Nier: Revengeance - ch 2.4 & ch 2.5

Big Human On Earth (4)

After the emotional moment, the trio eventually breaks apart from their embrace. The twins show slightly rosy cheeks they try to hide.

Jack chuckles on seeing their embarrassed state.

'I knew I did the right thing.' Jack knew about the tragedy of the Gestalts and Replicants, and how the plan was doomed from the start. Shaking his head he dismisses the memory. 'I can introspect later.'

Still concerned for the twins, he asks, "Do you feel better now?"

The pair nod. "Yes sir. We still feel guilty over what we did, but now we feel like we can move on from it. It's all thanks to you, Jack."

Listening to their gratitude feels like music to Jack's ears. Not done with the surprises yet, he calls the Doctor. 'Why don't you say hello?'

For a moment the room falls quiet, and then a hologram slowly appears at Jack's side. The image of an older man appears. He is well past his twilight years but his back is still straight in a strong posture. His head is bald at the top but his sides and back hair are pulled together with a long white braid. His expression is grave and severe, but it warms when he sees the pair of androids.

Smirking at their surprised gasps, Jack introduces his companion.

"Devola, Popola, this is Doctor Albert Willians, back from the dead."

The twins don't know how to respond to the sight of such an ancient presence. For a moment, the Doctor appears disappointed at the two. "I guess you don't remember me after all this time?" 

Tears start falling down Devola's and Popola's faces, as there is no doubt or hesitation in their voices. "We still remember, father."

Jack watches the emotional reunion smugly, glad to introduce the Doctor to the twins right away. Dr. Albert argued to keep his existence a secret initially, and while Jack had agreed he also believed the twins deserved to know the truth.

The pair bombarded the Dr. with questions. "Did you copy the Project Gestalt? How did you survive for so long? We have so many questions for you!"

The Human on Earth clears his throat to catch the twins' attention. "I'm sorry, but we will keep the Q&A session short. Some of the answers to your questions are classified, but soon they will be revealed. Please, have patience for now."

The Dr. stares at Devola and Popola. "You can trust this man. He might have his... eccentricities, but he is the perfect candidate to save the world and humanity."

The twins look at each other. "We understand, father."

Dr. Albert claps his hand, "Good! Now, let me fix your programming, and update some of your functionalities." He waves his hand a red panel materializes showing the twins' code. The good doctor glances at Jack with annoyance, "From now on, you will have to deal with him and I have a promise to keep."

Jack does his best to avoid looking too smug, and only partially succeeds. After he sacrificed so much for humanity, Jack will enjoy himself whenever the opportunity arises. A message pings on Jack's communication suit, “Don't test your luck.”

Jack wisely remains silent and works to bring his expression back to normal. Once Dr. Albert finishes his work, he pats the red-headed twins and disappears, however, his ghostly presence remains with Jack.

Outside of view from his daughters, the electronic ghost puffs his chest with pride and annoyance.

"I can't wait until I can upgrade their hardware. It even degraded from their previous level, though not nearly as much as I feared. No doubt thanks to my superior designs."

Rolling his eyes, Jack silently responds. "Yes doctor, you are the greatest roboticist in the world and have no rivals, but remember to keep your egotism in check. We both know what happens when you let your genius get to your head."

The Dr. sighs at the reminder, "Yes, you're right, Jack. No matter how much I hate it."

In the past, Jack would have taunted the Dr., but their relationship grew closer over the years.

After the Dr. "left," the twins started to fuss over Jack wanting to perform a full medical check on Jack before anything else.

Jack's lips curled upwards, and he was tempted to accept their offer immediately, but he resisted the temptation since the Dr. electronic ghost was still present. 

Holding his hands up, he takes a step back. "How about you make a list of the medical exams we need to go through? I can fabricate you the equipment you need for the exams."

With a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows, he gives them a proposal, "Once things have settled down, you can examine me all the way you want."

The pair quickly catch the implication and hug him from the sides, with Devola whispering in Jack's right ear. "Oh, we once expected this to happen in the past, but most humans weren't interested in us. Isn't that right, sister?"

