Divine Intervention

by VectorWritings

Sent on a recon mission in a small town, ST AR-15 and M4A1 are on lookout for possible Paradeus activity. While resting and surveilling simultaneously in a humble restaurant, they are attacked by the faction they were looking for. But to the surprise of both sides, a waiter takes a stand and intervenes. Who is this guy? And why is he so capable under stress and gunshots?

1. Intervention

"Have you seen anything or anyone suspicious around here, yet?"

"No. Everything looks normal for now."

In a simple restaurant located in a busy neighborhood, two girls watch both the other customers and movement on the street. They look like common civilians, if not for the vibrant colors of choice for clothing and hair – But they are not; They are Tactical Dolls, almost always shortened to T-Doll – Androids capable of fighting in wars, as well as accomplishing any task a human can, plus more.

"Can I take your order, ladies?"

The two dolls look to face the man – Just a common waiter, looking at first glance. The only unusual thing about him was that he used a face mask and gloves – Not uncommon in more ELID-infected zones, but this was a green zone, the second safest classification, with the highest one being a white zone.

"A pair of coffees and sandwiches?" The doll sitting on the left side, with a blue jacket, asked her friend. The pink hair with a purple strand was very distinctive in the eyes of the man taking their orders, but he did not voice his opinion. Her friend, with brown hair and eyes (Along with a green dyeing on her hair) nodded, and the waiter soon repeated the motion.

"Anything else?"

"No, just that."

"As you wish." The waiter bowed, and moved to the kitchen to relay the information.

"He has a concealed pistol. Did you notice?" The pink-haired doll warned her – However, no one else could hear or see her mouth move, due to her information being relayed through the Zener network - A wide area communication protocol similar to Peer-to-Peer technology.

"He does?" The brown-haired doll asked back.

"Appendix carry. Whatever that pistol is, it's concealed well. Isn't it effectively illegal to carry a weapon in this state?"

"I think so. This wasn't brought up in the briefing."

"Should we keep an eye on him?" The pink-haired doll asked her, who looked at the kitchen for a few seconds, pondering what to do.

"I'll watch him. You keep an eye on the street." The brown-haired doll answered, and a few seconds later, the waiter returned with their orders.

"Here you go, ladies. Two standard issue coffees and sandwiches." He said while serving their orders, and the pink-haired doll immediately looked at him with a subdued glare.

"'Standard Issue'?" She asked, eyeing him down.

He immediately let out a silent, short laugh. "Force of habit, sorry. Like the cases, by the way – Gonna do a show later?" He asked, looking at the musical instrument cases both of the dolls carried, unaware they were in reality concealing their rifles.

"No, we're just going to train."

"Fair enough." He waved his hands up after saying. "I have other customers to attend now, so if you excuse-"

On the other side of the street, an unmarked black van abruptly stops, however, most of the other customers did not see it. What grabs the two girls' attention – More than the van, because they noticed it, too – Is the waiter's otherwise gentleman demeanor immediately dropping. Like a bathroom curtain forcefully ripped out.

The two girls divide their attention – The brown-haired staring at the waiter, and the pink-haired staring at the van.

The man's eyes are laser focused on the van – Like a hunter observing his game. Slowly but surely, his left hand trails down to the front of his uniform shirt, and the T-Doll monitoring him immediately deduces that he is ready to draw.

Once he sees one of the people getting out of the car, the man warned the two dolls immediately, with a much deeper voice:

"Unless you have guns with you, get down on the ground right now."

More unidentified soldiers with white body-suits and high-tech equipment stepped out of the van.

At this point, the man already is gripping his shirt and is ready to fight – He just needs one movement.

The two dolls feign dropping something on the ground to get down without alerting the soon-to-be-confirmed-terrorists, giving the armed waiter a clear shot.

Once one of them raises a weapon towards him, he immediately draws his pistol and shoots at the now-confirmed terrorists before they shoot first. With his lightning fast draw, the two dolls could see his pistol – A german VP9, with a red dot sight and a pistol light mounted.

The other customers immediately dove to the ground after the shots are fired, and in the middle of the chaos, the two dolls open their cases, revealing their concealed assault rifles. In the shootout, the waiter successfully shot two of the terrorists, hitting one in the neck and killing instantly, and wounding another one.

"You're carrying assault rifles...?!" He commented, after getting down to cover and seeing the open cases.

"T-Doll." The pink-haired doll announced. The man looked quickly at the guns, then the dolls, and shrugged with his head.

"Good enough for me. There's a back exit in the kitchen area. I have a bag gun stashed in my car out there. I need some suppressive fire on them to get to it and push them back." He explained his plan. "... And I need names."

"ST AR-15." The pink-haired doll declared.

"M4A1." The brown-haired doll added.

"Fair enough." He said. "Suppressive Fire on the van – On my mark."

"Roger." ST AR-15 responded, racking her weapon's charging handle.

"Ready." M4A1 confirmed, disengaging the safety.

"... Engage." The man ordered, and the two dolls opened fire. Seconds later, the unnamed waiter rushed to the kitchen, jumping over the counter quickly and running inside.

The dolls stop shooting and get down to cover, checking and conserving ammunition – Shooting from time to time at the terrorists covered by the van.

Seconds later, the man is back – with his bag gun in hand, ear protection in place and a plate carrier with at least three extended magazines on his chest.

"What the hell! This guy had all this in his car ready!?" AR-15 commented on the Zener network.

"Good for us!" M4A1 replied, still in the network.

"Circle around the counter with your heads down! I'll cover you!" The man explained, and the two dolls nodded, moving to the side while crouched. During the repositioning, the man fired at the van with his new gun – An American Vector SMG in 9mm. More specifically, a select-fire version, which is something a normal civilian is not allowed to have.

During the movement, he fired at the terrorists relentlessly, using the two-round burst of his SMG to place calculated, controlled pairs on the enemy.

"Cover me! Gotta reload!" The man shouted, pulling back to cover in order to reload while the two dolls suppressed the terrorists.

For Tactical Reload times, he was quick on his hands – losing no time fumbling with his equipment and was back in action after a retention reload in less than four seconds.

The terrorists tried to disengage, but unfortunately for them, AR-15 shot the engine block and it was no longer operational.

"Move!" He shouted, going back to firing at the terrorists.

"We're passing in front of you now!" AR-15 warned, and the man stopped firing to let the two dolls pass.

By now, police sirens could be heard closing in on the area.

"Finally. We leave the mess to them - We gotta disappear. Now." The man explained.

"What about you?" M4A1 asked.

"They're in on it, and I'm on a fake ID right now. If they catch me, they'll pin the blame on me and you two. Either I get arrested, or deported."

"Damn. Know any hiding spots?" AR-15 bit her lip in frustration.

"No hiding. We have to go. Get in my car – The faster we get away from here, the better." He ordered, and the two nodded, following him to the vehicle.

His car was an unassuming black Golf Rabbit, bone stock from a visual perspective – Apart from barely visible fender flares.

"One of you has to go in the back. Don't forget the seat belt." He said, running to the left door and getting inside. The man didn't see it, but AR-15 gestured for M4A1 to go in the front, and she nodded.

The three got in, and he wasted no time firing up the engine and smashing the throttle.

AR-15 was in the back, but still noticed some interesting things in the inside of the car – Oil Temperature gauge? Turbo Pressure? 'That's race car stuff', she thought.

Within seconds, they were already on the road and getting out of the hot zone. The turbo whine was very loud due to him driving at full throttle, but after a few minutes he let off the gas.

Now on a roadway with no houses or city-related stop points, he took a deep breath.

"Looks like we're clear." He commented, looking at the rear view mirror and removing his ear protection.

AR-15 panted. "...Good! What about the license plate? What if they track that?" She asked.

"License plate cloned. Don't worry." He explained. "Now – I can imagine that you were here on some mission if you're carrying guns. Do you have any idea what those guys were?" He asked immediately after, keeping his eyes on the road.

"You don't know about Paradeus?" M4A1 asked.

"No…? Never saw them in person, but I'm definitely sure they're not good people now." He explained.

"They didn't go public in this area yet." AR-15 commented. "They're a paramilitary faction that also works like a cult – They take people in Yellow Zones heavily contaminated by ELID promising them a cure they never truly give."

"Great…" He commented, full of sarcasm. "Cultist terrorists. Any ideas on why they chose to try shooting out the restaurant? There's nothing special about it."

"The only possible reason I can think of is that they got info of the two of us being there and tracking them, or some VIP was in there." AR-15 commented.

"… I did hear on the news about some politician showing up in the city. They said that he was planning to visit a restaurant to have lunch before going to a press conference. But it wasn't ours." He explained.

"Mistaken places?" M4A1 asked.

"No, and the possibility of them having a snitch is very low." AR-15 answered.

"… So someone sent them to us." He mused, and the two dolls looked at him. "Send the terrorists that know a HVT is coming to some restaurant in the city with the name and address, they take the bait, come to us and get fucked. They'd just have to make the wrong information believable enough to make them bite." He explained.

"Could UMP45 pull this off?" AR-15 asked M4A1.

"If she managed to get inside their network, she definitely could make a believable intel leading to us." M4A1 returned.

"I figure you're all from Griffin & Kryuger for naming yourselves by your guns?" He asked, and the two nodded.

"Sort of - We work for them, but essentially like outsourced employees." AR-15 explained.

"We received intel that Paradeus could be stationed and forming a base in this city, so we were sent here on recon." M4A1 explained.

After this exposition lesson, an awkward silence ensued while the man drove his vehicle to safety.

"… You didn't give us your name." AR-15 commented.

"Don't bother. ID's faked, and there's no records left in the world that I still exist. I have no one to snitch you to and even if I brought the terrorist attack to the police, they wouldn't hear me out." He shut them down.

"But we need some name to refer to you in case we need to." M4A1 explained, and the man stayed silent for a few seconds.

