"When was the last time I've seen a forest as vibrant and peaceful as this that weren't records?" Echo had found herself looking around the forest as they had walked around the area. "The air here doesn't feel as suffocating as well..."
"Really? I thought I was the only one." Ayla looked at Echo with surprise. "This place feels almost harmless."
"I'll say. This place is quite nice. However, this world isn't peaceful just because there's no Punishing Virus. There's still the ongoing war of machines and androids." Trojan had to remind herself about their task and the knowledge that they had learned. "Of course, now there's the looming threat of the Punishing Virus possibly existing here. Let's hope that if we do find it, we snuff out every trace of it."
"Or we can hope that it doesn't even exist here at all." Sica tried to lighten the situation up.
"That too commandant. That too." Trojan smiled as she nodded at her commandant's words. "Let's hope for the best that it's just something wrong happening with the machines and not the influence of the virus."
"The ruins around this place feel like a historic landmark. I wonder if we were to go further into these ruins we can find anything worth salvaging!" Ayla looked at the ruins nearby with bright eyes. "Perhaps we can find artifacts of this world's history and information and so forth! Maybe some art too!"
"Sounding like a true member of the WGAA." Liv smiled at Ayla's joyful mood. "We haven't encountered any enemies like last time."
"It's a good thing for us. We should minimize our encounters with enemies." Lee had said as he looked at the androids who were leading them as they knew the area more than them. "Fighting may take up some of our time, even if our group is quite big, it's better to not have to waste our time fighting."
"I agree. However, we should also take note of any enemy that may be behaving strangely." Lucia followed up. "So far there hasn't been any Punishing Virus concentration that has been detected."
"By the way, how is it that your team got back together?" Gray's voice was heard from his helmet as he talked to Iris Warbler as a whole. "Your team had been disbanded indefinitely after the events that took place in Constellia. What brought up the sudden change for the team to get back together? When I was discussing with the council what we had found on our first trip here, they had taken time to discuss what the next move would be. They had said Strike Hawk would come to retrieve the laptop. However, Iris Warbler was mentioned as if the team was never disbanded." It was something he had taken notice of but didn't question. And yet when Iris Warbler had met up with him and the others, they acted as if they had still been a team despite what had happened in the past. He knows that despite the fact they weren't a team anymore, to an extent the four had often still met up and didn't have bad blood with one another.
"I'm curious about this as well." Lucia said as she recalled the time when Gray finished his meeting with the council and he had told them about the things the council had said. "I didn't bother asking the commandant back then, but hearing that Iris Warbler would be joining was a surprise nonetheless since it was known that you four had disbanded. But there must be a reason why Iris Warbler was put back together, correct?" A team suddenly didn't get put back together without reasoning. There must be a meaning behind such an action.
"Your curiosity for such a matter is reasonable. Especially since all of this was mainly our (my) fault." Echo gripped her bow as she focused her attention on the nearby sound coming from the bush. Her guard slowly loosened as an animal came into view. She looked in amusement as if it was a moose. The carefree animal looked at them for a moment before retreating away. "The chairman of the WGAA had us four meet with him."
"He told us about how he was in the meeting that took place where your commandant informed the council of your findings." Trojan said. "Turns out during a discussion they held, Allen pitched in the idea of possibly reforming Iris Warbler once again since this mission sounds like something that should belong to the WGAA to investigate alongside Gray Raven."
"The chairmen said that his decision was met with skepticism and a bit of riot after what had happened on our first mission together. He persisted and eventually convinced them that the WGAA is possibly one of the best choices to collect intel." Ayla explained.
"Sending in a team from the WGAA does sound like a logical idea. If a squad were to be chosen, it would be from the WGAA as your faction may study and focus on Art but it also focuses on other genres. History, archeology... I presume that the chairmen had managed to convince them that way."
