Author's notes: So I did some thinking and I decided to redo the massive brain fart from last chapter. It's kinda sad how easy it was to make it a lot more believable, not having 416 recover her gun and intentionally leave Hadwin out to dry. Instead, Hadwin tells her to go with the convoy and barely misses out on going himself. He also doesn't give up the pistol, he just doesn't have much ammo for it after the earlier events and losing the magazines during the mortar fire.

It's just a little bit of text here and there, I just wish I had thought of it sooner, as it feels a LOT less stupid. Probably not worth going back and re-reading, as nothing of real note changes aside from the respective IQs of Hadwin and 416.

As for the matter of Ricardo being a "cardboard cut-out." Unfortunately, I have to agree. The characterization of the Commanders was lacking, and I fully acknowledge that fact. I'm not really willing to go back and rework a significant amount of the series just to fix that, though, so it'll have to stay. I will say that the three OC commanders are going to get a bit more characterization now, y'know, since it's too late.

Anyway, I've been trying to work on the next section of the story to avoid a disappointing repeat, so hopefully this Arc will have a more satisfying conclusion, more fulfilling enemies, and better overall writing.

Thanks for reading, and happy new year to everyone.

0918, Friday morning.

I wake up with a groan.

My head's pounding like I just had someone drop a rock on my head, like that one time in high school-

I try to move my arms, but both of them are currently held down.

I'd look to see who has me pinned down, but I'm still too tired and in too much pain to actually care enough to try. Instead I just close my eyes again.

"Oh, so you're not getting up yet then?"

I crack open one eye to see 45 leaning over me, chin resting in her hand. She's dressed in the T-shirt she got me declaring 'If you think my guns are impressive, you should see my girlfriend's' and my boxer shorts, which… somehow fit. I think I remember her pulling those out, but last night I was kinda drunk. "Bleh."

"Guten morgen." She reaches down with her metal hand, fingertips gently brushing my hair. "Sleep well?"

"Kinda." I clamp my eyes shut and blink a few times to try to clear my bleary vision, since I can't use my hands. "I should've brushed my teeth, my breath smells horrendous."

"That's far from your only worry." She smirks.

"Huh?"

"Look at yourself."

I crane my neck to look down at my body.

Ah.

On my left, 15 has my arm in both of hers, cradling it. She's wearing one of my sweaters, which is just long enough that, at least from this angle, only her legs poke out from the bottom.

On my right, 416 has her hand clasped around mine. She's got on a simple nightgown that really suits her personality. She's still got those hair clips in though.

On top of me…

"Why is Sop on top of me?" I stare at the snoring doll, who's dressed a lot more lightly than usual, and is currently face down on my chest.

"You should have heard about how she talks about you. She already had a high opinion of you before yesterday, but after you saved her from Ricardo…"

"...Nooooo." I deny the evidence of eyes and ears.

"Yeeeees." 45, as always, is taking great delight in my discomfort.

I let my head flop back to my pillow and stare once more at the ceiling. "Who's next? RO? 9? Fuckin' M16?"

"Hey."

I turn my head to see RO, dressed in gray, very baggy sweat clothes, sitting up. Her hair's a mess, the white part sticking up, and she's glaring at me. "...Ah. Good morning."

"Mmm." She blinks slowly as she takes in the rest of the room. "Looks like nothing happened while I was asleep."

"Nope."

45 decides to chime in. "Well, I pulled Hadwin's pants off."

Now that she said it, I can feel the air on my legs. At least, the parts that don't have a doll laying on them. "...Why?" I ask, already dreading the answer.

"Because you have two possessive dolls on either side of you, and a doll that recently learned what a man and a woman can do when naked on top of you." She leans down. "It's going to be very entertaining."

"..."

"What, cat got your tongue?"

"No, just calculating my odds of dying due to your entertainment." I glance back at the three dolls in the same bed as me. "None of them have guns at the moment, so I'd put it at fifty percent."

RO stands up and stretches, the sweater material suddenly stretched fully as she arches her back. "Sorry to ruin your fun, 45, but I think I have a moral obligation to head this off."

I realize where I'm staring and look away, though fairly quickly it's apparent that I don't have a lot of safe places to look. I eventually default to staring straight up, though that leaves me with 45 as my primary focus.

"Mmmmph. Five more minutes." Sop groans as RO shakes her.

"Oh, for the love of-" RO grumbles.

"...I have a dumb question." I ask at 45, who looks from RO back to me.

"Hmm?"

"If y'all are robots, why do you sleep at all?"

"Oh. It's data storage and review time, that's all. Categorizing memories, neural cloud maintenance, that sort of thing. Unlike humans, we can put it off for a few days at a time."

"Then why is Sop still half asleep?"

"Because." RO grabs her sister by the shoulders and lifts her up into the air. Sop's eyes are wide open and her cheeks are red. "She's just pretending."

"...Ah."

"Um… Good morning?" It comes out as more of a question than a statement as Sop looks around nervously.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask.

"About since 45 pulled your pants off." She admits.

I once more try to cover my face with my hands, but my arms are still being held captive.

RO sets Sop down by the side of the bed and moves over to shake 15.

A yawn comes from the other side of the bed, behind 416, and I see Aleah's head poke up. She looks exhausted, somehow. "Ugh."

"Morning."

She looks at me and the two dolls beside me. "Looks like you were having fun."

"If by 'fun' you mean I'm hoping to not get murdered."

"You were too drunk to care last night." She points out.

"And if that's not an indictment of drinking, I don't know what is."

She stands up, and I realize she's wearing a nightie, similar to the one 9A-91 wears normally, but without the overcoat. I once again quickly return to staring at the ceiling. I'm suddenly grateful Sop had been removed from on top of me.

Then again-

416's arm moves and I look down to see she's clearly awake, looking at my underwear-

"OKAY!" I sit up and declare loudly. "Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."

RO sighs and 45 starts to laugh behind her hands, having got her entertainment.

I make it into the bathroom quickly, before realizing I still don't have my pants.

"I would like to apologize."

Commander Mikhail smiles wryly. "You're good, Hadwin. After all, if the positions were reversed, I don't know if I would have been so lenient."

Welrod, providing him assistance at his side, nods. "I thank you for sparing our Commander, Field Agent."

"Good thing too." I shudder. "If I hadn't…"

Commander Mikhail waves my concern away. "It's pointless to dwell on such things. I'm just glad we have that over and done with."

I hold open the door to the hospital ward so he and Welrod have easier access to the building and let the door swing shut once they're through. "Me too. I was starting to get paranoid back then."

He nods. "Of course. You're still relatively new to this."

"I've only been working for Griffin for two weeks." My gaze drifts into a far away space. "It feels like a lot longer though."

"Having your life in peril will do that to you." He smiles. "Looks like we're here."

I drag my focus back to the present and glance through the viewing window into the hospital room.

Commander Gentaine, sitting up and smiling at the two dolls at her side, M4 and G36. Ironically, given how much rest she's probably gotten from being put into a medical coma for a day, she's probably looking the most refreshed she's ever been.

"Do you think we should have brought coffee?" Mikhail asks, also having stopped to watch the sight.

"No need." We both turn to see Commander Kylie, who's holding a cardboard tray with four paper cups from Springfield's Cafe. "I got one for everybody."

"Thoughtful as always." Mikhail chuckles.

Kylie peers through the window into the adjacent room. "She's looking well."

"Yeah." I take a deep breath. "Shall we interrupt?"

Kylie snorts. "What a way to put it. Yeah, we really should."

"We're late as it is." Commander Mikhail points out. "We'll just have to give them some alone time later."

"Assuming we're not attacked by the KCCO again. Or Paradeus, Sangvis, or space aliens." I grumble.

Commander Kylie leads the charge into the peaceful atmosphere in the room, her offering of coffee held out at arms length to appease the Commander within.

M4 and G36 are dismissed, G36 giving a bow to all of us as she retreats out of the room.

"Look who decided to show up." Commander Gentiane smiles in spite of her words. "Finally decided to visit the invalid?"

"Oh please." Commander Mikhail laughs lightly. "I would have remained at your side longer if your dolls hadn't very explicitly told me that they wouldn't allow it. Now that your life isn't in danger, I can relax."

"My life's always in danger. If it ever stops, something has gone horribly wrong." Commander Gentiane turns to Commander Kylie. "Did you bring it?"

Kylie offers the coffee to Commander Gentaine, who takes a cup and sips on it, relaxing visibly.

"So, how are you doing?" Commander Kylie asks. "I wasn't really told your real condition yet."

"I'm recovering." Commander Gentaine looks disdainfully at her lap. "Legs don't work properly yet, but since I've been sitting still and recovering instead of intentionally bashing my injuries into others…"

All eyes turn to me and I look at my metal hand involuntarily. Yeah, yeah…

"...I'll be fine in a day or two. I'm glad we've managed to reverse engineer that disgusting Paradeus serum, or I'd be laid up for months, if not years."

"That would be a problem." Commander Mikhail agrees. "So, what is this meeting about, exactly?"

Commander Gentaine inhales her coffee, savoring the last bit of pleasantness before she has to get back to business. "We need to interrogate Ricardo."

"That can wait-"

"No, it can't." Commander Gentaine's face is already set, back into her usual commander mode. "We've been on the defensive against Paradeus for too long. We need to figure out exactly what he told them, and when, so we can revise our own plans."

"...Agreed." Commander Mikhail nods reluctantly. "I'll record it and bring the recording-"

"No." Again, Gentaine interrupts her fellow commander. "I want to see it in person."

"Er…" I hesitate. "Can you move though?"

"Yes." She states, but less forcefully. "I'll need help from G36 though."

"Want me to get her?" I poke my thumb over my shoulder in her general direction.

