NieR Automata: Life's Meaning

"This one?"

"Left."

Beside the stage of the coliseum, Apex sat on a large stone, one of the machines twitching in place as he looked through the inner workings of its main body. Loosening up several screws, he removed a rusted part, replacing it with one in far better condition.

"And how's that?" Apex asked.

The twitchy machine stepped away and jumped about on its stubby legs, its previous shaking almost completely unnoticeable. "Better! Human the best!" It took off to join the rest of the crowd cheering on the match, another taking its place and directing Apex's attention to repairs it was in desperate need of.

He'd started showing up at the machines arena back to back and -despite their insistence- he opted out of the fighting, instead observing things from the crowd. Just as Navi said, these things were dangerous and he was far from being able to stand on equal grounds with them. One mistake up in that arena and he could end up with injuries that'd kill a normal person.

One of the machines, fresh from a battle, had come to him asking for something to be reattached. After that, he'd become their one stop shop for repairs. Their lack of opposable thumbs made it near impossible for most of them to conduct any sort of maintenance while his made it a breeze so long as they gave him specific directions. 

The inner workings of these things baffled him to say the least; there were so many moving parts that not even Navi could provide of breakdown of it all.

He fixed up machines and watched their battles right up until they began to disperse back into the woods. He did the same, being sure none were following him, before leaping up into the trees.

While he found them interesting, he still didn't trust the machines, sure to never lead them back to his camp or reveal his abilities.

For now, he'd observe and collect information.

-Route A, No. 004-

Apex leaped from branch to branch, no particular direction in mind. When he wasn't observing that unique group of machines he was steadily exploring outwards from the cave acting as his home, hoping to find something of interest as Navi recorded the data. Would he have a complete map of this massive forest before he encountered another human?

That would be demoralizing.

He stopped his leaps, markings below catching his eye. Not the prints of a singular animal or the trampled but intact vegetation left by herds. There was a pattern to the dark marks and they followed a path, the grass beneath flatten and ripped

'Those appear to be tire marks, master. Relatively recent ones.' Navi revealed.

In a flash Apex resumed his leaps and followed the tracks, the branches splintering beneath his feet. Some even snapped.

Tire tracks didn't guarantee anything but he'd yet to see the machines operating vehicles. There was a real chance he'd find humans at the end of the path.

His stomach began to growl in protest and Navi began her usual warnings, but he didn't slow or stop. Several minutes must've passed, a trail of snapped branches and loosen leaves left in his wake. He'd actually worked himself to a ravenous hunger by the time he stopped.

A house, or rather a small cabin, was nestled between the giant trees. Made of wood, the place wasn't anything fancy, but it was well taken care of. The front porch was decorated with potted flowers and the curtained windows almost stainless.

Just beside the modest one-story building was a large truck. Its rusted and dirtied metal stood in stark contrast to the small cabin, its green color beginning to wear away. Though given the surrounding area, he imagined a vehicle would be far more difficult to care for than a home.

'That vehicle is reminiscent of those used for military purposes.' Navi shared as he began to jump around the surrounding trees rather than head straight down. A quick look around revealed a fenced garden of flowers at the cabin's back as well as a backdoor to the building. Someone or something definitely called this place home; the lack of overgrowth was a dead giveaway.

Snapping off a nearby branch, Apex chucked it at the hood of the parked truck. It bounced off, breaking apart.

Moments later the front door of the cabin opened. Not one but two humans emerged.

A pair of redheads, one's hair wavy while the other's was completely straight, both adorned with golden-yellow flowers. Their clothing, the lightly padded red pants and plain white top adorned with a belt of pouches, veered on the side of practicality though intentionally mirrored one another, the split of their top on opposite sides and exposing a portion of their smooth stomach.

They weren't defenseless either.

One held a dark handgun while the other possessed a shortsword.

"Do you see anything?" The one with wavy hair questioned as they both stepped off the porch, her handgun held up as she peaked around the right side of the cabin.

"Nothing." The other answered as she checked out the left side. She was quick to notice the snapped branch and looked upwards, Apex already hidden far back amongst the wooden greenery. "No machines." She added with a sigh.