"You're correct." Sica nodded at Lee's speculation. "Even though it's great to be back together, we can't mess this up like the first time. Otherwise, our second chance of being Iris Warbler will be all for nothing."
"Rapid fire go!" Ayla was moving all around the place, snapping photos of the land around them and the animals that she saw. "The chairman will be happy to see all the photos I've taken once we head back!"
"What exactly is the WGAA?" Popola asked Gray as she had found herself pondering over the acronym. From what she heard it's part of one of the many factions that exists in their world and that the faction seems to focus primarily on art.
"The WGAA is the World Government Association of Art. One of the youngest organizations of Babylonia and the current chairman is Allen who you may have heard being spoken about." Gray explained to the two. "A lot of humanity's historic records from the Golden Age had been destroyed due to the outbreak of the Punishing Virus that had swept our world. The WGAA occasionally focuses on sending out teams of archeologists to retrieve and find anything that once belonged during the Golden Age." Because a lot of things were destroyed due to the outbreak, a lot of knowledge, technology, entertainment, and so forth has slowly become forgotten.
"Such damage was caused by the outbreak?" Devola couldn't help but ask. To hear that the outbreak of the virus had managed to destroy a lot of important records of humanity was horrible. A lot of value must have been lost in time due to the tragedy that had struck. She can't help but think that their world is quite similar in the sense that they don't know much about humanity.
"What is the Golden Age?" She heard her sister ask. That was a question she also had in mind. Gray had spoken of the Golden Age. He mentioned this "Golden Age" and how humanity's records had been destroyed, lost, and forgotten. However, the WGAA's mission is to retrieve anything they can find that once belonged during this "Golden Age".
"The Golden Age was an era of our time. It was described as the peak of human civilization. It can be said that the reason it's also called the Golden Age is because it was also the Golden Age of Technology. Humanity was quite technologically advanced however... that era is no longer here. The outbreak of the Punishing Virus swept away a lot of humanity's efforts. Not to mention that the virus had turned some things against us. The mechanoids are an example as a lot of them had been corrupted by the virus." Gray told Popola. He was glad that he had his helmet on at the moment, a huge frown was on his face as he thought of the mechanoids. A lot of mechanoids in the past have been discriminated against by humans. Humans feared and became paranoid about mechanoids because it was unknown when the virus would corrupt the mechanoids. And if the mechanoids were to be corrupt then humans would get killed by the corrupted mechanoids.
Fear causes irreplaceable damage... Artificial intelligence or not, mechanoids have proven that they as well can gain a form of sentience themselves instead of just being a simple machine that follows tasks. There are a few mechanoids who he knows and has come to befriend. Nanami is a primary example that a mechanoid could be human as well. Not just her, but Haicma, Hanying, and even Cervantes, one of the earliest mechanoids who originated from the Golden Age.
"Just up ahead is the mall." His thoughts were snapped away as he heard Liv speak. To her credit, she had been correct as he looked at the familiar aged building that had been wrapped with moss. The decaying building was all too familiar given it was one of the first few noticeable things when they first entered the portal. The nearby waterfall as well was familiar.
"Pretty." Ayla said as she snapped a photo of the waterfall. "Ancient." She snapped a photo of the decayed building.
"If you keep taking pictures of everything, you'll run out of storage." Trojan looked at the member of the WGAA with amusement as she had been showing how passionate she was about their mission. With the way Ayla is doing things, she's a true member of the WGAA through and through.
"Trust me, I'm not running out of storage anytime soon!" Ayla with a grin had looked around the area. "A broken gate!"
"Was taking a picture of a broken gate necessary?" Echo asked with a small sigh escaping. Ayla was quite energetic as always.
"The gate had been in our way when we first got here. So I cut it up so that we could enter through the area." Lucia said. "The inside is an abandoned shopping center."
"A shopping center?" Sica blinked as she heard the sound of running water as they neared the slashed-up gate. "At least the water is still running."
