Girl's Frontline: Field Agent

by Johnny Wycliffe

Sometimes, life comes at you like an explosion through the storefront. A young man, Hadwin Galanis, finds this out the hard way as his life is turned upside-down by a PMC and Paradeus, forced to pick up a gun and fight in a war fought by machines.

32. Chapter 32: Alternate Route

"So… what's your actual plan?" RO glances warily out the entrance to the parking deck.

I pick up my M16 from where I dumped it next to AEK's corpse. Looks like everything's still on straight… should probably get someone to look at it. Maybe Sop? "Honestly, I don't know."

She gives me a withering look. Well, at least she's talking to me again. "You pulled that stunt without any idea on what to do?"

"You know me." I pull on the charge handle, and the first round in my fresh magazine loads. "In any case, I figure the first priority is figuring out what the KCCO wants with the city. Once we know that, we can buy as much time as we can."

"...I thought we were getting out?" RO kicks aside one of the KCCO shotguns that had been destroyed in the crossfire.

"Gentiane told me that she wanted to stop the KCCO from finding whatever. Since she's indisposed…" I shrug.

"She's going to kill you when you get back."

"Only if she can afford to. So, to avoid that, we better do our jobs fast."

RO sighs and kicks at another robotic corpse. "It would be easier if we at least had a concrete idea of what they want."

"GeneLab."

Both RO and I turn to the new voice, 45 loading a freshly restocked magazine into her weapon.

"From all the info we gathered, Paradeus had two main locations in Kruševac: Their warehouse complex that is currently a pile of rubble thanks to an Uhlan and the GeneLab HQ. If the KCCO are still looking for something, that's where I'd check first."

I glance at RO. "I guess that makes as much sense as anything."

She grudgingly accepts my words and starts walking back up the ramp toward the rest of Anti-Rain, who are currently loading up with as much ammo as they can carry.

The little stash that had been left behind was the ammunition apportioned to the airport security, and it seems like they never got around to actually firing any of it. Over thirty metal boxes of 5.56, and a few dozen of .45 ACP and 9mm. Enough to get us all loaded up, at least.

"You've gotten your share of the ammo?" I ask 45.

"Ja. As I'm sure you're aware, I'm not the best shot though, so I only have five magazines." She glances at my battered M16. "Is that still functional?"

"I think so." Examining the rifle again, it's pretty dinged up. It was never really in good condition, but my handling of it hasn't done it any favors. "Nothing's bent out of place at least."

"If it works, you may want to grab your own share of the ammunition." She points up the ramp. "We don't know if we'll be able to find anything more before we get out of the city."

"Yeah." The rifle is suspended from a sling strap and slid onto my shoulder next to my backpack strap. "Good idea."

"I'll keep guard, though if I call for backup, it's probably already too late." 45 calls to my back as I get to the stairs in the corner of the parking lot. "Just steer clear of 416 and 15. They're both in a bad mood."

"Wonderful..." I keep my voice low.

Five flights of steps later, I'm back up to the airport level. It's not really an airport as such, more just a few waiting areas, a small maintenance shed, and six helipads. There's no room to actually house any aircraft, clearly marking this specific airport as one for temporary stops.

At least it's got a decent fuel pump. We got that VTOL fueled in a matter of minutes.

In any case, one of the waiting rooms is reinforced. It's where Mom and Dad were hiding before Gentiane got to them, and also where the ammunition storage is. Currently, it's also extremely busy as a bunch of dolls unpack crate after crate, peering at contents and occasionally grabbing something.

"Haddy!" Sop is the first to notice my arrival, bounding over with two metal ammo boxes in her hands. "I saved you some!"

"There's plenty to go around." 15 walks over, every pocket I can see weighed down with both filled magazines and loose bullets. "We're not going to be able to get all of this out of here even if we tried."

Accepting the heavy boxes from Sop, I sit down on one of the nice couches to start loading ammo into my empty magazines. "We can always come back for it later."

"Actually, no." RO appears from the ammo room with a box reading '9MM LUGER'. "We're going to blow this place up."

"We are?!" Sop almost starts to vibrate in anticipation.

"We are?" My lack of enthusiasm compared with Sop gets a small smile from 15.

"This place is a primary landing spot for aircraft for obvious reasons." RO sits down opposite me and also starts to load her ammunition. "We can't let the KCCO use it to get troops in more efficiently."

"They're already inside though. We had to fight through them to get here."

"They need something." 416 appears, tone icy. "They were here to secure the airport."

15's eye twitches. "If someone hadn't shot their commanding officer-"

"He was about to shoot one of the civilians." 416 cuts her rival off. "It was an appropriate response."

"You could've shot his leg out."

416 stiffens. "Ja, but that's not guaranteed to knock him out of the fight, now is it?"

15 shrugs. "I guess I just assumed an 'elite doll' like yourself would be able to make a shot like that."

