NieR Automata: Life's Meaning

Water was poured over his head, rushing through his tangled-up locks and the rest of his body. Hands came next, undoing the worst of the tangles as they messaged his scalp, doing away with any dirt that hid within it.

"You know you don't have to do this, right?" Apex said, looking at Devola from the corner of his eyes as he laid back in the bubbly water of the cabin's bathtub. The water, gathered from the river that ran through the forest, was lukewarm at best but beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Hmmm, I think thank you are the words you're looking for." Devola said with something of an impish grin as she continued gliding her fingers through his long hair, occasionally stopping to gently scratch at certain parts of his scalp. She was fresh out of a bath herself, her hair noticeably messier than usual.

By now his hair was more or less squeaky clean and she was trying to get a reaction out of him, something she succeeded at. The hairs on his neck stood tall, faint tingles of pleasure traveling up his back.

"Thank you." Apex said with a chuckle. Devola was gaining, or rather, showing something of an attitude he hadn't seen much of when they first met. While she, like Popola, clearly held in him in high regard, it felt like she was adjusting to him, dropping unnecessary formalities bit by bit.

It was nice.

Devola hummed, making him raise his arms so she could move on to them. She dutifully helped lather him. It'd be a bold-faced lie to say there hadn't been some temptation to start a replay of certain activities when her dainty fingers disappeared beneath the water and danced around his semi-erection but he resisted the urge, allowing her to finish up coating him in soap.

"I'll go help Popola with the food." Devola said, rising up from the stool she'd brought in and leaving the bathroom.

Finishing up by using a nearby bucket to duck more water over his head, it wasn't until he was dried off -bits of damp hair the sole exception- that he followed in her lead. Drawn down the back hall of the cabin by the wafting aroma of whatever was being cooked, a hushed conversation stopped him just shy of entering the main room.

"….he…human-" He strained his ears and a familiar burn raced throughout them, the words becoming clear as if he were standing right next to them. "You shouldn't be so crass around him. Its disrespectful in human culture to be so casual around one's superiors."

"Pfft, come on, we've both know that information isn't relevant. Most of our data is just guesswork and its not like he lived in that era either." Devola retorted. "We've thrown ourselves at him and he hasn't given us a single order or tried to take advantage of that. He treats us better than anyone in the Resistance ever has."

"Which is exactly my point. We should live up to that kindness by showing him as much respect as we can. The last thing we want to do is cause him any discomfort or worse, disrespect him." Popola stressed.

"Right, because getting him into our bed was the most respectful way to offer help with his needs, as you put it."

"Devola!" Popola whispered hotly, clearly still embarrassment by the plan she hatched. "I thought it was the best way to go about things. You've seen him; he's likely to reject any help we offer if he believes it makes us uncomfortable."

"Exactly and putting up an act will make me uncomfortable which we both agree that he doesn't want. If you think about it, being myself in the most respectful thing I can do." Devola said.

"Now you're twisting my logic." Popola said with a sigh.

'I believe eavesdropping is considered rude, master.' Navi said, interrupting his sudden bout of concentration, his hearing returned to normal, the rest of their conversation lost on him.

 'I am well aware.' He thought back drily. But she was right; he should avoid using his abilities to force his way into the twins' private conversations. They could sort out their disagreements. Still, it was nice to know they were adjusting to his presence in their own unique ways.

Both were loyal to their shared purpose of serving him, a human, but while Popola was trying to take everything that came with it seriously, Devola played loose with certain parts of that. It was becoming clear that she had more of a willful personality than Popola even if she followed her sister's lead. As least that confirmed they weren't doing anything they didn't want to.

Taking one extra loud step forward, he joined the two in the main room.

"I'll be done soon." Popola said with a smile before refocusing on the pot she was over. Devola, who'd been beside her, shook her head and headed over to him, nudging her head towards the front door.

"How about another music lesson while we wait on her?" Devola asked. "You were starting to get the hang of it last time you played. I'm sure you'll do better today." If the grating tunes he strummed up were signs of him getting the hang of it, Apex didn't want to know what horrid sounds he was capable of at his worse. He followed her out, Popola calling for them to be careful as the cabin door shut.

They took up their usual spots on the porch steps and he tried playing the tunes she taught from memory. When he was off or made a mistake, she offered direction, but this time allowed him to play without any demonstrations.

"So, do you have any plans?" Devola asked when he stopped to tune the guitar's strings.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the rest of the humans are on the moon where its safe. Don't you want to find some way to join them?"

He actually hadn't given that much thought at all. It was relieving to know there were other humans out there and while finding them had been one of his primary goals, new information had a way of changing things.

"Not really." He admitted. Call him crazy but he liked the way things were now. Sure the machines, which he hadn't even seen the worst of according to some of the stories the twins recounted to him, were a constant danger but he did as he pleased. Throwing away that freedom to find some way into outer space sounded ridiculous. Dangerous even. With the way his body worked, adapting to whatever was thrown at him down here on earth wasn't out of the question. But taking the risk of venturing into that vast sea of darkness beyond the atmosphere?

Maybe he could survive in a vacuum. Maybe he couldn't. He was in no rush to find out.

The whole government forcing him to undergo experimentation scenario was still fresh in his mind too. Humanity was humanity no matter what space rock they decided to settle on. He wouldn't put it past them to see his abilities and decide tearing him open to reproduce them was the key to defeating the machines and retaking the planet.