Should he reveal himself? Tell them where he came from? Ask them about the state of the world? Now that he was face to face with humans, he wasn't so sure how good of an idea laying all the proverbial cards on the table was.

'I advise caution as well, master. Humanity rarely shows kindness to those they deem different than themselves and your unique genetics is likely to garner discrimination if that pattern has held.' Navi said. 'A period of observation is suggested. Passing off as a normal human of this era is more likely to succeed with updated information about their behaviors.'

For once he was in complete agreement with Navi's cautious approach. If there was some government in place, showing off any of his abilities came with the risk of being reported and captured. And that would be a one-way ticket to experimentation central. What were the chances someone as capable as him was allowed to roam free?

Apex got comfortable as the redheads returned to their cabin. Observation was the way to go.

-Route A, No. 004-

The redheads, Devola and Popola according to the few conversations he's managed to overhear, were normal.

Maybe that didn't mean much coming from him considering Apex's only interaction with humans amounted to what was a glorified form of stalking, but he hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary the past few days.

During what he considered to be the early hours of the day they loaded cargo -crates of metal parts and metal drums- into that truck and drove off somewhere. He tried to follow but wherever they headed was far. So far that running wasn't a viable option and tree hopping would've left him facing a serious case of starvation long before they showed any signs of slowing. Sneaking on would've worked but he decided it'd be best not to push his luck; for all he knew they were driving directly to a government facility or the truck was fitted with fancy sensors. There were flying machines, so nothing was off the table in terms of technology.

They returned at what would've been the late hours of the night, unloading mechanical scrap from the back of their truck. From there, the rest of their time was spent attending to their flowers or inside the cabin.

Navi suggested he look inside while they were gone but he opted against it. He was trying to fit in not invade their privacy.

All in all, the women were more less what he expected of humans given the situation; some sort of lone scavengers that appeared to be hiding out from the machines. Considering a vast majority of these machines were intent on killing humans it was safe to say whoever created them would've deployed them in cities. The women were probably using that truck to scavenge supplies from a distant city then return to the forest to lay low.

That's his current hypothesis anyways.

They had already returned from their latest trip, Devola, the redhead with the messier hair, sat on the porch steps, strumming on an old guitar, the tunes kept faint as to not draw unwanted attention.

He'd done enough watching, and now that one of them was on their own, this was the perfect time to approach. The question was how he went about it.

There was the truth route but that was too risky. He'd rather not freak out what might be the only other humans for who knows how far out.

He could flat out lie and claim something like amnesia. The acting and lies needed to keep that up wasn't to his taste.

Best he just go with an omitted version of things. He was another human living out in these woods like them and happened across their tire tracks. Short simple and true. He'd need to be careful about how he asked and framed certain things so as to not oust himself as strange; straight up asking about the origins of the machines and why the sun didn't set could make them suspicious if it was common knowledge.

Apex took a breath and steadied his hands. Who would've thought meeting others would be as nerve racking as fights against machines gunning for his life. He stepped out from behind the tree he'd been using as cover, intentional snapping a branch beneath his feet as he approached the front of the cabin.

Devola dropped her guitar and snatched up the handgun beside her, taking aim as she shot to a stand.

He raised his hands placatingly. "I-"

"Oh." She released a sigh and lowered the gun before he could get a word out. "Do you need something repaired?"

"No, not exactly." Apex answered, surprised by how quickly her hostility disappeared. She didn't exactly look comfortable, but she wasn't holding him at gunpoint despite him being a stranger. Did they run some kind of repair service? He hadn't seen anyone other than them visit the cabin these past few days. "I just noticed the tire marks and followed them."

"I see." She gave him a once-over, her bluish-green eyes examining him with renewed interest. "You're not from the resistance camp, are you?"

Resistance camp? Was that where they were going in that truck?

"No. I actually live in this forest." He slowly lowered his hands and stopped a good distance away from her. "I wasn't expecting to find anyone else out here."