416 starts saying something in German in a tone that suggests violence, so I bolt to my feet, sending the box I had been drawing from to the floor and scattering bullets everywhere.

I had intended to try to diffuse the situation, but instead I just stand there like an idiot as the brass casings roll around, seemingly laser guided into the most inconvenient positions to get, like under the couches.

"I… uh…" I turn to M4, who has poked her head out to see about the commotion. "Hey, did you already search the KCCO troops to see if they had their orders on them?"

All of the dolls are giving me the 'he's really stupid' look again.

"Hey." I glance around. "What's wrong with checking? Did you already do it, or…?"

"No military worth its salt would be issuing orders in a way that killing a combatant would result in leaked intelligence." 15 tells me. "Do you expect them to just have a diary of their expected troop movements conveniently on their corpses?"

"Well... no." I lie. "But surely they might have some useful information?"

"Once you're loaded up, you're free to check." RO sets her third mag aside, reminding me that I've only completed one so far. "Take 416 too."

"Not enjoying your little reunion?" 9 is lugging a duffel bag around, the straps starting to come apart at the seams under the weight of its contents. "And here I was told you used to be friends."

"M16 and 416 have a thing." 15 mutters. "From before our memory wipe."

My hands freeze from where they're scooping up the fallen ammo. "What did you just say?"

"Hadwin, this isn't a big deal." 15 sighs. "It was a routine procedure."

"You can't just erase-" My teeth find my tongue and my words are cut.

"Wait, what?" Sop's eyebrows furrow. "When?"

"Think back to your first memory." M4 gently talks to the normally exuberant doll.

"...Oh yeah, that makes sense." Sop nods. "I met you right after I woke up!"

"Yeah…" 15 looks off into the distance.

I glance back and forth, but it seems like all of Anti-Rain is consumed with their thoughts.

Whatever, I'll go back to packing my ammo. "Still, erasing your memories seems pretty drastic."

"M16-nee knows." M4 says quietly, yet loud enough the whole room focuses on her immediately. "She wasn't erased. She knows things and I need to know what that is."

"And we need to get her back!" Sop cheers. "We'll all be back together again!"

"We'll get her back alright." 15 mutters.

I put my head down, trying my best to keep my face neutral. I know that M16's in the area, but…

Should I tell Anti-Rain? It's kind of a dick move not to, but we've got a time crunch. M4 particularly seems fixated on M16.

416 taps my shoulder. "9 and I will be on guard. Get me when you're done loading."

"Yeah." I smile up at her and continue pushing the bullets in. I wish I had a speed loader, my thumb is starting to hurt-

I have a metal hand. Why the hell am I using the flesh thumb?

I awkwardly switch to using my right hand to hold the mag and my left to press the bullets in, moving significantly faster now that it doesn't feel like I'm fighting to put the ammo in.

Once 416 and 9 are out of the room, M4 tells Sop to help her grab the explosives

15 walks over to me and sits down next to the box I'm drawing ammo from. "Tell me we have a plan."

"45 said that it's pretty likely that the KCCO are looking for a Paradeus item, so we should be heading back to GeneLab." I gesture to RO. "She's probably got better plans than I do. Mine tend to be…"

"Poorly thought out?"

"Dumb?"

"Borderline suicidal?"

My headache starts to intensify due to 15's, Sop's, and RO's comments. "Yes, yes."

"To be fair, he's pretty squishy, but hasn't quite died yet." Aleah walks out of the small armory, wearing three full belts of ammunition draped around her like fashion accessories. "Give him a little credit."

"He had help." RO mutters loud enough for the entire room to hear.

"And he still does." Aleah glances around. "Right?"

"Right!" Sop lifts several bricks of plastic explosive into the air for emphasis. "We're gonna grind the KCCO to dust!"

"I… sure, Sop." 15 sighs, sagging sideways and lying her head on my shoulder. "We'll think of a plan, I'm sure."

RO stands up, tucking her spare magazines into her jacket pockets. "I suppose I have a plan. I'll run it by M4 and 45."

"Sounds good." M4 turns to Aleah. "Could I trouble you to check the perimeter while we talk with 45?"

Aleah looks in my direction. I just shrug. I'm not her keeper-

Actually, I am.

That… that feels wrong, but I guess technically I do own her. That certainly makes me feel a twinge of disgust.

"You're free to accept or decline." I tell her.

"Understood." She turns to M4. "Lead the way."

15 and Sop remain in the room as the three others leave.

"Hey, Hadwin." 15 murmurs, the sound mostly transmitted through her contact with my shoulder than actually to my ears.

"Hmm?"

"Are you really leaving once we get out of the city?"

My hands stop working for a second, but it's clear she already knows. "Yeah… I think I need to get a little perspective on things for a bit." I set down the last mag that's still only half loaded and pull the walkie talkie out that I had been carrying since I started this crazy life. "But I'm not gonna forget you. I'll keep in touch."

