The black-box responses of the YoRHa squadron troops who had ceased communication were not far from the city ruins. But due to the collapsed buildings and deformed terrain that obstructed their path, they were forced to take an alternate route through the underground waterway. Even though the distance traveled was short, the expedition took time because of the detour.
“This is…? Is it an amusement park?” asked 9S. They had been underground until the very last moment, and had not realized what kind of place their destination was until they were standing in the middle of it. 9S was bewildered by the peculiarly shaped structures that appeared as soon as they surfaced, and understandably so. The structures were a far cry from the city ruins or the desert complex. On top of that they kept hearing strange sounds.
“Explosions?” asked 2B. It didn’t seem like they were all that powerful, but 2B still set her hand on her sword.
“No, not explosions, but probably… Umm,” 9S rested his fingers on his temples. He seemed to be trying to remember something. “Fireworks. See, over there,” said 9S, who pointed toward the sky. Sparks of light spread across the sky. They were similar to the shape of a flower.
“It apparently makes use of chemical reactions. They combust many types of metals in the sky to create a variety of colors. A staple of many celebrations in human culture. That’s what I think it said.”
But there were no humans on Earth at the moment. So who was celebrating? Of course, the answer was obvious.
The amusement park was described as a place where adults brought their children to play, or possibly a place an adult could rediscover their inner child and play. Either way, it was supposed to be built for humans. It was not a novelty for Machines to invade the human facilities and use them to their liking. The factory ruins where they had annihilated the Goliath-class Machines had been used by the Machines as a manufacturing facility.
It was understandable to repurpose a factory for increasing military force, but why the Machines needed an amusement park was beyond comprehension. The Machines in the area were either dancing or repeating words like “1t’s s0 fun! 1t’s s0 fun!” and “Let’s be happy t0gether!”
Mimicking humans by shooting fireworks, throwing confetti, playing musical instruments, and dancing—it was absurd. There was nothing to gain. Furthermore, the Machines partaking in the festivities did not try to attack.
Thinking back, the Machines they saw at the desert complex had been mimicking humans too. They too had nothing to gain from their meaningless activities, and at first were not hostile. It was unlikely that these two populations had a connection, but was it okay to pass off multiple irregular sightings as coincidence?
“What should we do? Should we eliminate them?” 9S asked hesitantly. 2B shook her head and quickened her gait.
“They pose no threat, so fighting would be a waste of time,” said 2B. Besides, the black-box responses were still being broadcast this whole time, from within this eerie amusement park, inside that odd-shaped building. Her instincts told her that she needed to hurry.
“It’s about the source of the responses, but I think the location was originally a theater. I’ve come across a similar image before,” said 9S.
“A theater?”
“It was a facility used to showcase musical or dramatic performances,” said 9S.
After answering with an “I see,” 2B went to look for a way into the theater. Within the amusement park, only the theater had its access restricted. The golden metal gates that were most likely the entrance were tightly closed, and there was a canal bordering the rest of its property.
In the end, they had to resort to a reckless plan of jumping into the building from above. 9S had informed her that this style of building was vulnerable due to its use of stained glass in its domed ceiling. But he had clearly not thought about exploiting that vulnerability.
“We’re going to break through the window?” 9S asked, disappointed, after 2B explained the details of their infiltration plan.
“There’s no other way,” said 2B.
“Well, I mean…that’s true,” said 9B.
During their missions, it was heavily advised to keep from damaging any human artifacts. This was because one day, everything on Earth was to be returned to its rightful human owners.
That was why ruins that were damaged by erosion or collapse from old age underwent maintenance and restoration to preserve their ancient forms. But this repair effort was falling behind due to the shortage of civil engineering units. A few sectors of the city ruins, including this amusement park, were an example of some of the areas where this effort had lagged.
“Saving our comrades is the first priority. We can think through the little things later,” 2B said.
Until now, there had been no precedent of Machines capturing and restraining androids alive. It was usually a matter of kill or be killed. That should be the extent of what the simple-minded Machines could accomplish. What was going on?
2B jumped down toward the building to try and quell her impatience. She smashed the stained glass, successfully entered the building, and sprinted toward the source of the black-box responses.
Running down the tiered audience seats, she made her way to a circular opening. While there were no obstructions, and there was plenty of space to maneuver, the dim conditions made her visuals suboptimal. Her footsteps echoed along the high ceiling.
A large cloth that was draped ahead suddenly split open towards the sides. A faint memory of some terms she had seen in a video drifted through her mind. That large cloth was a “curtain,” and that elevated platform was a “stage.” A place made for actors and singers to perform.
Beams of light illuminated the stage. The figure that cheerfully rose into the stage was, somewhat expectedly and somewhat unexpectedly, a Machine that could only be defined as eccentric looking.
“There’s no records of any Machine that looks like that,” said 9S.
The Machine’s skirt, which had a flared bottom hem, was obviously made to mimic a woman’s dress. But with arms that looked like branches and exposed screws on the head, the Machine was intensely grotesque.
The Machine opened its mouth. A piercing, unwelcome sound, like pieces of rusted metal grinding together, rang out. With its arms raised and chest flared, it looked like it was pretending to sing.
It was an earsplitting noise. Fighting the urge to cover her ears, 2B drew her military sword and leapt. The Machine’s processing system was probably contained in its chest, high above the ground. On top of that, the flared skirt made it difficult to cut through the body.
Even so, as 2B kept attacking, the harsh song faltered slightly. It seemed like she was inflicting some damage.
Right as she felt she had the upper hand, her vision flickered.
“W-what… What is this?” 2B asked.
Her body swayed. It was impossible to stand straight.
“It’s trying to hack us!” 9S’s voice was broken and distant. 2B heard something else mixed with his voice. She kept slicing toward the source of that sound. It was most likely something from the enemy. Something that sham of an opera singer was emitting…
The opera singer was not the only enemy. Before she knew it she was receiving blows from every direction. She realized that the “enemies” were not Machines as she flung her sword around to counter.
“Bodies of dead androids?!” exclaimed 2B.
The bodies, which were tied to stakes, were emitting similar auditory attacks.
“They’re not!” yelled 9S, “I’m detecting their black-box signals!”
Which meant that they had been captured, kept alive, and were being used as weapons.
“I’ll end this quickly,” said 2B.
She was going to demolish that opera singer and free her comrades.
Kill or be killed. That’s all she thought they were capable of. She didn’t think Machines would be able to do anything more sophisticated. That’s something she didn’t want to imagine.
She heard a sound again.
“I am g0nna be beaut1ful!”
What had previously been mixed with 9S’s voice became clearer.
“G0nna be beaut1ful!”
She didn’t want to think about what the Machine meant, so she started swinging aimlessly.
“G0nna be m0re beaut1ful!”
A Machine? Why is a Machine saying that? These degenerates only kill and destroy!
“Counter-hacking completed!” said 9S. The enemies’ attacks halted at the same time 9S spoke. 2B called Pod.
“Affirmative,” Pod replied.
Pod shifted into its Long-Distance Fire mode.
“Go!” commanded 2B.
Pod’s laser pierced the metal chest of the Machine, which was stuck in a leaning position. 2B thought she heard a scream. Neither a song nor a word. This time, it was truly just a sound with no meaning.