"I never quite realized...how beautiful this world is."
— A2 in Ending C
YoRHa Type A No.2, or just A2, is one of the protagonists of NieR:Automata, as well as the final boss in Branch D. She is also a major character in the YoRHa stage play.
She is a prototype Attacker model of the YoRHaandroid line, and combat data from her and her comrades were used to create the superior current lines, including YoRHa No.2 Type B and YoRHa No.9 Type S. She doesn't like to speak and often keeps to herself.
Three years prior to the events of NieR:Automata, she was a member of the first YoRHa squadron deployed to Earth as part of the Pearl Harbor Descent Operation during the early years of the 14th Machine War. Her alias at the time was No.2 which is parsed in Automata as "Number Two."
Due to her status as a deserter and a lack of maintenance, A2's attire can be classified as threadbare. The only clothing she technically wears is a velvet-like cloth around the midriff.
Large sections of A2's artificial skin are missing, revealing segments of the android's black protective undercoat. The stripped layers are a rubber-like material and are most prevalent on A2's arms and legs, though pieces of skin are also missing from her torso and waist.[4] The exposed hypodermic areas resemble gloves, a sleeveless shirt, and hotpants with thigh-high boots.
A2's hair is long and wild, left to grow out within the years of her desertion. Her hair is cut short later on in Automata. A2 bears a strong resemblance to 2B, having pair of cold, light blue eyes and a beauty mark on the left side of her mouth. Anemone initially mistakes 2B for A2 when they first meet at the start of the game.
Personality
A2 is initially depicted as mysterious and taciturn. However, it is eventually shown through her interactions with Pod 042 that she possesses a socially awkward personality and speaks in informal language. She has a propensity towards reckless behavior, as she will dive headlong into dangerous situations without consideration for strategic evaluations or her own personal safety. In the English audio, she tends to be more blunt, impatient, and foul-mouthed when speaking to others, almost resembling Kainé.
Pod 042 insinuates that A2's AI parameters are not to the standard of current YoRHa models, as she often requires him to simplify terms for her to understand.
Just like 2B, A2 also has a hidden kind nature. She accepted 2B's request to take care of the rest, and mercifully killed her before the logic virus deteriorated her mind. She eventually bonds with Pascal's Village in spite of her virulent hatred for machines when she realizes that they are docile, like when she accepted the Machine Children's request to play with her. She also went far enough to risk her life and desperately tried to protect the Machine Children in the Abandoned Factory. And when it turned out the Machine Children killed themselves after being consumed by fear, she expressed grief over them as well as sympathy for Pascal. She continuously spared and reached out to 9S, despite the latter's numerous attempts on her life, in the hopes that he could return to his kind-natured self. A2 can be ruthless and pragmatic, such as her act of killing a defenseless machine baby, Immanuel, in what was seemingly an act of vengeance, but in actuality a tactic to disorganize the Forest Kingdom's army formation (as elaborated upon in the Short Story Long novel).
It is revealed in the Short Story Long novel that A2 (previously called Number Two) was a rather cheerful, naïve and somewhat incompetent android before the Pearl Harbor incident. It is also stated in Beasts of Slaughter that she absolutely abhorred violence and killing. She had a low self esteem and often felt she was unfit to lead as captain due to her poor performance results during training. In the YoRHa stage play and novel, whenever she was feeling fear or doubt, she would often recall Seed's words of encouragement. After the death of her squadron, her hatred for machines and desire for their destruction become encompassing and define the rest of her continued existence. However, her self-imposed mission of vengeance also serves as a means to distract her from her inner turmoil and regret as she privately longs to be with her dead comrades.
Back when she was on the Bunker, A2 (at the time known as "No.2") was a prototype Attacker model that achieved mediocre results during training. Despite this, she received encouragement from both Commander White and Seed, and was particularly close with No.4, who was an Attacker model like her who achieved similar training results. She was later informed by Commander White that Seed died in "an accident," with her denying to elaborate on the matter or consider rebooting Seed into a new chassis, much to No.2's grief and disbelief. On December 8 11941, she was part of the experimental YoRHa squadron deployed on the Pearl Harbor Descent Operation during the 14th Machine War, where she inadvertently became the squad leader of No.4, No.21, and No.16.