She snorts. "That has a range of a few kilometers if you're in ideal conditions."

"Well… yeah." I pick the mag back up and palm the remaining few rounds. "I think I'll be able to buy a civilian Linker and, well, it seems like a lot of the higher up people like me, maybe I can access secret channels to communicate with you."

"We're not that well connected ourselves." Her head rubs back and forth on my shoulder. "Not sure that would help."

"Oh! I can build something!" Sop jumps to her feet. "I mean, not right now, I gotta wire all of these explosives up, but-"

"Thanks, Sop." I reach over and pat her head.

Seeing that I'm done loading my final magazine, 15 closes the ammo box and sets it aside so she can scoot close and grab my arm.

Instead of tucking the items in my hands away, I just relax and bask in her affection.

Yeah, I said I'd go back to Sector 3 but when I do, how long is it before I miss 15, 416, 45, and the rest?

The hand that's not stroking Sop's head as she hums is resting on 15's thigh as she holds onto my bicep, magazine still in hand. Despite the fighting, the manipulation, and the short period of time, I think I pretty much love 15.

Do I really think I'll be happy knowing she's out here fighting?

I let the magazine fall to the couch cushion and twist in my seat, wrapping my arms around 15. For a second she stiffens in surprise before relaxing and adjusting her arms to hug me back.

"I'm not giving you up." I say with certainty. "Never."

"I…" 15 looks up at me for a second before burying her head into my chest. "Thank you."

I hold her tight for a few more moments before relaxing my grip. She pulls away slightly, just far enough away that we can look into each other's eyes.

"Are you gonna kiss?" Sop asks from about 15 centimeters away.

Both 15 and I jump.

"Sop!" 15 scolds.

"What?" Sop's head tilts. "Is that a no?"

"It's a no!" 15 bolts to her feet, her face beet red. "I can't believe that you… that you…"

I tug on my clothes, suddenly feeling a little overheated myself. "Sop, please don't do that."

"...Okay." She seems a bit confused, so I doubt it'll stick, but one can hope. "So, is it my turn?"

Once more, I find myself staring at the murder puppy. "You want a hug?"

She pokes her fingers together. "Well… yeah. It looked nice."

I glance up at 15, who just sighs and waves for me to continue. "Okay then, come here a sec."

Sop stands up just enough to slide onto the couch on the other side of me from 15, opening her arms wide.

Y'know, it's actually not as creepy as I thought it was going to feel. It almost feels like I'm going to hug my sister. That makes it a lot easier as I lean in and wrap my arms around her, nowhere near as tight as I had around 15. Her return is plenty strong though, reminding me that my rib still hasn't healed completely.

"Mmmmm." Sop begins to hum as I stroke her head from the back out of habit. "Hehehe."

"What's up?"

She lifts her head so I can see her face-

Ah shit, she's blushing, and her eyes are half lidded.

"I didn't know this would feel this good!" She lowers her head, but not so much as to lose eye contact. "Can you hold me tighter?"

My arms fly apart so fast I almost clock 15 upside the head. "Okay! Affection time is over!"

"Awww…" Sop grumbles. "But I wanted some more…"

I glance back at 15, who just looks resigned at this point. "Sop, we need to get these explosives rigged. Let Hadwin go so we can finish our work."

"Okay." Sop lets me go finally and slide down down to the floor. "Can you hand me that fuse?"

15 takes a deep breath and returns to her usual snarky self. "Sure. Hadwin, run along."

I offer her a smile. "Yeah, see you in a bit."

Outside, 416 and 9 are waiting. 416 immediately falls in step to my left while 9 leisurely saunters along at roughly the same pace.

"Say your last goodbyes?" 9 asks.

"Yep." I deadpan. "Speaking of, what do you want me to leave you in my will, 416?"

416's stride is interrupted as she stumbles slightly, recovering quickly but clearly not able to pass it off like she tripped. "I… cannot claim to have thought about it." She frowns.

"Don't lie." 9 rolls her eyes. "She's probably got a list a mile long, but doesn't want to seem greedy."

Once glance at 416 confirms this is true, a faint blush on her cheeks and a stubborn refusal to look me in the eyes.

"Ha. 416, don't worry about it. I'm not going to die." She's my height so I can exactly wrap my arm over her shoulders easily, but I do pull her in closer as we walk. "I have you to protect me, after all."

"Natürlich." She lifts her nose into the air.

"Blehhh." 9 sticks her tongue out. "What is it with you and being so sappy?"

"I'm just appreciating it while it lasts." I shrug.

"Are…" 416 starts, stops, and seems to draw herself up before continuing. "Are you really planning on leaving, Commander?"

Commander, huh. "...Yeah." I squeeze her closer. "I kinda don't want to, but at the same time I need to get my head in order. I'm going to hate being away from you, though."