Everyone took turns entering through the gate. Once everyone went through the gate, they were met with the inside of the abandoned shopping center.
"Talk about post-apocalyptic..." Trojan said as she eyed the place. "Shopping centers... a place that people would occasionally go to in either their free time to hang out, enjoy themselves, and shop."
"Despite this place being ancient, I want to paint a sight of this place to show everyone at home what sights there are to be seen here." Ayla feels a lot of inspiration from this mission. The forest, and now this shopping center. "It's a good thing I brought my canvas. Once we've settled in and adjusted to this place, I can have time to paint."
"This is where we stopped before heading back last time." Liv looked at the area outside the shopping center. "Just how far away is the camp that the two of you reside in again?"
"We simply must walk past the bridge and continue heading forward. You see the water up ahead that is pouring down endlessly? Simply following the direction in which the water is coming from eventually leads us to the Resistance Camp. The place will be noticeable at first glance at the little barricade that exists. Once you go through the entry of the barricade, you would see at a glance a bit deeper that there's the camp." Devola grimaced at the thought of having to see everyone's faces again.
"There's a few machines around the area. However, the behavior of the machines on the path that we're going through is odd." Popola stared at the stream of water with a conflicted expression. "The machines instead of being hostile are passive. They don't do anything except wander the place and won't attack unless you attack them first."
"Good to know. So we just leave these machines alone then so we won't waste our energy." Sica said as she had been listening to the information both twins gave them. "This place is quite breathtaking though..." She knows she shouldn't be getting off task, however, her eyes couldn't help but look around with amazement and awe at the ruined city. She does feel a bit nervous about the bridge that connects to the city and the shopping center, it looks unstable and ready to break.
"Crossing the bridge does look dangerous..." Echo said as she looked at it. "We can jump over it but we'd have to carry you and commandant since you two won't be able to make that jump. But at the same time, we're not sure if you two androids can jump such a gap."
"Y-you can jump such a gap?" Popola asked with shock at the information.
"Sure we can. Although not all constructs can do such a thing, I am not that confident that I can make that gap... Looks scary to fail anyway." Trojan sighed as she looked down at the ground below.
"There won't be a need to jump." Lee said as he had taken a closer examination at the bridge. "It looks sturdy enough and it looks like it's been enforced a few times."
"What if it does break hmm?" Ayla asked.
"Then it breaks." Lee said without much care. "As long as both commandants are near us, we can safely save them from falling to their deaths. The area below the bridge shouldn't damage us much so it should be fine as long as we prepare to land."
"Pfft easy for you to say... Almost everyone here besides me has an impressive frame. Especially you and Liv since both of your frames are the current peak of construct technology given they're omega weapons and all." Trojan said with a smirk. "Anyway, we should get going then. We've wasted enough time as it is just talking."
"Do we have to? I wanna take in this scenery a bit more." Ayla whined.
"You can gawk at the scenery after we have time. Right now, we should focus on getting to the camp and gathering more information about this place like our mission told us to do."
"Mm... fine~" Ayla redundantly gave up as she knew that they had important priorities to deal with first. After that, she can do as she pleases and look around the place and paint. For now, she'll stick with taking pictures of the area around her so that Babylonia can see what she's gathered. "By the way, those machines over there, just what are they attacking?" She had noticed that there were a few machines that were attacking a barrier of sorts that could be seen by just about anyone. They're quite small like in the recording that was shown to them that Gray Raven had fought against.
Is it wrong that she thinks they're cute?
"Those machines are jamming the Access Point." Devola frowned as a look of contempt was plastered on her face as she stared at the machines. "The Access Point was fine when we passed through. It seems within these past few hours while we were gone, some machines had decided to jam the Access Point."
"It's best that we get rid of them." Popola looked at her sister as the two of them nodded at one another.
