Have you ever heard of the Forest King? It's an old tale that goes back many centuries ago, way BEFORE YoRHa was created and before humanity became extinct. It was no wonder why 9S didn't understand who the machine lifeforms were talking about, as they tried so hard to destroy him and his partner, 2B. They kept chanting a name that he has never heard of, but he had a feeling that whoever they were referring to, it had to be someone very important to them, someone they wanted to protect.

What 9S didn't know was that he has heard of this name before, from someone who he had once protected...

Swords and spears clashed against each other as 9S tried to strike the enemy, a enemy who wore strange armor, armor that used to be worn by human soldiers or knights you could call them.

"All hail the Forest King!"

They all shout at once as they attacked the YoRHa androids.

"Who the heck is the Forest King?!"

9S screamed back as he dodged oncoming spears that struck the ground beside him.

"You're getting distracted."

2B said to him as she cuts through one enemy, causing him to explode.

"Well, what do you expect? I'm a Scanner! Combat was never meant to be my forte!"

9S was wrong. He may be a scanner android now, but back then...he was made to be a combat android, a combat android that the human government wanted to use for war, a combat android that was once made for destruction...

***

"I never knew how quiet the forest can be..."

"That's why I come here whenever I'm angry...the atmosphere here is so calm and soothing."

(Y/n) explained to Nines as the whole group walked on the dirt trail through the woods, (Y/n) holding Nine's hand so he wouldn't get lost while Lolita and the others tried not to laugh. (Y/n) and the others had a surprise for Nines, which brought them here to this mysterious place, where a kingdom once sat upon the soil. Once they made it to the end of the trail, Nines gasped at the scenery that faced them.
There, he saw a large brick castle formation that stood upon a cliff, a castle that once had a history behind it.

"Whoa! Is that a kingdom?! Like, an actual kingdom?!"

"It used to be a kingdom, Nines, now it's just an old piece of ancient history."

"Then what are all those people down there surrounding it?"

"Those are tourists, they're here to take pictures of it. It's a normal thing that humans do. It's also what we're going to be doing today, Nines! We're going to take pictures!"

"Pictures?"

Nines asked with a puzzled face. Pod carefully peeks it's head from (Y/n)'s backpack, accidentally scaring Rocco.
The group always forgot that Pod was there with them every step of the way.

"Pictures, their main purpose is to capture unforgettable moments and memories of many things. Many people also take pictures of themselves, which would be referred to as...selfies."

"Selfies? That's a very weird word for it...but okay! I'm on board with this whole picture taking thing!"

Nines smiles as he stared at (Y/n), who lets go of his hand, blushing. She shakes her head as she smiles back at him.

"Alright! Let's go then!"

(Y/n) beams as the group then continues to where the castle was.
The closer they got to it, the more beautiful it was to Nines. He wondered what kind of history this structure once held...Nines loved anything that was interesting.

Maybe that's why his creator wanted him to be more of a hacker than a fighter.

"Hey (Y/n), will we see any knights guarding the place?"

"Oh? You know about knights?"

"Of course, I've once read them in a history book!"

"Oh! Well, not really. Knights don't really exist anymore, now we have police officers. You could say that they're like knights, but in our modern time."

"Oh! That's very interesting! Look! There's one over there, on that horse!"

Nines smiles as he points to a police officer that was patrolling the area while riding on a black stallion. Nines admired the police officer, while (Y/n) and the others were frightened by him.

The police were their enemies and they dared not to make eye contact with them.

(Y/n) nervously laughs as she looks for something that can distract Nines from the officer. Luckily, she found the entrance to the castle.

"H-Hey! Wanna go inside the castle, Nines? W-We can take pictures inside!"

"Really?!"

"Y-Yeah! Let's go!"

(Y/n) said as she gently pushes Nines towards the entrance, looking behind her shoulder to make sure the officer wasn't following them.

They were safe...for now.

