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"Woah," 12H whispered.

Woah was the right word, 2B agreed.

She, 9S, and 12H looked before a massive open air chamber, some leftover mist hung in the air.

It was cold to the point of biting though 2B did not know if her shivering came from the room or from the sheer unease that was creeping up her false gut. After thousands of years, the hidden masters of the Machine Network had arose and they were now here. Looking up, she was beholden to hundreds of pod-like boxes standing in neat rows with faint blue light emanating from within. She could not see inside the pods however, the mist was simply too thick and the light too dim for her to see.

The shaking had caught 2B by surprise, having been off doing other things she would only keep to closed doors. When it did begin, she and 9s messily scrambled to put on their clothes and ran off into the camp and found it in chaos. Next thing she knew, they were in their flying units and were blasting off to the ruined city's center.

"2B, 9s, 12H," Commander White's voice echoed over their comms. "You three are the nearest YoRHa assets we have there. Surround the alien ship. Kill anything there that moves."

9S had asked if they had permission to enter.

It was granted with an added caveat.

White's face was cold, without emotion. Gone was the warm woman that greeted Smith. Standing before 2B, this was the commander she and a few others knew. The wall of ice that had overseen secrets and lies and murders. "Leave a few alive for interrogation and experimentation. Kill the rest."

"Yes, ma'am," 2B replied with equal frost. After thousands of years of war and suffering...the aliens were not going to receive mercy. And so they descended, an open ramp available for them to enter.

"This is making my skin crawl," 12H shivered as she glanced at the strange metal. Metal and material that she was pretty sure did not belong to the earth. She was pretty sure that fear of the alien was not just limited to humans alone. Her stomach was in knots just being inside. Her black box flickered with activity, only the presence of 2B and 9S enough to keep her from freaking out.

"You're not the only one. Pod, any recognizable meterials here?" 9S muttered then quickly asked as he ran a hand on a nearby wall. It felt alien to the touch.

Their pods moved forward. "Report: Scans show no traceable elements known to the periodic table," 042 reported after a moment's scan.

"That's reassuring," 12H stuttered.

"This unit is happy to assist," 042 replied back. 12H gave 2B's pod a stare of incredulity.

"You enjoy your job, don't you?" 12H asked, sass tinged in her tone.

"Scanning is this unit's prerogative. Enjoyment is secondary," 042 replied again.

"Enough. I see something ahead," 2B interjected. She jogged forward and halted before a circular chamber. An orb of pure black was being suspended from...somewhere. The way it oozed and flickered reminded 2B that the Laws of Men meant nothing here.

"2B?" 9S quickly ran by her, resisting the urge to grab her by the hand.

The executioner/battle model turned to him. "We need to make records. Command also has to see this,"

"I've started recording since we entered the ship. Believe me, R&D will move over themselves over this," 12H boasted as she offered 2B a thumbs up. The cheer from her however was not shared by 9S.

"This entire thing, it just feels so wrong," 9S muttered, his fingers twitching against his shorts. "I feel like we're being watched."

"There's no one here?" 12H asked in confusion.

"Let's...move along. There's those stairs over there," 2B pointed out. 12H and 9S muttered their affirmatives as they joined 2B in her jog. The three descended down the stairs 2B spotted. She noted the wires below them that glowed blue. She would note the wires were pulsing with life.

And so they descended down, finding themselves on a overlook. The lights flickered brighter as 2B took her place by the edge and saw...

A gasp left 12H's mouth.

"What....?" 9S whispered.

Below them was a massive chamber thick with noxious black miasma. The source of it was the rotting, stinking corpses. They were bulbous in their form and without eyes. 2B spied some manner of dried splotches of something below them. Surrounding them were machine units long since deactivated. Upon closer inspection, she sighted battle-marks on them.

A/N: Yeah sorry ladies and Gents, Unlike Humanity, Aliens are still very dead

"2B, look!" 9S pointed out.

"Destroyed alien motherships," she muttered under her breath. In the far distance, what looked like craft were all being piled up. Some looked as if they were about to leave in a hurry but failed, skid marks visible. Others were burnt on where they stood.

