Nier Automata: The Machines' Massive Matron

"No, I think we're going to find them sooner rather than later. It's taking us pretty deep into the forest, though."

"I'm not going to let them get away with this."

"Even with your usual monotone, you still sound super scary when you say stuff like that, 2B."

"Good. I want them to be scared when we find them. They deserve to be afraid of me."

9S sighed into his gloved hand. 2B was exceptional at restricting her emotions, but there was no question that she was displeased with what she'd learned recently. Not that anyone within YoRHa was happy about it. Somehow the machines had managed to hack into one of the Access Points, breaking through the shield that often protected it from enemy attack, and they 'kidnapped' 2B's spare body from inside. To transfer between Access Points required sending one's own memories between the stored bodies, so now that particular Access Point had been rendered useless for anything except checking one's e-mail. The worst part of it all, though, was the mere fact that the machines now had an operating android body within their rusted clutches. They could potentially remove all sorts of important information about YoRHa from it, even if 2B's actual memories were no longer there.

9S didn't think it was something worth worrying about. The machines had procured dozens of dead android bodies over the years since the war had started. They'd never shown any real progress in conquering the androids and it was likely not going to happen soon. It was a tad concerning that they were able to disable the Access Point's shields, but those things seemed to have tendency to break rather easily anyway. Understandably, 2B was clearly more flustered about the machines doing 'things' to one of her personal bodies rather than what they'd done to the official YoRHa-designated Access Point. 9S couldn't blame her. As the two of them rushed along the forest trail, leaping over fallen logs or dashing across streams, the signal that 9S used to locate the missing android body continued to beep and boop at a steady pace. They were getting closer.

Suddenly, 9S threw out his arm in front of 2B, forcing her to skid to a stop. "Hold on! They're right beyond these bushes!"

"Then let's go and cut them." 2B reached back to grab the hilt of the giant blade that hovered in mid-air behind her.

"Why don't we just calm down and see what's going on first? Maybe it's nothing at all!"

"What are you talking about, 9S? They have an operational YoRHa android at their disposal! It's our DUTY to retrieve it!" 2B emphasized the word 'duty' through clenched teeth, even while still attempting to retain the same monotone voice she had been using since they first met so long ago. 9S was nearly tempted to let her go just to see her finally express some open emotion for once, but he wanted to see what the machines were doing even more. The two androids peered through the bushes and watched. 2B kept silent on 9S' behalf, although she was struggling to stay in place.

Two little machines wobbled along, waving their arms happily in the air. "Nana! Nana!"

"Ha ha ha! Hold on! Hold on, you two! I'm trying to help your little brother along! Don't run too fast or you might trip!"

9S and 2B both gasped. That was 2B's voice, no doubt about it, but it had not been 2B herself who said it. Suddenly, the third little machine appeared, clutching the hand of what seemed to be a young human woman. 2B's jaw dropped as far as it was allowed to go. 9S didn't know whether to gasp out loud or start howling with laughter.

It was 2B's spare body, but it had been reprogrammed and re-purposed. No longer was she a combat android from YoRHa, but now she served as a nanny watching over the machines' 'children' as it were. A plump nanny at that. Wearing some sort of makeshift dress and skirt made out of hastily-stitched strips of leather and brown cloth, the machines' nanny waddled alongside the machine children as they skipped and sang little songs. Though her robotic body weighed 300+ pounds, 2B normally, outwardly, resembled someone in their low 100s. However, the new 'nanny' android was rather heavyset in comparison.

She had a tender, round face framed by her short snow-white hair. A plump double-chin graced the lower half of her face, below her jowls. The warmest of smiles was present there to pull those jowls apart. She smiled at the machines frolicking a few feet ahead of her. It was a smile that 9S had never seen on 2B's face before in all of the time he could recall them working together.

The black band that all YoRHa combat and scouting androids wore over their eyes had been removed, revealing the kind gray-blue eyes underneath. The band was being used as a hairpiece in the form of a neat bow. Her breasts were round and full, still perky despite their inflated size. Nanny 2B stopped briefly to tug on them and readjust her bra. They jiggled fiercely for both of the sneaky androids to see, showing that they were rather doughy even for fake flesh.

