In the dark, it's hard not to lose your bearings. Doubly so if you're in an unfamiliar environment.

When you're also being chased?

By the time we slow down enough that I have a chance to catch my breath, the rancid air still somehow better than choking, I find I have no idea where we are.

"Hm."

I look to 12. "What's up?"

"Either the map I downloaded is outdated, or this sewer system is able to reconfigure itself."

"...So we're lost?"

She doesn't admit it, but instead walks over to the wall and examines the worn concrete, inspecting for markings. The pink glow from her eyes is the only light aside from my phone, and I'm leaving that off for the moment because I'm trying to preserve the battery. There's no signal down here anyway.

"Good news." 12 shuts her eyes and we're once more shrouded in darkness. "I know how we can get out of here."

"So we're not lost then."

"Oh, we are~" She says in a much too cheery voice, before hooking her arm around mine in the dark and starting to pull me forward. "But we can just ask for directions."

"Ask who?" I furrow my brow. "There's nobody down here."

"Of course there is, there's the maintenance crews." 12 announces as we start to walk down the sewer once more.

"We can't guarantee they'll be down here." I point out. "A-and, how do we know they're not working for the guys chasing us?"

"Paradeus doesn't hire dolls."

For a minute, 12's words don't exactly click. "Wait, you're saying the maintenance crews are dolls?"

12's eyes crack open just enough to send a shiver down my spine before closing and leaving me blind once more. "Obviously."

"But this is Sector 3! It's policy not to let robots in-"

"Oh, please." 12's tone becomes harsh. "94 and I were let in, didn't you wonder about that?"

"I… I thought you snuck in."

"We went through proper channels, thank you. Also, have you ever asked yourself why you never seem to encounter a person who works down in the sewers? Have you ever seen someone climbing out of a manhole in the street? How about maintaining the wall? ELID disposal? Sorting trash for recyclable material?"

I find myself speechless, still being dragged through the dark to who-knows-where.

"That's because it's dolls doing the work. Why risk valuable humans down here in the dark when you can send a robot, da?"

"B-but, I was told…" I trail off without finishing. I was told that there were no dolls in Sector 3, that there was no way for those robots to get in, and yet 12 is right here as a direct refutation of that. "...I suppose you have a point."

Her cheery tone returns. "Of course I am! For you see, I am always right."

"Even about this sewer's layout?"

One of her eyes opens just a crack, and I try to keep a grin on my face so she understands I'm joking.

"You got me. I'm only correct most of the time."

"Uh huh." I look around, though it's still completely pitch black. "So, where can we find these maintenance dolls?"

"Oh, we're surrounded by them." 12 says cheerily. "Most of them are just in standby mode."

My whole body seizes up at those words, and 12 suddenly lets me go, leaving me completely alone in the dark.

And then two pinpricks of light appear in the dark.

And then another two.

And then another, and another.

Soon, I'm surrounded on all sides by dots of light, hovering in the dark.

"What are you idiots doing?" An unfamiliar voice calls out. "Hit the lights if you're going to be-"

The lights come on, blinding me for a few seconds. I blink to get my eyes adjusted to the darkness, only to find myself surrounded on all sides by dirty looking women… wait, there's a guy over there.

It takes me a few seconds to realize, but the glowing points I had seen before were their eyes. I didn't realize all the doll eyes glowed, I thought that was only 12.

And yes, these are all dolls. While they do look mostly human at first glance, several of them are in disrepair and have exposed internals. Some are mostly intact, only a few tears and punctures here and there, but some of them are missing large portions of their arms. I have to rip my gaze away from the wounds before they catch me staring.

"Who are you?" One of the dolls steps forward and crosses her arms. A shorter woman with long brown hair tied up in a bun, covered in several layers of muck. Her clothes are the standard for those working down here, overalls and a white shirt that has long since turned into a greasy multicolor from working down here. "Humans aren't allowed down here."

"A-ah…" I look at 12.

"I apologize." 12 smiles serenely. "We were being chased by an enemy, and this was the most expedient way of getting out of their sight."

"Sure." The doll talking to us rolls her eyes. "So, why didn't you just take a random manhole back up to the surface? You've passed several of them on the way here."

12 shrugs. "I don't know where they lead, and I decided it was more prudent to ask before winding up in an area that could get me arrested."