"Oh, I'm sorry. We weren't aware anyone lived out here." Surprising him once more, she bowed her head to him. "We can find somewhere to move to. We just-"

"What? Theres no need for that." Apex cut her off, completely floored by the direction the conversation was taking. What kind of person decided to pick up their things and move from what was their home just because some stranger popped by? Especially in a massive spiraling forest like this?

She picked up, face showing off the same confusion he felt. "Then, you don't have a problem with us being here?"

"No, of course not." He assured her. "Its not like anyone can say they own this entire forest." Devola slowly nodded but didn't say much else, apparently at a loss about how to carry on the conversation. "I'm Apex." He said while extending his hand.

She came down from the porch and shook it with her smaller one. "It's nice to meet you." She said politely.

And awkward silence set in. He wasn't exactly in a position to be leading conversation and she wasn't reacting at all how he expected to his sudden presence. It was nice to know that other humans weren't some huge phenomena to throw a big deal over but it wouldn't be easy to get info like this.

Making contact would have to be enough for today.

"Well, I just wanted to say hello. I'll get out of your hair now." He said, extracting himself from the dead conversation and heading back into the forest.

"Please, be careful of the machines." She called out. Odd vibe of the conversation aside, at least she didn't appear to harbor any serious ill will towards him.

That counted for something.

-Route A, No. 004-

In the darkness of the cave he spent his nights in, Apex twisted and turned. A rare occurrence for him.

Usually sleep came to him relatively easily despite the sorry state of the place. The furs, taken from the animals he'd been killing, acted as a bed. Not a comfortable one but a bed nonetheless. The temperature typically wasn't a problem; whether it be cold or hot, after the first few minutes attempting to fall asleep his body would acclimate leaving him relatively cool throughout his rest. As for noise, the distant rustling of leaves outside actually helped him get to sleep quicker.

According to Navi, it usually took him five to ten minutes to fall asleep. It must've been half an hour by now.

'Thirty-three minutes to be exact, master.' Navi said.

'Thank you kindly.' He thought drily.

A resistance camp meant other humans. People mounting an assault against the machines? The most likely scenario given the situation.

And Devola. She hadn't been much of a conversationist and struck him as a bit odd but she was the first human he'd spoken him. And should she prove willing, there would be more conversations to come. It'd be best that he avoided any big groups of his fellow man, i.e. this resistance group, until he sharpened the degree of control he had over his abilities should worse come to worse. Until then he'd try to make friends with her while fishing for info.

Apex shifted again, grimacing.

He was oddly aware of himself. His breaths. The beat of his heart. The energy -like some sort of built up tension- fueling his restlessness. Almost as if he was prepared for a fight.

It was annoying to say the least.

'Master, according to my scans, you're heightened senses can be attributed to a state of arousal.' Apex snorted, as he twisted again. Was that supposed to be some kind of joke or-

He stopped moving, only now noticing the bulge hidden beneath his tattered pants. Blood had definitely decided to flow down south.

'According to my limited data on the subject, Devola meets all the typical standards humans used to determine a female's beauty.' Navi said. He couldn't argue with that. It had hardly been relevant at the time but Apex had thought the twins beautiful during his observation, something that had only been reinforced when he got up close with Devola. Her hair had been a bit of a mess but that detail managed to compliment her soft facial features rather than take away from them. And her clothing, while simple and generally practical for scavengers didn't hide the curves of her form. 'Furthermore, data indicates that masturbation is the solution to your current problem.'

Apex shook his head. Yeah, as if he was going to do that. Sure Navi was an AI and built to be part of him and logically speaking that meant he shouldn't feel bothered by her presence but logic didn't aways win out against emotion. In this set of circumstances, he wasn't about to do something like that knowing she was sitting in his head watching.

He was sure he could just sleep it off.

'While I recommend masturbation, if you find that solution unsatisfactory, I am able to intercept signals to your brain and suppress your senses to a degree.' Navi revealed. 'With your permission I believe it will be of help to you. Of course, I will terminate the process and alert you should anything dangerous approach.'

Apex gave her a mental go ahead and just as she claimed things began to settle. The intensity of his breathing and heartbeat lessening.

And soon, a familiar weight fell over his eyes.