She forms a familial relationship with her team and members of the Resistance after saving Lily from her Logic Virus, with Rose even promising to name No.2's squad if they survive their mission. Rose and No.2 talk about their capabilities as leaders, and Rose, confiding in No.2 her own weakness, assures her of her strengths. When Rose asks No.2 what is her purpose in life, No.2 says it's to protect her family who she always wants to be with, with Rose in turn reciprocating the sentiment.
As the operation is underway, she exceeds the limits of her specifications and evolves her combat prowess, allowing her to succeed in destroying the Machine Network's server located at Mount Ka'ala on Oahu Island. However, in the process, she loses all of her comrades from both her squad and the Resistance, including some she had to kill herself, such as Shion and Erica, when they were infected as well as No.4 who blew up the server with her black box. She becomes devastated by the truth she learns from the Red Girls about her mission having intentionally doomed her squad for failure for experimental purposes. Command had wanted her to exceed her limits so that they could use her data for future YoRHa models like the Type E line and then dispose of her, and that their black boxes had bombs planted in them that would self-detonate with the enemy in the event that they make it to the server room and were killed there. She also finally receives the name "Freesia" at the cost of Rose's life, who shields her from an impending blow.
Having been betrayed by Command and losing everyone she loved, No.2 ended up being the last survivor of the operation after the mission, causing her to be declared a traitor and deserter due to the secrecy of the prototype YoRHa line. During this time, she does not know of Anemone or Lily's survival, depending on the iteration of events.
Since then, now known as A2, she spends an unknown amount of time surviving alone, driven on by vengeance to defeat any machines and YoRHa units she comes upon on the way. Both Long Story Short and Beasts of Slaughter recount how A2 met multiple roll-outs of 2B and 9S, with 2B assigned as 2E to exterminate her, which intensified A2's despair and betrayal at Command for using her own face and combat data to hunt her down, and led A2 to having killed 2B and 9S multiple times without the pair remembering her.
NieR:Automata
A2 is first encountered in the game killing Immanuel in the Forest Kingdom where she meets 2B and 9S again. Pod 153 warns the pair that A2 is a wanted android and is recommended for annihilation. 9S questions the directive while 2B initiates a battle against her. Following A2's defeat, 9S asks her why she betrayed them. A2 mentions that Command was the one who betrayed them and escapes. 2B and 9S attempt to give chase but are unsuccessful.
"This woman's memories and wishes... I accepted all of it. 'Ah, Nines...' Those were her last words. She looked back when she heard her name, grinned, and died. I cut my hair with the sword she was impaled with, as a testament to accepting her memories and wishes. A tribute to the deceased, my doppelgänger. From now on, I'll live in your image. That's the best I can do."[5]
After the defeat of Adam and Eve, when a corrupted 2B is being accosted by androids of YoRHa, A2 appears and disposes of her assailants. Realizing there's no hope for survival, 2B relegates her sword and memories to A2. In doing so, A2 sees 2B's memories and learns Anemone is alive, to which she feels grateful enough to grant 2B's wish (also because she had been reminded of her own infected fallen comrades who she had to kill in the past).[6] A2 stabs 2B with her sword while 9S watches her take the sword out of 2B's bloodied corpse. 9S has a mental breakdown and angrily proclaims that he will kill the rogue android. A2 cuts her hair with 2B's sword in a style reminiscent of the deceased android. As he runs towards her, he falls off a bridge while gigantic pillars rise from the ground, forming the Tower. A2 is caught within the pillars' movements and is knocked unconscious.
A2 wakes up on a piece of debris with Pod 042 greeting her a good morning. A2 wonders about the Pod following her and is told that 2B's final order insisted that Pod 042 should assist A2. A2 scoffs at the notion of needing help and tells the Pod to shut up. After requesting her motives several times, A2 finally relents and tells the Pod that her goal is to destroy machines. He then directs her to the desert.
A2 arrives at the desert and encounters a Goliath-class Machine named Hegel. She defeats the machine and hacks into its mainframe, ultimately annihilating its core. A mirage of 2B appears to her and tells her that she and A2 are the same, with A2 angrily rejecting the notion by throwing her sword at where 2B appeared. After falling unconscious and reawaking, Pod informs A2 that her filter is full of sand and must be replaced. After heading to the Resistance Camp, A2 meets Pascal, who is under attack by several hostile machines. After dispatching them, A2 spares the machine, despite her grudge, and continues to the camp.