The spokesperson frowns. "I suppose that's reasonable, though… You're a doll, right? How come you're allowed to be on the surface?"

"Two reasons." 12's eyes crack open and I see several of the others recoil slightly.

Wait, are her eyes abnormal even for them?

"First, I am a Tactical doll in charge of security for the current Mayoral candidate Panagos. Second-"

She closes her eyes and grabs onto my arm, kicking one leg into the air behind her. "I'm dating this guy, and most people think I'm human."

The stares shift from 12 to me instantly.

"Uh… n-no, I'm not dating her for real." I wave in a panic with my free hand. "It's just her cover since she can't open her eyes in public and-"

Several of the others burst out laughing, and the leader sighs. "Humans. Alright, let me know where you want to go and I'll lead you there."

"Boss, you can just give them directions." One of the other dolls chimes in. A taller girl with gray hair, looks about fourteen years old, and has a large chemical burn that's melted the left half of her face. "No need to guide them."

"What, and have them running around unchecked?" The boss rolls her eyes again. "Everyone, go back to sleep mode. Don't want to use up your power ration before the next job."

A chorus of reluctant agreement echoes through the sewer tunnel, and the dolls all curl up on mats spread out on the floor, closing their eyes and seeming to fall asleep.

The boss watches everyone do this before turning to us. "So, where are you going?"

I give her my address, and the Boss seems to think for a moment before nodding. "Follow me."

The lights go off, causing me to jump and forcing 12 to catch me.

"Sorry, sorry." The Boss' voice is sarcastic. "Here, a flashlight."

A metal tube is pressed into my hands and I flick the device on, sweeping the beam around to look at the perfectly still bodies on the floor, over a dozen dolls in sleep mode.

It's like a scene out of a horror game. I can feel my breathing speed up and I'm only snapped out of it by 12's arm snaking around mine once more so she can pull me along.

We start to walk in silence, the only sound is the three sets of footsteps on the hard concrete surface as we continue to walk, my flashlight beam sweeping around nervously. The silence builds to a point that I start to feel things crawling up and down my spine in anticipation and I have to break the silence.

"S-so…" I begin, brain scrambling for a topic. "M-my name's Hadwin, what's yours?"

The Boss' eyes turn back to look at me, two bright green pinpricks in the dark. "My model number is RMB-07X-AY-04. My serial number is-"

"Eh?"

"We're not given names." She elaborates. "Don't they teach you anything on the surface?"

"Actually, no." 12 states. "It appears that someone is covering up that dolls work down here."

She snorts. "Typical. Okay then, no names, just our serial numbers."

"Then… what do you want me to call you?" I ask.

"Whatever you like." She shrugs.

"...Rumble, then?"

Her steps hitch, but she catches herself just fine. "Based on my model number…? Sure, whatever."

"Okay then, Rumble… uh…" Crap, I still haven't thought of a topic. "H-have you always worked down here?"

"No. I used to work for another city until I was sold to Sector 3 two years ago."

"Oh."

Once more silence descends on the sewer, threatening to drive me mad.

"Er, what were you saying about the energy rations?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" Rumble glances back once again.

"Is it like an energy bar?"

She blinks. "Man, you are clueless. No, we are all allotted an amount of electricity every day, and surprise surprise, if we run out we shut down."

"Oh."

"And if we run out of power, we end up like her." Rumble points to the side and I move the beam of the flashlight to see a doll, frozen in place. Her hands look like they're trying to grasp something, but whatever it is has been removed.

I can't help but stare at the standing corpse, cameras that serve as eyes dull, every part of her as still as a statue. "Can't… Can't you just plug her back in?"

"What, and risk having the management punish us for using more electricity again? We're already operating with barely enough to keep this place running." Rumble's face contorts, the first sign of an emotion other than contempt creeping onto her features. "We don't have spare electricity to keep the lights on most days, I don't recall any of us have topped off our batteries since we got here, and forget about repairs. Down here, that's life."

It's only a few meters down… I look up like I could suddenly see through the rock and metal above me.

How is this allowed to happen?

Rumbles continues on, and 12 continues to pull me along with her.

"Then… she's just going to be left there?"

"Until they do a sweep and reimage her, or until a trafficker comes by and snatches her up."

I stop walking, shining the flashlight back once more at the frozen corpse.