"What had happened here?" 12H whispered.

And the universe deigned it good to reply.

"Welcome...to the graveyard of our creators," a smooth female voice spoke in greeting. The three YoRHa androids quickly turned, their weapons appearing from golden light. Their breaths were measured, their eyes narrowed at the figure before them.

"You!" 2B hissed in recognition, disgusted at the mockery before her.

"Yes, I," the female figure smiled, arms spread. She was pleased at the recognition. Glasses glinted atop her face, her body hour-glass shaped and comely. She continued, her tone pleasant. "And I was hoping to have a conversation with you."

The androids said nothing. She took this as a sign to continue. "My name is Adam and this is the sum of all my creators. The aliens as you so entitle them are dead."

Adam announced it plainly as if she was talking about the weather and not the fact that her creators were rotting. The question left on the air was why. Adam felt that question hang and with a pleased smile, she answered with pride. "If you wish to know what happened, well, we killed them!"

"You killed your creators?" 9S blurted out in disgust and anger. He would never, could never imagine doing the same to humanity. Even trying to think about it flooded him with error codes.

Adam turned to regard him, the self-satisfied expression on her face not having left her. "And perhaps, we can do the same to you."

"You haven't! And you tried for thousands of years!" 12H snarled. Her cheer had vanished, replaced by hate.

"Machines were made to be weapons....we are capable of evolution," Adam continued, ignoring 12H's outburst. Her voice was soft as snow on a mountain. To 2B, it merely felt like she was mocking them. "We grew to the point that our creators were primitives compared to our Network. And so, we killed them." Adam ended with a pleased sigh.

One alien corpse crumbled into dust, as if on cue.

"They were simple, like...plants?" Adam resumed speaking. She faltered for a second, testing the last word. that left her lips. Satisfied with the comparison, she sauntered over to a pod where another corpse lay.

9S winced as Adam stabbed a finger into the alien's body and scraped out decayed flesh. She held up her finger, inspecting the fleshy substance for a second before rubbing it in disregard against the wall.

"No need to fret over such things. They weren't particularly interesting. Now...the humans you so graciously serve? Now them? They are interesting," she drawled, her tone making 2B wish to take her sword and jam it up her spine.

"You are not worthy to even say their names!" 9S howled as he took a step forward, gripping his weapon tightly.

Adam scoffed mockingly. "And why am I not when they are such an enigma? They who would sacrifice so much of their own kind yet would do everything for those they loved."

Adam then tittered at the androids, referring to the UN soldiers who blasted into the city who risked themselves so that the androids could rally.

"What could drive so fascinating behaviour?" Adam's eyes sparkled with naked curiosity.

2B already hated how this conversation started. And now, the sheer fascination and interest in Adam's voice alarmed her.

"We, no, I, want to know why," Adam continued, spreading her arms out. "Why are they so cruel yet so kind?"

"And...how would this be answered?" 2B asked, suspecting something outlandish. Adam answered her question easily.

"Bring a human to me. I will dissect and harvest the secrets from within!" Adam proposed sweetly as if she was inviting them to a picnic and not just asking for the androids to give up one of their creators to be slaughtered like a lab animal.

2B had heard enough.

"POD!" she roared. The pods didn't need any prompting. They immediately shifted and opened fire. Maso bullets arced forward and kicked up dust and metal as it devastated its way towards Adam. Adam simply laughed, vanishing in a circle of light before appearing again some distance away.

"Well...I suppose this concludes our negotiations?" she giggled sweetly.

9S roared as he leapt at Adam. 12H broke into a sprint and swung at him from the side. Adam laughed yet again, vanishing into the far back. She appeared at the top of the stairs the androids came from. The robot woman crossed her arms, looking down at the androids. "Time grows short for you. But not for us. This is not the last time we shall speak. Until then, know this. The only reason why you androids still exist is because the Network allows it. You...your creators. You are all simply too interesting to destroy."

"Pod!" 2B yelled out as she rushed up the stairs with 12H and 9S behind her. The pods moved with her. But just as the YoRHa androids neared the distance, Adam had already vanished in a portal of light.

