SL8, "Is it to 'teach' me more?" 

"You are correct, but, for now. I'll let my employer know of your progress. And remember, me and you, secret. Understand? Or else bad things happen." And within a blink of an eye, Accord was gone, as if she were never even there. 

"It seems I have no choice in the matter." SL8 said to himself, he began to walk back to his motorcycle, and then he contacted his team. 

"Oh, hey Slate, you done with your little outing?" asked 3B.

"Yes, I am currently going to return to base." said he.

"Actually, don't do that."

"Why not?"

"We have some free time. Take advantage of it, try going somewhere. Maybe pay the Monster Girls a visit." 

"I see. Then I suppose I will." Replied SL8. He mounted his bike and hung up before riding off to the Monster Girl territory. As he rode, he noticed that the rebuilding efforts were going very well. People were remaking their homes and livelihoods from the past attacks, a good sign that things were truly returning to normal. He finally stopped in front of their garage and parked his bike. Walking up to the door, SL8 thought about what Jackass had told him the night before. "Does Miran really feel that way?"

SL8 knocked on the door and Botaegni answered. "Oh hey, what's up?"

"I had some free time and I thought I'd visit you all." 

"'You all' huh?" Asked the Dragonkin, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm the only one here right now. The others all went to race each other in Cadcord Canyon. But you're still welcome to come in." SL8 walked inside. "Have a seat." SL8 sat down on the sofa as Botaegni poured some left over coffee for him. "So, you had some free time?"

"Correct. I was told that since I have some, I may as well visit."

"Actually, I'm glad you came. Miran and us... we had a talk this morning."

"Is it about her wanting to rejoin the military?" 

"Oh, so you already know about that?"

"Yes."

"Well, she bought it up to us today. Seems that she didn't really have her heart set on it, because when we said we had no interest in doing so, she seemed to kind of give it up too. I mean, we were telling the truth, the whole reason we tagged along to fight SL6 is because he attacked our turf with his boys first. If that were the sole reason, we wouldn't have been allowed to come along, we just had combat experience against him, and your superiors found that good enough..." explained she, "Am I wrong?"

"No." replied SL8, "That precisely the reason why you all were allowed to come along."

"Yeah... I figured as much, so why do I feel somewhat guilty?" 

"You feel guilty?"

"Yep... I dunno why but when we turned it down, Miran just did it like that. It seemed like it was something she wanted to do at least a bit."

"It is because she sees you all as family." SL8 said, Botaegni looked somewhat surprised. "She informed me of that yesterday, she said that if you all turned down the idea, she would not do it as well. Her reasoning is that she could not bear to separate herself from another family again."

"Huh... so that's how it is isn't it?" Botaegni's mood did not improve it seemed.

"However, if it is my place to say this, I believe you all made the right decision to sway her away from the military." Botaegni once again had a shocked look on her face, she waited for SL8 to continue. "The military is hazardous especially now, I believe safety her is more assured if she is not part of it. That goes for all of you. I can admit with a bit of confidence that I would be saddened if any of you were to die."

Botaegni at first just stared at SL8, she didn't know what to do or say for that matter. "Wow... I... did not know that..." she paused, "So what you're saying is that you're happy we turned it down?"

"Yes."

"Huh. Hearing that from you... it makes me feel a bit better now... I think I needed to hear something like that. Thanks."

"There is no need to thank me. I am just sharing my opinion." SL8 quickly drank the coffee that was poured for him and then got up, "In any case, I must return to base now. Please, relay my message to the others if you feel the need to. Goodbye Botaegni, have a pleasant day."

"To you as well." Botaegni walked SL8 to the door, but she didn't follow him out, "I think I'll tell them. I feel like all of them should hear it."

SL8 said nothing but nodded. As Botaegni closed the door, SL8 mounted his bike and rode off. After some thirty minutes, he had finally arrived at the base. He was quick to park his bike down in the hangar and then to his room in the android barracks. He sat down on his chair and immediately opened one of the books. The first one he chose "Helpful Androids". SL8 would find himself reading it several times over to gain a maximum level of understanding of it. Before he knew it, night had fallen, and SL8 had read the book at least sixteen times. There was a sudden knocking on his door. "It is unlocked." he said out loud.

It was 3B, she was back in her uniform. "Get into your suit, orders came down, we're being summoned."

"Acknowledged." SL8 quickly equipped his combat suit and followed 3B to the Commander's office. There, he saw the Base Commander, the YoRHa Field Commander, and Commander Jackass. The rest of the Huntress Team were already there, also in full uniform. 

"So? Why are we here?" asked 0Y.

"Orders came down from the government." said Jackass, "6O has also given us word. The South American Military here on Mars are on their last legs, without Oceanian support, they've started to deteriorate, just one problem." Jackass paused, "SL5's tactics have stayed off a full on assault. So, the last decision has come down, the five of you are being sent to the front lines."

Both 0R and 0W were shocked, this was completely new to them.

"Say what?" asked 0R.

"Pardon? You said the frontline?" uttered 0W.

"That's right. The front line. First time for everything, no?"

Chapter Text

"Oh my God... Oh my God... Oh MY GOD!!" 0R nearly shrieked as she paced back and forth of her room.

"We're actually going?! To the front lines!?" 0W almost seemed to be hyperventilating. 0Y was sitting on a chair having some coffee, 3B was just leaning on the wall filling out some of reports. SL8 was also in the room, he sat one of the beds.

"What is the matter? You have fought in battles before." said SL8.

"Yeah but...!" exclaimed 0W, she continued to panic some more.

"I do not see what the problem is. You have already been in countless fights, haven't you?' 

"Leave 'em be." said 0Y, "Sure they've fought SL's before, but they're actually relatively new models. Both 0R and 0W themselves are actually hardly sixteen years old. Me, I've been around for about two hundred years now, and 3B's been around for almost five hundred." 

"Is that so? I thought you were just an experimental model made for this exact war."

"Well, kinda. I used to be another kind of model. But I volunteered to be the first Yaeger model. So I went through a transition, and that brings us to today." 0Y explained.

"What kind of model were you before?"

"That's... I don't like to talk about that... it's private..." 

"I see."

"Hey, I got the exact word. We're going to be heading out tomorrow morning. We'll be in our flight units." 3B then looked at SL8, "But you will be going somewhere right now. Go to Commander Jackass' ship." SL8 did as he was told and quickly made his way to the Anemone. When he got there, Jackass was right there waiting for him. 

"Good evening, Commander." greeted SL8.

"Hey, I decided to do something about your time limit on your Mechanical Phenomenon. Come with me." SL8 followed Jackass into her ship until they reached a laboratory of sorts. "So since you say you can only assume your Mechanical Phenomenon form for three minutes, I found a way that can theoretically extend that." 

"How so?"

"Well, we been studying the corpse of SL6, and we found that he wasn't always a Type Three Mechanical Phenomenon. Turns out just like you, he had a limiter, just like yours, and he managed to remove that, and even managed to turn himself from a Type One to a Type Three. But the thing is, we can't really remove yours, after comparing your systems, it seems that your time limiter is connected to your operational systems, but we can extend it."

"You cannot fully remove it, or-"

"You'll shut down permanently. Yeah, we studied your internal systems a bit and we found a way to basically trick your limiter to move time slower by ten times. So you can have at least thirty minutes for your mechanical phenomenon. We can also shorten the charge time by adding a mechanism on you which will turn mana into energy you can use. The more magic you absorb, the faster you'll be able to go into your mechanical phenomenon. So, hearing all that, you ready to rock?" asked Jackass.

"Yes, please begin the operation, Commander."

"Very well." Jackass bought her wrist up, "This is Commander Jackass, prepare the lab, we're running an upgrade on SL8, repeat, prepare the lab, we're upgrading SL8."

"Read you loud and clear Commander. We'll get ready right now." 

"Follow me then." Jackass signaled to SL8 and he began to follow her. As they reached the ship's laboratory, he saw many instruments and a table for him to lay on. They did not seem to be for a conventional surgery. All of the instruments seemed to be linked up to consoles of sorts, they seemed like they were supposed to open up SL8 and then work on his internals. "Lay down on the tables and make sure you deactivate your self defense systems, oh and take off your battle suit, we don't want it getting in the way." Jackass instructed. 

SL8 did as he was told and disengaged his battle suit, rendering him completely bare. Jackass then looked at him from head to toe and smiled slightly, "Not bad... Not bad at all." she said, "Didn't think you'd be such a chick magnet under your suit." she chuckled. 

"I fail to see the relevance of your comments, Commander." SL8 replied.

"Alright, alright I'll stop you buzz kill. Anyway, lay down on the table please."

"Understood." replied SL8. He walked over to the table, and laid down on it. The lights turned on and Jackass got with her team behind the monitors. 

"Alright, have you disengaged all of your self defense protocols and systems?" 

"Yes."

"Good, then it's time to begin. Open yourself up for us, would you?"

"Acknowledged." SL8's body hissed for a moment and then the locks holding his body together opened up. 

"Holy shit..." remarked one of the androids.

"This is way more complex than SL6's systems." another whispered.

SL8's body was made of several thousand nearly microscopic components, many of the androids almost couldn't make heads or tails of it, but when they took a few more moments to look closer, they then knew what to do. "We're locating the time limiter now, ma'am." said one of the androids, "SL8, is there any way you could assist us in pointing it out faster?" 

"Yes, I can do that." replied the android. His body then released a small bug like drone that began moving around his insides. "I have dispatched a nano-bug inside my body, do you see it?" SL8's field of vision was partly transferred to the bug, it looked up and saw that a camera was moving closer to it.

"Proper visual received, just guide us to it." said one of the androids. 

"I will move some of the components, please keep in mind that many of them have a limited range of motion." Some of the metallic organ shaped pieces inside his body moved slightly as the nano-bug scuttled across the body. It kept up for almost a minute until the bug stopped at what appeared to be a circlet on what looked like a heart shaped organ. But it glowed a red color and has several warning labels on it. "That is the limiter on my core. I leave the rest to you." said SL8.

"Good work, now, for the next step, as a precautionary step, I'm going to need you to put yourself on low power mode for the time being, if anything goes wrong and we somehow damage your core, you don't go thermo nuclear on us or something and we all get incinerated." said Jackass.

"I can tell it was a jest, but you are half right. At full power, if I were to self destruct, the resulting blast can destroy about enough mass to equal half a continent on the Earth." stated SL8, this left some of the androids with their mouths agape. 

"... Thanks for the info..." said Jackass, now a bit nervous herself, "Well, don't blow yourself up, okay?"

"Acknowledged. I will now enter low power mode. If my core is damaged, self repairs will begin, but if it is damaged too much, it will only destroy a piece of the ship. I estimate this room and a fifty foot radius."

"That's still pretty damn big..." said one of the androids.

"Then let's get to work, no pressure." said Jackass as SL8 placed himself in low power mode. The rest of his senses would now be turned off, so he had to wait now, it was all he could do.

He laid there in complete darkness, only being able to barely watch his main core, until he got a notification ping. He looked at it and saw that it was a signal for reactivation. he then reawakened, the word boxes gave him a run down of all of his systems, nothing unusual. As he sat up, SL8 saw that he was already closed up. "Was everything a success?" asked he to Jackass.

"Yep. We've successfully managed to trick your timer into counting slower basically. Well, get into your battle suit and follow me, got a new pack for you, not so much for one use at a time. SL8 reequipped his battle suit and then began to follow Jackass. She led him to an armory, "This time, I'm giving you Battle Pack number four." She pointed to a slot on the wall which SL8 placed his back on. It locked on and he pulled out what seemed to be a back mounted jet booster of sorts. On SL8's right shoulder, there was a rail cannon he could control more or less subconsciously, on his left shoulder he had a five barrel missile pod. However, within the pod were twenty five missiles in all. He also noticed he had additional armor all around him.

"So, the jet booster on your back won't allow you to fly completely, but you will be able to move way faster, kinda glide through on the ground. Your right shoulder has the fusion rail cannon, or a smaller version of it, we had managed to scale it down, this will be controlled by you. On your left shoulder is a five barreled missile pod, armed with twenty five mini missiles. To top that all off." She took out a rifle of some sort. It was medium sized, SL8 could hold it with one hand if he wanted to, there seemed to be no sight or scope, just a green sensor up front, there was also a single rocket propelled grenade on the bottom. "This is a proto-type weapon for a new arm we're planning to distribute to our troops sometime in the future, I need you to gather data on it, that's why you're bringing it."

"Understood." SL8 saw that on the handle, there seemed to be some sort of connection piece. He scanned it and his body replicated the receiving ports flawlessly. The moment he gripped on, he received all of the weapon's data. "This is a beam rifle with an output that is much less comparable to the beam sniper you have given me. The grenade on the bottom uses an explosive rune as a core, and the weapon itself is powered by a pseudo magic crystal."

"Impressive. But yeah, that's the gist of it. I need you to test it out for us. Oh and more thing." Jackass handed SL8 a long shield with a slit near the top for him to see out of and three points at the bottom. "It has an anti-beam coating, and it's made out of the same material we used for you helmets. It'll last you a while before you can't use it anymore."

"Yes, ma'am." responded SL8, "Will I be with the Huntress Team in the air?"

"No, you'll be with the ground forces, we'll be needing your Mechanical Phenomenon later, so save it unless it's an emergency."

"Very well."

"Link up with the Field Commander, she'll be leading the YoRHa charge."

"Understood."

"Alrighty then, good luck. Bring us victory."

"Acknowledged." As SL8 left, Jackass let out a large sigh.

"I wish he'd have more responses..."

SL8 walked out of the ship with his new equipment on him. As he put the rifle away on his back hip and placed his shield in a position that wouldn't get in the way, he ran into the Huntress team yet again. "Is that new equipment?" asked 0Y.

"Correct, Commander Jackass has decided to give me some new equipment, a new battle pack." responded SL8.

"Good. We received our orders to stand by in our flight units. In fact, you aren't the only one to get new equipment. We got some new flight units, tailored to our styles." said 3B, she signaled SL8 to follow her. They reached the flight deck and SL8 saw four flight units, all of them had different color accents on various parts of their main bodies. 3B's was white and had several black stripes along with a handheld firearm rather than mounted machine guns. The weapon had a magazine that would fire heavy caliber bullets. Rather than have two missile pods, this specific flight unit had six pods in all, for the final armament, there were two enormous cannons mounted on the top. "Recognize it?" asked 3B.

"It is the YoRHa Flight Unit: Commander Type, although this one seems modified." said SL8.

"Yeah, it's more tailored for me. I was originally going to get the Zero Type, but this one suits me more. Next to it is 0Y's, the artillery type." SL8 looked over to see a flight unit with yellow accents that seemed to be more armored up, it had no swords, electing to have larger arms. It was armed with a single 120mm cannon that was mounted on it's forearm, on the bottom of the wings, it had two missile pods, but there were also launchers spread throughout the whole body. The missiles it held were special. 

"This baby is armed with MIRV missiles, and the cannon is loaded with shrapnel shells, or I can change em out at anytime." boasted 0Y. "I am really looking forward to using this thing, not gonna lie." 

SL8 looked over to next one, the machine with white stripes on the black chassis. It looked like a completely normal flight unit, say for the strange hand, on the left side. It also did not have any fire arms, the only weapon being the sword . "That one does not seem to have any other weapons." said SL8.

"That's because I can channel my magic through it." said 0W, "I'll be able to cast my spells and techniques through a flight unit, you may be mesmerized now."  

SL8 looked over at the last one. It had red stripes, making it obvious it was 0R's. On the back, there was some kind of module on it's back, this one had a hand held sniper and also what seemed to be a cloaking device right on the bottom of the first module. This one did not have any missiles, rather, it had two long, silver, bolt like projectiles. "Mine uses a new weapon, it's called the Sky Lance, kinda like what the name implies, these things tear through the skies and can puncture just about anything, they also have a huge impact on the ground." SL8 also looked at what looked like a tail, it had several armored pieces. "Those are my Shield Frags." explained 0R, "I got installed with new equipment, so I can control these pretty sub consciously, they'll protect me from enemy fire and even have an assault mode!" she said excitedly.

"That is certainly impressive." SL8 complimented. "I have received orders that I will be joining the ground forces rather than you four in the air. I will head over to the ground teams, I will see you out there."

"Yeah, good luck." said 3B. As SL8 began to walk away, he suddenly stopped and turned, "What's wrong?"

"0W, 0R, have you gotten over your fears yet?" 

"Fears?" scoffed 0W, "I was never afraid! Simply just... er..." she stopped to think, "Excited! Yes! That!"

"S-same with me! I'm not scared!" 0R added. 

"I see..." said SL8, he then chuckled a bit, surprising everyone, "Then I shall see all of you out there. Good luck." said he before walking away. As he walked away, the Huntress Team simply stared. 

"You... all heard that right?" asked 0Y.

"Yes..." responded 3B.

"He laughed?" questioned 0W.

"Huh, wow. he really is changing..." remarked 0R.

Chapter Text

Bullets flew by his head, narrowly missing him. However, he didn't mind, whenever one of them did hit him, it bounced off, the force not even reaching him. As the bullets and lasers hailed upon him, he raised his shield to block some of them. The indiscriminate fire had already claimed many lives around him, several men, dwarves, and elves alike lay on the ground, cold and lifeless. Many others took cover and were calling for aid, some healers and medics did their damndest to save who they could. He then raised his rifle, aimed, then pulled the trigger. The next moment, a green laser fired from the tip of the rifle and tore across the air. It hit a turret and it was destroyed almost immediately, but just as he had destroyed it, another took it's place. 

"This is getting nowhere..." he muttered to himself. 

"This is Theta Squad! Requesting immediate air support! I say again; Immediate Air Support! Wai-! Wha-? What do you mean you can't?!" said a soldier who was behind the ruins of a truck.

"Lieutenant, the combat air space is currently busy. I detect multiple South American Owl Striker Fighter incoming."  he paused a moment, "They are now engaging our Lancer Squadrons. YoRHa flight unit teams are on their way, ETA five minutes." he then fired his optic rays into the air, blowing an Owl Striker out of the air. "Nine left." 

"Let's hope we can last that long, but for now, SL8, think you can make this truck a bit more fortified?" asked the officer, "We have wounded, need you to grab more debris or whatever you can to make this small perimeter more protected."

"Acknowledged, beginning fortification." said SL8 as he activated his back. He glided across the ground, grabbing large pieces of debris and began to bring them back to the lieutenant. As SL8 built a barricade, the medics and healers managed to get as many wounded as they could, other soldiers who weren't too badly wounded and had no other cover got into the barrier, some of them even having force field magic. 

"Hold out! Help will come!" shouted the Lieutenant as he began to return fire.

"Yes Sir!" responded the other soldiers as they began to fire back at the turrets.

*Hours Prior*

They landed on a forward base near the South American territory on Mars. The Huntress Team left by air from the Martian Headquarters almost a day ago, the Field Commander also took a force and went with them, as per the order of Commander 6O. When they landed, SL8 opened a map of the terrain and saw the that the battlefield was a mere sixty miles away. As arms and supplies were being unloaded, the Huntress Team, along with the YoRHa Field Commander went on to go greet the current commanding officer. "Huntress Team, reporting as ordered, Ma'am." said 3B as the five of them saluted. The Field Commander simply stood by.

"Ah, so you're the famed Huntress Team." said the Dwarven officer, she wore a pauldron with Dwarvish markings on it, several brown and gold hair pieces adorned her head and she had a battle axe strapped to her hip on her left side. Her hair was tied into a neat pony tail with two more tails protruding out front, they sat nicely on her shoulders. "I've been expecting you. Lieutenant Colonel Godwela Greypike, at your service." she said, then she looked at the side, "Ah, 21O. It's been too long."

"Yes, it has, it's 21B now though. I've since made the change to a Battler." responded the Field Commander.

"Is that so?" 

"It is so." 

"Very well. But, yes, the rumors are true. We've been getting pushed back no matter what strategy we try. It's almost as if the enemy commander, SL5 literally has fate on his side. As you could all imagine, every single strategy we use, no matter how complex, or how secretive we believe it to be, they manage to defend against us with. Hell, even with the Huntress Team, our hopes may only extend so far." she said. "You've fought the other SL units right?" 

"Correct, so far we've taken two of them down, SL7 and SL6. SL6 was a deserter so we unfortunately couldn't learn much from him before he was silenced by SL5, and SL7 was a case where we couldn't retrieve his body. It's likely been sent to Earth by Oceanian forces, or was completely destroyed in a blast." said 3B.

"Then it's possible that SL5 has all of your combat datas..." said LtCol Greypike. "Go into this battle having this knowledge. The battle plan will be sent via network, dismissed." 

The YoRHa members saluted as did SL8. As they left the tent, 21B turned to the Huntress Team, "I will be leading a small force of YoRHa Flight Units, all of you will be joining it." she then looked at SL8, "But you'll be on the ground. Meet up with Sergeant First Class Kennard and Lieutenant Myong. Good luck." she saluted to SL8 and he did the same as he walked off. 

As he walked, he put his helmet on. As he walked through the camp, he saw several trucks and different tanks leaving. He saw two higher ranking individuals and approached them. "Identified Sergeant First Class Kennard and Lieutenant Myong, I am SL8, I have been assigned to your force by YoRHa Field Commander 21B."

"Ah, good, you already know us." said the Lieutenant. He was a Vacivin, the canine type it would seem, and his colleague was a human. "We've heard a great deal about you. I hope that you'll be helping us out a lot."

"Likewise. We're heading into battle, so you'd best get prepared for that. We're jumping straight into the shit this time. Shouldn't be a problem for you though." added the Sergeant First Class.

"We'll be doing our best to break through their defensive line. Once through that fortification, YoRHa will help clear a path for us and we'll begin the invasion. Your job is to keep the enemy commander occupied, kill him if you can." explained the Lieutenant. "Board the truck, we're going in."

"Yes, Sir." replied SL8. He boarded the truck and off they went into battle. 

However, when they neared the defensive wall, they were all but decimated by heavy flak. Many of the trucks were destroyed, and the North American armor was bogged down by the mud. As it continued to hail bullets, SL8 helped set up a defensive rally point. Kennard ran up with several of his men, his rifle was gone, so he only held his sword. "We're pretty busted up out here..." said he as a medic began to heal his bloodied arm. "If that air support from YoRHa doesn't arrive soon... we'll be finished for sure..."

"SL8, how long until that happens?" asked Lieutenant Myong.

"ETA, three minutes." said SL8 as he fired his optic rays. "Eight..." SL8 fired several shots from his beam rifle, blowing yet another Owl Striker out of the sky. "Update received, reinforcements incoming. However, they cannot get much closer until the air support clears the skies and the mounted turrets." 

"So we're stuck here!?" asked a soldier."

"Correct."

"Don't panic!" commanded Kennard, "We will hold out until reinforcements arrive! Just three minutes! Keep your heads down and hit back when you can!" He fired a blast of fire towards the cannons, then quickly got back behind cover.

"Yes Sergeant!" many of the other soldiers responded. They began to hit back when they had a second or two, with either magic or bullets. The three minutes felt like hours, with the hail storm of bullets and shells, it really seemed hopeless. However, a sudden voice rang in SL8's ear.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." said the voice of 21B. It was then that several squadrons of YoRHa flight units flew in, taking out the Owl Striker teams and managing to finally get through the defenses with the Huntress Team's newer equipment. It was also because of the Commander Type that 21B piloted, along with 3B's modified Commander Type. They fired their twin smash cannons directly at the wall, blowing a giant hole in it's structure. 

"That's the first part, now we just have to get through the actual wall." said Lieutenant Myong. 

"Reinforcements have been sighted, Sir!" shouted one of the soldiers.

"What?" asked Myong.

"I see 'em, too!" called Kennard, he tossed Myong some binoculars. As Myong looked through, he saw tanks, trucks, Assault Vehicles, even some Lancers began to fly in, backing up the flight units. They underwent mobile configuration and fought on par with the flight units.  

Myong saw this as his chance and rallied his men, including SL8. "All units, charge! Move past the gate! SL8, take point!"

"Acknowledged." responded SL8, he began a low hover off of the ground with his jet booster. As the hail of enemy fire rained down on him, he noticed lasers also began to come down, which meant Human Infantry. SL8 used his shield to block many of the shots, and fired back with his beam rifle. He also finally used his shoulder mounted armaments. His rail cannon fired at a weak point in a piece of the wall, making it crumble, killing several soldiers and destroying more of the turrets. 

His missile pod also fired five of them at once into the air, destroying five owl strikers that were coming up behind 0Y. Of course, she noticed this and was rather happy. "Hey, thanks! Now let me return the favor!" 0Y flew down and fired her shrapnel cannon at several tanks, blowing them to pieces. "Hell yeah! Good hunting!"

"Appreciated." responded SL8. As the rest of the human soldiers began to make past the wall, they made it into the base that lay beyond it. "Lieutenant, I read about six companies of South American Infantry still within the base, I can also detect the presence of an SL.

"So there was one here..." said Kennard. "Alright, we'll handle the South American Troops." 

"Can we leave it to you to face off with the SL?" asked Myong. 

"I am more than equipped to kill him." replied SL8.

"Then good luck, let us know if you need reinforcements." Myong commanded, SL8 nodded and ran off in another direction. "Alright people! Let's take this base!" with that, the soldiers cheered. 

*In the air*

0W froze an Owl Striker mid-air causing it to crash on the ground. "There is no end to these guys!" she cursed. 

One almost took her by surprise, but it was sniped by another flight unit, it was none other than 0R, "I know! I shot down so many already!"

"You gals keeping count!?" asked 0Y as she tore through the sky. She fired three missiles at an approaching squadron. The MIRVs they contained made short work of them, "Oh yeah! That makes thirty five!" 

"Cut the chatter." cut in 3B as she shot one down. With that artillery down, our fighters can finally move in... Nice work holding out Slate..." 

"All YoRHa flight units, on me." said 21B over the comes. We're going to cripple their hangars. Lancer teams, make your way to the shoreline and make sure their ships don't get away, use of deadly force has been completely authorized, repeat, deadly force is occupied." she said. The Lancer teams all went back into their fighter modes.

"Yes, Ma'am!" they all responded in unison as they flew off. 

"Alright, YoRHa! Let's go!" shouted 21B. They all began to fly through the Owl Striker formations. As they tore past them, the Owl Striker units began to follow. "Huntress Team, take them out, keep them off of us." she commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am." responded 3B, she and the other three flew higher into the sky and got behind the South American aerial fighters. She began to unload her gun's shots right into the enemies' wings, clipping them and making them plummet down to the ground. 0W used her ice magic and formed several ice spikes in the air, as the Owl Strikers fired back at her, she threw all of them, freezing the fighters upon impact. 0R changed into her mobile form and utilized her cloaking device, making her invisible to the eyes of the enemy fighters, deploying her shield frags and putting them in assault mode, they flew about, tearing the enemy jets to pieces. 0Y fired her shrapnel cannon, taking out several enemies at once, and 3B then cut through the last one. "We're rejoining the rest of the aerial squadrons, let's move!" 

"Roger!" said the other three. They sped towards the others and finally got to the hangars of the base. 

"Target those buildings! Keep tight and watch for the towers!" commanded 21B. She began to take her unit in, along with the other flight units. Heavy anti-air fire came towards them, 0W created an ice shield to protect herself and several other units from the enemy fire. As they began to dive, 21B fired every single missile she had, with the Commander Type's capabilities, the missiles all had MIRVs in them and she managed to get a nice spread of damage, the other flight units began to fire their missiles as well. 3B instead fired her twin smash cannons and 0W just fired ice beams.  0Y fired every single MIRV missile she had and 0R launched the sky lances, the impact on the ground was devastating for the enemies. As the smoke cleared, several beams came from the ground, shooting down several of the flight units. 

"What the-!" exclaimed one soldier as she was shot down.

"67G downed, reform! Reform!" shouted 21B. They reformed their formation and flew into the sky. 

"The Hell was that!?" asked an android. 

3B looked closer, "I have visual! Several turrets on the ground, they just came up, beams were similar to an optic ray, an SL is controlling those remotely..."

"If they're on the ground with that much fire power... we can't take them out easily, we'll be wiped out before we can get close." added 0W.

"What do we do?" asked 0R. She saw more beams come up and deployed the shield frags, they began blocking every single shot, but she noticed that they were breaking up. "Better come with a plan quick! My fragments aren't going to keep up for long!" 

"Hang on, SL8 is close!" 3B told 21B.

"SL8, do you read me?" asked the Field Commander.

"Yes, ma'am. Do you require assistance?" asked SL8 as he prowled through the base. 

"Yes, there's a plethora of hidden turrets on the ground, they're being controlled remotely by an SL, we need you to take them out before we're completely wiped out. Hurry!" replied 21B.

