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“I think that’s the last of them,” came 9S’s strained declaration, as 2B slashed a machine cleanly in half. She tsked loudly when she was splashed with oil—it was a pain to wash out.
“Yeah,” 2B replied, sighing and returning her blades behind her. “You’d think, without a king, that these machines would just scatter... instead of continuing to crawl out of the woodwork every damn time we come down here.” She kicked a machine’s head out of her way, watching it roll on the cobblestone and bump into a pillar. 9S snorted.
“I think that’s the longest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He was clearly amused, and 2B turned, only to shoot him a withering look. He shrugged at her obvious disdain, smirking lightly. “But hey, free training, am I right?”
“... A couple of worthless machine life-forms that are just as terrible as their predecessors doesn’t do anything to help us in the slightest.”
“That may be true, but it’s still good to brandish a sword here and there, so our blades don’t dull.” 2B couldn’t argue with that logic, although it was her blade doing almost all of the slashing... She picked at the remains of the bots to see if there was anything worth salvaging, if the merchant at the camp had been accurate in his information enlisting their help to gather a certain part.
She walked a ways away, leaving 9S to his own devices. He had pulled out his notebook again, and was eagerly studying some kind of machine part. At first when he did things like this, she would make her disapproval known, but stopped soon after because it was futile and... actually helpful sometimes.
All of a sudden, a loud yowl caught their attention; 2B whipped around immediately, battle-ready, while 9S just jumped and glanced around.
“What the hell was that!?” The weird yell was followed by sounds of metal clanking—most likely a fight, and 2B turned to the left, where the sound was coming from; beyond the castle walls.
“Analysis,” Pod 153 began, as another bout of clanging and distressed animalistic noises echoed around the stones of the forest, “The residents of the Forest Kingdom are currently engaging with a native forest animal.”
“Can you tell what—” But before 2B could finish, 9S took off in the direction of the castle. “9S!” He ran right to the front gates—not the fallen pillar—and she was just about to open her mouth to yell at him, but then cut short.
The forest machines were currently chasing a small animal from inside their walls out onto the ledge—a dead end.
“Begone, pest! How dare you set foot inside the castle walls!” One machine said, swinging its sword and almost hitting the animal. It had quite fast reflexes, ducking out of the way just in time.
“Pest!” The other machine kept chanting, waving its arms wildly and this time, successfully whacking the animal. It flew and skidded near the end of the half-bridge, the river roaring loudly almost 2 klicks below.
9S stopped at the very edge of the cliff, watching the animal with barely disguised interest—and concern.
“Pod! Rescue that… thing!” 9S pointed to the small animal, which made a pitiful sound in the back of its throat.
“... Pod 153 to Unit 9S. There is no benefit from saving such a—”
“Just do it! For, uh—research!” As he insistently pointed, one of the machine lifeforms kicked the cat even further, and it clawed desperately at the platform to keep itself from falling off the edge. “Pod!”
2B stopped beside him, watching the scene unfold. She wasn’t particularly fired up, like 9S, but she did feel bad for such a weak animal. Besides, it was native to the forest, apparently—the machines really had no right to kick it out.
Pod 153 hovered momentarily, calculating 9S’s order, and finally made a decision.
“Extracting small forest animal from harm,” it declared, and floated unhurriedly towards the animal. The machines, meanwhile, were running harshly towards it; each stomp shook the bridge, causing the animal’s grip to change. 9S grumbled, dropping into a stance and gritting his teeth.
“Hacking in,” he ground out, and a moment later a calm focus washed over his features. 2B watched one of the robots stop—but the other was still tearing towards the animal. The pod was almost there, but—
With a flick of her wrist, 2B’s sword materialized in her hand; she took aim, balancing her weight carefully and taking a deep, steadying breath. Then, in one swift motion, she threw the sword like a javelin, immense power making the blade a deadly bullet.
The machine lifeform was almost upon the animal, spear raising high—when 2B’s sword ran it clean through, knocking the scrap of metal back and allowing the small, furry animal to rest. 9S let out a breath in the corner of her eye, and they watched as the machine exploded.
“...Well,” 9S began, chuckling lightly and rubbing the back of his head, “that was kinda intense, huh?” 2B glanced at him and sighed.
“The major drawback of hacking is definitely the inability to take on multiple enemies at once.” 9S winced slightly, and 2B felt the corners of her lip twitch upward.
“Yeah, thanks for—” The second machine suddenly exploded, and the animal yowled again, having been hit by a piece of metal. It had been hauling itself up, and as a result lost its grip on the stone. 9S lurched forward, only able to watch as the creature fell. “Pod!” Pod 153 fell quickly, in pursuit of the animal; but soon, the two of them disappeared into the mist.
2B said nothing as she regarded 9S closely, as he peered dangerously over the edge, searching.
“...Damnit,” he muttered, gripping the edge of the stone and then leaning back.
“Pod. See if you can tell us about 153’s status,” 2B inquired, and Pod 042 floated into view.
