NieR Automata: Life's Meaning

Apex, scrubbed a slightly mishappened bar of soap along his arms, relaxing in a large stone basin beside the river he once bathed in.

The latter had been cut out from some cave and smoothed out while he was getting a proper hold on his abilities, giving him a decent place to clean up. Bathing in the river may have done the job but dealing with rushing water and all it held was not a fun experience. And the soap had been laughable easy to create thanks in no small part to Navi. All he had to do was gather some animal fat: there were plenty of sizable predators that volunteered by attacking him, lye; apparently burning wood was enough to get that, and clean water; that was, of course, generously provided by the river next to him. All he did was follow her directions and voilà, soap whenever he pleased.

Soon the clear water he was soaking in was completely soapy, a faint floral scent filling the air.

Today was the day. After fighting so many machines and taking his practice to the extreme, sometimes ending up so injured he had to skip out on meeting the twins to give his body time to heal, he was finally ready to see what this resistance camp was about. Rather than coming off as weird to Devola and Popola he had decided to gather his information elsewhere; now that he got to know them, he didn't want to risk scaring the two off. Inefficient according to Navi but efficiency wasn't his goal.

While the machines at that fight club were friendly, they were obsessed with fighting and most primitive in their speech. Knowing the twins were around helped him feel less isolated.

Besides, now that he could reliably use his abilities and was intimately familiar with how they worked, escaping from this resistance camp wasn't off the table if things went south.

He finished up bathing, pouring out the basin, drying off with some furs he brought along, and slipping back into his tattered pants. Before he could take off a distant crash echoed across the river, birds flying off from that part of the forest.

Several more followed.

'Be sure to exercise caution, master.' Navi warned right before he made an enhanced leap across the river and into the trees. Nice to know she was learning to expect his reckless curiosity as she put it.

He bounded from branch to branch, maintaining such a degree of control of his enhanced strength that few branches snapped or even cracked as he left them. Who knows, with enough practice he might just be able to travel like this without making any noise.

The sounds stopped. All that guided his path were trails of smoke he spotted between trees and their greenery.

By the time he reached the site of the smoke only remnants remained. Destroyed machines were strewn throughout the forest floor, thick smoking rising from their sparking remains. Big and small, it didn't matter. They'd all been destroyed by something or someone stronger.

Apex waited for a few minutes before dropping down to take a closer look.

Slashes marked both the trees and many of the machines. They weren't the wild slashes of a beast's claws but a sort of uniform injury.

'It is likely this is the work of a sword or a similar type of blade. Even accounting for the increased strength the twins, Popola and Devola, have displayed the chances that an unmodified human is capable of outputting the force required to tear apart machines is astronomically low.' Navi shared.

Had another machine been responsible? Other than that arena he'd never seen them attack each other so it was hard to buy into that.

'Mark this place.' Apex ordered after further examination brought them no closer to an answer. He turned back, hoping back to where he came from.

He could piece together that mystery later. There was a resistance camp waiting on him.

-Route A, No. 007-

"So, this resistance camp. Where is it?" Apex asked, a lidded metal drum of water on his left shoulder and another held in to his side by his right arm. Popola and Devola walked ahead of him, crates in hand as they led the way to the truck.

"It's hidden in the ruins of an old city." Popola explained.

"Isn't that dangerous? Machines must be around every corner in a place like that."

"That is true but they're careful and keep to the buildings rather than the streets."

More or less what he expected. There were already so many machines among the wildlife out here; Apex couldn't imagine anyone surviving in a city of all places by running gung-ho through the streets against the mechanical armies that likely infested them. Honestly, no matter what he saw in the resistance camp, he might just keep roughing out in the wilds. He didn't want to give up the aimless freedom he had out here, lonely or not.

The twins made for plenty company anyways.

Popola and Devola set down their boxes into the truck's bed and held the cover aside.

"Do you two mind if I tag along?" He asked as he set down the barrels. "I'm a little curious about what this resistance camp looks like." After making sure the barrels were secure, he turned to the twins and raised a brow. They were staring at each other. Rather intently he might add. "If that's a problem, you-"

"No, no, its fine." Popola said, breaking away from that little staring contest of theirs. "We were just surprised. We can take you." She agreed like he hoped and yet that smile of hers didn't seem quite as genuine as what he had grown accustomed to. And Devola's gaze had fallen to the ground rather than looking directly at him. "Do you need to bring anything with you or are you ready to head out now?"

"I'm ready." Apex said, following to the front of the truck. Popola took the driving seat and Devola the passenger seat, leaving him to sit directly between them, not that he was complaining. They both had similar scents, floral in nature, that caressed his nose though there was another smell. Almost like dust? Either way, he might've actually enjoyed sitting between the two twins if it weren't for how off things felt. Popola was focused on nothing but the path ahead as she got the truck started and Devola was unusually quiet.

Why did he get the feeling the two didn't want him joining them on their journey to this resistance camp?

-Route A, No. 007-

Grass and dirt gave way to bumpy roads, cracked open with roots spreading out from the openings. The massive trees were replaced by buildings, short and tall, but all in similar states of disrepair. The once abundant wildlife lessened in number but were very much still present.

Apex took the change in scenery in stride. While there had been some small part of him hoping to find society fully intact and humans beating back the machines, he'd accepted that this would be what awaited him in most places. Remnants of a time long passed, humans no longer at the top of the food chain, struggling to survive in whatever dark corner they could find.