"… If you must, then call me Vector. Don't tell anyone else about this name unless you absolutely have no choice." He declared, and promptly warned. The two dolls sweat-dropped after hearing it.

"… What? 'This username is already taken'?" He asked rhetorically, and the two nodded. He sighed. "Then just call me Victor. That one should be free." He changed the name, and the two nodded with a small smile.

"Thanks for helping us, Victor." M4A1 thanked him.

"Nice draw on the pistol." AR-15 interjected. "The Paradeus scum was already raising his gun and you still shot him first."

"Lots of hours of dry firing helps you get confident with the motions." Victor explained.

"Still, you were pretty chill in the middle of that shootout for someone who looked like just a civilian." AR-15 commented, and Victor stayed silent.

"...You really aren't just a civilian, are you?" M4A1 pressed further, and he kept his silence.

"...Are you transmitting everything to someone else or your command?" He broke his silence, and was dead serious with his question.

"We're not – We still owe you one for helping us at the restaurant, and we can keep this between us to pay it back if you want to." AR-15 explained, and he pondered for a few seconds. All this while he was still driving. The two dolls suppose that he's going back to his house.

"… 1° Batalhão de Forças Especiais." He declared, with a very different accent to match the different language.

"… First Special Forces Battalion?!" AR-15 waited for her translator systems to work out his words, and was shocked.

"You're Spec Ops?" M4A1 asked.

"And I also specialized in a few more things there." He added.

"No wonder you were in complete control during the fight." AR-15 commented, and Victor scratched the back of his neck after hearing that praise.

"Are you from Brazil? Since you trained with them." M4A1 asked right after.

"As far as I remember, I was born in some other country, but I was raised there. Found some interesting contacts and things there. Don't regret growing up in it." He commented.

After many minutes driving, the car finally stops. "Here it is." He said.

It's an apartment – Not extravagant, but also not something to be called 'cheap'.

"Is this where you live?" M4A1 asked.

"Lived. I'm bolting out of this city after this. I'll warn the receptionist to cut my name out of the registry and live somewhere away from the heat." He explained. "… And I need to take you two back to your base."

"… It's pretty far from here." M4A1 warned.

"Not a problem for me. Stay here – I'll talk with the receptionist and come back ASAP." Victor ordered, took off the tactical vest, and jogged to the apartment.

Less than five minutes later, he came back, with new clothes and a big duffel bag.

Dumping it on the trunk, he got back into the driver seat and fastened his seat belt.

"Guide me to your base and tell your boss you're coming." He said.

"Got it. And it's not 'boss', it's Commander." AR-15 corrected.

"Fine. Go tell 'em you're coming." Victor told her, who nodded in response.

"Already communicated to Commander Gentiane that we're on our way back. She's also seen the shootout on the news." M4A1 told them.

"Yeah. People are gonna talk about it for a long time." Victor commented.

"I also got asked by Commander Gentiane if we received help. Can we mention you?" M4A1 asked.

"They'll find out about me on the news by themselves once they get the witnesses to talk. At least one will give a rough description of me. Go tell her if you wish." He told her, who nodded.

"She asked you to stay with us for a bit of time after returning to our base to compensate and thank you." She explained to him after a few seconds of communication through the Zener Network.

"You'll probably have to take off the face mask, as well." AR-15 added.

"No. In fact, I want the opposite – I'll go pick my full gas mask before going in. No one can see my face. No one." He said, very sternly. "The only reason I'm leaving you two untouched is on the condition that you don't reveal me to anyone else."

AR-15 and M4A1 looked at each other, and nodded together. M4A1 relayed the terms to Gentiane, and informed Victor:

"She agrees to the terms as long as both of us are with you." M4A1 told him.

"Works for me." He agreed, and started to drive again. "Guide me to your base."

A few minutes later, at the Griffin & Kryuger HQ…

The three involved in the shootout are on the way to the Command Center, where the Commander controls all operations and relays orders to dolls in combat.

Inside the Center, the G&K Commander is waiting.

"We're on the way back to base – ETA: 4 minutes." M4A1 informs Gentiane, the Commander controlling the entire operation.

"That's quite fast – But we're waiting." Gentiane responded.

"Turns out the guy who helped us also races on a consistent basis – Mostly in high-end simulators, however." AR-15 added.

"So he's a good shot and a good driver?" She asked, with a drop of sweat falling down her face.

"Yes. His consistent training shows through." M4A1 told her.

"Okay. We'll be waiting for all of you – And tell the guy not to crash." Gentiane said.

"No need to – He's very capable."

Two minutes pass, and a maid T-Doll close to Gentiane speaks up:

"I can hear them getting close. The driver is indeed capable."

"Already?! He's driving at what speed? 120 miles per hour?" Gentiane blurted out.

"From my calculations, it should be on the 160-170 miles per hour mark."

"Damn, the guy really is all-out on the throttle."

"I also just received the information that one of the dolls is streaming his driving to the base. You may want to see it." The maid commented. Although initially dismissive, Gentiane agreed to see it.

The tachometer was hard to see with the camera, but it was indeed around 160-175 miles per hour. The dude was on a mission.

But what got the Commander's attention was a short glance at his face on the central rear mirror – His eyes were glowing, something that only a T-Doll should be able to do.

"I also confirmed that the other dolls cannot see his face – Only this feed is not tampered."

"Thank you for telling me, 36." Gentiane thanked her.

"Master, watch his body's motions." G36 said.

The Commander watched his movements closely, and noticed how precise and fast they were.

"His motions are very controlled for someone in a shaking car – I'd say there's more than just muscle memory involved in it. But those eyes…"

"Do you think he is actually a doll?" G36 asked.

"No, 15 confirmed that he is human." She denied. "Maybe some form of augmentation?"

"It is likely that he did undergo some form of augmentation, given these signs."

"He's looking an awful lot like AK-12 for me…" Gentiane commented.

A few seconds later, the radio relays a voice.

"This is AR-15 to the Commander; Open the gates, we're coming in."

"Already?!" She blurted out, and then cleared her voice. "Understood. Standby for opening."

Within around 10 seconds, the gates were open. Fortunately, there were no dolls on the way inside the gates.

Because he charged in at full speed. The echo of the 2 liter, 16 valve 4 cylinder engine reached the entire base with little effort.

"We're inside! We're inside! Slow down!" AR-15 shouted. After hearing this, Victor hit the brakes hard to stop, also using the Heel & Toe technique while downshifting.

Once they came to a complete stop, his previously glowing eyes went back to normal, and took a deep breath.

"Looks like we're here." He said. "It didn't take too long, did I?"

"No, we're actually very early on schedule." AR-15 responded.

"Good for us, then. Guess I have to go meet your boss, now?"

"Commander. And yes – We'll take you to her."

"Wait – 'Her'?" He asked, and the two nodded. "Huh. Interesting."

Victor then looked to the back of his car, and said:

"I'll go get by gas mask in the trunk. You two can start going where you need to." And got out of the car, being very conscious about his exposed upper face.

Within seconds, he was equipped with his mask, and properly covered. He also took his duffel bag along.

"Okay – I'm ready to go where I need to." Victor said to the two T-Dolls.

"Follow us. It shouldn't take too long." M4A1 said, and he nodded.

"Nice driving!" Another doll, completely unknown to Victor, shouted from one of the open windows on the higher floors. Her clothes had a black-green color scheme, and she had a pair of goggles with a green tint resting on her head.

"Who is she?" Victor asked.

"That's AEK-999. Try to stay away from her, she isn't one to think before acting." AR-15 warned.

"Duly noted." He responded, and the three walked silently towards the Command Center, doing their best to avoid the more densely populated areas of the base.

"I must express my gratitude to you for your intervention in that terrorist attack." Gentiane said to Victor.

"It was for self-preservation. If I left those terrorists to freely engage, they would hunt me down." He returned, and she shook her head.

"Nonsense. If it was for only yourself, you would escape through the kitchen exit and drive out of there.

The man scratched the back of his neck, knowing his lie was called out.

"We do ask for you to stay for a bit, unless you have urgent matters right now." She said.

"The only 'urgent matter' I have right now is getting away from the heat of today." He replied.

"Do you have any place to hunker down, now?"

"… I don't. But I will find one."

"Why not stay for the night? I do owe you a favor for saving my dolls."

"You don't owe me anything else. The IOU these two had was spent with keeping my face hidden." He retorted, getting up from the chair he was sitting on. "I have to get out of here and find some place-"

"Perhaps I should tell you that your glowing eyes were live streamed to us at the base?" Gentiane stated, and the man froze in place right in front of the exit door.

He was slowly but surely reaching for his pistol, but the two dolls noticed, and raised their weapons at him.

"Don't make us do this, Victor." AR-15 said to him, but he didn't move an inch.

"You think you can get some Emotional Points for calling me by that name? That isn't my real name."

"… I don't even remember such name anymore. Only my past callsign, which I will not share with you now, seeing as you already exposed my face to the entire base." He completed, turning to face Gentiane.

"… The others at the base didn't see it." She said to him,

"What?"

"Your face. The transmission that the others saw was delayed so that your face was blurred every time the reflection appeared. Only the version I saw reveals it." Gentiane explained.

"Lies." He retorted.

"It's true. I was blurring your eyes on the feed the others saw."

A new doll, with a distinctly robotic right arm and a scar on the left eye appears from the corridor that leads to the room.

The man looked at the gun in her hand, and deduced quickly:

"UMP45…"

"Nice to see you already know me."

"I take it you're the one who sent the fake tip-off to Paradeus and sent them to me?"

"I meant these two, but in the end, you rose to the challenge." She replied, with a short, evil laugh. Victor noticed that AR-15 was angered by the comment.

'They hate each other. Noted.' He thought.

"Don't misunderstand me. I do wish to preserve your identity – But I must know some things about you." Gentiane started to talk again.

"Know what?" He replied.

"I need to know why you have no records of existence like 404, and why you're human, but every last thing about you says T-Doll." She stated.