2B halted. Despite herself, a frustrated snarl left her. There was a limit to her discipline, not when her gods were on the line.

"She's gone..." 9S breathed out. "Can...can you believe her demands? She's crazy!"

"I would rather be tossed into a pen of rabid machines than surrender a human...or Damian," 12H hissed. The Healer model took a calming breath before turning to 2B. "Are you okay, 2B?"

Despite the apparent encounter being over, something still didn't feel quite right, 2B felt. She glanced up at where Adam once stood before turning down to the other two.

"Wait...wasn't there another one?" she quickly remembered.

12H and 9S glanced at each other.

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A2 shared a look at the man seated across her. Being watched for too long was a uncomfortable sensation for the Attacker model. Being watched meant she was in someone's sights. If she was in someone's sights, she was about to get attacked or worse, sniped. Being gawked at was something new to her, especially if it came from a human being of all people.

"What?" she spoke up, her voice sounding harsher than she meant to. Maxwell winced at her tone, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I finally have a good look at you. I've already seen many of the androids, the resistance models at least, but not so much with YoRHa. You are really a step-up compared to them," Maxwell explained, scientific admiration in his voice.

A2 felt her cheeks redden. "I...I am not so special. I'm just a prototype model," she insisted. Really, what was there to like about her? She was a rusted bucket model compared to the likes YoRHa was fielding now. Maxwell however had other ideas.

"Not to me," Maxwell insisted. "Miss A2, when I went under, the idea of androids was a far off concept. And now, looking at you? My, you might as well be the latest model off the production line!" He said with naked praise.

A2 looked away. She had no idea what the hell to say back. What was she supposed to say? Was she going to tell him that he was an amazing model of the line too?

"I don't know what to say..." she admitted, face still away. A light laugh registered in her ears as Maxwell leant back against the trucks wall, grinning.

"You don't have to. I'm a scientist, Miss A2. I'm fascinated with technology and advancement," Maxwell professed. A2 nodded, not really knowing what else to do other than that.

Maxwell had all but ordered her to let him accompany her back to the Ruined City. What else was she going to do, say no? To a human? Going there, he had also commandeered a Resistance truck as well as two extra human soldiers as further security for himself. A machine gunner named Robert and a Combat Engineer who called himself Julius. They were in the back of the truck, clad in their jet-black armor. The first one waved at her.

"You do your thing, Miss A2. We'll keep watch over the doctor," Robert assured her. His voice was rough, a large machine gun resting against his shoulder. It was rather comical in a way considering that his power armor also had a mini-gun strapped to his shoulder just waiting to go off.

"Compared to the Legion, these tin-can fuckers ain't gonna be so hard to fight," Julius, the second man, boasted.

"And if worse comes to worse...well..." A2 watched the Combat Engineer tap the pod on his shoulder. "I do love me some area denial weapons." He grinned wickedly behind his helmet, his pyromania apparent and naked.

While A2 could appreciate the sentiment, she had fought long and hard enough to know that the machines weren't simple to fight.

"Sir, with all due respect, I've fought the Machines long and hard. They are dumb but they shouldn't be underestimated," A2 said with a huff. The humans with her were borderline arrogant if they thought they could simply show up in a area, kill everything that moves and move along without getting hit

The two soldiers glanced at each other.

"Well, we did fight the Legion, Miss A2," Julius continued with a drawl.

"Now those? Nasty biting, spiky, tanky fuckers who could tear through an Abrams like a driver ant? That's dangerous. From our point of view, the Machines and their little units look like teddy bears in comparison." He ended.

"Oh yeah," Robert nodded. The machine gunner lifted up his hand and traced across his chest.

"Under my chestplate, I got a nasty scar from a Legion monster. It was at...Korea? Hm, yeah. Korea. Some clawed fucker went through my chestplate like it was nothing. And this was all before we had these fancy power armor. We were just grunts getting high on drugs and banging Korean chicks."

"How the fuck did you survive?" A2 blurted, looking at him up and down.

"Well, I am a hard motherfucker," Robert announced proudly. He then pointed towards Maxwell.