"Acknowledged." SL8 quickly got there with the help of his booster, as he got to the origin points of the beams, he saw several lenses on the ground, they were all protected by different materials. "Reached the target point, beginning operation." SL8 tried to fire his optic rays at one of them, it simply burned on. He then fired again, this time, he managed to destroy one, but this would take too long. So he fired his rail cannon and two more sets of micro missiles at them, destroying a few more. But still he had not destroyed enough of them. "Six shots left... This will not work... New strategy required..." SL8 looked at his rifle, and saw the rune based explosive. He then ran some simulations, the explosion can take them all out because of their close proximity, he just needed to find the center. 

So SL8 squeezed every single bit of fuel his booster had left and propelled himself into the sky, with his current propulsion, he would only have three minutes, so he began to scan frantically. "Better hurry it up! The frags won't last any longer!" cried 0R. 

"Anytime now Slate!" called 0Y.

Finally, SL8 found the epicenter of the turrets and fired his grenade. It plugged itself into the ground, as it was going towards the ground, SL8 knew he had to make the explosion bigger, so he fired every single micro missile he had, even his personal ones from his trapeziuses. As the rune went off, the following explosion was big enough to practically knock him back, the crimson blast destroyed every single one of the guns and created a giant crater. "Objective completed. You are clear." said SL8.

"And not one moment too soon." replied 21B, "We will continue our mission to attack the rest of the base. Continue finding the enemy. Field Commander out."

SL8 landed and saw that his pack had run out of fuel and that his missile pod was emptied. So he ejected both, but suddenly, his sensor went off and he quickly jumped out of the way. His rifle was not so lucky, it was hit by a golden laser, incinerating the front, making the crystal unstable. SL8 quickly threw it aside as it blew up. He looked back at the source to see a figure, with a golden glow to their suit, and their eyes smoking. He was about the same height of SL8, his features somewhat younger, his hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and he had a trimmed moustache and goatee. He held a spear that seemed to have gold in the middle of the blade itself, on his back seemed to be a rail gun.

On his left wrist was some kind of armament, seemingly a launcher of some kind. "You really had to mess everything up, didn't you, brother?" 

"SL5 identified. Deadly force has been authorized. I will terminate you." said SL8 as he. SL8 drew his gladius, he was finally using Convergence, he also raised his shield. 

"Yeah, no..." replied SL5, "If anyone is going to die, it'll be you. I had a pretty good thing going, before you and your little Huntress Team showed up." He quickly charged forth, his spear up front. 

*Eyes (Kenji Kawai)*

SL8 aimed his shoulder rail cannon at SL5, but without hesitation, the gold android threw his spear, it hit the rail cannon's base, also damaging the extra shoulder armor. As it tore straight through the cannon and armor, SL8 stumbled back.

"Gotcha!" exclaimed SL5 as he lept up, SL8 raised his shield, but SL5 jumped on it and managed to kick SL8 straight in the head, damaging the helmet and breaking the lenses. The spear bounced off a piece of debris at the right angle and flew up into the sky. SL8 threw off his helmet and turned about to see SL5 firing his optic ray at him at full power. SL8 managed to block it with his shield, and with that, the anti beam coating was all used up. He threw away the now slab of metal and purged the rest of his extra armor. "Smart choice." gloated SL5.

SL8 said nothing and extended his arm blade in response. SL5 fired his wrist weapon, it was a powerful grenade launcher, so SL8 used his grappling wires to quickly evade and charged in, his short sword clashing with the shaft with SL5's spear. Upon inspection, it was not made from wood or any basic material, but from truonium. But the spear tip was made from normal steel and yet, it was so strong. As SL8 tried to stab SL5 with his arm blade, SL5 threw SL8's sword off and whacked the arm blade with the spear's shaft and thrusted it into SL8's abdominal area, sending him back yet again.

SL8's response was to fire his optic rays. Instead of dodging, SL5's response was to spin his spear at super speed, more or less hitting aside the beams. "You're going to need to try a lot harder than that." said SL5. "I on the other hand." he grabbed his rail gun and fired, SL8 had managed to dodge in time, the shockwave blew him back. 

SL8 fired his optic rays again, but this time, SL5 was forced into evasion. He fired his grappling wires in an attempt to grab the golden foe, but with a swift swing of his arms, they were grabbed and SL8 was pulled right into SL5's direction. With another shot, SL8 was hit this time, and it tore his right arm right off, and sent him flying. "CQC capabilities damaged, offensive ability halved." SL8 said to himself, "Assessing damage, critical." spoke he as he got back up.

"Who are you talking to?" SL5 came up and swung his spear down, this time SL8 dodged and used his arm blade to swing at SL5. He managed to duck in time, but SL8 cut several strands of his hair. "My hair! You jerk!" shouted the android. SL8 went for a slash at his face while he was distracted, and he dodged just in time to avoid fatal damage, but not without a cut on his face. "That stings!" growled SL5, "Do you know how much work we put making me look this good!?"

"I do not care." replied SL8 as he ran in, he dodged the spear strike and got close enough for the long range weapon to not work. SL8 kicked SL5 in the side and fired his optic ray at the right angle, hitting the rail gun, destroying it. SL8 continued with his close combat, until SL5 caught his fist and arm blade. As they struggled to gain footing, SL5 fired his launcher again, blowing the both of them back. They both got back up at the same time and unleashed their optic rays. The two beams collided and the both of them were evenly matched in output, as they both heightened it, the beams set off an explosion, knocking the both of them back. SL8 began to reboot and repair his optics from firing the optic rays, he knew SL5 had to do the same, it was just a matter of speed.

*Fade*

SL8 managed to repair his eyes first but instead of going after his foe, he grabbed his arm off the ground and began to reattach it, with his self repairing capabilities, he managed to put it back on, though it would need proper maintenance if he wanted it to be at one hundred percent. "CQC capabilities at seventy three percent. Parameters acceptable, engaging." said he. 

"Fuck! I'm not done yet!" yelled SL5.

As SL8 was running forward, he picked up another reading, someone from behind. 

SL8 jumped up and dodged a spear thrust that would've caused him critical damage. "Looked like you were struggling, Sweetie..." said the person, it was a woman. As she turned around, SL8 could see her features. Her long, flowing hair was a deep yellow, the same shade as her eyes. She was a taller, voluptuous woman, something she clearly intended to show. Her legs and arms were armored, but for her torso, she wore a deep V-neck, which showed part of her breasts, and wore practically under wear on her legs. She seemed to have some sort of scarf and a sword adorned her hip, though that was not her weapon. She held an enormous cross shaped spear, it was the practically size of her, and finally, there was the Roman numeral for five on her forehead. 

"Baby... what took you so long?" asked SL5 as his eyes fixed themselves. 

"Sorry, I was having some... 'play time' for myself." replied the woman.

"You mean killing those North American fucks, right?" 

"Oh come on Sweet-cheeks, do you even know me? I meant the other one of course."  replied she.

"Aw come on, babe, you make me feel left out." said SL5. He then caught sight of SL8, "Oh yeah, we gotta kill him, him and his little friends." 

"Identify yourself. Are you South American personnel?" asked SL8 bluntly.

"Oh no... You're one of those types, ah it's not too bad." said the woman, "But no, I'm an Intoner... I am Five. And I'm pretty excited right now so how about we get this threesome going?" 

"Babe, no, this guy is a total prude." 

"Engaging." said SL8. 

Chapter Text

"Engaging." spoke SL8. Without another word, he ran forth, both Five and SL5 split up and went the opposite directions. SL8 fired his optic rays at SL5 to make him block, and went after him as he was occupied. However, before his weapons could make contact, Five hit him from the side, knocking him off his target direction. As SL8 recovered from the hit, he saw Five above him, swinging her spear down. SL8 managed to block with his gladius, but he saw SL5 coming in from the side, the spear nearly reached him, but SL8 parried with his arm blade. Five came at him again, this time with a horizontal thrust, SL8 had to use his sword, but as he blocked, he could feel the amount of force and pressure on his arm. A message flashed into his eyes.

"Right Arm Structural Integrity: Falling below 67%. Warning: Disengage." said the warning, but SL8 knew that he could not do such a thing. Retreating now would allow his two foes an opportunity to attack the other North American Forces and inflict heavy losses. SL8 simply jumped up, hitting aside his foes' weapons at the same time. If he wanted to win this, he would have no choice but to use it now. The word flashed into his eyes, "PHENOMENON" it read. SL8 jumped up and his back opened up, all the parts pouring out and building themselves into limbs and combining. Within seconds, his weapons were formed, and his Mechanical Phenomenon was complete. 

"I will terminate the both of you." he said. As he fired his beam rifle, he also launched several missiles at his two foes. Five dodged whilst SL5 used a combination of his optic rays, trapezius missiles and wrist grenades to intercept the missiles. SL8 fired another beam at Five, this time she jumped into the air and jumped off a missile to try and get to SL8, but with an arm blade swipe, he nearly cut into her. Despite her weapon's size, she was incredibly nimble with it, she had managed to block the arm blade by simply shifting her spear a foot or so, but the impact still sent her back crashing into the ground.

"Man, this fight is getting my juices flowing." said she as she was getting back up. 

"Yeah, but that form is trouble for us. What say you we even the ground a bit?" asked SL5, "I don't wanna use mine, I can't turn back otherwise. It's all down to you, baby." 

"Sure thing. I'll sing something for him then. We're close enough to the sea..." Five cleared her throat and spread her arms apart. SL8 fired his optic rays, but SL5 used the same technique as before, though this time, he somehow spun his spear far faster. The beam was successfully blocked.

*Five's Song (Drakengard 3)*

Five began to "sing". At first it was just a high pitch, but it began to get more and more distorted. Something began to rumble from the near by ocean, as magic circles formed above the water, something began to emerge. "Finally! You will die today, brother!" shouted SL5, "Our lady, the Intoner Five is summoning the instrument of your doom! Arise! Arise, Phanuel!" As SL5 said that, a giant crab like creature arose from the magical circles over the water, it popped out and then dropped into the ocean, causing a giant splash of water to shoot up high into the sky. The eight legged beast then glowed and disappeared, a magic barrier surrounded SL8 with the two foes and the entirety of the area began to fill up with water. SL8 braced himself as he was hit by the downpour and it didn't take long for him to become submerged. 

The giant creature teleported into the area and sent SL8 deeper into the now miniature ocean. SL8 resurfaced, using his amphibious and aerial capabilities then looked at the giant creature before him. "This here is an angel! I look forward to watching you get torn apart!" yelled SL5. SL8 looked back at the giant before him. 

"Unknown creature. Confirmation not available at this time. No matter, I will terminate it." SL8 began to engage it in combat. He resubmerged back into the water and began to jet towards the monster's legs, hoping to find some gaps in the shell. However, no such luck existed for him, the crab's shell wasn't so much a shell, but more akin to some type of armor. Even in his Mechanical Phenomenon, SL8 could hardly dent it. SL8 was smacked aside underwater and sent into the air. Even half submerged, this creature's force would not be halved by the water's density. As he was in the air, he was hit by a large stream of water into him and sent him into the magical circle. The water stream had such pressure, SL8 noticed erosion on his chassis, and that some of his weapons, specifically, his bladed ones were now unusable. "Unable to use close combat capabilities." 

SL8 switched to his fighter mode and flew towards the supposed angel. He fired several missiles, all of them hitting on target, but having little effect. But the creature did resurface enough to shoot more water at SL8. He took this chance and released exhaust from his after burners and effectively made a smoke screen. Out of the smoke, he rammed into Phanuel at top speed, knocking it back out of the water to the edge of the circle on it's back. It was then that SL8 immediately fired both his beam rifle at maximum output along with his optic rays, doing quite a bit of damage to the monster crustacean. As SL8 focused his attacks on the giant monster, but before he could do major damage, he was hit by optic rays from SL5. 

SL8 tried to attack the android and Intoner, but before he could, the monster had gotten back up and fired several water blasts in his direction. SL8 had to evade and assumed his mobile mode. He fired his optic ray at the shell, but it jumped out of the way, the rays hitting the water and causing a giant blast of steam. Out of the steam, a giant stream of water, this time, SL8 had dodged the water but it managed to clip his left wing. He tried to call for reinforcements, but he was being jammed, he would have to rely on the noise and commotion to attract the others. SL8 soared through the sky until at one point, he was knocked out of the air by a surprise lunge from the angel. 

SL8 fell into the water and had an idea. He changed into mobile mode for better mobility, he then got underneath Phanuel and flew upward as fast and hard as he could. It knocked Phanuel right into the air onto it's back again. Learning from last time, SL8 fired several missiles in the directions of SL5 and Five and began to unload several bullets, beams, and optic rays upon Phanuel, doing more damage this time. As the angel was getting back on it's legs, SL8 fired some more missiles at SL5 to force him on the defensive. 

Finally, SL8 charged up his optic rays to the max and fired them right into Phanuel's face, making the monster roar in pain, and making Five wince. The magic circle began to flicker, eventually the top levels turned off. But it wasn't done, Phanuel was still not down, it looked at SL8, now immobile because of the blast. But as the water welled up inside it's mouth, several missiles and bullets hit the monster's top, distracting it. SL8 looked up and saw 0Y's Flight Unit fire off a shrapnel shell and fired the rest of her missiles. 3B and 21B then showed up and began to fire their twin-smash cannons until they needed to cool. 0W appeared and fired an ice beam into the water, freezing the ground, trapping Phanuel. As more Flight Units and Lancers showed up and opened fire, SL5 could not intercept them anymore.

*Fade*

"Damn! Don't get in the-!" he shouted. But someone began to talk to him.

"Enough... the base is lost. And with the invading force and your lack of army, you won't win..." said a voice over the comms.

"Oh come on! You don't expect me to-"

"Yes... I do..." replied the voice, cutting him off, "Return to Earth our allies on Mars are finished. We should consolidate our forces back on Earth again, the Intoner agrees..." 

"Ugh... fine... Five, we're going..." SL5 groaned.

"Aw... looks like we didn't get finished... got blue balls, hon?" asked Five as she stopped singing.

"You could say that... the boss is a total prude too I guess..."

"Phanuel! Return!" shouted Five. Giant magic circles appeared under and over the crustacean and enclosed upon it, making is disappear. As the flight units and lancers took notice on SL5 and Five, they began to close in. "How are we getting out?" asked Five as she readied her spear. 

"Get us outta here..." said SL5 loudly.

"Oh no you don't!" 0R shouted from her flight unit. She readied her sniper but as she fired, the two enemies flashed into light and were gone right as the bullet hit the ground. "Wha-?" 

"Signal lost. They're gone. They have retreated." said SL8 as he began to land, along with the others. SL8 turned back into his android form and many of the YoRHa soldiers got off their flight units.

"What... who was that?" asked 0W, "What was that giant creature?" 

"She said she was an 'Intoner'. I have no data on such a being. But she was a powerful foe, that creature she summoned was an 'angel', it was a very strong creature, analysis and data are required. Upon analysis, I believe she may not be the only one. Her name is Five, we should assume there are others." said SL8.

"Hmm..." thought 21B, "I'll send this data back to base and 6O. YoRHa and her allies will find as much info as possible." she then looked around. "But the mission has been accomplished, we've taken the base and can now advance into the South American territory here on Mars." she announced. Cheers and shouts erupted from the surrounding North American forces. "But it's too early to celebrate. The campaign continues! Glory to Mankind!" 

"Glory to Mankind!" shouted all the soldiers as they began to climb back into their flight units and flying off. In the distance, more ground forces were moving in from North American Forces and landing forces began to get onto the shores. 

"I will rejoin the other ground forces." said SL8 to 3B.

"Sounds good, see you on the field, Slate. Good luck." replied 3B as she climbed into her Flight Unit. 

"Likewise." replied SL8, he began to walk off in the other direction. It seemed that the campaign to drive out South American forces had not ended just yet.

Chapter Text

Four months. 

Four months had passed since the North American forces had broken through the coastal defense line. It had been a quarter of a year since SL8 had his first encounter with SL5 and an Intoner, a new foe. Battle after battle was fought. SL8 was surrounded by nearly endless death and decay from both his foes and allies alike. He saw the corpses of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Vacivins, and of course, Androids. Being more machine than human, he cared little, he knew that conflicts, people die. It did not get any simpler than that. But despite that, they clung to their lives, desperately trying to live, despite being surrounded by death.

During the first two months of the campaign, SL8 did very much care for the affairs of anyone outside of the Huntress Squadron. But over time, he began to wonder, why did they try so desperately to cling to their lives? He knew of the things that they had back at home, how they had loved ones, and that they had dreams, every single one of the men and women who died. He knew of all of that, but if that were the case, why did they even go and fight, knowing this could very well be the result? He found himself deep in thought, before he realized that someone was trying to talk to him.

"SL8, are you listening to me?" asked Lieutenant Myong.

"My apologies, Sir. I was running simulations." replied SL8.

"That can wait, we have a briefing happening, I want you there. After all, the Huntress Team is there along with Field Commander 21B."

"Understood, Sir." SL8 began to follow the officer. When they got into the tent, they look at a large holographic screen. "I've bought him, Ma'am." said Myong.

"Good." it was Godwela Greypike, now her hair a bit more disheveled and her uniform more dirty, but she still looked rather well groomed and kept up. "So, our spies and informants have sent us a complete layout of the South American city of 'A Capital Vermelha'." A blueprint glowed up on the hologram and began showing the entirety of a city, from it's buildings to even it's sewage systems and where they lead out to. "Unfortunately, this is not a coastal city, nor is it vulnerable to aerial bombardment. So many of out operatives on the inside have proposed we get in via their sewage systems."

This sparked muttering among the higher ranking soldiers present, one of them raised their hands, "Ma'am, wouldn't there be both security measures and forces within the sewage tunnels?"

"Of course." replied LtCol Greypike, "However, we have YoRHa scanners to help mitigate that. Along with our different stealth teams, specifically, the Red Hand of the Elves." the moment she said that. A team of elves wearing specialized tactical gear with red elven markings walked in. They had their stealth suits on and seemed ready for combat at any time. "King Hagduin of Thaenataesi managed to send a squadron of his best stealth team. They will be assisting our own YoRHa scanners and stealth teams on infiltrating the underground sectors." 

"Do we have enough?" asked another officer, "Surely, with the sewage systems so big, they'll have multiple checks, radioing in at all times and likely changing shifts..."

"We have enough of the Red Hand. Problem is, our scanners may be shorthanded. The ones who have died in recent times have been able to upload their data, but they'll take another three days to get here..." added Major 54D.

"What if the Huntress Team were to also partake in the infiltration?"  21B suddenly chimed in, all the other brass members were left speechless.

"The Huntress Team? Are they even capable of stealth?" asked Myong.

"I'm referring to one specific member. That would be 0R. Her model code is Reaper, killing in the shadows with speed and precision, not to mention with silence." replied 21B. "We have since upgraded her speed systems once again, she can last longer without the possibility of her movements being shut down temporarily after strain." 21B added.

"But how fast can she go?" asked Greypike.

"She can move faster than a human with speed magic and can kill quieter than any silenced weapon or arrow." upon hearing this, the other officers within the tent began to agree with 21B, including 54D. Greypike seemed to think about it for a few minutes before finally deciding. 

"Very well, I will allow it." said the LtCol. This got 21B to nod in approval. 

"Good, since that part is done with, we'll need a plan for how an assault will go when the air defenses actually goes down. Chances are they've consolidated most if not all of their remaining ground forces to this city alone, so I feel like a frontal assault may not be the best idea, does anyone have a better plan than just charging in?" Many of the officers stayed quiet, many of them deep in thought.

"That wall seems to be able to be scaled." said Major 54D, "Perhaps we can split our forces. Once the teams from ther sewage systems move in, it will not take long for the enemy to realize where we're coming from and try to surround all points, I say one half will be going through the subterranean route, the others will commence a siege while after anti air goes down. That way, the enemy will be pulled apart."

"That's a very viable plan, Major." replied Greypike. She thought about it some more. "That sounds like a good one, are we all in agreement with this plan of attack?" But it was then that one of the human Naval officers raised his hand.

"I think before we go on with this, we ought to go over our fighting strength." he stated, "We may have gotten help from the Red Hand, but I still don't think we have enough manpower for this operation, specifically, the sieging part. We have only the Immortal Ninth Battalion, numbering up to about six thousand ground soldiers. Then the Thirtieth Mechanized Armor Unit, with only one-hundred and two tanks left, instead of our original five hundred... our android numbers are also spread thin at this point, just a little over fifty YoRHa flight units with their ground forces only above one hundred at one hundred and sixteen. The Third Lightning Brigade also only has thirteen Lancers left... And reinforcements are too far away." he finally said grimly. "I don't think we have enough forces to form a proper siege."

"We did more with less during out assault on SL6. That was when he had many copies of himself as well. If there really isn't an SL here, than we shouldn't gave a problem." rebutted 54D.

"Major, at that time, you and your forces were assaulting a single fortress, this time, it's a sprawling metropolis with every single last denizen in there willing to fight to their last breath to stop our advance. This time, there is a clear difference in fighting strength, we need to rethink our strategy." the officer looked at LtCol Greypike. 

"Commander Zachariah, we simply do not have enough time to rethink our plan. The situation on Earth remains the same. Eastern European forces continue to push towards the West, to London. The defense of our allies are currently holding, but they won't for long. Asia remains in a stalemate with Oceania, Africa is still watching for which side to pick. Then there is North America, also in a stalemate with the South American forces at the Panama Canal... if we want that stalemate to break, then we have to take this city now and force the South's military off of Mars." 

"But Godwela! This will never succeed, it's suicide!" cried the Commander. Several other of the officers now didn't look so sure. 

"Ma'am... perhaps Commander Zachariah is right..." said another officer, "I do not believe a siege will succeed... We simply do not have enough-"

A sudden commotion outside shook the tent. All the officers looked shocked and promptly went outside to see what was happening, followed by the Huntress Team and SL8. When they got outside, they saw a massive armored assault ship, it was none other than the Anemone. "It's the Anemone!" shouted a soldier. The ship began to descend, as it did, several squadrons of YoRHa flight units from the catapult launched. As the ship landed, hangar doors opened, three platoons of YoRHa Riders came out, along with several thousand Regular Corps androids. They bought supplies and ammunition, along with new weaponry. Finally, out came the Commander of the Regular Corps herself, Jackass.

"Jeez, what's taking you all so long?" asked she. She then smirked, "Don't answer that, cause the cavalry has just arrived. Reinforcements, more ammo, more equipment, and a hefty amount of chow for you organics." 

"Ma'am, how did you know all of this? You bought a ship, no less..." said Greypike.

"Eh, kind of a sixth sense. I got a call saying I need to head back to Earth, but see, I ended up using my authority to extend my time here on Mars a little longer before I head back, figured you front line troops could the extra help." 

An officer began to speak, "But you're the Commander of the Android Regular Corps, if you were to fall here then-" 

"Hah?!" Jackass suddenly scoffed, "I'm a soldier, too, y'know? Believe me, I've got way more experience on the front lines than you might think! Sure I may have been running experiments a lot before and, maybe goofing off a lot..." she then calmed down, "But there's a reason why Anemone recommended me as Commander before she retired herself..." she then perked back up, "But yeah, short version is, I'm here to help. Speaking of which, where's SL8?"

"I am here, Commander." said SL8 as he stepped up. 

"Ah, good, I need to give you another load out for this mission. I want you to follow me." said she. SL8 did so, as a few logistics officers began to tell in full detail what they have bought, he followed her into the ship. When inside, she bought him to the armory again. "So, it's been a while since I've last seen you, how was the number four?" she asked.

"It performed well in combat, plenty of combat data regarding the rifle has been recorded and sent." replied SL8.

"That's good then." Jackass opened a door and there was a metallic mix of a harness and backpack, there was a shield with three long missiles and some kind of single handed rifle on it, along with a claw that looked as it it would be mounted on the other arm. "This one here is number eight, made for stealth. Go ahead and equip it." SL8 walked up to it and did just that. As he put it on, he read in his eyes that a new, unregistered device was equipped on him. He bought up the notification and saw that it was a cloaking device, "See it? That's one of the best features of this one. It comes with a shield mounted silenced rifle, three soundless Piercing Missiles, and on your left arm, is a called the 'Gleipnir', it's rocket propelled instead of gas like your built in wires and has a grip strength of forty five tons at it's max, so be careful."

"I cannot use my arm blade while this is equipped. My close range capabilities are halved like this." stated SL8.

"You'll be joining 0R in the sewage systems for infiltration, your arm blade is to be used only as a last ditch effort, understood?"

"Understood." responded SL8. "Commander, how did you know about the plan?" asked he suddenly.

"Well, I got the data. 21B was transmitting it over to me as it went. She didn't know that I was actually on my way, she's just supposed to submit it to me so I can also have some input."

"Acknowledged." replied SL8. He went over all his gear and ran a few simulations. His new equipment was all in working condition. "Everything is in working order." 

"Good. Any other questions."

SL8 thought about it, and in a mere millisecond, he thought of one. "Why do the soldiers still cling to their lives?" he asked. Jackass looked puzzled, "They come and fight, sign up for military service, yet, when they die in battle, they cling to their lives when they are wounded. Why do they not accept their fate? Why even become a soldier when this could be the result? It is illogical to me..." 

Jackass stopped for a moment, she then turned to SL8 and looked at him, "You know, you ask some of the weirdest questions." 

"It is strange to you?" asked SL8, he tilted his head slightly as a sign of confusion. "Do you have an answer?" 

"I do actually." Jackass responded, "A little something called 'principle'." she added, "See, these people all came out for various reasons, patriotism, honor, glory, the paycheck, whatever. But they all have something in common, it was their principles that got them here. No one goes into a war expecting to die, well some do, but they're weirdos..." she chuckled, "But yes, all of them go in not wanting to die, they go in wanting to achieve whatever their principles stood for, be it the things I mentioned. So naturally, if or when they get mortally wounded and feel the end coming, of course they don't wanna die, it's only natural, because they haven't achieved what they wanted yet."

"Is that why so many of them could not make peace with their deaths, Commander?" 

"Precisely." replied Jackass. She then adopted a much more somber tone, "Listen, like I said, no one wants to die, no one plans on it, but so many of them know that if our enemies win, if the other SL androids win, everyone, all life, will have no future. At the end of the day, that's what most are fighting for. Putting their lives on the line so everyone can have a brighter future... We can't forget what we're fighting for, what the lives lost were for." 

"Understood, Commander. I will ensure that as many of our forces get back as possible." said SL8.

"That's what I like to hear... good luck out there, Slate, we're counting on you and 0R, along with the Red Hand of course."

SL8 nodded as he headed outside off of the ship. SL8 saw that 0R was with the other Red Hand members getting a brief from LtCol Greypike. "You'll be hiking at least ten miles North-East from here. Once inside, split into teams and spread out. Clear the sewage sectors and let us know when you're close enough to the main city. When that happens, we will lay siege and give you enough time to disable the shield generators."

"Yes, ma'am." the rest of the soldiers responded. 0R turned to SL8 and beamed up.

"Oh, hi Slate!" she called out happily.

"Hello." responded SL8. 

"Did you hear the entire plan?" she asked, "Looks like we'll be walking a bit. Well, it's no problem for us androids, right?"

"We do not have stamina to use, so no. Scanning." he took a quick look at the Elves, each of them were in perfect condition and health. "I do not think it will be a problem for them either." 

"We're moving out!" shouted one of the Elves. SL8 and 0R followed them alongside with the other YoRHa soldiers. 

0R would converse with SL8 along the way. As they continued forward, the mountains seemed to get more and more numerous. When they finally got to the sewer entrance, they saw that it looked like a regular old drainage pipe. However, they did not get inside just yet. "Let us go." said the Red Hand Leader.

"Wait." said SL8.

"What is it? Do you see something?" asked he. 

"Scanning." SL8 saw something, "I see two life signatures... there are two guards hidden near the entrance. Sending the data over to you." said he to 0R. 

"Data received. I'll take them down..." 0R replied. She then activated her speed system, the rose pedals began to flow off of her cape. She glowed a crimson red, and sped forward so quick, that it took a few moments for the sound of her departure to even register for the Elves. After two seconds, she contacted SL8 again, "Area clear, you're free to move up."

"The area has been cleared, Sir." said SL8 to the captain.

"Thank you." he gave a hand signal, the strike team began to move forward again until they finally got to the entrance. "SL8, you will take point. YoRHa Scanners will be in the middle, Battlers and Defenders will be the vanguard alongside 0R and SL8. Red Hand, we will be the rear guard. Make constant communication checks, got it?"

"Yes, Sir." many of them responded. SL8 got up front and ripped the door off of the pipe. 

"Commencing mission..." 

Chapter Text

"Boy... it smells like shit..." said one of the YoRHa scanners.

"You're telling me... I can feel my nostrils dying... wonder how the Organics are putting up with it..." responded a defender.

