Helianthus had been summoned to Berezovich Kryuger's office, when she showed herself she saw that her boss had the report of the last mission at hand. Kryuger put out his cigar and asked, with a look of disappointment:

" Is this all we've got? OTs-14 may or may not be a threat to Griffin & Kryuger. This is what we can conclude after two days that you spent in Warsaw fighting the Sangvis Ferri. What I have is nothing. "

" I realize that it's not a great deal as a report, but that's all I managed to get from Makarov and Mosin-Nagant. "

" Let's start from the beginning so you can explain some things to me: why had the order to kill OTs-14 arrived to Mosin-Nagant? "

" I had instructed Makarov to make OTs-14 speak and to discover her intentions, when she informed us I gave the order to continue observing OTs, but I never gave the order to have her killed. It was probably Makarov who persuaded Mosin-Nagant to attempt that assassination. "

" Why does Makarov suddenly have that authority? Who gave it to her? "

" I gave it to her, Mr. Kryuger. She has always been the best friend of OTs-14 and knows her better than Mosin-Nagant and RPD, and surely knows her better than the two of us, and so only she could decide how to act. "

" Then why isn't OTs-14 dead? "

" I thought of using her as bait for Sangvis Ferri, since they want her, we can use her to force our enemies out into the open, especially their leader. "

" And what happened to Mosin-Nagant? "

" An accident during the combat simulation. Nothing to worry about, these are things that happen. "

" I see... " Kryuger picked up a small remote control, hit a button and images of several T-Dolls with their statistics appeared on the screen behind him. " Helian, I'm thinking of forming a new team. "

" Can I know the reason? "

" After reading the report, I realized that Sangvis Ferri is starting to use tactics that we've never seen before and we must prepare for another situation like that of Warsaw. I don't want to lose a war due to negligence and therefore I intend to form a prepared team that will be able to react excellently to Sangvis Ferri's traps and that will be able to counterattack effectively. "

" Who were you thinking about, then? "

" Makarov will be the leader of the team and with her there will be five other T-Dolls: SCW, PA-15, 9A-91, AA-12 and finally OTs-14. "

" Can I ask you a question? Why not include Stechkin, G36C, RPD and Serdyukov as well? "

" Two of them proved unsuitable and the other two were easy prey for Sangvis Ferri. " Kryuger paused for a moment. " I'm surprised you haven't asked me about Mosin-Nagant too. "

" I forgot about her. It's true. " She answered quietly.

" However the team will be called EXPIATIO. "

" Cute. "

" It's lovely. "

October 24

OTs-14 had just left her room and was heading for the kitchen. She was still thinking about the battle against Alchemist, she didn't forgive herself for not being able to eliminate her and the more she thought about the sadistic smile of that crazy woman, the more she got nervous. Along the corridor she met RPD who greeted her.

" Are you not happy to know that you will no longer work alongside me? You're finally free. "

" I don't like you, but I respect you and I don't know how to take the news that I will be part of a new team. I'm glad, however, that Makarov will be there. " She saw that Mosin-Nagant wasn't with RPD. " Where's Nagant? I thought she came to greet me too. "

" I don't know. She says she's still mad at you over a quarrel you had. But I don't know what she's talking about. What happened between you two? "

" Yes, some time ago we quarreled, but I had already apologized to her. " Replied OTs-14 perplexed. " I would like to see her. "

" She doesn't want to see you though and then we were both summoned by the Supreme Commander. He wants to put us with Serdyukov and G36C to form a team that will carry out operations in Warsaw. " RPD noticed the thoughtful expression of OTs-14. " Are you all right? "

" Yes ... I'm just a little tired. "

" You have to sleep more at night. "

" I will keep it in mind. " She saw Makarov coming. " Good morning, Makarov, did you get to talk to Nagant? "

" No. She was summoned by the boss, a little while ago, he wants you too, RPD, I came to tell you. "

" Heck, so it's already time! Sorry, I have to go! " Exclaimed RPD running towards the elevator.

" Are you all right, Groza? You seem strange today. " Makarov asked worriedly.

" Yes I'm fine. " The two girls went to the kitchen. " Do you like the idea that we will be part of a new team? "

" I've never been a leader, this novelty worries me, I'm afraid of making serious mistakes. "

" Everything will be fine. " She reassured.

