Author's Note: While uploading this story I accidentally skipped the real chapter 16 "Rewriting One's Fate" which went over A-545's backstory. This has now been corrected.
***Story Start***
"...That sounds mega cringe," a nine-year-old Zeldri stated as he continued stacking wooden blocks into a wall that surrounded a group of plastic army men.
"It's not!" a seven-year-old Peter replied as he drew flags on some torn-up pieces of paper with crayons. He taped the flags to the top of the block wall and over the plastic flags some of the army men carried. "Secret catchphrases are cool! So, we gotta have one."
"A-huh." Zeldri smiled as he placed a tank on top of the wall and entrenched it with smaller blocks. Their parents were in the living room talking about something serious judging by the look on his mother's face when his father hurried Peter and him into Zeldri's bedroom. It seemed like Peter hadn't realized something was happening as he ignorantly continued to ramble while drawing. Since he was older, Zeldri had to set an example for his friend. It was his duty, he felt, despite only being two years older than Peter. So, giving in to his wants was okay every now and again. "Okay," Zeldri said and looked over to Peter. "So, who starts?"
"I do!" Peter's eyes lit up as he looked at Zeldri. "Цветут в сумерках (Bloom in the twilight)!" He held out his fist and extended his pinky.
"Доживи до восхода солнца (Live for the sunrise)." Zeldri extended his hand and the two boys locked pinkies with each other. Both had dumb grins on their faces as they spent the last day of their childhood innocence with each other while the adults in the next room prepared for the third world war.
"Sir, we have a visual on the Mountain," one of the soldiers walked up to Peter and gave his report. Soldiers and combat dolls marched while two Typhon tanks hovered along through the woodlands that surrounded the Mountain.
"Any resistance?" Peter's voice held no joy to be here. There was only bitterness that was accentuated by the pain in his right shoulder from the bullet Zeldri gave him. Jacob had died before the failed coup to the mysterious white faction, so now Peter was in charge of their unit.
"None," the men continued to talk and walk through the woods, "The outer lot looks clear. The MiGs reported all combatants retreated into the Mountain a few minutes ago when they approached."
"Then they've had time to dig in." Peter glanced to the sky as the three MiG-45 fighters he had procured circled above them.
"Even so," the soldier protested, "They're just civi-dolls, sir. Once the Typhons get through the door it'll be a simple clean-up job."
"...You'd think that," Peter mumbled to himself as they cleared the treeline and climbed up the sloped path leading to the Mountain's outer lot.
"Sir?" The soldier cocked his head to the side in confusion but didn't get a response. Without waiting, the two Typhon tanks crashed through the fence and entered the lot. Soldiers and Cyclops units infested their way through and cleared the various buildings that dotted the outer lot. Not a soul was found as the place had been abandoned. As they approached the Mountain, the bulkhead doors were closed.
"Form a perimeter!" Peter shouted. Soldiers began taking what cover they could and moved Aegis units up to form an initial wall. The two Typhon tanks hovered up to the door and positioned themselves next to each other. "Start melting through the door!" Peter ordered the Typhon tanks, "Doll units, prepare to-!?" As he gave his orders, a loud metal groan interrupted him. The vehicle bulkhead door to the Mountain slowly started to open. The human soldiers looked around at each other in confusion as they hadn't expected Griffin to just open the doors for them. Peter narrowed his eyes and mumbled to himself, "The hell are you thinking Zel-!?" But, his words caught in his throat as, when the door finally opened, what lay inside caused his heart to stop. Roughly fifty yards down the tunnel was a wall of sandbags and metal barricades that covered the path inside in a defensive wall. T-dolls were lined up behind the wall with their various guns trained on the door. And, poking over the wall was the barrel of a T-14 Armada main battle tank aimed directly at them. "MOVE!"
"Your weak point is easy to spot!" MP-448 called from the commander's seat of the T-14. "Fire!"