"Cut the chatter... we're closing onto an enemy position..." said a YoRHa Battler. 

SL8 and 0R were both up front, SL8 had his rifle pointed down the hallway, and 0R with her sniper. They stopped when SL8 put his fist up, they all got to the sides and SL8 listened in. 

"Sure hope we get out of this place soon... God... I wonder if I'll smell anything other than shit after this..." a man cursed, he was speaking Portuguese.

"The end of our shift cannot come any sooner... I haven't even a clue why we're guarding the sewer. Wouldn't it be easier for us to just block all of them off?" responded another man.

"Apparently they tried six years ago. Then a bunch of civilians complained..."

"Oh yeah... this city is built in a position for PEACE times... tch... five hundred years of it made us soft... the SL androids definitely had the right idea... I mean, at the end of the day, war is good, it'll create a better future with tougher-" he was cut off when an arrow went through his head. Before the other guard could react, another arrow found itself embedded in his skull. 

"Clear..." said one of the two elf archers. 

"Forward..." the Captain said through the comm links. As the strike team began to move deeper into the sewers, they also began to branch off to the multiple surrounding paths around the city, neutralizing more and more security teams within the sewage. "All teams, report in..." said the Captain.

"Team two... all present."

"Team three, all present."

"Team four, all alive..."

This continued on at least fifteen more times. "Team twenty... where are you?" asked the Captain. No response. "Team twenty... do you copy?" there was long silence yet again. "This is bad..." He turned to both SL8 and 0R, "I need you two to go check on team twenty, see why they're not responding. We may have been compromised..." 

"Yes, Sir." replied the androids. They then both quickly left, moving through the sewers and weaving their way past the pipe lines to where the twentieth team would be at. As SL8 tracked them, he realized that there were no life signs from the Twentieth team. "Wait..." he said.

"What's wrong?" 0R asked.

"No life signs from the Elven soldiers. Wait here..." SL8 activated his cloaking device, "Take up a sniping position." said he before he left. 0R nodded and got behind a door way,  her right eye seeing all. As SL8 weaved his way through, he heard Portuguese being spoken, he looked onward and saw that the Twentieth team had been killed, the soldiers were now contacting higher ups. Then, what seemed to be a tornado siren went off, it blasted throughout the sewer systems. The alarm had been set off. 

"SL8, what's going on? Why are the alarms going off!?" asked the Captain through the communications. 

"Team Twenty has been killed, Captain." SL8 replied silently. "The plan has been ruined, I have calculated a new one. Leave the sewer systems with your forces and the other YoRHa troops. There is a ninety-six point nine chance that more reinforcements will soon flood these sewers. I will draw them towards us and assume my Mechanical Phenomenon for a diversion once you safely make it out. That will be Commander Jackass' signal to begin the attack." said SL8, "You need to trust me, I have done all the calculations. There is an eighty-seven point zero five chance this will work as I intend." 

"It's better than nothing. Very well, we shall see you on the battlefield itself. Captain, out." the comms shut off. 

"0R, what will you do?" asked SL8.

"Staying here of course. You'll need covering fire."

"Understood. Engaging." SL8 fired one of his piercing missiles, it flew through the air undetected, but the explosion killed the enemy soldiers in an instant. The explosion also let other soldiers know of his location. He was still cloaked, and began to fire off several shots of his rifle, all of them killing some more enemies. 

0R fired her sniper at an unseen enemy, the bullet tore through his head and ricocheted off a wall and punctured the chest of another approaching soldier. 

"Intruder at Sector Nine!" a voice shouted. 

"Go! Go! Go!" another added. 

SL8 fired his rifle at the intruders some more, they began to fire back at him. SL8 used his shield to block whatever came his way, the missiles didn't even dent the shield, but his cloaking was failing from the enemy fire, until it wore off and he was completely exposed. They began to use their magic on him, hitting him with several kinds of elemental blasts. But a sniper from behind began to hit them, killing them off one by one. SL8 took this chance to fire back at them. Once they were cleared, he detected something approaching 0R. 

"Magical Reactor detected. It's behind you. Move away from your current position." SL8 said to 0R. 

She stopped and began to hear some kind of rumbling. "Armored Vehicle!" she shouted. A loud bang sounded off, and she jumped away. Had she been too slow, she would've been caught in that blast, perhaps even killed. But she only had a few scrapes. 0R then grouped up with SL8, "How'd they fit something like that down here!?" she asked angrily as she aimed her sniper.

"Unknown." SL8 then ran forward and saw the vehicle. It aimed the main cannon at him, ready to fire. But SL8 used his remaining piercing missiles and they tore through the vehicle's armor, destroying it with the following detonation. "Vehicle destroyed. Alert: Multiple hostiles approaching from all sides."

"We're boxed in!" 0R saw one and quickly shot him down, "Reloading!" she quickly switched out the magazine, "I can't use my scythe in here!" she shot another one. 

"I have calculated a solution." SL8 let out a force field and gave it to 0R. As she was surrounded, SL8 looked up and fired his Gleipnir right into the ceiling. It clamped on tightly and SL8 used his hip grappling hooks as well. He pulled the three wires with all his might, causing the ceiling to collapse, bringing hundreds if not thousands of pounds worth of rubble down, burying and crushing several soldiers alive. "Hostiles clear. More incoming." 

"I see them." replied 0R. She fired out of the force-field, killing more enemy soldiers. "It's endless! There's too many of them!" 

SL8 said nothing back but continued to fire. It was almost like trying to kill a hydra, no matter how many soldiers he killed, more took their place. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the Captain radioed in. 

"SL8, we have made it out of the sewer system and contacted our allies, begin your diversion." said he.

"Roger that." SL8 kept shooting, then had to block a missile. It blew him back, and even damaged his rifle, making it no longer usable. He fired the Gleipnir straight into the man's chest, crushing his ribs and killing him. He picked up the assault rifle and began to advance forward. "I need to get to a more open area to assume my Mechanical Phenomenon." he said to 0R, "Once that happens, climb inside of me, or you may be caught in the cross fire." 

"Wait, what?" 0R was confused, "Inside you? You have room?" 

"Correct. Please follow close." SL8 fired his optical rays, incinerating all they touched. He moved through the sewers, using a map that he downloaded of the sewer systems, he was making his way to a large plot where several pipes lead to, a waterfall of sorts. Finally, both himself and 0R made it there, with enemy soldiers in pursuit. The words flashed into SL8's point of view and he jumped right off of the ledge. What flew up was his fighter jet mode of his Mechanical Phenomenon. It fired several missiles to the surrounding areas, killing the pursuers. "0R, we are breaking through to the surface; recommend you embark." SL8 said. 

A part of his chest suddenly opened up after he assumed his humanoid form, and 0R could see SL8's main body inside, he was seemingly fused with the internals of the machine. 0R hesitated at first, but then jumped right in. The hatch shut itself and 0R found a small area for her to stay inside of. "I'm guessing you can't go into your fighter mode?" asked she.

"Affirmative, that would crush you." replied SL8. 

"Noted." 

SL8 began to fly up. He began to pick up speed, not showing a single sign to slow down. "We're charging through to the surface." said he. SL8 fired his optic rays at full power towards the surface and they broke right through. It turned out that they were right at the city's edges. "Beginning attack." SL8 began to fire his optic rays, missiles, beam rifle, and arm mounted machine guns in every direction. The anti-air guns on the walls of the city were destroyed as he fired indiscriminately. It was then that the defenses actually began to fire at him, along with surface-to-air missiles from enemy trucks on the ground. 

SL8 began to block them with his shield or evaded them. He began a quick scan of the entire terrain, "Civilian population detected." SL8 said suddenly. "They are consolidated near the center of the city." said he.

"Wait, what!?" asked 0R, "You said near the center? Then who's at the center?" 

"There is a ninety-six percent chance that it is the enemy command element. If I had to guess, they're using the populace to buy time to escape." replied SL8 as he continued to fight.

"They're using... their own civilians as... shields..." 0R sounded horrified. 

"I will contact the Lieutenant Colonel." SL8 quickly called Greypike, "Lieutenant Colonel, I have a situation report. I ran a scan on the city in it's entirety, and detected a civilian population close to the center, we have reason to believe that they are being used as human shields. There is a group in the direct center of the city that is likely the enemy's commanding force. They're attempting a retreat, abandoning the city."

"Damn it all... Put 0R on the line." responded Greypike.

"Yes, ma'am?" asked 0R.

"I need you to get those civilians out of there. I'll send the Huntress Team your way, use any means necessary, we're here to make sure that we take this city, not slaughter civilians." 

"Understood!" 

SL8 looked at the horizon, and sure enough, he saw the North American forces approaching. Four objects were approaching at high speed, faster than most YoRHa flight units, it was the Huntress Team. After five seconds, the other three arrived within their flight units, SL8 opened up his hatch and 0R jumped right out into her own. "I will clear a path for the Huntress Team." said he. SL8 flew ahead at top speed, letting down a barrage of missile fire down on the defenses, allowing a path for the others to fly through.

"Thanks, Slate!" the other four flew. As aerial forces began to attack, SL8 began to draw their attention via his beam rifle and optic rays, shooting more and more of them down. 

On the other hand, the Huntress team moved through the enormous city as fast as they could, they approached the center, shooting down any pursuing fighters. When they got to the central building, sure enough, thousands upon thousands of civilians stood right outside, they were all huddled together, frightened. Some of them shouted and pointed at the four flight units, and then many of them tried to open fire at the androids with regular fire arms. "Leave our city!" one of them shouted. 

"Murderers!" another yelled.

The populace was shooting at them, seemingly told that they would be the last line of defense. "This is insane!" cried 0Y, "They don't even know they're human shields!?"

"We can't take this forever!" 0W said to 3B, "Flight aren't invulnerable, if we keep taking hits, we'll go down!"

"Dammit! We have to reason with them!" 3B shouted.

"But-"

"I will not shoot at civilians! Armed or not!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the other three shouted. They descended at a quick rate, flying down to right in front of the people. As they tried to fire, 0W raised an Ice wall, blocking every single bullet before it even got close to them. They continued to fire, and 0W kept her shield raised until they ran out of bullets, however, before anyone could use their magic, 3B began to speak.

"Please, listen!" 3B shouted, "You're being used! We're not here to cause any harm to you!" 

"Murderer!" someone yelled as they casted a fire ball at them, 0Y was quick and blocked the flames with her bracers.

"We aren't lying to you! You're being manipulated! Used as a means to hold us off while your top brass escapes!" shouted the golden haired android.

"You androids took my son from me!" a citizen nearly screamed.

"LISTEN TO US, DAMMIT!!!" 0R suddenly screamed, she had screamed louder than she ever had before, shocking everyone. "Please...!" she began to tear up as she ripped her visor off, letting everyone see both of her eyes. "You're being used! The people in the building behind you are just leaving you all to die!! They don't care about you, or your people out there fighting ours! They just need a way to buy enough time, so they can escape! I know you think we're killers, and that we're lying, but you must listen, even if for a minute!" she looked around, "You're all expendable in their-" suddenly, she was cut off by a deafening sound. Everyone looked up and saw a ship that emerged from the central building leaving the planet, it had the mark of the South American government on it. As the flight units were being kept at bay by the aerial South American forces, the people in the Anemone watched as the ship began to leave. 

Jackass shot up from her chair, "Don't let that ship get away! After it!" the Anemone began to move forward, ignoring all the enemy fighters and flew as fast as it could towards the government vessel. But before it could get close enough, a green laser beam hit the side of the Anemone. "What was that!? Damage report!" 

"Direct hit on or starboard engine! We can't speed up anymore!" said an android operator.

"What hit us?"

"Analyzing data, it was an Optical Ray, from an SL android!" replied another.

"Dammit, there's another one! Where did it come from?" 

"From the top of the- Another one!" 

Jackass looked forward and saw another beam incoming, this time, it hit the portside of the ship. "Direct hit to the portside engine, we're going down!" 

"Brace for impact!!" screamed Jackass. The Anemone began to fall, it crash landed onto the ground. Luckily, it avoided too much damage as the helmsman had managed to steer it mostly away from the main city walls. "SL8..." Jackass said weakly, "The Anemone is down, our wings are clipped... Listen... there's another SL, at the center, take him... down..." said she before she passed out.

"Understood, Commander." SL8 fought off the other fighters and began to fly at top speed to the center, "Ten minutes left... I can do this..." said he to himself. 

Back at the center, everyone watched in shock of what had happened. From the government leaving to the Anemone crashing. "See? You were abandoned!" 0R shouted, "You were-" she was cut off a second time, this time by a gunshot, it hit her right in the shoulder, tearing her arm off and making her scream in pain as she fell to the floor. 

"See, this is why I hate women!" called a voice. "Always so needlessly emotional, and for what!?" They looked over in the direction of shot origin. They saw a man with short, spiky hair, wearing a very familiar suit. This time, having green lights across his suit. He carried an anti-material rifle, and was taking aim for another shot, but this time, he fired some kind of gas grenade. It was a type of nerve gas, and did not care if he the civilians were in the way. When it made impact with the ground, the gas exploded everywhere, killing several people instantly. 

"Run!" shouted 3B to the people, they all began to run away, whilst 0Y grabbed 0R and began to dodge shots. 0W fired ice at him, but he threw aside his rifle and extended clawed hands, smacking all of the ice spikes away. 

"Now where have you gone... little mice..." 3B came out of her cover shooting several shots at the SL, some of them managed to hit him, with no avail. "There you are..." He fired his green optic rays at her, who managed to dodge just in time, but not without scrapes and bruises. Suddenly, several beams nearly struck him and a few missiles were fired at him. "Well... look who it is." 

SL8 finally arrived, still in his mechanical phenomenon form. "Target identified as SL4, proceeding to terminate."

"Terminate this, asshole!" SL4 fired his optic rays at full power, which SL8 matched. The following explosion caused an explosion big enough for the building that SL4 stood on to unravel. As it began to crumble, something launched from his back, it like some kind of glider, but he held onto it and descended slowly. As SL8 repaired his optics, SL4 did the same. When both of their eyes were fixed, SL4 started to glow. "Sorry, but this fight isn't something to happen right now. My job was to ensure the safety of the old farts who just left, and I did just that. Smell ya later, sucker..." And as quickly as he appeared, SL4 disappeared, teleported away. 

A signal was then fired from the ground, and after a few more moments, the fighting stopped. As the rest of the South American forces surrendered, SL8 regrouped with the Huntress Team. "Is everyone alright?"

"No..." 0Y said silently. "That bastard shot my little sister's arm off..." she growled.

"Luckily, the Anemone is a tough ship, it's still intact. 0R got taken there for repairs, she'll make it. She's a strong one, a true fighter. Commander Jackass is also alright. She's with the rest of command. But... as many people as we lost, I guess you can say we still won. The South American capital on Mars is ours now. We've got a ton of refugees to help out. When you can, join us." she began to walk away with 0Y.

"I'd hardly call this a good victory." 0W retorted sharply. "I saw one too many good men die today..."  

That made SL8 begin to think again. Now with another question. He wondered about those soldiers who fell on this day. Did they hold tight to their principles and doe for them? Or was it simply what they were led to believe by those on top. 

Chapter Text

She woke up on a soft bed, her silver eyes gleamed in the lights. Quickly, her memories came back to her, and she immediately tried to move her arm. Much to her relief, her limb moved just the way she wanted to. "Man... that was scary..." she thought to herself. Wanting to get up, she got her blankets off of herself and began to get off the bed. However before her feet could even make contact with the ground, the door slid open and a familiar golden-haired android walked in.  

"Sis!" 0Y exclaimed. She nearly jumped on 0R and gave her a big hug. 

"Gugh!!" 0R grunted as she was tackled. "What happened?" she asked. "The last thing I remember was talking to those people and... Wait, are they all safe?" asked she in a panic.

"Don't worry, after the battle officially ended, reinforcements came and got us back to home base. We're in the YoRHa Martian Headquarters right now." 0Y reassured her, "As for the people, they're safe. Along with the reinforcements was humanitarian aid. They'll be just fine, but the soldiers are POWs, but they're also being treated well. Enough of that though, how's your arm?" 

"Good as new." replied 0R as she rotated it. She even straightened it and it cracked a little, "Huh... it is new." 

"Can you walk?" 

"Yeah." 0R finally got off the bed for real this time and 0Y gave her some shoes to wear. 0R stretched a little bit more and then looked at 0Y, "So, where are we going?"

"To see the others, though Slate currently isn't around. He kinda just goes off to his room and reads his books when we have nothing to do, that or he's in town. But 3B and 0W are actually at the command center with the Field Commander and Commander Jackass for a debrief." 0Y answered. 

"Do we have to do it?"

"No, we just gotta rest a little. You've more than earned it." 0Y lovingly stroked 0R's hair, which made her giggle. 

Outside of the hospital, in the command center, 3B and 0W were with the higher ups. They included all the Corps Commanders, the YoRHa Mars Branch Commanding Officer, 21B, and the Convocation of Harmony. "Unfortunately, before we could fully engage SL4, he managed to escape. It was the same light that we saw with SL5 and his Intoner. They have a teleporter of sorts, way more advanced than anything we have. We couldn't track them the moment they disappeared." 3B explained.

"Which brings us back down to square one. We know the enemy leader, SL1 commands out of South America. But he's likely within the Citadel." added 0W, "Which wouldn't be a problem, but the fact that it's underground and impervious to a conventional assault makes it difficult. From there, he can likely send any of the others anywhere, anytime." 

"That is indeed a problem..." 21B stated.

"But, to not put too much of a damper on things, we've forced almost all enemy forces off Mars. Finally, we can focus all of our efforts on Earth. At least maybe more of them instead of splitting like half of it here on Mars." 

"That's good then. I'll begin to consolidate YoRHa forces here on Earth." said a hologram of 6O, next to her were seven other people, including 9S. 

"The Convocation of Harmony has also decided that is a better choice. Though we should still count on a possibility that the SL androids may try to fall back on Mars should they also be defeated on Earth." said a councilman.

"I concur, even if we were to defeat the forces allied to the SL androids, there is no guarantee they won't try to regroup on Mars." added a council woman.

"If I may interject." the Human Corps Commander said, he was a tall middle aged man with a large scar across his face.

"Proceed, General Arboleda." said 9S.

"It's not like we'll be moving all of our forces on Mars to Earth." explained the man, "But at the same time, I believe we could use Commander Jackass' experience and 21B's combat experience here on Earth to help fight them. Which is why I propose that myself and the Regular Android Corps Commander switch places. That way, we can keep watch over Mars with more Human Corps soldiers, with the current lack of SL androids, that would be more manageable for us Organics. While on Earth, it'd be easier for Commander Jackass to command her soldiers on the front lines." 

This in turn sparked debate among the officers, eventually, they came to a consensus. "We here at the Convocation have made our choice, we believe it is a good choice. With the android network, we'd be able to upload conscious data, reducing our losses a bit more. With General Arboleda watching over Mars, the human efforts could be on suppressing potential uprisings and watching for SL androids, putting their lives at a lesser risk." said an older man of the council. "What say you, Commander Jackass?"

"I think that'd be a good idea. I guess that would mean I'd be bringing 21B and the Huntress team with me?" she asked to 6O.

"Yes, when you make your way to Earth, the entirety of the Huntress Team and 21B will be coming with you." responded the YoRHa Commander.

"Then what about SL8?" This made the entire room go silent. "What? What's wrong?" 

"I'm not sure I quite like the idea of another SL android coming to Earth..." said one of the council members.

"Same here, he's fighting for us for now, but he could still turn on us." said another.

"What choice do we have?" suddenly spoke the older man from before, "With his aid, we could end this war that much faster!" 

"Besides, we have the huntress team, what possible could we have to worry about?" asked the woman. The council began to argue, except for 9S. 

"Alright! That's enough!" 9S suddenly shouted, "Listen to yourselves. You all argue over this matter when the answer is clear! We made it so that SL8 will fall under Commander Jackass' jurisdiction, and we were not to step in. The only one who could override this decision is-" before 9S could finish, the machine began to beep, someone was trying to join the call. 

"Ma'am, it's the Prime Minister." said a YoRHa operator. 

"Put him through." said 6O. The operator did what she was told and the hologram of a short and stout man appeared, his face clearly agitated and his hair messy. 

"Good day to you, Prime Minister Smeltchin." mostly everyone said as they saluted, however, the Prime Minister didn't even salute back.

"Like Hell it is!" he nearly shouted. This made even Jackass wince a little. "I'm only now hearing about the change of the situation! What do you mean the leadership of the South American Military escaped!? Why was I not informed two weeks ago when it happened!?" he yelled furiously.

"Because information doesn't get around as easy as it used to, sir." Jackass said in a sarcastic tone. "You should know that the SL androids can intercept encrypted messages in seconds, us being on different planets doesn't really help."

"I'll ignore your tone for right now, Commander..." the Prime Minister growled, "What else has happened while I wasn't in the call? What else are you lot hiding from me?" 

"I have elected to swap places with Commander Jackass. She will come to Earth with her forces to reinforce the Regular Corps here on Earth. I will be going to Mars and take some more humans with me to watch it, in the event SL androids attempt to flee there. With that, we can put less of my men's lives at risk." explained Arboleda.

"Fine... as long as someone can replace you..." said Smeltchin begrudgingly. "What else is to be reported on?" 

"I'm consolidating the YoRHa forces that are available here on Earth, Sir. We're not exactly leaving the Mars Headquarters deserted, but most of them will be comign to Earth, including the Huntress Team." 6O said.

"Very good, I know there's one last thing, your faces all say as much." 

Jackass hesitated, but then took a deep breath. "SL8, the rogue SL android, I'm bringing him with us to Earth..." she said.

"... Commander Jackass... say that again... I didn't think I quite heard you..." the Prime Minister breathed quietly.

"SL8... I'm bringing him to Earth, Sir." 

"What in the HELL ARE YOU THINKING!!!?" the man screamed, as he howled, the room nearly shook from the pure vibration. "You're bringing another one of those things to our home!? Are you insane or malfunctioning!? Perhaps both!?" 

"His combat data has been invaluable to our campaign thus far!" Jackass began to explain. "If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have scored the victories we have now! We wouldn't have been able to force the enemy forces off of Mars!"

"I do not care! He will not touch our planet, I will not allow it!"

"You are out of line, Prime Minister!" 9S said loudly, this made him pause. "The council already decided that SL8 is under her jurisdiction and no one will stop that, the decision was unanimous." 9S explained.

"Than tell me, was it also unanimous to let him on Earth?" this was the moment of truth, if the seven members of Convocation of Harmony did not make a decision, SL8 would not be going to Earth, and they were just arguing about this very topic moments ago. "Well? I'm waiting." 

"The decision is indeed unanimous, Prime Minister." said the man who first rejected SL8.

"Yes, that's just what we were discussing before you joined, Sir." The members who originally rejected the notion were now telling the Prime Minister that they would allow SL8 on Earth. The others who at first were against it began to agree. "As you can see, Sir, it's all something we decided on." said the man, making the the Prime Minister pause. 

"You've... all of you... You've all gone mad..." he said quietly. "Fine... but when this backfires... expect me to do something about it..." he stated before logging off. 

"Looks like the debrief is about done." sighed 6O. "That could've gone better... but it's the best we got. Jackass, how long will ship prep take?" asked she.

"With the forces we're about to transport, I'd say about three days." replied Jackass. "And after that, a two week trip from Mars to Earth if the mega drives work the way we want to." 

"That's a risk we'll have to take. Keep me posted, I have other matters to tend to right now. I'll send over your orders when you depart. YoRHa Commander out." said 6O as she pressed a button on her desk, the hologram then shut off. 

"We look forward to your arrival." said 9S, "Good luck." him along with the council saluted before shutting off their hologram. Finally, the lights in the Command Center turned back on, making Jackass give out a very audible and long sigh.

"That man gets more unpleasant more and more every time I see him." she groaned.

"Tell me about it. 6O and I play a game of how many times he angers us every time we talk." 21B added, she took off her veil and breathed a sigh of relief. "In either case, we'll begin loading everything onto the ships immediately." she then turned to the two Huntress Team members. "You two should rest these three days. You five have been doing a lot these past months, and we're all very appreciative of your efforts. Glory to Mankind, dismissed." said she as she saluted.

"Glory to Mankind." 3B and 0W said in unison as they saluted. The two androids promptly left the room. "So? What now?" asked 0W.

"We find the others. I got a message from 0Y that 0R woke up. They're at the barracks. Let's go and see how 0R's doing. After that, how about lunch?" 3B responded

"Sounds like a plan. I just hope SL8 turns up soon. I haven't seen him since the morning, he was just in his room reading. If I'm being honest, it's actually a bit creepy." 0W added.

"Tell me about it, c'mon, let's go." said 3B in response. The both of them began to walk back to the barracks. But unbeknownst to them, SL8 blinked back into his room, from another period of time. 

Two hours earlier, right after 3B and 0W went to the debrief, SL8 sat in his room, reading his books, when a certain someone appeared before him once again. "Hey there, Slate." said a girl's voice, SL8 immediately recognized it.

"So far, only my comrades have called me such a thing. Why are you here, Accord?" asked he, looking up from his book. There she was, a slender android with a large bag at her side. 

"Well to teach you something new of course." she said in response. "Come on, we're going to a very special point in time." without waiting for SL8 to respond, she grabbed him and the both of them suddenly blinked right out of existence. Or it seemed that way, but in actuality, they went back in time. When they blinked into the period, the first thing that SL8 saw was that it was snowing. But that would be an understatement of the highest level, as the temperature was only fifteen degrees fareignheight. If he were human, the clothes that SL8 was wearing would not do, he'd freeze to death almost immediately.

On the other hand, Accord was now dressed in winter clothing, she had a coat on, along with mittens and even different boots. "Phew! It's chilly here in Copenhagen, isn't it?" Accord said. SL8 looked around and saw the buildings were incredibly old, almost like they had just come out of the 1800s. He looked around and saw the clock, it was nearing midnight, yet many people still walked about the streets, all of them dressed warmly, except for a little girl, she wore the most modest of clothes, in fact, they could hardly be considered clothes, they seemed ore like tattered rags. 

Her dress was badly patched up, and she wore a head dress on the top of her head. But she didn't even have shoes on, just wrappings that could barely cover the entirety of her feet. "What year is it?" asked SL8, his eyes fixed on the child. 

"It's 1845, New Years Eve. Looks like we have two hours until the new year." replied Accord, "Recognize the kid?" 

"I do not know her. Nor can I scan her, this is a time before such advanced data-bases. Who is she?" 

"Truth is, I don't know either." SL8 shot her a glance, "Hey, she's like mostly everyone else that ever lived, that ever will live. She's a nobody, a faceless human among the billions of other faceless humans. It's the same with Elves and Dwarves and other magical races you know. Not everyone is a war hero, or a mighty dragon with a unique title." SL8 stayed silent, he looked back at the child, she was selling something, some long stick, with a wick at the top.

"Matches! Only one krone each!" she called. She ran up and down the street, only to be ignored by everyone else. Even when she was being direct, the people just turned her down. The girl then tried to stand up on a lamppost. "Matches! Only one krone each!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, yet people still ignored her. SL8 watched as she did her best, but then she started coughing. "Matches...!" she shouted weakly, "Only one krone ea-" before she could finish, someone grabbed her and took her off the lamppost. It was a constable.

"Don't climb on that, child." he said simply. He took out a pipe and began to tried to light it. "Blasted wet matches..." he muttered angrily. 

"Oh! Sir, if you need a match I can-" the little girl stopped herself. For before she could even finish her offer, the constable already got one to work, and he coldly walked away, ignoring the child. SL8 did nothing and only could watch from afar for a long while, but eventually, he decided he'd try something. 

"Accord. Do you have any krone on you?" he asked.

"Oh? Are you going to help her? Maybe buy a few matches? You know she's still going to be homeless, right? She's still been on the streets for way too long. And she's still sick, you know that, right?" Accord asked in response. "Besides, I don't have any." she added simply.

"Say that from the start next time." SL8 began to walk to the little girl, who was still trying to sell. As he walked over to her, he discreetly pick pocketed someone. "I would like one." said SL8, taking the girl by complete surprise.

"Wow, mister. Aren't you cold wearing that?" asked the child as she eyed him up and down. He wore his typical white long sleeved with black pants and leather shoes. "You must be freezing. Here" she took out three matches. "For the price of one." 

"No need. I only require one." SL8 said bluntly. He gave her the entire sack of krone that he had and took only a single match. He then began to walk away. 

The girl was dumbfounded, but she snapped out of it soon enough. "Wait! Mister!" she called, SL8 in turn looked back at her. "Thank you!" she said loudly. SL8 weaved his way through the people and saw Accord standing there. 

"You should go back, she's going to be gone real soon, you know." Accord said with a straight face. Her demeanor had changed, "You recognize it all now. Your face says it all."