The man looked at the three dolls and their Commander for minutes. Both M4A1 and AR-15 nodded at him every time he looked, encouraging them to tell her.

"…" He stayed silent for minutes, thinking of the implications of his final choice. Reveal his background, or have his face out for the entire base.

"... Just so we don't leave you with the wrong idea, we're not going to be doxxing you in any way. If you really can't share your past, that's okay-"

"Projeto COBRA – Arcanjo." He spat out quickly, but slow enough to be clearly understood.

"Project Snake – Archangel?" AR-15 asked, confused about the name.

"It's actually Project Cobra – Archangel. Cobra being an acronym, and the entire name basically means Project Brazilian Combatant – Archangel." Gentiane explained, and then the information clicked on her. "But Project Archangel was said to be a myth! There is absolutely nothing that exists about records related!" And then basically freaked out with the bombshell dropped.

"Because they burned all the files and tied all the loose ends related to it. All except for me." He explained.

"Are you on the run from them?" UMP45 asked, and he shook his head.

"Not the Archangel guys. The ones that were involved are all dead, and the new ones running the show there just said they won't bother me after the help I gave them in the past unless I snitch them. Which I don't want to do." He explained.

"Then why are you on the run?"

"From people that want me for the end result of the Project – A Super Soldier with no name and no records walking around? That is a gold mine for anyone looking for military power. And corrupt cops."

UMP45 let out a small laugh.

"Looks like you're not very different from us." She said,

"Uh… 'Us'?" He asked, looking at AR-15 and M4A1.

"No, not those two. Me and the rest of 404." UMP45 explained.

"404?"

"Squad 404. Very capable at night operations and intel gathering. They are capable of operating without any human orders." Gentiane interjected. "They have an impressive track record to prove. If you can pay their prices." She added.

"Ghost Recon…" He mused, and UMP45 snickered.

"I'm flattered." She commented.

"Infiltration and Sabotage specialists?" He asked, and she nodded in response.

"By the way…" Gentiane cleared her voice. "I would like to know more from you about Project Archangel. It's an unmissable opportunity to know about something widely recognized as a myth. What were they looking for with it?" She asked, and after a few seconds thinking, he sat down again.

"The goal of Arcanjo was to create a soldier that was as capable as an elite T-Doll in combat effectiveness, but completely invulnerable to hacking attacks or artifacts that would otherwise disrupt or neutralize a T-Doll, like hacking, extreme heat within limits, and water." He explained.

"I fill almost all of these blanks pretty well now, then." UMP45 commented.

"Yes, I know there is Electronic Warfare equipment for dolls today and new water-proof frames, but in the past, they were much weaker and more expensive. And a proper hacker could still force his way in if he knew what he was doing." Victor explained.

"Anything else worth talking about the Project?" Gentiane asked.

"Yes. Effectively all test subjects failed due to their bodies rejecting the upgrades. Kinda like post-transplant rejection, but you couldn't take immunosuppressants to treat it. I came late to the train, but from what I could eavesdrop, I was the only one with an acceptable initial connection." He explained.

"How did they act after they saw this?"

"They were already shelving the entire project, but because I was essentially the culmination of the entire effort, they were surprisingly supportive. They did their best to keep me a ghost, and I enrolled in pretty much all of their elite Schools."

"Such as?"

"The First Special Forces Battalion, Combat Divers Group i.e. GRUMEC, and the Airborne Rescue Squadron, i.e. PARA-SAR. To give a few examples." The man tallied.

"So you're Spec Ops, Combat Diver, and a Paratrooper... What?!" AR-15 responded, incredulous about his curriculum.

UMP45 laughed out loud at AR-15's reaction. "Looks like you caught a golden fish, Commander." And commented right after.

"Very impressive CV, indeed." Gentiane praised.

"I wish I had been at least one of these schools…" AR-15 said, dejected.

"You don't need it. A big part of it is just PT and drill instructors shouting at you trying to make you give up. Skill-wise, you're on the same caliber, if not better than them." Victor returned, and a faint blush could be seen in her cheeks. "And also… Where's my car...?" He asked, looking back at Gentiane.

"We took it into our garage here, but I imagine you're already carrying your other gun with you?" She returned.

"Not the Big Gun." He said back. "There's another one in my trunk."

"We can go to your car, then." She offered. "So you can get your other firearm."

"Fair enough, then." Victor said. "Lead the way."

"You have a Victrix Corvo?! They cost over nine thousand dollars! Literally!"

Now in the base's garage, only Vector, Squad 404 and Gentiane remained in the area, with Anti-Rain having to go back to the Command Center earlier than the Commander for briefing in a new operation.

One of the other members of Squad 404, UMP9, shouted. The rest of the squad, HK416 and G11 was also with them.

"I received it as payment when I saved one of their big employees from getting killed by a criminal faction and getting secretly hired to protect him. I also suspect they knew I was a secret Top 1 in my Sniper School class when I went there." He explained.

"With all this equipment and training on hand, I'm surprised you weren't operating as a mercenary by now." HK416 stated.

"Didn't need to." He returned. "Why? Wanting a new employee for your operations?" As soon as he said it, he lifted a brow.

She scoffed. "Of course not. I don't need help."

"Definitely seems like it." He declared. "Your team's track record supports your claim."

She looked away slightly after his praise.

"Solid heater." UMP45 said, checking his sniper rifle.

"Protect her with your life. She will do the same for you." He replied, and UMP45 laughed loudly after he completed the reference. Victor smiled under the mask with her laughs, but no one could see it.

"Maybe set up a shooting range so we can see him in action?" UMP9 asked the Commander.

"We don't have a very long range area set here, so we could only see him using the pistol and the Vector, which will probably end up causing a fuss with T-Doll Vector." Gentiane explained.

"And I wanted to get rid of that gun, too. Wanna change to something else." Victor explained.

"Like what?"

"Depends on the ammo used by any allies. What do all of you here use?" He asked the dolls around.

".45 ACP." UMP45 said.

"416 and I use 9mm, but we don't share magazines." UMP9 said.

"I also use 5.56 as my main cartridge." HK416 added.

"I use the same ammunition as her." M4A1 said.

"I have an Upper to use 5.56, but I use primarily .300 Blackout." AR-15 explained.

"So the classic 5.56 is the way to go." He mused, cupping his chin. "I do have a 5.56 gun I liked, but it's not exactly cheap. Probably should skip it…"

"Why not bet that on a shooting competition?" UMP45 asked, with a grin on her face. "If you beat all 4 of us, we'll pay for it."

"45! Are you sure about this?" UMP9 asked her, who simply nodded with the same grin.

"Let's see if he really is a big dog." She commented, and the man raised a brow.

"And what am I going to use to shoot? My pistol?" He retorted.

"I'll let you use my rifle. Only this time." HK416 said, handing him the gun.

He immediately checked the chamber, where there was no bullet, and unloaded the weapon.

Eyeing the rifle down to every detail, he pulled the charging handle to reset and pull the trigger, and checked how it behaved. After doing this multiple times, he commented in a low voice:

"No different from a mil-spec trigger." And then raised his volume back to normal. "Lead me to the shooting range – I'm ready."

UMP45 was begging to see at this point with his reaction. AR-15 was already aware that he was capable with his pistol, but wanted to see him with a rifle. M4A1 was the same as AR-15. The narcoleptic G11 was still very sleepy as always, but curious.

Fast forward about 10 minutes, and the whole group arrived at their training center.

The shooting range was not your typical civilian-friendly flat range – Over 250 yards of range, foliage and other means of concealment, as well as low-contrast, camouflaged targets. Effectively real combat condition training.

"Real conditions for training – Good call." Victor commented.

"Shooter, are you ready?" Gentiane asked, with a finger on the keyboard, ready to start the system.

The man checked his equipment. One loaded VP9 with a 13-round magazine, one extra 17-round magazine on the side of the holster with the pistol and 4 fully-loaded magazines for the HK416 on the plate carrier.

"Can I run through a shorter course before the main one to warm up?" He asked, looking back at Gentiane, keeping the rifle pointed towards the range.

The Commander pressed some buttons to reconfigure, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Shooter ready." He confirmed.

"Standby…!"

Beep! And the targets started popping up.

One after one, he fired at the targets that appeared, although for the sharp eyes, it was clear that he wasn't exactly top tier Aimbot at that point. Some shots missed, and he fumbled some reloads and lost a few tenths of a second.

Finishing the course, he grabbed new, loaded magazines and placed them in his plate carrier.

Still, he got a very respectable score, hitting 39 out of 50 targets for the course.

UMP45 was not exactly shocked with the result, and HK416 looked like she expected more.

"I could have done better than him on this-"

"Start the full course. Warm-up is over – I am ready."

HK416 said, but was cut by Victor, with his voice particularly devoid of excess emotions.

"Oh, shit. Don't tell me…" UMP45 spoke, but didn't finish.

"Shooter ready. Standby…!" Gentiane said.

Just faintly, UMP45 could hear an emotionless AI voice mutter:

"Protocolo Arcanjo - Aguardando." Meaning 'Archangel Protocol – On Standby'. Noticing this, she started to record again. Her hunch was that it came from somewhere in his chest area.

"Now the real show starts…" UMP45 muttered. The rest of 404 also watched him closely.

Beep! And the targets started to pop up again, this time, in different order, and more than one at the same time.

The difference in technique is easily visible compared to before.

His accuracy is far superior, his motions much more calculated, and with little margin for missing hits, even on the Reduced Size targets.

Due to targets popping up one after another, all reloads were full reloads, which he made look easy, dropping the empty magazines on the ground, grabbing a new one on his carrier, inserting, and pressing the Bolt Catch seamlessly. Other quirks also grabbing attention about his reloads are the fact that he did not even inspect the chamber before starting the reload, which indicates he has an Ammo Counter in his view to anticipate the time to reload.

