"Nines, stop! This isn't you!"

(Y/n) screamed as she limbed away from the android, who wielded a bloody sword in his hand. Tears streamed down her face as she fled in terror, trying to escape him. She unfortunately came to a dead end, a large steel wall trapping her inside the arena. She turned around, only to come face to face with the android who wanted to kill her. She stared into his glowing red eyes as he then lifted up his sword, his unemotional expression staring back at her. (Y/n) held her arms up, her body trembling as she realized that this is it.

She was going to die by the hands of her own friend.

"NO! NINES, DON'T! NOOOOO!"

(Y/n) woke up from the nightmare, gasping as she felt beads of sweat drip down her face. She found herself lying on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as she heard familiar voices coming from the other side of the living room. She stood up, breathing a huge sigh of relief as she then heard Russell's deep voice.

"Well, good morning sunshine~"

Russell had just made breakfast, Rocco and Lolita gobbling up all the food as (Y/n) sat there, all confused. Rocco spots her and smiles, a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"How'd you sleep, princess?~"

"Hey guys..."

(Y/n) giggled as she joined the rest of the crew at the table, snatching a donut from Rocco's hand. Lolita smirked as she poured herself a cup of orange juice.

"Finally you're awake! You've been sleeping for like, ages!"

"Sorry, I just...couldn't wake up, I guess."

(Y/n) then noticed one thing that was off.

Nines and Pod weren't there.

(Y/n) turned to Lolita, her face turning pale.

"Um, where's Nines?"

"Hm? Oh, he went to the store to pick up some things for you."

"And how long has it been since he left...?"

"Oh, about...two hours ago?"

(Y/n) felt sick to her stomach after hearing what Lolita said. Nines was gone for two hours now...what if something happened to him?
(Y/n) panicked as she grabbed her bag and was rushing to get dressed. Lolita stared at her, confused.

"Where you going, darling?"

"I have to go and look for him! W-What if something bad happened to him?! Oh god, what if the government found him-"

Just then, the gang heard the door open and a soft voice echoed through the hideout.

"Hey guys, I'm back!"

It was Nines and Pod, coming down the stairs, holding grocery bags in their hands.
(Y/n) didn't give Nines any time to react, for she suddenly lunged at him, hugging the android.

"Nines! Pod! I'm so glad you two are safe!"

"H-Huh?! Why? We just went to the store! It wasn't a dangerous mission we were on! Here, I got you some of your favorite candy! Pod thought it be a great idea to cheer you up, since...you know, what happened during our trip at the old castle in the forest."

"Oh..."

(Y/n) knew what Nines was talking about. She had met her biological sister during their trip and just seeing her again made (Y/n) very upset, scared even. What made things worse was that her sister wanted her to come back, to be apart of the family again...a family that would just abuse her again. (Y/n) softly smiled as she pushed the thought away and takes the candy from Nines.

"Thanks Nines, it means a lot to me."

"No problem! Hey, let me and Pod put these groceries away, then we could, I don't know, play games or whatever you want to do! I'll be right back!"

Nines and Pod then go to the kitchen, while everyone silently watched them. When they were out of the room, Lolita turns to (Y/n), a serious look appearing on her face.

"(Y/n), have a seat. We need to talk."

"Huh? Uhh sure?"

(Y/n) replied as she sat across from her friends. The atmosphere had suddenly felt...different. Too different. (Y/n) had a bad feeling about this and she rarely had this kind of feeling, especially with her new family.
Lolita folded her arms as she stared at (Y/n), intensely.

"Listen, me and the boys have been thinking and we have planned to rob another bank, not just any bank though...we're talking a highly secured vault and we want Nines to help."

"What...?"

"Don't you remember what you told us before when you first introduced him to us? You said he can hack into anything, which means, more money for us to loot...look, if we do this right, we'll be millionaires, we won't have to worry about our money problems anymore. All you have to do is get him to hack into the security system and we'll deal with the rest."

This was all new to (Y/n), she didn't know anything about this plan. But she did remember the real reason why she kept Nines.

She was going to use him.

But after everything she's been through with him, she felt like it was wrong. Really wrong.
He wasn't a war machine and she wasn't going to turn him into a hacking machine either.

"No...I can't use him like that...I won't use him like that."

"What do you mean, (Y/n)? This was all apart of your plan from the beginning, right?"

"Y-Yes, but I changed my mind now! Nines doesn't deserve this, he doesn't deserve to be a tool or an asset! He deserves more than that! He deserves to be loved!"

"We love him, (Y/n), don't get us wrong here. But, we can't pull this off without him. Please (Y/n), just this once. After that, we'll be all set for life! He wouldn't have to know about it either!"

(Y/n) stared at Lolita in silence before sighing.

"...Okay."

"Great! We'll do it, tonight. This is going to be the greatest bank heist ever!"

Lolita high fives Rocco and Russell, cheering as Nines and Pod come out of the kitchen, surprised to see everyone in a happy mood.

Except (Y/n).

***

"She's gone..."

2B groaned as she and 9S searched the whole area for the android known as A2. Unfortunately, there was no sign of her.
Who was she?
9S sighs as he takes a seat on one of the broken castle structures, folding his arms as Pod floats in front of him.

We're going to have to report the bad news to the Commander...what an embarrassment.

"Operator, this is 9S. Patch me through to the Commander."

"Roger that, 9S."

"At least you tried, right? There's nothing wrong with failing once in awhile, that's what makes us human..."

"Huh?!"

Nines looked around the area, wondering where the voice came from while 2B stared at him with confusion.