"This is 'The Little Match Girl'..." SL8 responded.

"Yup, this is an alternate timeline, where the events did take place. A story in our time-line, but the real thing here." 

"So why have you bought me here?" 

"To teach you a little something. Your assignment is to feel something, it'll be taught to you eventually."

"Teach me what exactly?" asked SL8. 

"You'll see eventually. I'll be back later. Oh, and another thing, if she asks for your name, under no circumstances are you to tell her your designation. You'll have to use your original name. But stay with her for a while, would you?" Accord smiled at him and then just blinked out of existence. Seeing no other choice, SL8 began to walk back to the child, still doing her best to sell matches. 

"Oh, Mister!" she said cheerfully. "Wow, you really aren't cold. You're not even shivering."

"I am incapable of feeling such things." SL8 said. He looked around and saw the street beginning to empty out. "The people are leaving." he remarked.

"Well... it is going to be midnight soon. I better buy some food before the stores close up for good." she then coughed some more, this time it seemed more hoarse and raspy than before. SL8 scanned her and noticed that she was sick.

"You are sick. You have tuberculosis." he said.

"What's that?" she asked simply. Realizing that this was a time before it was first discovered and recorded, he stayed silent. "Oh well, do you have a home, Mister?" she asked.

"No, I have no home here." 

"Then you should come with me." she began to make her way to a shop that sold bread it seemed. SL8 followed her, though elected to remain outside. As she went inside, he watched from the outside. "How much will this get me?" she asked to the shop owner. 

At first he said nothing, but he then looked at her, and realized that she was sick. He then gasped loudly, "Out!" he suddenly shouted. "I want not the plague here!" he pointed out the door. "We are closed! Out with you!" he backed away from her.

"Please, sir!" the child begged. 

"You want food!? Fine!" he threw a small loaf of bread at her, it hit her head, knocking her down. "Now, GET OUT!!!" he screamed.

"Here..." the little girl took out a few coins, but it was refused.

"I don't want it! Get! Out!" 

The little girl only walked out the door back to SL8. "Well, I got some food." she said proudly, albeit quietly. SL8 looked at the bread, and calculated. They could be considered scraps with how little there was, hardly enough to even feed one person. SL8 looked at the owner, whom was still glaring at her, and even at SL8.

"That is not enough to nourish you. That man was very cruel to you, I will go procure some more." SL8 said. He began to storm towards the shop, the owner began to look fearful behind the glass window. 

"You mean... steal?" the girl then jumped right in front if SL8 and stuck her arms out. "No! Don't do that!" she said as loud as she could. SL8 was confused, this amount of food wouldn't be enough at all, surely she knew that. 

"Why?" he asked. "That person, he wasn't treating you right. You can easily pay for more, yet he does not accept it. It is not right at all." SL8 tried to walk around her, but she blocked him yet again, this time even trying to stop him physically.

"But it doesn't make it right to steal from him!" the little girl shouted this time, she coughed more this time, in fact, blood came out. She fell down, and SL8 caught her. "Don't steal... I... I won't let you... Mister..." she said weakly.

SL8 looked at her, knowing that she would not give up, he decided he would not either. "Very well..." said he. Looking at the clock, it was now eleven thirty, half an hour until mid-night, until the new year. They settled down at an alley-way, SL8 sat with the child, who was shivering non-stop. With a quick scan, he also noticed that the temperature had dropped well into the negatives, it seems that with the early morning drawing closer, the winter would grow even more unforgiving. As they sat, the girl took out the bread and ripped it in half, she offered it to SL8. "I do not need it. You may have it."

"Nonsense! Grandma taught me that if I have someone with me, I should always share." the little girl said. She held out the bread, adamant on giving it to SL8. 

"You are starving. Eat." SL8 said. "You must keep your strength up. I cannot take it from you." SL8 closed his eyes and did not take the bread. When he opened them back up, he noticed the child still trying to offer it to him. "I will not take it." 

"Then I'll just leave it for you." the little girl simply placed it on his lap. She then ate the rest of her portion, but even with the food, the shivering did not stop. It was now less than ten minutes until midnight. "Say, Mister?"

"What is it?"

"What is your name?"

SL8 thought for a moment. Accord told him not to tell her his designation, as that would make it strange, he seconded this. She told him to tell the child his real name, but what was his real name? Did he even have one? Is he supposed to have one? Was his designation not his name? "I..." he hesitated, "I do not know it..."

"You're really strange, Mister." she continued to shiver. Only two more minutes passed and she got quite desperate. She took out one of her few remaining matches and lit it. The flame was small, miniscule, yet she placed her hand near it, along with her face. SL8 did not know it at the time, but she saw something. It was a warm meal, stew, a roasted chicken, and all the cookies she wanted, her face beamed like SL8 hadn't seen it yet. But with a strong draft, the small flame was blown out, like it never even existed. Her smile disappeared as quick as the flame. "No..." she said. Looking at her matches, she wanted to do it again, but she knew if she did, she'd have nothing to sell, but she decided that she'd do it anyway. She picked up a handful of matches.

"Don't you have to sell those in the morning?" asked SL8. 

"I can just make more, come on Mister, you should take in the warmth, too." She scraped them across a dry spot in the floor and they lit up, SL8 was close and could feel the miniscule heat this time around. Her face beamed up yet again, it seemed familiar, her smile. SL8 was reminded of someone, but he didn't know who. He just knew that she was someone close to him, someone very dear to him in fact, not just close. "Wow... what a warm fire place..." she said, SL8 deduced that she was hallucinating at this point, but alas, it was not meant to last, as the matches blew out all too quickly again. With the flames, went her smile once again. The little girl tried to search for some more, but in doing so she realized she had none left.

"Oh..." she looked at it sadly, "I suppose that's it then..." she coughed even harder than she had done before, more blood splattering across the floor. That's when SL8 stood up and walked behind her and sat down. "What are you-?" before she could finish, SL8 held her in his large arms and held her to his chest. She had tried to show him so much kindness, that he thought he should try and repay her. Wiping away the blood with one hand, he then reached behind him and took out the final match with the other. He lit it to let her feel the warmth again, but this time, he saw it was for the last time. SL8 was monitoring her vitals, and they were getting lower by the minute. With his heating systems at work, and even with all he could do, SL8 was a combat android. A killing machine, he could not save this girl, for he didn't have the capabilities for it. He began to feel a feeling towards himself, he felt it before on a few occasions. Though back then, it was aimed at his enemies, he realized it was anger and resentment. The fact that all he could do was try and comfort her as much as possible, this child who had shown nothing but kindness and compassion surely did not deserve this fate, she did nothing to warrant it. 

Her vitals got lower as she coughed some more, but her body temperature was rising. "It's so warm... wow..." she said happily. She nuzzled up to SL8 some more, "Thank you... Grandma..." and with those words, was also her last breath. She closed her eyes and her vitals flat-lined, she was gone, and SL8 was hopeless to stop it. No matter how much food she could've had, no matter how much money she possessed, no matter how much he warmed her, it wouldn't change a thing. Accord was right, she's been on the streets for far too long. She's been sick for far too long, and that's when it hit SL8. 

"I never even learned your name..." he said quietly. Just then, the bell of the clocktower rang. The sound boomed throughout the streets, the sounds of birds flying away from surprise and people cheering began to erupt. The year had just begun, and this poor child never lived to see it. SL8 sat there, holding the girl's lifeless body in his arms, not moving an inch. He felt his chest tightening a little, yet he knew not why. Was it sadness? He already knew what that was, but why did he feel it now? He hardly knew this girl, not even her name. He sat there for several hours, holding the child. Then as the sun rose, Accord appeared before him again.

"Sad... isn't it?" she asked. She squatted down and caressed the girl's hair. 

"Why did you send me here? To learn sadness? I already know what it is..." said SL8 silently.

"Not really. It was empathy I wanted to teach you. I wanted you to understand this child, and it looks like you did." Accord explained. "Before, it all seemed mission based didn't it? The civilians' safety, the Monster Girls, your comrades. Now, I hope you can think it's more than that."  SL8 thought about it and realized it. This child seemed so familiar, like he had someone like this. Someone very dear to him, he loved them so much that he could not even explain it. She showed him kindness, just like the person did from the past, but who was it? With these in mind, he realized maybe that was why he understood this child. He had known her for such a short time, yet he grew to care in such a short amount of it. "Now that you've learned, it's time to go..." 

SL8 simply nodded and got back up. He placed the girl down softly on the ground, Accord opened her large bag and covered her with a large blanket. As they began to walk away, SL8 looked back at her one last time. A nameless girl in history, a blip in the grand scheme of things, someone who he didn't even know the name off, and yet, he cared so much. Finally, they disappeared into the crowd, out of the time period.

He was back in his room, in fact, he was sitting in his chair again. "That was a success, I'd say. Well, I'm detecting some people approaching your room, I'll see you another time, I hope you look forward to it. Don't worry, I won't bring you to such a sad place next time." Without another word, she disappeared without a trace, as usual. When SL8 finally settled down again, there was a sudden knock on his door.

"Hey, Slate?" asked a voice from the outside. "It's us. 3B and 0W, we were just about to go visit 0R and 0Y at the hospital. We're also grabbing some lunch, I know you don't eat, but it'd be nice to have you." 3B spoke. 

SL8 said nothing but simply walked to the door, it slid open and he looked at both of the androids. "I will join you. Please let me get dressed first." SL8 closed the door and quickly got changed into his suit. As the red lights began to glow he walked back to the door. "Let us depart." said he. 

The three androids walked over to the hospital and were directed to 0R's room. When they arrived, they were allowed in to find a sight of 0R conversing with 0Y and even laughing heartily. When they caught sight of the others, 0R practically leapt out of bed and into the arms of both 3B and 0W. "It's good to see you guys again!" she said happily, then she caught sight of SL8, "Oh, hi, Slate! It's good to see you, too." said she with a smile on her face as she also gave him a hug.

"I am glad to see that you are unharmed." replied SL8. "I see that your arm has been replaced. Congratulations on the new equipment." This made the others giggle.

"Still as straight faced as ever, I see." 0Y chuckled.

"Yes, 0Y."

"Alright, ladies. And gentleman." 3B added, "What say we get some lunch? There's a lot to discuss, and I feel like you want to get some food in yourself." 0R nodded. "Alright then, get dressed, we'll talk to the front desk guys and see how we can get you out of here."

As 0R got back into her uniform, 0Y staying with her, 3B, 0W, and SL8 walked down to the front desk and talked with the androids up front. SL8 showed the scan results to the android, and that was apparently good enough for him. He got the papers to get 0R discharged and filled them out quickly. With a quick "thank you" the three were done at the front desk. They walked to the front and were eventually joined by a now properly dressed 0R along with 0Y. 

They departed to a cafe on the base and were quickly seated. It wasn't a very busy day, so they managed to get their orders quickly again. SL8 only ordered a coffee as the others actually got food. They conversed a little while, SL8 stayed silent the entire time, simply drinking his beverage. In fact, he seemed a bit distracted, hardly partaking in the conversations or any topic they discussed, even when it involved him. Eventually, 0Y asked about the debrief, "So? We missed the debrief, what's going to happen us now?" asked she as she ate an omelette.

"We're being sent to Earth." 0W said bluntly. Both 0R and 0Y stopped eating and looked up, even SL8 stared a bit. 

"Yeah, we're being transferred to Earth. 6O wants to consolidate the android forces there to fight the remaining SL androids. After countless scans with tactical forecasting, we've more-or-less concluded there aren't any of them here on Mars anymore. They also want SL8 to come with us." SL8 said nothing. "But, that's basically the gist of it. These three days is going to be for us to get our stuff together. We won't be coming back here a while. So, guess we're saying goodbye to the Monster Girls and anyone else not coming with us. Least for a while, after the assignment of taking them out, we're coming back here." explained 3B.

"Wow, we're actually going to Earth..." breathed 0R, "I've always wanted to go... say, you were raised on Earth, right?" asked she to 3B. "What's it like?"

"What's it like?" 3B thought a bit, "It's not too different from here, but a few key differences. It's a bit warmer, and there's the great forests that cover a lot of the planet. The oceans are pretty similar, but the air is a lot different. It's pretty hard to explain, but you'll know when you're there."  

"Wow..." gasped 0R. "I've waited so long for this..."

"You've never been to Earth?" asked SL8.

"No, she hasn't." said 0Y, "She's the youngest out of us here. She was only first manufactured three years ago, even 0W is a bit older than her. And well... let's just say I'm a repurposed unit." 

"I see." replied SL8. "Then there is something I must do." he said standing up. He placed a few dollars on the table, "For my coffee." he then began to walk away, but 3B stopped him. 

"Hey, is something wrong?" asked the Captain.

"What makes you ask?"

"You seem more silent than usual. You always respond to everything we say to you. It was a bit different just now, you alright? Frankly, you look like you've seen a ghost." SL8 opened his mouth to say something logical, but he stopped himself. 

"No... I am fine." said he, "I just wish to see Miran one last time before we leave." without another word in, he walked right out the cafe doors, leaving the other four androids. 

"Something's up." said 0W.

"Definitely." added 0Y.

"Should we do something?" asked 0R.

"I'll call Botaegni." replied 3B, "But I wouldn't worry too much about it. Nothing's wrong with becoming more human, right? Maybe his emotions are coming in a bit more." 

The other girls agreed, and their lunch continued. Meanwhile, SL8 departed the base to see his friend before the chance slips away.

Chapter Text

It was Christmas Eve. It's a peaceful day, away from the conflict. The Huntress Team was invited over to the Monster Girls' home for the holiday. The decorations were all set up, the colors of green, red, and bits of gold adorned the walls. The tree in the middle of the room stood tall, decorated with many ornaments and lights that flashed a multitude of bright colors. Everyone was sitting or standing, setting other things up for the next day, the big event. 

"Wow, I can't believe it's already Christmas!" squealed 0R excitedly.

"Yeah, it's nice, honestly. We get a few days for a break for Christmas." added 0Y, "Thanks to the Commander really."

"And we are grateful." said Elora as she served a plate of Christmas cookies to the two androids.

"It's honestly great to have you girls here. Decorating is kind of a pain." Pyrhadina spoke. She held a few ribbons and streamers in her arms. 

"It's honestly no big deal." 0W took them and hung them on the wall. "I for one actually find this quite enjoyable."

"Sis even said that having you guys over really boosts her mood." Bisari began setting the table for lunch. "Christmas is always better with more people I say."

it was then that both Miran and SL8 walked out of the kitchen, both holding plates of food. "Lunch time!" called the Vacivin. 3B and Botaegni walked down from upstairs. Everyone gathered at the dining room for a nice lunch. 

"Wow, Slate. This is actually really good. And Miran, good as usual." 0Y snapped her fingers and smiled at Miran.

"Oh, it's just the old recipes." chuckled Miran.

"I have simply followed instructions I have found on the world wide web." stated SL8, as cold as usual.

"Ha, that's what you always say." chuckled Botaegni.

"Ah, he's changing, believe me." replied 3B.

They had lunch and afterwards, everyone went back to the living room just to have a normal, nice Christmas Eve. 0R was writing a letter to Santa Claus, though it was a bit late, but they decided to not potentially dash her dreams. 3B and Botaegni went back out for some errands, and everyone else was downstairs, just having a grand old time. "Wow, you bought a lot of presents, didn't you?" asked Miran to SL8, whom was placing several under the tree. 

"Yes, I have bought two for everyone here." replied SL8, "I thought it was a suitable amount."

"Oh, Slate. You didn't have to. But it's the thought that counts, I guess." said 0Y, "So, sis. Whatcha writing Jolly ol' Saint Nick for?" 

"I'm writing for all the things I hope to see under the tree tomorrow. I really hope this makes it to him on the North Pole on Earth." replied the young android.

"He's magic, I'm sure it'll be fine." 

"Though we have many things other dimensions may find impossible like magic and other things, I still find the concept of Santa Claus ridiculous." said SL8. "It is simply inane to think that one old man can-" before SL8 could finish, the door burst into almost a thousand pieces from a man forcing his way in. He wore a red coat and trousers with black boots and a black leather belt with a golden buckle. White fur adorned his neck and cuffs, his gold buttons shined in the light. His hat red with the puff up top. His bushy beard covered much of his angered face. Then there was his belly, like a bowl full of jelly. It was none other than Father Christmas himself, Santa Claus.

"Santa!" shouted 0R excitedly.

"Wait, what!?" Bisari asked.

"Holy crap, he exists?!" Elora nearly yelled.

"Never thought I'd see him..." Pyrhadina spoke in complete shock. Both 0Y and 0W were just at a lost for words.

"What the fuck did you just say, you little shit!?" he shouted. 

"Wait, Santa swears?" asked 0R, her excitement now replaced with confusion.

"In my month, when I work my ass off on several PLANETS!?" Santa moved a near light speeds to SL8 and grabbed him by the neck, picking him up. "You pull this shit!" SL8 began to try to make him let go. "I'm disappointed in you, SL8." He then threw SL8 through a wall and into the kitchen, planting him into another wall. "Now you apologize to Santa, because I work, REALLY, REALLY HARD to-!" before he could finish, SL8 fired his optical rays at the old man.

But instead of hitting him, the beams was blocked and deflected by the old man who simply raised his arm. The beam dissipated the moment that it hit his glove, and with unnatural speed again, Santa was once again in front of SL8 and grabbed him by the color, this time slamming him against the counter. "Guess what, Santa doesn't believe in you either!" SL8 charged his optical rays to the maximum power and fired. But Santa cupped SL8's eyes, and the following explosion nearly destroyed all the skin on SL8's face. Saint Nick then threw SL8 back into the living room, making a huge mess of everything.

At this point, no one knew what to think and 0R was in tears as her view of Santa was completely shattered.

"Merry Christmas!!" Santa shouted as he stormed over to the destroyed door. He then shot around, "Is what I would say! But this time? For you, GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!!!" he screamed before repairing only the door. SL8 was left incapacitated in the middle of the now mess of a living room, with everyone else with their mouths agape and 0R bawling her eyes out. It was then that 3B and Botaegni returned, and they were apalled.

"What the Hell happened!?" asked 3B.

"My living room... my kitchen..." Botaegni said, clearly horrified.

And so it was, suffice to say, the Monster Girls and the Huntress Team did not have a regular Christmas.

Chapter Text

Riding through the canyons as not a single vehicle drove through them was strangely relaxing for him. He sped through the road, leaving only dust in his trail. Eventually, the city came into sight and he rode to the gate. The guards asked about his credentials, and he showed them his documents via a scan. Seeing his scans, they let him through. The city was worse for wear for lack of better words, it seems that the attacks from months prior had left scars behind that wouldn't fade so easily. Several buildings were still being repaired or in ruins, and many more people were still displaced, yet life still went on.

People worked at soup kitchens who served warm meals to the displaced and struggling. Others went about their lives, going to work, buying essentials or luxuries, all things that he had seen before. He rode through the city until he finally reached the house he had been looking for. Walking to the door, he knocked on it firmly. "Coming!" called female voice inside. She opened the door and he saw exactly who he was looking for. Her black hair as scruffy as usual, and her ears perked up when she saw him. "Slate? What're you doing here?" she asked.

"Hello, Miran. I thought I'd visit." replied SL8, he decided to add onto it, "We're being sent to Earth very soon, so I thought I'd visit."

"Earth, huh?" Miran remarked. "Guess that means I won't be seeing you for a while, huh?" 

"That's correct."

The Vacivin sighed and looked back at him, "Gonna miss you." she simply spoke.

"I know. That's why I'm here." SL8 responded, "I wanted to spend some time with you today. Before I left." Miran was taken a back by this statement. He never was one to ask such things, as he was very robotic, even for an android. "Do you accept?"

"Yeah." Miran said, snapping out of her daze, "Lemme get dressed. Come in." she invited SL8 in. As he walked in, he noticed the house was empty. Miran took notice and said, "Yeah, everyone else went out. They're all off running errands and shopping. Just sit down, I'll be right back." SL8 sat down and waited for her to come back. A few moments afterwards, Miran came back, fully changed over. "Alright, let's go." SL8 followed her out the door as she made her way to her bike and he got to his. The pair sped off towards downtown of the city. They rode until they were next to each other at a traffic stop.

"So... got anything in mind?" asked Miran.

SL8 thought a few moments before responding, "I wish to go to Illumination Square. I have grown... fond of it." 

Miran chuckled a bit. "The book shop?"

"Correct."

"Alright, then let's go." Miran revved her bike and turned left, SL8 followed her until they got to the market place. It was as crowded as usual, with people moving about all around. "Let's see... There." Miran pointed at the shop the SL8 wished to go to. They made their way to the store and entered, and were greeted by the owner. 

"Ah, you're back." she said with a smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"I am here for some books that will last me a little while more than the others. I am going to Earth." replied SL8.

"To Earth? I'm sure they have plenty of books there, no?" 

"...I have grown... fond of this place." spoke the android.

"Huh, you really are changing..." Miran remarked. SL8 somewhat acknowledged ger by nodding along with what she said. 

"Oh, well in that case, I assume that you'll be needing quite a few for the long run?" asked the owner. SL8 simply nodded yet again. "Then let me get you some collections. They're in the back, so I'll be right back." she left, leaving only SL8 and Miran at the shop. 

"So? What are you expecting Earth to be like?" asked Miran. "Personally, I've never actually been there. Really, only Elora's been, her being born on Earth and all."

"I can't say I'm expecting anything. Only what I know. It is both warmer and the days are shorter." replied SL8, "According to my data banks, the shade of blue in the sky is a bit more vibrant. There are also forests, some so large that they span entire cities."

"That sounds amazing..."

"But there is also the war. The only thing I really expect is there to be much fighting, and many more horrifying sights."

"Geez, you really have to bring down the mood like that?" Miran asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My apologies, I did not mean to do such a thing."

"Ha ha! I was joking." Miran chuckled. SL8 simply stared as he computed what had just happened. Before he could do any more though, the shop keep came back out with three whole boxes. SL8 scanned them, and saw that they were full of books, including novels, biographies, philosophical books and more.

"Here we are. Enough to keep anyone stocked through your whole trip." she said.

"Yes. This will last me a while. How much is it in total?" asked the android.

"Well, normally, it price around three hundred ninety six dollars. But for you? One hundred ninety eight, half off. For all you've done." the shop keep smiled.

"Accepted." SL8 touched the terminal and transferred the money over. "Thank you." said he as he picked up all the boxes.

"No, no, thank you. Please, for all our sakes, win." she bowed. SL8 nodded and both himself and Miran left the shop. Outside, he lifted his shirt once again and the drone came out, took the books, and flew them back to the base. 

"So, where do you want to head to next?" asked Miran.

"I thought I'd let you decide this time." replied SL8. "I was told it was polite to let the other party to decide for a change."

"Alright then. Let's just walk around Illumination Square then." Miran smiled, "After all, you said that you've become pretty fond of this place, didn't you?"

"That, I did."

"Cool, then let's go for a lovely little stroll."

The pair walked around the massive shopping center. They would occasionally visit the shops and other times, would even get some small things to eat. SL8 had crafted himself a new tongue at one point, allowing him to finally taste the food he ate. During their time together, Miran even bought him to a gaming center known as an arcade. With his capabilities, he naturally won at every single game he played, turning many eyes of the arcade to him. With all the tickets he earned, he allowed Miran to choose something from the prize shop. She chose a stuffed manta-ray, then handed it to him. "For you." said she.

"You are giving me... a gift?" he tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, dummy." chuckled the Vacivin. "Your little jet form reminds me of a manta-ray, so I thought this was perfect." 

"I see... thank you, Miran." in that moment, she could've sworn that she saw him smile a bit. 

The two continued to walk about the square until the sun was beginning to set. By this point, they elected to leave the square and now they stood atop a building, watching the sun get lower and lower. "You know... I've never been to Earth..." Miran said. "The only thing I've heard are stories, from Elora. And from my mom..."

"I have never been to Earth either." replied SL8. "I can send you photos if you like." Miran began to chuckle upon hearing this. "Have I said something entertaining?" 

"No, no..." Miran laughed some more. "I just think that you say some strange things sometimes..." she sighed. "I'm not going to see you again for a while... aren't I?" 

"Yes. I will be away until this war is over. Then I suppose the North American Government will find something for me to do." 

"That... kinda sucks..." Miran said in a more somber tone. "I... really liked having you around..."

"I also found our time together enjoyable." spoke SL8. Miran's ears then perked up. 

"Then I guess I ought to give you this..." she reached behind her and then pulled out a wrapped up rope of sorts, a metal sphere was at the end of the rope. She held it a bit and then gripped it a certain way, spikes blew right out of the ball, and when she gripped it another way, the spikes retracted. She then held it up to SL8, "For you..." she said.

"A meteor hammer?" SL8 asked. "Why are you giving me this?"

"It's the Legionnaire Crusher..." replied Miran. "Been in my family for generations... It was the only thing my mom left me... After I basically killed her..."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"I'm not giving it to you... I'm just lending it..." she smiled. "I'm descended from a clan of monster hunters... Far as I know, I'm the last one. Yet I'm not even worthy of this weapon, so noble, so many monsters were slain by this hammer. So I'm lending it to someone who can use it correctly, who can hold onto it until I become worthy myself. It's why I never used it."

SL8 took the meteor hammer and examined it. The rope was no ordinary rope, but it was crafted from the hairs of a chimera's mane, near impossible to slash through, or even pull apart. The hammer itself was made from enchanted metal, if one looked close enough, they could see the ancient markings that signified it's magic. "I will use it to the full effect." replied SL8.

"Good... because I'm counting on you..." she said. "Hey, Slate?"

"Yes?"

"You're not gonna die, are you?"

SL8 thought about it, then he decided to answer as he usually did. "There is a seventy-three point-"

"I don't want a statistic...!" Miran said suddenly, cutting him off, "I want affirmation from you... I want you to promise me that you'll come back. Safe and sound, and we can do more things like this." she added, "I want to be able to spend more time with you..." 

SL8 looked at her with his typical blank expression, but seeing how sincere she was being, he made up his mind. "I will come back... I promise I will come back to you..."

"That's all I needed to hear..." with out warning, Miran leaned in and kissed SL8 on the lips, holding his face. She held him there for a few moments. Doing this made SL8 feel somewhat strange, it was an emotion that he wasn't used to. After she broke the kiss, SL8 saw this as an opportunity to learn some more. He held Miran by the waist and pulled her in, kissing her this time. She closed her eyes and let the moment happen as the sun set behind them. "Slate... I..." she hesitated. "I love you..."

"Is this what love is like?" he asked.

"Yeah... kinda..." 

"I see. I will learn more about this then."

"Still as robotic as ever..." Miran smiled.

"The Huntress Team seems to think that I'm changing." 

"Slowly, little by little, you are." she said.  "Well, the sun's down. Best get you back to base." They both got off the roof of the building and began to ride back to the Monster Girl's home. 

Upon reaching there, the others were there to greet them. "So, I guess you're going?" asked Botaegni.

"We are." replied SL8.

"Then you'd better take this." she threw him a cube, something that SL8 caught. "Magi-tech. It's a new bike for 3B. We've been working on it for a while now, though it'll look the same, it's internals are souped up to the max."

"Thank you, Botaegni, 3B will be very happy with this gift." 

"She better be. We spent a lot of time on it." Bisari added. 

"Well then, we wish you guys luck on Earth. Come back, and we'll all drink, yeah?" Elora said cheerfully.

Pyhradina also spoke up, "Come back safely. When this war is over, we can all go out for a joy ride." she smiled.

"I will ensure it." SL8 then looked at Miran. "Good night, Miran. I will see you again." said he. 

"Yeah... you promised. Don't forget it." the Vacivin responded.

"Do not worry, my memory banks can store more memory than all computers in existence." Miran laughed once more, then kissed SL8 one last time before heading into the house of the the shocked Monster Girls, they began to ask questions as the door closed. Once it did, SL8 rode off back to base. Getting back, he personally delivered the cube to 3B. Least to say, she was completely elated to see her new and improved bike. 

The very next day, all awoke early to begin loading all equipment onto the Anemone. The barracks were practically stripped clean as almost all of the YoRHa personnel were getting on to go to Earth. General Arboleda was en route to the base, he'd be there in a week. Once everything was loaded, they began. All of the soldiers, androids and humans who were staying behind saluted as the Anemone finally began to lift off. They began to soar through the air, civilians could even be seen looking at them, seeing them off. 

And so it was. SL8, and the Huntress team have gone. Away, away to Earth.

Chapter Text

The ship known as the Anemone flew up to Mars' thermosphere, where it met with a space station. The ship docked with the large platform, and the process of adding Star-Light boosters onto the ship began. As the automated clawed arms placed the boosters onto the ship, the entire crew of the Anemone and her passengers were busy securing supplies and strapping down equipment for the speed. The boosters allowed for the trip to Earth to go from three months, to only one week. Once the boosters were sufficiently equipped, the Anemone's engines activated and their journey to Earth truly began.