"You can come to me one by one!" Thunder aimed and fired the main cannon at one of the Typhons. The APFSDS (Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot) round flew out of the barrel and rocketed toward the first Typhon. Thanks to Thunder's accuracy, the round traveled in between the spaced-out metal rails of the Typhon's electromagnetic beam cannon and punched a hole through the focusing lens of the turret. Sparks and arcs of electricity poured over the KCCO's line as the Typhon's turret exploded in a magnificent electrically charged cloud of smoke.
"While a magnificent breakthrough tank, the Typhon lacks many conventional defenses," Zeldri explained as he stood in the command room of the Mountain looking at a holographic map of the battle. "The focus lens of the cannon is exposed and leads directly into the turret. While making such a shot with something powerful enough to punch through it is considered impossible, a doll linked to a tank firing at practically point blank range can do it without issue."
"I see," Annika said and let out a sigh. She had been apprehensive when Zeldri gave the order to open the door, but he seemed to have things under control.
"Thunder!" Zeldri patched himself through to Tankery when he saw the first Typhon blow up. "Quickly eliminate the second one!"
"..." No response.
"Thunder?!"
"Hey, Thunder!?" PPS-43 called from the driver's seat as she looked over to Thunder to see why she wasn't answering Zeldri.
"..." Thunder was trembling and her hands were clenched on the controls as she stared at the display in front of her. The camera feed showed human soldiers screaming as they ran clear of the exploding Typhon. Large pieces of the turret splayed the ground around it with one large piece pinning a soldier to the ground as the impact crushed him to death. In a low voice she spoke, "...Does anyone who came here have no other choice?" While she held no love for the KCCO after the failed coup, this was her first time killing a human. Zeldri had given every t-doll on the frontline the kill authorization. And, while they all knew what that meant, being faced with it was something Thunder wasn't fully prepared for.
"Thunder!" PPS-43 shook her teammate to try and get her to focus. The last Typhon started charging up its cannon.
"...!" Thunder swung the T-14's cannon towards the Typhon. But, instead of aiming for the turret, she aimed the cannon at the small viewport for the crew. If she must kill then let it be directly by her own hands! "Get lost alongside the thunder!" The APFSDS round punched through the viewport, blew the driver's head apart before continuing through to bisect the gunner seated behind him through the gut, and kept going the punch through the Typhon's engine. The Typhon's repulsors instantly shut off and the tank fell to the ground. It was...so easy to take their lives.
"..." The inside of the T-14 was quiet. MP-448 glanced down at her teammate. "Thun-!?" Only for Thunder to fire again into a line of Aegis dolls; tearing them apart. "Thunder!?"
"This too..." The autoloader loaded another round. "Is what I desire!" Thunder's voice was becoming unhinged as she fired another round. This time, at the human soldiers. The red mist they left behind burned itself into Thunder's digimind.
"Thunder!" MP-448 checked and saw Thunder's digimind becoming warped as the kill authorization allowed previously blocked thoughts to fester. So, she gave the order to save her friend, "PPS-43, we're withdrawing!" She had to get Thunder out of there.
"Falling back!" PPS-43 threw the tank in reverse and sped down the tunnel until they were out of view of the defensive line.
"I'm sorry, Commander," MP-448 apologized.
"...It's fine," Zeldri gave a heavy sigh and leaned on the table. Thankfully, they had taken out the Typhons which was their primary objective. While he would have liked them to remain there to provide additional support, that was now deemed impossible. "Thunder is no longer fit for combat. Retreat fully to the vehicle bay, Tankery."
"Roger," MP-448 responded before cutting comms.
"The Thunder line was said to have emotional difficulties," Annika admitted as she looked over Thunder's deteriorated state, "But, this-"
"Is understandable," Zeldri cut her off. Seeing Annika raise an eyebrow, Zeldri continued, "The dolls were dealt a massive blow to their emotion modules because of the coup. Just because they say they're fine now doesn't mean they actually are..." Zeldri couldn't even laugh at the thought of robots getting PTSD, but here he was living such a reality. Would he need a therapist on base for his dolls? "Keep an eye on our girls and if you see one start to deteriorate, retreat them. Dream Eater's back under the Nightmare Protocol so they'll be fine; focus on the others."
"Yes, Commander!" Annika nodded and quickly started scanning the other dolls that were at the defensive line.