After reuniting with Anemone, A2 finds out she needs Pascal's help in order to get a filter. Hesitantly, A2 receives help from Pascal, and in turn, helps him and his villagers with requests. After obtaining a book on philosophy from Anemone, Pascal's village turns on itself with some of the machines becoming cannibalistic. A2 returns to the village, only to find it in flames and the villagers feeding on each other. She tells Pod 042 that they need to locate Pascal immediately. After dispatching the zombie machines, she and Pascal take the child machines to the Abandoned Factory to hide from the machines.
This proves to be a mistake, however, as a force of machines descends upon the factory. A2 and an enraged Pascal take up arms against the machines and eventually overcome the enemy force when Pascal takes control of an Engels and kills them all. When the two return to the factory, they find all the children committed suicide out of fear of dying. Pascal, feeling guilt for having taught them the concept of fear, mentally breaks down and asks that A2 fulfill his final request: erase his memories, and therefore who he is, or kill him. After making her choice, A2 leaves the factory and makes her way to the Tower.
A2 enters the God Box and finds 9S who is about to be attacked by a corrupted Operator 21O. She kills 21O by impaling her several times, saving 9S. A2 then tells him that 2B wanted her to tell him that he should continue to be a good person. A mentally unstable 9S becomes enraged at the mention of 2B and attacks her. However, he falls down through the crumbling floor and Auguste appears before A2. Following the machine's defeat, its brothers surround it with pleas of "Big Brother," kowtowing and begging A2 to spare them. She chooses to either hesitantly execute them all or spare them via by walking back toward the elevator she came from.
Having arrived at the base of the Tower, A2 encounters a wounded Devola and Popola, who explains that they've already opened the tower for 9S. As they make their way up the tower, A2 and Pod 042 enter a familiar Library, with Pod 042 explaining to A2 what libraries are. Within the library's depths, A2 encounters a book titled "Operational Summary of Model Number Two in Project YoRHa", and opens it, expressing surprise at its contents. Shortly after reading through the book, A2 is attacked by Ko-Shi that's infiltrated the library. She is momentarily hacked by the machine, causing her to be sucked into a virtual space where she meets the Red Girls again since her descent at Pearl Harbor. They reintroduce themselves to her, commenting on the memories they share, and attack her. At Pod 042's suggestion, she continues evading them until their self-learning function exceeds what they could process, leading the Red Girls to develop conflicting interests and attack each other, which sends A2 out of the virtual space to resume her fight with Ko-Shi. After fighting the machine on an ascending elevator while 9S combats Ro-Shi above, the two knock their respective enemies into an arena. 9S attempts to confront A2, but the two are forced to work together to combat Ko-Shi & Ro-Shi, the two previous machines merged. Successfully destroying the fused machine, A2 and 9S finally confront one another.
A2 mentions that the tower they are in is actually a cannon aimed at the human server on the moon. If the androids do not stop it, all of the remaining human data will be destroyed. A mentally unstable 9S tells A2 that humanity is extinct and that the human server was a lie perpetuated by YoRHa to keep the androids in line. If an android did find out, they were designed to be killed. He states that the commander, him and 2B were all sacrificial lambs. A2 reveals to 9S that 2B was actually a special android unit called 2E that was designed to specifically execute YoRHa units, and that 2B hated killing 9S over and over again. Enraged by A2's words, 9S tells Pod 153 to stop talking until either he or A2 is dead.
A2 decides to battle 9S, and near the battle's end, she cuts off his arm and hacks into his mind with Pod 042's assistance. While navigating his mind, Pod 042 continuously warns A2 that the chances of removing the corruption plaguing 9S are slim at best. A2 suggests that she has a plan, but Pod 042 strongly advises against harm against YoRHa units it supports, with A2 expressing admiration at the pod's loyalty. After discovering a slumbering 9S at the end of the labyrinth, A2 tells Pod 042 to take care of 9S while she tries to accomplish one more thing.