2B's rump was incredibly large. No one ever talked about it on the bunker or at the resistance camp, but everyone knew that 2B had been constructed with a lot of generous 'backing' in her behind. The machines had made that set of impressive buttocks larger than it had ever been. There was a slight jiggle to her rump as she waddled. Solid yet malleable, like a sack filled to the brim with cream. Her butt stuck out far behind her, crafting a kind of 'spare shelf'. It was attached to a set of thighs thicker than the fallen tree trunks sprawled around her.

Nanny 2B called one of the machine children over to her. It laughed and called her 'nana' again, throwing its tiny metal arms around one of her legs. She leaned forward to pat its head reassuringly. Her stomach drooped over her waist when she did this. 2B's stomach was massive too. Sagging further, it could have reached down to her knees if it had been a little bigger, a little fuller. The dress she'd been given was barely holding on, 9S realized after further observation. A ripping sound heralded the potential destruction of her skirt when her ass stuck up in the air. It was next to impossible to really tell which was fatter, her butt or her gut. Either way, nanny 2B was morbidly obese, a far cry from the slender figure the android's body had been originally designed with, and it was mortifying for the REAL 2B to see herself depicted as such.

"Would you like to make flower crowns with me?" Nanny 2B asked. She spoke so sweetly. Her monotone was nowhere to be found.

"I wanna, nana!" the machine giggled.

"Then come along with me! Let's go and collect some flowers first! I see a few nice ones to pick right over there!"

9S and the real 2B looked at one another.

"Whoa." 9S was the first one of the two to speak.

"What...is...this?"

"I can't believe it. I know the machines have been acting weird lately..." 9S continued.

2B bit her lower lip.

"But this is kind of off-kilter even for them, don't you think? I mean, wow."

"I'm going to kill them." 2B started to climb out of the bushes. 9S pulled her back again.

"I wonder what they did to make your old body look so...so inflated like that. Did they pump it full of something? Air? Silicone? Some other sort of padding? I wonder why they did it? Well, I guess it does give her a more...comforting...appearance, but I doubt machines would have really cared either way. And a nanny? Really? Why the hell would they bother making an android become a caretaker for their 'children'? They're not their real kids anyway. What do you think about this, 2B?" Do you think they made her bigger so she'd appear friendlier and more welcoming to the kids?"

"I'm going to kill them." 2B repeated.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," 9S grabbed her by the hem of her dress, "If you ask me, I think you should just hold off on that."

"Why?" 9S couldn't even see 2B's eyes, yet he felt like she was giving him a glare of death when she looked over at him.

"Because they're not doing anything to harm anyone! The machines clearly haven't done anything like a dissection on your old body. They might have done something kind of odd with it, but...but it's like with Pascal and those other peaceful machines! They want to live on their own and not have to worry about us! There isn't a fight to be had here! We need to regroup, consider our options, and figure out a plan! For now, let's back off! We'll come back again later!"

As 2B began to draw her sword, she stopped, realizing that she had been ready to lash out due to her own embarrassment.

Just because the other 2B reflected poorly on her didn't mean that she had to attack the machine children. After all, they were innocent in all of this.

Ruefully, and with great disappointment in herself, 2B sheathed her weapon.

2B carefully considered the options available and the potential outcomes before deciding...that 9S wasn't entirely wrong. They might not have been actual children, but destroying those particular machines in an out-of-character rage would have left a horrible taste in her mouth. There was no telling what features the Nanny 2B could have possessed on her person, too. She might have looked harmless and fluffy on the outside, adorable even, but surely there was some combat prowess still left inside of her. How would she be expected to protect the machine children from the 'scary androids' otherwise?

"...Alright. Fine. You're right, 9S. Let's move far enough away so we can safely contact our operators back on the bunker."

"Great! Let's go!" 9S nodded his head as he pat 2B reassuringly on the shoulder. "We should get out of here before any of the machines on reconnaissance spot us."

"I know."

As they turned and began to walk away, 2B tried her damn hardest to ignore the sounds emitting from the grove behind her, of the machine children and a nanny who possessed a very familiar voice singing songs together.

9S followed closely behind 2B. He stopped momentarily and looked back behind him. He could see the portly figure of Nanny 2B. It made him feel rather strange, looking at a form of his partner in that way. Heat bubbled up inside of his chest and he didn't think it was his oil filter acting up either.

"2B...as a mother..."

Somehow, he didn't think she would be that bad as one. 9S shook his head and ran after his partner, who was already climbing up the incline that was part of the trail.