"Doll trafficking is a problem here too, hmm?" 12 speaks up finally.

"Yep. It's why we're always in groups, so we don't get snatched." Rumble states. "It's gotten worse recently though."

"Then I wish you well in avoiding them." 12 says.

"You say that like you're not a target yourself." Rumble smirks. "Though, I suppose if you're a bodyguard doll you'll fare better than we do."

"She's good in a fight, that's for sure." I mutter.

"Anyway… here's the hatch." Rumble points to a ladder. "Should be within a block of the address you gave me."

"Thanks." 12 reaches for the ladder. "Hadwin, stay down here for a minute while I make sure the coast is clear."

I nod before turning to Rumble.

"Er… is there anything I can do to help?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What, you?! You don't look like a politician, so you can't force them to change the rules, and if the rumors of how much they hate us on the surface are true…" She shrugs. "Just go back to not thinking about us, it'll be best for all of us."

"But-"

"Hadwin, it's clear." 12 calls down. "Hurry up."

I bite my tongue and hand the flashlight back to Rumble. "Thank you for guiding us."

"No problem. Just don't end up back in the sewers, sometimes it's pretty bad down here."

I nod, then climb the ladder back out into the sun.

Eva and Lucas stare into their cups of coffee, and I do the same.

I had just finished telling them about the sewer dolls, and as I had guessed neither of them knew about it either.

"You would think they'd at least tell me." Eva grumbles, sipping from her paper cup and grimacing. "I have repeatedly expressed interest in working with A-Dolls. That's what I wanted my career to be." She sighs.

"I can't believe I've never once considered how that gets run." Lucas' brow furrows further. "I would have assumed we had people who were going down to do maintenance, but… I guess I've never met anyone that's actually worked in the sewers."

"Or in the quarantine walls." I look at the looming structure that surrounds the city, towering over the buildings. "Or… well, any of the really dangerous sounding jobs."

Lucas shakes his head. "I feel so stupid."

I give him a look. "Dude, you're probably the smartest guy I know. If you didn't realize it, then they're keeping it well hidden."

His lips quirk up for a moment before the frown returns. "I'm not that smart, Hadwin."

"I dunno." I sip my coffee and revel in the warmth of the hot liquid in my throat. "I'm pretty sure if I had followed your advice, I wouldn't have had to escape from a bunch of psychos earlier today."

Eva starts. "Right… this Paradeus group."

"I still find it hard to believe that Sector 3 has a secret organization inside of it." Lucas folds his arms. "I mean… I'm not doubting your story, but it's kinda…"

"I know. If I wasn't there, I wouldn't believe it either." I look around the cafe, noting that nobody is listening, or even in earshot. "Still, it seems like they're trying to do something here and that something almost got me blown up."

Lucas nods absently. "I did see the aftermath of that."

"Anyway." Eva sets down her now empty cup. "We were discussing the dolls in the sewer?"

"Oh, right." I take another swig from my cup and set it down. "I want to help them."

Lucas heaves a sigh. "Of course he does."

"It sounds like they've got it pretty bad down there, but unless you plan on taking over Sector 3 and changing policy, you're not likely to get anywhere." Eva points out.

"I know that, but…" I can feel my hands clench into fists. "I can't just let them live like that!"

"They're… not people, Hadwin." Lucas says cautiously. "Remember, Dolls are robots."

I glare at him. "They're struggling down there!"

"They're not real people." Lucas insists quietly. "It's like having a small cleaning robot in your house."

I take a few breaths to calm myself down. "Those at least get all the electricity they need."

"Sure… but if its charger broke, would you cry for it, or would you go and buy a new one?"

"Now hold on." Eva turns on Lucas. "Robot vacuums don't cry when they get hurt."

Lucas is unimpressed. "Dolls shouldn't either. They're not people."

"I know I haven't known 12- Lucia or Antje for long, but…" I stare down into my coffee again. "I'm having a hard time thinking of them like that."

Lucas sighs and starts to rub his temples. "He's going to start white knighting again, isn't he?"

"It's like being back in high school all over." Eva stares at me, and I find I have to look away. "I thought you would've stopped fighting people you couldn't beat once you got out."

"Can you believe he still hangs out with Derrick?" Lucas mutters. "Dude broke his nose twice and yet it's all still cool."