As Pod 042 leaves with 9S's body, A2 walks towards the pillar of light and hears the laughter of children. She severs the functionality of the structure, causing it to crumble and returning her to reality. A2 mentions that she never realized how beautiful the world was, proclaiming to "everyone" that she is coming. As A2 reaches her hand out to the sky, she perishes within the crumbling structure's decline and debris.
"After removing the virus from 9S's core data, she approached the machine server. There she could hear a childlike voice. The machines had data they would insert into an ark entrusted to the future. Who had the right to kill that? Who had the right to destroy the future? Words of apology escaped A2's lips. 'I'm sorry...' Having lost everything, the Tower began to crumble. The summit was so close to the sky. 'I never quite realized...how beautiful this world is.' The building broke apart beneath her. Her consciousness began to fade. 'I'm coming, everyone...I'm...coming...' Eyes glowing red with a virus observed the azure beauty of the sky."[7]
In the aftermath of the credits, the debris from the destruction of the structure is seen throughout the area. A lone moose stares at a rock with 2B's sword and 9S's pouch impaled on it.
9S fights A2 with severe malice and is almost overpowered by her. A2 hesitates before giving a fatal strike as she recalls 2B's request and is then impaled by 9S's sword. A2 falls to the ground in a pool of her own blood while 9S falls right beside her, accidentally impaled on her sword as he succumbs to his data corruption.
During the credits, the Pods begin to delete all data related to the YoRHa project, as was originally intended. However, Pod 042 has doubts and refuses to go through with it, which Pod 153 agrees to. The two both voice their wishes that A2, 2B, and 9S could have lived, and decide to rebuild them. The player must do a final hacking game, fighting all the names appearing in the credits. After this, the Pods are shown flying parts to a building that 2B and 9S are laying on. The screen then pans up to show A2 sitting on the edge of another building as a dove perches near her.
NieR:Automata Ver1.1a
In the anime, A2's backstory is shown in much greater detail, in which she received the name Freesia from Rose. After the Tower's emergence, she wakes up in Pascal's Village instead of the Forest Kingdom, with Pascal having saved her. Pod 042 uncovers deleted memories of A2's history during this time. She spends a longer amount of time at Pascal's village than her game counterpart, bonding more with the children, and reuniting with Lily, who survived instead of Anemone in this timeline. In a drama CD story set during this time, she delivers a letter between Lily and a machine lifeform in Pascal's Village. In the anime, she isn't given the choice of erasing Pascal's memories or killing him, instead Pascal dies in front of her eyes.
At the Resistance Camp, A2 is forced to kill Lily (infected by the Logic Virus) who thanks her for everything and calls her by the name Rose gave her, signifying their familial bond. She doesn't kill Operator 21O or fight N2 during the anime events. When she makes her way to the Tower, she puts Devola (who is also infected by the Logic Virus) out of her misery. In the climax, she fights 9S, who hacks and psychologically torments her with her memories, but fueled by the memories of her friends, she overcomes them and faces off against a horde of 9S doppelgangers. With Pod's assistance, A2 rescues 9S, who subconsciously wanted her to save him and thanks her.
As she saves 9S, she finds herself in a virtual space visually different from the game, where N2 and several other machine lifeforms appear to her. N2 tells her about the Ark and asks if she wishes to come with them on their journey. Despite no longer bearing them hatred, she declines and entrusts him to Pod 042 and Pod 153, remaining behind and destroys the Tower, leaving her to die as it collapsed around her.
She is saved and repaired by an unnamed android wearing a white outfit, and left resting next to a Lunar Tear.
During Voices from the Verge, in a concert story set when the Tower emerges after 2B's death, A2 and a clone of Emil find themselves in a Copied City-like virtual space modeled after the Shadwlord's era. She and Emil find Pod 042 and Yonah and wound up taking care of Yonah as they help her find her brother. They reunite with 2B's group (2B, Pod 153, and the Shadowlord), with A2 displaying shock at 2B being alive. Pod 153 is hacked and it's revealed the Machine Network created this space as one of their many attempts to imitate humanity, that this is a world of memories. That's when 2B, the Shadowlord, and Yonah realize they're just data constructs and have already died, while the other characters like A2 are all consciousness data of people that are still alive but were forcibly brought into this space, with 9S amongst them. The "dead" decide to help those that are still alive escape this cyberspace, the escape route being located in a Church, which is guarded by machine lifeforms that are shaped like Shades. 2B entrusts A2 with 9S's safety once again before she sacrifices herself getting A2's and everyone else's consciousness data out. Everyone alive manages to escape but do not retain their memories of this experience.