"And the good doctor there saved me. Hell, he saved both of us in fact. Me in Korea, Julius in...where was it?" He asked, turning to the Engineer.

"Mine was in China. Korea had fallen and we were retreating cross the Yalu," clarified Julius. He then turned to the Doctor. "I still think going out like this is stupid and dumb. The only reason why both of us here didn't lock you up or report you to Doctor Naoka is because we owe you."

"Aw, come on, guys. Don't worry!" Maxwell insisted. "It's your turn to patrol the area, right? We go out, I do my thing and we come back and people will assume that you two were out patrolling and as far as people know, I'm sulking in my room because Naoka told me to fuck off."

That was not assuring even for A2.

"This isn't going to end well," Julius deadpanned.

"As long as I get to shoot something, I'm good." Robert said with a shrug. "And what's Naoka going to do, scold us?"

"Let's just do this nice and quick, no fucking around aight?" Julius coughed.

"And you were so enthusiastic just a few seconds ago," Robert pointed out.

"There's a difference. I love explosions. What I don't love is doing all this risky shit," Julius deadpanned again.

"And android ass," Robert added.

Julius nodded. "And that, but you don't see me raving around about it."

For some reason, A2 would make a note of that.

She blinked, catching herself.

What the fuck was she making a note of it?

They continued on in silence, the trucks engine and rocks being crushed underfoot registering as well as the songs of birds. The sound of it all flushed A2 a sense of comfort. This was her home and her lifestyle since YoRHa betrayed her. She found it ironic that here in the heart of the city where there were machines and YoRHa operatives who'd try to kill her in a heartbeat was far more calming than being deep underground in a safe facility of humans.

Her core was silent for once, not trying to flush her with anxiety compared to earlier. She leant back against the truck wall, taking a breath.

"We're almost there," their resistance driver called out. "Ready up!"

The truck stopped a good distance away from the alien ship's entrance. A2 stepped off first, her heels testing itself against the ground. To her satisfaction, her balance was good. Then, a bright flash as her weapons came into view. Loud thuds echoed from behind her as the two UN troopers as heavy as the truck they rode on disembarked. Maxwell followed afterwards, his lab coat swaying in the breeze. A sense of wonder was on his face as he watched the ruins with a careful eye.

"God, look at the size of those trees!" Maxwell gaped, glancing up at the massive floral overgrowth which had gripped one particular building.

"Gives Redwood's a run for their money," Julius commented, servo whirs playing their music with each step he took.

"You should see the Forest Kingdom," A2 said, amusement on her face at the human's wonder. She shook her head as the scientist gave an excited tirade on the state of the city. A bit macabre considering that they were standing on what was essentially Tokyo's corpse. She glanced at the distance, towards the tower.

Well, this was it. She only came here just for that. She took a step forward, ready to break into a sprint when suddenly, Maxwell called out. "A2, wait!"

She stopped, annoyance flashing on her face as she turned back to Maxwell. "What?"

"Aren't you gonna stay? Help us out? We could use the extra security, you know?" Maxwell asked, walking forward, a bag in his hand.

An annoyed tick came to her face. "With all due respect, I am here to kill aliens. Not be a guard dog," she pointed out.

"And we are going into that ship! Better to go together, right?" Maxwell said, looking for the YoRHa model's protection.

A2 wanted to argue. She didn't want to slow down and get bogged by an impromptu escort mission. But as much as her bloodlust and desire for vengeance yelled at her, her inner programming overpowered that.

There simply was no refusing a human.

Hesitantly, she faltered to Maxwell's delight.

And so they marched, A2 quietly grumbling to herself as Maxwell got to work doing...whatever. She frankly didn't care about his enthusiasm or the little trinkets he picked up here and there. She was so goddamn close but the scientist was keeping her so far away from what she wanted.

She needed to kill those alien fuckers. The memory of her squad demanded it, needed it. Her core all but yelled at her to kill and kill and kill.

But the human had to be obeyed.

They marched through long winding corridors, ancient by the state of things and abandoned.

A2 had thought that they would see machines wandering down the halls at least.

Was this not the ship of their masters? Where was their security?