"All sniper dolls, focus on enemies with any heavy ordinance. Don't let them punch a hole in the wall. MGs, shred anyone who tries to enter the tunnel. ARs, pick off targets the MG's pin. Pistols, Shotguns, and SMGs stay behind the wall and conserve your ammo in case they break through. A-545, have Dream Eater take the center now that Tankery retreated!"
"At once, Commander!" A-545 and Dream Eater moved to the middle of the defensive wall where the T-14 had been set up. "Aegis' pushing up the tunnel!"
"Hmm, feels different in live combat," M249 SAW lazily said as she and her dummy links started laying fire into the KCCO's line.
"Time for some payback clean up!" M2HB focused on a group of Aegis units that tried to approach the tunnel.
"Enemy contact!" M1918 declared and picked off some Cyclops that weren't behind any cover.
"Here comes the intro!" AEK-999 had resolved herself to fight. Even with her unstable mind, she still wanted to protect those she cared for. After taking a glance at her team who were hunkered down next to her, her eyes returned to the KCCO. "Listen to the rhythm of my bullets!"
"SHIT! Fall back! Fall back!" Bullets poured out of the tunnel to the point the KCCO soldiers couldn't even peak without the risk of taking a stray round. Even though the Typhons were still on fire, standing behind them was preferable to being in the open.
"БЛЯДЬ (FUCK)!" Peter yelled as he and a squad took cover behind one of the buildings in the lot.
"Sir!?" One of the soldiers next to him was panicking. "What do we do? Why does a PMC have a tank!?"
"...Zeldri!" Peter grit his teeth in anger and the bullet wound on his shoulder ached. He grabbed his radio and relayed new orders, "Get out of the line of sight of the tunnel! We'll siege them out." If going into the Mountain was too dangerous, then he'd force Zeldri to come out. They held the advantage as they'd taken the outer lot which meant the Mountain was now on limited supplies. "This is the only way in or out of the Mountain. We hold both the ground and air. They're trapped."
"Commander, Train Team said they're ready to move out for supply runs if need be," Annika relayed the communications as she glanced at the holographic battle map. "There are no troops stationed at the train tunnel, so they might not know about it."
"Only if it gets to that," Zeldri responded as he zoomed out the map to view the whole Mountain. "We'll only get to use the train once before those MiGs spot it... We could evacuate on foot from the tunnel, though the nearest town is too far and there's no guarantee we won't get spotted." He started thinking out loud as the battle had come to a stall. The main tunnel was the perfect chokepoint that the KCCO couldn't just walk around; they had to break through it. But thanks to those MiGs Zeldri couldn't send his forces out to push the military back. Neither could push without the other countering them. "If only those MiGs weren't an issue... Scarecrow?" Zeldri opened a channel to level 01.
"Hmm? You need something, Commander Zeldri?" Scarecrow responded as she was brought out of her thoughts. Rosefinch was nearby and listened in to the conversation.
"How much ammunition do your gunships have left?"
"Enough to push back what's trapping you," Scarecrow responded as she was given a map of what was happening by Tsaritsa. "However, my gunships won't be able to do anything so long as those fighters remain operational." She watched the MiGs pass by one of the Mountain's exterior cameras. "My gunships aren't equipped for anti-air engagements. And, neither are any of your current forces."
"Damn..." Zeldri cussed to himself as he started thinking.
"..." Makarov, MAC-10, Skorpion, and OTs-12 felt a wave of dread wash over them. They had been kept back to keep an eye on Scarecrow which meant they could only listen to the comms chatter to know what was happening down below at the entrance.
"...Aaagh!" MAC-10 grabbed and pulled her hair. "I hate this! Just sitting here waiting!"
"There's nothing we can do about that, MAC-10," Makarov reminded her teammate. Though, she understood her bitterness. Just sitting around waiting for the military to starve them out was grating on her digimind.