In some moments of the course, he had to reload, but multiple targets appeared before allowing him to do so, forcing him to draw his pistol and engage before being able to go back to firing the rifle.

Before the training started, in the Doll cafeteria of the base, where multiple T-Dolls were eating and chatting, G36 moved quickly to Springfield, the one responsible for the cafe.

"Turn on the TV. Now." G36 said.

"Why? Any important news?" Springfield asked back.

"Orders from Master. She's in the training room right now, and asked to share the video feed."

"Oh~? Is it our new racing driver that we saw just before~?" AEK-999 appeared right after hearing G36's explanation.

"Yes, it's him. Now turn it on, before it starts." G36 said, and Springfield obliged, turning the big TV on in the same channel as before right as the shooting started.

"I imagine he's more than just a driver. Have you seen the restaurant attack news? Witnesses mentioned that one of the employees opened fire on the terrorists. Killed one and injured one." Springfield mentioned.

"Think it was him that shot the Paradeus scum?" AEK-999 asked back.

"I'm not entirely sure, but the possibility is high."

"It is him. He escorted AR-15 and M4A1 out of the crossfire and took them both back to base." G36 explained.

"Oh. Commander Gentiane didn't tell me." Springfield stated.

Needless to say, all the people watching this display were shocked.

Minutes of gunshots later, the training course ends, and the digital counter tallies up 100/100 – A perfect score.

Unloading HK416's rifle, he turns back, still with his gas mask, and hands the rifle back to the owner with one hand, who was understandably dazed, wide-eyed and with her mouth open. The mask's lenses were blue, interestingly, and covered his eyes, but a bright blue glow could still be discerned coming out of the mask – More specifically, his eyes. Something unexpected, given that the man has very dark brown eyes, bordering on pure black. This was caught by the camera feed, as well as the rifle's suppressor being red hot on the tip.

"Go buy a GSE Trigger. This one is terrible." He said to HK416, without an ounce of emotion. UMP9 snickered after hearing him badmouth her setup.

Soon after finishing the training course, he walked towards the exit, but stopped before getting out, looking back at 404, and stating:

"… And I want a polish MSBS Bullpup for beating your scores."

In the Command Center, after the display, Gentiane is re-watching the recording.

"He's a human male AK-12. He is. A human male. AK-12." Gentiane spouted, looking shell-shocked.

"That is a good comparison." G36 commented, and Gentiane's head fell into the desk right after.

Meanwhile, Squad 404 were contacting a known, trusted weapons supplier, buying the MSBS they now owe to Victor for underestimating him and losing the bet.

"I didn't think he was that good! The dude's a fucking AK-12 clone!" UMP45 retorted in the discussion.

"Yes, you underestimated him, and now we have to pay the price." HK416 fired back.

"Cheer up! Maybe he works with us after this because of what we're buying!" UMP9 interjected.

And while this fiery discussion happened, G11 was sleeping. Again.

In the AR Team's dormitory, M4 SOPMOD II was jumping after seeing him shooting.

"That was so cool! The targets just kept popping up non-stop and he was just going Bang! Bang! Bang! And wrecking all of them easily!"

"His accuracy is off the charts! Even AK-15 would have missed some of them." RO635 commented, astonished with his results.

"And he did all this with someone else's weapon." M4A1 added.

"Someone else's weapon that still had a Mil-Spec trigger."

Victor, in the corridor, added to the conversation.

"What does that change?" RO635 asked.

"I could have been faster than that if the trigger wasn't terribly heavy." He answered. "I had to constantly correct my aim before firing because of the excess force I had to apply on the trigger to fire."

"That run was insane!" SOPMOD II shouted, jumping towards him, but was stopped by AR-15. "Let me go!"

"No." AR-15 said to SOPMOD II, flatly. "Very impressive results on the training." And then praised him.

"Could've been better…" He said, in a lower voice.

ST AR-15 approached him, shaking her head.

"I always see HK416 boasting that she is perfect, and that everything she does is perfect. She'll never tell you, but her best score at that challenge is 91/100." She stated, looking up to him. "If there is someone that could boast about 'being perfect', it's you. And yet you don't." She continued.

The man shrunk his head down, and looked away. If he had taken his gas mask off, everyone would see the blush he had in his face.

"Don't say things like that…" Victor replied softly, looking away from her.

"Oh! Oh! He got embarrassed by sis AR-15's praise!" SOPMOD II said, pointing at him.

The man got even more agitated after her comment, and quickly walked out of the front of the door.

And seconds after he started to walk away, a siren started blaring. The base was under attack.

"Shit. I can recognize an alarm siren anywhere in the world." Victor said to himself.

"We're under attack." AR-15 caught up to him and warned him.

"I need to speak with Commander Gentiane to decide what we have to do." RO635 explained. "You need to come with me." And then said to Victor.

"I need to grab my full kit, first. If they're advancing, I have to set my sniper up and help repel them." He replied. RO635 didn't know what to do.

"Go talk to Gentiane. I'll take him to grab his kit, and then lead him to the Command Center." AR-15 explained, and she nodded, jogging towards the center.

"We need to move quickly." Victor commented. "If anyone's going to stop by who controls the ammunition logistics here, tell them to separate some API .50 BMG bullets for me if they have."

"API?" M4A1 asked.

"Armor-Piercing Incendiary. I have to move." He explained, and gestured for AR-15 to move with him. M4A1 nodded, and moved to the armory.

"The honeycomb pattern isn't something I expected." AR-15 commented.

"It's necessary for Active Camouflage and Mimicry." He explained.

"Wait… Active Camouflage?"

This time, Victor finally had his full combat equipment, and AR-15 was the first one in G&K to see it.

A gray cloak with honeycomb pattern was the first major dressing on the upper body, reaching a small portion of the upper thighs, and also including a hood that covers the rest of the head not affected by the gas mask, as well as covering almost the entirety of the arms, leaving only the hands free, which are then covered by long, black operator gloves slid over the sleeves.

Over the chest area, a plate carrier is used, with extra protection plates on the back, and MOLLE on the front and the upper portion of the back plate, used in the front for: Three small pouches on the upper, right area; Two large magazine pouches below the smaller ones and a pistol holster right on the other side of the line occupied by the two magazine pouches, with the VP9 stored in it. On the back of the carrier, a radio is attached to the upper left portion of it through the MOLLE.

Both arms and knees are padded, and on the hip, a belt is used, with another smaller pouch on the two and five o' clock positions, and a pair of medical pouches sharing the six o' clock position of the belt.

On the legs, standard BDU pants are used, also in gray, and with the end of said pants tucked into a pair of military boots.

Wrapped around the pants are three thigh straps – Two on the left leg, and one on the right leg. He argued that he may use them as rope locks, since the locking mechanisms are made of a tungsten alloy able to withstand at least double his body weight and he can control the gap in the middle of it to suit his needs.

Worth noting on the entire set is the Honeycomb pattern of camouflage, used in all clothing except for: Gas mask, gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, belt, thigh straps and boots.

"Why else would I use a shitty camo pattern like it?" He replied, loading the magazine into the Victrix Corvo without cycling the bolt, and folding the stock. "Let's go see your Commander." He nodded to her, slinging the definitely heavy sniper rifle into his back.

Making a beeline directly to the Command Center, they reach the Commander, already relaying their next movements.

"Took you long enough-"

"I need a frequency to communicate and a place to set up a Sniper Nest."

Gentiane started to chastise him for being late, but was cut off by him. Even with the stock folded, the barrel of the Victrix rifle was still very visible.

"Can't you set up on the roofs?" G36 asked.

"Any combatant with a sliver of experience and expecting snipers will be looking at those places first." He responded. "I need a radio frequency to talk and a room with a keyhole to work."

Gentiane sighed. "Turn right and take the room two doors after. Room #206."

Victor nodded. "And frequency?"

"512.96." She clarified. "But you don't have a-"

Immediately after hearing the frequency, he turned back and ran to the position, and in that turn, Gentiane saw his radio on the back, and didn't finish the sentence.

"All G&K units connected to this frequency, do not enter Room #206. I repeat: Do not enter Room #206 – I have set a Claymore in front of the door from the inside." Victor, now in position and waiting for the onslaught, warned on the radio frequency.

"Looks like we got the big guns to help us out!" A new doll Victor didn't know yet answered on the radio, recognizing the voice because of the moment where he criticized HK416's trigger.

"Any combatants with access to this communication frequency, identify yourselves." He ordered, already in combat mode, and with his gas mask removed to facilitate aiming. And because nobody would be able to see his face there, although the hood was still over his head.

"XM3 from Echelon 4 ready."

"SVD of Echelon 5 in position."

"NTW-20, Echelon 5. In position."

"M200… Echelon 4. Ready."

"Confirmed. Squad leaders, identify." He replied.

"Webley, Echelon 4's leader. Pleased to work with you."

"Save the formalities for later, we've got a job to do. Echelon 5's leader?"

"That's me. T-Doll Makarov. I saw your training video today."

"I'd be out on the front lines if I already had the MSBS I'm yet to cash in from 404. Any other echelons with access to this channel?"

"Yes. Echelon 6, and also the others, but only the other echelons' leaders." Makarov told him. "How did you get access to this frequency?"

"Gentiane gave me the numbers, and I rushed to my Sniper Nest right after. Tell her to write the other channel frequencies for me when we're finished." He explained.

"Roger." She confirmed, and then remembered a key detail. "Wait, were you hired by G&K?"

"Negative. In the case of one of the echelons getting cut off and needing immediate Exfil." He declared.

"Are you a Paratrooper to be able to do that?" XM3 asked.

"Yes. PARA-SAR - Airborne Rescue Squadron." He added.

"No wonder you did so well on the range." NTW-20 commented.

"Echelon 6's leader, identify yourself." He ordered.

"T-Doll Jericho, Echelon 6's leader." A very strong, commanding voice spoke out. "You must be the masked shooter from the video circling around. Impressive results."

"Store your praises for later." He retorted. "I need every last bit of information on what we're facing."

