i n [B] o x . // acata.

[abandonware]

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[extirpator]

[ a weight crashes against his jaw. the scent and taste of copper floods his mouth. her eyes cut through the darkness — he can't make out what's lingering in them, but he does register the gleam of the metal that's been exposed to the cold air of this ship, the grotesque mess of iron and wiring that forms an inhuman smile underneath it all.

like an animal, he crudely spits out a bit of blood onto the ground. nier flexes his fingers — he stops.

he reaches forward again, his movements harsher this time.

her hair is white. so white he could get lost in it, consumed by thoughts of one person, one girl, always the same one— i have to protect you. i have to protect you no matter what. i have to, i... ]

No.

[ he meets her gaze. his features harden. he glares daggers and yanks at her arm. ]

We need to treat your wounds.

[abandonware]

Let go —! Just shut up! [She snatches her arm away from him, still dripping blood, and staggers backward. There are voices again, too many. Machines, her comrades, 2B, 9S. So much blame — they're too loud. She had tried to ignore them, to drown them out, but they take up too much space in her head now. She clutches both sides of it, her grip too tight, wanting so badly for silence. It was all this ship's fault, because it was a machine. That was why dread and fear had dogged her every step, even before drifting down into this dark pit. That was why the noise had persisted, why she was seeing things she shouldn't, why everything hurt so badly.

But what sort of machine could do this, to such a scale? Make such a farce? Mock her and hurt humans?

Her eyes open too wide again. The machines were laughing at her. She can see them even in the dark, their empty eyes glowing red. Just like before. Just like —]

Terminal.

Warning: [Pod begins, speaking to them both.] Unit A2 is experiencing a severe hallucination. Proposal: A2 should be disabled to prevent further harm to herself or others —

It's you! [Her voice comes out serrated and hysterical, almost delighted. She draws Virtuous Contract, adjusts her grip with the unsettling ease of practice despite her injuries.] It's you! I knew it was you, you goddamn machine—!

[She's still screaming when she lunges for him.]

I'll kill you...I'll kill you! This time I'll kill you!

[extirpator]

Goddamn it!

[ nier unsheathes his sword instinctively; he doesn't mean to, but he does. he grits his teeth, brows coming together, fingers curling as metal clashes against metal. he pushes back in some attempt to stagger her — in her eyes, he knows what's reflected isn't him.

but it feeds into something no less. something ugly, raw, and monstrous. he wants to tear her apart. but he wants to save her so desperately as well. ]

I don't care what it takes. I'm not going to let you die here!

[ nier launches forward in turn. white, white, what a brilliant white. he sees the same girl in it each and every time. the nostalgia overtakes him, the longing, the loss resounding and hurting so beautifully. pain. he hates it with every fibre of his being. ]

A2!

[abandonware]

Stop laughing...

[The Red Girls are everywhere. She swings at one and another appears behind her, by her side, everywhere, all laughing, all mocking, their faces split in wide and unnatural grins, their eyes cold and pitiless. Just like before.

Why hadn't she realized before that they were here? Doing this, sending her and the humans down into the belly of this ship to die like animals? She should've known, she should've —

Nier pushes her backward and she reels some, drunken almost, unsteady, before righting herself again. Her eyes are so wild, focused so intently on some place behind him, beyond him.

She's faster, without the Circle's limitations, and much stronger, rage and paranoia both driving her to be relentless in her strikes. When their swords clash again she pushes against it, hard, the ruined vestiges of her face too close to his own.]

Stop laughing at me!