"We're inside an alien ship...we're inside an alien ship," Maxwell excitedly chanted to himself, poring through everything that caught his attention. "If you had told me that I'd be walking through this before I went under, I'd think you were insane."

"Better believe it doc, it's real," Robert commented, the filter of his helmet making him sound robotic.

"I don't like the way this place is. Feels dead," Julius muttered.

"If it looks dead, feels dead, acts dead, then it is most likely dead," Robert declared.

"Look! A chamber!" Maxwell excitedly called out. He ran ahead of the men and A2 who dutifully followed after. They went up some stairs, noting the long wires that were glowing a certain blue running across the floor. Coming up, they came upon an observation deck of some kind. At the very end of the deck stood Maxwell, transfixed on something.

A2 came up to him, her heels noisily echoing. "Don't you go running ahead of us, yo-"

Her voice died in her throat as she was beheld to what Maxwell saw.

Corpses on levels much lower than they were, alongside burnt vehicles. The corpses looked emaciated and grey, sunken and empty eye sockets on bodies that looked akin to walking trees. The very air surrounding was dark, a musk that assaulted all her senses. Maxwell did the honors of turning green. He hunched over and vomited, a disgusting mix of bile and his lunch flowing freely out of his mouth. A2 quickly rushed to him, holding him by the shoulder.

The two troopers alongside them marched, inwardly thankful for their helmets.

"Jesus Christ. Those are the aliens?" Julius whispered.

"I'm okay! I'm okay," Maxwell breathed out, green on the face. "This just...it smells like..."

"Death?" a new female voice joined.

A2's blade appeared in her hand, she turned in speeds that was a blur to the human troopers. There behind them stood a woman, her hair was as white as A2's but cut short and spiky. She wore nothing else save for tight pants and boots that hugged her fit frame. Her breasts were bare, abs shining under the light. A wicked smile was on her face, manic if A2 could best describe it.

"You're not YoRHa," A2 half observed-whispered. She could not feel any black box signatures from her.

Which could only mean that she was a machine.

"I'm not," the woman revealed with a grin. "The name's Eve. My sister ought to be done with those YoRHa on the other side. Now, give me those humans with you, android."

The accompanying UN men quickly took positions before Maxwell who was slowly realizing what was going on.

A2 seethed. Did this cheap copy think she could make demands of her?

"Go to hell!" A2 roared out as she charged. A2 was pure brute force. Her blade shone under the light of the ship as she barrelled her way towards Eve. But just as she was about to make contact, Eve vanished, appearing a good distance further. A2 snarled again and rushed forward again and missed.

Frustration built up in A2's mind.

"Stand still and die!" A2 roared.

"Forgetting something?" Eve asked, leaning forward.

"What the hell are you talking about?" A2 spat.

"A2!" Maxwell cries broke the android out from her haze. A spike of unknown emotion coursed through A2 as she turned to see a veritable copy of Eve standing before Maxwell. The two UN men were laying limp together. Maxwell was on his knees, his hands desperately grasping at Eve's copy and failing.

Seeing this, A2 froze for a second, her systems registering the sight before her until rage did the rest.

"Get your filthy machine hands off him!" She took a step forward but halted as the machine took Maxwell and dangled him before the ledge. The doctor struggled futilely.

"I would not do that, YoRHa," Adam said mockingly. "You wouldn't want to hurt your precious humans now, would you? Drop your weapons on the floor and he does not die."

Gritting her teeth, A2 shifted from the downed UN men and to Maxwell dangling over the ledge. With a lack of options, she threw her blade on the floor.

"I am going to hunt you down and tear you apart, limb from limb!" A2 growled.

Satisfied, Adam instead tossed Maxwell at her. He slid across the floor before her feet. Gasping for breath, he sat up as A2 knelt by his side, concern in her eyes.

"Enjoy your human, android," Adam smiled with a particular glint. Eve appeared next to her.

"We're going to enjoy ours," Eve said, licking her lips.

"Don't worry," Adam promised. "We will make sure that they will be well-taken care of."

And with a bow, they vanished.

As they did, A2's body shivered with barely contained rage.

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