"You will?" Her eyes scan my face.

"Of course."

"Gag." 9 pronounces the word without any emotion behind it. "Retch."

"If it's so painful, leave." 416's tone drops to frigid levels.

"Nah, I gotta record this to use as blackmail." 9's lips curl into a smirk. "Oh, how the mighty have-"

416 stops, spins me around and pulls my face into a kiss. I think it says something that I was prepared by the time our lips made contact. After a few seconds, she breaks the contact and glares at 9.

"Did you record that?"

"...Yeah, but it's not funny if you're going along with it." 9 grumbles. "Aren't we going to loot the corpses or something?"

"When you put it like that, it sounds wrong." My stomach twists just a bit.

"Let's just get it over with." She takes the lead and guides us all to the roof.

Someone, I don't know who, had piled the bodies away in a corner. The real, human bodies. Sure, I've fought humans before, but this is the first time I've seen a stack of them. The Cyclops and Aegis units that had died up here had been shoved into a corner, not deemed worthy of the flesh pile.

I have to stand at the edge of the copper smelling pile and take short breaths to not succumb to the urge to puke. 416 and 9 practically dive right in despite my clear hesitation.

416 rolls a corpse off the pile. "Check that one, please. He was the officer in charge."

"Yeah." I kneel down beside the corpse, psyching myself up.

Gingerly, the contents of his pockets are liberated and strewn about me on the ground. A wallet, a gun, a knife, some other odds and ends that I don't quite know the use for… Hmm. The wallet has a bunch of paper bills I don't recognize, an ID, and a thin metal stick.

I withdraw the metal stick, noting the differently colored pads that look like electrical contacts. It's a media device of some sort, but nothing I know. If I had my Linker I could try to find out if it fit…

Then again, I probably shouldn't be plugging random things into my Linker. That already fucked me up, once.

"Hey, 416?"

Her eyes flick my way. "Found anything?"

"A small data thing." I offer it to her, and she narrows her eyes at it. "I found it in his wallet."

"Probably just his medical records. They all have one." 9 tosses a bunch more of the sticks on the ground. "It's like dog tags, used to make sure they get the right type of blood put into their bodies or whatever."

"Ah." I look down at the stick in my hand. "So…"

"Useless."

I walk back to the corpse and sit down, contemplating the stuff around me. The man's cold, lifeless eyes stare up at the sky, unseeing.

Yeah, this feels wrong.

I put the small stick back into his wallet and set it on his chest, along with his other items, before standing up and walking to the edge of the garage and puking off the edge. While most of me hated the feeling and the fact that my stomach is now empty, there's a small part of me that's happy I'm not just able to steal from the dead without issue.

"...You okay?"

I glance back to see RO standing there, leaning on the wall, arms crossed. "Could be worse, I guess."

She nods and looks out into the night. "Still not used to corpses?"

"...Not rifling through their pockets."

"I see." She leans on the barrier keeping me and now her from plunging to our deaths, peering down into the gloom. Her eyes burn bright in the dark. "Another thing that separates us from you. I've never hesitated."

I remain silent, looking out into the darkness, the only point of light a lamp at the end of the street.

"I hate my life."

My eyes turn to meet hers, but she's still looking into the dark.

"I'm here to solve other people's problems for them. M4's, Anti-Rain's, Gentiane's or yours. I've never been able to do what I want, and I never get a bit of praise."

"Sorry."

"It's what I was built for." She sighs.

"Still, it's not fair to you that you can't pick your own path."

We lapse back into silence.

"So, should I just leave? Abandon all of you here?" RO's voice is flat.

"Yeah." I scratch my head. "I mean, I don't want anybody to be in the city anymore." I scrape my hand on the rough concrete wall, trying to get some dried blood off of it. "You should take the rest of Anti-Rain and head out of the city. It's not really fair that I got rid of your best chance of survival on a whim."

"Replacing Gentiane, you mean?"

"Yep. You should get out before I somehow get this entire place bombed into oblivion."

Again, we fall silent.

She finally turns to me, though her expression remains neutral. "You always do what's right, even if you don't want to."

"So do you."

"I'm forced to. It's not the same."

"And, did I really 'do what's right'? I might've gotten you all killed because, let's face it, I suck at commanding." I start picking at the texture of the wall, my metal fingers scraping along the ridges ineffectively. "The best thing I can do is let you and M4 take over and hope you don't hate me enough to command me right into a death trap."

"...Then, why did you do it? Surely not because you like Gentiane."

"No." I grumble. "But it seems like everyone wants this dumb Pike and I think that maybe Gentiane might have a better chance of stopping them from ending the planet, or whatever."

"Seems like the greater good to me."

I change the subject, turning to her. "Hey, do me a favor?"

Her eyes lid. "Seriously?"