Gray remained silent as he had been looking at the sky. He was curious about how different the time zones are from his world and this area's region. Speaking of which... what part of the world are they specifically in? 'Last time we were here it was also daylight... I wonder how many more hours until the sun comes down.' He thought to himself as he figured that finding out the difference between both world's time zones is relatively important as well. It should be easy to calculate even without asking, an estimation can be made by setting sun. However, instead of doing all the unnecessary work to know the time, he can just ask.
They crossed the bridge without any trouble, even though the sound of the wood creaking with each step.
"I got this." Echo gripped her bow as she went ahead and nocked the string back as an energy arrow had formed. Instead of releasing an arrow instantly, she charged up her arrow that was intensifying with light by the passing seconds. The machines seemed to have noticed them, however, without a moment of hesitation, she let loose the energy arrow as it soared toward the machines at a speed that they could not dodge.
The singular charged-up arrow ripped apart the machines with ease as it damaged them all at the same time. She saw the machines explode as all that was left were mechanical scraps and parts lying on the ground. The barrier around the Access Point looked to have faded as it detected no threat towards it. "A vending machine? I thought you said they were attacking an Access Point?" She had to blink as she looked at the vending machine.
"That is the Access Point." Gray told Echo. "They're disguised as vending machines so that the machines can be deceived. That's what Popola and Devola told me."
"Huh... smart I guess." Echo hummed at the reveal. "Still, perhaps they could've used something better. A random vending machine is just... unordinary."
"Well, the vending machine here does look like it could have belonged here naturally if you imagine the city populated and not in ruins." Ayla informed Echo as she didn't find the placement of the vending machine to be odd. "A vending machine right here next to a building was quite common around the cities of the Golden Age. You can get candy, chips, drinks. Vending machines have a variety of different items that could be bought."
"Fair enough. There are also vending machines at Babylonia everywhere. I suppose when you look at how lonely this place is, simply seeing a vending machine feels odd." Echo hummed.
With the Access Point no longer in danger, they followed the stream of water up ahead. Besides the twins, everyone else looked around the place, taking in their surroundings as the place was new territory to all of them. Walking under the road that is above them screams hazard as the road can fall on them out of nowhere should it become unstable. They passed by a few machines that idled around the area, jumping around with their stubby legs to move around the place or remain rooted in place. Popola and Devola's words were true that some machines around the area here aren't hostile if you don't attack them. The machine's eyes were a yellow color and as they walked, they simply noticed that a few of the machines stared at them or chose to ignore them.
"The machines around here all have yellow-colored eyes." Liv noticed as she observed some of them. "Looks like eye color determines whether a machine is hostile or not."
"The machines that we first encountered had red eyes didn't they?" Lucia recalled their first battle. "Their eyes were red when they attacked so you might be right. Can you two confirm this?" She had asked the twins.
"You're correct on your assumptions. Yellow indicates that they're passive and red indicates hostility from what had been observed of how machines may act." Devola said. "However, the machines that are part of Pazcal's Village are different as they have green eyes instead."
"Given what you said about this village, I would assume that the green eyes mean they're peaceful because they're a peaceful village like you said?" Gray asked with positivity that his answer was correct.
"You're correct, sir." Popola smiled as she felt a great sensation in her system as the human directed his attention toward the two of them. "Despite the machines here that are passive, I'd advise that you don't try and get close for your safety." After all, a machine is still a machine.
Ayla ignored Popola's warning as she got close to one of the machines causing the twins to freeze at her next action. "Can you speak?" She crouched down so that she may be at the machine's level as it stared at her blankly without response. "Hello~?" She waved her hand in front of the machine but it didn't react as it continued to simply stare. 'That's a shame. I guess the little thing didn't wanna interact.' She thought with disappointment as she got back up.
"Please be careful. You must remember that in the end, these are machines." Devola said cautiously.
"If they do attack, we'll handle it." Ayla said with a smile. "Well, so far we've only seen small machines and I've been taking pictures of them. I wonder when we may see different ones."