"Yes please."

I get up even as the three commanders start discussing other topics.

G36 isn't hard to find, her glare shifting my way and giving me pause as I exit the room. Sure, it's just because she can't see without her glasses-

"Hey, G36." I wave at the Doll. "Commander Gentaine wants you to help her with getting to the prison."

"The prison?"

"We're gonna interrogate Ricardo."

"Right now?"

"Yeah." I turn back to the room. "Also, can I ask a personal question?"

She raises an eyebrow.

"Why the hell did I.O.P design a doll that needs glasses? And can you wear contacts?"

She frowns at me for a few seconds. "As to the first, I cannot say why. Persica does many strange things. As for the second, I have no need for glasses in most cases. I wear them when necessary, and that is it. Contacts are unnecessary."

"I guess." It would cut down on the amount of glares you give though.

We enter the hospital room and G36 heads over to her Commander's side, while the other two commanders get up to give the two some privacy as she's shifted into a wheelchair I hadn't noticed earlier.

"She's in a lot of pain." Commander Mikhal says quietly after a moment.

"Yeah." Commander Kylie agrees.

"She is? She didn't look like it to me." I glance back at the solid wall.

"She's good at hiding it." Commander Kylie turns to me. "I've only known her for half a year at most, but you can really tell when she's struggling."

"Half a year…" I stare off into the distance, trying to imagine working here for that long. "At this rate, I'll be mostly T-doll in six months."

"If we can't find that Pike Node, sure." Commander Mikhail reaches over and whacks my back. "But hopefully, we'll find it's location sooner rather than later. Once we get that, we'll hopefully have the political pull to keep the Military off our backs, maybe even go back home for a bit."

Commander Kylie nods. "I miss home. The sooner this is over, the better."

That's right. For everyone else here, we're not really that close to home. I'm the only one who's been home in a while.

I don't have time to think on it further before Commander Gentaine and G36 come out of the room, Gentaine in a wheelchair being pushed by her… wife? Oathed Doll?

"Ready?" Commander Kylie asks the duo.

"I've asked M4 and UMP 45 to join us, but as soon as they're here, we can go." Commander Gentaine says.

M4 pokes her head in almost immediately after she says this, gray eyes looking around rapidly to assess the situation. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, she strides up to Commander Gentaine. "Commander?"

"I'll explain once UMP 45 shows up."

M4 nods before turning her gaze towards me.

I meet it, steadily growing nervous as she continues to stare, unblinking, for an uncomfortably long time. "Can I help you?" I blurt out once the stare threatens to send me away.

"Take care of her." Her eyes narrow. "Or else."

"Take care of…?" I blink, before the picture of a pink haired doll appears in my head. "Ah, yeah. Of course."

"Hmm?" Commander Mikhail glances at me. "What's this about?"

"Our Field Agent picked up a date." Commander Gentaine says idly.

"Wait, wha-" I turn to her.

"Hadwin's dating a doll?" Commander Kylie looks confused, putting the emphasis on the 'a'. "I thought you were dating several. You're always surrounded by them, after all."

"According to M4 here, He just started dating AR-15 last night."

"I-"

"That is correct." M4 nods. "My sister seems to have a crush on the Field Agent. Last night, she sent me a message telling me that he had asked her out."

Commander Kylie starts to laugh, doubling over and gasping for air.

"Hadwin, we've been hunting traitors for the past week. When did you find time for this?" Commander Mikhail grins as he grabs my shoulders.

I stare him straight in the eye. "I haven't been sleeping much and they've been really clingy recently."

He lets go, but the grin remains in place. "I see, I see. Well, I won't get in your way."

I look at the four, laughing or smiling at my expense, before deciding to just drop it. All four of them outrank me in any case.

"S-so!" Commander Kylie says as she stands up. "If you've just asked her out, you're not dating anyone else?"

"No." I grumble.

"R-Really?"

I turn around to see 45 standing there, the most innocent look on her face, and eye on the verge of tears. I look at her for a few seconds in silence before opening my mouth. "You've been there since…?"

"About the time Commander Kylie doubled over with laughter." Her expression returns to its default evil smile. "So, you hooked up with 15? Congrats."

I roll my eyes. "You've known this since the start. She apparently broadcast it to her sister last night, and I hardly think you'd pass the chance to intercept that."

"Well, you're right." She shrugs, before stepping up to me and grabbing my arm, locking it to her torso. I try to move my arm, but she's got it in a death grip.

The Commanders and M4 stare at me with various states of incredulousness.

I just use my free hand to provide a 'what can you do?' gesture. "Shouldn't we be going?"

"Sure." G36 starts pushing Commander Gentiane forward and she pulls even with me as we start walking. "45, any particular reason you're clinging onto Hadwin?"

45 adopts the sickly sweet smile once more. "Why, because he's my boyfriend too!"

"And because it'll irritate 15 if she sees you?" Gentiane's face remains unimpressed.

"That too. Well, maybe primarily that, since Hadwin's not my boyfriend." She pretends to think hard for a few steps. "Though if he asked-"

"Oh look, it's the door." I say a lot louder than I need to. "Commander, you can go first."

I hold open the door with my free hand, letting the three still clearly amused Commanders out before pulling myself through the door.

As we head outside, 45 lets go and starts walking beside me as normal, much to my relief.

We're soon inside the detention facility or whatever they call their prison, thoughts of the last time I was in someplace similar making me feel a bit queasy. In fact, despite this being nowhere near the hotel outside Sector 3, this building is almost identical. I wonder if the interior is a large chunk of metal they can pick up and move.

We all head into the observation chamber, though Commander Kylie and Mikhail remain standing, helping Gentiane move around in the tight room before exiting, heading to the main interrogation room.

Commander Gentaine peers through the glass and frowns.

"Something the matter?" G36 asks.

"What's up with his hands? They're wrapped in gauze."

45 starts to snicker, bringing attention her way, and since she's sitting beside me, eyes fall on me.

"Hadwin?"

I still refuse to look Commander Gentaine in the eyes.

"Hadwin, what happened to his hands?"

Reluctantly, I turn to her and the three dolls in the room. "Well… I didn't have any ammo for my gun, so I tricked him into my exo suit, which I had clamp around him and restrain him. Then I used the Linker to force him to march and when he wouldn't shut up…" I shrug uncomfortably.

"When he wouldn't shut up, what?" She asks more forcefully.

Instead of answering, I tug off the glove on my hand, revealing the exo-suit underneath. I command the fingers to wrap backwards, but only after releasing my delicate appendages.

Commander Gentaine starts to look a bit queasy. "You snapped off his fingers?"

"It was expedient." 45 replies on my behalf. "I'd do the same in his position."

"I know, and that's what worries me." Commander Gentaine shakes her head and turns back to the glass, where Commander Mikhail and Kylie had just entered the chamber, with two dolls doing security. "We'll have to discuss that later, Field Agent."

"Ah, Kylie, Mikhail." Ricardo smiles pleasantly. "I'd shake your hands, but…" He raises the bandage swathed hands.

"Yes, yes. We had the doctor fix you up already." Mikhail dismisses him and sits across the table from the traitor. "We've got a few questions for you."

"Of course you do." Ricardo rolls his eyes. "So, what do you want to know? My dastardly plan? My list of accomplices?"

Commander Kylie taps her finger on the table. "Well, that would be nice."

"Well, go fuck yourself." Ricardo still has that disturbingly pleasant smile on his face. Maybe he's just got the opposite problem 45 has? Instead of resting bitch face, he has resting happy-go-lucky face?

45 notices me looking at her and she smirks back. Not sure why, maybe she guessed my thoughts.

"No thanks." Commander Kylie pulls a datapad off of the table and starts typing a few things. "Okay, so let's start with some simple questions."

"It was me. I killed the president."

Mikhail frowns. "If you want, we can get Hadwin back in here."

Ricardo freezes. "Why? He's an upstart that shouldn't have been allowed to join us."

"Well… I guess we could just get the exo-suit." Kylie shrugs.

There's a good fifteen second pause here.

"Okay, ask away." Ricardo tucks his hands under the level of the table.

"How many humans are currently working with Paradeus on this base, excluding you?"

"None. I was the only Paradeus operator."

Commander Mikhail continues to ask questions while Commander Kylie writes down the responses. "How many T-dolls have orders for you that are hidden from us?"

He starts to list off the dolls, and in the other room we're watching from, M4 and 45 nod with each name. Once he finishes, M4 turns to Gentaine. "That's all of the dolls we've identified. His list matches ours exactly."

"Hmm." Commander Gentaine frowns. "Well, keep double checking his answers. We can't trust his words yet."

Back in the interrogation room, Commander Mikhail continues his questioning. "Were you behind the bomb in the crate from a few days ago?"

"Yes."

"Do you have other bombs planted?"

"No."

"Were you planning on planting more?"

"No. It didn't work the first time, so why should I?"

A pause.

"What do you mean by, 'it didn't work'?"

"The bomb didn't work. That stupid Field Agent still lives."

Commander Mikhail leans back in his chair. "The Field Agent, huh."

"Yes!" Ricardo's teeth clench. "It's all his fault!"

"You're gonna have to explain that one, chief." Commander Kylie leans on the wall as she continues to take notes.

"Okay, look." Ricardo moves his hands back onto the table. "I was recruited to Griffin on the pretext that I'd get to command armies from a safe position in a hidden base somewhere. Once Gentaine started her whole escapade after detonating that pike, we've been under a whole lot of scrutiny."

"Right." Mikhail leans back in.

"So, once we started this wild goose chase across Serbia, I've had my life at risk so many times! I wanted out, but after we made enemies of the KCCO and Paradeus, I couldn't just quit. Instead, I made a deal with Anisim Zatsyev."

