A Tactical Doll walked into the dormitory.
Her hair was beige; her eyes were cherry. On her shoulder, perched, was a falcon.
Nodding and smiling, she greeted other dolls within the room; her keen eyes scanned the premises, and then she noticed:
One of the doors to the adjacent rooms was left ajar. To be more specific, it was the door to the Reference Room.
Her eyes lit up; this was her chance. The action of opening a door attracted too much attention. Right now, the door was open just enough for her to squeeze in without a noise... already she could feel her stomach doing the somersaults.
But she could not merely just walk in right then and there. There were four other dolls in the room; if any of them noticed her attempting to sneak into the Reference Room, their curiosity will grab hold of them like talons.
She needed a distraction.
But what? She supposed she could command her falcon to cause trouble, but that would provide her with only a moment of window for opportunity; her falcon will be swiftly be caught in the act, and that trouble would be traced back to her. At minimum, she needed at least five minutes to do what she wished to do within that Reference Room.
What could she do to distract those four other dolls for at least five minutes?
Then-
"IEE DEE DOUBLE-U-DA, NYA!"
She flew a full foot into the air with surprise. It felt like a car honked its horn directly behind her.
It was IDW, of course. She flew into the room the moment she began to roar her signature phrase. She did that at least once per month, when her monthly quota of self-restraint reached its peak. What could she say? She was a prankster.
Immidiately the four other occupants in the room went into an uproar as they began to pelt the doll with complaints. IDW took them all on with her signature taunting grin; her smile was provocative enough to drive anyone nuts with aggravation.
This was it! This was her chance at last. Everyone else was, for the moment, distracted. She glided toward the door and slipped through the space left open right into the Reference Room. Her scarf fluttered behind her like a wing. The falcon, sensing that his master wished to keep her stealth, followed without a single squawk.
Hurry, hurry, hurry... she rushed toward the many boxes that were stacked along the wall. After a moment of contemplation she pulled one out from the stack and opened it. Within it were bundles upon bundles of documents with stickers of various colors attached at top for quick identification.
"169, 169, 169..." She whispered her number beneath her breath as she rifled through those files. The more she did so, the more she was reminded of the unfortunate connotation related to her number... to be specific, the last two digits of her number. Of course, FAMAS took the bulk weight of that joke, but she was strong-willed, perhaps even more than her.
"...Found it."
With sharp eyes she eagerly scanned the report. She did this multiple times; she knew which parts to skip and which parts to focus on among those letters and numbers written in a tiny font...
"...Ah."
Her eyes sank; her shoulders dropped. Her hands fell to her knees, still gripping the file.
In the end, it was mostly her fault for her unreasonable expectations. But still...
"What are you doing, SCW?"
Surprised, she flew ten feet into the air. Whipping around, she saw NZ75, arms akimbo.
"NZ75..." SCW whispered.
Cold and rigid, that was NZ75. Fortunately, she was softer to those she liked... but right now, her expression appeared most disapproving.
"What is that in your hand?"
SCW swiftly hid it behind her back, but it was too late; NZ75 already noticed the tell-tale sticker attached to that file. She immediately knew what it was.
She sighed.
"SCW..." she began in a gentle voice. "I told you to stop doing this. This isn't good for you-"
"-It didn't change," SCW interrupted. Her eyes were downcast, hidden by her hair. Her knees touched the floor, with her legs splayed out on each side. Her hands were on the floor, limp. "At all."
"...Well, what exactly did you expect?"
And there it was. NZ75 was also known for her bluntness.
"..."
The box SCW obtained that file from was the most recent information box Kalina delivered to their Dormitory once a week. Within that box were various files, each containing new updates about the usage of each Tactical Dolls.
Like system. For weeks, the number of likes SCW received remained at 145. Compared to more popular Tactical Dolls, that number was a tiny fraction of an amount needed to be considered respectable.
What was worse was the fact that the number of days since she was last used by the Commanders increased further, and the number of times she was retired increased even more.
...She just wasn't considered worth the effort to obtain or to use.
"SCW, you're a limited drop from Episode 8. Of course you won't have as much chance as others to be popular-"
"-M249 SAW is limited drop from Episode 5 and she has over twice the number of likes as me."
"Don't be stupid. You know that it's easier to get to Episode 5 than to get to Episode 8."
"AK5 is limited drop from Episode 9, and she has 216 Likes."
"SCW, you know full well that that bugged Laser Sensor in Episode 8 makes it even harder to get S-Clear than Episode 9. You were just dealt with an unlucky hand."
"No." SCW shook her head. 'The fault doesn't lie with the stage or the limited drop mechanic... I'm just too gimped."
"SCW, I told you to not say stuff like that."
"Am I wrong? I lack in multiple areas, including firepower and evasion; just look at SR-3MP. The buff I give are also mediocre; I only increase Rate of Fire by 10%, and Damage by 6%, only to a single tile behind me. Skorpion does the same except she increases Rate of Fire by 15% and Accuracy by 50%. MAC-10 increases Damage by 12% while covering the entire area behind her! And we all are of same rarity! Not to mention the fact that any Commander who wishes to use me in battle must have a good Skill Tanker... RO635, for example. And then there's that IDW, who just pulled that prank on us 5 minutes ago (well, I don't know if doing what she did then could be considered a prank, but...). She incurs ire from all the Commanders hoping to get Grizzly MkV after 1 AM. The fact that as an SMG, she has a chance to come out from any Doll Production doesn't help. And yet she has 341 Likes! It's tiny compared to other Tactical Dolls among her battle caliber, but it's more than twice then mine!"
"Do try to keep in mind my position on this," NZ75 cut in. "I'm a fine Tactical Doll of Legendary Rarity, but Commanders hiss at my appearance when they were attempting to get M950A instead. All because of her massive increase in Rate of Fire Buff... And, in the end, does it really all matter? Our job is to do what we are assigned to do with duty and conviction, and nothing more. I do not like seeing you act this way-"
"I know what you're gonna say," SCW retorted. "I know I sound selfish and immature, clinging on these meaningless statistics... but I just want to feel useful! I just want Commanders to prefer and cherish me more! Of what use is a Tactical Doll not even used in battles? Sure, I do sometimes wish that I could fly away and settle into a peaceful life... but while I'm here, I just want to feel some love! I'm just..."
...
"...tired of being abandoned."