I ignore her for a second. "Make sure everyone gets out of here alive. I couldn't live with myself if the rest of you got killed because I did something stupid."

"And you?"

"Heh." I shake my head. "Don't worry about me."

"And if I do anyway?"

"Then here's your orders, as a human to a doll." I turn to face her fully. "Your priority is getting Anti-Rain and 404 out of here intact. Run away from battle if you have to. Mine is to take up Gentiane's mission. If the two are in conflict, just get everyone else out."

"...That's that, huh?"

"Yep."

"I hate those orders."

"Are you going to follow them?"

"Yes, damn you."

"You're welcome." I turn back to the darkness past the building, eyes drawn to the small spot of light at the end of the street, illuminating the empty sidewalk.

"We do have a plan, though that I discussed with M4 and 45." RO continues after a pause. "We're going to the GeneLab HQ. Hopefully, we'll figure out what the KCCO are after once we're there. M4 and 45 are currently plotting a route."

"Sounds good."

"Hey." 15's voice comes from behind me. "Sop's done setting the charges. We should get going."

I turn to see that she has my Linker in her hands and accept the device, pulling it past my head and letting it rest around my neck. "Okay, I just need to grab the exo suit." I turn to 9 and 416, who are talking to each other slightly away from the now slightly scattered pile of corpses. "Hey, we're ready to go."

"Finally." 9 grouses. "I hate picking through corpses."

"Find anything?" 15 asks.

"No, of course not." 9 rolls her eyes. "Let's just go before the scent of death gets into my clothes."

The four dolls turn for the exit, only realizing I'm not following once 416 has her hand on the door.

"Hadwin?"

"Yeah, I'll be down in a second." I wave them forward. "Do me a favor and drag my exo suit to the entrance please."

"Of course." 416 nods and enters the door, 9 hot on her heels. RO and 15 hesitate, but continue through the portal, leaving me alone on the well lit helipad.

I pull the Linker on and look back over the edge of the building. The Linker starts to adjust its gain and I start to see some definition of the street below.

Three dolls are also highlighted, chatting to each other. Sop, M4 and 45, actually. 45 and M4 seem to be listening to Sop describe something, but their voices don't reach all the way up here in any case.

As I wait, watching them in the dark, the other five dolls end up on the street as well, 416 hauling along my exo suit as I had asked her.

From up here, it's possible to pretend that maybe they're normal girls, out after a night of fun at… I dunno, the movies or something. No guns, no death…

That'd be nice.

I shake myself out of my reverie to see several sets of glowing points of light aiming my way, the dolls clearly wondering what my hold up is.

I wave down at them and step back from the edge, taking one last sweep of the area before I step away.

Standing in the streetlight, P90 waves to me before walking away into the murky blackness.

…Okay. That's not the real P90. That was my imagination.

Whatever. I have one more thing to do before I let this place get blown up.

I walk over to the pile of corpses.

---

"There he is." 45 hops off her perch on a nearby sign and walks over to me. "I almost sent a rescue party in after you."

"Sorry." I walk over to where the exo suit is. "I wanted to do something."

"Looking down over the city is fun." 9 gives me a look. "But this is hardly the time."

"It was important." I plug the Linker into the exo suit and watch the contraption unlock to accept my body.

"I don't understand how." M4 tilts her head. "Was there something to see?"

"No." I roll my shoulders and confirm that the suit is functioning as I expect it too. Yep, it's even at about half power! That should last me a good few hours. "Not really."

"You spent a lot of time up there for nothing." Aleah's eyes narrow.

"Sorry."

RO stares at me, seeming to be searching for something, but I can't exactly tell what. "Fine. We've wasted enough time, we should get moving."

"Yeah."

"So, we get to blow up the building now?" Sop's eyes blaze crimson.

"As soon as we're out of the blast radius, yes." M4 pats the blond girl's head.

"Woo!" Sop jumps up and bolts ahead, heading for the one illuminated spot on the street, that single lamp.

416 and 15 take up flanking positions on either side of me, already looking around for enemies.

45 and 9 are walking casually but also definitely on high alert, eyes darting around.

"So, what were you doing on the roof?" 15 asks.

Reluctantly, I pull all of the silver sticks out of my pocket. "Collecting these."

"We told you those are all just individual information." 416 glances back my way for a moment before returning to looking around. "Do you think we were lying?"

"No, of course not." I tuck the data storage devices back into my pocket. I have recovered about twenty of them, but they're pretty small. "I just thought… well, if these are basically dog tags, I should save them and… I dunno, leave them somewhere to be found."

"Why?" 15 isn't looking in my direction anymore, instead peering into the dark with her gun aimed. "Do you wanna know their names?"

"No. Just figured they might have family or something, and if the tags blow up, nobody will ever know their status."

"That's… not really something you should be concerned about. They're trying to kill us and vice versa, don't worry about them." 15 continues. "You've killed some of them before and never recovered their tags. What's different about these guys?"