Popola traces her finger across the contours of Jack's neck, making him shiver at the touch. "That's right sister. We didn't think we would have this 'function' used." She comes closer, also whispering in Jack's left ear, "Don't worry, I studied about this and became an expert, for the sake of restoring humanity."

Not willing to be outdone, Jack grabs their asses and squeezes, feeling the soft synthetic muscle underneath. With one final slap on their butts, he sends the pair away. "We will finish this later, girls."

Giggling, they leave the office with a light skip on their steps and a satisfied expression on their faces.

...

The office is once again occupied solely by Jack, with a stack of tablets containing the reports requested.

Sighing, Jack sits back in the chair and starts studying the available data provided by the Resistance. With a glance, he already knows it will be an uphill battle. The first thing he noticed was the messy chain of command. According to the reports, the Army of Humanity leadership works on an arbitrary seniority system, with the soldiers organizing themselves on the squad level. Beyond that, the information is muddy.

Thinking for a moment, Jack guesses that the Aliens and the Machines somehow could find their officers in the past and crippled the leadership, but it's not a good solution.

"They took the path of least resistance, taking away most of the military ranks, instead of improving their cybersecurity. An understandable, but foolish decision made during desperate times."

The first issue the Army of Humanity faces is a lack of professional military organization.

Jack smirks, already knowing the answer.

"I will just copy what worked." The general starts to draft a copy of the former US military ranks and organization, seeing the value in their expertise. In the past, Jack worked under several military organizations in all positions possible, both as a grunt and as an officer. Among the various entities, the US military was consistently one of the best professional militaries he ever served.

Pausing for a moment, Jack considers what he just acknowledged, before dismissing the depressing thoughts. "Well, like the Roman Empire, there is value in having the best logistic system and enough manpower to throw at the problem to win your wars. First, we need to fix our house."

The next immediate topic to address is the equipment and training of the soldiers. 

After finishing reading the reports, Jack was impressed by it.

"Using the Pods as flying guns was a good idea, but it lacks something." Remembering the game lore, the Gunner types were YorHa androids that specialized in ranged weapons, and after their data was recovered by the  Bunker, the Pods were issued to the new Battle types as their companions.

"They should have kept the G-models and assigned them more Pods. I wonder what is the bottleneck that prevented them from keeping the other models, or was it just your typical 'military grade means cheapest' philosophy?"

It reminds Jack of other units he fought together in the past. He decided to insist on each android who takes the field to carry a full equipment kit with melee weapons, sidearms, and restorative items.

A holographic list with various items appears in front of Jack. The list has a wide selection of weapons and equipment blueprints that Jack accumulated in the past.

The last human pauses to admire a few items on the list, allowing nostalgia to wash him over.

Searching the list for what he needs, Jack drafts the new kits for the Army, while looking over the other branches of the military. The Army of Humanity has the most developed equipment, followed by YorHa with similar roles as the Marines.

"They need to either re-design the Flight Units or scrap them. Why would they have the damn things with their chest open is anybody's guess."

Eventually, the first drafts are completed and require a second opinion from his NCO.

Jack opens the current map of the Resistance base, the surrounding area, and a new set of blueprints, overlaying them over each other.

"Now, let's see which base designs will work."

Big Human On Earth (5)

Anemone perks up as she receives a new message from Jack.

Her systems heat up in response to this attention, and she immediately makes a copy of the message to keep in her archives. Once the commemorative text is safe, she opens the message.

"To: NCO Anemone; From: General of the Army Jack S. Wily; Please ask around the base for volunteers in the camp who are available and willing to form a new Engineering Corp for the Army. The desirable profile is for individuals interested in architecture, engineering, building fortifications, and logistic systems. Thank you."

'My first job as his assistant!' The usually taciturn android struggles between dancing in joy at the opportunity to be useful, and the missed chance to learn from Jack. 'No, don't screw this up. Just do your job.'

The android quickly makes a mental list of the available units that fit the criteria, only to realize who she might introduce to the general.

"Well, I hope she makes a good first impression on him."

