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“Tell me, God, are you punishing me?
Is this the price I'm paying for my past mistakes?”
—Weight of the World Eng. Ver
— Isn’t it funny? — the taste of iron is surprisingly strong on his tongue as he trudged through hordes of machines. For someone so deeply entrenched in blood and sin, 2B once again has that vague lingering thought flitter across his mind — that he will finally pay for his crime with his life. And 2B is fine with it. He’s been resigned to his fate ever since the body he remembers burying his blade in time and time again loses that smile that he’s always remembered loving and become a permanent scrawl of fear and pain . So why is he still fighting? He considers leaning at the feet of the Tower and just letting his life fade away into memory. His life is forfeit. There is no longer any point in fighting when those orders he had prized more than his love for 9S ceased with YorHa’s demise and he himself is succumbing to the Logic Virus. Ah. He remembers now. Through the foggy haze of his mind, 2B remembers that 9S — always curious and endearing 9S — is still in danger and just like that, his resolve returns. He can’t fail here, he can’t fail he cant he hast o pro t e c t But the static — that never ending static — consumes even more of his vision and his breath grows jaded even as he forces himself across the ragged rocks. His vision washes out into cold monotone and he can just feel his black box failing as the virus worms its way through his systems. Stumbling down the wooden planks of the bridge, 2B forces himself to hold on. If he can just make it to the commercial facility — But he doesn’t make it and logically, he knew all along that he never would. It only took him looking up at the eyes of A2 to realize that. “Guess… this is it,” he says, words thick on his tongue. He gives his sword — gleaming, brilliant Virtuous Contract, stained with his sins — and entrusts it to A2. “Take care of everyone for me,” he tells her. It’s a horribly vague summation of the desire he had ever since his first encounter with 9S, but A2’s eyes gleam with understanding and complies in silence. Pain blossoms from his abdomen as his blood coolant cleanses his beloved blade, and Yoongi can only think that he’s failed . He’s failed to follow orders. He’s failed be a faithful soldier. But worst of all, he’s failed 9S. He can only hope that his death will bring balance. But as fate would have it, that was not to be, is what he realizes as he turns his head to the sound of his name being called. 9S is at the bridge. 9S is at the bridge.
9S is at the bridge.
He cannot see this he cannot he must not he — “Oh… Minnie…” And he falls.
There is no greater sorrow than to recall happiness in times of misery.
-Dante Alighieri
9S was incredibly lonely before he met 2B. All he was ordered to do was to scout the Earth and report back to Bunker on machine behavior. Rinse, and repeat. So when he is finally assigned a partner, he was overjoyed. He finally had a more solid reason for existence. Kill 2B. Bunker didn’t realize it, so neither would 2B. That he knew they were lying. That this wasn’t the first time he’s met 2B. That he’s died countless times at the hand of a man he’d cared so dearly about. Over, and over, and over again. The desire to exact retribution was so overwhelming at times it almost choked him. His hate burning whenever he had to do maintenance on 2B and his wires were exposed for him to destroy as he liked. Whenever 2B was cornered by machines and he just happened to be too late. It was petty, and all that lead to was 2B losing some hours of memories, but in it’s own way, it helped keep him sane. It gave him hope that 2B could be anything but his murderer. That this creature that willingly taken the blow for him multiple times was his friend. That this creature that had scoured all over the map looking for him when he was taken by Adam cared . That the man that had cried when he’d heard his request to end his life, hesitating to end the virus 9S had acquired in the battle with Eve. Not that that mattered anymore. As he stared at the pale grey-blue of 2B’s eyes, he realized that it was all a joke. The world was playing a joke on him. It didn’t register completely at first. The grief did (when did he care enough about 2B to grieve ?), and then the pure, maddening rage. But when he wakes up in the Resistance Camp and Popola and Devola tell him that 2B is indeed gone, he wants to laugh. In his sleep, he’s had the chance to review his returned memories from another life, during the age of humanity, back before the aliens invaded. YoRHa has had been aware of the concept of soulmates. It was admittedly rare amongst them androids, but eventually they had accepted the fact that it was bound to happen, as they were modeled after humanity and this was a prominent aspect of their gods. 9S remembers never daring to look 2B in the eye or letting him look in his, not wanting to even consider the possibility. (He wonders if he’d ever found out in a past life, only for that knowledge to be swept away in his never-ending cycle of death.) “9S” was a bit of a misnomer now, for he’s no longer the pure and innocent Scanner model he was. Result of not only his returned memories, but of the truths that have been revealed to him. And “Minnie” has never felt more unusable, the name’s meaning tainted with the last words of 2B. So now he goes by just Jimin. Even if that name isn’t exactly fitting either. Jimin decides to spend the rest of his days destroying machines and hunting down A2. His rage had never been more potent and if he was to be honest, he really could not find a logical reason why he felt such a way. Perhaps it was because A2 had stolen what was his to do, killed what was his to kill. Is what he tells himself as he faces A2 at the top of the Tower, killing intent exuding from him in waves. “This tower is a giant cannon that’s aimed at the human server on the Moon,” she tells him, “If we don’t do something, all of humanity’s remaining data will be destroyed.” He laughs. “So what?” He doesn’t care anymore. 2B is dead. None of it matters anymore. Jimin tells her so. He tells her, “Or didn’t you know? We aren’t required in this world anymore. Humanity is extinct.” “That moon server you’re so worried about was invented to give us androids something to fight for. And YoRHa was created to perpetuate the lie,” he presses on, “But in order to make sure no one ever learned the truth, we were designed to be killed.” But in his head all that he can really think about his that she killed his soulmate . He spouts some more bullshit about the YoRHa and humanity, but at one point, he snaps. Her voice is soft as she says, “9S, we —” but he cuts off whatever she was going to say. “You killed 2B. That’s all we need to kill each other.” A2 is silent for a while as she realized what this was truly about. “2B hated to keep killing you. It caused him so much pain,” she tries to console. “The 9S type is a high-end model. They knew you’d discover the truth eventually. But the model designation ‘2B’ was just a cover.” “The official designation is 2E. Number 2, Type E. They were a special class of members designed to execute YoRHa units,” her voice is neutral and without a hint of accusation. She turns to him. “But you knew that… Right, 9S?” And he did. He did. But what logic he had left disappeared at that declaration, and he doesn’t need to see himself to know that his eyes are glowing red. Red like 2B’s was. And just like 2B did, he pushed himself to the limit. He didn’t care anymore. None of it matters anymore. “Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!” he remembers screaming at the top of his lungs. Jimin doesn’t remember when he had started to rant out loud, or when he’d decided that he’d destroy it all. Let the cannon fire. Let it all be washed away. Let them both rest. He thinks he’s peaceful when he finally feels the agonizing pain of blood leaving his system.
Yoongi, I’m coming.