After crossing the stone bridge, the group finally made it to the large entrance of the castle, Nines gasping at everything he saw. He carefully touched the stone walls of the castle, feeling the dust and rough surface of it.
(Y/n) then pats his shoulder, catching his attention.

"There's more to see inside, come on."

Nines nodded as he holds (Y/n)'s hand, before the two enter inside the dark building, the others waiting outside, for they wanted to keep an eye out for any other police officers. As (Y/n) and Nines stroll through the dark hallways of the castle, Nines shuddered at the rows of armored knights, whom he felt was staring right at him.

What if these knights attacked them?!

Nines had forgotten his sword back at home so how was he supposed to protect (Y/n)? Would he have to sacrifice himself? He wasn't afraid of doing that for her. He waited for the knights to move...except, they didn't.

(Y/n) noticed how tense Nines was, because she then giggled and pinched his cheek, surprising him.

"Don't be afraid, Nines, they're just props!"

"Props...?"

"Props, also meaning that they are fake. In this case, these armored knights are completely harmless."

"See! Even Pod knows what I'm talking about! So don't worry, nothing is going to hurt us. Come on!"

(Y/n) tugs on his arm, causing him to blush but follow her through the dark hallways, now knowing that there was nothing to be scared of. Nines felt confident exploring this mysterious place now, he felt like he was (Y/n)'s own knight in shining armor...

He was going to protect her life, no matter what the cost was.

And that's exactly what he did, when the floor suddenly crumbled below them, causing the two to fall through a hole, Nines holding (Y/n)'s hand as he felt them falling deeper into the depths of the castle...

***

9S and 2B had no other choice but to delve deeper into the castle, destroying any other enemies that tried to stop them from reaching this "Forest King" figure. Who was this Forest King they're hearing about? What part did this Forest King play in this war?

9S and 2B have decided to visit him and see for themselves.

"Watch out for hostile enemies, 2B."

9S warned 2B as the two ran through the corridors of the crumbling castle.

9S didn't expect what 2B was going to say next, but the sentence sure did make his heart jump.

"Roger that, Nine...ze."

9S gasped at her response.

"Huh? Wait, what did you just say?!"

That name...did she just say that name?! That name that I've been longing to hear for a long time now!

"Roger that, 9S."

"Wait, no! That's not what you said! You said Nines! Or at least something close to-"

"Cut the chatter, and engage the enemy."

2B replies as she continued on without him.

"Ugh!"

Why is she lying? Why would she say it and then take it back? Now she's just teasing me...but man, who else has said my name before...?

***

"Nines!"

"(Y/n)! Hold onto me!"

Nines shouts to her as he then wraps her around his arms and flips them around before they crashed to the ground, Nines landing on his back while (Y/n) fell on top of him. (Y/n) was safe and sound, but the impact hurt Nine's back hard.
Nines coughs as (Y/n) helps him up.

"N-Nines, are you okay?!"

"A little bit...man, falling on bricks hurts!"

"D-Do you need a doctor?! W-Wait, you're an android, I don't think wounds on an android is the same as wounds on a human! Maybe me and the others can fix you up, since we're good with electronics!"

"I-It's okay, (Y/n). I'll be okay, I'll heal over time...where are we?"

Nines asked as he looked around the large room they were stuck in, light shining down on them through the open windows as (Y/n) suddenly realized where they were.

"We're in the throne room...this is where the Forest King once sat upon when he once ruled here..."

She said as she touched the old stone seat with her fingers. Nines tilts his head in confusion.

"Forest King...? Who's that?"

"There once was a king who used to rule this land many centuries ago...everyone had loved their king dearly, for he had always kept the peace. Legend has it that when he had died, everyone in the kingdom was upset...they didn't know who would be their next king, they didn't know how to live life without the peace..."

"So...what happened?"

Nines asked as he and (Y/n) took a seat near the throne, the sun rays warming their bodies.