" And I'm sorry I was split by Mosin-Nagant. I would've liked to stay by her side, the three of us were the only ones in the RPD team to have served in Team 255-ANGELS. It was me, you, Mosin-Nagant, OTs-12 and FG42. Where did those two go, by the way? "

" OTs-12 has joined another team, I believe she's now operating in Norway, while FG42 has entered the Special Civil Protection Corps in Austria. " Upon reaching the kitchen, OTs-14 opened the refrigerator and took out a packet of frankfurters. " Do you want me to prepare you something, Makarov? "

" Hooray! I can finally eat well! " Exulted Makarov.

OTs-14 boiled the frankfurters and meanwhile prepared the salad and cut the carrots and tomatoes which she then placed on a plate. Meanwhile, Makarov sat down at the table waiting patiently for food.

" Tell me, Makarov, do you think that a T-Doll can suddenly lose her memory? "

" Hmmm? It's possible. If the T-Doll suffers severe head damage and her main components are damaged it can happen. But there may also be particular bugs or viruses that can result in memory loss. "

" I wonder what happened to Nagant. Today I asked RPD about her, she told me she had spoken to her and apparently Mosin-Nagant is angry about that old quarrel I told you about. "

" So? "

" I had apologized to her. It seemed to me that I had solved everything and yet ... "

" Maybe you made her angry about something else. In Warsaw, when I saw you two come out of that shop, she seemed disturbed. Did you say something to her? "

" ... "

" Well? "

" Maybe you're right. It's my fault. But rightly so. If she wants to be mad at me, I won't object. " OTs-14 served a salad with carrots, tomatoes and frankfurters seasoned with oil. " Here, Makarov, a healthy and balanced lunch. "

" You know I love salad! I would put it on every food! " Makarov started eating. " Delicious! Really delicious! Thanks, Groza! "

" My pleasure. "

OTs-14 saw a girl enter in the kitchen, she had never seen her before, she was a T-Doll with a tired look and a slow pace, the girl had a lollipop in her mouth and she approached OTs-14 making shivers come to Makarov who sought to ignore her.

" The name is AA-12. You must be OTs-14, the bad girl who was punished by Kryuger. I heard you like breaking the rules, you really have to love danger. "

" I'm glad that my fame precedes me. Wait ... did you say your name is AA-12? This means that you're a member of our team. I had heard of you, you're the one who destroyed Alchemist during a mission in Stuttgart. "

" Yes, I was the one who destroyed her. When I heard that the bitch was rebuilt I offered to hunt her down, that's why I'm here with you. " She turned around and saw that Makarov was agitated. " Something wrong? You must be the leader of our team. You're pretty. "

" I ... er ... thanks. I accept the compliment. "

" And you. " Said to OTs-14. " Don't trouble me or I'll turn you into dog food. "

" Are you threatening me, AA-12? "

" No, it's just friendly advice. " She replied pretending a smile.

" Oh, then let me tell you something: if you dare touch me with just one finger, I will pull out those beautiful blue eyes of yours and make you swallow them. "

" It's a threat? "

" No, just friendly advice. We're friends, aren't we? "

" Of course we're friends. Here we're all friends. There are no problems. "

" Good. "

" Perfect. "

" I've the impression that there's some tension here. "Makarov commented worried. " Can I ask you not to kill each other? Or at least wait until I'm done eating. "

" No, there will be no need. I just wanted to meet the bad girl and evaluate her, that's all. Now I'm leaving. "

AA-12 left the kitchen. OTs-14, irritated by the girl's attitude, said to Makarov:

" That girl is going to get killed ... by me. She must learn to moderate the tones. "

" Forgive her, Groza. AA-12 doesn't have many friends ... she's grumpy with everyone, she's not an aggressive girl, she just doesn't love when someone might pose a threat to her. " Explained Makarov. " It's not easy for her to trust others, from what I know she was betrayed during an operation in Spain but I don't know anything else. "

" Still, you seem to know many things about her. Why? "

" It was Miss Helianthus who told me about her. I bet you two will get along. "

" Like fire and ice. "

October 25

The first mission of the Team EXPIATIO. The T-Dolls were sent to Płońsk, Poland, apparently Alchemist, having abandoned Warsaw, had decided to take refuge in that Polish city along with a modest number of troops. The city was a red zone because of the ELID infection which affected 73% of the population. The helicopter landed and the T-Dolls prepared to hunt Alchemist.