In a different concert story, in a similar timeline and cyberspace, A2 and Emil find themselves in a Copied City again but encounter Mama this time instead of Yonah. A2, Emil, Pods 042 and 153, and 9S (who was hostile to A2) fight the Shadowlord, with Emil and Mama wanting to save him. 2B saves them from the Shadowlord, proclaiming that the dead should take care of the dead and defeats him. 2B once again entrusts A2 with protecting 9S before saying her farewell.
The Memories of Puppets
During the NieR Music Concert: The Memories of Puppets, according to the Automata Concert Script 5 "Farewell" the epilogue to the ending of Route E, A2 is mentioned as not having awakened after her reconstruction unlike 2B and 9S. However, the script further mentions that on September 2, 12.422, an android wearing black clothing is spotted, probably being A2.
Description
Stage Play
No.2 Attacker Sword Soldier: Single-handed Sword Second-in-Line for Command
Although she is rather unstable with strategy and emotion, her survival rate during mock battle experiments was above 80%. It is assumed that she can adapt to plan B should No.1 be destroyed.
False Memory: Girl who lived happily with her grandmother.[8]
Intel
Chapter 06-05: The A-model is a YoRHa prototype that specializes in close-quarter combat. Though not presently in use, it was originally created to speed along the implementation of other official models such as 2B and 9S. This particular unit—whose official title is Class A, Number 2—was wanted by Command for desertion and ordered to be destroyed on sight. She first appeared in the Forest Castle, where she slew the Forest King. 2B and 9S engaged her in combat, but she managed to escape.
Chapter 17-09: 9S and A2 face off. A2 tries to convince 9S of how pointless the fight is, but her words fail to penetrate the cloud of violent anger in his mind. During the battle, A2 hesitates for a moment when she hears a memory of 2B call out to her, leading to her demise.
Gameplay
Playable Character
A2 handles very similarly to 2B, but she has several key differences.
Primary Attack - Basic light attack, does less damage, but is faster and has a higher combo potential. The precise nature of the attack depends on the equipped primary weapon: large weapons equipped as primary will still be slow. Holding down and releasing light attack does not perform a stronger short attack combo, as this control is instead used for A2's taunt move.
Heavy Attack - Basic heavy attack, does more damage, but is slower and has shorter combos. A heavy attack can be inserted as a finisher at any point in a light attack combo, with the type of heavy attack depending on the equipped primary and secondary weapons. Jumping and then immediately pressing heavy attack will perform a launcher move, with the precise move depending on the selected secondary weapon. Holding the heavy attack button with a spear or large sword set as the heavy attack weapon will charge a powerful attack, which has two levels, the second of which will have an extended attack if it connects. The latter is enhanced by "Charge Attack" plug-in chips.
Aerial Attack - Primary attacks in the air will keep A2 in the air as long as the combo lasts, which varies depending on the selected primary weapon while using a heavy attack will result in powerful downward strike. The power of the latter is enhanced by "Down-Attack Up" plug-in chips.
Pod Shot - Fires the ranged weapon of the currently selected Pod. The missile launcher Pod must have the button held for it to lock on before launching. Upgraded Pods go through multiple phases as they fire, and have effects associated with releasing the button after firing for a while.
Pod Program - Hold to charge the selected Pod Program and release to fire: with the Pod Scanner, hold to scan. With most Pod Programs, if the player has multiple Pods, holding for a long period will cause the additional Pods to appear and create a more powerful effect, with the nature of the effect depending on the selected program. The recharge time of a multi-Pod attack will be correspondingly increased. Firing a Pod shot will cancel a charged Pod Program. A Pod Program will generally fail to fire if the button is released while A2 is taking damage or during the invincible frames of her evade animation. Holding the Pod Program button prevents A2 from gripping the Pod to slow her descent in mid-air.