My ears perk up. Anisim?

"He asked me to help him capture this MP that's under Griffin protection in return for asylum in one of his cities. I wouldn't have to stick my neck out for crazy suicide missions anymore."

"But… Hadwin."

"Yes. Hadwin." Ricardo's eyes start to bulge out. "He showed up and started interfering! After he found that data in the research base, I knew he was going to be a problem, but he kept getting in the way more and more. After he stopped the takeover of Sector 3, I knew he needed to go."

"...Interesting." Commander Kylie continues to write. "You knew about the research base next to the Hotel?"

"Knew? I'm the one who suggested that location."

I glance at commander Gentaine. She's nodding thoughtfully.

"It was a backup plan in case M4A1 was able to pull that woman out of the situation, but even the backup plan failed. Then the next plan failed, and the next…" Ricardo slumps. "It's always him, too."

"Generally, it's been the dolls-"

"Hah! Dolls can't do all of that without orders. It was him!" He snarls. "If it wasn't for him, I'd have my own city right now!"

The two interrogating commands glance between themselves. "Okay. Moving on… Did you shoot Commander Gentaine?"

"Yes." He crosses his arms and looks away.

"If you're trying to betray us, why didn't you finish her off then?"

Ricardo continues to keep his mouth shut.

"Is there a reason you don't want to tell us?"

"...I just didn't want to kill her."

I have to hold back a snort.

"Using a gun is a weird way of not killing someone." Mikhail comments.

"It's not like she would have sat down and let me take out the kid." Ricardo points out. "I had to get her out of the way temporarily."

"I see." Mikhail produces the laptop I had retrieved, the silver casing still having a light splattering of blood on the edges. "Now, do you recognize this?"

"Of course. It's the Laptop you were attempting to sneak out of Griffin." Ricardo smirks.

Commander Kylie looks at her fellow commander. "Actually, that is a good point. We've never heard why you had that laptop with you."

Commander Mikhail seems to be fairly annoyed, but responds anyway. "I knew that the information we had on the Paradeus project Theta was on it, and that a traitor was likely going to need it before leaving. I decided to ensure it wasn't easy to access."

Commander Kylie seems to have more to say about that, but she turns to Ricardo instead. "So, did you know what was on it?"

"Of course. I realized that Mikhail had taken it fairly quickly, and I clearly needed that info as you said. Thankfully, I had the Field Agent there to help me bring down his helo." Ricardo sneers.

"Right…"

"Moving on, what exactly have you done working for Paradeus?" Commander Mikhail presses on.

The following confession takes over an hour, detailing so many things I'd never even considered, like how he had been the one to betray our position to the KCCO just so he could take control of some of their forces as a standby, or that he'd found the downed helo the day before I had, grabbed a Sangvis doll that supposedly been being held for a prisoner and activated a distress beacon for it to lure Sangvis troops in. When asked how he timed that, his response was simple.

"Paradeus knows where everyone is, always."

Aside from that creepy statement, the rest of his confession made more sense. He helped Anisim escape Sector 3, he's been responsible for most of the problems we've had, including tipping off Anisim to our presence at the party last weekend and the raid on the KCCO forces that resulted in P90's death.

Speaking of-

"I just wish I had gotten into P90's head earlier." He mutters. "After I realized how powerful her abilities were, I tried to sabotage them, but it didn't work. Once she got rebuilt, I was able to sneak some extra commands into her frame."

It's strange. On one hand, I'm infuriated at him for daring to do that to anyone, but on the other… at least P90, my P90, was never tainted by his commands. Partially broken, erased, but not tainted.

45 pinches my arm. "You okay?"

"No." I mutter. "But I will be."

She nods, before placing a hand on my shoulder. "He'll pay."

"Damn straight."

Inside the interrogation room, "Well, I think that wraps it all up for now."

"Oh? Am I free to go?" Ricardo sneers.

"Well, we've got a lot of information to verify. Once we've figured that out, we'll see what we're gonna do with you." Mikhail pauses. "Ah, one last thing though."

"I'm sure it won't be the last." Ricardo rolls his eyes. "What is it now?"

"How much does Anisim know about our plans to infiltrate Kruševac?"

Slowly, ever so slowly, a smile splits Ricardo's face. "Why, he knows all of it!"

"Well that was informative." Kyle stretches.

After a few dolls (and a human guard) escort Ricardo back to his room, the rest of the commanders and I stuck around to discuss the plans more. It turns out, Ricardo had been the one who laid out most of the major details for the plan to infiltrate the city, meaning that the entire plan needs to be scrapped.

Worse, we have to plan assuming Anisim knows we're coming, and that's not easy.

"We'll continue working on the plan." Commander Gentiane sighs. "For now, you're all dismissed."

We all stand up, G36 wheeling Gentiane out and around the small room.

I hold the door open for her, but she has G36 stop before she's in the way of the door. "Close the door."

I hesitate and 45 looks at me from the other side.

"Field Agent, close the door." She insists.

I close the door and turn back to Commander Gentiane.

"Hadwin."

I blink. Using my name and not my title? This is a personal chat, I guess. "Yes?"

"You're dating AR-15 then?"

...Ah. "Yeah..."

"And it looks like 45's still teasing you."

"Yep."

"What about 416?"

"...What about her?"

She sighs. "Hadwin, you have about-"

I raise up a hand to cut her off. "I know, I know. I'm…" I take a deep breath. "I decided to try dating 15, since I said some things yesterday and she seemed like she wouldn't mind."

"Wouldn't mind?" A grin starts to cross her face as she echoes my words back. "According to M4, she almost fried a circuit in excitement."

"...Uh. Sure." I don't remember her freaking out, but… "Anyway, she said she'd like to try dating, and that's where I'm at. She told me she was, um… she didn't mind… and I'm just paraphrasing, she doesn't mind 'sharing'."

"I told you that too."

"And so did Angelia and 45." I rest my chin in my hand. "Still feels weird. So, now I'm trying to figure out if 15's actually okay with it. For all appearances, she is. If she really is, then I'll see if 416 still wants to be in a relationship with me."

"45?"

I roll my eyes. "She does what she wants regardless. If she doesn't like my relationship with 15, she'll leave. Otherwise, she'll continue to harass me for her own entertainment."

"And what about the rest of the dolls?" She raises an eyebrow. "You've got quite a lot of them wondering if they have a shot."

I tap my finger on the arm of the chair as I think. "I… I guess I'll have to consider them as they come." I lick my lips that are suddenly dry. "Look, at this point, I'm dating 15. As long as she's happy, I'm happy with being there with her. I'm not looking to date half of the base despite what everyone seems to think I'm going to."

"Oh, so you are considering this seriously?"

"...Yeah, you told me to after that dumb party, and I've tried to think it through." I fold my arms and look away, trying to hide the blood rushing to my face. "I wasn't planning on asking any of them out until after this next mission, but I opened my big mouth and stuffed my foot into it, so I decided to take initiative."

She snorts, her amusement at my 'suffering' clear. "Do you still have the oath ring I gave to you?"

"Yeah." I frown. Where did I put that, again?

"Remember to be careful who you give that to." Her smile relaxes from amusement into something more pleasant. "You could do far worse than AR-15. She's a good girl."

"Yeah…" I scratch the back of my head. "Um… Is there a reason you needed me to tell you all of this, or-?"

"To be honest? I've been cooped up in a small room, hearing crazy reports and not being able to do anything about them for the past day. After I get out, I'm interrogating a traitor. At this point I just want to hear about something that's not life or death."

I nod, honestly feeling the same. "Well, I'm glad my chaotic love life can serve as entertainment for you."

"I look forward to watching your relationships develop in the future." She chuckles. "Ah, can you tell the dolls under your command that I would like to hold a meeting tomorrow morning? We're going to discuss our game plan for getting into Kruševac. Angelia's already infiltrated with the two other dolls from DEFY and you'll be meeting up with them there."

"Two other dolls?" As far as I'm aware, DEFY was only AK-12 and AN-94.

"AK-15 and RPK-16. They're… odd. Like AK-12 and AN-94, but not."

"Wonderful."

"Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day. From now until the mission starts, you're going to have to train pretty hard, so enjoy this break while you can."

I stand up. "Got it. Thank you, Commander."

"Good work out there, Field Agent."

I throw a salute then exit the interrogation room.

"Oh!" She calls out and I poke my head back in. "Keep it up and you won't be a Field Agent for long."

"...I'll keep that in mind."

Wait, what did she mean by that? If I date too many dolls, I'm gonna be fired? Or, maybe that was about the finger thing...

On my way out M4 grabs my arm, interrupting my thoughts. "Field Agent, if I may?"

"Sure M4. What's up?"

"Thank you for rescuing Sop. I don't know what I'd do if I lost her again."

"Me neither." I tap my fist on her shoulder. "She's important to me too."

"Take care of her, please, as well as 15."

"Got it. You do the same for Commander Gentaine."

M4's eyes soften as she glances back at the window into the room, G36 inside, fussing about with the wheelchair. "Of course."

I raise my fist and she bumps it, each of us going our separate ways.

However, as soon as I step outside, I realize that I actually don't have anything to do. Commander Gentaine gave us the day off, so I have nothing of any real importance to do either…

Maybe I should get my cross stitch supplies. I haven't really done much stitching recently. Haven't had the time to.

As I'm still deciding to go grab my stuff, I find my feet already carrying me back to my room.

Once there, I grab my sewing stuff, jamming it into my backpack. After a moment's consideration, I grab my Linker and my laptop. I should probably check my email at some point.

However, I don't feel like staying in my room all day, so I head out to find a nice place to relax.

I almost head for Springfield's, but I quickly remember how rowdy it gets in there.