"So this is where the source of the water was coming from..." Trojan said. Eventually, they reached the end of the stream and they took notice of a sewage pipe that had water exiting out of it. Everyone's attention then focused up ahead toward the right where they saw a few steel plates standing tall like fences followed by the noticeable cloths attached from the buildings toward the fences like decorations. "I take it that's the camp entrance?" She asked the twins as she received nods that confirmed her question.
"This place doesn't look quite barricaded. If someone were to attack they can get into the camp easily..." Sica frowned as she looked at the area. "There's no guards around meaning that the entrance is left defenseless." So far she and her squad hadn't seen much of the machines, but from the footage of Gray Raven fighting, there are different types of machines and they're also mass-produced from the looks of it. She's not one to underestimate an enemy because she knows it may bite them later.
These are machines after all. They were created by aliens for the task of wiping out human creation. The fact that Popola and Devola said that they've been battling the machines for a long time to reclaim the Earth shows that they are not to be underestimated. They didn't specify how long, but she can tell that the war between androids and machines has been going on for many years. And now, there's more to worry about if the Punishing Virus truly did leak into this world. Their home world had seen how much the virus had adapted and how much the virus had destroyed. The corrupted themselves would evolve, and the existence of the Red Tide that formed later on worsened humanity's battle against the virus.
She noticed a machine nearby that looked at her and she frowned. Despite the little things, they were created to destroy humans and human creations like the androids. It's natural for her to feel nervous and terrified because she has seen many horrible things firsthand and knows that everything can go wrong at any moment. And she knows that Gray Raven had experienced more horrible experiences than she ever did.
From what she's gathered, some machines are peaceful compared to others. That being Pascal's Village that Popola and Devola had talked about. And the machines around here with yellow eyes are all passive unless provoked. At least a few of her worries ease knowing not all of them are evil despite the reason for their creations. She wonders what exactly happened for some machines to turn peaceful.
'Regardless... it's best to not lower my guard.' Sica thought to herself. Although she's not part of this world, she is still a part of humanity. It doesn't matter whether it's this world or their own, a machine would most likely attack her because she is still a human being despite not originating from this world. She'll simply be categorized into the rest of this world as an enemy followed by the others with her.
Everyone walked toward the entrance as they followed the twins who continued to lead them. Heading deeper into the area, they passed through a few old buildings as they then arrived inside the camp.
"Woah." Sica mumbled at the Resistance Camp as she saw a few androids sitting around and others standing.
"Looks like we were instantly noticed." Lucia said as she saw how a few androids looked at the group. Their faces were filled with confusion and curiosity.
"Just follow us." Devola told the others as she began walking through the camp with her sister.
Gray looked at the androids that they passed by as he noticed the stares that he was mainly getting. At least with his face concealed they wouldn't notice him staring at them as he took in some of their appearances with many wearing garbs that made them look fit for the area they're in. There were a few areas that looked like shops as they passed by.
"Lily. Where is Anemone?" Popola had gone ahead and asked an android who was standing nearby. The android named Lily turned to look at the voice that had spoken to her but paused at the group of unknown androids that she had never seen before standing behind the twins.
"Anemone had gone ahead to Pascal's village to trade in some things while ordering me to take her position in the meantime." Lily couldn't help but avert her gaze from the twins and focus her attention on the others with them. "I take it they're the reason why the two of you have been gone for a long time?" It's been a few hours since the twins have disappeared, and there had been no signs of them returning anytime soon. Popola and Devola were given a simple mission to search for materials but they were taking longer than expected.
"A lot had happened while we were away." Devola said. "To not waste a lot of time, you can say that we weren't able to complete our task because we got caught up with a few machines who have... caused a bit of concern."
"We got injured because we couldn't hold ourselves against the machines and so we had to flee. There were a lot of them and we got overwhelmed. Eventually, we got rescued and got treated." Popola explained.