Jump moves - A2 can evade in mid-air (see below) and jump a second time in mid-air: if she falls off a ledge rather than jumping, she can perform two jumps in the air. Holding the jump button causes A2 to grip onto the Pod to slow her descent. She also has two mid-air special moves: the first is a quick twirl which gains a small amount of additional height, which is performed by pressing light or heavy attack while gripping the Pod. Note that performing this move removes A2's ability to grip the Pod unless she performs one of her other air moves afterward. The second move has A2 use the Pod to slingshot herself forward, functioning like a second air evade: this is performed by pressing jump and Pod shot at the same time while in mid-air. Combining these moves is essential to reach some objects in the game.
Evade - Allows for a dash in whatever direction the movement control is pressed, defaulting to backwards if no direction is pressed. If the direction is held, after a short while A2 will start sprinting: holding also increases the speed at which A2 climbs ladders. Can also be performed in the air: a longer jump can be achieved by dashing off a platform and then again in mid-air. This dash move has invincible frames and can be used to avoid enemy attacks: the distance traveled and the number of invincible frames can be increased using "Evade Range Up" plug-in chips. The distance traveled with such a chip equipped can be controlled: holding evade will result in a full-length dash, while just a tap will result in a shorter one. Pressing light attack immediately after starting a dash results in a special dodge and attack animation where a horizontal rotating blade is fired from A2's initial location in the direction the camera is facing.
Dash Boost - Exclusive to A2, holding down evade will result in a dash where A2 starts to glow red. If she is in Berserk Mode (see below) this dash will deal damage to enemies: even in normal mode, it seems an attack immediately after the dash concludes deals slightly more damage.
Perfect Evade - Evading just before an attack connects will cause a special evasion animation of A2 breaking into multiple hologram-like copies: if the player then quickly presses primary attack, heavy attack, or pod shot, a powerful counter-attack will be performed.
Counter - Timing an attack to strike the enemy's weapon or fist as they swing will deflect their attack and allow a counter-attack in the same manner as after a Perfect Evade. In addition, if a "Counter" plug-in chip is equipped, the player can perform the same move by tilting the movement stick in the direction an enemy attack is coming from just as it connects.
Berserk - Rather than self-destructing, A2 has the ability to enter a "Berserk Mode," increasing damage both dealt and received and rapidly depleting her health until it hits 1 HP, whereupon Berserk Mode will end. As with self-destruct, the button must be held until the completion of a short timer to activate the mode. Plug-in chips that restore health will still function normally (though auto-heal will not trigger due to the constant health loss and auto-use item does not trigger until it ends) and the player can also manually heal A2 with health items, allowing Berserk Mode to be extended. A2 will have a short downtime to reboot when Berserk Mode concludes, similar to the other characters after self-destructing. During this period most of her abilities are disabled, though the Pod can still attack normally. Notably, if A2 takes a hit that would reduce her HP to 0 or less while in Berserk Mode, she will not die, instead being knocked out of Berserk with 1 HP remaining: this even happens in Very Hard mode.
Taunt - Rapidly flashing the Pod's light close to enemies or holding down light attack to perform a taunt will temporarily enrage them, causing them to both deal and receive more damage: this enraged state is shown by the enemy's head(s) glowing orange-red, and the enemy emitting a blast of steam as the effect starts. An enemy remains taunted for 15 seconds, after which they return to normal: re-taunting them resets the timer, though there is no visible indication of this. A2's special taunt is faster, more reliable, and taunts all enemies within a set radius rather than using the cone of the Pod light: the length of this animation depends on the equipped primary weapon, with Combat Bracers being the fastest. A2 can also trigger an alternate taunt with her heavy weapon by holding light attack until the taunt animation starts, then pressing and holding heavy attack as well. The amount of damage dealt and received by taunted enemies can be enhanced with "Taunt Up" plug-in chips.
Finisher - Pressing the action button on a downed or otherwise disabled enemy will perform a randomly-selected attack animation that does a fair amount of damage if it connects. This attack may fail to connect properly if, for example, the launcher finisher is randomly selected on an enemy that cannot be launched.