"Operator Victor, this is Commander Gentiane. Do you copy?" The Commander spoke up on his frequency.

"Affirmative. I need information on what enemies we are up against." He returned.

"More Paradeus soldiers. You already met some before."

"Yes. With a big helmet with a glass visor on the front?"

"Those were Strelets. Their infantry."

"Common grunts?"

"For them, yes."

"Any visual on the incoming wave and numbers?"

"30 Strelets and one Uhlan are making a beeline to us." NTW-20 informed.

"Shit!" Gentiane spouted.

"I need intel on these 'Uhlans'."Victor required.

"They're basically tanks with Force Shields. Take no damage unless the shield's down." Gentiane explained.

"How strong are the shields?"

"We have to use ATWs to rip through."

"ATWs?"

"Anti-Tank Weapons."

"... Artillery." He replied.

"... Yes." She returned.

"Order the dolls on the frontline to hide and set an ambush. If they have grenade launchers, order them to hit the tracks of the tank after attacking the grunts." He ordered. While saying this, he quickly changed his magazine, and switched the projectile used to a green/gray tip projectile - A high-explosive incendiary armor-piercing munition. After this, he also cycled the bolt to extract the simple FMJ that was in the chamber, retaining it.

"I should be the one giving orders." She said back. "And I knew that."

"Strelets and Uhlan in sight. They're using the tank as cover." He warned, watching the Uhlan's movements.

"Any extra ideas?" Gentiane asked.

"Depends on whether we have dolls on the front hiding." He stated.

"Yes. Anti-Rain and Echelons 7 and 8 are ready to engage at any moment."

"Tell them to hold their fire for as long as possible and for the grenadiers to focus on the grunts."

A few seconds observing, he gets a glimpse of Anti-Rain through the scope, and later one of the other echelons hidden in the treeline, waiting to pounce.

"Patch me through to AR-15 and her group." He ordered, and a few seconds later, they could talk to him.

"Victor? Is that you?" M4A1 asked.

"Correct. I need all of you on the front to stay put and let them pass. Once the grunts walk by, open fire on them first." He explained.

"Are you sure about this?" RO635 asked soon after.

"Unless they already know your positions, we can ambush them on the way in. Any explosives set? Landmines?" He returned.

"No..." AR-15 said, biting her lip in frustration. "And even if we did, there's no way to guarantee the shield wouldn't block it."

"There is also that. Do you have any explosive power on your team? 40mm grenades?"

"I do! I have explosives to blow those bastards flying high up into the sky!" SOPMOD II announced.

"... Good. Keep them loaded, but do not engage yet. Wait for their formation to pass, and then fire on the grunts."

"What about that Uhlan?" M4A1 asked.

"The artillery will destroy the shield, and then they can disable it." He answered.

Twenty seconds later, the Uhlan is starting to pass by the echelons on the ground, and the Strelets are right behind it.

"Not yet, SOP-II... Don't fire yet." RO635 told SOP-II through the Zener Network, with her being visibly impatient.

And suddenly, they could hear Victor muttering a prayer silently through their radio. Fortunately, it was low enough not to compromise them.

The Active Translation System was working his prayer, and they were intrigued by it:

"Praise the One who guides my hand and controls my trigger to the bottom.

I ask that it be my sword, my high fortress, my high tower from which I sow the liberation of those who opted for slavery.

I ask of You, be my shield and blind the vision of those who could eliminate me.

Look after me, do not let me be ashamed before my brothers and do not let my enemies triumph over me."

The translation was of good quality, but was still a machine translation. SOP-II was now extra pumped, AR-15 and RO635 were even more focused, and M4A1 gripped her cannon tighter.

Only ten seconds later, the entire formation passed by the teams.

"Now!" RO635 shouted, and SOPMOD II was first to fire the M203 grenade launcher.

Boom!

And then the rounds started firing.

Over 20 Strelets were killed in the grenade barrage, and the rest of the grunts were picked off one by one, completely exposed to the ambush.

The Uhlan started to turn around to face one of the sides with Griffin dolls, and they were quick to spread out and hide.

Within seconds, Victor pulled the trigger, and hit the tracks of the tank, dealing some damage, but not enough to immobilize it yet.

Cycling the bolt, he took another shot, hitting a different portion of the tracks.

With a third critical shot to the tracks, the tank is immobilized.

"The tank is immobilized. Order all T-Dolls to disperse and get away from the tank so the artillery can engage it." Victor spoke quickly, taking the opportunity to switch magazines.

"Roger!" RO635 confirmed.

"Victor to Gentiane, the tank is immobilized – Waiting on the artillery fire." He said to the Commander.

"All units: BGM-71 is ready! Get away from Uhlan, now!" She announced it on all channels.

Victor kept firing on the tracks regardless, to ensure it didn't move out at the last second.

"HOC firing! HOC firing!" Gentiane shouted to everyone, and soon after, the fireworks arrived.

Boom! But it still was operational.

"This is Victor to the Command - Target splashed, but still operational. Fire again." He warned the Commander.

"HOC firing again!"

Boom!

After the second rocket, the tank finally explodes, and is completely neutralized.

"...This is Victor to the Command... Target down. All enemies eliminated."

"Mission accomplished! Thanks for the help, Victor." SVD thanked him via the radio.

"Good call on shooting the tracks." NTW-20 added.

"Uhlan or whatever, a tank is a tank. Hit the tracks, and it's a flipped turtle." Victor's Archangel Protocol was now disabled, and he was back to having his standard human range of emotions.

"M200 and NTW, keep watch for any extra waves. Victor, come to the Command Center again for debrief." The Commander ordered.

"Got it. Just need to disable this Claymore." He replied, getting up from his previous prone position.

Now back in the Command Center, Victor and Gentiane discuss the aftermath of the enemy attack.

"Those guys are very well armed if they have a tank to spare just for an attack like this." He stated.

"This is one of the smaller, proper formations they have." Gentiane explained.

"I imagine they're already on the hunt for us, so fill me in on everything you know about them and how to fight them." He asked, and the Commander opened a dossier on a screen, starting to explain the enemy force.

First on the screen were two different soldier types – The first one, he already met. Strelets, soldiers with white full-body suits and futuristic rifles. The grunts of Paradeus.

The second soldier was new to him – Wearing a similar full-body suit, but with some sort of long object on top of their heads.

"You already know Strelets, so we'll move on to the next: These are Rodeleros, they jump towards you to close the distance and fire a laser. High damage, but the jump is very telegraphed – Just be ready to dodge when they pounce."

"And those force shields?" He inquired.

"They have it, but we have solid intel that they only cover the frontal area, just like the Uhlans." She confirmed.

"Dodge, flank and kill..." He muttered. "Got it."

"Next, these are the major threats. Them and the Uhlans." Gentiane explained, changing the image to what was a Gundam to him.

"They have a Gundam?" He spouted.

"No, these are called Doppelsöldners. They have explosive and heavy weaponry, are highly protected and also have the same force shields. Terminate with prejudice immediately if you can, and retreat if you cannot." She explained, and he cupped his chin thinking about how to confront them.

"Maybe attacking the 'Achilles Tendon' from the flank...?" He muttered to himself.

"Only plausible if you go for the right leg. If you try from the left, it'll whack you with that shield on the arm. And even then, it's still a stretch." She denied.

"How did you deal with them before this?"

"We'd use HOCs with high penetration power to disable the force shields and then shoot it until it dies."

He hummed in response. "Unless I carry an AT4 with me, that strategy wouldn't work." He mused. "I'll have to figure out a way to confront them on my own. Or at the very least, stall them."

"We have some simulations involving them that could be used." She commented.

"Might need some of that later down the line." He responded. "What else?"

"None of the others require a specific briefing. They're all 'eliminate the shield, keep your distance and shoot it until it dies'." The Commander noted, and he shrugged with his head.

"Fair enough. Anything else I need to stick by here to hear?"

"No, we've already finished the After Action Report, so you're free to go."

"Well then..." He said, getting up from the chair. "I have to catch some items for me, now."

Gentiane raised a brow. "Catch what?"

"I gotta go hunt 404." He flatly stated. "They still owe me that MSBS." And grinned when he said that, leaving the Command Center.

"I'll never bet with you again." UMP45 said, dejected.

In an undisclosed area close to the G&K base, Victor was receiving his MSBS from 404.

"Thank you for the gift!" Victor said, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Are you going to help us in the future, now that we gifted you this?" UMP9 asked, and was promptly bonked by HK416. "Ow! You want that as well, 416-nee!"

"No, I don't." HK416 replied. Clearly lying, but she's better at doing it.

"Hand me a small radio." He ordered.

"Why? Don't you have one?" UMP9 asked.

"I'll keep a separate one for your team in case you have to call for backup. You aren't under Griffin's command, after all." He explained. "Except for when they buy your services outsourced."

"Fine. I'll have to buy another one for myself later, take this one – It already has the frequency set." HK416 said, giving him a radio, which he tucked in the small pouch on his belt.

"Thank you. If you end up needing some fire support, just give me a call with this." He said back to them, and HK416 averted her gaze slightly. "I'll have to go to the shooting range again to train, and shop for some attachments."

"Kalina should have some attachments in stock." UMP45 commented.

"Kalina? Who's that?" He asked.

"You didn't meet her?"

"No?"

"She runs the logistics here. All ammo paperwork and control is with her."

"Oh, I tried asking for some API .50 BMG but never really got it, so I didn't see her."

"Why didn't you go get it?" UMP9 asked.

"I didn't know where the ammo was stored, and I had planted a Claymore in the door where I set my sniper up. Those things take a while to disarm and recover." He explained. "Also, do you have a gridded map of every part of the world?" He then asked, looking at HK416.

"What? Do you have Indirect Fire Teams across the whole world?" She asked, with a hint of sarcasm.

Victor stayed silent, and blinked multiple times.

"You do?!" UMP9 spouted.

