NieR: Automata Part #115 - Episode CXI: MERCY.EXE

Part 115: Episode CXI: MERCY.EXE

Episode CXI: Mercy.EXE

That was another brief introductory chapter for the two remaining active YoRHa members. We’re going to be swapping back to A2 for our next expedition. Unlike the last two fairly breezy chapters, A2’s second outing is the longest chapter in Route C, outside possibly the final chapter.

Sure, Pod 153. We’ll watch out for the rampaging machines out there. Maybe go get 9S some counseling while we’re away, eh? He uhh... didn’t seem like he was doing great by the end of the last chapter.

Music: Memories of Dust (Quiet)

We return to A2 to find her face down in the dirt. Given her perpetual grungy appearance and innately sounding like she’s just woken up with a throbbing hangover, I feel like this is probably just a normal Tuesday morning start for A2.

Ungh... <slowly starts climbing to her feet>

Good morning, A2.

What the...?

The cause was excessive strain due to battle against a large machine lifeform.

All this goddamn sand is starting to piss me off.

Alert: Fuel filter performance deteriorating. Fine particulate matter seems to have entered the filter while fighting in the desert. Proposal: Replace the faulty part immediately.

You make it sound so easy.

Records indicate said part was once used at the Resistance camp.

The Resistance camp...

Yes, the Resistance Camp is our new destination for the next leg of A2’s journey to err... kill all machines? And stop having sand chafing her butt crack.

Before we head out there, there’s a couple points of note left in the Desert Zone. The Hegel fight was actually the final main plot relevance this region ever has for the rest of the game. The DLC and a sidequest might take us back here. But neither 9S nor A2 have any reason to return if they were mainlining the plot.

Our first pit stop is the oasis on the far westerns side of the desert, past the sandstorm. Ignore that android corpse there. It’s fine. Hey, remember that YoRHa girl that was hanging out here enjoying the sun way back when?

A flock of birds came to rest their wings here. I wonder if they instinctively knew how to escape the storm? It seems like time moves more slowly here. If you’ve got nothing to do, why don’t you try fishing? Everyone loves settling down for a round by the pond!

I guess the Commander was hasty when she said 2B and 9S were the last remaining members of YoRHa. Oasis girl has just been chilling out here beyond the sand storm getting no signal from Command and thus never managed to get infected or blown up in the Bunker. She just hangs out here the rest of the game fishing and looking at birds. So that’s nice.

Regarding other surviving YoRHa members... Remember those two drugged out at the oil oasis?

*huff huff* ...Drugs? Yeah, they’re pretty crazy. I can’t stop fighting!

Turns out they both made it too since they were too stoned out of their gourds to participate in any of the ruckus in the City Ruins. See, we saved a couple lives accidentally helping Jackass create an underground E-drug epidemic.

Drugs aren’t really A2’s thing. I mean once in a while for the flavor, naturally. But machine lifeform killing is more of her scene. Let’s get back on track with that.

Ahh... that’s more like it! Fun fact: You can ride a boar all the way from the edge of the Desert to the Resistance Camp. It’s the farthest distance you can travel on one. Animals (at least boars) won’t do the rope bridge where 2B died or the path to Pascal’s Village, so the Forest Zone is off limits while mounted. And obviously we won’t stick a boar in the sewers to get to the Amusement Park. How would it climb out once it was down there? Preposterous! And we couldn’t just leave it down there. That’s how you get little girls eaten.

Music: Rays of Light (Medium)

On the way to our destination, Pod gives us an email notification. I’m not sure what’s more surprising. There’s someone still alive to send out emails or that A2’s @yorha.org mailing address is still active after years of being an enemy of the state.

YoRHa’s IT department better be glad they got blown up in space or else they’d have a heck of a lot of explaining to do about that particular negligence.

Huh... So Emil also has an email address and... has somehow found A2’s address. It’s best not to ask questions. Unfortunately, Emil is not available at the moment because we just started a new gameplay segment and ran here straight from the Desert so he hasn’t had time for a load zone to spawn in anywhere.

That’s fine. I doubt A2 needs to be doing any consumer browsing with all that sand gunking her up. That’ll just lead to questionable spending decisions. Better to continue onward. Though, as we approach our destination, it seems there’s some manner of trouble afoot...

Haaah! Help! Help me!

Are those machines fighting each other?

Hey, no kill stealing ya lousy machines! A2 quickly sorts out the rogue Stubbies being mean to Pascal. But there is an issue... A2 doesn’t know who the hell this guy is...

Wait, please! I have no intention of harming you! My name is Pascal. And while it’s true that I am a machine lifeform, I also detest fighting of any kind.

Machines don’t have souls. They’re just murder bots with a fancy name. They killed so many of us... and I swore to make them pay.

Ah... I see.

We’re given an option. Is A2 going to dig deep inside herself for that MERCY.EXE runtime file with this nice, friendly boy or is she going to just keep the course with the machine killing?