"Who said that?! Come out!"

"What's wrong, 9S? I didn't hear anything, so you better straighten yourself out."

"I swear I heard something, 2B..."

9S then realized that he was still on the line with the Commander.

"I'm sorry, Commander. We failed to defeat the fugitive."

"I see. Well, at least you're both safe. That's an incredibly powerful unit you just faced. You should probably keep your distance in the future."

9S had then asked the Commander why A2 had abandon the force to begin with. All the Commander said was,

"I'm afraid that's classified."

Which also means, she wasn't going to tell him anytime soon. There was only one person that 9S can think of who would know more about A2 more than he did:

Pascal.

Well, if Pascal knew about A2, she would already be dead.

Well, it was worth a shot at least.

***

(Y/n) knew that performing this bank heist was going to be hard and possibly the most challenging task out of all of the other heists she has ever pulled.

It was worth a shot at least.

All she needed to do was convince Nines to come with them. That would be easy. She just had to charm him. While Nines was busy programming on the computer, (Y/n) hugged him from behind, causing the android to blush.

"(Y-Y/n)? What's wrong?"

"You know you're an amazing hacker, right?"

(Y/n) sadly smiled as Nines giggled.

"I mean, I am a highly advanced android after all...programming is a piece of cake for me."

"Well, maybe you could use your programming skills to help us out..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Nines stared at her, puzzled. It was salt to an open wound. (Y/n) knew what she was doing was wrong, but this was the only time she had to do this. If things work out in the end, everyone will be happy and Nines wouldn't have to know.

"Well, me and my family are working on a...project and it's a really huge project."

"What kind of project is it, (Y/n)?"

(Y/n) stared at Pod, who was in rest mode in the corner of the room, oblivious to their conversation.

"...It's classified."

"Oh...huh. Okay then. I'll help you guys out."

"G-Great! We're going to work on our project tonight, so be ready until then."

"Sure, I'll just be busy programming here. Just tell me when you're all set and ready to go!"

Nines smiled as he continued programming, his fingers tapping on the keyboard as he hummed a small tune.

It was easy convincing him to join their heist...but it was harder for (Y/n) to convince herself that this was the right thing to do.

***

Just as 9S had thought, Pascal didn't have much information on who A2 was. The two YoRHa androids, who didn't have any other missions to do, were now strolling through the sandy beaches of the flooded city, massive waves crashing against the cliffs as sea gulls flew overhead. 9S had never been to this side of the city before...but the ocean reminded him of memories that he couldn't clearly remember.
9S then stopped and looked out in the distance, staring at the sunset.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

9S then turned to his right and saw a young girl standing there next to him, her hands behind her back as she too stared at the ocean. She had (h/c) hair and (e/c) eyes that glistened. 9S then remembered: He met this girl before, 2,995 years ago. 9S shuddered.

"I-It's you..."

The human girl then turned to him...and smiled.

"Do you remember when we came here with the others? It was a lot of fun...I wish we could have those good old days back. But unfortunately..."

The human girl's voice trailed off as she approached him, smirking before whispering in his ear.

"I've been dead for so long~"

"9S? 9S!"

"H-Huh?!"

9S turned around, finding 2B standing there, looking concerned for him. 9S then turned back, only to find no one standing there with him.

That girl...I remember her, but from where exactly?

"We're getting a call from the Commander."

"Commander?"

What is it this time...?

A very stressed Commander could be heard through the line.

"Emergency orders incoming. The carrier ship that was sent to resupply has come under attack."

What?! How?!

"It's currently being engaged by a swarm of machines."

Damn it! Why now?!

"I've asked all YoRHa troops in the city ruins for assistance and I'll need you to provide backup as well. I'm sending flight units and coordinates now. Good luck, out."

I need a vacation...

9S thought as the two waited for their ride to show up.

***

(Y/n) and Nines waited for their ride to show up, the two both dressed in all black. Pod was inside (Y/n)'s black backpack while Nines was playing with the buttons on his coat.

"Where's the others?"

"They should be here any minute now...they said they needed to get some supplies for our project...I hate it when they're late."

A white van with a unicorn farting rainbows and stars on the exterior suddenly screeches to a halt in front of them, Rocco jumping out from the back of it as he held a pack of beer.

"You guys ready to party?!"

"You're late..."

"It's never too late for a party! Get in the back, peeps! We've got a heist to pull~"

(Y/n) and Nines then get in the van and off they went, to one of the richest banks in all of the city. Once they made it to the back entrance, the gang quietly get out of the van, carrying some heavy duffel bags over their shoulders. Nines didn't understand what was going on, he just thought that this was the project they were working on.

Unfortunately, he was blinded from the truth.

Once getting inside the building by using the air vents, the gang reach the main lobby, throwing signals and commands to each other.
Rocco and Russell managed to take down the front desk security guards by knocking them out. The coast was clear, for now.
It took awhile, but the gang finally made it to the vault, where millions and millions of dollars were being kept. (Y/n) taps Nines shoulder, grabbing his attention.

"Hey Nines, maybe you could hack into this terminal for us? The passwords are way too complicated for humans like us..."

"Yeah, no problem, just give me some time."

While Nines is hacking into the computer, more guards show up, causing the gang to panic. Rocco starts to hyperventilate as Russell tries to calm him down.

"T-They're here! They're here! We're not going to make it!"

"Oh, we're going to make it..."

(Y/n) muttered as she then takes out smoke bombs from her bag, Pod quietly floating behind her. (Y/n) then felt her blood rush with excitement as she then takes the clip off the explosive.

"It's time to party~"