A2 grimaced as she cleaved through a group of machines, an entire group wiped out with a single swipe, their parts falling across the forest floor.
The extermination of machines was the natural thing to do. Whether it be YoRHa, the Resistance, or any lone android, none would question that. It was the one thing she knew was right. They'd killed her friends and countless more.
Destroying machines was the right thing to do. The one right thing she knew she'd been doing all this time on her own.
With Apex around, that was truer than ever, the machines posing one of the biggest threats to his life.
And yet here she was, destroying machines to protect machines. And that was all because he wanted to play friendly with the things, risks be damned.
She furrowed her brow, glaring at some of the sparking parts.
Anger she was familiar with. It'd kept her going and got her through more than one risky fight. This…knot she felt in her midsection, irritating and distracting, was similar to it but not quite. Trying to understand him was...frustrating. At least she thought that was the most fitting word. She'd often felt the tense unseen force when they first met and he started repeating her name just to get a response.
She wasn't angry with him. She'd never been.
"You doing alright, A2?" His voice came from the radio, no interference despite how far she'd gone from that castle the machines were holed up in.
"Fine." A2 answered back.
"Good. Be careful."
A2's thumb hovered over the radio's button before falling away, a sigh escaping her. How could she be angry when he was constantly checking in on her? It be far more sensible if he showed this much concern over his own life.
A2 got moving, trying to get this over with as soon as possible so she could get back to him.
She would never understand his interest in these machines, but she'd do her best to make sure it didn't end up with him dead.
That thought twisted her midsection in a way the knots of frustration never could.
-Route A, No. 033-
"-and that's all of them. Understand the rules?" Apex questioned, looking amongst his would-be audience.
"Yes human." A large group of all the stubby machine villagers said in unison, all of their green eyes on him. They stood on a large patch of dirt beside one of the village's houses. Crudely built compared to the castle and its gates now that he was getting a closer look at them. Two wooden goalposts were put together on opposing ends of the patch.
Once the machines split up into two evenly divided groups, he tossed the ball in his hand and they got started.
Soccer, futball, or whatever the old sport was called, he had them playing it. While he and the twins were exploring the place, A2 already off in the forest again taking care of machines, the would-be children of the village approached him. Popola and Devola weren't fans of the whole thing, standing behind him, eyes aglow, but it gave them a chance to analyze the machines while they directly interacted with him. He, on the other hand, didn't mind entertaining and at times teaching the machines.
"Don't run into each other like that." Apex called out. He had to moderate more than once, calling for them to stop clambering over each other for the ball and remind them of the rules. As things carried on that became less frequent, the machines obediently following his directions.
He wasn't sure the ball would survive the entire match, rough treatment or not, however. It was already beginning to splinter under their kicks.
Power and metal aside, it was hard to see these carefree, simplistic machines as anything aside from young children or at least close to them. Could unfeeling machines who cared only of fulfilling orders waste time playing such a game? And under a human's direction? He just couldn't make that connection.
"This whole thing really isn't a trap, is it?" Popola questioned as she watched the group play, glow fading from her eyes. It looked like he wasn't the only one finding it difficult to write off the individuality these machines expressed.
"We can't be sure of that." Devol said with a frown, eyes still glowing. After a few moments she sighed, rubbing her already messy head of hair. "But it is obvious that there's more to these things than expected. If only these only these damn scanners would give us something to work with." The lack of clear answers was frustrating her, her tone picking up.
"You could always ask them directly." Apex suggested while looking away from the game. While Popola sounded like she was slowly coming to see the machines in a new light, even she grimaced at the suggestion. Both walked around armed and kept a clear distance from the machines, be they the King, knights, or villagers, unwilling to go beyond observation. It was too much to hope a few days would change things much.
He was preparing to ask the King about it the next time he saw the machine. He might not have the know-how to ask the specifics those two could but there were a few things he was curious about concerning them and the network.
How did a machine disconnect from it in the first place? Were they aware while connected to it? Could they reconnect? What would happen if they did?
"Human! Human!" A yell drew back to the machines, the two groups approaching.
"We won!" One group exclaimed.
"No, we won!" Yelled the other group.
They quickly devolved into a primitive argument that went in circles, neither group willing to budge. Yep. He was dealing with children alright.
"Good job, all of you." He said. He doubted he could get the answers to his questions from machines that were rather basic in their speech, but it wouldn't hurt to do some light probing into their understanding of things. "What are your names?"
"Names?" They questioned, the light of their green eyes almost appearing curious.
"What do you call yourselves?"
"I'm me and he's him and-" One machine started.
"No, I'm me. You're him!" Another yelled.
Once again the group broke out in an argument, this time all of them yelling at each other. Interesting how they could imitate humans in so many different ways yet some of the simplest concepts tripped them up entirely.
The argument grew louder, the robotics voice creating an annoying buzz that drew a genuine wince from him.
'It would be prudent to save more complicated questions for their king.' Navi suggested and he was in complete agreement. If he had to explain something like names to them, he wasn't going to be getting much in the way of detailed information.
-Route A, No. 033-
Out on the balcony of their room, Apex looked out across the castle's courtyard, Devola and Popola sound asleep inside the room. He hadn't gotten the chance to speak with the King, day spent entertaining the machines down in the village, and while they hadn't provided any direct insight into anything he wanted to know, talking to them got him thinking.
Why did all the machines seem to have varying degrees of maturity and intelligence? It couldn't come down to their individual models; according to Popola and Devola they were all almost one-to-one matches of each other.
The door to their room creaked open and he glanced backwards, watching A2 come in. Weapon placed against one of the sofas, she spared the sleeping twins a once-over before joining him outside. Dirt, dust, and what he assumed to be oil stained her cloak, but she appeared unharmed. He hadn't been too worried, Popola assuring him that the chip in A2 would've alerted them of any critical damage, but he liked to stay up and see her return firsthand.
She unclipped her radio from the collar of her cloak and placed it next to the one he had on stone railing, silently joining him in looking out across the castle grounds.
There was one thing the machines had made him curious about.
"Hey, A2?" She hummed. "How did you get your name?"
"I'm an assault unit, built for close quarters combat. The two is my base personality type." She explained.
"So, its more like a designation?" A2 shrugged. From what he gathered, the Resistance didn't do anything like that, so it was a YoRHa thing. Why do something like that instead of giving their soldiers names like the rest? Convenience?
"Do you want a name?" Apex asked. A2 opened her mouth but it fell close, her brow furrowing as she stared at him. Confusion? Curiosity? He couldn't place her initial reaction but as her eyes fell away from him, shoulders lowering slightly, he knew that, for one reason or another, the question saddened her.
"Two…that's what my team…my friends called me." She whispered. "A2 is my name." A quiet conviction took the place of her initial nonchalant attitude when she shared the details of the naming convention. It meant a lot to her if it was enough for A2 to do away with her usual stoicism. He doubted it helped much but he placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. She hesitated for a moment then leaned against his side.
"Can you tell me about them? Your team?"
"…maybe another time. When we're back at the cabin."
He hummed, the both of them looking out across the castle together.