"Only in the bigger countries. I have three Artillery Teams in the New Soviet Union, two in the USA, one in South America, two in Europe, and one in Oceania." He explained, and their mouths were wide open.

"Do you have your own PMC or something?!" UMP45 shouted.

"It's more of a militia, since we don't get contracts. And a good chunk of them are former soldiers." He explained, and then his mood went drastically down. "A lot of them ended up experiencing the evil and corruption in their former organizations, and either quit because their souls couldn't condone their acts, or tried to blow the whistle and were then labeled as 'loose ends' or something just as horrible."

Squad 404 did not expect the sudden sad story.

"Are they okay?" UMP9 asked – The constantly spirited attitude wavering.

"Some of them were already re-discovering their purpose when I found them, but many were lost souls. Even contemplating suicide because they couldn't live with it." He recounted, lowering his head slightly. "And the others that were also kicked out and found me got the boot because they stood for their own principles and chose to oppose the status quo as well as unethical or immoral orders from their former organizations."

"Orders...?" G11, the one who's always sleeping, is the one to ask, with her classic sleepy voice.

"In their case, it would be essentially summed up as: 'Obey this order and do this morally wrong thing or you will be fired or 'suicided'', and they decided to choose the latter." He explained. "Some of them forfeited giant salaries for this sacrifice, and their names are now subject to constant slander and vilification. But they themselves say to me that they don't care. As one of my closest friends says: 'Obedience is not a Virtue'." Victor continued, and although the mask concealed his face, they could notice that he was smiling, and had the gleam in the eyes that could only be associated with a teacher seeing his student surpass him.

"I can see how proud you are of them." UMP45 commented.

"Anyone saved from despair and suicide already deserves respect. Those that went through that tribulation for chasing the truth and good deserve to be saved." He said back. "If the owners of this world want us dead for not obeying the good Devil or 'good' government ordering the enslaved masses, we will not allow them to decapitate us without resistance. We. Must. Fight. For our freedom... For what is right." His eyes flashed that same blue glow through the gas mask as before once he said 'We must fight', making his conviction even clearer.

HK416 and UMP45 looked at each other, and smiled.

"Looks like you really aren't that different from us." UMP45 said to him.

"There will be a day where we will be caught, deleted, and disassembled for going rogue like we do." HK416 stated.

"And there will be a day where I will be held accountable by the Lord for my sins on Earth." Victor returned. "But that day will come when He decides it's time. Not man or the Ten Kings."

"So you really are a Man of Faith?" UMP9 asked rhetorically.

"The highest irony in the world – If the man who is the final result of Project Archangel was an Atheist!"

Victor raised his head laughing loudly, and Squad 404 laughed along with him.

"That would be funny!" UMP9 commented, and he nodded.

"But yes, I do follow the Lord. If I didn't, I would have given up long ago... Just like my trusted allies would have, had they not learned of the Lord's gospel and found friends to grow together." Victor said.

"Does your group have a name?" UMP45 asked.

"I don't know. 'Freedom Fighters'? Nobody bothered to think about it since it's like a small community." He returned.

"That's too corny of a name." UMP45 snickered. "Why not brainstorm something?"

"...Strike Team Archangels?" He offered.

"Could work. But you're not focused on direct action, are you?" HK416 asked, and he cupped his chin thinking.

"No... We're more focused on stealth actions, intel gathering and black ops. But we can take direct action if needed, hence the artillery batteries." He explained.

"Then how about... Ghost Recon Archangels?" UMP9 offered.

"It would be more fitting, but Strike Team Archangel sounds cooler." Victor retorted, and HK416 lightly punched his shoulder.

"... Now that I think about it, I have used two different code names according to the mission type." He then commented, after staying silent for a few seconds.

"You did?" HK416 asked.

"Yeah. When it was Direct Action, I would be Archangel, but when it was a covert operation or intel gathering, it would be Vector." Victor explained.

"So... Strike Team Archangel for Direct Action and Ghost Recon Vectors for covert ops?" UMP9 offered.

"I like the STA. The second name, not so much." He stated.

"Ghost Company?" HK416 offered.

"Strike Team Archangel of the Ghost Company..." Victor mused, and tilted his head. "I like it."

"I'd say it's good enough." HK416 commented.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go buy some attachments for the gift you just gave me-"

"Archangel, this is Assassin 3-1 – How copy, over?"

The deep voice came from the radio on his back. 404 could hear it because they were close to him, but no else could.

He only raised his index finger to do a 'shhh' gesture to the four dolls. His eyes' blue glow returned again.

"Assassin 3-1, this is Archangel. Hear you loud and clear, over."

"We heard the news. Are you compromised? Over."

"Very likely. I'm already getting out of this city after this, over."

"I hope at least one good thing came from this."

"Yes. In fact, I'm pretty sure we found some new friends..." He said back, looking at Squad 404.

"You trust them?"

"Do you know if anyone in our group heard about Squad 404?"

"No way... 'Those who don't exist'? You found them?"

"Your guy here scored a gun out of us because we lost a bet and he saved G&K's hide twice!" UMP9 said to the man on the radio.

"Wait, G&K? The Rossartrist PMC?"

"When I was attacked in that restaurant, there were two T-Dolls associated with them to help. Then while their Commander was trying to thank me for getting them out alive and back to their base, we got attacked yet again."

"They really don't want to give us a break..."

"Also, I found out what was the faction making those moves on our group: They call themselves Paradeus."

"So that's their name... Good to know – I'll contact our Intelligence about it and see what they can dig up."

"Didn't you say to the AR Team that you didn't meet them before?" UMP45 asked.

"Not those Strelets. We only fought stationary turrets and some humanoids with gray cloaks and red eyes that we then found out belonged to the 'White Faction'. Then I learned of their name when I talked with Gentiane." He explained, and then turned back to Assassin 3-1 on the radio.

'Pyxis and Isomers...' UMP45 and HK416 thought. 'He was in Tallinn!?'

"I will be returning soon, and I have given 404 access to our Artillery Teams if needed."

"Alright, boss. I figure they are more than money-hungry mercenaries if you did this."

"We're not. We only do this to survive and stay on the run." HK416 responded directly.

"Right... It's not like they'll let a group of rogue T-Dolls run around freely." Assassin 3-1 commented, laughing for a short time. "If you wish to visit us, just stay with our boss. He'll take you to us."

"We don't have any contracts to fulfill now, right?" UMP9 asked.

"No. We're free for now." UMP45 answered.

"Then let's go there!"

"I wanna stay here and sleep..." G11 said, sleepy as always.

"We have some very nice beds to spare in case you need to sleep." Victor said.

"... Fine. Will it take too long to get there?"

"Shouldn't take more than half an hour." He explained. "I could get there faster, but all of you would be getting constantly thrown around by the G-Forces."

"Yeah, better to wait half an hour to get there smoothly." UMP45 said. "Do you have 5 seats in your car?" And then asked Victor, who nodded to her question.

Fast forward about 25 minutes, and Squad 404 and Victor are driving through a very tight dirt road that normal people would never know or see unless they are aware of it. By now, they can already see a very open field on the left side.

They are stopped by a small group, that appears to be a bunch of bandits with rifles, but instead of telling them to hand their money, one of them says:

"Warzone!"

404 is ready to put up a fight, but Victor responds first.

"Revelations."

Immediately after hearing this, they lower their guns and nod at each other.

"Challenge and Password?" HK416 asked. He only nodded.

"Sorry for that, Boss!" One of the guys went to the driver's side while saying that.

"It's just our SOP. Not something to be sorry about."

"I guess these are our new guests?" The man asked, looking at the passengers.

"Yes. They'll be with us at least for a short while." Victor answered.

"Okay. We'll open up the entry so we can get inside, now."

"As always, thank you, Lucas." Victor said, and 'Lucas' scratched his neck.

"Just doing my job..." He retorted, and then led the car and passengers into a considerably open area, but otherwise completely empty.

"Are we in the proper position?" Victor asked.

"Standby, we're confirming... Yes, we're opening now." Lucas confirmed, and a square area surrounding and including them starts sinking into the ground slowly. "Don't worry, it's our entry system. We keep our main facilities underground."

A few seconds after going down the earth later, they see a massive, vault-like door closed, that soon emits a clear pressurization noise, and starts to open.

"I guess you can call this our Oasis. I'd like to call it Eden, but there's only one true Eden, and it's not here." Victor said.

"How many people are in this place?" UMP45 asked.

"On this facility? About... 250. We always include the dolls we have into the account."

"'Including dolls'? Do you also take other dolls permanently?" HK416 asked.

"The demons and convicted sinners no longer restrict themselves to making moves on humans. We have some tortured souls that were violated mercilessly by those who spit on the Lord's face. Praying that someone would save them. Praying that God would save them." He explained, and the glow came back. At this point, it looked less like a glow and more like a fire, given how it's tied to his convictions.

"And it wasn't God that saved them." HK416 shot back, and was slapped by UMP45.

"Look at who you're saying that-!"

UMP45 tried to scold her, but then, Victor instantly turned his head towards HK416, and now that 'glow' seemed to move along with the wind. It was a fire. The entire Squad 404 froze in fear.

"S-Sorry!" HK416 instinctively said, showing a fear that not even her squadmates saw before.

He kept staring at them for a few seconds – The flame moving about inside the mask.

"We can't expect God to do all the work." He replied, and the flame started to die down. "Not when Satan and his demons are running around freely on Earth." And added.

G11 was shaking and tearing up after his reaction.

"One of those dolls that were saved by us that I always remember... That will always haunt me... Is the one that we call Thunder, now." He started to talk, and moved towards the inside of the facility.

"Thunder?" UMP45 asked.

"The Triple Action Thunder pistol." He answered. "She's an older generation doll, and we found her in the cesspool of society. A legitimate Sodom, and there she was, being violated by a demon disguised as a human. She was screaming, bleeding and crying... Begging him to stop and let her go. It was one of the few times we took the initiative and did a Direct Action."