“Pod 153’s location and operation status is unknown. It is likely that the mist is interfering with the system’s communications,” it stated, and 2B sighed.
“Here’s to hoping I didn’t lose my pod,” 9S grunted. The two androids continued to watch the swirling mist and the current below, unable to find any sign of either the woodland creature or 153.
After a couple minutes passed, 2B opened her mouth to suggest they go back; if the pod hasn’t come back by now, after all, it was probably gone to the water. But just then, 9S leaned even farther forward; narrowing his eyes. He immediately broke into a grin, pointing.
“There! Pod 153 has the animal, too!” 2B squinted in the general direction of his finger, and there, albeit tiny but steadily growing larger, was a dot slightly darker than the mist around. It took a while, but soon Pod 153 was beside 9S, the animal gripped in its forceps. It was struggling, but weakly.
“Creature… retrieved,” it chirped, and 9S gave it a thumbs up.
“Uh… so Pod, what is this animal?” 9S asked, eyeing the animal more carefully. It was a dark orange, with fur wet and matted from the water, four legs with claws, and a small, triangular face with triangular ears. And, it had a tail. 2B crossed her arms as 9S whipped out his journal.
“Limited information. This appears to be an animal talked about in ancient times,” the Pod started, “and was a great symbol in the times of humans.” 9S stopped scribbling to look back up at the animal, which had closed its eyes and was now shivering. “...it does not appear to be dangerous, but archives claim otherwise.”
“Yeah? So what is it?”
“The distinct, patterned coloration of the fur suggests that this is a tiger,” the Pod stated, “or ‘King of the Forest.’” 2B frowned.
“Somehow, I don’t think that this little animal is a ‘King of the Forest.’”
“I don’t know, 2B, look at these claws—” he took the tiger’s forepaws in between his thumb and forefinger and revealed them. The animal was conscious enough to resist, but 9S held on firmly. “Not to mention these ferocious teeth.” He pinched the tiger’s muzzle, and 2B cocked an eyebrow at him.
“You sure you should be touching it like that?” 9S shrugged, but let go. The tiger swiped at him haphazardly.
“Eh, it can’t be worse than a moose,” he remarked, “and plus, this thing’s so worn out it’s probably too tired to try something.”
“Analysis;” Pod 042 interrupted, “the tiger has lost a considerable amount of body heat and energy in this ordeal. If the creature continues in this state, it will die.”
“Oh,” 9S looked to the pod. “So, uh, how do we…?”
“It’s cold,” 2B said, “so maybe we should make a fire?”
“This animal is flammable,” Pod 153 stated, and 9S whipped around to look at it.
“Well, I hope we weren’t going to toss it into the flames!” A beat of silence followed, and 9S groaned. “Seriously?”
“...It was just a suggestion,” 2B muttered, and 9S sighed. He then gathered the animal into his arms, tugging it gently from his pod’s grip. “9S… ?”
“Well, our bodies create something akin to body heat—and if it’s not enough I can just make myself run hotter, so…” He tucked the tired tiger into his jacket, petting it lightly on the head. It looked at him for a brief span of time, big, green pupils staring right at him—and then, it ducked even further into his clothes. “Huh. Do you think it likes that?”
“It probably likes your body heat more than it likes you,” 2B said, and 9S grimaced at her.
“That’s cold…”
“So is that weak animal.”
“2B…”
“Anyway.” She turned around in a flourish, heading back the way they came. “Let’s go return that part we gathered.”
{--+--}
The animal woke a while later, when 9S and 2B had returned to the Resistance Camp; it poked both its ears out of 9S’s jacket, now dry, and 9S made a surprised noise. His book dropped onto his lap, open to a page about tigers. 2B looked warily around, not really expecting to see any company in their small space, but it was a habit to be careful. And what would the other androids think of them keeping an animal hidden in their shared room? Not that 9S had been particularly secretive about the lump on his chest, but...
“What, were you not expecting it to do that?” The animal began to wiggle, its head following its ears, and then it opened its eyes, first peering at 2B, and then turning to 9S. They stared at one another for a brief while.
“Hey, uh… this doesn’t really look like a depiction of a tiger. I’m pretty sure those are supposed to be bigger… and have larger teeth…” 2B shrugged.
“You’re the one that brought it home.”
“It was going to die!” 2B opened her mouth to retort, but the animal meowed loudly.
“Don’t tigers… roar?” 9S shrugged. It meowed again, squeezing itself from 9S’s chest and crawling onto his shoulders. He sputtered a little bit, as the cat settled there, laying across him as he slumped over. 2B smirked.
“This thing is… furry,” he grumbled, flicked his tongue out and glancing down at his chest. “And we wear black.”
“Looks like you finally have a child,” 2B remarked, and 9S narrowed his eyes at her.