A few minutes later, Anemone has six androids in front of Jack's office ready to enter. The general calls out to the group. "Enter."

With a glance at the group to reassure herself, Anemone leads the group inside. "Anemone reporting, sir. I brought your volunteers."

Jack looks at the group and hums at the selection. "Good work, Anemone. Now, I might know some of you, but why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Anemone grimaces when the first volunteer steps up. "Hello, my name is Jackass! I can't believe you're real! Can I touch you?"

'What is this madwoman doing?' Grabbing the troublemaker by the ear before a disaster occurs, Anemone brings the android back to her position in the line. "Don't be a nuisance, Jackass!"

The troublemaking android hops back into the line while protesting. "Ouch, ouch, stop that Anemone! I will be good, I swear!"

With a long-suffering sigh, Anemone releases the android. With a stern look, the general assistant warns her, "Don't make me regret recommending you!"

Jackass nods at her fellow Resistance member, then turns towards General Jack. "Hey, you have 'Jack' as part of your name, right? Does that mean our names are related? Is it true that ‘Jackass’ is a term used as a sign of affection among humans?”

Gritting her teeth at Jackass' usual antics, the Resistance leader turns towards the general to apologize for her fellow android's action, but instead of reproach, she sees amusement in Jack's eyes.

Meeting Jackass eyes, the general answers. "The name 'Jack' was once common among the English-speaking population, to the point that it served as a prefix to classify something or someone as a generic or archetypical being, like 'jack-of-all-trades' means someone with a wide range of skills."

'Oh no,' Anemone internally cries at the thought of the human encouraging Jackass.

The eccentric android asks her superior with stars in her eyes. "Then what does Jackass mean? Is it true it's a term of affection?"

Jack doesn't answer immediately and turns to Anemone for support.

She shakes her head helplessly. "I also have no idea what Jackass means, sir. She found the word in a fragment of an old archeological archive."

Slowly Jack turns to Jackass. "It can be used as a term of affection between two close individuals, though..."

The general slowly walks around Jackass to take in her form. "I guess in your case, it also means that... you have a nice ass."

Anemone swears she heard a facepalm, but looking around she sees the other androids diligently staying at parade rest until she looks away and the female androids compare their butts, while the male androids nod in solidarity.

Jack clears his throat to return the attention to him. "I'm sorry for the derail, but let's get back to business. Can I have your names, first?"

Anemone watches the group introduce themselves. The two male androids have similar muscular builds, though one has short brown hair and the other is bald. There are also two female androids aside from jackass, both of them are short and wear tactical goggles.

One of the male androids steps up. "Sir, it's an honor to meet with you! My name is Waka!"

The second male android follows suit. "Sir, my name is Meh, I am also honored to meet with you, sir!"

Jack looks between the two androids, his lips tugging slightly upwards. "I welcome you two aboard, Waka and Meh. I hope you two do well in the Engineering Corp."

The next one to step up is another resistance android, one of the female models with blond hair. "Sir, my name is Kin. It's a pleasure to meet with you."

The second resistance android with silver hair introduces herself. "Sir, my name is Gin. It's a pleasure to meet with you."

Finally, a YorHa steps up. She's taller than usual for a female model, possessing an intimidating aura, however, when the unit greets the general she has a timid demeanor. "H-hello, Ja-sir! I am 7E, did you remember me?"

The general nods. "I did, 7E. Are you interested in the Engineer Corps?"

She slowly nods. "I... want to do something else than my assigned role, sir. Is that wrong?"

Anemone can feel Jack's gaze going over each assembled android, the intensity of his sight sending shivers down Anemone's spine. She briefly wonders if she should get herself checked up for maintenance, or remain quiet over those strange feelings she developed lately.

Finally, after a moment of contemplation, Jack answers, "That's fine. If you want to experiment with other things, I won't stop you. Just make sure not to force yourself to please others."

7E smiles at the general encouraging words, "Thank you, sir. I promise that I will give my best shot!"

With a smile, Jack leads the androids outside of his office. "Wonderful. Now follow me, Engineer Corps, and I will teach you the necessary spells and skills to perform your new job. Once we finish our training, you will be the backbone of the Army of Humanity!"

