[CLOSED] Missing

[twoaffirmations]

» WHO? 9S & A2/Rhea'li/Hank
» WHEN? late 6/18
» WHERE? Chapel
» WHAT? 9S contacts A2, Rhea'li, and Hank separately about a missing 2B
» WARNINGS? None

[A2's device buzzes to life, a transmission forcing itself through without her permission. There's no sender's name or image, and a distorted, but distinctly male voice is the only indication of his identity.]

Rendezvous requested in the Chapel. Please respond.

[The transmission ends.]

Comments

[twoaffirmations]

[He should have just contacted Hank in the first place. Having access to the Station's cameras made him the most likely to have witness 2B's disappearance. It was simple fact.

...But getting a definitive answer also meant having to accept it. As long as 9S didn't have proof, he could have hope.

He taps at the terminal screen, trying not to look as hollow as he feels.]

Hank. I need access to the station's cameras.

[lostsymmetry]

[The terminal comes to life with a flicker of blue and a chipper monotone.]

<Welcome to Domesticon warranty and recycling depot #127: Keeping your Domesticon products efficient, so you don't have to be.>

[...things he hates? That. But the request forestalls any unrelated griping.]

Can do. What are we looking for?

[twoaffirmations]

[9S just ignores the cookie-cutter intro. He's too tired to care.]

I need all footage dated between the 15th and now. Can you get me that?

[lostsymmetry]

...it'll take a moment to compile. But sure.

[I. Interesting subject change. Especially regarding several days of footage across dozens of sources. Embodied AI tend to be a little more fixed in their perspectives, and he can't imagine that would make for quick review. But Nines did say he was designed for intel.

It's either that, or he doesn't want anyone else watching. Hank works silently for a moment. Then:]

Are you after anything particular?

[twoaffirmations]

[9S considers a moment if he actually wants to tell Hank what he's looking for. There's a good chance that even if he requested to search alone, Hank would be able to go back later and find out the truth.]

Another YoRHa android. She has white hair and a pair of goggles, wears the standard jumpsuit. Last known residence was Deck 4, Room 30.

[lostsymmetry]

[Goggles. Not the one he'd spoken to, then. And after the last few search requests he's gotten, it's not hard for Hank to guess why Nines is looking. His response is quick and to the point.]

Got it. <Processing...>

[The room number makes a visual ID easy enough. And the date range is narrow enough. Less than a minute later:]

<Match: found.>

Ah...

[It's not good news.]

[twoaffirmations]

[Curt and uncomfortably stoic, 9S continues.]

Show me.

[lostsymmetry]

[The screen blanks out, and refreshes on a view just outside room 4-30. It shows a white-haired YoRHa unit closing the door and turning to walk off. 9S will have no trouble recognizing her.

And having seen it before, what comes next won't be strange either: a shimmering in the air. 2B's entire form dissolves away to nothing, leaving behind an empty hall.]

[twoaffirmations]

[9S feels his locomotive functions weaken. He takes a step back from the terminal, in stumbling disbelief, and drops down to his knees.

2B...

2B was really gone. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

But where did she go? Home? Somewhere else? He feels his black box ache terribly, his lips pulled back in a grimace.]

[lostsymmetry]

[Not just another YoRHa, then. Not that it seemed likely. For an AI who so proudly declares his function serving humans, Nines never seemed that different from them. Least of all in how he cared.

The hallway view fades out, returning to a familiar flicker of blue. Hank can't reach out, but his voice softens, quiet and serious.]

I'm sorry.

[twoaffirmations]

No...it's fine.

[9S' words ring hollow as he climbs back to his feet.]

If she's gone, maybe I'll be next?

[It doesn't matter where. He just wants to be wherever she is.]

[lostsymmetry]

[It's not. For her or for her friends. Hank doesn't interrupt, but he does watch as Nines drags himself upright.]

Is that what you want?

[twoaffirmations]

To go wherever 2B went?

[9S quietly confirms the question, and his answer.]

Yeah.

[lostsymmetry]

[2B. That's a name.]

What's she like?

[twoaffirmations]

She was amazing. She didn't talk much, and sometimes she was pretty cold, but she always listened to me?

[9S wears a sad smile.] She's the first partner I got to spend any time with, you know? We Scanners usually work alone.

[lostsymmetry]

That's important.

[Being listened to. Or just not being alone. However Nines takes it, the words are utterly sincere.]

Did you choose to work together?

[twoaffirmations]

No. Assignments are given out by Command.

It all depends on who they need and where they need them, but... It wasn't really chance, either.

[lostsymmetry]

What do you mean?

[twoaffirmations]

[9S pauses, and then shakes his head.]

Nevermind, it's-- It doesn't matter now.

[lostsymmetry]

It does to you.

[Or he wouldn't have mentioned it. And Hank is curious. But if Nines doesn't want to talk, he won't press more.]

She sounds like a good friend.

[twoaffirmations]

Friends?

[That's the first time he's heard anyone relate that term to 2B, let alone himself. What does it even mean to be a friend?]

Oh, no. We're not...