'It would be the logical course of action.' Navi said. 'Given the circumstances, humans as a collective may pose a greater threat to you than any single machine. I do believe this situation classifies as a form of irony, master.'

'You're not wrong there.' He agreed with a slight chuckle. 'Not going to tell me to do it for the greater good?'

'Negative, master. My one and only directive is to assist you in your endeavors in order to improve your chances of survival. Prioritizing the needs of others will not aid in that. To that end, continued avoidance of humans appears to be a viable course of action.' Navi said.

"Hoping to get rid of me?" He joked, flicking his attention away from the mental conversation and back to Devola.

"With the way you're playing that guitar…"

"Very funny." He deadpanned.

Her slight smile fell somewhat as she looked forward. "If don't intend on finding a way to join the other humans, what are you planning to do?"

"Well, I was thinking we could try to stabilize the generator. After that? Who knows." He said. Popola's muffled call came from within the cabin and he set aside the guitar, rising up. Devola didn't follow. "You coming?"

"I think I'll stay out here for a bit. Keep a look out for any machines." She said.

Something was on her mind but he'd leave it be. A human suddenly popping up would gave the twins more than a little to think about.

-Route A, No. 012-

Apex raised his left arm, black tendrils crawling above his skin and forming a thick intricate web around it. The tendrils writhing slowed as they began to solidify and change color, developing into hardened bone. He shifted some of his focus to his shoulder blade, more tendrils forming on the end of the bone and expanding its web over that area. With his left arm entirely covered, from fingers to shoulder, he tried to expand his focus once more, this time towards his neck.

This wasn't the first time he'd tried to create a full suit of armor from bone.

While not as plentiful as the most basic of their kind, there were quite a few of machines in the forest equipped with firearms, both traditional and those weird balls of red energy. He went out of his way to avoid all of them. Dodging swings from things like axes or full on headbutts was easy enough now that he had a decent grasp on his capabilities. Dodging full-blown gunfire, while manageable wasn't exactly a walk in the park especially if he was being attacked from multiple angles which was more often than not the case.

Before, he could always flee if he came face to face with them. Before, he was on his own.

Apex's focus paid off, a thick sturdy layer on bone armor covering the majority of his left side and his neck. As with his shield, thin black vein-like patterns were spread across it, so he'd be able to feel any damage in battle.

Digging his foot into the ground, he propelled himself across the cabin's backyard. Normally he would've reached his intended destination in a single wide bound, but he had no choice but to shift into a sprint, the newly formed armor weighing him down.

When not boosting his strength he could form an entire body of armor. An all but useless feat when he had to drag himself around at a snail's pace. As he was now, attention split between maintaining his strength as well as his armor, he could only manage a partial covering but even then he had to accept a loss in speed.

Individually both abilities were no different than taking a step forward for him now that he had enough practice. Using both at the same time was like trying to move one foot towards the left and the other towards the right; it was possible and required more attention then going in one single direction but he could only go so far before he was stretched thin.

Reaching the other side of the backyard, Apex slid to a stop, examining himself once more.

It was far from ideal, but it was something. If push came to shove he should be able to shield Popola and Devola from gunfire if they couldn't avoid a fight. Whether that be machines or other androids. The two were confident that the Resistance wouldn't send anyone after them but he wasn't going to take that chance.

'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.' Navi said. 'It was a popular saying among humans. Such an approach should serve to improve your livelihood.'

'Happy to have your seal of approval.' Apex thought back, allowing the bone to devolve into black tendrils and receded into his body, feeling a slight fullness akin to eating as it happened. Another little thing he picked up through Navi's observation is that when he created things like shields and that armor, actual extensions to his body rather than say, morphing his hand into claws or a blade, some of the energy used to create them would be returned to him.

His stomach grumbled.

Of course, that partial return wasn't enough to satisfy the boundless pit he called a stomach.

"Here." He caught an apple tossed his way.

Popola and Devola were behind the fence of the garden, observing his little exercise with their glowing eyes, the latter leaning against it. He had hoped their scanners might be able to help him better understand his abilities but with their functions geared towards caring for and maintaining other androids, the things he could do went beyond anything they understood or could explain. Still, they kept their scanners on from start to finish.

"Thanks." He said to Devola, taking a bite out of the juicy fruit as he joined them at the fence.

"I understand now why you consume so many more calories than what's expected for a human." Popola said. "To be able to perform such drastic changes in such a short period of time while maintaining near perfect equilibrium would require no small amount of energy. I never heard of any biological creature doing such a thing."

"Wow. Creature, sis? Here I thought I was the disrespectful one." Devola said, shooting him a slight smirk.

And he went right along with it. "I can't blame you for seeing me that way. My abilities are unnatural." He said with a shake of his head, throwing a slight frown for good measure.

"Wha- No! I didn't mean-" Popola fumbled her words getting a snicker from Devola. He couldn't help a slight laugh himself which caused Popola to finally catch on and look between the two of them. She did not share in there amusement. "I'll go prepare a meal for you." She said, walking off with slight huff.

"Come on, take a joke Popola." Devola called out after her.

"Too far?" Apex questioned.

"She'll get over it. She can't stay mad at anyone." Devola waved off his concern. As she looked back at him that impish grin he was slowly getting used to made a return. "And if not, I'm sure if you pay her a little extra attention, that wouldn't hurt things." He didn't need to be a genius to get the meaning there.

"I'll keep that mind." He said, vaulting over the fence and the both of them headed to the cabin's backdoor.

Devola really was a trip.