Part 03 - A2 and Pascal

Control will switch over to A2 now with Pod 042 being reassigned as her support unit. You don't yet have a goal at the moment so just move along while pod pesters A2 about her intentions, to which she eventually gives a response. Based on this, pod directs you to the desert where Goliath-class enemies are said to be waiting. Fast travel to the Desert: Center via an access point and defeat the group of Goliath Bipeds. A centipede machine called Hegel joins the fight soon after.

You will receive a brief tutorial on A2's berserker mode here, which should make her significantly stronger (at the cost of lowered defense) for a limited amount of time. The length of time she can stay in this mode depends on the amount of health you have at the moment of activation. Notice that your health gauge gradually depletes while A2 is in berserker mode, so make sure you have plenty of recovery items on hand if you wish to stay this way for an extended period of time.

Anyway, attack Hegel with the pod to make pieces of its body come off so you can destroy them one at a time. Its strong defense means you won't be doing all that much damage without berserker mode. Equip high-leveled Auto-Use Item chips should you choose to do so.

Defeat the boss and A2 will enter a hacking space in which you must destroy the black orbs to progress. A2 ends up being haunted by her own memories just like 9S did, and soon wakes in the desert with a busted fuel filter. Head to the Resistance Camp and go outside. Here you'll find Pascal being attacked by hostile machine lifeforms. Save him and you'll have the choice to either spare or destroy him. Choosing the latter unlocks Ending Z.

After Pascal leaves, go back to the Resistance Camp and talk to Anemone twice. She sends A2 to Pascal's Village for repairs so that's your next stop. Once there, speak to Pascal only to have him tell you that lacks the materials to make a filter. Your next objective is to get a Rigid Tree Bark from the Forest Zone, then bring it back to Pascal so he can build what you need.

After receiving the fuel filter, talk to Pascal again and he'll ask A2 to defeat a hostile on the children's playground. Go do that then speak to the Outdoor Machine that's floating nearby. He asks that you get a philosophy book from Anemone at the Resistance Camp. Head over there to collect the book and a Gold Ore. Make sure you speak to Anemone one more time so she grants A2 access to the terminal that contains a number of archive entries. Check it out and go through everything to add them to your collection.

As you're about to go back to the village to deliver the items, Pascal makes a distress call about the village. Rush over to the Machine Village to see what's going on, or you can also ignore the plea and go somewhere else to unlock Ending M. A2 arrives to find the village in shambles. Do what you can and destroy the deranged inhabitants along with other hostiles before joining Pascal at the Abandoned Factory.

You can unlock Ending R by attacking the children here. In any case, it doesn't take long for the enemy to invade and you must fight off the large army that enters the factory, including a Goliath Tank. Destroy everything and more will arrive. But this time Pascal will take control of an Engels and you'll get to use that to fight off the oncoming wave. The battle culminates in an encounter between two Goliaths. Use the heavy attack button until you defeat the enemy.

Upon going back inside, you are greeted with a sad sight. Pascal is unable to accept this outcome and begs A2 to either wipe his memories or kill him. Grant his wish and have the pod hack in to start the deletion process.