Baring the odd ones who talked, he'd seen enough of the machines and their capabilities to see reality for what it was.

The fact that he had even come across the twins so early on was a miracle in of itself.

Popola slowed down as they went deeper into the ruins, steering them close to certain buildings and away from others, following an established route. There were machines off in the distance that wandered about, ignoring grazing animals. If they were seen the things would give chase, alerting whatever machines waited out of sight in the process. All that trouble was expertly avoided by Popola who led them off the roads through dirt until they reached a collection of short crumbling buildings where she came to a stop, putting the truck in park.

The twins opened their respective doors, Apex following Devola out and stretching. They'd been in their for nearly an hour and after spending so much of his time getting around with his own two legs, he could confidently say he preferred the latter. Being stuck in the truck might've spared him the starvation he'd no doubt be facing if made the journey on foot but it was far too confining for his liking.

"This is it?" Apex questioned.

"Yes." Devola answered, her voice subdued.

Hidden was right. Nothing in particular made the buildings stand out, the front a mess of crumbling concrete and the tight alleyways dark despite the always present sun. No one would think anyone was back there.

Following the twins lead, he helped them unload the boxes and barrels just past the entrance of the alleyway and down one of the turns where light still shined but they were hidden from direct view. After laying out some fabric from the back of the truck, they set up the containers, one half filled with fresh mechanical parts and the others empty. All of them were labeled by names such as filters or other parts for electrical equipment.

"I'll move the truck." Popola said once they were done setting up, leaving him with Devola.

The perfect chance to get an idea of what was going on.

"You two haven been acting off since I asked to tag along." Apex pointed out, going with the blunt approach. "Did you not want me to come or-"

"Its not that." Devola quickly interrupted. "We just…" She stopped and looked away from him. "…we just liked having you around."

Before he could question what that meant, the shift and sliding of what sounded like metal came from a deeper part of the alleys. Footsteps followed. Not the heavy steps of those machines but the softer steps of things far lighter.

Devola straightened up but kept her gaze to the ground as a group of people turned the corner. All of them were dressed in similar military like clothing, assault rifles slung around their torso along with vests of weaponry. They were headed by a dark haired woman with green eyes and a long dark brown cloak draped over the entire top half of her body.

The group stopped in front of them, those around the woman moving to grab the drums of water. Some looked Apex's way but they didn't pay him much mind, already headed back where they came with the water without saying a word.

"Thank you for this." The woman said with a nod to Devola.

"Of course." Devola said without looking up.

The cloaked woman offered him a nod as well before returning to where she came like the rest if them. A bit of a somber first greeting but Apex didn't think much of it. They were facing those machines in the heart of a city. The fighting involved in something like that didn't come without risk and loss so a serious edge was to be expected.

At least, he wouldn't have considered it strange if it weren't for the way some of them looked at Devola. They weren't outright glares, but no one other than that woman leading the group, showed any amount of gratitude, all but ignoring the redhead's existence. Popola joined them as that shifting metal filled the alley again. Devola said nothing of what happened, the sisters sitting down between the boxes.

Was that normal?

"You two aren't going in the camp?" He asked.

"We are not trusted so we aren't allowed in the camp." Popola said, her tone even and eyes steady. Unnaturally so. "It is better that way for everyone."

"They don't like strangers or something?"

"You don't have to worry about that. The resistance will welcome you. We…are a special case." She said. Clearly the vagueness was purposeful. Popola might be willing to talk but like Devola, she didn't want to elaborate on anything that was going on with them.

What could the two have possibly done for people to treat them like that? Did it have to do with why they were such pushovers? Had they wronged these people? He found it difficult to imagine these two doing anything that would hurt another.

Apex held back a sigh and joined them on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Popola asked.

"Sticking with you two."

"But didn't you want to see the resistance camp?" Devola jumped in, looking directly at him for the first time since their ride here started.

"Eh, I mainly wanted to know what it was like in a city so I've seen enough." Apex said, waving them off. "And did you catch the bad attitude those soldiers had? I'd rather be with you guys than deal with that."

Popola and Devola looked at each other, their eyes equally wide. "Are you sure? The resistance members…they won't take kindly to you being so friendly with us." Popola said, almost insistent that he leave despite her hesitation to say so.

"Fuck 'em."

"…Fuck 'em?" Devola slowly repeated.

"Yep, fuck 'em." Apex said again, throwing a sight grin their way.

To some extent he was blowing hot air. He wanted to check out the camp in its entirety and maybe dig up some answers to all the questions. Oh, and see if anyone was willing to trade something for a shirt of course. But heading in a den of people that treated the twins that been nothing but kind to him like that wouldn't have sat well with him.

Oh well. If they were hiding out in old crumbled buildings what were the chances these resistance guys would have any of the answers he wanted in the first place.

'Despite how quickly you adapt to new situations, you are rather emotional, master.' Navi said, adding in her two cents.

'You're just now realizing that?' Apex mentally questioned.

'My central intelligence is directly linked to yours. Perhaps that has slowed down by processing speed.'

'…did you just call me an idiot?'

'I have not been programmed with the ability to insult you, master.'

He held back a chuckle as the twins allowed small, if a bit hesitant, smiles to grace their faces. Navi sounded the same as ever, but she was definitely developing something of a snarky edge when it came to him making illogical decisions.

Here's to hoping this wasn't the stupidest thing he done and he hadn't thrown his lot in with a pair of infamous criminals.

There's no way these two were serial killers or something…right?