Actually… I look around, and it's actually quite nice out. If I can find something to sit on and a table, it would be nice to sit out here and sew.

I wander about for a bit until I see some crates set out at about the right heights. It's on the edge of the base, on the opposite side from the runways, and there's not that much foot traffic out this way.

I walk towards them cautiously, opening them once I'm near only to find them mostly empty, with packing material haphazardly tossed inside.

Certain that I'm not about to randomly explode, I plop down and set out my sewing materials. I mean, sure, Ricardo said he didn't plant more bombs, but…

I realize I don't actually have anything in mind to make, and start going through options. I could make something for 'Operation Scrambush' but my heart starts to hurt thinking back to P90. What else would be fun to sew? A unit patch maybe?

"Ah."

I glance up to see SV-98 had just rounded the corner. She immediately starts backpedaling.

"W-wait!" I call, standing up and dumping the supplies I had just set out all over the ground.

She stops in place, as I scramble to collect the falling sewing supplies. "D-do you need something, Field Agent?"

I shiver at the emotionless way she calls my title. "Uh… um. Can we talk?"

"We're talking now." She states. "Is that all?"

"I… no." I hesitate some more as I pick the thread up and dust it off. What do I say? I don't want her to leave immediately. "...Would you like to sew something?"

She lowers her rifle from the ready position. "Sewing."

"Yes."

The stony expression cracks slightly, and she walks up to the makeshift table, though she doesn't sit down. "What do you need me to sew?"

"I don't need you to sew anything." I hand her some thread and an empty grid. "I just figured you might like to try."

She glances up at me in disbelief. "What if I don't?"

"...I guess then you don't have to." I shrug. Dammit, I why couldn't you have a more normal hobby, like shooting targets-

"Fine." She sets her weapon on a crate and plops down beside it. "I'll bite."

I show her the basics, and she picks it up immediately, fingers working extremely fast as she pushes the needle back and forth. Still, it takes about half an hour for her to finish her pattern.

Not that I get the pattern. It's just a bunch of triangles.

"What is that?" I ask, the first words I had spoken since she had asked how to finish a thread and I had shown her the knot.

"It's a Sierpiński triangle." She pokes it a bit with her finger. "A fractal that appears in logical systems."

"I see."

"No, you don't." She sets down the patch of material and turns to me. "Hadwin, what are you trying to do?"

"Well…" I scratch my head. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"...For what?"

I look away, not able to maintain eye contact. "I shot you."

Silence descends. I hear a helicopter taking off and fading into the distance from the other side of base, I also hear some early spring birds chirping in the woods.

"I was trying to kill you." SV finally starts talking again.

"Well yeah, but that wasn't your fault." I manage to look her way again. "It was basically mind control and I saw how hard you were trying to resist that. And, when you knew about the bomb, you tried to get me away from it."

"...But, I was trying to kill you!"

"Again, not your fault." I shrug.

She stares at me for a few seconds, her face going through all sorts of emotions. "But… Why are you being so nice?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting like I'm a normal doll."

"You're a hell of a lot more normal than most dolls."

"What if I relapse?"

I pause. "How would that work?"

"I dunno!" She throws up her hands, incidentally sending her stitch into the air.

I snatch it before it hits the ground and hand it back to her. "Look, I trust you. Just because someone else forced you to be untrustworthy in the past doesn't mean you're untrustworthy now."

"I…" She looks away. "That's not fair."

"Huh?"

"I was all prepared for you to yell at me, or to curse or for you to tell me to go away. Why wasn't it any of those? I'd be able to handle those." She rubs her sleeve across her eyes.

"You're my friend, SV. I'm not gonna ditch you because of that."

"Yeah..." She still doesn't look my way. "Yeah."

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I made up with 404 after they tried to get me killed a few times."

"Oddly, it does." She looks back at me, then away again. "But now I'm worried about you being killed by someone because you figured they're on your side."

"Well then." I pick up my sewing. "Looks like you'll just have to watch my back so that doesn't happen."

"...I guess so." She slides off the crate, grabbing her namesake gun. "I need to get back to my patrol. Thank you, Hadwin."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and don't forget your triangle thing."

She picks it up, looking at it for a second or so before slipping it into a pocket. "Thank you again, Commander."

"Oi, pick a name and stick with it." I wave her away. "See you later."

"Yeah. See you later."

I watch her walk out of sight, wondering if her posture is less stiff or if that's my imagination. I still don't really know how much they can control their actions and those subtle mannerisms, but I think she's doing better.

Probably.

I wonder if I can hire a T-doll psychologist.

I go back to my cross stitching, slowly threading the floss through the holes in the cloth letting myself be distracted by the repetitive nature of the task, pausing only to restring the needle or end a color.

By the time I'm done for the day, I have a small, simple design. A blue arrow pointing to the right, with some highlighting to suggest a light source above the arrow. I had a stick figure running as well, but removed it since it didn't fit. I also considered adding a shadow, but that seems overkill for now. It's not done yet, but I think I'll get some feedback from the others who want one before I start embellishing it further.

I pack up my stuff and throw the backpack over one shoulder, stomach informing me that I really need to eat something today.

To Springfield's I go.

As I enter, the noise of several rowdy dolls can be heard. I recognize a few of them, but decide not to intrude on their party. Instead, I pull up a seat at the bar.

"Hello Commander. What'll it be?" Springfield walks up to me and smiles.

"Hmm… Coffee and a sandwich." I nod. "Surprise me with the type of sandwich."

"Coming right up." She ducks back into the back of her shop.

Now that my food is ordered, I glance back to see the party going on. Tokarev is there, gesturing with her hands in some complicated fashion. 9 seems to be recounting a story to Ithaca, who is listening intently. There's a few more dolls that I don't recognize- well, there's M14, but I don't really know her- and one more doll I definitely recognize.

P90.

I almost decide then and there to leave, but… it's not her fault. I'll probably have to work with her in the future as well, so it's better if I don't run away.

Still, seeing her put a little damper on my mood.

Springfield sets a plate with an enormous sandwich on it in front of me next to a coffee cup I hadn't seen arrive. "One coffee and one italian club."

"...Why is it taller than it is wide?"

"Because, according to miss S.A.T. you don't eat enough."

"Damn Italians." I snort, then start contemplating how to fit the monstrosity into my mouth.

Springfield crosses her arms and leans back against the far counter. "I've been hearing some interesting rumors about you."

"Oh?" I squash the sandwich down with my hands, making it… almost manageable?

"Yes. You seem to be dating AR-15, for one."

"...Gee, and here I thought she wanted it to be kept quiet." I manage to fit the sandwich into my mouth and take a bite. It is, as expected, delicious.

"Given how she's talking about it on the forums…"

"I seriously need to go back into Level 2 and see what the hell the dolls get up to when I'm not paying attention."

"Indeed. Some of the things they say about you, like that you intentionally ripped someone's fingers off." She holds a hand to her cheeks and tsks. "I think you should head these rumors off before they can grow out of control."

"...Uh."

Her eyes turn to slits and I get a chill down my spine. "You surely aren't about to say that those rumors are true?"

"...Oops?"

She seems to consider me for a moment before relaxing. I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. "Well, it was to the traitor, and by my estimate, he deserved it. Still, not a good habit to make."

"I don't plan on making it a habit." I shake my head. "Not unless someone else goes around killing off people important to me."

"Oh? And who would that be?"

"Well… My family in Sector 3, pretty much any of the dolls I know, anyone from Griffin…" I trail off as I think. "Hmm."

"That's a lot of people. Do you think you can protect them all?" Her eyes open wide and focus directly on me.

"No. But I'm gonna do my best." I glance back over at the party. "Everyone deserves better than what they've got."

"An idealist, hmm?" Springfield asks lightly.

"Ha, no. I understand that I'm not going to be able to fix everything, but I'm going to do what I can."

"It's all any of us can do." She steps away, gesturing to the side. "Looks like you have a bit of company."

I turn as well to see Tokarev leaving the party and skipping over to sit next to me. "Zdravstvuyte, commander."

"Hey, Tokarev. Enjoying yourself?"

She nods. "We've been celebrating the capture of the traitor and discussing how you brought him down."

I blink. I hadn't actually told anyone the full details-

"From what we can piece together, it appears that you tracked him through the forest, ambushed him, wrestled with him for a while, before grabbing his hand and breaking each of his fingers in turn to make him submit to you."

I blink at the deep ruby eyes that look back at me, waiting for her to say that she's kidding, but she seems to be done talking. "That's not right at all."

"Then-" I turn to see 9 plop down on the opposite side of me. "-give us a run down."

"How many dumb rumors did you start?" I ask her.

"Six and counting. I'll make it seven if you don't spill." She grins.

"You've really got a handle on the UMP sisters, don't you?" Ithaca leans on the counter on the other side of Tokarev.

"I spend way too much time with them." I turn back to 9.

"Oh, you know you love us." 9 smirks.

"I'll admit 416 is charming and 45's got a solid grasp on me despite myself, G11's adorable, but you? You're a certifiable pain in the ass."

She snickers, but waves for me to continue.

"I pinned him in my exo suit. Got him talking about his dumb plan and pushed him into it when he was distracted, and from there I could use the suit to force him to walk. That's also how I broke his fingers, using the exo-suit."

"Wow, that's pretty cold blooded." 9 muses.

"You did not do it yourself?" Ithaca asks.

"Well… I was in control of the exo suit, but I didn't physically grab his fingers or anything. I wasn't actually looking at him, to be honest." The memory of the aftermath upsets my stomach slightly.

"If you'd like some lessons on how to disarm an opponent, I can provide some." Tokarev flicks her wrist and a blade slides out of her sleeve.

"Thanks, but I think I'm good for now. You'll be the first to know if I need to learn the fine art of sword dancing."