Inside the bridge, Jackass briefed the top officers as they moved. It included 3B, 21B, and about three other androids. "So, we're going to be landing at a forward base in the Oceanian campaign, in the city of New Kuala Lumpur. From there, our orders are to go through Indonesian province and liberate it from Oceanian rule." she said.

"I thought only everything Eastward of the Australian continent had been conquered." said one of the androids.

"Unfortunately, things turned out for the worst. While we were focusing on the South American forces on Mars, the Oceanian effort on Earth tripled, and they managed to knock down Asian front, allowing them to take territory." replied Jackass, "Several other provinces have evacuated entirely, including the Philippines Sector and Island of Palau."

"So our first goal is going to be going through the Indonesian Province? Why not just go around it and attack the heartland?" asked another android.

"Because of interference of an SL android." responded Jackass, "See, they managed to construct an absolutely enormous shield that encompasses all coasts that face the main continent of the Indian Ocean. So going through the blockade that surrounds the Malaysian Province. If we break through, then we'll be able to go through to the main Australian continent. Once we reach it, we'll be fighting our way all the way to the Fortress City of Canberra." explained she.

"Are we to act as a strike force?" asked 21B. "Or will we be getting support from allies?"

"Correct, we'll be joining the first through fourth fleets of the Asian Empire. Emperor Wan Shan has decided to have a force to break through the blockades in once fell swoop. He also assured our government that they would take care of the islands in the Pacific with their elite stealth Yaoguai teams. The main naval and marine forces will join us for the campaign, while Asia's Air-Force will be taking on the islands occupied by the Oceanian forces."

"Then, when will we be coming into play? Are we going to be fighting with the main force on the front lines?" asked 3B.

"No, this time, you'll be acting as a shock trooper squadron. Your team will be with the other Asian forces, taking on the Oceanian occupations on the various Pacific Island territories. According to intel, that's were sightings of SL androids and even sightings of an intoner may be present." 

"Yes, Ma'am. Then we'll be on the job." 

"Glad to see you're so enthusiastic." huffed the Commander. "This concludes this briefing. I'll be passing more information later, but for right now, I want all active combatants to undergo simulation training during several blocks every day of this seven day journey. I understand you can upload the battle plans, but as Anemone said, there's no replacement for experience, and this is as close to experience as we can get. Liberty will be granted in different periods in the schedules that'll be shown in the various terminals in the ship. For now, dismissed." 

The five other androids saluted and left the bridge. 3B noticed that the Huntress Team along with SL8 was the first to go to the simulation training. Going to gather up her teammates, she told them the plan and all agreed to go to the training chamber. Months ago, they may have struggled, but now, as battle hardened veterans, the enemy seemed much more manageable now. The simulation had gathered much combat data of all their enemies and their various troops. With SL8 on their side, even without a battle pack, they found that he decimated hoards upon hoards of enemy soldiers. 

After training was over, other teams began. They got word that war games would be held on the third day, getting everyone excited. However, other than that, all the androids on board found the only thing other than training to do was maintenance on weapons and vehicles, or just spending what little time they had left to relax to rest. SL8 spent his time with the Huntress Team whenever they had some time to rest, though he spent his time reading his new books or maintaining their gear. On the third day, he was reading one of his books again, when he spotted the object he had placed on his still unused bed. SL8 stared at it for a moment before he put his book down and picked the object up.

It was the stuffed manta-ray that Miran had given him. He stared at the toy for a little while until he heard his door slide open. By the way the foot steps sounded, he already identified whom it was. "Hello, 0R." said he. 

"Oh, hi, Slate." said she happily. "What are you doing?"

"I am just remembering this toy that Miran gave me." replied SL8. "She said this manta-ray reminds her of me. Though, I do not see the resemblance."

"Ooh, can I see? Please?" asked 0R, she eyed the plush. "It's so soft..." she remarked. It was indeed soft, the colors were a mixture of black and grey on the bottom. Two eyes on the side of the head were the color red,  it's stinger flopped around. "Hold on, let me bring mine!" she quickly handed SL8 the stuffed aquatic animal and quickly left the room. SL8 held his plush toy and waited for her return. After three minutes, 0R returned, cradling what must have been at least thirty stuffed animals. They were creatures of the forest, such as wolves, bears, and rabbits. 

"You have quite the amount." SL8 remarked.

"I know right? Isn't this the greatest?!" she said cheerfully. "They're all gifts, and I love them all so much!" she set them down and nuzzled against a rabbit she picked up. "This one's name is Ruby!" she held it up to SL8, he saw that the toy was likely named due to the red fur. She then picked up a wolf, "This one is Alistar! And this one is Wren!" said she picking up another bear. 0R would end up naming every single one of her stuffed toys, SL8 simply listened and thought up of a question.

"Why do you name them?" he questioned. "They are not alive like pets are. I do not see the purpose of naming them. Aren't they simply toys?"

"No!" 0R said loudly, "These are so important to me. They're gifts that I got for myself, ones that sis got for me, or 3B and 0W. And even my parents! That's why I named them."

"You had parents?"

"Oh..." 0R said suddenly. "Don't worry about that..." she then said, "But, Slate, naming your stuffed animals is important." she reiterated, "It helps you remember who gave them to you, what they mean, and why they end up being so important to you." she added, "So, hearing that. What are you going to name it?"

SL8 looked at the toy, and began to process what 0R said. Though, it was different this time. Try as he might, SL8 just couldn't think up of a name for this little plush toy. Then, as if he was struck by lighting, a name came right across his mind. "Silas..." he said, "I will name it, Silas..." he thought to himself, "Silas... this name... is familiar somehow..."

"Wow..." 0R breathed, "That's a good name. Well, nice to meet you, Silas." she said cheerfully, going up and poking Silas on the head. "You know, Sis told me that one of the best things to do, is cuddle with them? You just lay on your bed, and just hug as many of them as you want!" she said excitedly. "In fact! I think I'm gonna do that now, see you, Slate!" 0R scooped up all her stuffed animals before SL8 could get another word in. He was now alone in his room, looking at Silas, he saw 0R's suggestion as a learning opportunity and decided to give it a shot.

He quickly scanned the bed to see if it was strong enough to support his entire body. After confirming it was made for him, he climbed in and held Silas to his chest. He just laid there, motionless, waiting to see what he would feel, what would happen. Exactly an hour passed, SL8 felt nothing, perhaps 0R experienced things different than he did. Suddenly, a familiar voice began to talk to him. "I'll never get how people can wear anything other than clean clothes meant for home on their bed..." said she.

SL8 looked over to see that it was indeed the time traveling android carrying a bag, Accord. "Hello, Accord. Are you here to take me to another time period again?" asked he in his monotone voice.

"Well, look at you..." she said chuckling, "Catching on so quickly... Say, that manta-ray, did Miran give that to you?" 

SL8 was going to ask how Accord knew that name, but he realized that she likely was just spying on them. "Yes." he replied, "0R also told me I ought to name it. So I am now calling it Silas." he replied. 

"Very nice. But seriously, I can't help but nitpick at you wearing your combat suit in your bed. Even your teammates wear different clothes, along with all the other YoRHa androids." Accord sighed. "In fact, consider that your honorary assignment. Start wearing clean clothes in bed." she said with a smirk.

"My suit has an automatic cleaning function that-"

"Nope, nope, nope. Wear clean clothes in bed." Accord cut him off, "It'll be part of your journey in becoming more Human." 

"Fine." replied SL8. He sat up and set Silas down on his bed. "So, where are we headed this time?" 

"You'll see." she walked up to SL8 and placed a hand on his shoulder. Just like before, they blinked right out of existence.

When SL8 opened up his eyes, he was no longer on the Anemone, instead, he was on an beach of sorts. The blue sky had naught but three clouds in it, the wind blew strong, swaying palm trees back and forth. The waves were peaceful, rather than crashing onto the shore, they washed the sand lightly. The clear blue water could be seen right through like a window, showing much sea life underneath. In the distance, a port town could be seen, several wooden ships docked at the bay. SL8 began to put all the data he had just gathered together, with the port town, the weather, the general looks of the location, he figured out that he was on the island of Jamaica, and that city in the distance was Port Royal. The union jack in the distance only solidified SL8's conclusion.

"You seem to know where we are, so I'll just let you know what year it is. It's sixteen sixty three."  SL8 turned around and saw that Accord was now dressed accordingly to the times. She was now wearing an old seventeenth century dress, she was wearing a white top with a black sash, a black dress was her bottom, and SL8 could see that she was wearing stilettos under her dress. Though she still had her bag, and was carrying her book. "The Golden Age of Piracy..." she sighed, "A shame these islands are so pretty."

"Why have you bought me here?" asked SL8. "Is this another lesson like last time?" 

"Yup, just like last time, you'll be making a choice. I think the opportunity will present itself to you very soon." with that, Accord disappeared from sight, leaving SL8 alone on the beach. SL8 looked around and thought of what he could learn from this era. He decided now would be a time to enter the town. His clothes would surely make him stand out, but he did not care, stares never affected him, and a cloak would only make him suspicious. SL8 walked to the town within thirty minutes and entered the town. It was a bustling place, people talked, walked, and called out trying to advertise products or simply screaming with each other. Soldiers guarded several points in the city, some of them marched down the streets in formations. Horses, and carriages were making their way up and down the streets, which smelled of sea-water and alcohol. 

Walking about, SL8 indeed got many stares. Luckily, though he was getting stares, the guards didn't seem to think anything of him, just a strange man. He walked around, trying to think of what Accord wanted him to do here. After several minutes of walking about Port Royal, he decided to try and listen in to the townsfolk to try and getting a clue. He fine tuned his audio sensors and began to listen in, hearing all sorts of conversations. A woman was scolding her husband as he was drinking too much, how annoying Faeries were, how elves were superior to dwarves and vice versa. However, one bit had gotten his attention. It sounded like a prayer, but it was panicked and scared. In fact, she sounded distressed, terrified even, "This may be it." SL8 said.

The android made his way to an alleyway and began to climb onto a roof. Avoiding the guards, he got closer and closer to the distressed voice until he finally got to the distressed person. Looking closer, she was an elf, two men were standing guard near an alley way, whilst one man held her down, and another man was raping her. "...And lead us not into temptation...!" she said weakly.

"Ha! Ha!" laughed the man raping her. "Finish it, Elf! Finish it!" he shouted.

"But deliver us...!" she sobbed, being unable to finish.

"Aw, what's wrong? Can't finish your prayer? Come now, we haven't even started yet!" chuckled the man holding her down. They did not seem to notice that SL8 was watching them. SL8 for once felt something, not just resentment as he felt last time. This time, he felt anger. He found what these men were doing as disgusting, and now was the time to act. SL8 jumped down at the direction of the man holding the elf girl down. Landing on his fragile, human body, SL8 completely pancaked the man, swashing blood and bits everywhere. This put the man raping the elf and even the elf herself in a complete state of shock. The other two heard the loud crunching and splattering sound and were beginning to turn around. 

"Wha-?" the rapist began to ask. However, before he could even finish, his head was separated from his body. SL8 had just ripped the head of the sick bastard from his body. Drawing his arm blade, he then sliced the now headless body right down the middle. This made the elf scream out loud. The two men now were now charging at SL8. 

"Who the hell do ye think ya are!?" asked one of them. He drew a knife and tried to stab SL8, but the knife broke right on the surface of his suit, "What!?" SL8 then sliced the top part of his head, it landed in the distance with a wet thud. The other man saw this and was understandably terrified. 

"M-Monster!!" he screamed. The man struggled to draw his pistol, fumbling with the firearm as he tried to point it. SL8 didn't even move, he only looked at the man, who finally pointed his gun at him. With a pull of the trigger, the metal ball flung itself through the air, but instead of having any affect, it bounced off SL8's forehead, hitting the man right between the eyes. As he fell down, SL8 turned to the still terrified elf girl. 

"P-please... I don't have any money..." she whimpered. "I beg you... let me go..." she began to cry.

"I am not here to hurt you. Those men, who were they?" asked SL8.

"Pirates... they were the Braddock Pirates..."

"I see. Thank you." SL8 ripped off the clothes of one of the deceased and gave it to the girl. Without another word, he left her there, knowing that she would not be in any further danger. He began to make his way to the harbor, upon reaching the docks, he saw a ship departing. It flew up a jolly roger, it was a pirate ship. SL8 scanned one of the men and saw that the jolly roger had matched the one on the pirate. Without even looking around to see if anyone was staring at him, he jumped right into the water, beginning to jet after the ship.

Catching up to the ship was easy. He latched himself onto the keel, and began to simulate a plan. SL8 could just punch a whole in the bottom of the ship, so he began to charge his optic ray, but before he could fire, a voice rang in his ears. "Don't do that. Instead, wait until night fall, and then strike on the deck." it was Accord's voice. Knowing what she could do, SL8 did not fire his rays, instead he would follow Accord's plan. He held onto the bottom of the ship for hours, using his internal clock to tell the time. Once enough time had passed, the ship stopped, an anchor fell off the side. The time had come, SL8 swam from the keel and began to go up the side. Surfacing above the water, he heard music and singing, the pirates were celebrating. For whatever reason, this drove SL8 to feel anger again, he hadn't a clue what they may have been celebrating about, but he knew that they had no reason for it.

SL8 fired his grappling hooks onto the side of the ship, the sound drowned out by the pirate's drunken singing. Then he zipped up, and landed right on the railing of the ship, drawing attention of the pirates. "What the-?" the man at the railing was grabbed and thrown several miles away, surely killing him with the speed alone. SL8 looked at the rest of the men, now struggling even to arm themselves due to the alcohol in their blood. 

"Who are you!?" one of them asked.

"I am going to exterminate you..." replied SL8 simply as he climbed down from the railing. 

"Get 'im!" two pirates charged with swords. Their arms were caught by SL8 and snapped in two, making both cry out in pain. He then grabbed both their heads and smashed them together, crushing them. 

"Two... Twenty-six left." said SL8. The other pirates fired their guns, but the bullets bounced right off. SL8 drew one of his beam pistols and then shot three of them down with a single beam each. "Twenty-three. SL8 moved through a group of pirates, extending his arm blade and cutting ten of them down. "Thirteen..." SL8 said quietly. One pirate managed to hit him with his sword on his head. However, the blade broke right on his head, shocking the pirate.

"What ARE you...!?" the pirate asked shaking.

SL8 did not say anything else. He simply grabbed the man by the neck and crushed it, having the man drown in his own blood. "Twelve..." SL8 looked at the rest of the pirates, now all shaking in their boots. Now, SL8 charged his optic rays and fired a single beam, killing eleven out of the rest of the pirates, leaving only the captain alive. 

"P-please... I'll give you anything..." the captain whimpered. "This ship? It's yours! All me booty!" he cried out, "Please just don't take me life!!"

"You murder innocent people for sport..." replied SL8, "You'll ask the ocean for mercy, not me..." SL8 grabbed the man who began to scream. He then dove over the edge of the ship, still holding tight to the pirate. As they entered the water, the man continued to scream as SL8 dove deeper and deeper at a quick pace. Eventually, his screaming under the water stopped, instead, his lungs collapsed unto themselves due to the pressure and blood spurted out of his mouth, mixing with the water. 

His vitals had now ceased, he was dead. SL8 began to swim upward, leaving the corpse in the deep, dark ocean. He made it back to the ship and surfaced with great speed, allowing him to simply leap onto the deck. Accord was right there, leaning on her bag and reading her large book. Seeing him, she closed the book and began to speak. "So, what did you learn?"

"I am not sure. Why did you bring me here?" asked SL8.

"Well, I know you felt something new today. Tell me, what was the one thing on your mind when you first saw those pirates raping that girl? Or when you heard these guys celebrating?" she kicked a corpse lightly. "You felt like doing something... What did you want to even do?"

"I wanted to end them." responded SL8, "What they were doing was abhorrent, and I wanted to stop them by any means." he added.

"Do you know what those actions was driven by?" asked Accord. "What emotion drove you to do it?" SL8 replied with nothing but silence, making it clear that SL8 did not know. "Anger." Accord answered.

"Please, go on." SL8 said.

"Well, many people wouldn't really want to get involved when they see a situation like that. But you, you decided that you needed to stop it. See, I think those teammates of yours really are influencing you. That, and it's from your past." she said.

"My past?"

"See? Why would you call your stuffed toy 'Silas'? Why was that the first name you came up with?" she asked, "And why did you want to stop those guys? They have to do something with your past..." 

"Tell me more, Accord. What do you mean my past? I was manufactured along with the other seven units three hundred years ago and put into stasis. There is nothing before that. Tell me what you know..." SL8 was now curious. 

"Nope. Can't. That'll be for another time... just know that you know what anger is now." Accord picked up her bag and then both herself and SL8 blinked out of existence. When they came to once again, SL8 was now back inside his room. "Just remember what you learned there. It's sleeping hours for your team right now, so I guess you should just take this time to dry off, maybe actually get your suit washed. Anyway, see you on Earth, Slate." Accord waved as she disappeared.

SL8 looked around, he was still dripping from the sea water. SL8 then disengaged his suit, and stepped into his bathroom. He quickly took a shower, using what he learned, he placed a soap called shampoo in his hair, and smelled that it was actually quite pleasant. He used the body wash he was provided and now smelled better. SL8 stepped out and dried off before he got dressed in his typical long sleeved and pants combo. Though this time, it was made from different material, according to 0Y, these clothes were more fit for sleeping. SL8 activated his suit's cleaning function and then saw nothing else to do. This time, he thought he'd try 0R's suggestion again. So SL8 laid in his bed, holding his stuffed toy named Silas in his hands and just waited for something to happen.

Hours passed as he just laid there. SL8 didn't understand just what 0R liked so much about it, he'd figure that he'd give it one more hour. However, that hour was interrupted when an alert was sounded. "All unit commanding officers report to the bridge. Repeat: all unit commanding officers report to the bridge, this is not a drill."

SL8 sat up immediately and suited up before running to the bridge. When he got there, the Huntress Team, 21B and three other officers were present. "What is it?" asked 3B, "Are we under attack?"

"No." replied Jackass. Everyone was now confused, one even angered.

"Then why have you called us here?" asked 21B, "Surely, you had a reason."

"We picked up a distress signal. It's from a merchant ship that's not too far from our current location. ETA for flight units at top speed would be about ten minutes. However, here's the problem." the screen on the counter lit up and all of them looked down at it. "As you can see, it's being attacked by pirates."

"Then we should help them, shouldn't we?" asked one of the android officers.

"Not exactly, look." another pointed to the screen. "It's emblem, it belongs to the Eastern Europe Empire... If we were to help them, then we'd be letting them supply their troops down on Earth, making it harder for our allies on the West." 

"That's why I called you all up here." said Jackass. "Normally, I'd make a call, but I also know that the people on that ship are not military personnel, they're all civilians. Not doing anything would mean the death of all of them. On the other hand, intervention would give them potential to resupply our enemy on the front. So, I'd like to put it to a vote." she explained.

"All in favor?" asked 21B. She and 3B raised their hands. With a disheartened face she asked, "All not in favor...?" the other three android commanders raised their hands. 

"It seems we're not going to intervene then..." Jackass said, "Alright, we'll just have to-"

"I'm going out." SL8 said suddenly. He turned and began to walk without further explanation. 

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Jackass asked, "I said we're not going to-"

"I know what you said, Commander." replied he, "I will not compromise though... I will exterminate them. I can go there and back faster than your flight units with my Mechanical Phenomenon. By my calculations, you will not even need to slow the ship for me to get back. These conditions are acceptable."

"The hell they are!" exclaimed one of the android commanders. "Didn't you hear what she said? If you stop those pirates, then those supplies will make it to enemy forces! You'll basically be responsible for directly supplying enemy troops!"

"I am aware..." SL8 responded coldly. "Regardless... they are pirates... they cannot be allowed to live. Letting them go now will open up chances that they attack other civilian transports or vessels. I will not let that happen." without another word, SL8 began to walk out of the bridge, but someone had one last thing to say.

"You know... you better not show any more of this insubordination when we get to Earth." Jackass sighed. "This is what I get for getting an SL in our ranks... but, go." she stated, "Don't use the catapult, we'd have to stop the boosters for that. Instead, there's an emergency airlock above the us, use it." she commanded.

"Roger that." SL8 replied. He left the main bridge and scanned about to see the airlock Jackass talked about. He quickly located it and climbed up. Once making to the airlock, he pulled the lever down, and the alarm sounded. As gas hissed, the doors began to open to the void in front of him. As the word "Phenomenon" flashed in front of his eyes, he jumped to the cold darkness. The parts began to form his limbs and torso, and they combined with the head. The weapons crafted and the entire body now assembled, his red eyes flashed, converted into his fighter mode and flew off at speeds beyond any living being.

Within the bridge, the others watched him take off. "Did he sound... angry?" asked 0W.

"Yeah, didn't think he had it in him." remarked 0Y. "I dunno, hasn't he just been different lately? Or is it just me?"

"It's not just you." 21B spoke. "I myself have noticed changes in his behavior. Jackass... if he reaches singularity wrong..."

"Yeah... don't have to remind me..." said the Commander grimly.

As SL8 sped through space, with an ETA of three minutes, his scanners were homing in on the distress signal. Drawing closer to the signal, he saw a ship attacking another that had many parts set ablaze. SL8 boosted his afterburners and fired an optical ray. It punched right through the pirate ship's main engines. The ship's crew gunners began to take notice and started to shoot at him. SL8 dodged the rounds with ease and fired another shot, fully destroying the engines, disabling the pirates' movement. Beeping began to sound off in SL8's sensors, he saw three heat signatures coming from the ship, "Enemy fighters incoming. Intercepting." 

Transforming into his humanoid form, SL8 held a rifle in his hand. The fighters were older models of the North American Lancers. However, from the way they moved, it seemed these pilots were experienced in warfare. They also assumed mobile configuration, and began to fire at SL8. He dodged with minimal movement, but then they fired missiles. SL8 blocked them with his shield and then fired off flares to destroy the rest. As one of the Lancers zipped past him, SL8 dodged and fired a laser from his rifle, blowing the fighter right out of space. He then turned about to the other two, and fired three shrapnel missiles at a slower speed. 

The two enemy pilots shot down the missiles, blowing shrapnel all over them, damaging the fighters. Drawing a blade, SL8 sped forward and sliced the two fighters in half. Both Lancers promptly exploded and SL8 looked at his timer, "Twenty-three minutes left..." said he to himself. Finally, SL8 charged his optical rays to it's max and fired them at the pirate ship, laying down a barrage of missiles at the same time to completely destroy the ship. As all projectiles and the beam hit the pirate ship, the following explosion completely eradicated every single pirate on the ship. But it wasn't over yet, a quick revealed that there hostile life signals on the merchant ship, thirty of them. 

"Pirates..." he growled to himself. Thinking about what he saw back in Port Royal seemed to enrage him again. SL8 flew close to the ship and reverted back to his regular android form. Using his grappling hooks, he latched himself to the ship and cut a hole in the hull. Infiltrating the ship, SL8 made sure that he got to a point that had a high concentration of pirates. 

"What the-!?" asked one of them, spinning to him. They were speaking English, specifically, of the North American kind.

"Who are you!? You the one who blew our ship up?!" asked another.

"Kill him! Kill him!" a third yelled. He drew a sword as the others began to fire at SL8. The android extended his arm blade and then charged. Countering the sword of the pirate, SL8 used his free hand to grab him by the neck and quickly snapped it, killing him instantly. As the other two began to use magic on him, SL8 fired his optic rays, incinerating the other two. With a scan across the ship, he saw that the pirates weren't far, they were trying to take over the bridge, which was directly ahead. Looking above, SL8 saw that there was a nice system of vents that he could utilize. His chest cavity opened up and he released the drone into the vents, it began to head towards the bridge.

"Hey, did you hear that?" asked a pirate, he pointed a rifle towards the crew. 

"Hear what?" asked another.

"Outside..." the first pirate began to turn around, but on the ceiling, the drone suddenly came out, much shocking the twenty seven pirates on the bridge. "What the-!" The drone then fired a beam that blew a hole right through the chest of the pirate, killing him instantly.

"THE FUCK!?" screamed a female, then the heavy doors were blown right off the walls and crushed her and another to death. Now there were only twenty four, and SL8 saw that all crew members were consolidated on the bridge. He walked in, meteor hammer in hand, and began to swing it. 

"Kill him! Kill him!" a pirate screamed. Everyone began to shoot at SL8 as the crew members ducked down for cover. SL8 swung the hammer right towards one, killing him with a blow to the head. He then drew one of his pistols and shot down five more, then continued to fire a grappling hook into a woman's shoulder before reeling her towards him. With a single blow, SL8 crushed every bone in her skull, killing her instantly. What followed could only be described as a blood bath, as SL8 utilized both the meteor hammer along with his arm blade to cut down or crush every single one of the individuals, not hitting a single crew member. 

When it was finished, blood stained the floors and walls of the bridge. The crew members of the ship slowly got back up to see who their savior was. They began to mutter, speaking in an Eastern European language, it was Romanian. "T-thank you... you're an SL aren't you...?" asked one of the crew members.

"Yes." replied SL8 simply. "Leave this sector. I will only tell you once." 

"Y-yes, my lord!" they quivered and began to fly the ship again, not even heeding the corpses that now littered the bridge. As SL8 began to take his leave, he looked at one of the pirates that was not too mangled beyond recognition. He scanned his face and a match actually came up in one of his data bases, the North American Military's. Now curious, the android knelt and picked up the body, getting a closer look.

"Tobias Verkler..." muttered to himself, "Active... Rank: Sergeant... Records indicate he has never left the military and continues to serve..." something was up. SL8 began to search the other bodies and took a look at a woman who was also recognizable, albeit a bit more difficult. "Julia Heiser..." her name also matched in the database, "Rank: Corporal... Never left the military..." SL8 began to search, and began to put two and two together. These people were not pirates, instead, they were North American soldiers. "I need to report back." SL8 then left the bridge and made his way across the ship, corpses of Eastern European soldiers and "pirates" littered the area. Because of that, SL8 decided to take one last precautionary scan on a corpse.

"...Captain Aaron Wyatt..." he said. This sealed the deal, these people were indeed North American soldiers, but why were they here? Why were they attacking a civilian ship? Questions for later, for now, he had to get back to the Anemone and let the Commander know. As he flew away from the ship in his Mechanical Phenomenon form, more questions rang in his head than answers, maybe his superiors would know.

Chapter Text

"I picked him up on the radar, Commander!" said one of the androids on the bridge called. They all looked into space and saw the fighter form of SL8 zooming back towards them. It seems that he was coming back via the air lock behind the bridge.

"Alright, he's back, now to-" Jackass was cut off mid sentence as SL8 practically stormed up to her, "Slate, what're you- whoa!?" SL8 grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, an angered expression plastered on his face.

"Commander!" The other officers drew their pistols. 

"Slate, what are you doing!?" 3B shouted, her and her team's weapons were drawn, "Put her down, now!"

"What's gotten into you!?" Jackass nearly yelled. "Let me go!" 

"Not until you answer my question..." replied SL8. "Why were North American soldiers on that ship?" 

"What?" Jackass was now confused, as was every android on the bridge. "They were pirates..." she replied. 

"No, they were not." SL8 saw that Jackass wasn't lying. She had genuinely believed that she was telling the truth, so SL8 needed a different approach. He let go of her collar and approached a monitor. The operator stared in shock at him, still somewhat scared at what had just happened. "Display this." a wire came from his wrist and plugged itself into the monitor the bridge operator had.

"...Ma'am...?" asked the operator.

"Do it." replied Jackass. "And everybody stand down." all of the androids gave each other looks and then put their weapons away. The screen was then displayed at the center of the bridge. It was a the combat footage of the skirmish that SL8 just took part in. All of the androids in the room observed, they saw the combat formations, how the Lancers fought, how they moved. While SL8 still blew them out of the void, they still moved far too advanced to be regular pirates. As they continued to observe, the androids eventually saw the fight within the bridge. 

"Those formations... those tactics..." breathed 21B. She looked at Jackass, it seemed that now she was also beginning to doubt her.

"They're really Soldiers, no denying it... But, maybe they deserted?" asked one of the officers. 

"Wrong." replied SL8. He then displayed the data of the soldiers who he scanned, their profiles came up. The names flashed across the screen along with their data, including how they never left the military. But all of them also seemed to have one thing in common. 

"Hmm..." one of the android officers began looking at the profiles. "If I'm recalling this correctly, then I believe several if not all of these soldiers have disciplinary records. Quite serious ones at that." said he.

"Yeah, that one." another pointed, "Corporal Julia Heiser... she served in my company once. Had an altercation with one of my androids and even assaulted them. After that, I actually demoted her." she explained.