"…I had the opportunity, I guess. And, it's not like I have a grudge against them."

"Is this going to be a thing you're gonna do on the regular?"

"I'm not gonna do it in battle. Just… thought I shouldn't let these get blown up." I shrug.

"Humans are weird."

RO looks back at the three of us. "What are you three dawdling for?"

"Human things." 416 responds.

"Hadwin-" RO's eye twitches.

I throw up my hands. "We're coming, don't worry."

Once back on the move, I pull a zip tie out of my tac vest and loop all of the silver drives on it, zip it just enough to catch, and hook it onto a sign in a conspicuous place. Hopefully, whoever sees it won't just chuck it.

"We're almost out of the blast radius." M4 steps off of the street onto the sidewalk, staying out of the light that Sop had decided to step into.

Actually, Sop is posing, like she's on stage at a concert. At M4's announcement she looks up, once more filled with excitement. "Can I detonate them now?"

All eight dolls are here, I've got all of my gear… "I'm ready."

There's a bunch of agreements, then M4 turns to Sop. "Blow it."

Sop's grin threatens to split her face down the middle as she brings up a small detonator. "Boom!"

I turn to the garage just in time to see small flashes of light coming from the central column, the ground shaking in time with the detonations. Slowly, the building starts coming down from the inside out, a dust cloud billowing up and rolling towards us.

"That's it?" Aleah raises an eyebrow.

"We're saving some of the explosive in case it can be used later." M4 responds.

I start stepping backwards, not really wanting to be choking on dust for the next few hours. 416 and 15 move with me-

A bright spotlight appears out of the sky, shining on the dust cloud. It sweeps back and forth over the rubble, as if looking for something.

I follow the beam up into the sky where a small aircraft, probably only about the size of a single person, hovers. I can't see it very well against the glare of its spotlight, but I can see that it's likely not manned.

"KCCO scout." 15 grabs my arm. "We should go-"

The spotlight beam swings around the wreck and lands on our group, almost blinding me.

"LAUFEN!" 416 raises her weapon and fires a short burst, bullets impacting the drone despite the range and sending it careening off to the side.

I dunno what 416 said, but I'm running.

"Uploading route." M4 states. "Everyone, stick to this route as best you can. If you have to split up, meet up with the path as soon as you can."

"Why would we need to split up?" I ask.

"They were watching us." 45 states. "There's no way that drone just happened to show up then. Our plans are quite possibly known."

"It just keeps getting better and better." I mutter.

"Do we still risk going for the APC?" RO asks.

"...No." M4 shakes her head. "We'll head straight for GeneLab. Hopefully, we'll be able to outrun any KCCO already in the city."

"You had to say that." 9 groans.

"Huh?" M4 looks around at the rest of the group who is running behind her. "What's wrong?"

"If you vocalize it, it won't come true." 45 says.

"But, how would me saying-"

M4 is cut off by a shotgun blast that barely misses me, a few of the Cyclops units moving out of some alleys ahead.

"Scatter!" 15 grabs my arm and yanks me into the closest alley, weapon firing at the two enemies currently in our way.

I manage to get my feet under myself and bring my weapon to bear, shooting the second one down.

Aleah and RO are behind us, running backwards at the same pace as I'm running forwards. It just means even with the exo suit I'm slow, but I'll deal with it.

"M4?" RO asks.

"We're all good! Keep going your way, we'll catch up with you at the lab."

"Roger." RO fires a few rounds at the cyclops at the end of the alley. "On the move."

Okay. I lower my rifle and start sprinting all out, the dolls easily speeding up without having to drop their aim. Aleah faces forward, and RO maintains surveillance to the rear.

"How many-" I start to ask, but my Linker brings up the info before I can articulate it. The modified path appears in the air before me, and I glance at it in between dodging trash that's piled up in the alley.

Two kilometers. Oh boy.

"15, do you have the path?" RO asks.

"Of course I do!" She snaps. "What do you take me for?!"

"Just checking!" RO fires a few more rounds back down the way we came. "Because we've got company!"

I risk slowing down to look back.

It's an Orthrus.

Fuck.

Okay, what do I have on me?

I have that AT4, but I'm saving that. Two more grenades courtesy of Ange's equipment stash, five mags of ammo, my pistol… A knife, several sewing needles, and if I want to really stretch it, I can probably punch something really hard.

That sounds like a bad idea if the enemy is armored though, so I'll avoid that if I can.

"On the left!" Aleah calls, and I slow down just enough to bring my M16 around.

Down the side alley, an Aegis leaps forwards, baton swinging.

I can barely aim with how hard I'm panting and my surprise, but at this distance it doesn't matter. The bullets slam into its armor and shred through, killing it. Its momentum is preserved however and it almost takes me out as its uncontrolled leg flops around.

Aleah grabs me to keep me steady, the only reason I don't land on my face.