She nods, the bow bobbing back and forth with the movement of her head.

"So, Hadwin." 9 draws my attention back her way. "What's in the bag? More torture devices?"

"Nope. Just sewing supplies."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." I open up the bag and pull out my latest design. "I was thinking about making a unit patch of sorts, and I've started on the design."

Several of the other dolls wander over as I hand the small design out and they pass it around.

"It appears a bit simple." Ithaca frowns as she looks at it.

"It's not done yet. I wanted some feedback before I decide on what to put on it." I shrug. "I also have to figure out everyone who wants one."

"Me!" 9's hand bolts up.

Ithaca passes the patch on and nods to me. "I would like one as well. I'm part of your guard, after all."

"'My guard'?" I echo, but Tokarev tugs on my sleeve to draw my attention before I can get an answer.

"I think everyone who was willing to take protection shifts should get one."

"That's 'your guard', by the way." 9 smirks.

I take a mental count. "That's like 20 dolls, maybe more."

"Y'know, since everyone seems to think you're going to end up dating every doll you know, does that mean the guard is going to be the first of them?" 9 adopts a thinking pose.

I stare at 9 incredulously, but Tokarev and Ithaca seem to actually be waiting for an answer.

"I am not going to end up dating half the base!" I cry.

"Not according to the rumors online." Ithaca tilts her head. "Are you sure?"

I turn to look at the woman, arms crossed, emphasizing her assets. "Yes. Yes I am."

"20 is less than half, so if we only include the guard…" Tokarev muses.

I turned to the petite girl, but she turned to some of the other dolls behind her and started to talk to them before I could rebuff her.

"Having trouble with your harem?" 9 asks gleefully.

I turn to her once more. "I don't have a harem."

"I dunno, it sure seems like it from here."

"...Okay, can you, I don't know, leave? I'm trying to eat here."

"Nein. I'm having way too much fun watching you squirm."

"...Maybe you really are twins." I grumble under my breath, before deciding to ignore the chattering dolls and just start jamming the sandwich into my face.

It almost works, the dolls stop trying to get me to talk to them, but they continue to mill about and chat, Tokarev getting up and talking to Mk23.

I eventually polish off the sandwich before I get up and leave for some peace and quiet, when a small voice beside me halts me in my tracks.

"I really like it."

I take a few breaths to calm myself before slowly looking to the side.

P90 had taken a seat to my side in the seat Tokarev had vacated. She's holding the patch I had sewn in my hands. "You can sew?"

I swallow, despite nothing being in my mouth. "Y-yeah."

She turns the patch over in her hands. "It's nicely done. You could probably make this into mission badges too."

"Yeah. I made a few of those before… er… well, I made some for a previous operation." I find I can't look her way, instead staring straight over the counter.

She doesn't respond for a few seconds. "...It was the previous me's suggestion, right?"

"...Yeah."

She laughs quietly. "I see. I wondered what my past self was up to and found some records she had made." She pushes the unfinished cloth across the counter to me. "I don't know what happened to the patch I had myself."

"I recovered it." I mutter. "I wasn't going to leave it to rot in the mud."

"And I'm glad!" P90's voice raises just a bit. "It's funny, every time I look into an event, I can trace how my old self thought. We had very similar thought patterns, you see."

"Mmm."

"So, I think you should realize that I mean it when I say that she'd probably be happy having saved you as her last act."

My throat locks up and I find myself unable to say anything.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know, I'm really grateful for rescuing me from Ricardo's clutches. He kept using me to throw everyone off his trail and it was killing me inside. I feel so much more free now."

I manage to unlock my throat enough to say, "I'm glad you're free then."

"If you even need a friend to talk to, you can always hit me up. But…" She stands up. "If you don't want to, that's fine too. Thanks for listening to me."

I finally look her in the face. "Thank you for talking to me. P90, the one I met first, she was a good friend, in the short time I knew her. I'm sure you'll be a good friend to a lot of people as well."

"That's the plan!" She grins. "Now, I have patrol duty, so I'm out. See ya, Haddy!"

"See ya." I echo back, then turn back to the bar.

A cloth napkin is pushed into view, and I look up to find Springfield gently prodding the cloth in my direction.

She gestures to her eyes and I realize why.

I grab the cloth and dab at the tears falling out of my eyes, before giving up and covering my face with the napkin.

"I'll make sure the others give you a moment." Springfield whispers and I nod.

I hope it's a long moment.

"Hey! It's the Field Agent!"

I turn to find the three dolls of AT4 walking past. I wave to them and they take this as an invitation to approach.

"Good afternoon, Field Agent!" The one that I had seen do most of the firing chirps.

"Doing okay?" The second one, who has goggles on her head, asks.

"Need anything blown up?" The last of the trio seems to notice the redness around my eyes but doesn't remark on it.

"I'm good, thank you." I plaster a grin I don't feel on my face. "Are all of you okay?"

"Yeah." Number one nods. "Had to go get checked in the repair bay."

"Came back clean though, so no worries." Number two holds up two fingers in a 'v' sign.

"That's good." I nod. "Thanks for your help recently by the way. You've all been a great help."

"Thanks!" Number three chirps in the same voice Number one had.

"Life's been pretty exciting since you joined." Number three muses. "Maybe we should hang around you to get more action."

"I honestly wish I could refute that." I sigh. "But, for now, I have enough dolls hanging around me that I don't think you three would find space."

"Oh, don't worry about that." Number two shakes her head.

"We only count as one!" Number one smiles.

"...Okay, you're gonna have to run that by me again."

Number three points to her sisters. "You know how most IOP dolls can dummy link, right?" I nod and she continues. "We've been modified to work more like Sangivs units, allowing us all to bond onto the AT4, though I also use a Tec 9." She holds her firearm up. "For light defense."

"Since we're all sharing a neural cloud, if one of us hangs with you, the other two can peek in and also hang with you." Number two says.

"Okay…" I blink. "So you have a hive mind?"

"Not exactly." Number one crosses her arms. "We've all got our own personalities, but since we're all the same model of IOP doll, they're very similar."

"We each have our own names though." Number three states.

"Ah, well, I'd like to know them if that's alright." I smile. "It'll keep me from referring to you as 'one', 'two', and 'three' internally."

"I'm Emma, in charge of firing!" Number one raises a hand.

"I'm Anna, in charge of defense and reloads." Number three once more gestures to her Tec 9.

"I'm Maria, in charge of spotting." Number two finishes and I mentally reassign them their proper names.

"Nice to meet you all. I'll be sure to call on you for all of my missile launcher needs."

Emma grins. "Hey, I heard you used an AT4 against a Hydra before."

"That's true." I nod. "It wasn't a great hit."

"Maybe, but it's great that you could figure it out at all." Anna comments.

"Not really? RO635 told me how." I chuckle to myself. "If she hadn't, I don't think I would have disabled all of the safeties."

"Well, It's not that complicated." Maria agrees. "But still, you're lucky to have hit anything on your first use."

"I suppose."

"Do you wanna come practice with us?" Maria tilts her head as she asks the question. "It might come in handy in the future."

"Uh… If I'm in a position to fire a rocket at a Hydra in the future, I'd hope that someone better than me is around to fire it." I scratch my chin.

"Please?" Anna holds her hands together and all three of them adopt what I can only describe as puppy dog eyes.

"...Right, I guess it couldn't hurt for a little while." I sigh. "Where do you three train?"

"Back at home base, we have this high explosive training range." Emma throws her arms wide. "It's great because we can practice whenever and it doesn't irritate anyone else because of the explosions."

"Here though, we use dummy training rounds. A lot less costly." Maria points towards the hangar. "We've been given a section of land to fire dummy rounds behind the airport."

"And, we're not blowing holes in the airport since we have dummy rounds." Anna nods.

I gesture for them to lead the way and we quickly head towards the airport.

I hadn't really registered it during the run around the base, but I had seen the HOC firing range on my lap after I had rounded the airport. It's little more than a few hastily erected fences and a large mound of dirt, with the back of the hangar structure along the side of the range. I guess the HOCs are just careful not to aim that way, or maybe their dummy rounds aren't strong enough to penetrate the aluminum structure, or something.

When we get there, there's already a few dolls surrounding a tripod type thing, and as I walk forwards, one of them cries "Fire in the hole!" and drops a small cylinder into the tube of the tripod.

A big whumph hits my chest and the cylinder is shot upwards at great speed. My eyes aren't fast enough to track the projectile, but after a good 15 or so seconds, the three dolls get up, nodding to each other before looking our way.

"Hey Anya!" Anna waves.

Once more the three dolls look extremely similar, though I do realize their eyes are all different colors. The one called Anya has green eyes behind glasses. "Hello Anna." Anya glances in my direction. "Hello Field Agent."

"Hello." I nod to the two others as the approach.

"Come to practice?" The doll with red eyes asks.

"Yeah, and we managed to grab the Field agent too. We're going to train him how to use an AT4 properly." Maria nods.

"Da?" The blue eyed doll appraises me. "Do you know how to use a mortar?"

"Hey! We invited him!" Emma protests, but blue eyes ignore her in favor of staring straight into my soul.

"I don't know how to use a mortar, no." I set my backpack down on a wooden camp table covered in burn marks. "I did promise to learn how to fire an AT4 first though."

Blue raises an eyebrow. "I didn't say we'd teach you?"

I blink. "Ah. Sorry for assuming."

"It's where she was going with that line of questioning." Anya walks over. "If you have time after working with AT4, we'll show you how our system works."

"By the way, I'm Kira." Red eyes speaks up.

"I'm Yana." Blue eyes nods.

"Nice to meet you all. If we have time, I'll certainly take you up on that offer."