"I see." Lily knew that there was more to the story but figured more would be explained eventually. Her attention was still fixated on them all. "You have my thanks for saving these two and treating them. But regardless, who are you all? You certainly don't look like YoRHa."
"My name is Gray." Her attention turned to the armored individual who had removed his helmet and what was hidden under the helmet was a man with gray hair and eyes. "The people with me are just a group on a task. We came here because Popola and Devola had told us that we could gather more information from here."
"Even though you heard my name come out of Popola's mouth, I'll still introduce myself. My name is Lily. A Resistance android who is currently the leader of this camp until Anemone, the actual leader of this camp, comes back." Lily said toward the group. "Depending on the type of information that you seek, we can provide it. Unless it's something that we can't disclose, then I'm afraid Anemone and I can't help you."
"You wouldn't mind if we waited for your leader to come back will you?" Lucia asked Lily. "The information we wish to discuss might be something that they may need to hear as well."
"The camp is open to all. As long as no trouble is caused then you're free to stay here." Lily told the group. "Also, I'm not sure if Anemone can discuss as soon as she gets back. She's rather busy. However, since your group did also manage to rescue and treat Popola and Devola, she might hear you out."
"Thank you, Ms. Lily." Gray smiled at the android.
"Just Lily is fine. You don't have to be so formal."
"Understood." Gray nodded. "Thank you both for bringing us here."
"Of course." Popola and Devola said in unison as they smiled at the words. Lily looked at the twins with surprise as she had never seen them look so happy during their time here at the camp. She went back to focusing on what she was doing before conversing with the group.
"Since we'll be waiting until this Anemone person gets back, then we can spend the time looking around the camp." Ayla looked around. "What do you say, commandant? It's up to you in the end." She looked at Sica.
"It wouldn't hurt to look around. It's kind of our mission to gather as much intel as we can." Sica said as she then looked at Gray. "That'd be fine right?"
"By all means go ahead. We'll most likely do the same thing. First, I need to get out of this armor."
"Too hot for you?" Trojan joked.
"Well, it's not cold or hot. It's just about the right temperature." Gray smiled at her joke as he looked at his helmet. "I wonder if there's a room available. Just so I can remove my armor without causing much of a distraction..."
"There's a room available right by where the Access Point of our camp is. It's the building with a singular door closed that can be used." Devola told Gray. "Nobody is currently using the room so it can be yours if you wish." If he wishes to have the room, then it's not something they'll be able to refuse anyway.
"Hmm..." Gray hummed at the information as he looked at the vending machine that was noticeable as soon as you entered the camp. He looked at the closed door. "Thank you." He went ahead toward the door without much thought.
"Excuse me." Lily looked up from the piece of paper that she had been looking at as a voice politely spoke to her. She turned to look at the person and she was met with one of the members of the giant group that Popola and Devola came back with. The android was relatively taller than her as he had pale blonde hair that looked silverly and blue eyes.
"Can I help you?" She was amazed at how all these androids looked so unique. From their distinctive hair colors, to how they're dressed... she has never seen them and from a glance, she can't help but think they stand out. Her mind drifted toward the pink-haired android that she had tried not to stare too much at. It was embarrassing but her chest was huge.
"To introduce myself, my name is Lee. Forgive me for disturbing you however I am rather curious about the kind of work that is done within the camp."
"There's a lot of many different things that are done around here. For work, many things are done. Leaving to search for supplies, some basic needs for us. Some androids may need repairs if something manages to damage their circuits or even their systems. Some may need to replace body parts if the part is in a state that can't be repaired or lost a part due to a machine. Sometimes we get things for Pascal to trade so that he can trade back with us items and things we may need from him. Us runts have it a bit rough but we've managed all this time. The twins were sent on a mission to gather a few things but it looks like things decided not to work their way and came back empty-handed."