"..." OTs-12 looked down at her weapon and fell deep in thought. As a secret weapon, she had to have a way to help Zeldri. Otherwise, what was the point of her existence? Surely there was something? "...?" As OTs-12 continued to try and delude herself with such thoughts, her eyes wandered over to Horris, M7, and K11 who were all doing minor work on the Su-73D. "...Wait... That's it!"
"Huh?" Her team looked at her worriedly as she had suddenly become full of life. There was a dangerous fire burning in her eyes. Makarov spoke up, "What is it, OTs-12?"
"I think I know a way for us to help!" She gave no time for anyone to disagree with her and she rushed over to Horris with her team quickly running after her.
"..." Zeldri anxiously tapped his fingers against his thigh. He watched the military set themselves up in the outer lot's buildings through an exterior camera. Moving up to stop them was out of the question as the only thing keeping his dolls safe was the wall they'd quickly built from sandbags and barricades. They'd be sitting ducks in the tunnel if they moved up; even with the shotgun dolls leading the charge. Zeldri reached for a cigarette as the waiting was killing his nerves.
"Commander Zeldri?" Until Scarecrow's voice came over his communicator.
"What is it, Scarecrow?" He grabbed his lighter.
"My gunships are ready to launch and retake the outer lot."
"...!?" Zeldri hesitated and the cigarette fell out of his mouth. It had been only fifteen minutes ago that he asked if she could send the gunships only to be met with a negative response. "I thought they couldn't deal with the MiGs?"
"That problem seems to have been taken care of," Scarecrow replied with an amused tone of voice. "So long as they keep up their end of the deal, the day can be won."
"...They?"
"Set up that barrier over here! Move those Cyclops units forward!" Peter was giving orders from the safety of one of the lot's buildings that seemed to be a bunkhouse. They had taken the liberty of moving their transport trucks into the lot to have better access to their supplies and started fortifying their position in case Zeldri sent out his dolls. Though, it seemed Zeldri had no intention of doing so as everything was eerily quiet. "Don't tell me he's not sending them out because he's worried about some dolls?" Peter mumbled to himself in disbelief. He couldn't understand his friend's actions recently.
"Incoming contacts!" But, he wouldn't be given the time to think about it as a soldier yelled out to him. "Sangvis Ferri gunships!"
"Where?" Peter hadn't expected Sangvis units in this battle. Had they come to try their luck to take the Mountain?
"From the Mountain! The MiGs spotted them leaving what looks like a hangar bay on the far side of the Mountain!"
"Sir!" Another soldier burst into the building completely out of breath. "Griffin's t-dolls moved past the barriers and are charging up the tunnel!"
"..." Peter's hands clenched in anger. To think, his friend who hated Sangvis Ferri was now fighting alongside them? "You've thrown everything away, huh Zeldri?" He had to stay calm. This proved Zeldri was desperate if he was throwing everything he had into this one push despite the odds. His teeth grit against each other before he shouted into his radio, "Воробей (Sparrow), take out the gunships!"
"Roger. Moving to engage," The lead pilot of the three MiG-45s responded before switching channels to his fellow pilots. "Cleared Hot! Weapons Tight!"
"Roger!" the two pilots responded before the three fighters circled around for an attack run. The gunships were still circling around the Mountain when the MiGs brought them into their sights.
"Alright," Воробей spoke to himself as he started to lock onto the lead gunship, "Time to-"
!MISSILE!
!MISSILE!
!MISSILE!
"What!?" His jet's warning system suddenly started screaming at him of a missile lock, but he couldn't see from where. None of the gunships were aiming at them, and they didn't look to have any anti-air missiles. "Where's tha-!?" Воробей couldn't finish his sentence as a radar-guided missile exploded next to his left-wing sending the MiG-45 spiraling down toward the surface in a fireball.
"Break!" one of the pilots called and immediately pulled up to avoid whatever was happening. "The hell was that!?"
"Hostile lef-WAH!" The second pilot had to quickly nose dive to avoid a mid-air collision as a new aircraft nearly rammed him as it flew passed.
"...For all those who were lost. For those who've given up even themselves for our future," the pilot of the new aircraft, a Su-73D, called over all of Griffin's channels. "This is Makar-...no... This is Su-73D, reclaiming our skies!"