"Hadwin, come over here!" Emma gestures to where Maria and Anna are unlocking a box that is positively packed with AT4s.

I guess I'll be doing this for a while…

It turns out, the AT4 isn't really that complicated, as RO had indicated back when she handed the tube to me. Anna had literally handed me a single card with a picture showing how to fire the damn thing, and then they had told me to fire the rocket downrange.

Despite their instructions, I had a few questions first, like, 'Are we sure this is a dummy round?'

After multiple reassurances, I took aim and fired, scoring a hit on the side of the dirt mound. The dummy round smashed the dirt into the air, but failed to detonate.

After my first round, Anna had emphasized that I really need to pay attention to what's behind me. I had vaguely recalled RO talking about that, and AT4 decided to give me a rundown on backblast, which is apparently a thing. Because a human would get knocked flat on their ass by recoil, the rocket has a chunk of metal or something it throws out the back, coupled with an explosive to counter the launch of the rocket. This other blast is a hazard to anything behind me, and myself if I'm indoors.

I kinda wish they had told me that first, since I had forgotten about the backblast, and judging by the slightly windswept appearance of Maria, I think she hadn't expected me not to remember either.

After that conversation, I had picked up the AT4 with relative ease, eventually actually hitting within about three meters of my intended target. In that time I had fired about twenty rockets, before sitting back to watch AT4 go through just as many in a small fraction of the time, the trio working in perfect synchronicity as they pick a target, Anna passing rockets to Emma already primed to fire while Maria picks targets.

Once the show was over, the other group walked over and asked me if I wanted to see their weapon. 2B14, as I learned, is a mortar. It's a fairly standard mortar, which I hadn't realized meant unguided until they had sat me in front of it and told me my target was four kilometers out.

Now, I might not have failed math in high school, but I was an average student at best. When they started talking about trigonometry, wind speed variances, and a bunch of other technical stuff about how they land their round on target, I felt my eyes glaze over.

Eventually, they told me how to adjust the angle and rotation of the mortar, before Kira braced the device and they handed me a live shell to dump into the tube.

I nervously dropped the bomb into the tube as shown, ducking to avoid the escaping gasses from the fired shell.

After a few seconds, Yana informed me that, according to the beacon in the test shell, I was about 100 meters off.

When I asked about how bad that was, Anya had told me that I had hit the building beside the one I was targeting. Which, for the sake of argument, was a hospital full of sick children.

We had all come to the conclusion that under no circumstances was I to fire a mortar unsupervised in the future.

After watching them fire a few more rounds high into the air, I left the training grounds and started walking back across the base. My hands feel gritty from all of the burnt propellant from all the firing and I want a shower, but something the 2B14 trio had said stuck with me.

"You have to clean your weapons or they will jam on you." Anya said, cleaning the barrel of their mortar with a rag. "AT4 just throw their expended launch tubes away, but we've got to keep ours in nice working order, just like everyone else with their weapons."

It got me thinking about my own weapons before I found myself in the warehouse, cursing as I look for something to clean my gun with.

"Field Agent?" I glance behind myself to see Kalina, eyes with deeper bags than normal, poking her datapad.

"Hello Kalina."

"Looking for something?"

I hesitate. "Well… Gun cleaning supplies. I've been told that I should probably be cleaning my weapons. Weapon, unless I can get my pistol out of evidence."

"I can help with that." She points down a row I had just been down. "Gun cleaning kits are down that way and I'll find the paperwork to get the pistol released to you soon."

"Thanks so much. While you're here, do you need me to sign the check out paperwork?"

She chuckles. "Yeah, that'd be helpful." She hands me the datapad. "Just put down 'cleaning supplies' and take only one kit, it'll last you for a few cleaning cycles."

"Got it." I sign the appropriate lines on the datapad and hand it back. "Er… one more question."

"Shoot."

"I'm not exactly sure how to clean my guns." I say slowly. "Can I ask a doll to help?"

"I don't see why not." Kalina shrugs. "Why do you ask?"

"I know they're bonded to their guns, so it feels like It'd be rude to ask them how, like… I dunno, ordering them to strip or something."

"Ah, yeah, I get what you mean, but nah. The dolls do treat the guns as part of their bodies most of the time, so I wouldn't grab it without asking, but it's not like you're asking to grope them."

"That's what I wanted to know." I relax slightly. "You're a big help."

"Of course!" She grins. "Though, given the rumors floating around, even if it was asking them to strip, I can bet you'd find a few willing to go along with it."

"Y'know, I was kind of afraid of that, which is a major factor in me asking you and not a doll."

"Sure you were." Her grin grows wider. "So, you have an M16 right?"

"Yeah."

"We've got a bunch of dolls in the same gun family you know. Who are you going to ask?"

I chew my lip. It'd probably be best if I got someone from Anti-Rain… HK 416 also has a similar gun, but given her hatred of M16… Actually, Anti-rain isn't exactly on good terms either. "All of my options are bad, so I'm probably going to ask RO. She's the most level-headed doll I know."

"Aw, I was hoping you'd ask 15. Since you two are an item. You could show each other how to field strip."

I glare at her as she starts to laugh even harder. "Alright, thanks for the help and 'advice', I'm gonna go grab a kit now."

"You do that. If whoever you pick removes clothes, I want pictures."

"Sure." I roll my eyes and head down the aisle she had indicated.

After retrieving my kit, I head back to my quarters and grab the M16A4 I hadn't used in a while. Since I was captured by M16, actually. After I was rescued, I never really got more ammo for it or anything, so I had been relying on my pistol or 416's. Or pilfered shotguns.

I clear off my desk and lay out the kit and the rifle, before sitting down in my chair and contemplating the still fully assembled rifle.

Honestly, I kind of don't want to involve any of the dolls I know in helping me with this. I can tell that M16 left several large scars on the AR team and 416, and just using the weapon had made 416 and 15 irritated. I should probably just stop using it, but it's the gun I know how to use. Maybe I should have taken AK-47's offer to learn her weapon.

So… should I call RO? As I had told Kalina, she's certainly the most level-headed, but I don't know if she's just hiding her opinion of M16. 15's out, she's too emotionally invested in M16, I think. Sop too. M4… I don't have a relationship with her in any way, so that would be awkward. 416's… 416.

I'm still trying to decide when there's a knock on my door.

I get up to open the door to find that the choice had seemingly been made for me.

"Guten tag." 416 stands in my doorway. "Frau Kalina indicated you required assistance?"

"Uh… yeah." I scratch my head. "Okay, I have to ask, do you keep increasing the amount of German in your sentences for a reason, or…?"

She nods. "German is my native language and I encourage you to learn it. The more I speak it, the more you will learn."

"...Right. Come inside." I step aside and let her in.

"What do you need? Frau Kalina was very vague." 416 asks, after sitting on the bed.

"Feel free to say no," I preface my words with an escape clause. "But I kinda need help learning how to clean my gun."

She stares at me for a few seconds before tilting her head. "Why would I say no?"

Silently, I grab the M16 off of the table and present it to her.

She bristles, glaring at the weapon for a second before flicking her eyes back up to meet mine.

"So, like I said, feel free to say no." I remind her of her escape clause.

"Nein. I will help." She stands up. "I will not let my past interfere with my future."

I offer her the desk chair and sit down on the edge of the bed as she carefully starts pulling apart the gun, instructing me on all of the parts and what needs to be cleaned more often, primarily the barrel and breech.

After she disassembled the M16 once, she reassembled it herself before telling me to repeat what she had done. I tore down the rifle as well, though it took significantly longer for my weak human fingers.

For what it's worth, 416 got over her initial dislike for the firearm and seemed to relax more and more as she taught me how to properly take care of the gun.

"Field stripping your weapon is also an important skill to have." 416 continues her lecture as I carefully try to insert the buffer spring and it's inner tube without injuring myself again. "After all, should your weapon need to be serviced during an operation, you're not going to have the luxury of a toolbox and clean conditions. You will have to do this quickly, carefully, and with great precision."

"How often do you actually need to field strip a weapon?" I ask, before cursing as the spring pops out once more. This damn latch isn't catching right, I swear-

"Given how Griffin and Kryuger tends to operate? Not too often. Still, should we take on a several day mission, it would be best if you don't have to rely on others for this."

"Yeah. Especially since I rely on everyone else for everything else." I press the spring back into place and this time it holds. Now, I just have to put the upper receiver back on the lower one.

"What do you mean?"

I attach the front pin before turning to the tall woman. "If it wasn't for you, the rest of 404 and the others, I'd be dead so many times over by now."

"If it wasn't for us, you probably wouldn't be in this situation to begin with." 416 stares right back at me, acid green eyes unblinking. "After all, we were the ones who forced you to join us."

"I'd say it's better than being tracked down by Paradeus, but that seems to be happening anyway." I grumble. "Nah, it's not your fault. I've got a weak spot for people getting bullied, and… I might be projecting a bit, but it doesn't seem like you've got the best lives."

"I'm not being bullied."

"No… but I still wanna protect you." I turn back to my rifle, closing it and sliding the last pin into place with a click. "It's weird, because by all accounts, I'm certainly not protecting anything."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm much better at combat than you could ever be, being a doll designed for the task."

"Right." I start moving the bits of the gun around, making sure it doesn't want to fall apart and that everything works as expected. "But stupid feelings don't seem to care about stupid things like objective facts."

"Stupid feelings, hmm?"

I shrug.

"I don't think feelings are stupid." 416 turns away, but not before I see the faintest tinge of a blush on her cheeks. "Without them, I'd be just like a KCCO drone. Capable of taking orders and nothing else."

I decide to let her talk, continuing to mess with my rifle.