"I see. Your answer was just about what I expected on what had been going on here. I just needed to confirm it." Gathering materials for loss of body parts, materials to repair body parts, and trading with a machine village. "Thank you for answering my curiosity. We are also grateful for allowing us to remain here."
"No problem. Although, it's only right that I can ask something of you." Lily smiled.
"You may go ahead and ask. By all means, since you've answered my curiosity, it's only right that I answer whatever it is you wish to ask." Lee calmly said.
"Your models certainly are distinctive and unique. Are you all perhaps new models by chance? If so, I didn't know that new models were being created." Also, they're all fairly pretty... And the only two male models which she had got to know their names first were handsome as well.
"To us, you can say that a few of us have models that were created recently. Presumably a few months back to even years. However, out of the eight of us. Two of us are not models. And our models are different in many ways you can say than that of an android."
"Not... models?" Lily raised a brow in confusion at Lee's words. "Also, what do you mean your models are different from an android? That doesn't make sense." Because if not an android, then what are they?
"That's something private that I can't disclose at the moment. Forgive me but I can't say much else." Lee answered.
"The room in there was surprisingly nice. There were two beds and there was a lot of room not to mention a few shelves and a table. The place was quite spacious."
"I see you changed out of your armor fast. But is it safe to leave it in there?" Lily watched as the two men conversed with each other. She noticed that Gray was no longer wearing his armor and now wore a hat. Without his armor, he wore a scarf and cape on his black and gray clothing.
"I'll get a warning should anything happen." Gray said. "Today was something else. Even though I had breakfast a few hours back, I think my stomach is running empty again."
'A few hours back?' Lily raised a brow. It's barely 10 am. The stomach is running empty? What does that mean?
"We should get you something to eat then."
"I'll be fine. It's not something I can't handle."
"Even so, sometimes you go the entire day without eating because you tend to work a lot. It's not healthy for you to put your health aside for the sake of continuing to work."
"I know that... but sometimes I have deadlines to make and I do get busy."
Work. Hungry. Putting health aside? The hunger part leaves her the most confused. Androids may eat and drink if they please, however, that doesn't mean that it's a necessity for them. The way Lee speaks about Gray, he makes it sound like it's a need for his fellow ally.
"Besides, you go hours or even days without eating you know?" Gray joked with a humorous smile.
"... Even as a joke. That's an unfair comparison to make." Lee sighed at his commandant's words. "You and I are fundamentally different in terms of our bodies and identity. You're human whereas I'm not, commandant."
"!" Lily's body had frozen all functions as the words that left Lee's mouth registered instantly.
"... Lee..." Gray had accepted his fate as he stared at the man dead in the eye. Lee also had a look of realization at what he said.
"... They were bound to find out anyway."
"Well, I suppose you're right." They were gonna try and contact the Council of Humanity after all... who knows what would have happened, but he figured their secret would have been revealed regardless. "Still, to get exposed in such a way... How embarrassing."
"... That was my blunder, commandant." Lee had blushed due to embarrassment. It truly was embarrassing to get exposed in such a way.
"H-huh?" Lily could only muster at what she had heard from the two. However, her attention was solely focused on the person of the highest importance. The human. She watched as his gaze shifted over to look at her. She couldn't help what came out of her words next. "You're human!?"
Like a spell, the Resistance Camp went quiet. Anybody walking, anybody working... anything that had been going on stopped.
Iris Warbler had been nearby, right by the section that had been decorated to look like a relaxing station that even had a jukebox. They could only wonder where this would lead as Sica frowned with worry.
Lucia, Liv, Popola, and Devola who had been by the medical area watched. Lucia and Liv were mainly concerned as they did not know how such a reveal would play out for these camp-filled androids.
"Y-you're... human." Lily repeated one last time. Disbelief. Shock. She continued to look at the gray-haired man.
Gray had felt the stares digging into his presence. The camp continued to remain quiet as he felt like a zoo animal who was being watched by many. From the corners of his eyes, he had seen the androids who had only focused on him. He finds it within himself to be courageous and speak up.
