Chapter Text
— 6O
“2B! C’mon, 2B, pick up already!”
A gloved hand tapped its index finger on a single key of a keyboard; her eyes glancing rapidly between the two monitors in front of her. One displayed the recent SOS request, and the orders to be sent out alongside it; the other displayed an outgoing call to her supervised field unit. Her breathing was shaking as her eyes pierced the loading symbol in front of her.
“Operator 6O, what is it?“ The loading symbol took its final loop, and faded into the footage of her field unit. 6O glanced around the surroundings in the background; a small camp was set up between a square of buildings. Its placement resembled a small park, or open area, that was once used to break up the monotony of the gray skyscrapers. Her camera appeared to be facing a building, leaving the rest of the camp unseen. A few other androids walked where she was sitting, but the area seemed to be secluded. Behind her was a small alleyway between two buildings; multicolored, stitched together, tarps blocked the skyline in that particular area.
“Right. Um, this is bad…” She quickly pulled herself from her observations, remembering how time sensitive the task at hand was, but her eyes trailed off from the monitor.
“6O,” her voice was stern, demanding the other’s attention.
“A YoRHa squadron north of you requested immediate help,” she took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for a second. “The unit 3S has a logic virus, and he just started attacking the rest. Your, your orders are to ‘deliver aid to the squadron and execute Unit 3S,’” her eye glanced from the video feed to read the exact wording of the orders.
“Understood.”
“Marking exact coordinates now.”
6O watched as 2B sat up and began rushing towards the target, turning the video feed off right as she began moving. Through the intercom she could hear the faint sounds of the other’s focused breaths as she began her sprint.
How the hell can she be so casual about it?
Listening to the distant sounds of steel being drawn from its sheath, she began tapping on the base of the keyboard again. 6O watched 2B’s marker move through the map of the Resistance Camp; every few seconds she shifted her gaze from the changing coordinates numbers, to the monitor with the orders, to her finger tapping on the keyboard, and then back to the marker.
As the marker reached its target, the intercom began to pick up more sounds. First was the rustling of grass, multiple people frantically running through it. Then came the drawing of her sword. Finally, the confused questions of the squadron.
What is this, the eleventh time? No, there was one more by the factory, I think she was another Battle Unit; another squad just like this, too.
She heard the sound of metal clashing through the indistinct static of the intercom.
“I received your SOS symbol,” 2B’s voice sounded close through the headset.
“Oh thank God,” a faraway voice said.
“He just—he just… started attacking,” another spoke out, this one harder to hear. Her voice sounded uneasy, as if she was taking sharp breaths between words.
No response was heard through the headset, but there was the continued sound of focused grunts, and clashes of metal.
6O lifted her finger from the keyboard; it moved over to another button, stopping just short, before firmly pressing down.
“2B, please help any hurt YoRHa Units.”
“Understood,” as soon as the words left her mouth, there was the sound of a sharp gasp a few feet from the mic.
Another heavy sound of metal was followed by a sound of ripping clothes. 6O listened as the sword scraped against the body of the infected Scanner Unit. The first slash was slow, tapering off at the end. Only fabric seemed to rip; what followed was a final, much louder, crash of a blade, and a loud thud of something, or someone, landing on the grass.
“No! Wait…!” One of the units cried out, before the sound of ripped metal hit 6O’s ears; what she assumed to be 2B’s sword stabbing into the unit. There was a moment of silence; a moment where 6O doubted whether her assumption was right. She was stuck with nothing but these sounds, never exactly knowing who was on the receiving end until hearing 2B’s post mission report.
6O closed her eyes in anticipation, her breath once again becoming unsteady. She gripped her headset close to her ear, and listened to a short scream from a unit.
That’s a male voice.
Next came the repeated sound of metal scraping, no doubt the sword being pulled from the victim’s chest.
Why am I relieved?
“Fuck! W…why…”Another scream pounded at her ears. “S…stop…” His voice started to trail out; whatever force was behind that last scream was long gone, replaced only with rushed and desperate breaths.
There was one more harsh sound of steel slashing across metal and fabric. Finally, there was quiet.
“2B to Operator 6O, Unit 3S has been halted.”
The middle of 6O’s screen was suddenly replaced with the feed of 2B once again. Small marks of red dotted her face, and her pale white hair was stained with clumps of blood. Despite everything, her face remained stuck with the usual neutral frown, and her voice was steady.
She couldn’t help but stare at the screen.
I should’ve just muted the call.
No.
I have to listen for her.
She can’t go through this alone.
The corners of 6O’s eyes felt wet at the sight, her face starting to fold in on itself.
“6O.”
“Y-yeah… Reporting to Command…”
— 60
The second 6O received word that 2B was returning to The Bunker she stood from her desk. Before leaving, she took a glance around her desk; she was on a raised loft with a row of a few desks, all equal in structure. The loft continued in a U-shape around the interior of the room, cutting off halfway through to make way for the large monitors that resided on the tall walls on the far side of the room. Below her was another row of equally bland desks, each with their own Operator; in the middle of the room stood the Commander, watching the information on the walls of monitors intently.
Quickly, she shut down her workstation, and turned heel to leave the Command room. When she left the room she turned left to walk through the hallway. One side was lined with nearly identical looking sliding metal doors, save for the black name tags next to them. On the other side sat a large window overlooking Earth. In the distance there was an endless black sea dotted with stars, interrupted only by the odd piece of debris, or other satellite structure.
6O tapped on her thigh as she walked through the hallway, scanning each door for its nametag. After walking halfway through the perimeter, she landed on 2B’s.
She took a second to breath before taking a step and knocked on the door. There was a short sound of sheets rustling, and a few footsteps, but a few seconds later the door slid open.
“Hey! 2B!” The Operator had a wide smile etched on her face, her eyes slightly squinting at the other.
“6O,” her face was as neutral as ever. 6O couldn’t help but stare at her; seeing her without her visor was a rare moment. “What is it?”
“Well, actually, I came to see you.”
“Does the Commander wish to see me?” 6O looked down for a second, seeing her discarded black leather boots lined up neatly next to the door. This is about as casual as anyone ever sees her.
“No!” She fidgeted for a second, before looking back up with the same awkward smile, “I came to see you. ”
“I see. Do you require anything?” There was a glimpse of something in 2B’s eyes, a slight change of expression, as if only the eyes softened for a second.
“I just wanted to check up on you,” she took a step forward and gestured aimlessly with her hand, “After everything that happened today…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Really, if you need anything,” she slowly reached her hand over to 2B’s arm, running her hand down her shoulder; she felt the frills of her sleeve part into the glove covering her forearm. 2B looked over to her hand and lowered her head, closing her eyes at the touch. “I can’t imagine what it must be like for you.”
6O’s bubbly smile faded, and she looked towards 2B with her head slightly cocked to the side, eyes squinted in a tired gaze. 2B slowly opened her eyes, gazing into 6O’s, before looking away again.
“I don’t require assistance at this time.”
“Okay…” 6O’s hand reached 2B’s, and she gave a solid squeeze before releasing it; her face returned to a wide smile, “I’m just a call away! Even if you’re out doing whatever on Earth!”
Why does she always get like this?
2B nodded; her face once again trailed down to the ground, releasing a heavy sigh.