"He's not that bad." I assert, only to receive two looks in return.

"Hadwin." Lucas grabs my wrist and pins my arm in place. "As much as they look like humans, they're not real people. They're fundamentally different from us. You can't be fooled."

"As much as I'm grateful that you introduced me to those two…" Eva scratches her face. "It's probably best if you let them fight their own fight."

"And if you really care about those other dolls in the sewers, then why don't you become a politician? Your dad has some connections already." Lucas suggests. "You could probably do a lot more good for them that way."

"Well…"

"Excuse me." An unfamiliar woman's voice interrupts my thoughts. "Is this chair taken?"

I look up to see a busty woman with shoulder length silver hair, bright eyes, and a grin worth a million credits. For a moment, her question doesn't properly register because this cafe's practically empty and there's plenty of spare seats, but- "No, you can take it."

"Excellent." She nods, then sits down at the table, setting her cup down.

All three of us stare at the new arrival. "Uh…" Lucas coughs. "There's plenty of other seats available. We're in the middle of a conversation here."

"A very interesting conversation." The lady grins. "Why, here I am thinking that we don't allow Dolls into Sector 3 and you three are saying there's some in the sewers? Why, that strains credibility!"

"Mmkay, who are you?" Eva asks, face hard.

"Me? I'm just a passing stranger. You may call me Renate."

…Hmm?

"Well then, Renate." Lucas folds his hands on the table. "We're just discussing some theoreticals. There aren't actually any dolls in the sewers."

"Oh?" Renate frowns. "That's a shame. I've always wanted to meet some."

"Then you should hang out with this idiot." Eva points in my direction. "He's met a few recently."

I gave her a look. "Eva… that's…"

"Supposed to be a secret." Lucas grumbles.

"Whoops." Eva looks away, her face colored slightly.

"Well, your secret is safe with me." Renate scoots her chair closer to mine and grabs my hand in both of hers, holding it in front of her. "If I may, could you introduce me to these friends of yours?"

I struggle to find words, and before I can say anything Lucas interrupts. "How about no? No offense, but we have no idea who you are, lady."

Renate turns to him and raises an eyebrow, but doesn't let go of my hand. "Of course you don't! We just met, and yet we have so much we can talk about!"

"No, we don't." Eva snaps. "You're barging into our conversation, and I'm telling you to leave."

"Aw… you're no fun~" She looks back at me. "You won't kick me out, would you, Hadwin?"

Alright, that's it. I'm not playing this game any longer. "...If you're here, where's Erwin?" I ask the wayward lady.

Renate's face freezes for a second, then the smile grows wider. "Ah, I suppose Lucia and Antje already told you about us, hmm?"

"Yes." I turn to Lucas and Eva. "Er… I wasn't sure at first, but Renate is one of Lucia's friends."

"We're not friends." Renate corrects. "Coworkers."

"Coworkers, then." I try to tug my hand out of hers, but I am unsuccessful. "In any case, she's also a doll."

"Ah, you didn't need to tell them immediately…" Renate complains. "I wanted to string it out a bit longer…"

Lucas and Eva look back and forth between the two of us in shock, Lucas being the first to recover his voice. "But… how did you get in?"

"Sector 3's security isn't that hard to get past." She smiles. "We've been in and out a few times. In fact-" She leans over the table, her grin growing even wider. "We've even met before!"

"W-we have?" Lucas shudders.

"Yes. I was one of the dolls that took Panagos from your house."

Lucas is frozen in place for a moment as he processes this, then his eye starts to twitch. "You!"

"Me!" RPK says gleefully.

"What'd she do?" Eva asks, looking around.

"I caught her licking some of the MP's blood off her fingers." Lucas growls. "I didn't see her face with the cloak, but the voice is similar."

"Hey, I rarely have the chance to try human blood." Renate shrugs. "I had to take the chance while I had it. It's not like you were going to put the blood that was already outside of her back in."

All three of us stare at Renate, unable to say anything.

"Hey, Renate! We found-" Another unfamiliar voice calls out, and all four of us look back. "Oh, you made some friends?"

Four women have just walked into the cafe. Two of them I recognized, 12 and 94. Then, there's a tall one with a bored look on her face and features that look very similar to 12's, and then a dark haired lady that looks like she's seen much better days, judging by the wounds covering her arms and face.