"How long ago was this, Peony?" asked Jackass.

"Well, not too long ago. I'd say, maybe a year? If not that, then eleven months." replied she.

"Then... Slate, these people. What are we looking at, trouble wise?" asked 3B. 

"Violations involve assault, driving under the influence, sexual assault, murder, narcotics, smuggling-"

"Alright, that's enough." 3B cut him off. "Commander Jackass, have you heard of any of this? With the other higher ups?"

"No. For now, I have a funny feeling that I won't be able to bring this up." this elicited stares of shock and confusion from the other officers. "Your faces says it all. I know, I want to as well. But you have to take a look at this from a bigger picture. SL8, as much as I'm on your side, this footage came from you. There's a lot of your model's capabilities that no one knows yet, and all this footage came from you. Other's would likely say that you created this footage yourself in efforts to cause upheaval within the government. So I'm afraid for the time being, that we can't go public with this due to lack of evidence, but we'll keep investigating and find a solid, concrete answer. Sound good?" 

The rest of the officers in the room all nodded and agreed after hearing what Jackass had to say. Then, they all stared at SL8, waiting for his answer. "I find you response... Acceptable..." said the android.

"Sorry, Slate. We'll get them next time for sure..." said 0Y. She gave SL8 a sympathetic tap on the shoulder.

It was then that Jackass let out a great sigh. "God dammit..." she cursed as she covered her face with her hand. "Such a thing happening right under my nose..." she looked at SL8 and the Huntress Team. "You're all dismissed for the rest of the day. Take a rest, three more days until we get to Earth. I'll call on you guys if anything else."

"Take this time to rest up. Especially you, SL8." added 21B.

"Roger that." replied the android emotionlessly. He turned and walked out the room, not even saluting as he left. The Huntress Team then saluted and quickly followed him out the door.

"Slate! We need to talk!" called 3B.

SL8 stopped in his tracks and without even turning, answered. "What is it?" asked he.

"What the hell was that about?" demanded 3B. "Since when do we grab superior officers like that?"

"I had assumed that she knew about the pirates' true identity." replied SL8, "I needed to find out."

"That doesn't excuse what you did." interjected 0W. "Even if you wanted to know, there was a better action to take than to assault her like that!"

"Look, Slate, I get it." 0Y said more somberly, "I really do. But you can't do that right now. I've been given unreasonable orders... found out things that I wasn't supposed to and questioned them... but I never lashed out like that. You have to keep a calm mind. Using your anger like that will only cause more problems... where'd the hell you learn anger anyway?" 

SL8 did not know how to answer for once. But he decided to answer, but not to bring up Accord. "I do not know why... but recently, I have been experiencing strange things..."

"Strange?" asked 0R. "What do you mean? You seemed pretty normal a while ago." 

"It seems that I've been having flashes of... familiarity. Things I seem to remember, yet have not experienced. The I chose for the stuffed toy, Silas, it seemed familiar to me." he said to 0R, he then turned to the others. "And for whatever reason, the way pirates act, the things they commit. I have no clue why I am so aggravated when I even think of them..."

"Aggravated? Can you explain some more?" asked 0W, "You feel angered every time you see them?"

"Yes, even if the subject arises, then I am unreasonably angered by the mere thought of their actions." he added.

"This... changes things then..." 3B spoke. "What would you say is causing this?" asked the Captain.

"The cause is unknown. But I am beginning to suspect that it relates to my past."

"Your... past?" asked the Huntress Team, nearly in unison. 

"Wh-what do you mean? I thought you woke in the laboratory after being built three hundred years ago?" asked 0Y, "Or did you not give us all the details?"

"I believe I did... But for whatever reason, glimpses of a man who looked just like me show up. He had a wife and a child, I have done my calculations and have come to a conclusion. That man in the bits of data I see, has at least a forty two percent chance of being involved with the affairs of Steiner Lagor, my creator."

"That sounds... interesting to say the least." remarked 0W, "But have you reported it to Command?"

"Negative. Until I reach a definitive conclusion on these so called 'memories' I will not be submitting a report." replied SL8.

The other three looked at 3B, who seemed deep in thought. After what seemed to be several minutes, she finally looked up. "Slate, judging from what you told us, I have reason to believe that what you did can be justified. You're maybe re-experiencing anger again for the first time, and in your rage, assaulted a superior. These emotions may stem from what may be your past life. But, despite all that, I still can't let you off the hook for doing that to a Commanding Officer of an entire armed force." 3B paused, "You are hereby sentenced to the ship's brig until we reach Earth. Sorry, but rules are rules, if anything, you're getting off lucky."

"This is acceptable." replied SL8. He began to walk towards the ship's holding unit, escorted by the Huntress Team. He'd be spending the next three days here, but he thought he'd just turn himself to low power mode. Not that he needed to, he wouldn't mind sitting and doing nothing. When he got to the cell, SL8 handed over any and all weaponry he had, before being left alone with himself and a YoRHa guard. 

Word around the ship spread quickly, how SL8 assaulted Jackass, how that "Pirate Ship" was actually crewed by North American soldiers. SL8 was more or less asleep, but he could still pick up what they were saying. They were asking questions, but for whatever reason, Jackass and the other officers wanted them all to keep silent on this, and not cause a great commotion among the rest of the military. Such a thing would surely allow for their enemies to use this to sow discourse. The days passed by quickly, but on the last day of the trip, the cell opened up.

"Hey, wake up." it was the YoRHa guard. She shook SL8 and he began to power on. "You're time here is over. Try and not to end up here again, alright?" she asked jokingly, "It's really boring. I usually talk to the inmates here, but you just slept for three days straight..."

"My apologies. I will have a conversation with you next time." replied he.

"Did you even hear me? I said don't come back here." 

"Understood." Without another word he left for the bridge. As he drew closer though, he heard a commotion. He tuned his audio sensors and listened in as he approached.

"General, this is not a request! You will land here in Toronto!!" said a very agitated voice. 

"Sir, we had an operation! We're to land in the Asian Territories and take the fight to the Oceanians! What am I to tell the Emperor!?" it was Jackass. SL8 identified the other voice as the Prime Minister Elias Smeltchin.

"I don't care! This is not up for debate! This is a matter of national security! If you cannot understand that, know that I can have you removed from your post! An intoner and an SL have infiltrated North America! The Convocation has backed me this time! Land at the Toronto Port, we will speak on this matter of your insubordination later!" as SL8 heard the transmission shut off, he also heard a loud bang, as if someone had thrown something.

"FUCK!!!" Jackass screamed as SL8 slid the door open. All of the other officers and the Huntress Team were present. "Oh, hey Slate..." Jackass sighed, "Sorry you had to hear that."

"We're being reassigned? Well this is just great..." 21B groaned.

"What do we do?" asked one of the android officers. 

"Well, normally, I'd be a renegade and just ignore the bastard. But if the Convocation is backing him, then I guess we have to. I trust 9S' judgement either way... Alright people, change of plan. We're headed to Toronto, the North American Capital!"

Chapter Text

"We're in range, of the Victoria Station, ma'am." one of the bridge crew said. 

"Good, begin the docking process." sighed Jackass. "We can't land at the actual port, but we do need repairs." she looked at a monitor and looked at the ship's current status. Several of the main guns were damaged or completely destroyed, several parts of the ship's chassis was also blown apart or melted away. "To think that we'd be attacked on the way, though..."

"Well, we were hailed on an unsecured channel." remarked 21B. "Another of the Prime Minister's blunders..."

*Flashback*

"General, this is not a request! You will land here in Toronto!!" said a very agitated voice. 

"Sir, we had an operation! We're to land in the Asian Territories and take the fight to the Oceanians! What am I to tell the Emperor!?" it was Jackass. SL8 identified the other voice as the Prime Minister Elias Smeltchin.

"I don't care! This is not up for debate! This is a matter of national security! If you cannot understand that, know that I can have you removed from your post! An intoner and an SL have infiltrated North America! The Convocation has backed me this time! Land at the Toronto Port, we will speak on this matter of your insubordination later!" as SL8 heard the transmission shut off, he also heard a loud bang, as if someone had thrown something.

"FUCK!!!" Jackass screamed as SL8 slid the door open. All of the other officers and the Huntress Team were present. "Oh, hey Slate..." Jackass sighed, "Sorry you had to hear that."

"We're being reassigned? Well this is just great..." 21B groaned.

"What do we do?" asked one of the android officers. 

"Well, normally, I'd be a renegade and just ignore the bastard. But if the Convocation is backing him, then I guess we have to. I trust 9S' judgement either way... Alright people, change of plan. We're headed to Toronto, the North American Capital! The Emperor is not gonna be happy, that's for sure." Jackass replied. The Commander reached out to the terminal in front of her and pressed the button to broadcast her voice across the entire ship. "All hands, attention. Change of plans, we're going to be heading to North America instead of Asia, you'll be briefed when we touch down. Repeat: we're going to be-" the ship suddenly shook with a loud boom. "The hell was that!?" she asked.

"We're being attacked!" shouted one of the operators. "Brace for impact! Systems damaged! Our chassis has taken a huge hit and several main guns down!" the ship shook again, and something flew past the ship, "I'll try and identify it..." then the operator gasped.

"What is it?" asked another.

"It's got an SL's signature... it's SL4!" yelled one of the operators.

"Damn! Scramble our fighters! Either drive him off, or take him down!" commanded Jackass, "Get me SL8 now!" 

"Yes, Ma'am!" one of the operators connected herself to the android. "SL8, we need you on the bridge, STAT!!" he called. 

Moments later, the door slid open, and SL8 entered the bridge. "What do you need me to do?"

"Use the bridge air lock again. Deploy immediately with your Mechanical Phenomenon. Our flight units will be joining you for the attack! Move!" Jackass commanded.

"Acknowledged." SL8 ran to the airlock and opened it. Once he actually moved into space, he activated his Phenomenon and flew towards the green streak of light in the distance. As he drew closer and closer to SL4, he saw that it wasn't a Mechanical Phenomenon that he was chasing, instead it was an exo-suit that was being piloted by SL4. The enemy android saw SL8 coming towards him and then began to shoot at him with two mounted turrets on the shoulders of the suit. SL8 dodged with ease and increased his speed.

Though he accelerated, he didn't aim to go at SL4. Instead, he zoomed past the enemy android. Once he got far enough, SL8 flew back towards SL4 and transformed into his mobile form before tackling him out of the void and headed towards the moon. Both of them landed on the moon with a loud crash, sending moon dust and rock up towards space. The exo-suit was now damaged, that meant that SL8 had a tactical advantage. With a small boost from his thrusters, SL8 flew up and began firing his missiles towards the crater where SL4 would be. 

Suddenly, a green beam came from the smoke and punched a hole right through SL8's Mechanical Phenomenon, causing him to abandon the form. As SL8 landed onto the moon, he drew his sword and readied. Out of the smoke, SL4 charged and tackled him, he was shouting something, but due to the lack of oxygen, SL8 didn't really know what he was saying until he read his lips, it was the simple insults that SL4 was so fond of slinging once again. Despite the lessened gravity of the moon, both charged forward with astonishing speed. SL4 finally showed his weapon, they appeared to be claws, they came from behind his fingers, ten in total. 

SL4 swiped at SL8, but the attack was quickly dodged. Due to the gravity, and SL8's step back, he went back further than he would normally. However, SL8 had planned for this, as he already analyzed the situation. He fired a grappling hook from his hip into the ground and reeled himself in back towards the green android. With all of his might, SL8 swung his sword down at SL4, but the blade broke upon contact with his claws. Needing to gain some distance, SL8 drew his beam pistols and fired several shots at SL4, making him back away. 

This ended when SL4 fired his optical ray, blowing a small mound on the moon to smithereens. SL8 drew the other gladius he had on him, the sword Convergence. He hadn't used it before this point, though this would be a good starting point. Extending his arm blade as well, he readied himself to fight. He saw SL4's lips move again, he read them. Something along the lines of, "You've got no chance with that thing". SL4 was first to charge forward, diving towards SL8 with his claws out ready to kill. SL8 fired his optical rays, but SL4 did the same as SL8 and used his grappling hooks for a maneuver, dodging the blast. He got close enough to slash across SL8's chest, actually damaging him. He went for a second swing, but SL8 had blocked it with his arm blade.

Switching grips, SL8 plunged his gladius down at SL4 to finish him off, but it would not be that easy. SL4 smacked the sword aside with his other hand and head butted SL8, actually knocking him off his feet. As SL8 landed on the moon, SL4 lunged at him to finish the fight, but SL8 utilized his legs and kicked SL4 off before he got too close, SL8 swung his gladius at the enemy, cutting him across the face. This made him scream something that SL8 still couldn't hear, but saw that it was an insult. SL8 and SL4 fired their optical rays, causing an explosion that knocked both of them off their feet. 

"Slate! We're coming in!" he then heard on his comms network. As SL8 was getting back up, he looked behind him and saw four flight units coming in, the Huntress Team had arrived. Hid raider picked up four incoming friendly units, drawing in at high speeds. A sniper shot landed at SL4's location, knocking him off his feet and into the sky. 0Y's flight unit appeared and punched him back into the ground, blowing dust all over the place. Out of the dust, a green beam tore through the void, aimed right at 0Y herself. Luckily, she narrowly avoided the laser as 0w fired an ice beam at the location, freezing him in place. 

"Let him have it!" commanded 3B. She began firing her smash cannons at SL4 while 0Y fired the 120 mm cannon, along with a bombardment of her MIRV missiles. 0W began casting as many spells as she could muster through her flight unit.

"Deploying Shield Frags in Assault Mode!" 0R announced. The bits on her flight unit's tail began to split off and coat SL4 with small laser beams as she began unloading every round in her sniper rifle. They kept firing until they more or less ran out of ammunition, and the dust began to clear. There stood a heavily damaged, SL4, much of the skin on his face and body missing, exposing his skeletal truonium frame. Falling to his knees, he cursed something again. "Just what is he made of...?!" cried 0R.

"I will finish him off." SL8 began to charge at the weakened android but then was stopped in his tracks by a message.

"All deployed forces, return to the Anemone immediately! We're under attack by multiple hostile forces! I say again, all deployed forces, return to the Anemone immediately! We're under attack by multiple hostile forces!" it was one of the bridge operators of the ship. SL8 looked over at SL4, who now wore a malicious grin that only meant that he was now filled with confidence and relief. With a mocking salute, he was teleported away from the moon, back to wherever he came from. 

"Damn! He got away! Do we pursue?" asked 0Y.

"No, the ship is priority! Slate, get on. We're heading back." said 3B. 

"Roger that." replied SL8. He hooked onto the Commander Type and then rode on it all the way back to the ship. True to the words, there were multiple hostile entities attacking the ship. The anti air guns weren't near fast enough for them, with a simple scan, SL8 found out why. 

"Mass production models of SL4." SL8 said, "Much like SL6's clones." 

"Damn it! The ship is toast if we don't do something!" 0Y cursed. "And I stupidly used up all my ammo!" 

"Calm down... 0R, 0Y, head back to the ship and rearm, then come back out here. SL8, get inside the ship and get one of your packs on. For the time being, 0W and I will spearhead defense of the ship with the other flight units!" 

"Roger!" both of the androids replied and began heading back to the ship. 

"Acknowledged." SL8 jumped off her flight unit and used his grappling hooks to make his way to the main air lock, as the bridge was now stowed away. 

"This is Captain 3B of the Huntress Squadron. I want all YoRHa flight units to rally on my position. We'll split into different teams and take them on one by one, they may be mass produced, but they're still SL models." announced 3B through the radios.

"You heard her! Let's group up!" 21B in a flight unit commanded.

"Yes, ma'am!" all of the other androids responded. The other flight units began to group up, then split. They all flew in different formations, ang began to shoot down the enemies with coordination. 

"Stay tight!" called 3B. Then a flight unit strayed off, "Hey! 75B, what are you doing!?" 

"They're on my tail! I can't lose them!" called the panicked android, "This 75B! I need help-!" she was then cut off as her flight unit was shot down by several mass produced SL4s, exploding in space.

"We lost one!" shouted 0W. 

"Don't falter!" called 21B, "We can do this!" she fired the smash cannons on her commander type, and destroyed two. "Team two, come with me, circle up around the ship for defense! 3B take care of the other bogeys!"

"Roger! Follow me!" 3B called. The other flight units began to follow her lead as several joined 21B in the ship's defense. They circled up around the vessel, doing their best to intercept enemy missiles, or shielding regular rounds. On 3B's side, they began to fly in a formation that would mask their movements. It was a straight line, one would attack, and then evade quickly, the next fighter would do the same, allowing for consecutive attacks. As they were finishing off more of them, several then warped into the area in a flash of light.

"More fighters!" called a squad leader, "Form up! Pattern six!"

"Roger!" her squad mates then began to scatter, leading the enemy fighters away from the ship. It was then that the catapult opened up and three launched from it. Both 0R and 0Y had been fully replenished on ammunition, and SL8 now wore a battle pack. It was some kind of wing pack, having three thrusters and movable wings. In his hands, he held a shield and high powered energy rifle. SL8 also had two regular missiles on the wings and two pods containing micro missiles.

"Beginning interception of enemy units and defense of the Anemone." said SL8. He began to chase down the enemy fighters and started shooting them down with his rifle. They flew around in an attempt to disperse, but SL8 still locked onto all of them and fired all the micro missiles he had and intercepted all of them. Two of them came up behind him and got ready to fire, but 0R managed to back him up,

"Deploy shield frags!" she said. The several pieces moved at high speed and blocked the shots directed towards SL8. Before the two enemy units could do anything else, 0R shot one down, and 0Y took the other one down with a cannon shot. 

"Enemies down." said 0Y. She then looked around, "They're retreating! Do we pursue?" she called.

"No. We're making our way to Earth effective immediately." Jackass commanded over the comms. "All damaged flight units, get back to the ship, any and all units that are in fighting condition, escort us as we get to Victoria Station. Full speed ahead, look out for any other bogeys..." 

"Roger!"

*Present*

The ship began to dock with the station's anchors. As they finally came to a stop, the bridge crew all collectively breathed a sigh of relief. "That was intense..." one of them said.

"I'm headed into the station. Call all of our fighters back. We'll be taking transport ships down with all of our equipment." Jackass said as she began to leave for the station's deck. 

"Yes, ma'am." the operator connected himself to the fighters and SL8. "All flight crews, you are now authorized to land, I say again, all flight crews are cleared to land." Hearing that, the rest of the androids flew back to the Anemone, landing inside the hangar where mechanics began to work on any and all damage done to them. The Huntress Team disembarked as SL8's pack hissed before he took it off. As he removed his helmet, Jackass walked up, alongside her was 21B. 

"Nice work, guys. Come with me, we'll be meeting the station's commanding general." 

"Understood." replied 3B. She and the others began to follow Jackass as she walked to the main airlock where a bridge had connected. The light went from yellow to green and the door slid open, revealing a pathway and two human soldiers. They both had rifles slung on their backs, but saluted, their left hands on their chests. Jackass saluted back, as did 21B.

"Good afternoon, General. Commander." one of them said.

"Brigadier General Espiga has been expecting you. Please follow us." said another.

"Brigadier General, huh? How'd a little brat like him get to that rank?" chuckled Jackass.

"Lead the way." responded 21B. The group began following the two soldiers. As they began to move through the space station, a large window covered the entirety of the main deck, the Anemone in view, the blue Earth right behind it. Machines and androids were now in space, beginning to run repairs on the ship as supplies and munitions were carried from the ship's hangar to the station's. Military personnel walked about, minding their daily business. They got to an elevator and all entered before ascending. 

"Through that door." said one of them.

"Thank you both, dismissed." said Jackass.

"Yes ma'am!" they both saluted before descending from the elevator. Without them, the seven androids began to walk through the door, sentry guns were on the ceiling of both sides of the door. Jackass took off her glove and scanned her hand on the terminal, the screen lit green as she did. When the doors slid open, they were in a large office, the Earth in view behind a man who sat at a large desk. He looked up and smiled.

"General Jackass. As I live and breathe, you look the same as you did forty years ago..." he laughed as he stood.

"Look at you... I watched you grow up. Saw you go through the academy, now you're a brigadier general, and didn't even invite me to your promotion..." replied she in a solemn tone.

"I did. You just turned the invitation down, because you had 'science' to conduct." 

Jackass then laughed, "Yeah, you're right. But, better late than never, yeah?" she stuck out her hand, "Congratulations on your promotion, Ramón." He stuck out his hand to shake hers, but then she pulled him in for a hug instead. "So, I'm guessing you know why we're here?"

"Yes. Prime Minister has ordered you all down to Toronto. I'm here to make sure everything proceeds smoothly." replied the man. "My men here at the station are going to be loading everything on your ship onto a number of shuttles and transporting them down to the Earth Ports. After we're done with that, we'll also begin repairs on your ship."

"Good. Then, I suppose we'll be leaving this entirely to you?" asked Jackass.

"Yup."

"If I may, General." 0W, raised her hand, signaling to ask a question.

"Proceed."

"How long will this exactly take? The entire process, I mean." asked the android.

"Six hours, I'm afraid." he sighed, "I know, I see your face. Look, my men are real experienced in these kinds of things, but you have a lot of stuff on that ship. Enough to mount a whole campaign, so I'm sorry, but it'll take a little while. But look on the bright side." he suddenly beamed up, "You can enjoy the facilities at this lovely station. There's plenty of recreation here, I'm sure you'll all find something to do."

"General, our androids could help your men, we need to get back down to Earth as soon as possible." 21B protested.

"Nonsense." replied the Brigadier General, "You will all be fighting on the ground before long, take this time to relax just a little bit more. From what I hear, a lot of androids these days are starting to undergo episodes from the constant stress of fighting. You may not be as brittle as us organics, but trust me, relaxing is a luxury you'll all won't be able to afford in the near future."

Jackass then placed a hand on 21B's shoulder, "He's got a point. So let's leave it up to them." said she, 21B nodded to this, and turned around. "I will past this on to the others, but if you want to help, then go to bay four and help the soldiers there. If not, you are all released to some free time. This will end at approximately 0700. Make use of your time, dismissed." said she.

The Huntress Team, including SL8 saluted and then left the command room. They all took the elevator down and saw that all the other androids crewing the Anemone had already gotten the word, and had disembarked. Several of them were heading to bay four, while others have elected to simply sit and relax for the little bit of time they were allotted. Some had decided to take a nap, or read. Others headed off to the cafe to have drinks or something to eat. "We're gonna head off, relax a little before anything else happens." 3B spoke, "What about you?" she asked to SL8.

"I have decided that it is best that I assist with the loading of our cargo. I will head to the fourth bay and see you all when the time has come to gather." SL8 replied simply.

"Alright then, suit yourself. See you later." SL8 nodded to this and began walking off towards bay four. As he walked, he heard footsteps running behind him. 

"Wait up!" she called. SL8 glanced behind to see that it was 0W, she was running to catch up to him. "I decided to come and help. Better than just waiting."

"Why have you decided to come?" asked SL8. 

"Because, I think it's better than just sitting around and waiting for the humans to help us." replied 0W.

"You are lying." SL8 stated.

"Excuse me?" 

"What for?"

"You accused me of lying, why?"

"Because you are."

"Is that so? What would you say I really want then?"

"From what I can infer, you simply want to go down to Earth. More than anyone else on the station." SL8 answered, "You show signs of unrest, you shake a little, and your voice even quivered when asking the commanding general of the station. Am I correct in assuming your desire?"

0W then grew silent, oddly uncharacteristic of her. She then walked slowly up to SL8's face and spoke in a whisper, "Look, I've never been to Earth... ever..." said she, "This is going to be my first time in my entire existence. Unlike the others, I'm entirely manufactured on Mars." SL8 gave her a look, wanting her to elaborate, "Well, 3B was made by General 2B and Councilman 9S, designed to be their daughter. 0Y was already a YoRHa member before she made the transfer over to an experimental model. While 0R was a civilian android built by humans before she made the transfer over to YoRHa. But me, I was built one year into the war, when the concept of magic-capable androids came up."

"I see." SL8 searched the database quickly, much of what 0W had said was true, only 0Y had her data expunged for whatever reason. But he wasn't going to pry, what he saw was a very human thing from 0W, a desire. SL8 thought nothing of it, "Then let us be underway." SL8 spoke. 0W nodded and began to walk with him. They moved quickly, drawing ever closer to the bay. However, when they came across one of the windows that showed the Earth, SL8 stopped and turned to face the planet.

"What is it?" 0W asked. 

"I need to take a photo." SL8 replied. His eyes flashed for a moment before the capture was taken. He then utilized his own systems and sent it to Miran on Mars. He hadn't received a reply, not that he expected it. Once he had finished, 0W continued to walk with him. 

"Was that for Miran?"

"Yes. I promised that I would send her photographs of Earth. I decided this was a good start." responded SL8 they finally made it to the fourth bay when they saw two hatch operators. "We are here to assist with the loading efforts." 

"Alright." said the person over the mic. "Just be ready to experience a zero gravity environment. I suggest you and your friend had a propulsion or grappling method for the situation." 0W looked around and quickly found her flight unit and got in. She hovered over to SL8 and both SL8 and 0W signaled that they were ready, "Roger that, opening the airlock." The doors behind them in the bay were sealed, and the doors opened up, the oxygen being sucked right out into space. As they stood there, it was finally time to go outside. When they left the station, they saw the Anemone, it's cargo bay was wide open and multiple flight units were helping lift cargo out of it. Many more men in space suits were making sure the supplies were loaded into the multitude of shuttles that were available. 

0W and SL8 approached, and the androids were first to take notice. "Hey, you're from the Huntress Team, right?" asked an android in a flight unit.

"That's right. We're here to help with the loading." replied 0W, "He's the same." she pointed SL8, whom was atop the flight unit. 

"Alright, then help squad six with the munitions." said the android. They both headed over to the members, a mix of regular androids, and humans. Two humans operated a machine that helped them move the heavy crates and other containers. Other humans were simply moving smaller crates by hand. The regular androids were doing the same, only without space suits on, only radios on their heads. 

"Oh hey, 0W. And SL8, too." one of the androids remarked. "Great that you're here, we could use a flight unit." SL8 got off and used his grappling hooks to anchor himself onto the ship and a human helped him down with an arm.  

"Hey, aren't you a that SL8 I hear so much about?" asked the soldier.

"That is correct." replied SL8 as he lifted a several ton container with his bare hands. "Others have heard of me?" 

"Yeah, I remember when I heard you had first joined the androids on Mars. The guys around me were real skeptical." said the man as he grabbed a crate, "Honestly speaking, I was, too." SL8 did not respond, though he did give him a look as to ask him to continue. "Then the day came along when I heard SL7 was killed. Me and a lot of others have said that it was a turning point of the war, hope that rings true in the near future, yeah?"

SL8 thought of what to say. He decided to just say, "Yes." SL8 remembered the time that he tore SL7's head off, it seemed to inspire and rouse many soldiers across the entirety of the military. They continued to move the containers until every single of the pieces of equipment and munitions were loaded onto the multiple shuttles, ready to go to Earth.

"Alright, everyone. Let's head back to the station." said the commanding YoRHa officer. General Jackass is requesting our presence on the main deck. All of the flight units and humans began to get back to the station. They landed at the bay before the YoRHa androids and the Regulars disembarked from whatever machines they were using. All of the androids began to head to the main deck, there they encountered Jackass, who had the rest of the androids in a formation.

"If you're only joining now, just fall in." called 21B. The androids did so.

"So, as you all know, our destination has changed. We are heading down to Toronto, the North American Capital. During the battle against South American forces, we ran across a new kind of enemy: the Intoner." she announced. The soldiers all perked up, as if they heard something very much interesting. "During that battle, we were shown the new capabilities of this enemy. Now, one of them have shown themselves in our capital. Our mission, maintain the security of our capital, and exterminate any threats that could threaten the city of Toronto." she explained. "Any questions?" no one raised a hand or even spoke up, "Good, then it's time. Get to the shuttles, we're going down to Earth!" announced Jackass.

"Yes, ma'am!" all of the soldiers announced. Everyone began to move about. Brigadier General Espiga even showed up to oversee all of it, he walked up to Jackass and shook her hand once again.

"Hope to see you again, Jackass." said he.

"Same to you, kid. Trust me, I'll be back and we'll make up for lost time." Jackass then stepped away and began to step onto one of the troop transport shuttles. With all the soldiers loaded, all of the shuttles took off from the station and headed towards Earth. As they began to enter the atmosphere, SL8 received a message.

"OMG, I see the Earth! Hope you have a good time!" it read. The sender was from none other than Miran. SL8 read the message carefully, wondered if he would have anything similar to "fun". "Perhaps..." he spoke.

