Image: SQUARE ENIX／人類会議
Mb | Sep 1, 2024 | Reading Time: 3 Min.
In Episode 20, A2 fights alongside a group of ML soldiers (Machine Lifeforms) against an unrelenting wave of enemies to buy Pascal time to arrive with heavy weapons and turn the tide. Amid the chaos, A2 reflects on her unexpected alliance with the MLs, whom she once swore to destroy. Now, they are her comrades, her new family.
The brief moment of victory is shattered when another ML unit launches a surprise aerial attack, destroying the village Pascal and his pacifist group had built. Despite the possibility that the attack was meant for them, A2 fights not out of duty but because the village and its inhabitants have grown dear to her. While Pascal is still in despair, A2 discovers some surviving ML children. Quickly, Pascal takes them aboard his flight unit, and A2 covers their escape, determined to exact revenge.
As A2 grapples with the dual feelings of triumph and defeat, the focus shifts to 9S, who approaches a second subunit in the desert. His Pod advises him to rest, but 9S, driven by vengeance, pushes forward. Meanwhile, A2's Pod detects a Goliath approaching the resistance camp, prompting her to confront the massive threat alone.
While 9S hacks into the subunit and uncovers extensive archives about androids and YoRHa, A2 activates her Berserk Mode, enabling her to fend off a powerful Goliath assault. However, exhaustion gradually weakens her. Pascal arrives in a commandeered Goliath and saves her with a decisive strike. In that moment, A2 realizes that her compassion for the MLs is reciprocated—they will protect her just as she has protected them.
In contrast, 9S experiences no such revelation. He rejects the realization that androids and MLs are fundamentally the same and reaches the subunit's core, ready to destroy it. However, he is hacked and confronted by an intrusive avatar of 2B and memories that slowly dissolve, leaving him in terror. In his despair, he repeatedly attacks the pixelated figure of 2B, eventually destroying the subunit core and decrypting the passcode: "YOUR FLUCH." Despite the core's attempts to manipulate him through his connection with 2B, 9S remains relentless, now just one subunit away from accessing the main tower.
The brief moment of victory is shattered when another ML unit launches a surprise aerial attack, destroying the village Pascal and his pacifist group had built. Despite the possibility that the attack was meant for them, A2 fights not out of duty but because the village and its inhabitants have grown dear to her. While Pascal is still in despair, A2 discovers some surviving ML children. Quickly, Pascal takes them aboard his flight unit, and A2 covers their escape, determined to exact revenge.
As A2 grapples with the dual feelings of triumph and defeat, the focus shifts to 9S, who approaches a second subunit in the desert. His Pod advises him to rest, but 9S, driven by vengeance, pushes forward. Meanwhile, A2's Pod detects a Goliath approaching the resistance camp, prompting her to confront the massive threat alone.
While 9S hacks into the subunit and uncovers extensive archives about androids and YoRHa, A2 activates her Berserk Mode, enabling her to fend off a powerful Goliath assault. However, exhaustion gradually weakens her. Pascal arrives in a commandeered Goliath and saves her with a decisive strike. In that moment, A2 realizes that her compassion for the MLs is reciprocated—they will protect her just as she has protected them.
In contrast, 9S experiences no such revelation. He rejects the realization that androids and MLs are fundamentally the same and reaches the subunit's core, ready to destroy it. However, he is hacked and confronted by an intrusive avatar of 2B and memories that slowly dissolve, leaving him in terror. In his despair, he repeatedly attacks the pixelated figure of 2B, eventually destroying the subunit core and decrypting the passcode: "YOUR FLUCH." Despite the core's attempts to manipulate him through his connection with 2B, 9S remains relentless, now just one subunit away from accessing the main tower.
This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical support and editorially reviewed before publication.
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