The summer heat was intense, but the cool breeze caressing my skin made it almost pleasant.
With my eyes closed, I focused on all the sounds around me; The rustling of the leaves, the chirping of birds, the kids splashing and playing in the river.
Such calm bliss was almost unimaginable for me, since it feels like just yesterday I was up to my neck in endless battle.
Even after such a long time I still remember the faces of my comrades, their reassuring smiles as I've sent them to their deaths, and their obliviousness as their minds were uploaded to a new body, doomed to repeat the same cycle.
The days passed and everything started to look more and more distant, almost like it never happened, but I reject such thoughts. The happiness I'm experiencing now is built on the suffering of the many dolls I commanded, and I can only thank them now by forever remembering their struggles.

As I pondered the past my thoughts were interrupted by a sharp coldness pressing on my stomach.
Startled, I opened my eyes, grabbed the bottle of beer off myself before it fell to the ground and looked back at the mocking smile pointed towards me.
"Ah, good, I thought you fell asleep."
"Hrm... even if I did, there are better ways of waking me up."
I gave her the bottle and she pulled off the bottle cap with her fingers.
"Instead of nagging, maybe you should thank me for bringing you that beer?"
Despite being used to her usual shenanigans I knew she was right, so all I could do is sigh.
"Thanks, dear."
"Hehehe... Wouldn't want you to get too hot, you might get heatstroke."
She was always the mischievous type and her teasing knew no end, but despite that there was never a single hint of malice behind her actions.
"Speaking of which, why don't you join the kids? The water feels great this time of year."
"Nah, I'm not in the mood to get wet. What about you?"
"I might. Kinda wanna take this new swimsuit out for a spin."
Taking her words as an invitation to look at her figure, I received yet another reminder of our unusual circumstances.
Her body was unimpressive and modest, being designed and manufactured primarily for combat, but even after all these years and birthing our two beautiful children, she looked just as young as the day she first saluted me as my subordinate.
Her pearly white skin glistened in the harsh summer sun like it was dusted with diamonds, her arms contrasted it with a deep black, consuming the light like shards of obsidian, and under her big hat and her face in it's shadow, her eyes shone like two rubies.
My heart fluttered a little as I appreciated her beauty, while I also faced the harsh reality that each year my own body looks more and more like a dried raisin.

She laid down on her own beach chair beside me, and clearly something weighed on her mind.
"It's still a little unimaginable that... life turned out this way."
"What do you mean?"
She had a look of uncertainty on her face as she looked at her mechanical arms.
"After everything I have... we have seen and done... after all the experiences, successes and failures we've had... it's hard to believe this is our life now."
The heat from the sun was unforgiving, and even the beer I was sipping didn't help me cool off.
"After everything we have gone through, I'd say this is a very welcome permanent vacation."
"Hmm... yeah, you're right. I'm still getting used to it, but I do enjoy this lazing about."
She stretched in her chair, took a deep breath and released all tension in her body as she slowly exhaled.
"Heh, you really mellowed out."
"Of course. The last time I was in a battlefield was... so long ago."
"Do you miss it?"
"Not really."
But after giving her answer, she thought about the question a little more.
"Well, I do miss combat. Deep in enemy territory, my gun locked and loaded, leaping from the helicopter and immersing myself in carnage... hehehe..."
A familiar sadistic smile spread on her face, but it went away as quickly as it appeared.
"But... I fought because there were those who I wanted to keep safe. People whom I'm willing to die for. now that we're all safe, if I have to fight again that would also mean they'll be in danger again..."
Saddened a little by her own words, she took a short while to reflect on our shared past.
"There are some other things I miss though, like calling you 'commander'."
I cringed a little hearing that title again, which I wasn't addressed as for a very long time.
"Why though? I thought you hated having to call me that with how impersonal it was."
"Well, yeah, but now I'm the only one around who remembers."
She turned her face to me and our eyes met.
"I don't mind too much though, now I get to call you so many different names~ Dear, Sweetie, Honey, ○○○○○○..."