"Yes. I am human." The words left his mouth without hesitation. "If you wish for proof, then you could ask the sisters who had brought us."
"The... sisters?" Lily couldn't help but ask in a daze as she had to process. After a moment her attention focused on the medical area where all the other androids focused on the only pair of "sisters" that reside in this camp. "Popola... Devola..." No more words needed to be said as what she had wanted to ask was made clear by everyone. And the way her voice was on edge made it clear to the two that lying is prohibited.
Popola and Devola had felt fear building up in their systems as they had been put in the spotlight. The very same androids who had hate them, the very same who show contempt, they all now stare at them.
"We can confirm that his words are true." Devola had gone ahead and spoken up on behalf of her sister for she cares for her. "He is organic. He is human. Unlike us. Not just him, but also Ms. Sica." She made her stance as she had revealed that there was another human besides Gray which caused everyone to be taken even more back.
'Eep!' Sica froze as she heard her name. She was anxious, however, she looked at her team as she gave them a nod to tell them that she was about to do something.
Without hesitating, her legs began to move. The androids by the jukebox had noticed her movement and could only connect the dots. Walking in the quiet-filled camp was nerve-wracking and she could feel stares that were so intense that it felt like their gazes were piercing through her. Eventually, she made it by Gray and Lee's side.
"H-hello. My name is Sica. Sica LeBron." Her military instincts kicked in as she found herself saluting. "J-just like Popola and Devola said... I am also human." She couldn't help but stutter at the start of her sentences, but she couldn't help it. She was in a crazy situation and it didn't help that she and Gray were the center of attention. She looked at Gray who had a smile as he followed what she was doing and saluted.
"You may call me Gray." He had reintroduced himself to everyone who had been listening. He continued saluting as a way to ease his kouhai's nervousness and tension that she was feeling to be the center of attention.
Sica looked at her senpai and chief who continued smiling as she then smiled as well and made sure her posture was straight.
"There are humans!"
"Not just one, but two!"
"No way!"
"Was I corrupted by the logic virus!?"
"Am I seeing things correctly!?"
"Is my system working properly?"
The once silent camp was filled with noise and the androids had all gotten closer.
Lee had made sure that Gray and Sica were close to him and eyed any androids who might do something. Even though he doubts the androids may do anything since humans are essentially worshipped by them.
Gray and Sica had stopped saluting as they could only watch.
"... This happened way too early." Sica mumbled toward Gray. "I knew the possibility of being exposed but it happened too quickly."
"Blame Lee." Gray mumbled. "I say that but it was kind of my fault as well..." Even as he joked to Lee about how he shouldn't tell him when to eat because he would go a long time without eating as well, he knew he was at fault. Lee cares for him and he knows the construct would remind him that they're different in terms of functionality even if he joked about it.
To think such a trivial thing could lead to their current predicament...
-~-
Mangled a bit and added a character that hadn't had a cannon appearance to the game as you can see.
Lily is from the Nier Automata anime where she had taken Anemone's role as the Leader of the Resistance Camp from the game. Anemone died in the anime instead just like how Lily died in the game... I think that was the case. It's been a while so correct me if I'm wrong since you know, I can't always be right.
Regardless, I kinda thought... "It'd be nice if both were here". And so, I kinda did that. And now both Lily and Anemone are here.
Also back after a while haha. Whoops! Then again, I don't promise consistency so sorry about that. Thank you all for your patience but I have been focusing on this chapter these past few days.
In other news, sleeping has been hard recently mainly cause I can't get off the damn phone! I blame myself for getting invested in a few light novels/web novels I may find online. Sometimes I can't stop reading and I think that's why I can't sleep early now as of last month.
Anyway, that's enough from. Thank you everyone for reading another chapter. I would also like to thank you all for your continuous support. Until next time, bye!
Word Count: 7,074