"Before the king had passed, he had a newborn son. His knights thought that the son would grow up to be just like his father, so they did everything they can to teach him his father's ways...unfortunately, it didn't work. The son wasn't like his father at all.
He was a completely different person and so...that's how the story ends."

"H-Huh? No way, that can't be it! So what, the kingdom had just fallen?!"

"Not exactly...no one knows what happened after that. Some people believe that the knights still protected him, even though he was different compared to his father. And then, that was it...I think he died from a very young age...by the hands of someone who didn't want peace."

"...Who would do such a thing?"

"...I don't know, Nines, we'll never know..."

(Y/n) said before getting up, holding her hand out to the android.

"Let's get back to the others, I'm pretty sure Rocco is freaking out right about now~"

Nines giggles before they turn around, only to find someone behind them. It wasn't any of the others and it definitely wasn't a stranger.
(Y/n) gasped as she felt her blood run cold, shivers crawling down her spine as her grip on Nine's hand tightened.
Nines noticed her sudden fear as he tried to calm her down.

"(Y/n)? What is it?"

"It's my sister...from a family I had ran away from..."

***

"Is this...their king?"

9S said as the two YoRHa androids approached the small baby machine life form, that was laying in a crib in the middle of the throne room. 9S and 2B had expected the Forest King to be giant and strong, but this...this was him? This was what all those guards were fighting for? 9S and 2B stared at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do now.

And then someone came falling from above, someone who wasn't an angel.

The person fell on top of the king, her long sword piercing through him as 9S and 2B fell back.

The baby machine had stopped making noise immediately.

The person held the dead king's body, examining it before throwing it away, turning towards 9S and 2B, who shuddered at the sight of her.

Who was this mysterious woman that just killed a harmless machine?

It was an android, who used to be in a YoRHa...before she left it behind.

A2, an android who wasn't an enemy, but someone who had left the true enemy.

And 9S and 2B were forced to kill her, without knowing her side of the story.

***

(Y/n) was angry.

Afraid and angry, for her sister was standing right there, in front of her and Nines, blocking their way.

(Y/n)'s sister smiled as she folds her arms, her stare piercing through
(Y/n)'s frozen body.

"Why hello there, sister~"

"Sister? (Y/n) doesn't have a sister except Lolita! Right...?"

Nines asked (Y/n) as she stood there, silent. Pod suddenly pops out of her bag, floating beside her.

"This is (Y/n) (L/n)'s real sister, who has the same bloodline as her. She is a part of the family (Y/n) ran away from."

"Family? No, you got it all wrong, Pod! (Y/n)'s family is me, Lolita, Russell and Rocco!"

(Y/n)'s sister suddenly laughs at Nine's statement.

"Oooooh I see! So my little sister found another family to live with! Like THAT would solve her problem~"

"Shut up! You have no say in this! You, along with Mother and Father and everyone else in the family is the real reason why I left in the first place!"

(Y/n) screamed at her, causing Nines to stare at her worryingly.

"Doesn't matter, you had a life with us, a better life than anyone else on the planet."

"How so?! You guys made my life a living hell! You used me like a slave! You used me as a punching bag to get your anger out! You barely left me any food to eat!"

"At least you didn't die, right?! Now you're living with someone else, people who aren't even your blood! Come back to us, (Y/n), we miss you..."

"No, you miss using me...there's a difference."

(Y/n) muttered as she held Nine's hand, her hair covering her eyes.

"Let's get out of here, Nines..."

"But what about her-"

"Just ignore her, Nines...she's a bad person, a very bad person..."

(Y/n) muttered before leading Nines to the exit, her sister closely watching her with a dark face. (Y/n) and Nines heard her sister shout from behind them.

"Mark my words, (Y/n), you're making a huge mistake..."

"A mistake that has saved me..."

(Y/n) mumbled as tears streamed down her face...tears that Nines was able to see in the darkness.