"How was she when you intervened...?" UMP9 asked softly.

"She had many cuts, bruises and still has multiple scars as a constant reminder of witnessing the demons running around on the Earth directly." He responded. "... I asked her if she wanted to see the demon that violated her suffering. I didn't ask her if she wanted him to suffer. He was going to, regardless. I only questioned if she was going to stay there to see it."

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, again." HK416 said, and he snickered.

"With how you immediately apologized after I turned to you, I don't think that's going to be needed."

"Will you tell us more about when you saved Thunder?" UMP9 asked.

"Maybe. But not in the car – Let's get out and greet some people." He said back, opening the driver's door and getting out.

Once the four dolls get out of the car, five men in full military gear get close to them, and offer to shake hands with all of them.

"I heard that Archangel was bringing some new people in, today. And the legendary Squad 404, no less." The older man of the group.

"Curious that you know about us." UMP45 commented, and was the first one to shake his hand, introducing herself right after.

"One of my colleagues bought your services – As crazy as that sounds. Call me Marcus, I'm the oldest on my squad and their leader." Marcus introduced himself.

"UMP9! Victor said that his family here is huge! Like 250 people here!" UMP9 said while shaking his hand. He laughed with her.

"Lots of people to chat with, indeed." He commented. "Hey, Johnny – We have our dinner ready yet?" And then asked one of the others of the group, who looked to be in his low 30's.

"Should be almost done by now." Johnny answered plainly.

"Then how about we take our guests to the dinner table? There's a lot of us wanting to see them in person." Marcus asked back.

"Do take them there. I have to go to the armory and grab some attachments to my new gun." Victor interjected, and showed the new weapon he scored out of 404.

"Oh? Rico did tell me that one of the 404 dolls spoke about 'losing a bet and buying a gun for him'." Marcus commented.

"That was me!" UMP9 announced. "Rico? Is that Assassin 3-1?" And then asked him. He nodded.

"Yup. I'm Assassin 4-2. He's on a different squad, but we're in the same division." He explained.

"Strike Team Assassin-4?" HK416 asked.

"We never really called it anything apart from team, but I like that nomenclature!" Marcus said.

"I was going to comment on that." Victor interjected. "Naming our faction, teams and all."

"Finally thought about a name?" Lucas showed up, and got in the middle of the conversation.

"Yes, with the help of the four here. The Ghost Company, and my Direct Action squad being Strike Team Archangel." The group's leader announced, and they all smirked when hearing it.

"Finally, we can start gaining some proper notoriety!" Lucas spoke out loud, and was bonked by Victor with a karate chop to the head. "Ow!"

"We want to avoid being widely known, remember?" He said, sternly. "The last thing we want is the Soviets and the Rossartrist fascists deciding to team up to get rid of us."

"Right... Sorry..." He apologized, and then Victor patted his back.

"Let's go take our guests and everyone else to dinner. I heard you even bought some expensive meat for us tonight." Victor commented.

"Of course! Had to make a good first impression, right?" He responded, and Victor snickered.

"Take those three to the dining room, and the narcoleptic one to the dorms. I'll go to the armory and catch up and have dinner."

"Sure thing, boss!" Lucas confirmed, and gestured for the 404 to follow him.

Before they were out of sight, Victor called their attention.

"I forgot to ask!" He shouted, and 404 turned back to him. "How did you get this MSBS so fast?"

"The dealer said that he had some in stock for a long time, and not a lot of people liked it." UMP45 answered.

"Fair enough. Not a lot of people like Bullpups." He commented, and gestured for them to keep moving.

"We'll be waiting for you, Victor!" UMP9 said loudly to him while waving her hand up high, and he waved a thumbs up back to her, going on the opposite way to reach the Armory.

Fasting forward, Lucas was observing the lines of meat on the grill, and 404 sat down.

"Now this is a proper Brazilian Churrasco!" He said loudly and proudly, looking at the multiple skewers with different types of meat in them for tonight's barbecue. A few cattle livers, chicken wings, sausages – Even rump steak, which is not cheap in the area.

"Won't that be too harsh on your budget?" Marcus asked him, and he just shook his head.

While the two were discussing, 404 were analysing them.

Marcus, the older one in his group, oozed a 'Retired, Not Rusty' soldier vibe, but you wouldn't picture him as one with how not-grumpy and laid back he acts. The face geometry, blue eyes and jet black hair point him as an american.

Lucas, on the other hand, is much younger and disinhibited. Definitely was a constant partygoer before, although he has stated he no longer goes to anything except for small parties, like children's birthdays, or family get-togethers. His skin tone has a more pronounced tanning, and has bright brown eyes. When asked, he declared that he was born and raised in Peru.

"What's your designation on your squad? If you are an active combatant, that is." HK416 asked Lucas.

"I'm actually Assassin 3-3. I'm responsible for recon in my squad." He explained.

"That's the same squad as that Rico guy!" UMP9 commented.

"Oh, yeah. He's our explosives expert. Demolitions and EOD."

"Did he specialize in the military?" HK416 asked, and Lucas nodded.

"Yup! But he doesn't like talking about his time there..." He answered, and HK416 got the cue that pressing him on an explanation would not be a good idea.

"Did he end up being forced to do something wrong and chose not to?" UMP9 asked for her, and got a glare from UMP45 and HK416. "What?! You both want to know!"

"We do, but we know when we should avoid asking it!" UMP45 retorted.

"It's fine. I can tell you my story if you want it so much."

A new man shows up, answering them in a hoarse voice. They immediately connect the dots and figure out it is Rico himself.

With hair strands turning gray, dark brown eyes, a knife cut scar on his right cheek and looking like he's nearing 60s, he had the most textbook 'I've seen some shit' look ever seen.

"Rico?" UMP45 asked.

"Yeah, it's me." He answered. "You're not the only ones that ask to know about it."

"Hey, Rico... Garlic Bread?" Lucas interjected, offering him the appetizer.

"I'll take it." He said, picking it from the table close to the skewers. "Thanks."

"You're welcome, man. Are you really going to tell them the story?"

"I will. It's not something I take pride in having done – Far from it – But I can't hide it for the rest of my life, nor can I run away from it. Eventually, it will catch up." He said back, sitting down on one of the chairs for the dinner, and taking a bite on the garlic bread.

"He's the wise grandpa of the family!" UMP9 whispered to HK416, but contrary to her expectations on his hearing capabilities, he heard her very well, and ended up snickering at her comment.

"I'm not – I've made some big mistakes in the past." He retorted.

"Haven't we all?" UMP45 fired back, and everybody in the room snickered.

"Can't argue with that." Lucas said.

"Me neither." Rico added.

"If somebody says they never made a mistake in their life, they did by saying that."

"Victor" returned from having customized his new gun, and with different clothes. A more casual long-sleeved shirt, still with gloves, sweatpants, and sneakers. However, he returned to using the same style of face mask he used at the restaurant.

"You still won't show us your full face?" UMP45 asked, lifting a brow at him, while secretly admiring his dark brown eyes and very short jet black hair.

"... After dinner..." He whispered, but she heard it.

"Hey, Mi- I mean, Vector! Good to see you here for our humble barbecue." Lucas stuttered, almost leaking his name, but didn't leak it completely. 404 got suspicious, but decided not to press further.

"Good to see you, too." He replied. "Heard you got some special meat for us, tonight."

"Sure did! It was a pain to get the rump steak, but it's always worth it!"

"Don't cook them too much." Victor advised him with a tired voice. "You know how I like my steaks."

"Rare or Medium Rare?"

"Medium Rare, this time."

"Sure thing. I also don't like excessively grilled meat."

"Me neither. I honestly prefer Rare." Rico interjected.

"Any comments on it from you, girls?" Lucas asked 404.

"We don't need to eat like humans, but just having all this to choose is something we never really had." UMP45 explained.

"Guess life was harsh with the four of you." Rico commented, looking at HK416.

"Yeah... We didn't get dealt a good hand in life..." UMP9 said, with a sad undertone in her voice.

"Suffering is part of the price for your stay in this world. We are here 'just passing by', but we aren't just going to accept punishment for no reason, nor be attacked by man or demons and stay silent." Vector stated, and grabbed one of the garlic breads.

"Hey, guys! I sliced a few pieces of the sausage early for you. Take it." Lucas offered, passing a tray with the meat for everyone, with some cassava flour included. Worth noting was that the sausage was not the one commonly used in Hot Dogs - Instead, it was much bigger in width and smaller in length.

"Pass for the guests first. Hopefully it's to their liking." Lucas offered to Vector first, but he deflected, and ordered him to offer the appetizer to 404 first. He nodded and did as asked.

UMP9 grabbed one first, but didn't run it through the flour. Eating it with no hesitation, she immediately chews it.

She soon hummed and closed her eyes in bliss. "This is amazing!" She praised, after chewing and swallowing.

"You didn't even put the Cassava! Take another one and put some on it!" Lucas half-scolded her, and she took another one and did as told, running it over the flour and eating it. "Even better!" She commented, and he smirked wide.

"You always smirk wide open when someone praises your cooking." Rico looked at him saying that.

"Guilty as charged." He replied, and then offered the sausage to HK416 and UMP45. Both took one, and ran them through the flour.

"This is very good." HK416 praised. "Much spicier than I expected for this meat." And stated.

"That's because it has a bit of pepper mixed into it." Lucas explained.

"I know you like spicy sausages." Vector said, directed to him. He only nodded.

"Can't deny it – It's all true."

"9, go bring G11 here for dinner." HK416 whispered to UMP9, who nodded, and went to the dormitory to retrieve the sleepy doll.

"Where is she going?" Rico asked.

"Going to bring G11 back to dinner." HK416 explained.

"Your fourth?" He asked, and she nodded.

"And our dinner's ready! Mayonnaise and rice are already done, we have water and soda in the fridges... We're all ready for our special banquet!" Lucas stated.