Chapter Text

They could be seen from a mile away. At least fifty shuttles began to come down from the clouds. Children near the port pointed, men and women looked up and saw that reinforcements had come down from Mars, just as the news articles had stated. The port's control towers linked themselves to the incoming shuttles, giving orders where to land their troops, and where to land their cargo. Onboard the shuttles, many androids seemed excited. "Earth!" one exclaimed, "Man, I haven't been back in years!" he added.

"Can't wait, can already feel the difference in gravity." a YoRHa android stated.

SL8 also felt it himself, the gravity here on Earth was different, he felt heavier. Not to an extent where he would have trouble moving, but it was certainly noticeable. He eyed his teammates, 3B looked relaxed, as if she had touched down to her home. 0Y also had a look of relief on her face, SL8 remembered their conversation, how she was actually manufactured here on Earth. 0R also looked, pressing her hands and face on the window. However, 0W just stared in awe out at the sights she saw. Even SL8 had to admit, the view was much more different than Mars. That's because despite having been terraformed, Mars had somehow lacked the majesty of Earth. The mountains seemed to be blue in the distance, rather than a noticeable red, the sky had no yellow tinge to it, and beyond the city, a forest spread as far as the eye can see. 

"We're finally here..." Jackass sighed, "It's good to be home." SL8 was sitting in the row across from her with 3B and 0Y, "So? What do you think so far?" she asked him.

"It is certainly different." replied SL8, he snapped another photo and sent it over to Miran. The trip took two hours from the station to the Earth, so he doubted that she'd see the message immediately. "But at the same time, it is exactly like the photographs that I have seen." 

"Attention, this is your pilot speaking." spoke the woman, "We'll be landing at the Toronto Military HQ Space Port. Please prepare for landing." all of the androids on board complied with the orders as they began to descend at a faster rate, they all grabbed any and all hand held equipment as they finally touched the ground. "We have successfully landed, thank you for flying with us today. Good luck." 

"Alright, I want all YoRHa riders to get their equipment and vehicles off the shuttles. Normal YoRHa troops, handle the ammunition." Jackass commanded. "Regular androids will help with the rest of the equipment. Get going." she added. All of the android soldiers complied and began to disembark, feeling the sunlight hit their skin. "Can you go supervise?" Jackass turned to 21B and asked, she nodded in response and also got off the shuttle to go with the other soldiers. "Huntress Team, you're with me." 

"Yes, ma'am." responded 3B. She and her team got up and followed the Commander out of the craft. They all allowed themselves to stretch a moment and bathe in the sunlight, letting it engulf them. As 3B and 0Y's demeanors seemed completely normal, 0R was looking around as if she hadn't been here before, all the while that 0W was captured in so much awe that she just stood with her mouth agape. "First time on Earth?" asked 3B, patting her on the shoulder.

"It's... it's so... beautiful... Mars doesn't even compare...!" 0W uttered, this made 0Y chuckle. 

"Yeah... it sure is nice to be back." 0Y remarked with a sigh and a smile.

"Alright, some very important people are going to be seeing us, so be on your best-" Jackass was cut off by another voice behind her.

"Oh come on, Jackass. I never knew you to be one so uptight." said the voice of a young man.

"That voice... could it be...?" 3B spun around to see an android of shorter stature. His silver hair gleamed in the sunlight, and his stormy blue eyes stared right back her with a smile on his face. "Dad?" she questioned happily.

"Hey, honey! How've you been?" asked he, "Come on, give your dad a hug!" said he with his arms out stretched. 3B practically ran up to him and jumped into his arms, due to her height over him, he somewhat fell back but kept his footing. "It's good to see you, too..." 

"I wonder..." another voice said, "Will you hug me the same way?" asked another. 3B turned to see another android, still wearing a YoRHa uniform, though with an overcoat and a pauldron cape. Her silver hair was the same shade and color of 3B's father, her eyes the same, even her face seemed similar. "It's good to see you again, sweetie." 

"Mom!" 3B cried happily. She went from his arms to her mother's with a leap and gave her a deep hug. 

"How long has it been?" asked the android.

"Almost three years." 0Y spoke. "Ma'am, Sir. It's good to be home." she stuck out her hand and he shook it. 

"Thanks for taking care of our daughter, 0Y." the male android spoke. "And what did I say about the usage of the word 'Sir'? If no one else is around, it's 9S or Nines."

"Right, sorry, Nines." chuckled 0Y. 

"Hmph. I'm around." huffed Jackass. She then turned to the other android, "SL8, meet the General of North America's training, General 2B." 

"Good morning, General. I am designated SL8." SL8 saluted to 2B, the android saluted back. He then turned to 9S, "You are Councilman 9S of the Convocation of Harmony. It is a pleasure to meet you." SL8 saluted to him as well.

"Pleasure is all ours." 9S saluted then shook his hand. "We've heard of your endeavors here on Earth. You've been doing real good work, SL8."

"Right. It's thanks to you that we have a morale boost among all of our soldiers." 2B added, "Good work." SL8 nodded stood at attention. "Good thing you're here, in fact, if it weren't for 9S, then I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to have come to Earth."

"Had to pull a lot of strings to get the Prime Minister on board with letting you come. Better be thankful, huh?" asked 9S jokingly.

"Yes, you have all of my gratitude." replied SL8. 

Before anymore pleasantries could be exchanged however, someone interrupted. Slow, but loud clapping interrupted everyone's conversations. "Yes, yes, very lovely." spoke a loud and somewhat irritating voice. They all looked over to see a short and stout man, a half-dwarf walking up, escorted by two soldiers. "Glad to see your family is reunited, Councilman. But, don't you and the General have work to do?" asked he.

"Others are covering for us right now, Prime Minister." replied 9S, also in an irritated voice. 

"Besides, wouldn't you like the extra escort?" added 2B.

The Prime Minister winced a bit but quickly collected himself. "Very well then..." he said, "Commander Jackass, good to see you back home." he said with a somewhat smile. "And the Huntress Team. It is amazing that you are all here on Earth! With you all here, we will finally be able to exterminate the threat that stares down our home." 

"Yes, Sir. That's why we're here, with us here, we will ensure victory for the Earth, and for humanity." replied 3B with a salute, the others did so as well.

"Well spoken! Well spoken, indeed." replied the Prime Minister, "Come. Walk with me, I have something special planned for the Huntress Team." he began to walk into the space port's main building, followed by his two body-guards. The rest of the androids began to move to follow him. They entered the space port, many moving parts were at work right now. Soldiers were everywhere, making sure that things were proceeding smoothly. As this was Military HQ, several top officers were present, including yet another familiar face.

"Oh, it's you guys." everyone turned to see that it was the Commander of the YoRHa, 6O. "I see you've all come down to Earth." 

"Commander!" 3B said, "It's so good to see you again." she and the other Huntress Team members saluted to her, in which she saluted back. 

"General 6O, hello." said the Prime Minister, "Come to see your prized androids?"

"They're my precious soldiers, Sir. Why would I not want to see them after several months?" 

"Even him?" he smugly questioned, pointing towards SL8.

"Actually, Sir. He's my soldier." retorted Jackass, placing her hand on his and gently pushing it down, "He rolls with the Huntress Team as both of us have come to an agreement. Because he's not YoRHa, we have decided that he will fall under my command, and will enjoin the Huntress Team on their missions." she explained.

"I see..." huffed the Prime Minister, "In any case, 6O, do you need anything? I need to brief the Huntress Team on their situation. Or is it that you wish to join us?"

Well, if you're giving your permission, Prime Minister, then I'd love to." chimed 6O cheerfully, Smeltchin's face grimaced upon hearing this, as if he was displeased by this decision, but he nodded. They followed him to the tower of the base, where the Commanding Officer's office would be. When they got there, an elven woman was there inside the office already, her military uniform twice decorated, a veteran of the front lines.

"My, I wasn't expecting such a full house today." she remarked before saluting, her aid, a human male, did the same. "Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Ladies, gentlemen." she spoke.

"Good afternoon, General." replied the Prime Minister. He had no salute to give back, only taking his coat off and handing it to one of his body guards. "We are here for the briefing. Ah, Huntress Team, this is General Quitris, the commanding general of this installation, I trust that you've heard of her." said he as he turned.

"The briefing." responded she, "Ah, yes. Corporal, if you could, the holographic display please." 

"Yes, ma'am." spoke the human. He turned around and walked to a computer monitor and sat down. A bit of clicking later, and the window closed up, darkening the room. Then it became a screen, showing a diagram of the entire city of Toronto, and even beyond.  "We're all ready, ma'am."

"Thank you, Corporal. If you would all direct your attention to the display. As you could see, this is a diagram of Toronto, North America's current capital. We are right here." she pointed at a part of the city with a red dot, near the center of the city. "This is Toronto Military HQ, where we are. As you all know, the City Guard has reported sightings of an intoner, and even an SL android in the Forever Forest nearby and even within the city at times." she explained. 

"Excuse me, ma'am. Were there ever any efforts to apprehend them?" asked 3B.

"We tried. Every time we did, they ended up disappearing within a blink of an eye. However, in one incident, when we tried to apprehend them, they set off an explosion downtown before using the commotion to make their escape. The last incident even three of our soldiers dead, all from slash marks."

"How did they know that the one other than the android is an Intoner? Is there any you pinpointed it?" asked Jackass.

"Yes, actually." replied Quitris. "During the campaign to force South American forces from Mars, SL8 scanned the intoner. The mission report that was submitted along with the data that SL8 had gathered during the entire campaign. When analyzed, we saw that the Intoner that he encountered gave off a very unique signature, by that, we mean radio wave. Her speech gave off very unique radio waves, when we had suspicions of the woman we saw, we recorded her. With a supplementary scan, we saw that it was nearly the same, which had given us all the evidence we needed." 

"I see... I've never realized that..." Jackass remarked to herself.

"In any case, please continue, General." Smeltchin spoke.

"Yes, Sir. With those cases, we've decided to keep the Anemone's crew here as a reinforcing force for the time being. With the Huntress Team, we are certain that we will be able to either repel or even eliminate the threats to the capital. Any more questions?" asked she. She waited for a moment before speaking again, "Good, then it is time for the planning part of this operation." 

"Yes, but first, I want to say something, General." spoke Smeltchin. "Had General Arboleda not gone to Mars, I'd have him handling this. But he has taken much of his own personal fleet to Mars to guard it. I want this operation to be a success, do not let me down, Commander Jackass. I want my capital safe and sound. I will wait in my office, once the briefing is done here, I want the Huntress Team in my office, and only them, there is a special place I wish to have them put at." Without another word nor an explanation, the Prime Minister walked out of the room with his two escorts.

"Right then, General Quitris, where do want us to start? I can have the YoRHa riders that just arrived guard the city, or begin expeditions in the Forever Forest." spoke 6O.

"6O, there's already a corps of Riders within the city. As of late, they've been aiding police patrols across the city. In fact, Toronto has been under Martial Law for at least a month now, with the situation at hand, it's hard to wonder why." replied 2B.

"Oh, yeah... that's right..." 6O chuckled, "Sorry, with everything's that happened, I've been forgetting the small details about the happenings in this city."

"Anyway, yes, I'd like the YoRHa forces that had just arrived to be our expeditionary force into the Forever Forest, as for the Regular Androids, I would like half of them to be placed at these strategic vantage points in the outer most limits." Quitris looked at the holographic display and her Corporal pressed a button that revealed yellow colored zones onto specific towers in the city. "The other half, I'd like to join the soldiers already in the Forever Forest, they've set up small camps in the forest as scout camps, the YoRHa riders dispatched out with directly coordinate with them."

"I see, so you're having some of my soldiers do garrison work, while the others are basically trying to find the Intoner and SL android snooping around the Forever Forest. Am I getting that right?" asked Jackass. 

"That is correct." 

"Well, as long as our supplies will be provided for us, I don't think it'll be any problem. That, or anything we use up here will be returned to us for the campaigns ahead. We originally were supposed to be fighting Oceania by now, after all." 

"That won't be a problem, Jackass." 9S chimed in. Since this operation was basically a pop-up, I'll bring it up to the Convocation and other Military leaders. If I can get them on board, everything logistics will be taken care of for you."

"Thanks, 9S." smiled Jackass.

"Now, I believe the briefing is adjourned." spoke Quitris. "Thank you, truly. Toronto is lucky to have reinforcements in times like these." she then turned about, "Corporal, good work. Get yourself a cup of coffee." 

"Yes, ma'am." replied the man. He then shut off the display and then the window opened back up, showing the outside world once again. It was then that he left the room. 

"Alright, we got a place to be. So do you five." spoke Jackass. "6O, if you'd join me." 

"Of course." 6O nodded. Before she went off with Jackass, she walked up to 2B and 9S. "It's good to see you both again. Too bad it's for work, huh? Can't remember the last time we had a peaceful meeting..." 

"Yeah, it's a shame." smiled 9S, "But on the bright side, this war may just end soon. And when it does, we can do all the things we did together again." 

"On another note..." 2B leaned in for a whisper, "Any word or sightings on Zero?" asked she. 6O's face immediately darkened.

"No..." she replied, "I'm afraid that we've yet to even catch sight of her. She's just been dropping in on several enemy sights and killing whatever... No sighting of Mikhail either. It seems that wherever they are, they want to stay hidden." 

2B sighed but pulled away, "I wish Lars was here... if anyone could talk her down, it'd be him... Five hundred years is a long time though..."

"Yeah, though I'd think A2 could also do it, don't you?" remarked 9S.

"That she could." spoke 2B with a slight smile. "But, let's not dwell on the past, let's get going. Come on, we're not overstaying our welcome." They all then left the General's office. Jackass and 6O quickly departed, leaving the Huntress Team and SL8 with 2B and 9S. 

"Come on, we'll stick around and get you to the Prime Minister's office." 9S said. The seven androids began to walk to the office of the World Leader. It didn't take long for them to reach his office, but the time had come for 2B and 9S to make their departure. "Well, hate to do it, but me and 2B have to go back to our stations." sighed 9S.

"Do you have to leave so soon?" 3B questioned.

"Sorry, but it has to be this way. We all have our jobs to do. 9S is with the North American Convocation, while I have to go back to overseeing the trainings of our soldiers." 2B then placed a hand on her shoulder. "But we won't be far. Now that you're on Earth, I suspect that it'll be much easier to contact us. Soon, this war will end, and when it does, we can finally be able to spend time together again." 

"I'd like that... bye mom... bye dad..." 3B then was hugged by both of her parents in a very heartwarming display of parental love. 

"Bye, sweetie. Don't worry, Lage swore that he'd watch over you, even in death. You will be safe."

"And we'll always be there whenever you need us." added in 9S before the two parents broke their embrace. "Alright, we have to go now. We'll see you soon, okay?" 

"Okay..." 3B spoke in a quieter tone.

"You got this, honey." 9S spoke with a smile before he and 2B walked off, leaving the Huntress Team and SL8 at the front of the office. 

"Well, let's see what the Prime Minister has in store for us." 0R stated.

"Yeah, let me start us off, we'll salute after I say 'reporting as ordered'." replied 3B, the others agreed before they finally walked on in. The door slid open and the Prime Minister sat at his desk, his two escorts stood at the door inside. "Good afternoon, Sir. Huntress Team reporting as ordered." she said loudly. Right afterwards, 3B and the rest of her team, including SL8. 

"Ah, the ever famous Huntress Team, currently responsible for the deaths two SL androids." he smiled, "Sit, sit down." The androids followed his orders and took seats on their chairs. "Now, you two, bring some tea. The Dwarven Fern for our guests and myself." The two men nodded and walked into a door within the office, only to emerge minutes later with six cups of fine, fragrant tea. The cups were set down in front of everyone, and Smeltchin blew on his before he took a sip. "Now, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've called you five here." 

"Yes, Sir. We actually are. We'd thought we'd be joining to expeditionary forces in the Forest." 3B spoke.

"Well, you are being stationed in the Forest, but not just in any way." he pushed a button on his desk and yet another holographic display popped up, this time in the Forever Forest. "This is a cabin, quite nice and luxury in fact, but it's also armed with some of the most advanced detector technology there is. All systems inside the cabin are also connected to some of North America's most powerful military satellites. In other words, the moment one of them picks up an Intoner's voice or an SL signature, you'll be the first to hear of it." 

"Why the special treatment, Sir?" asked 0W, "Not that it seems wring to me, but I simply am wondering why we are being placed in a location to remote."

"Well, I'm glad you asked. Most of the camps may already be compromised, it is not confirmed, but we know better than to underestimate an SL. One of those dastardly monsters could already be monitoring the camps that we set up, but the thing about this cabin is that it is shielded by magic. It is also completely hidden and secret to most people. This will be your base of operations while you are here, because despite the remote location, it isn't too far from Toronto. If need be, you'll arrive within fifteen minutes with your modified motor vehicles."

"So we're basically an emergency response team. Is that what you're saying, Sir?" questioned 0Y.

"Precisely, my dear. Now that you know the plan, I want you all to depart immediately before the city's lockdown begins again. Take what you need, then head there at once. Dismissed." 

"Yes, Sir. We'll be heading out now. Good afternoon, Sir." 3B and the others turned to leave, but were actually stopped by Smeltchin.

"Oh, SL8 I need to speak with you a moment." said he, "It's nothing too much, but it must be in private." he looked at his two guards, "Leave us." the two men nodded and walked outside of the office. 

"We'll be right outside, Slate." 0R spoke, SL8 nodded before turning his attention back at the prime minister.

"Is there something you needed, Sir?" asked the android.

"Well, to put it bluntly, yes." the Prime Minister stood up and looked outside of a window. "We are at war right now, SL8. Against your kind, but you've already shown that you're on our side. I can't say I'm very worried." SL8 found this strange now, the fact that in the past, Prime Minister Smeltchin had given much pushback of SL8 even being part of the the military, now he was suddenly "not worried". SL8 had better keep his guard up. "Ordinarily, I'd not be so concerned about my... opponents here..." He was lying, SL8 could detect it, the database said that Obadiah Smeltchin was a paranoid man, always attempting to consolidate power, but failing. "But right now, I suspect many of them are traitors to North America, in fact, some of them have even been in contact with the enemies... So I need you too take care of them." 

"I am not your personal hit-man, Prime Minister." SL8 had already known what he meant. "Report these situations to the guards then. I will not kill these people for you to keep your power going. The North American election system may not have a set number of year limit, but you can be deposed by any opponent or Convocation so long as they have the correct case. However, if you continue to try to order people to be killed, I will have you reported to the Convocation of Harmony."

"I'm afraid that I cannot take that for your answer, SL8." spoke the Prime Minister slimily, "What's the name of your Vacivin friend? I believe it was, Miran? Miran Hawkins? Yes, I know her, she once served in the army, in fact, even under the unit that I led." he then looked at SL8 with a smile of pure confidence, borderline arrogance. "A shame if something were to end up happening to her, yes?" SL8 suddenly knew what he was implying. If SL8 was going to refuse, he'd have someone hurt Miran, or worse. Taking his calculations into account, there was an actual high chance that a loyalist would end up going on the orders of the Prime Minister. 

"If you or any of your men harm even the slightest bit of skin on her body, I will know..." SL8 spoke.

"Calm down, I may not have to do that if you decide to do the reasonable thing and listen." he sipped his tea, "This is a matter of international security. You have to understand that I am working for the safety for the North American nation."

"I understand that you are a very selfish man that would do anything that would help you stay in power." SL8 retorted. He knew that if he refused, all that Smeltchin had to do was give a simple order, and Miran would be in danger. SL8 also knew that Miran was being monitored, any message that he would send her on her mobile could mean that it would be seen and the result would be the same if he refused. With all of this in mind, SL8 answered, "I will do it. Send any and all information directly to me."

"I'm glad that you have come to see reason." he smiled. SL8 didn't say a word, instead he began to walk out the office, "And my boy." SL8 paused to listen, "Not a word of this to the others, understood?" the android nodded in response before finally leaving the office. Outside was the rest of the Huntress Team, all waiting for him to return.

"Hey, what's up?" asked 0Y. 

"Are you alright?" questioned 0R, "You look angry, did something happen in there?"

"No... everything is alright." replied SL8. "Let us depart to the cabin." He then walked past the others without another word, much to their confusion. They could tell that something was wrong with him, yet he could not tell them a single detail of what happened. It seems the fiasco that is his trip to Earth was just beginning.

Chapter Text

The Huntress Team went to the hangar for their bikes and belongings. It was late afternoon at this point, meaning the sun was starting to set, the lockdowns from the martial law would start soon. They revved up their engines and rode off out of the headquarters. "Got the map data, follow me." 3B said to her teammates through the comms. 

"I'm really going to see more of it... The Forever Forest..." 0W breathed. "This is it..."

"Excited?" asked 0Y.

"Without a doubt..." replied 0W. Once they exited the base, they began to speed off towards the forest. As they rode briefly through the streets of Toronto, they saw that the other YoRHa androids had already begun their patrols. Several of the Riders were on their way to leave the city, while the regular androids had begun to patrol the streets of the capital. The citizens looked about, some of them cheered, some of them went about of their taxes. 

"We're leaving the city." 3B announced as the buildings began to disappear, in front of them, an open road and absolutely enormous trees.

"Forever Forest, here we come." remarked 0Y. 

"Why is it called the Forever Forest?" questioned 0R. 

"After the Third World War over five hundred years ago, much of the area was damaged by the fighting that took place. To replace all the lost flora, the North American government had decided to place a fragment of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs and bought magic to the Earth into the area. The trees grew back at an exponential rate, along with their size. Many have walked in the forest and claimed that it was seemingly unending, hence, the Forever Forest." 

"Oh, wow." remarked 0W, "I remember hearing of it when I was first made, but never actually have been to it."

"How far are we right now, Cap?" asked 0Y as they sped along. 

"Ten minutes." replied 3B, "Look, it's right in front of us." The androids looked ahead and even in the night, they could see the trees that stretched up as tall as buildings. It was like a wall of trees were right in front of them, and they drew ever closer. The moon and the stars in the sky illuminated the forest to be quite visible at night. Finally, they entered the magical forest, "Eyes open, this place is a nature reserve for a lot of creatures and magic beasts, harming them can result in a fine or worse for us."

"Yes, ma'am." the others replied. Their vehicles tore through the road, joining some other sounds of engines in the distance. It seemed that the YoRHa riders within the forests. As they rode through, 0W was admiring every detail of the trees, the brush, the very air around her. The natural magic of the land had given the very wisps in the air a very calming blue glow. The trees' leaves also had a blue tinge of light to them. 

"It's so... enchanting..." 0W breathed. The Huntress Team rode for a little while longer before they finally reached their destination. 

"We have arrived." SL8 said, he scanned the building in front of them. True to the report, it was a wooden cabin, one that was actually quite large. He also detected an underground room that seemingly had connections to several other systems. He supposed that this was the surveillance room that the Prime Minister had eluded to. "This is the government cabin. 

"Alright, then let's go inside. I see a garage of sorts. That's where our bikes will go." 3B spoke. The five androids wheeled their way over to the garage and the doors opened the moment they approached. Going inside, the only part of the garage that was not actually wood was the floor. Instead, it was seemingly smooth, stone slabs with a few modifications. There were at least eight slots on the ground with metal holders of sorts. Each of the androids parked their bikes into the slots and the holders latched on. 

"Who has the key?" asked 0Y.

"Didn't you grab it?" 3B then questioned, 0Y turned pale.

"Wait, so none of us has it?" 

"No." replied 0W.

"Nope." 0R added.

"Negative." SL8 spoke.

"Great, looks like we're sleeping in the garage tonight..." 3B sighed.

"Seriously? Why can't we just go back to the city?" asked 0Y, "Look, I'll just go back and-"

"Martial law. City's on lockdown, remember?" 

"Shit..."

While the girls began grabbing their bags, SL8 ran a quick scan of the door. Interestingly, the door was a mechanical sliding door made of synthetic wood. SL8 then calmly walked over to the door and placed his hand in the center. Suddenly, the door slid right open, making the other girls look over in the direction of SL8 and the open door. Air rushed out of the now open door-way, meaning that this place had not been used in quite a while at this point. "Slate, what did you just do?" asked 3B, looking over in awe.

"I have hacked the door. We can now enter." SL8 went to grab his bag as the others entered. Once getting to the main part of the cabin, they switched the lights on. It hung from a wooden, old-style chandelier from the ceiling, there was even a fire place. There was a kitchen adjacent to the living room, and a bar style seating instead of a regular dining room. Speaking of bars, there was also a generous amount of fine liquors and spirits on display. To finish it up, there was a large luxury bathroom, with a shower room the size of a room, as the shower head was all across the ceiling. 

"Sweet!" exclaimed 0Y, "Man, I could really use a drink." she said happily. 

"We're on duty right now!" cried 0W, "Have some restraint!"

"Hmph... sourpuss..." 0Y grumbled jokingly. "But seriously, this is a fancy set up... Think the higher-ups are planning something?"

"Maybe... but for now, we do our jobs. Listen up, Huntress Team, our job here is to listen in for any signals of an SL android, or the unique signature from an Intoner. Once that happens, we rush to the scene and exterminate the enemy. But for now... It's been a long day. We'll sleep in shifts, for tonight, I'll stay on watch. We can come up with a schedule tomorrow once we get some time to recuperate." announced 3B.

"What about a shower?" asked 0W, "I for one think that we could all relax for a moment. Perhaps a nice rinse would calm all of us down, even if for a moment. At least, I think so." 

3B stared at 0W for a moment then smiled, "Yeah, I think so, too..." She then turned to SL8, "We're gonna shower, you can just unpack your things for now. Actually, can you make sure all systems will be up and running?" 

"Affirmative." replied SL8 with a nod.

"Thanks, Slate." as SL8 walked off and found the stairs that went upstairs to see that there were three bed rooms, and a second, smaller bathroom. "We'll be sharing rooms. Anyone want to room up with me?" asked the Captain.

"Me." 0Y said instantaneously. She grabbed her bag and walked into the room at once. All the while 0W and 0R got their things and went into their own room. "Guess that leaves the third room for Slate. Huh, he gets a room all to himself." she remarked. 

"He's a guy." replied 3B as she began to undress. "And I remember being told that having a guy and a girl together as roommates usually means their a couple. Since that's none of us, he gets his own room." she added.

"Heh, but we're a couple." spoke 0Y. "To think it's been about twelve years since we met. It feels a lot longer than that." she stated as she also began to undress. She then wrapped a towel around herself to hide her womanly bits, 3B did the same. "Alright, let's get to that shower. It's been a while since we bathed." The two androids walked out of their room the same time the other two did. 

"Shower time!" called 0R in her typical cheerful manner. The four of them walked downstairs and then into the downstairs bathroom and entered. The door slid closed right as SL8 came upstairs from the surveillance room. With a scan, he saw that the other four were inside the bathroom, so he'd thought that he'd unpack. SL8 took his small bag upstairs and placed his books on the shelf and his stuffed toy on the bed. He then took out what little clothes he had and hung them up in a dresser. Then, SL8 grabbed one of his books and headed downstairs. He sat himself down on the chair and then began to read.

In the bathroom, the girls had figured out how the shower room worked and were now washing. "Wow, the water pressure is just right..." remarked 0Y as she scrubbed herself.

"This feels amazing. It's so much better than the one at the barracks on Mars." 0W breathed and sighed. "I wish we could have a place like this on Mars. Maybe our captain could put in a good word?" asked she, "After this is all over?" 

3B then chuckled, "Alright, maybe if we all live through this." 

0R meanwhile was looking at some kind of pad on the wall. "I wonder what this does..." she said curiously. She then pressed something on the screen and tit then lit up green, "Huh...?" The other looked onward and saw that the outer wall began to lift. It rose all the way up and showed what lay beyond. It turns out that the bathroom was part outdoors. There was a gentle flowing stream, softly, but still audible through the water. The same blue glow from the forest emitted from the trees. "Wow..." breathed 0R.

"An indoor-outdoor hybrid shower? This place really is luxurious... Heh, usually only rich folks up top get to have these..." 0Y spoke. 

As the four androids continued to shower, SL8 was still sitting and reading his book. But then he heard a chime, a notification of sorts. He went over to the source of it and saw that it came from a tablet. It was a message from the YoRHa commander, 6O.  Seeing that it was for the Huntress Team, SL8 thought he'd deliver it to them. So he walked over to the bathroom and with his control of the cabin's systems, he slid open the door, taking all of them by surprise. 

"KYAAAAAAAAA!!!!" they all screamed except for 0Y. SL8 did not know why they were screaming. 

"This is a message from the Commander." SL8 said simply.

"Get out!!" shouted 3B. 

"Have you no shame!?" 0W added. 

"Agh! Don't look!" screamed 0R. 

"I do not know why you are all screaming." said SL8, not a clue why they were doing such things. It was then that 0Y calmly walked up to SL8 and took the tablet. 