Strategy - A2 has a very aggressive move set, and as such, has the highest damage potential out of all the playable characters in the game, especially with the right Plug-in Chips. When using Berserk with higher-level Offensive Heal, Deadly Heal, or Damage Absorb Chips, the health drain will be offset by the massive amounts of health gained while dealing damage and killing enemies.
Boss
Chapter 06-05 - 2B and 9S are designated to investigate the Forest Kingdom by Pascal, until the two come across a large castle structure, in which various robots protect their "king" by attacking the two androids. Whilst this happens, 2B and 9S make it to the end of the castle, to find A2 at the end, impaling the king in the side, and killing it. 2B fights this new android with the assistance of 9S and is informed by the Commander through the Pod that A2 deserted the YoRHa force and needed to be annihilated. The two fail to defeat the android, as 9S asks A2 why she left the force when A2 responded by saying that YoRHa betrayed them. During the battle, A2 will dash around the screen and attack the player, jumping from high distances, and will not use Berserk mode.
Chapter 17-09 (Branch D) - As in the Forest Kingdom, A2 is fought in a side-on mode with the same move set. She will now use Pod Programs, including abilities that the player may not have acquired beforehand during gameplay.
Trivia
A2 bringing down the Moon (top), Yuzuki and Hina bringing down the Moon (bottom).
A2 running through the Tower (top), the Girl in Black running through the Cage (bottom).
During Episode 7 of NieR:Automata Ver1.1a in the fight between A2 and 2B, A2's sword ends up breaking. However, during Episode 12 in a scene where machines are sending data transmissions across the landscape, A2 can be briefly seen holding the Type-4O Blade again, likely a spare or replacement.
In NieR:Automata Ver1.1aEpisode 17, Captain Rose gives flower-based names to A2's squad to emphasize the fact she accepted them as part of her family. A2 is given the name "Freesia."
The name "Freesia" comes from flower names that Ui Hinagata, the actress who plays Rose in one of the YoRHa stage plays, thought of to name them.
In the language of flowers, freesias symbolize friendship, trust, thoughtfulness, and innocence.
In NieR:Automata Ver1.1aEpisode 22, the shot of A2 running through the Tower is a visual nod to the Girl in Black running through the Cage in the first chapter of NieR Reincarnation.
In NieR:Automata Ver1.1aEpisode 24, the sequence where A2 brings down the Moon in destroying the machine network to save 9S is a visual nod to Yuzuki and Hina converging the Moon and the Sun to open a portal to Earth.
In the final chapter of YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record, A2 finally takes off her YoRHa visor as a way of showing she is no longer blind to the truth.
While A2 has her own unique ability to taunt, flashing her Pod's light at enemies works as well. This method also allows 2B and 9S to taunt.
It is mentioned in the YoRHa stage play that No.2 has the "false memories" of a young girl who lived happily with her grandmother on a farm.
Similar to 2B, A2 can pat Pod 042 on the head if the player rubs the touchpad.
A2 cuts her hair during Route C, but it can be re-acquired through the A2 Wig unlocked after clearing the route.
In the TGS 2016 trailer, many characters of NieR:Automata were showcased along with a word or emotion that represents them the most. A2 is represented by 復讐, which means "revenge."
According to Beasts of Slaughter, a story from the NieR Music Concert, A2 utilizes a "counterattack-type logic barrier," a technique she learned from one of their four previous encounters, to destroy 9S's data as he attempts to hack her. She additionally implies she killed him on each of their previous encounters, though she admits it was difficult.
While A2 does not self-destruct, she still loses the midsection of her clothing when activating Berserk mode.
A2 shown with long hair was a deliberate attempt to conceal 2B's death in advertisements; since 2B has short hair, it was thought that audiences would assume the short-haired A2 was a severely damaged 2B rather than that A2 would cut her hair.
A2's name is likely a reference to the apocryphal last words of Julius Caesar, "et tu, Brute?" ("You too, Brutus?") spoken to his traitorous friend Brutus as the latter stabbed him. This line was made famous by Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, though it did not originate with it. This is a twofold reference, both to her status as an alleged traitor and her own betrayal by YoRHa.
During the boss fight against A2 in the Ending D route, if she's successfully hacked four times, there are four unique hacking games with the fourth hack revealing that her status menu was being hacked the whole time. A2's stats will also be the same in the menu as they are in the game by that point.
