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s0 looks at the computer's interface. reads the same files over and over. yorha's betrayal of its models. her entire battalion, an experiment to refine newer models. stares with glazed-over eyes until unfamiliar footfalls come into earshot. panic sets into her circuits.
afraid of what may come around the corner, she hops out of the tree's branches and hits the ground running. her legs almost give way a few steps in, yet the adrenaline-- that is, her circuits and technomagic convincing her she has adrenal glands-- picks her up and lifts her off. only once she's catching her breath behind a stone pillar does she realize how bad of an idea it was to run instead of hide. scanners aren't meant for such extensive movement and she's been long overdue for touch-ups.
"6e, did you hear that?" a male's voice. yorha units? how are they in the machine lifeforms' kingdom? s0 holds her unsteady breath.
"if it isn't actively attacking us, i have no interest in it." another-- s0 sinks to the ground, leaning against the cold stone behind her. keeping her mouth covered, the defect tries to listen harder. shivers underneath a discarded scanner's coat.
"it could be an innocent like pascal. what if they need help? you like pascal, don't you?" a beat of silence before the second voice speaks tersely. "our alliance with pascal is only until he no longer benefits us, 5i."
a pair of footsteps grow closer. only one of them is approaching? the wind blows her red hair, whips it in front of her face and round the bend of the pillar like a crimson flag screaming i'm here! execute me! "that looks like hair," the first voice states, and s0's blood runs cold. she can't move. it's been so long since she's hacked into anything, yet she might need to. to save herself. yorha is dangerous.
as if possessed by a logic virus-- she couldn't imagine, not after what happened with her sister, a0-- her legs move by themselves. fear overtakes her short form, driving her to overexert her deteriorating body as she attempts to outrun the threat. her old boots can only take her so far
and s0 slips on a wet rock
and falls into the arms of a dark-haired yorha unit.
"are you alright?" the first voice asks, s0 now knowing it belongs to the darker-haired unit. the lighter-haired unit, one with faun colored hair and long legs, strides up to the two of them and his body language seems to scream murderous intent. the dark-haired yorha gingerly sets her down, as if she isn't a walking target. she waits for the bunker to contact the duo. waits for the command to execute this deserter. s0, in the meantime, nods. "i'm fine," she mumbles and wears a clumsy smile.
"you don't look like a resistance unit. your clothes are yorha." the sharpness of the brunette yorha cuts into s0's false cuteness like a blade. she can't bring herself to answer him.
"this unit is currently wanted by yorha. annihilation recommended." states the pod accompanying the brunette. s0's adrenaline peaks. nausea rushes through her body. she can't stay and be executed. doesn't she deserve it? for killing her devola? but she's a coward, isn't she? always relied on devola for everything. even when repurposed. the drive to survive overtakes her. the commander's voice drones about her desertion and hacking into multiple yorha units. of her being a dangerous unit. yet it's just background noise to the pounding in her eardrums, the thrumming of her parts working in overdrive to sustain her for just a little longer. standing on shaky legs, s0 summons what spells she can remember from her days as popola and erects a wall of pure magic between her and the yorha units.
she flees. as she always does. on wobbling legs, breath uneven, sobs of fear bubbling up like tar from her centuries-old lungs until the cries of the yorha units are out of range. and then her legs carry her more. and more. s0 runs until her legs are in pain and still she continues to run.
after all-- no one stops. it's too late to stop.