A few seconds later, we're out on the street. Cars are still blocking easy crossing, abandoned where they sit. As far as my Linker is able to see, the coast looks clear.

15 slows down a bit, eyes scanning for a way across the street.

RO doesn't stop, racing past 15 and right before she crashes into the nearest vehicle leaps upwards and lands on the hood. "Don't stop!"

Aleah also doesn't hesitate, the belts of ammo she had picked up floating behind her like ribbons.

I look at 15, who just shrugs.

She's able to quickly build up speed and launch herself upwards onto the nearest car, but I'm forced to stop, backpedal, and get a slightly longer start. My foot dents the first car I land on, and I wince, having been raised not to damage cars. If this was dad's, he'd kill me…

This puts me a fair bit behind and the only person still car hopping when the Hydra rounds the corner. I almost lose my footing, distracted by the sight of the large enemy smashing cars into the air as it plows down the street. It's actually pretty impressive to witness.

It's not really the time to be admiring the view. I focus down on hitting the next car roof and getting off the street.

"It's firing!" RO warns.

Cursing, I leap forwards into a dive, hoping I can do the tuck and roll that Kylie had spent the last week drilling into my head.

My hands hit the pavement and start absorbing the impact. I tuck my head and roll over my shoulder to avoid scrambling my brains, ending back on my feet in a crouched position.

Aleah reaches out and pulls me in right as the cannon behind me fires, taking out the storefront right past the alley.

We waste no time running forward. The Hydra can be heard smashing its way towards the mouth of the alley, and I do not want a repeat of earlier versus the Doppelsöldner.

I catch a glimpse of it as we round the corner, its massive cannon turned to aim at us.

The wall that serves as a backstop explodes, concrete lancing out in all directions. A chunk clips my side, spinning me and sending me to my back, eyes facing the sky.

15 skids to a halt, running back to check on me. "Come on, come on!"

"I'm trying!" I grit out. "Go! I'm right behind you!"

She nods and starts running again.

I ignore the pain in my back and roll to my stomach, exo suit working overtime to get me back in action.

I can hear the Hydra retreating, smashing things as it moves. In the otherwise quiet night due to the city being largely evacuated, it's particularly unsettling.

Then again… Only hearing one means that they're not fielding a whole bunch of them. That's a small relief.

We make it past the next block, not an enemy in sight. We're running along the evacuation line, not towards it, so I also don't think we have to worry about civilians too much, not that I'd be able to worry too much as it is with the armor we have on our tail.

From here to the GeneLab building, it's a terrifying sprint as we catch small glimpses of the KCCO heavy armor rolling through the city on either side as we utilize alleys to stay ahead.

If this city was laid out in a neat grid, we'd be fucked.

Most of me remains focused on dodging through the maze of cars left abandoned as the KCCO bears down on us, but a small part of me keeps looking back every time we catch a glimpse, wondering if this Hydra is The Hydra.

Unit И1704.

Still, after two klicks of running full tilt and feeling like my lungs are about to evacuate through my mouth, we arrive at the mouth of the alley across from GeneLab HQ.

RO and 15 are in the lead, and they come to a stop before exiting the alley, Aleah and I skidding to a stop behind them.

I pause to catch my breath as the two Anti-Rain dolls cautiously peer out into the dark.

"Well, we were right about their intentions at least." RO mutters. "They're already here."

"We're… too late?" I look up, feel nauseous again, and instead focus on a bit of litter on the ground.

"Not quite yet." RO points across the street. "M4 and her group are already on the side of the street and should be arriving shortly. As long as the KCCO can't clear their way to the building before they get there we've got some time."

"Are there any small units?" Aleah asks, peeking around the corner herself.

"A few." 15 sends the data to all of us, and I watch my map get updated. Twenty units, mostly Cyclops. "Not their main force. They're not actually here yet, these must be scouts."

"Do you think… that we… can take them out… before the main force arrives?" I look up more carefully this time.

"Possibly." RO narrows her eyes. "M4?"

"ETA is thirty seconds." M4 replies. "We'll come out firing."

"On your mark." RO glance back at me. "Are you going to be okay?"

I stand up, check my ammo, and nod.

"In three." RO looks back at the mouth of the alley.

"GO!"

All four of us stream from the alley, the other group appearing from another alley across the street, turning toward the KCCO guard and letting loose.

I sight in on one of the Cyclops, firing a few bursts until I manage to tag it and send it to the ground before scrambling behind a car for concealment.

Another of the cyclops returns fire, one of its rounds punching a hole right through the car, demonstrating once again why vehicles suck as cover.

I peek out and fire two more bursts before ducking and scrambling along to dodge the incoming fire.

A string of bullet holes start appearing in the metal, punching through closer and closer to my position.

Having no choice, I pop up and start pulling the trigger again, eventually tagging my enemy.