"At first, I hated that I had more in here-" she gestures to her chest, where I suspect her core is. "-than just combat orders. I had to feel the pain of betrayal, the desperation of being on the run from people I was supposed to trust. I was angry at the way I was treated by humans and my mentor.

"I was walking through an alley one day when I stumbled upon a doll that was also kicked out, like I was, but she didn't have a gun. She was a scared little maid doll, and when I saw her, I knew I wasn't going to be able to abandon her. I didn't have any ammo, no friends, and I was scavenging for batteries to survive… but I wasn't able to abandon her. A doll thrown out in the street." She looks down at the floor and curses in german. "She was about to be captured by doll traffickers."

"Ah. So that's why you hate them so much."

"Ja. I met 45 and 9 then as well, they helped me rescue the doll. She wanted to come with us, so we had our mechanic give her an advanced fire control core."

I blink. "Wait, you mean, G11?"

She nods. "Installing the core was too much for her neural cloud, and she almost faded away a few times. In the past year though, she's been stable."

"...Damn."

"I didn't realize it at the time, but I know now why I was given feelings, and that is so I can't ignore someone in need. I will always be helping those that require it."

I snort. "So, you actually do what I keep saying I want to do."

"You've protected us up until now. I expect you to keep doing that in the future." She turns back to me. "Also, please don't tell any of this to anyone else. I would appreciate you keeping this a secret from G11."

"...But, she was there, right?"

416 shifts uncomfortably. "She's… not quite all there, due to the degradation of her neural cloud. I'm not sure if she still remembers being kicked out on the street, or me rescuing her. I once considered deleting her old memories as an act of mercy, but I was unable to. Still, she acts as if I had most days."

"I see. Secret's safe with me." I hand the completed M16 over to 416 for her to inspect it. "Thank you for teaching me."

"Any time, Commander… Hadwin." She sets the gun aside and returns her gaze to my face. "I have a favor to ask you."

"Sure." I shrug. "You just helped me, so whatever I can do."

"Will you go on a date with me?"

I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out.

She continues. "According to Frau Kalina, the festival held in Kruševac is a wonderful place to go on a date. I wish to spend some time with you while we're there."

"...I don't see why not." I say slowly, despite thinking of a few good reasons, most of them starting with 'AR-15'. "In fact, I think I'd enjoy that, assuming we have the time to go on a date with whatever we'll be doing there."

"I'm not unreasonable. If it cannot happen, it cannot." Her blush deepens slightly. "I would be disappointed though."

"Same." I mentally tick a check box certifying that I'm a bad person despite whatever anyone else says.

"I should probably be going. I need to go check up on G11." 416 stands up, but doesn't move away. "Hadwin?"

"Yes?"

She grabs my head in her hands and pulls me closer, but this time I manage to slip out of her grasp.

Her face falls, and she goes to turn and leave, but I stand up and place my hand on her shoulder.

She looks back at me inquisitively.

"You don't need to force it." I say, closing my eyes and leaning in.

"A-ah."

A second later, I feel a set of lips on mine, and after only a second or so, she breaks the contact and steps back. "Thank you."

"It was my pleasure."

She turns and leaves, her whole demeanor a lot lighter than it had been. I wonder if it was the kiss, the promise of a date, or talking about G11.

Probably all three.

I sink back on my bed, before realizing I'm still covered in blasting charge or whatever. I need to take a shower.

After that…

I really need to check out Level 2.

Whatever good fortune I had that allowed my Linker to still work with the Exo suit seems to have carried over into working in Level 2. Despite not having Aleah or anyone to help me, I'm able to log on and see the world of Level 2.

Which, maybe I should be grateful I hadn't been able to up until now.

I stare at a literal wall of text, having trouble reconciling that wall with the doll that I suspect had written it.

"Impressive, no?"

I glance back to find an avatar I don't recognize. The voice has a french accent, but given how easy that is to change on Level 2, I don't take much stock in it.

"Kinda creepy, to be honest." I mutter, glad that my avatar is one I had let the randomizer generate. "She seems to be very enchanted by this field agent."

"That's AR-15 for you. She's always been pretty stoic on the outside, but she's modeled after a teenage girl, so…" The other person beside me shrugs.

"Yeah. Teenage girl." I start to hear police sirens in my head, but squash that for now. "So, what're you doing here?"

"Came to see how far she's gotten, same as you." She glances at the text. "No updates, huh?"

"Probably hasn't talked to the Field Agent today." Feels weird to talk about yourself in the third person. "Looks like she primarily posts updates whenever they talk."

"Yeah." She looks around in a conspiratorial fashion before leaning in and whispering. "Don't spread it around, but I hear she's trying to get him in bed before this mission next week."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I heard it from a reliable source."

I appraise the other avatar. It's kind of a gut feeling, but I'm starting to suspect this might be MDR. "Right. I don't think that'll happen."

"Care to bet on it?"

This is new. "Come again?"

"There's a small betting pool I'm running. Right now, we're choosing who will be the first to do it with Hadwin, and when it will happen. The closest bet gets the money once it finally happens."

I have to resist the urge to just stare at the doll after that announcement. "Who?!" I eventually blurt out.

"What, you gonna narc?" She rolls her eyes. "Everything in here is anonymous, idiot. I don't know who bet what. You'd have to get some of the better cyber dolls in here." She glares at me. "And, since I don't recognize your signature, I'm fairly certain that you're not VSK, M870, Super Shorty, Welrod, or anyone else I actually have to worry about."

"...Fine." I cross my arms. "What's your bet then?"

"If I tell you, will you bet as well? It's only 50 credits."

I hesitate. "Whatever, just tell me." I transfer 50 credits her way.

"Current popular candidates are AR-15 or HK-416, since those two are always hanging around the Field Agent. Next is that new Negev that was in his head for a while. Then, SOPMOD or RO635. After that, it's kinda sporadic."

"Really? RO635?"

"She's been seen muttering about the new guy a few times. Several people think she's likely to have fallen for him."

"I don't see it."

She shrugs. "Don't vote for her then. As for the times, we've got some that think Hadwin'll jump someone any time now, and some that think it'll be month. So, knowing that, what's your bet?"

"..." Honestly? I'm only in a relationship with AR-15, so that would be the safe answer. Then again, 416's been really aggressive lately, and I just promised her a date. Then, there's 45… I shudder involuntarily. Sop's right out. Aleah? Maybe…

This is fucked. Seriously fucked. I'm actually considering this. I'm gonna stop thinking about this and pretend I never went to Level 2 for the sake of my sanity.

"I'll do the wildcard. UMP 9 in ten days." 9 won't mind if it comes out who I am, since she's a giant tease anyway, and in ten days we'll be at this festival thing, probably too busy being shot at to do anything like what this betting pool is imagining.

"Oh, bold. I'll give you good odds on that one."

"Yeah, sure." I start walking away, determined to find something less disturbing before I log out.

"One last thing." She stops me before I can leave.

"Yeah?"

"I need a username to identify you by, in case you change your identity between now and then."

I pause to think of a suitable name. "Go with Jack."

"...Okay then." She writes it down on a piece of parchment that had magically appeared in her hands. "Jack bets on Hadwin doing UMP 9 in ten days' time."

"Yeah." I turn once more for hopefully better pastures. Then again…

This is the internet, but the only users are teenage robots and a PMC.

Compared with the first two or so weeks, the remaining time leading up to the mission to Kruševac is kinda peaceful.

That's not to say I didn't do anything. I trained in stamina with Commander Kylie. I practiced infiltration skills with Commander Mikhail. RO and the rest of Anti-Rain kept me up to date on strategic breakdowns, planning, and the works. 404 and DEFY assisted heavily with my stealth training, though their help was more or less just harassing me at all hours to keep me on my toes.

Even Commander Gentaine got in on training me, preparing me for the revised mission plan. A plan that kept getting updated to try to get ahead of the plans Ricardo had fed to Anisim. Unfortunately, as per her own words, "I'm just not that good at grand sweeping strategies. I can do the improvisation when crazy Sangvis leaders show up, but there's a reason I had Ricardo on my team."

I made sure to participate in more simulations, more combat exercises, and study up on every little bit I could to make it more likely that I'd make it through the mission.

I also finally figured out what the hell I'm supposed to keep in my backpack of stuff. A charger for the Linker, spare clothes, some rope, a bunch of rations…

As we load up a currently functional buggy to start heading down the road out of our base, RO gives me a weird look. "Er, Hadwin?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you have on the side of your bag?"

I glance at the pack. "On this side, I have a loop of paracord and a knife."

"Yeah, I see that. I meant the other side."

"...An AT4?"

"Hadwin." She puts a hand on her hip. "How are you going to sneak that through security?"

"It's a bong, clearly."

"Sure it is."

"I'm sure we can find other creative ways of disguising it." 45 leans out of the buggy seat she's sitting in. "Maybe we could pass it off as a telescope."

"It's got a severe lack of lenses for a telescope." 15 glances at the tube I had secured to my pack. "And, I doubt anyone would miss the warning sticker."

"I'll just say it's a novelty replica of an AT4." I shrug. "If they ask, it's a very good replica."

"Yeah, that doesn't inspire confidence at all." RO sighs.

"We'll think of something, I'm sure." S.A.T. smiles.

"Are you seriously bringing everyone from your guard or whatever?" NTW shoulders her rifle uncomfortably. "I think having twenty of us running around would be suspicious."

I shrug. "It sounds like nobody really gets vacations around here, so why not?"

"Again, I think it would be suspicious."

"I have to agree." Aleah strides in, AEK on her heels, heading for the latter's motorbike. "It would be better if only a single echelon went with you."

"Are you volunteering to be left behind?" UMP 9 raises an eyebrow.

"Of course not." Aleah lets a far too large smile stretch across her face slowly. "Why, I think I should be the outsiders that should be left behind."