"Thanks, Slate." she said with a smile. SL8 nodded and then left the bathroom. She walked back into the water and looked at the device, "Huh, it's orders." she spoke, "We're to report in tomorrow, something for us. Just SL8 will stay here and will be overseeing the cabin's operations." 

The other three just stared for a few moments, before 0W was first to speak up. "How are you so calm about this? We were showering, and a guy just walked in on us!"

"Oh no... I won't get married anymore..." 0R said quietly. 

"Heh, see these?" 0Y held her two breasts, nicely sized and plump, "I'm proud of these. You, on the other hand..." she stated with a cheeky smirk.

"Why you-!" 0W said through a flushed face, she and 0Y began to playfully bicker as SL8 sat back down again.

"Why were they so upset?" asked SL8 as he continued with his book. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, they had finished and came out of the bathroom, still only wearing towels. "The security systems and surveillance array have been set up." said SL8. 

3B sighed, seeing as he likely wasn't going to bring up the whole issue of him walking in on them, she wouldn't either. "Great work." she said simply. "About that message, we'll be leaving you here alone tomorrow, we have to report in, just us. So it'll be on you to watch for an intoner on the SL android. 

"Roger that. I will first shower and then take the shift for tonight. You should all rest." said he as he closed his book.

"YoRHa androids don't need to sleep-"

"But you should rest regardless. Reports of a psychosis are spreading across androids who are not well rested and are spending too much time in the field. Therefore, I suggest that you should all get some rest." SL8 didn't say another word, he simply entered the bathroom with a towel and some clothes. He saw that the floor was still wet and the wall was still open, with the outside showing. Before disengaging his suit, he took a look outside and took in the sights of the forest and stream of water. 

"We are still hidden..." but he had to be sure. SL8 walked off the patio and dipped into the stream. There was a flow magical energy coming from the water itself, highlighting that this was indeed a place with one of the highest concentrations of magic on Earth. With all of the magic in the very air around him, it would disrupt his devices. So he walked a bit further and pulled something out from a cavity that opened in his hip. SL8 placed it on a tree and then pressed something on his wrist that turned the device invisible. "Motion sensor set up. Deploying drone." His chest opened up and a the bird-like drone flew out, "Energy levels at one hundred percent, go and watch the area." the drone chirped before flying upwards, activating it's camouflage.

As it flew off, SL8 got back to the shower and disengaged his suit. The pieces clattered to the ground, and he gathered them, putting them with his clothes and activated the cleaning functions. He began to shower, as he washed himself. He picked up some voices, they came from the entrance of the bathroom. "Okay, we'll get him back, do you have the camera?" he recognized the voice.

"I don't know... I don't think this is-" there was another he recognized.

"This is revenge...! Come on, get ready." He turned his entire body to look at them as he saw both 0W and 0R trying to take a naked picture of him. "D-do it... 0R..." 0W gasped. 

"Oh my God... He looks like a d-doll..." 0R was remarking, she was referencing his anatomy. No genitals, or even nipples for that matter. "I-I... I-I can't do it..." 0R began to leave.

"Is there something you need?" asked SL8.

"N-no! Just... d-don't do w-what... what you did a-again!!!" 0W then also ran out of the bathroom. SL8 continued to wash until he deemed that he was finished. SL8 got dressed and then headed out. Three of the androids were in their rooms, simply having some time for themselves. 3B was in the kitchen, making coffee it seemed. SL8 put his items in his room and then walked downstairs to the surveillance room. The monitors all showed either radars of the surrounding area or cameras watching different parts of the forest. On another side of the sizeable room, there was cameras watching various parts of the city of Toronto. This place really did have top of the line surveillance technology, he could even listen to conversations of whomever he could see. 

SL8 sat down in the chair and began to listen in and watch. He sat for only a few minutes before he heard someone coming down. SL8 turned to see that it was 3B with two cups of coffee. "Hello, 3B." said SL8, "I thought you'd go rest." 

"I will." replied she as she put the coffee on the table in front of SL8, "Eventually, at midnight. But for now, I'll keep you some company. We have to report in at seven in the morning anyway." 3B spoke as she took a sip. They both sat for a few minutes, watching the cameras, but SL8 decided to speak up.

"2B and 9S." he suddenly stated.

"Huh? What about them?"

"You call them your parents, why?"

"Well, because they are." she said, "They made me."

"Does that not make them your creator then?"

"Well, they are."

"Then why do you not refer to them as such?" 

3B sipped her coffee again as she gave SL8 a kind of wide-eyed stare. "Well, my earliest memory is them telling me happy birthday. When I first opened my eyes, I was made in the likeness of an infant. Mom and dad didn't upload anything onto me, just a black-box, giving me an almost human consciousness. Year after year, I underwent procedures to make me match my age. Though I've been alive close to five hundred years at this point. I stopped the aging procedures at twenty. All these years and they called me their daughter."

"But why? What made them want to have a child? I do not understand."  SL8 spoke.

"Because, A2 had a kid. From what I'm told, when Lars was alive, he wasn't able to have any children of his own. So he had himself cloned. A perfect artificial human, an exact copy of him, with none of the defects he was plagued with. But, such a copy took years to perfect, when the baby was finally done, he had already passed. So his wife, A2, took care of it in his stead, naming the baby Lage. He's I would come to call my uncle, even if he was more like a brother to me. Seeing how happy A2 was taking care of a child, my parents thought they'd do the same, so lo and behold, I was born."

Despite SL8 computing and storing all the information he was just given, he still had some lingering queries about it. But at this point, he knew he could figure it out for himself. "I see." spoke he. It was now that he took a drink of his coffee. "You made this. It is good." he said simply.

"Thanks." she stayed in the surveillance room for a little while longer before the allotted came. "Well, I have to go. You'll be alright all night here?" asked 3B.

"I will be just fine." replied SL8, "Have a good night, Captain." 

"Good night, Slate." as 3B began to walk out, she stopped just before she left the door. "You know, it's times like these that I actually forget that we're in a war..." she chuckled before finally leaving. It was a more-or-less silent rest of the night, except for the occasional loud snore. It was not such an eventful day, yet so much had happened. They had finally gotten down to Earth and had much to do, with the responsibilities of the Huntress Team, it was going to be quite the assignment, unlike any they had before. SL8 now found himself spying on people, watching their every move like some kind of agent, hoping to find a traitor. But that wasn't it, just the day's events that lingered, but the Prime Minister's words.

He had threatened him, or rather, Miran, with death. SL8 had been blackmailed into being a hitman for the Prime Minister of North America. Though no orders had come down just yet, he knew they were bound to come. SL8 sat there for hours on end, until the sun rose, and the others awoke. They all got dressed in their uniforms and dropped by to the surveillance room. "We're heading out. Want anything from the city? Any souvenirs?" asked 0Y.

"That will not be nece-" SL8 then stopped, thinking about Miran. "A post card, if you can." he said simply.

"Alright then, we'll see you later." the four androids then left. Watching them on the cameras, SL8 then saw them leave the area on their bikes. SL8 continued to watch the cameras. He saw the people go about their lives, with their various conversations and their daily routines. 

"Well, aren't you quite the spy?" asked a familiar voice behind him. SL8 turned around to see that it was Accord. True to her word, she was now on Earth. 

"How did you find this location?" asked SL8.

"I can travel through time, remember? The timelines are all at my access. Of course I could just look at them and spot you." Accord explained with a smile as she closed her book. "I assume you know why I am here?" 

"I am working right now." SL8 then spoke,  "If I am gone for too long, then I could miss a sighting of the enemy. I cannot leave." 

"Sorry, but I can't take no for an answer. My employer says so. Besides don't worry, if I just..." Accord then snapped her fingers and SL8 knew something was off. He looked back at the monitors and saw that everyone was frozen in place. "You have stopped time." 

"Of course I did. Time magic, remember?" Accord then placed her hand on his shoulder, and they both blinked out of time. When they reappeared, they were no longer in the cabin's surveillance room. Instead, they were in a smashed landscape. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but smoke, dust and rubble. "Ah, it's been a long time since I was here." Accord remarked.

"What is this place?" asked SL8. Due to the destruction of the current landscape, there was also some kind of interference, running it through his systems, the results showed that it was radiation, albeit quite low levels of it. "I do not recognize it." 

"Well, truth be told, I don't either. I just know that this place was destroyed. Destroyed by nuclear war. Where we are is in front of a library, and near a bank, but that really isn't important." Accord gestured SL8 to follow her, and he did so. Both of them walked over to the ruined library, several things could be seen in front of the library, specifically, the steps leading up to it. Firstly, a clock that sat atop some rubble, then several stacks of books that were neatly organized, finally, a corpse of  human lay lifeless on the steps. Though it would appear that they had been dead for a long while, there was no sign of rotting or decay, his body simply seemed withered. "Huh, thought he'd just be bones by now, guess the radiation's preserved him or something."

"Why have you bought me here? Am I learning about something new?" SL8 asked as he looked back at Accord.

"Not really. I just bought you here to read." Accord knelt down and picked up a pair of broken glasses. "See, I felt bad for you, seeing the amount of books you own. While it's good you tend to reread them, the fact remains that you have very little. This guy won't be reading these, so they're yours to." Accord then let out a sigh, "Poor, guy. He thought he had time enough at last to read to his heart's content... but, I guess fate had different plans." she looked down at the broken glasses before she gave them to SL8. "Well, I better get going. See you in a month." before SL8 could say another thing, Accord had disappeared, stranding him there in the ruined wasteland.

Seeing as he had nothing else he could do at this point, SL8 decided to just go along with the "assignment" Accord had given them. Knowing that time had stopped in his period seemed to ease him. SL8 walked up the steps to the corpse and picked it up. Looking about the body, he identified that he was an older fellow, getting on in his years. His cause of death was suicide, the bullet hole in the side of his head said as much, anyway. SL8 gave the body a burial in any rubble he could find. Once that was over with, he walked back to the library and sat himself on the steps, and picked up a book off the top of the stack. 

The clock still ticked away, and the wind blew. It was a desolate, lonely place, but SL8 didn't seem to mind. He just began to read. Every word he read, every page he flipped, drew him ever nearer to his task's objective. Before he knew it, the sun set, and the moon rose. But then the moon set, and the sun rose again. The cycle continued, but SL8 paid it no mind, he just kept picking up books and reading. Once a book was finished, he'd place it in a stack of his own making. When one stack had been finished, he simply started on another. As the days went on, SL8 continued to read, he hardly moved from the very spot he sat himself down at. 

It was quite the library, many of these books were very nice, and critically acclaimed throughout history. With his data base, SL8 knew exactly which ones were indeed the same ones from his own timeline, and which ones were original to this one. He did this all the while bolstering his own data banks, as he wasn't just reading the books, but also scanning them word for word, gathering data. But once he finished the last stack, the moment he did, a month had passed. Accord had planned it all out, and she had somehow managed to calculate how long it would take SL8 to read all of the books. 

"Hello, SL8. Did you have fun?" asked she.

"Yes." SL8 said simply, "I somewhat enjoyed the silence. I have read every single book here." 

"Good." replied Accord, "Then that's that. Not much to learn here, really. That's for another time, let's go back." Placing her hand on his shoulder once again, they blinked away from the current timeline. Returning to the surveillance room, SL8 instantly saw that time was still stopped as of right now. "So, what kind of books did you read? How many?"

"Several genres." answered SL8, "Philosophical, fiction, non-fiction, biographies, auto-biographies, and-" 

"Great, how many?"

"Approximately seven hundred fifty two books were read."

"Good, that's an acceptable answer." Accord then closed up her book and placed it back in her large bag. "Then that's all the time we have today. See you later, Slate." said she, "I think I'll see you again, soon." Accord snapped her fingers and then promptly disappeared. SL8 looked back at the monitors and saw that once again, the people moved around. He went upstairs and put his suit back on, placing his dust covered clothes in the washer and starting it. He went back downstairs, but not one minute into from stepping into the room, the alarm went off. SL8 ran to the monitor to see which one, had gone off. It was one of the outposts in the forest, not too far from here.

"This is outpost Octavius! We saw the SL, I say again, we saw the SL! It's moving into the city! The intoner may be nearby, all expeditionary teams, comb the forest and then head into the city! Toronto may be under attack!" said the man.  The other teams began to chatter what their course of actions were over the comms.

"This is SL8 of the Huntress Team, I'm heading to the city." spoke SL8. He ran over to the garage and mounted his bike. The engine roared as he revved it up. The doors opened and he charged out, locking all doors remotely and heading towards the city of Toronto.

Chapter Text

SL8 raced through the forest, taking in the sights of the forest, it was nothing he hadn't seen before. Though the only difference this time was that it was daytime, the sun rays showed through the leaves. He rode until the trees stopped and the city was in sight. Sounds of other motor cycles were behind him, the other teams were scouting out the forest for any signs of the intoner. However, the other bike sounds were that of several YoRHa riders that emerged of the forest. They all rode to one destination, the capital of North America, Toronto. 

As the moved ever closer, they then saw smoke coming from the city. "Damn!" one shouted, "We're too late!" she was right, the attack had become. A yellow optic beam tore through a building, causing an explosion. Above them, several flight units flew past them towards the city. 

"Hey! SL8!" an android rode up next to him, it was 12B. Of course, 18S rode in the sidecar with the machine gun. "Where's the Huntress Team?" asked she. 

"Inside the city, they were asked to report in." replied SL8.

"Damn, hope they get there soon then. We're getting multiple reports of the attack that's happening right now. It's the gold one, the guy that got away! And something's attacking HQ! Damn, what is going on!?" 

"SL5. I am going ahead to engage." SL8 then revved up his bike and sped ahead of the other androids. He entered the city with speed and it didn't take him long to spot SL5 and several civilians trying to evacuate the area. The enemy android caught sight of SL8 and drew his weapon.

"Oh yeah! It's time for some payback!" He shouted. With his shortened spear already in one hand, he fired his rail gun in the other. SL8 dodged and used his grappling hooks to zip off of his bike. He extended his arm blade and leapt down towards SL5. The impact of their blades clashing caused several more windows to shatter above them due to the shockwave. SL8 fired his optic rays but SL5's quick reflexes fired back and the blast caused an explosion that sent both androids flying back. SL8 quickly recovered and drew his sword, Convergence. 

It was then that several flight units showed up and pelted SL5 with bullets and missiles. When the smoke cleared, SL5's face and hair were damaged but already began to self-repair. "Agh! Piss off!" he fired his optic rays and rail gun at the same time, hitting two units and blowing them out of the sky. Before he could to it to the others, SL8 tackled him and used his sword to try and impale him, but rather than let himself be stabbed, SL5 used his hand to block the sword. "Gotcha!" he fired his wrist weapon right into SL8's abdomen, actually blowing several chunks off of him and sending him flying off. 

"Damage... Sustained..." SL8 said in a labored voice, "Beginning... repairs..." he stuttered, his voice also was somewhat glitched. 

"Oh, you're not getting the chance, bucko. Your ass is mine this time." he walked up and aimed his rail gun. "Say good night, buddy."

"No." SL8 said in response, he had picked up several friendly signatures. Several bullets then hit SL5 once again, this time, from regular guns and pod fire. 

"Pod! Don't let up! Cover SL8!" shouted 12B.

"Affirmative." responded the pod. It's head then split in two and pointed towards SL5. It then fired two powerful energy beams that exploded upon touching SL5. As the pods continued to fire, SL8's repairs went underway and his systems began to work again. He began to rise back up and then proceeded to fire his optical rays at SL5, now knocking him over.  It was when SL8 got back up that the pods stopped firing. SL5 lay on the ground, smoking and writhing. As he got back up, all if not most of his synthetic skin was blown or burned right off. 

"Hrrrr..." he growled as his trapezius muscles opened and his eyes began to glow a familiar gold.

"Crap! Take cover!" shouted one of the YoRHa androids. They all began to scramble.

"Hrrraaaaah!!!" roared SL5 as he fired both missiles and his optic rays at the small group. The following explosions killed several YoRHa androids, and sent many more flying. As they all began to get back up, SL8 turned to look and announce something.

"His self-repairs make ranged fighting ineffective. Please activate FCS capabilities." SL8 extended his arm blade and began to run in.

"He's right! Let's get in there!" 12B called to her fellow androids. 18S pulled out his combat bracers as 12B drew a great sword. They all began to run in, "Surround him! Pod! Maximum FCS!" 

"Affirmative." 12B then moved as fast as sound and threw her sword into the air and punched SL5. The blow was so hard it sent him back, but he slid on his feet. He looked back up and saw that the sword was dropping, it fell at the exact moment and 12B punched the pommel of the sword, sending it flying forward. It streaked through the air and stabbed into SL5, actually severing his arm, losing his rail gun and arm launcher. 12B sped forth and grabbed her sword, swinging it into SL5, who blocked with his spear.

"Okay! So you wanna play-!?" he was hit in the back by 18S who shot his combat bracer at him. Another YoRHa android took advantage and attacked him with a sword, he blocked with his spear once again, but was slashed in his open wound by SL8, "Agh! Ganging up on me!? Not cool, you bunch of bitches!" He swung his spear, now more the size of a sword to block any more attacks, "Fuck! I need help!" he cried out.

"We got him on the ropes!" called the attacking YoRHa android. "We might not even need the Hun-!" before she could finish, she was stabbed through the chest and a shockwave knocked away the others back, including SL8. The android was hoisted up, her whimpering and clutching what had just stabbed her.

"94B! No!" called one of the androids. 

"Well, sweety, looks like you could use some help." the voice, SL8 recognized. He also picked up the unique signature that could only belong to a single type of being, an Intoner. It was the same one from before, Five. She then flung the android aside, back to the others, she still shivered and clutched her wound.

"H... help..." she gasped. 

"Grab her! We got to get her to a med bay, staunching gel!" called one of the androids. One of the pods floated over to her and began to apply the gel to her wound, another flew to her back and applied it there. "We'll evac her!" Two YoRHa riders then mounted up on their bikes with her on it and began to ride off. Now, the rest could focus their attention on the Intoner.

"Oh, baby, look at your face..." Five looked pitifully at SL5, "What have they done to you?"

"Don't worry sweety, it's already fixing itself." SL5 was right, the fact is that his face was already starting to repair itself. He even put his arm back on the severed area and it began to repair itself with great speed. "Alright, let's get started. I wanna get this over with. I hear this dump has a damn good hotel we could have some nice fun in." 

"Ooh, I like your way of thinking..." Five said teasingly. She readied her spear, as did SL5. The YoRHa androids also readied their weapons. "These girls are in the way of our fun... I think it's high time to make them disappear. " she then flashed a twisted smile.

"You've tussled with them before, right?" asked 12B. She raised her sword as the other androids also raised their weapons, "Got any tips or tricks to deal with them?"

"I am sending all of you the collected combat data right now." He sent it over via a remote system and then charged first, being followed by the rest of the androids. SL5 and Five did the same and charged forth. SL8 slashed at SL5, but he dodged and attempted to attack one of the androids, she managed to block it, but was promptly decapitated by Five's spear. Two more androids were then cut down by SL5's spear, SL8 remarked that SL5 seemed to have been moving faster. 

"Damn it, we're losing people!" 12B brought her sword down on Five, who had blocked the blade, the ground under her cracking. 18S then ran up and punched her in the belly, this sent her back with a grunt, but still on her feet. 

"Ha ha..." she laughed, "Oh, now that is cute... really cute..." she then smiled and began to sing. It made a wave go through the air, causing all of the androids except for SL8 great pain. "How do you like my song?" she paused a moment, "No applause? How rude!" she leapt forward and stabbed an android into a wall, killing her instantly. SL8 jumped in and swung his sword down towards her, but SL5 came and blocked it. 

"Hands off my girl!" SL5 shouted with a grin. He fired his optic ray at SL8 who was forced to counter with an optic ray blast of his own. But he was a bit too late this time around, and SL8 wound up being sent through a building sustaining damage to his outer chassis. "Fighting differently now, brother. Think I don't learn from my mistakes?" gloated SL5 as he walked through the hole in the wall. SL8 began to get back up, but SL5 kicked him across the face, knocking him back down. He could hear the other androids struggling outside, they were trying and failing to fight Five, it seemed that even with the combat data that SL8 had given them, it didn't mean they could actually fight too well against her, they only knew what was coming. 

SL8 drew one of his pistols quickly and began firing at SL5, which made him cover his face. SL8 took this chance and tackled SL5 out of the building. He saw that several of the androids now lay dead, those that were left were injured, 12B was so hurt that she could hardly even hold her sword anymore. 18S was behind her, on the ground, his legs injured, alongside a handful of other YoRHa androids. 

SL5 was finally starting to gather himself again and began to force SL8 off of him. He threw him off and SL8 was smacked by the spear of Five. She slashed at him again, and he was forced to block. But just at the worst moment, Convergence broke under the exceptionally powerful slash. SL8 needed to rely on his other weapons so he extended his arm blade. "Making your final stand? Adorable." SL5 laughed. "I know... We should kill him him front of his little friends, and then finish them off while they're in absolute despair... How about it? Don't know about you, but that really turns me on."

"Yeah..." Five licked her lips. "You've really got my switch flipped now." She readied her spear to fight, and SL5 did the same, SL8 got ready to fight. But right as the two adversaries charged, several gun shots hit them. "What the-" she was then punched by a combat bracer and was then sent through several walls. As this happened, a sniper shot blasted SL5 in the face, stunning him and allowing the same combat bracer. 

"Who the-!?" SL5 was cut off when a sword was swung down on him. "Oh, it's you..." he growled, upon seeing who it was. 3B's sword was pushing down on him.

"Me... And them!" 3B launched herself off of SL5 and he was hit by a sniper shot, knocking him off his feet as it collided with him. The shot came from 0R, who proceeded to fire another shot to keep him down. "0W, secure an escape route for the injured!"

"Roger!" 0W then froze a path for the injured androids. "Slide!" she shouted, "It'll lead you to the camps where you can reach a med-center!" added she. 

"Rrgh...!" grunted 12B as she picked up an injured android, "Alright! Let's go! We're leaving this to the Huntress Team!" she and the other androids began to make their escape, right as Five began to clear herself of rubble while SL5 began to get back up. While this happened, the Huntress Team finally regrouped with SL8, all weapons at the ready for a fight. 

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." spoke 3B. "By the time we got the alerts, the attack began. You might now know this, but several hostile entities have been attacking the city and HQ as well... some kind of shadowy figures. Tell you more about it later, we gotta focus." 

"Thank you. I fear that the others would not have lasted long against these two. Their combat data is different now, we should exercise caution." SL8 threw what was remained of his sword aside and pulled out the Legionnaire Crusher.

"I'd hope to have seen you all again..." SL5 said with a twisted smile. The last time we fought, you all somehow managed to beat us. Well, rest assured, that won't happen this time!" he pulled a slide on his wrist launcher back and it clicked, as Five also readied her spear, she held it behind herself and gestured them to come forth with her free hand.

"Heehee..." she giggled, "Oh, I'm going to ravage all of you..." but then she turned to SL5, "Keep in mind, sweetie, but I can't actually unleash my angel immediately this time."

"That's just fine, if I can kill each of these bitches with my own two hands, it's fine either way!" he began to run forward, alongside Five. 

"Let's get this!" called 0Y as herself and the others began to run towards them at the same time, the Huntress Tea, jumped up to meet them and they finally clashed. It could be heard for miles. Five's spear's size made it possible for blocking many of the opponent's initial strikes and she blasted them back. She began to sing while fighting, making her faster and harder to hit. 

"So fast!" exclaimed 0W. She fired a freezing beam from her rapier but Five had managed to deflect it with her spear. It then froze a piece of building solid. She then had little time to react as Five thrusted her spear towards her, but the meteor hammer caught her spear before it could, giving her time to move away. Five flung it back at SL8, but rather than let it hit him, he spun. The hammer moved around him and he kicked it back towards her with a large swung, though this time, Five had dodged it, allowing it to hit SL5. 

He was sent to the ground with a grunt, but recovered in time to see both 0Y and 3B coming down towards him. He rolled back and fired a flash bang into the ground, momentarily blinding both androids. But as he swung his spear at them, 0Y blocked with her bracer as 3B swung her sword at SL5's neck. The android dodged the blade and drew one of his pistols, he began to shoot at them. "Crap!" 0Y shouted. She covered 3B from the small beams, but one struck her leg while another one struck her shoulder. "Agh!" she yelped.

"Hey! You alright?" 3B asked. 

"You should really focus on yourself!" SL5 charged with his spear but it was blocked by 0R this time, "Don't get in the-!" 

"Take care of sis! I got this guy!" 0R began to fight off SL5. "You may go faster! But so can I!" 0R's cape began to glow red, the rose pedals began to flow as 0R's speed began to increase. She began to slash away at SL5, who began to struggle. 0R kept it up, with her speed, she was really starting to injure SL5. As she was going to strike the finishing blow, SL5 pointed his launcher to the ground and fired off a shrapnel round, sending both of them back. SL5 recovered quickly, pulling a piece of shrapnel from his face. 0R's speed had pushed her systems, making her recovery slower, her body also had pieces of shrapnel across several spots. 

"Heh, not so fast now are you..." he began to walk up to 0R, 3B and 0Y charged at him. Before he could do any damage, they had stopped him. 3B swung her blade, something that SL5 had blocked with his spear, only to get shot in the face by her gun.  He was then punched by 0Y, sending him flying into Five. 0W and SL5 were still in the midst of fighting her when the android landed on her. While they were down, SL8 drew a pistol and began barraging them with shot after shot. 0W saw this and followed his lead, casting several ice spells onto the duo. 

But a wave send both back to the rest of the team, one of Five's notes of a song. "Still not down?" cursed 0W, "Just lay down and die!" by this point, 0R had finished her recovery, she joined the other four, ready to fight. SL8 extended the spikes out of his hammer, still ready to fight.

"You... all of you are really starting to get on my nerves, you know that!?" SL5 shouted. "Why do you all have to get in the way!?" 

"We'll flank them..." 3B said in an encrypted message to the others, "Overwhelm them with strikes until one of us strikes the finishing blow. Slate, which one are you taking?"

"I will take on SL5." he replied.

"Then I'll help you out with him." 0W added.

"Got it. Everyone ready?" 3B questioned.

"Ready!" 0R responded.

"Just say the word, Captain!" 0Y shouted out loud. 

"Go!" 3B yelled. The five members of the Huntress Team began to charge, SL5 and Five did the same. However, before they knew it, the Huntress Team had split up, though switching opponents this time. 0R's scythe collided with Five's spear first as 0W's rapier clashed with SL5's arm. 3B slashed at Five's back, the Intoner turned to catch the blade, this left her open for 0Y to upper cut her into the air 3B jumped up alongside 0R  and slashed her back down towards the ground. While that happened, SL8 wrapped his meteor hammer around his neck and with a spin, shot it at SL5. He blocked with his spear, but from his side came 0W. With a thrust, she had missed him, and her rapier jabbed into the ground.

SL5 was quick to point his launcher at her, but the hammer came in again, hitting him right in the forehead, stunning him momentarily. 0W activated her magic whilst her rapier was still in the ground, growing ice spikes out of the ground with break-neck speed. Several of them stabbed SL5, launching him off his feet, but not puncturing his suit or body. As he was airborne, SL8 swung the hammer down right on SL5, knocking him into the road, caving it in. Choosing to follow it up, SL8 fired his optic rays right at SL5 and began to focus them. On the other side of the battlefield, there was an attack by Five against 0Y and 0R. Both androids had blocked the spear, 0Y used one of her bracers and held Five in place. 3B jumped up and tried to decapitate Five, but she moved her head and managed to dodge, the only thing cut were a few strands of her hair. 

"My hair!!" shouted Five. She then sang again, and a wave of energy burst out, sending the three away. They all managed to find their footing on surrounding buildings and leapt from them at high speeds. They almost got Five, but all of their weapons wound up hitting the ground, as Five had jumped away. "I think I've had enough of all of you!" she called. "Hey, don't you think it's time!?" she called from a top of a building.

"Rgh...!" growled SL5 as he was being pinned by the optic rays. "Do it!" he fired the launcher right underneath him, kicking up dust and debris, and propelling himself unto the air. He flew through the air and then used his grappling hooks to move through the air until he reached Five's location. "We'll use the lake..." Five smirked and then stood, with her arms stretched out.

She began to sing. "Come, Angel!" shouted SL5. "Rise, Phanuel!!" He shouted with the largest grin he could muster. The giant crab like creature from before rose again, this time from the river, it burst out, causing much of an uproar among the military. Whilst the Prime Minister was panicking in his office, demanding that the city be defended, the androids and human soldiers fought fiercely against these new, "shadow creatures", these combatants included the forces of the Anemone, and 2B and 9S. 

Yet, far away, a lone woman watched onward. She saw the events transpiring, and finally decided to act. "I've got you now... Five..." she growled. She jumped onto a white dragon, that roared, and took flight. A new fighter is to enter the fierce battle.