As she registers our presence, 12's eyes pop open and she stalks over to the table.

Lucas and Eva freeze in place as the angry woman walks right up to us and rips Renate's hands off mine. "Hands off."

Renate's eyes narrow. "Oh? I didn't know I wasn't allowed to touch him. I don't see your name anywhere."

12's mouth is turned into a small frown, but she quickly looks around to see the other two people and returns to her normal cheery self, eyes closing. "Ah, sorry about that. Hadwin, I see you've met Renate, let me introduce you to the rest of DEFY."

The others have made it to the table in the meantime, and I stand up to greet them.

94 almost immediately moves to right beside 12, and 12 gestures to the dark haired woman. "This is Ange, our handler."

"I guess you're Hadwin then?" Ange offers her hand out. It's made of metal. "Thanks for your help with Panagos."

"These two also helped." 94 says quietly, pointing to Lucas and Eva. "Lucas was the doctor that stitched Panagos up, and Eva was the one that helped Lucia and I repair ourselves."

"I see." She turns to the other two at the table. "Then, I'm in your debt as well."

"Don't mention it." Lucas says distantly.

"It wasn't a problem." Eva says slowly. "So, you're in charge of these dolls?"

"I am, though we're trying not to advertise our presence here." Ange looks at 12. "Charging around with your eyes open wasn't the smartest idea."

12 doesn't seem to have any remorse, though she states. "I understand."

"And I'll assume this is Erwin?" I point to the tall woman who has been silent this entire time.

She nods, and then goes back to staring into the distance blankly.

Okay then.

"Well… Since everyone's already in the know." Ange grabs a nearby table and scrapes it over to the table we're already occupying. "We can have this conversation here instead of postponing it."

"Oh?" I tug on my collar nervously.

A game of musical chairs starts as the dolls all sit down aside from Erwin and 12. Ewin seems content to stand guard, but 12 decides to sit in my lap much to everyone's surprise.

"...Is that necessary?" Eva asks, her voice full of disgust.

"Yes it is." 12 assures her. "Since our cover is that I am blind and that I have a crush on him, it wouldn't do for him to be flirting with another girl."

"Was that flirting?" Renate tilts her head.

"Anyway." Ange says, a bit too loudly. "Antje and Lucia told me about the Doll snatchers. We weren't going to investigate it right away, but it turns out that they're actually pretty connected to our mission as well. We've been looking for Panagos' bodyguards and larger retinue for a few days, and we managed to find some security camera footage of them being loaded into a van heard for the warehouse district. We spent some time looking into what warehouses Paradeus owns, and it appears one of them is regularly used to traffic dolls."

"...Seriously?" I mutter. "What are the odds?"

"Pretty high." Renate hums next to me. "They seem to have their fingers all over this city."

"We still don't know if the others are there. It's been almost a week since they were kidnapped, so it's unlikely they're alive even if they're in that warehouse."

"We also don't have the manpower to confirm the location and perform a rescue operation." 94 states. "Right now, we need to focus on our primary task."

I bite my lip. I was just about to ask when we were going to rescue everyone, but it looks like that's not going to happen.

"What is this primary task?" Eva asks.

"Defend MP Panagos until she has a chance or her Mayoral bid in three days." Ange says calmly. "Once she's no longer under risk of assassination, we're going to move on."

12's arm wraps around my shoulder. "Don't worry Hadwin, we'll make sure to rescue them before we go."

"...Thanks." I mutter.

"Oh!" Lucas' face suddenly lights up. "I had an idea!"

"Oh?" Ange raises an eyebrow.

"If MP Panagos becomes the mayor, then we could ask her to improve conditions for the dolls in the sewers, right?"

Eva nods. "That… that would actually solve the problem, two birds and one stone."

"Yeah…" I agree.

"Cheer up." Renate pokes me in the shoulder, only for her hand to be slapped away by 12. "If you want to be a hero, you just have to work with us while we're here. No need to go through all the extra effort."

"I don't want to be a hero. I just don't like seeing people hurting." I grumble, only for Lucas and Eva to sigh.

"In the meantime though." Ange taps her fingers on the table. "I may have liberated a crate of MREs from some military bastards that were chasing us down, and I hear there's a population of hungry dolls-"