[S]ayonara Memories (NieR: Automata)

Chapter VIII: Su[R]vivor

Vee ran through the foliage of the village's forest, her bright robotic eyes scanning the surroundings for the runaway machine.

In the distance, the ominous sounds of explosion and whistles of missiles could be heard, the Android shivering at this 'fear' that plagued her. It was obvious to Vee that once she exited the forest then she'd be on her own.

The machines beyond the village were unpredictable, most of whom were still connected to the Network - their loyalty remaining steadfast to the aliens that controlled them. Regardless of the risk, Vee couldn't, for the life of her, understand where this surge of 'courage' had come from.

She didn't need to prove a point to 9S and 2B, considering they were beyond any point of being swayed to understand. Yet there was something 'within' Vee's mechanical form that spurned her to leap through the forest in search of the runaway machine.

The sounds of fighting were getting closer now, her feet slowing until they were nearly muffled by the sound of explosions and shooting. Mangled bodies of machines were everywhere, the sight akin to what Vee had seen through the ancient human contraption called a 'Television'.

This was what 'War' looked like and Vee didn't like it at all.

Of course, she didn't have the time to 'dawdle' right now, her main objective was still to locate the young machine. Her internal circuits dictated that the machine couldn't have possibly gone too far, Vee doubted he would run off to where the fight was. It left only the empty buildings close to the pathway from where she exited from, a perfect spot to hide from both hostile machines and androids.

Vee was no fighter but that didn't necessarily mean that she was incapable of anything. If worse comes to worse then she could easily lift the machine and carry it to safety. She was quick on her toes, or so she gauged based on her expedition with the two YoRHa units. She 'prided' herself in being able to out-maneuver everybody from the village. Machines disconnected from the Network were smarter, after all, than those mass controlled hostile machines.

'Assured' by her own assessment, Vee flew through the city in search of the little machine. Enemies surrounded the place, camouflaged by the smoke from the fire that their weapons dealt. It was a sea of destruction far more disastrous than those wars waged by her creators.

Vee had to be careful. She could not afford to be spotted and risk not only her life but the little machine's as well if she were caught.

Using her speed, she nimbly jumped from bush to bush, her eyes and ears trying to pinpoint enemies in the event she needed to hide and wait it out.

She hoped that 2B and 9S would be able to take care of it. While she had apprehensions towards them, she still knew that at the end of the day- they were the only ones who could dispatch these hostiles. She only hoped that they would give her and Pascal a chance to explain themselves.

9S and 2B believed the village and her were in cahoots with the machines that were now laying waste to the once peaceful ruins of Earth. Their distrust towards Pascal and the others ran far too deep, the by-product of their creator's lingering rage to the aliens that plagued their home.

They swore their life to their duties... Yet, to Vee, they were nothing more but slaves incapable of their own thoughts.

--*--

Vee wandered deeper into the ruins, the explosions just as loud but the area was nearly devoid of any hostiles. So long as she stayed far away from their territory then they wouldn't attack her.

She didn't know where to begin searching. The place was far too big to easily locate one small machine. She had only assumed that the little machine would wander into a more remote area that was far from the war that was currently ongoing.