“2B… did you just… make a joke?” She didn’t answer, but the cat mewed from behind his ear and licked his lobe. He shuddered, angling away from it, but it followed. “2B! 2B, help! This thing is—it’s getting a taste for my flesh!”
“...We’re androids,” she stated, going back to cleaning her swords, and 9S squeaked as the cat lapped at him again.
“I’m going to die because this tiger got a good taste of me and now wants to eat me—and all you can say is that I’m an android!? You’re right, but also, damn… that’s col—ah!” The animal headbutted him and rubbed against where it was licking. 2B couldn’t help but snicker at the exchange—especially because now, 9S had a bunch of fur plastered to the side of his neck.
“Analysis: Tiger is showing appreciation to unit 9S for helping it escape the machine lifeforms,” Pod 042 chirped.
“Weird way of—” he tried to wipe the fur off his neck, unsuccessfully, “showing affection.”
2B snorted, turning around as the tiger settled down again.
{--+--}
“Oh,” Anemone exclaimed when they had left the room, “that’s a cat.” After a time of watching the animal laze and hop around, the two decided to risk showing someone else—if not for the inability to hide it for long, definitely for the fact that neither one of them knew what to do with it.mThe animal was still clinging to 9S, content to lay across his shoulders.
“A… cat?” 9S looked over at the pods, who just floated without a word.
“Yes. They show up here every so often,” she explained, moving up and petting it. It sniffed at her hand first, and then she scratched it behind the ears. It began to rumble.
“Woah, why’s it doing that?”
“What, purring?”
“Is that what that vibration is?” Anemone laughed at 9S’s lack of knowledge, but nodded anyway.
“They do that when they’re content.”
“Huh,” 9S said, as the cat poked its head under his chin and slid into his arms.
“It seems that one has chosen you,” she said, smiling at him.
“What? Chosen?”
“In other words,” 2B cut in, “you’re now tasked with looking after this cat.” 9S frowned.
“But I’m…”
“Good luck, 9S.” Anemone smiled, someone from the camp waving her away to talk about other matters.
“See?” 2B murmured, walking up to the cat and eyeing it, “you’re now a mother.”
{--+--}
The cat accompanied them on their missions and errands; whenever they tried to leave it at the camp it always ended up following them anyway. So it became a normal thing, and they didn’t use the transportation devices in favor of exploring and letting the cat roam. Even 2B had taken a liking to it, as it had jumped onto her shoulder to get away from the machine lifeforms. And afterwards, had given her a brief lick as thanks.
“So.. what’d you decide to name it?” 2B asked one day, as they lounged under the shade of a tree in the hot sun.
“Huh?” 9S roused himself slightly, the cat resting on his lap, his hand resting on its flank. “Ah, that… I haven’t thought about it.” 2B chuckled lightly, a quiet puff of air.
“Well, you know, mothers always name the child,” she said, and 9S frowned slightly, tilting his head in thought.
“Doesn’t that make you the father?” He remarked offhandedly, and 2B almost sliced his fingers off.
{--+--}
They were back in the forest again, cleaving the machine lifeforms in two, all the while the cat hissing at the machines from the branches of a tree. 9S and 2B were kept busy by the sheer number of enemies, but still kept an eye on the animal.
It yowled as an axe just narrowly missed 9S’s nose; and the commander of the lifeforms turned towards the noise. It then began to lumber towards the cat.
“Hey!” 9S aimed to hack into the commander, but as he got in his stance, he was jostled from behind as 2B pushed him out of the way of a spear.
“Stay sharp!” She yelled, and he gritted his teeth, trying to make his way steadily towards the cat. The commander was already at the base of the tree, cocking back his spear, ready to throw.
“Tiger!” He yelled, and blocked a hit from a machine. He could only watch—just as the machine was about to release the spear, the cat jumped from its perch on the branch and landed right on the mask—the commander made a noise like a grunt, and 9S turned to his pod. “Pod!” Pod 153 didn’t waste any time; it fired a beam right into the machine’s core, just as the cat jumped—and the commander exploded.
9S extended his arms, and caught the cat easily as it landed. He frowned at it sternly, even as relief flooded him, holding up a finger and waving it around.
“This is why you keep quiet,” he scolded, even though he knew the cat wouldn’t understand. 2B walked up beside him.
“That’s a good name,” she said, wiping oil off her blade. He turned to her, as the cat climbed back around his shoulders.
“What is?”
“Tiger,” she answered, “the King of the Forest.”
{--+--}
“Tiger! Hey!” 9S’s voice echoed off the empty building’s walls, the sun beginning to set behind him, casting long shadows across the floor. He stopped yelling as soon as he picked up the pattering of paws, and then the scrape of claws; and suddenly, an orange blob was hurtling towards his face.
He caught it easily, swinging her around as the momentum dictated. The cat was carrying a small rodent in her mouth, and he beamed down at the accomplishment.
“Nice dinner,” he remarked, and her eyes seemed to glitter. “Now, let’s get back, Tiger. 2B’s waiting for us.”