YoRHa Type A No.2

YoRHa Type A (Attacker) No.2 or 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 of the YoRHa android line, and combat data from her and her comrades were used to create the superior current lines, including 2B and 9S. 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 during the early years of the 14th Machine War. Her alias at the time was No2 which is parsed in Automata as "Number Two". She was portrayed by Ruka Endo in the stage play. Due to her status as a deserter, and the harsh world she now wanders in, A2's attire can be classified as threadbare at this point. A sleeveless form-fitting shirt hangs around her frame with a tattered hem paired with booty shorts. Her right leg has a stocking-like material barely grafted on with the left one being almost faded, except for a small splotch on her thigh, with each weathered enough on the foot area to expose her toes if you look closely. She possesses a pair of opera-like gloves, which also seem to be grafted into her skin, held by two bands around her biceps. Her hair is long and wild, left to grow out within the years of her wandering in the wild, which she cuts short later on in the game. She has pair of cold, light blue eyes and a beauty mark on the left side of her mouth. She bears quite the resemblance to 2B, which, when thinking about the truth revealed later in the story, makes her their predecessor in more ways than one. A2 is initially depicted as mysterious and taciturn. However, it is eventually shown through her interactions with Pod 042 that she possesses an aggressive and fiery personality. She has a propensity towards reckless behavior as she will dive head-long into dangerous situations without consideration for strategic evaluations or her own personal safety. When speaking to others, she tends to be blunt, impatient, and foul-mouthed. After the death of her squadron, her hatred for Machines and desire for their destruction becomes encompassing and defines 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. Despite her rough mannerisms, she is not without compassion. She reluctantly took 2B's life at her request, so that she would not suffer through the agony and insanity of the logic virus deteriorating her mind. She allowed Pascal to live in spite of her virulent hatred for Machines when she realized that he was docile. She later assisted him by protecting the Machine children at the Abandoned Factory. She also expressed sadness over the death of the Machine children as well as sympathy for Pascal, who had been driven to despair. 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. Pod 042 has also insinuated 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.