Watching the group leave, Anemone nods at the job well done.

Until the words of Jack registers, and with growing horror, she realizes the future backbone of the Army might depend on Jackass.

Digging through her memories for a solution, she finds an appropriate, if unfortunate, quote for the situation.

"That's future me's problem."

…

Jack brings the group right outside the base, still within view of the other androids.

7E calmly follows her savior while ignoring the envious stares from the other YorHa units. As an Executioner model, her primary role is to assassinate high-priority targets of the Machine Army, and her secondary role is to hunt down and terminate YorHa androids that became "problematic."

She never liked her role as YorHa's hidden blade against their fellow androids, so when General Jack asked for volunteers for a new role, she took the opportunity without hesitation.

Jack turns to the androids, his intense gaze staring at them. "Now, which one of you knows how to use magic? Or knows how magic works in general?"

Meh raises his hand. "Use Maso, and with it, we perform magic?"

Jack nods. "That's a correct summary, though it lacks in details. Truthfully, there are various ways to use magic, but Maso is the simplest available at the moment."

The general continues, "While there are various systems of magic, their purpose is to produce a desired phenomenon. Normally, it takes years to decades of diligent study to master magic, but with the data packet I sent you all we can skip that step. You still need to practice it, though."

7E watches as Jack waves his hand and a trail of energy follows. A second later, she receives a packet with instructions for the spells. 'What odd name for a system. What does "Minecraft" mean?'

"Did everyone receive the packet?" Once everyone confirms Jack continues. "Now, watch closely."

Jack coats his fists in magical power and punches the ground. On the first hit, nothing happens, but after several hits cracks start to appear on the ground until with a final hit a perfect one cubic meter hole forms, and a small cube made of stone floats a few centimeters over the ground.

"Together with your 'inventory' spell, you can quickly harvest raw material. For now, let's try this."

Having never seen anything like this before, 7E carefully does as instructed. She punches the ground several times, watching as the cracks appear until another perfect one cubic meter hole forms. She picks up the stone block and feels its considerable weight, but once inside the Inventory, the block feels weightless.

"Good work, everyone. Next, I will show you how to place the blocks."

7E concludes that Jack is quick to praise, motivating her to do her best to earn more attention from her savior. In the next phase of the training, she neatly stacks all blocks on top of each other, both as a testament to her skills and diligence. Then she glances at Jackass who, somehow, attached one block sideways to the stack she built.

Once again, Jack appeared pleased by this development. "Good work, everyone! For those who followed the instructions to the letter, and stacked their blocks into a tower, then congratulations. The army requires its soldiers to follow orders accurately, otherwise, the system won't work."

The YorHa android preened at the praise given to her.

"For those who decided to experiment and find new solutions to your problem, I also congratulate your initiative. Sometimes in the army, it is necessary to find new solutions to a problem right now, otherwise a massive disaster might happen."

Glancing at the other stacks and making a quick calculation, 7E had to share her praise among the other androids who followed the instruction closely; while Jackass' experimentation received solo praise. 'That's completely unacceptable. I must not disappoint the creatorRace...'

The YorHa android jumps when a warm hand squeezes her shoulder. "Are you alright, 7E?"

The touch and proximity with Jack calm down the executioner model. "I am now, Jack."

Eventually, the instruction finishes with all androids performing all required exercises perfectly, and Jack proclaims them Proficient in the T1 Engineering Corps course.

7E is grateful that more opportunities to interact with Jack will appear, though she wonders what the other tiers have in stock. 'At least this is a more constructive way to serve the cause than terminating our allies.'

Post Chapter Notes

We are so back, boys and girls! Maybe I will post a larger author note on the weekend to explain why these past two weeks were a train wreck, but I finally managed to catch my stride.

For the moment, chapters will be slightly smaller than the usual 2000 words, but that's because I'm focusing on quality for now. Please tell me if you noticed a difference in the chapter's quality.

Also, I completely underestimated the time it took to edit this. I'm not going to give specific times unless I have it ready to go.