Huh? Wait, what did she say? I don't remember telling her my name.
"That last one I treasure the most... I remember you promised to tell me your real name after you've retired, and I made sure to remind you the first day we walked out of that office, hand-in-hand..."
The scorching heat made it hard to think... Why can't I remember telling her my name?
"Something's... off. I feel weird..."
"Are you ok, ○○○○○○? did you really get drunk after one beer?"
It's so hot, every breath I took scorched my throat... I started to notice the cloudless, blue summer sky slowly turned green... Why does she know my name?
I stumbled back a little and rubbed my eyes, the heat made me tear up and everything seemed like a blur.
I looked behind me... and I saw a massive, silent explosion. A green mushroom cloud rose over the horizon, towering over the trees and blocking out the sun.
The heat became absolutely unbearable... wait, the children!
I looked over to the river, but there was nobody there. Instead, the water was tossing, turning and steaming like it was a giant boiling pot.
Turning back to my wife, I saw her skin melt off her body and fuse into the chair and the ground. Her endoskeleton showing, she weakly extended her arm to me, her mouth moving but not producing a sound.
I grabbed her arms to try and save her, but the moment I touched her I felt an excruciating pain as my arm was seared with unbearable heat.
Quickly recovering from my shock... I looked back at her, but the light already left her eyes.
I turned to look at the rising cloud and fell to my knees, accepting my fate. Despite blocking the sun, the explosion over the horizon shined brighter than any star, and almost blinded me as I refused to avert my eyes from it.
I felt the ground rumble under my feet and I knew the shockwave would soon hit me, but two mechanical arms grasped me from behind and started burning at my chest.
I heard a quiet unintelligible whisper in my ear; It wasn't a plea for help or an expression of sadness, it was... a word of gratitude.
We were such fools, thinking that we deserve such happiness.
I couldn't save the world.
I couldn't save myself.
I couldn't even save her...
I held her arms despite the pain and braced myself for the shock.
The shaking grew louder... and louder... and louder... and...

The commander's eyes shot open and gasped, feeling the cool midnight air fill his lungs.
After recovering from the initial shock, he quietly rose up from his bed and noticed his forehead and shirt were completely drenched in sweat.
Slowly he steadied his breathing, still shaken up after the scene he witnessed. He felt the scorching pain on his arm and chest, and his heart hurt like it was caught in a vice.
Gently releasing SOP II's grasp from his arm, making sure to not wake her up, he walked over to the bathroom to wipe his sweat off.
The commander looked at the mirror and barely recognized himself, never before seeing himself with such a pained expression.
"Huh... alright, snap out of it, it was just a dream..."
The commander washed his face in cool water, trying to regain his composure while not being sure if he'll manage to fall asleep again.
"Commander, are you alright?"
He wiped his face off, and saw SOP II standing at the doorway to the bathroom.
"Ah, sorry, did I wake you up?"
"Commander, you know dolls don't sleep like humans do... I just noticed you were gone and wanted to check up on you."
He walked over to her and caressed the top of her head, putting on his best smile to avoid making her worry.
"I'm fine, just a bad dream. Let's go back to bed."
But before he could walk off, SOP II took a hold of his wrist.
"If there's something on your mind, I'm always happy to hear you out. You promised to not bottle things up anymore."
"Yeah, I know. I'm fine, let's just... forget this."
Although she still felt unsure, SOP II followed the commander back to bed. He flipped his pillow to the dry side, and once he relaxed she hugged his arm and nuzzled up to his cheek.

The commander tried to fall asleep for a while, but his heart couldn't calm down and the thoughts kept eating away at his tiredness.
"SOP II?"
"Hm?"
"What do you think will happen in our future?"
"Hmm..."
SOP II always thought with emotions over pure logic, which helped the commander get an opinion different from his own.
"I don't really care."
She paused a little before continuing, trying to pick the appropriate words with her half-asleep mind.
"Not that I don't think about how we'll spend our future together, it always makes me happy imagining all the adventures we'll have after the wars are over. But... I don't know what will happen next week, tomorrow, or even an hour from now; all I know is that right here, right now, I'm with you. I know that my sisters are safely sleeping in their dorms nearby, and I know M16 will return to us eventually. I can only exist and control the present, so that's what I care about the most."
The commander took a bit to digest everything she said and after he fully understood her position, he turned to SOP II and embraced her tightly.
"Hehe~ Something I said made you happy?"
"Yeah, it sure did."

After a short while, the commander released her and laid back down.
"You say you don't think about the future, yet last anniversary you told me that you can't wait to celebrate the next year's as well."
"Hm? what about it?"
"Isn't that kind of like thinking about the future?"
"It's not a that, it's more of a promise-"
SOP II locked eyes with the commander and smiled widely.
"It's me telling you that I'll do everything I can to be with you next year too."
"But don't you say that same thing every anniversary?"
"Hehehe..."
SOP II rested her head on the commander's chest and wrapped her arms around him.
"That just means I need to keep my promise every year afterwards, as well."
He slowly caressed her silky hair. Even in this cruel, unforgiving world, he can find a small shred of happiness to hang onto.
SOP II's breathing slowed down as she entered her resting mode, only slightly breaking the silence of the bedroom.
The pain his chest felt before was replaced with the softness of SOP II's embrace, his burning arms now felt the rising and lowering of her human-like breathing and the tight grip on his heart was gone, banished by the one he treasured most of all.
The commander closed his eyes as tiredness came back to him, and sleep welcomed him once more.