"I also think Alice was preparing a Feijoada with the help of Maria." Rico commented, and Lucas gasped.

"No way! Even that?!" He shouted.

"We need a big welcoming party for the group that saved our ass in the past with their Night Ops. And to convince them to be permanent residents with us, here." Rico stated, smirking at 404.

"We helped you before?" HK416 asked.

"I'll explain that when we eat. Follow me, I'll take everyone to our food court." He replied.

"Just wait until 9 comes back with G11." UMP45 asked, and he nodded.

And as soon as she mentioned the pair, UMP9 comes back with the sleepy fourth.

"She just slept and is still tired?" Rico commented, his eyes growing wider open when seeing it.

"She's narcoleptic." Vector explained to him. "Come on, everything's ready for dinner."

Walking into the food court, 404 was impressed with the size of the area, and the implied amount of people that are stationed in the place.

"This place is huge!" All of 404 said at the same time – Incredibly – When seeing the size of the area.

"It has to house 250 people. We aren't cramming anybody here, nor will we do shifts unless we need to." Rico explained.

"The aesthetic is very rustic here. Almost everywhere in here, to be honest." HK416 commented.

"A nod to our past – And because we enjoy this style." Vector stated. "The food trays and plates are there. Pick as much as you want to eat, just respect the line. And try not to waste food." And pointed to the line of open buffet food containers, showing what is inside each.

"There's a lot of wood furniture used here." UMP9 commented.

"It gives the house a cozy feeling, and we employ woodworkers and carpenters that would otherwise not have a livelihood with this." Lucas explained. "Oh man! They really did make a Feijoada for us!" And immediately sprinted to the food. Rico and Vector covered their eyes with their right hands soon after.

"Damn it, Lucas. Not in front of them..." Rico whispered.

"It's okay. I'm curious about the food as well." UMP45 assured.

"The line is pretty long right now." HK416 commented.

"There's another cart coming soon because of that." Vector stated, and an older woman came in pushing a cart with more of the food containers. "There it is."

The woman, wearing a restaurant uniform plus an apron, immediately recognized Squad 404, and after positioning the cart where it should be, she made a beeline towards the group.

"I never saw these two." She declared. "Are you our new guests?"

"There's always someone that knows everyone and recognizes when there's a new guy." UMP45 commented, and snickered. "Yes, we are. I'm UMP45."

"UMP9! Hello!"

"G11... I wanna go back to sleep." G11 said, and was promptly bonked by HK416.

"You already slept before." She scolded G11. "HK416. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Maria. I'm responsible for everybody running the kitchen." She introduced herself, offering a handshake to everyone. All of them returned the handshake on their own, except for G11, who had to be scolded by HK416 to shake her hand.

"How long have you been here?" UMP9 asked.

Maria hummed while trying to remember. "Oh... It's been a while. It's been what? 8 years? Vector?" And then asked him.

"Would be a good guess." He answered. "Lucas got all giddy and hyped up when he found out there's a Feijoada to eat."

"I knew that. Jonathan and Mikhail still wanted to do it because of him..." She explained.

"Figures. They always loved it ever since they came with me to Brazil and they tried some..." Vector commented.

"Was this when you were still living in Brazil, and didn't go overseas yet?" HK416 asked.

"No. By that time, I had already traveled out of the country before, and I found Jonathan still in Brazil and Mikhail in the former Ukraine. The two of them met each other and have been inseparable friends since then." He explained.

"Can we meet them?" UMP9 asked, all giddy.

"Not right now – They're in the kitchen, and they're also involved in our development program." Maria explained.

"Development program?" HK416 asked.

"We'll show you when we're done with our dinner." Vector explained.

"The guys at the kitchen back there were doing everything to bring the best of the best on the food." Maria commented. "Bom Apetite." She waved to the group with a bright smile, and walked back to the kitchen.

"Even though I can't feel hunger, I'm excited to eat!" UMP9 stated.

"Hope it's good enough for you." Vector said back, and walked to the line.

Vector starts to fill his plate with food, while 404 follows him on the line.

"Are we finally going to see your full face, now?" UMP9 asked, all giddy.

"..." He looked slightly downwards, and didn't respond.

"Are you?" HK416 got on the same train.

"...Fine then – I guess I owe you this."

He responded, and took off the mask, revealing a purely metallic jaw that looked like it came right out of a sci-fi hack and slash game, and removed the makeup around the neck and sides of the jaw, showing that it was in the same vein of the jaw stylization.

Later, he drops the gloves, and by now, the information has already clicked on the group.

"Your entire body is a machine, and looks like this?" UMP45 asked rhetorically.

"This is the result of Project Archangel. This... is Vector..." He said to the group, looking at his machine left hand. The squad could see the melancholic look in his eyes. This is something he doesn't take pride in.

"It looks awesome!" UMP9 praised. "Super cool!"

He looked back at her and recoiled, incredulous. The direct look showing the contrast between machine and flesh.

"Even though I hate her, I know SOPMOD II would go crazy if she saw your true look. She loves to modify her frame and cybernetic augmentations." HK416 commented. "And the aesthetic of your frame looks imposing and memorable. You would be notorious if any witnesses saw it."

Vector looked away, but not in embarrassment, but in sadness.

After hearing this, he finished filling his plate and walked to the table silently without the squad.

"He doesn't tell this to anyone except his closest friends, but his cybernetic frame is a touchy subject for him..." Marcus, who was behind 404 on the line, explained.

"We try to make him not think that way, but he still sees himself as no longer human, and he's also not a Doll because he can't make a backup of his consciousness..." Rico added.

"There are some dolls that can't make a neural cloud backup." HK416 corrected.

"I know, but he has a brain, not a neural cloud, hence not a doll." He retorted.

"Why is this so bad for him?" UMP45 asked, picking a slice of lasagna on a container.

"It has to do with his religious beliefs." Rico explained. "He believes he essentially sold his soul and humanity for those augmentations. That's why he has a much stronger faith than all of us – The idea that only God's grace could save him from Hell at this point is very deeply rooted in his mind."

"So... He hates what he has become...?" UMP9 asked back, lowering her head just faintly.

"He says that he essentially spat on the Lord's face when he ditched his perfectly healthy, completely human body for this one. Even though it's stronger and faster in every last parameter you can imagine, It doesn't have the same feedback capability of a human body and its nerves and receptors." Rico explained.

"Feedback? He can't feel pain or touch?" HK416 asked.

"He can, but not as well as us." Maria, who was in the kitchen before, now returned without the apron. "And clear the line if you already picked your food. The others are waiting." And then scolded the group for chatting and halting the line.

Noticing that, everyone went to fill their plates at double time, and walked back to their seats to eat.

"Sorry!" UMP9 said aloud to the people on the back of the line.

Squad 404 sat together in one round table, neighboring the table where Vector, Rico, Lucas and Marcus sat down. They were close enough for them to chat in a normal voice.

Lucas and Rico went to take a bite of their food as soon as they sat down, and both agreed on the results:

"I have yet to eat better food than this!"

UMP9 was next to eat. "It's really, really good!" She praised the quality.

UMP45 and HK416 were next. "This is the best meal I've ever had." UMP45 said. "I'd say the same thing about this." HK416 added.

"This... 'Feijoada' is good! Spicy, but not excessive." G11, now being frighteningly active and with the eyes properly opened, said about the Feijoada.

HK416 widened her eyes. "G11... Got active and sober!?" She spouted.

Lucas laughed loudly. "The Sleepo Beepo became Active Beepo after the Feijoada!" And joked after seeing it.

"I want a pack of this to take along when I'm on a mission to make sure she stays like this." HK416 ordered.

Meanwhile, Vector was eating his food silently, and drinking a glass of soda. UMP45 glimpsed at him, and saw him flash a smile while eating the lasagna and Feijoada.

"Guess you're still not used to the quality of the food here, huh~?" UMP45 said, looking at him.

"Guilty as charged..." He replied with a much softer voice tone.

"The cook there told us about how you don't like your new frame. You might not believe us, but we really do think that it looks nice." She said to him, softening her tone.

"Don't think that you 'sold your soul' for this. You would have if you were out there blindly following the orders of some jerk out in the world." HK416 added.

"You still have a human brain! It's still you!" UMP9 included.

"Your head is still completely human, right...?" The now-active G11 asked.

Before G11's comment, he stayed silent and facing his plate, finally breaking the melancholic thinking and cracking a smile on one side of the mouth and snickering.

"That still is..." He finally said.

"Then the operator is still the same. Your body might be a lot more mechanical than a human body, but it's still a human male operating it." G11, of all people, said to him. The rest of 404 were shocked with G11, fully active and having her way with words.

HK416 was incredulous. "What miracle-thing did you put in this food to do this?" She asked Lucas, who was involved in making some of the meats, but not the Feijoada.

"Ask Maria. I wasn't involved in making this." He retorted, taking another bite of his food and seamlessly changing accent when mentioned the cook.

"Now that I think about it..." Vector mused, and everyone looked back to him. "I guess I owe you a retelling of Thunder's rescue story?"

"Yes! I want to hear it!" UMP9 answered.

He looked back at his plate, took one more bite, and started talking after a sip of his soda.

"Well, this will definitely take a while to finish retelling..." He warned.

"I was there, too. I still support your decision to make us a bit more public in exchange for that raid." Rico assured him.

"I would never regret that action." Vector retorted, and took one final sip.

"This happened about nine months ago..."

Author Notes: "This was something I've been taking some time making, and I really only came back to the hobby of writing again because of "Field Agent" here on this site.

Hope it's at least worth killing some time for you. And yes, you could argue it's a shameless self-insert, but I did my best to separate the Writer VECTOR and the Character VECTOR. If I continue this, I'll give some exposition and show that the protagonist is not called VECTOR for being Isekai'd out of Operation Raccoon City or because he played the game and decided to copy the Drip and name. And I made the cover image myself using XNA Lara."