I can't help but laugh at the antics of the dolls as they continue to bicker good-naturedly. Honestly, the nerves from having to focus on this mission had been getting to me, but they always seem to be bantering back and forth about dumb stuff to break the tension.

If they're not doing it deliberately, then it's amazing how coordinated they are.

I make sure my backpack is sufficiently stowed, strapping it down. RO shakes her head at me once she realizes I'm not ditching the AT4 I had finally started to be able to use effectively.

"If you're the reason we get caught and tortured, I'm going to be so mad." She mutters, before turning to her own pack.

"Darling~!"

I turn to see Mk23, running up, a small duffel bag over her shoulder. "Is there any room on your buggy?"

"Seats are already taken." 15 crosses her arms. "You get the APC."

"Aw… but I was asking Darling."

I sigh. "23, she's right. You're too late. If you want to ride back-"

"I call first dibs." 416 says from her spot right behind the driver seat.

"You got first dibs on this ride." I say to the German.

"Me too!" Sop raises her hand. "I want first dibs too!"

"You can't both have first dibs." Ro begins to reason with Sop, only to be spoken over by AK-12.

"I also call first dibs."

"Me too!"

"No fair!"

"Me three!"

"We're way past three, AEK."

"Who cares?"

I once more find myself grinning like an idiot. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Hey everyone, gather around!"

I open my backpack as the dolls all gather around curiously.

"I've been working on team patches over the past few days, and I managed to get them done in time for this mission." I pull out a tin I have used to hold them all. "I hope everyone likes them."

All of the patches are similar and have velcro backing, but have a few differences depending on the specific recipient. I pull out the first batch and start calling names. "S.A.T., AEK, Negev, and Ithaca."

The four named dolls step forwards, and I hand them each a patch. Each patch has their name, the blue arrow I had come up with, and a stylized hail of gunfire and a shield. On the bottom, the text "Echelon 11-1 Heavy Support" is written.

"Since Commander Gentaine has put me in charge of several of you, I decide to adopt the old moniker she had laid out for me. From now on, we're Echelon 11. These four are the Heavy Support group, or Echelon 11-1."

"Nice." AEK grins. "All ones."

"Thank you, Hadwin." S.A.T. smiles warmly.

"Next…" I pull out the next batch of patches. "NTW, M200, SV-98, Tokarev, and Mk23."

The indicated dolls step forward and I hand them their patches. Over the arrow, but offset slightly is a red crosshair. "Echelon 11-2, Sniper team."

SV accepts the patch slightly reluctantly, perhaps thinking of what happened before. I press it into her hand and make sure to make eye contact with her until she takes the patch fully, her face steeling itself.

I pull out the next batch, consisting of only two patches. "Echelon 11-D Sabotage, for DEFY."

AN-94 and AK-12 step up, and I hand them their patches. Once again, they have smoke on their patches, but with a shadowy figure running through it as well. AK-12's has a red streak from her eye as well, a small additional flourish that I felt was appropriate.

"Next-" I make eye contact with 15, who steps forward, followed by a surprised Sop and RO. M4's not here and she's not technically part of Echelon 11… but then again, neither is anyone in DEFY, Anti-Rain, or 404. "Echelon 11-A Combat, for Anti-Rain."

"Wow!" Sop takes hers carefully, holding it up and letting the light hit the shiny blue floss I had used for the raindrops that flow upwards. To contrast that, I had made their arrows maroon instead of blue.

"Impressive." RO inspects hers as well, tucking M4A1's away for later.

"Last but not least-"

"And certainly not in your chain of command, but somehow we're still here." 9 interrupts.

"Yes, yes. Echelon 11-4 Intelligence, for Team 404."

I hand 9 her patch, which has the arrow and a background of green ones and zeros with the blue arrow on top, then hand one to G11 and 416, but stop when I get to 45.

She holds out her hand expectantly, but I gesture for her to wait a second.

"I keep forgetting to hand this to you as well." I say this in a voice not meant to carry, and she tilts her head slightly.

I pull out her 'Operation Icy Hot' patch I had never actually managed to hand over, pushing it into her hands along with the Echelon 11 patch. Her Icy-Hot patch sporting the tube in the same way as all of the others, and her individual flourish being a black chess queen.

She looks at the patch in silence for a few seconds, before a light chuckle escapes her lips. "I see. The chessmaster."

"Can't think of anything more appropriate." I shrug and pull out the last patch.

My own patch is unique, reading 'Echelon 11-H Decoy', which I feel describes my role pretty well. I slap the patch onto a space on my tac vest and I see a few of the dolls doing their best to find a spot to velcro it on.

"You know…" AK-12's eyes stop glowing as she stops examining the patch. "If we're going to be sneaking into a potentially hostile city, maybe having an identifying mark in common between all of us would be a bad idea."

"If they're inspecting us that closely, we're going to have an issue anyway." 15 turns to the tallest doll here. "With our plan-"

"Plans do not survive contact with the enemy." 416 interrupts her main rival, who turns around in annoyance.

"Yeah, but if we have enemy contact that's not of the civilian border guard kind, I think we've failed plans A through F. It's almost a non-issue."

416 narrows her eyes, but before she can speak up, 45 cuts them off. "Well, glad to know we're officially all one unit." She's still looking at her two patches even as she talks. "I suppose I'll take initiative and tell you that 11-4 is green and ready to go."

RO glances at 45. "11-A is 90 percent, waiting on M4 to get back."

"Echelon 11-2 is green." NTW states in her standard dour tone.

"Echelon 11-1 is good to go." AEK leans against her bike.

"11-D Ready as well." AN-94 nods to me.

"Great! So now all we need is to get the word from Commander Gentiane about her status and we're ready to go." I zip my bag up re-tighten the straps.

Suddenly, RO stiffens up, turning to me. "Hadwin, put on your Linker."

Hearing the urgency in her tone, I pull the device I had taken to habitually wearing around my neck up to over my eyes.

Immediately, Commander Gentaine's voice comes through the nerves attached to my neck. "Field Agent, I need you in the command center ASAP."

"Roger. Be there in three." I pull down the Linker and glance around at the multitude of glowing eyes in the dim garage. "Duty calls. Please get everything ready to go, I'll be back when I can."

"Need an escort?" Ithaca asks.

"Not this time. Command center's right there." I grin. "If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, send a rescue party."

Several of the dolls nod and I hope they realize I was joking.

I turn and head to the command center, arriving in record time. Inside, all three of the commanders are watching some video on the surface of the table. M4 is also in attendance, explaining where she had been.

"Ah, Field Agent. Nice to see you here." Commander Mikhail grimaces. "We have bad news."

"What-" I glance at the video and my blood freezes. "...What the fuck?"

"Greetings, Gentaine, Mikhail, Kylie, and Hadwin." Anisim tents his fingers on top of the desk he's sitting behind. "How are you today?"

"Fine before you showed up!" I snarl, only for Commander Kylie to put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's a recording. Save it for when he can hear you." She advises and I bite back a remark.

"I would just like to extend my formal invitation to our little festival here in Kruševac." Anisim continues unabated. "My friend here tells me that you are all so very interested in attending."

The camera pans over-

"Ricardo?!" I slam my hands down. "What. The. FUCK-"

"Hadwin, calm down." Commander Gentaine orders. "M4, pause it."

M4 nods as Commander Gentaine turns to me. "Last night, Bren was able to break out of our prison server utilizing a previously unknown loophole. She proceeded to break Ricardo out of his cell, then facilitated his escape."

"How? I thought she was deprogrammed!"

"It appears," Commander Kylie smiles wryly. "Our dear Bren has loyalty to her commander over all else. She didn't have the hack applied."

"...Seriously?"

"Yes. Can we continue?" Commander Gentaine is tapping her foot.

"Sorry. Go ahead."

"I've made sure my guards will welcome you all to our great city with open arms." Anisim continues once M4 starts the recording back up. "Feel free to bring your toy soldiers. Given your attachments to them, I think you might find it entertaining to bring them along. Not that you'd ever come here without them, I realize, but now that you have permission, it'll be that much easier, no?"

Every word he says, and just looking at the smug grin on Ricardo's face, I'm seeing red. My anger is so great that until I hear yelling in the faint distance, I'm too caught up to notice my surroundings. When I finally come back down, I realize that my flesh hand hurts from when I'm gripping the table too hard, and my metal hand had destroyed a portion of the screen, pixel artifacts spreading outwards. "...Oops." I relax my hands, pulling the metal hand out from the plastic that had melted under the force of my grip. "Sorry, lost my temper."

"We can see that." Commander Mikhail eyes me. "Are you sure you're up for this mission?"

I tap P90's core that I had stuck into a pocket of my tac vest. "Just try and stop me."

"I hope you all enjoy what will, in all likelihood, be your last festival." Anisim continues mockingly. "After all, you've been a thorn in my side for too long."

"This is certainly a trap." Commander Kylie shakes her head.

"Uh huh." Commander Gentaine taps the screen. "But, we can't afford to pass this up."

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because." She gestures for M4 to change the screen and it flips.

A document appears on screen for me to read, and I read the top line aloud. "Guests of honor… let's see, foreign dignitaries… Oh, look, it's Mister Havier."

"That's not all."

A line further down the page is highlighted, and my focus traces down.

"Damian and Velma Galanis- Why are my parents on this list?!"

"Because." Commander Gentaine grimaces. "I was wrong. Paradeus is willing to go after families."

I position my hand so I don't inadvertently cause any more damage as the walls appear to close in around me.

Okay. Now, he's going to die if I have to stuff a Pike down his throat to do it.

"How packed are you?"

"I'm ready." I snarl. "Anisim won't know what hit him."

"Good." Commander Gentaine nods. "Let's go."