There's a few more shots before the street falls silent.

"Everyone okay?" I call.

"Ja." 416 strides up to me. "You're bleeding."

"I am?" I look down at myself and see that yeah, my pant leg is soaked through with blood. I guess I can't feel it through the adrenaline. "Shit."

"Let's get inside before-" 15 starts, but she's cut off by the sound of the Hydra smashing through cars getting closer.

I jog as fast as I dare on my leg to the front of the building, but not fast enough to get there before the Hydra rounds the corner.

I swear it looks around for a second before seeing me and focusing its main underbelly cannon directly at me.

I make it to the door second to last, Aleah, running sideways to keep the large enemy in her sight. Once inside, I find all of the dolls have stopped in their tracks.

Peering around them…

Oh, shit.

"Who are you?!" Mr. Overton, the man that had wanted to see my hand, is holding a pistol in a very shaky grip. "Are you more of those robots?!"

"We… ah." 45 glance back at me. "We were here for the tour yesterday?"

"Don't fuck with me!" He yells. "I recognize a doll when I see one! Those fucking eyes!"

It is pretty dark in here. I can see the faint glow from Aleah's gaze.

I step forward. "Hey! Remember me?" I hold up my metal hand. "We talked yesterday."

He stares at my face for a few seconds, uncomprehending. "...Hadwin?"

"Yeah." I smile at him. "Look, there's the Russian army out there, and we're kinda not on good terms with them, so can we come inside?"

"N-No!" The gun points right at my forehead, though it's still pretty unsteady. "You killed our boss! You'll do the same to us!"

I have to suppress a shiver and also wave the dolls away behind my back. Oh god, I hope he doesn't pull the trigger. "No, I won't. Anisim works for… the illuminati, essentially. I had to take him out. You're nice, right? We don't have a problem?"

"I… I suppose I don't have a problem with you." The gun lowers, and I breathe a sigh of relief. "So, are they part of the illuminati?"

"Who, the green robots outside?" I ask.

He nods.

"Nah, those are Russian special forces. The KCCO."

He drops his hands to his sides, still holding the gun. "They've been surrounding the building for the past few hours." He starts to shake more violently, the gun in his hand worryingly uncontrolled.

I step up to him and place my hand over his, controlling where he points it. "Alright, you're okay. We're here to help."

45 rolls her eye, but the rest of the dolls start sorting themselves, 15 and 416 guarding the door.

"They… They shot any of us who tried to leave." Tears form in Mr. Overton's eyes. "I tried asking my superiors what's going on, but half of them disappeared, some of them were shot, and… and…"

45 sends me a message over the Linker. "Lead him further into the building, we need to get off the street."

"Got it." I think at the linker before guiding him back into the building.

As we walk, A few more scared faces appear. A few of them have guns, but none of them seem eager to use them. I approach the closest one. "Who's in charge?"

"Uh…" the woman looks at the man currently being guided by me. "He is."

"...och verdammt, nien." 45 rubs her forehead. "Okay, as of right now, we're in charge. Gather everyone still alive somewhere large. For now, we're-"

"Who do you think you are?" The lady in front of me interrupts, though she keeps her weapon lowered. Probably not thinking about it, or she'd be drawing it. "You don't belong here!"

"Right." RO steps up. "See, the KCCO is coming here, not to the city but this building, to collect something. We don't know what, but we're trying to stop them. So, either you're going to shoot us here and be at their mercy, or you're going to get out of our way and let us take charge." She puts her hand on her hip and stares at the woman.

The woman looks down, appears to realize she's holding a gun, and looks back up at RO's namesake. "You'll save us from them?"

"We'll try." 9 snorts. "We're not exactly a match against an actual army."

The brief glimmer of hope in their eyes dies, and they look more miserable than before.

I glare at 9, who just shrugs.

"Okay." RO claps her hands together. "Like I said, gather everyone. Don't shoot us, but keep your guns. You still might need them." She glances around. "Sop, can you go with them and teach them basic firearm safety?"

"Yeah!" Sop grabs the woman's hand. "Let's go!"

Her exuberance seems to help somewhat, the rest of the employees I can see moving out of doorways to follow her. Even Mr. Overton stops shaking and I smile at him as he unsteadily walks down the hall.

"...Is she capable of teaching them?" I ask quietly.

"She taught you, didn't she?" RO glances at me.

"...Yeah."

"Does she know where she's going?" 9 asks.

"Nah, but it's not that important." 15 responds.

"Hey. I thought you were guarding the entrance?"

"No point." She sticks her thumb over her shoulder. "They're building up their forces, and they don't seem to want to charge in with guns blazing."

"Whatever they want, it's not something they want to retrieve from the rubble." M4 muses.

"Actually, since there's still some employees, we can ask them about anything they might know about." 45 glances back down the hallway.

"We should also see about trying to get them out." 416 states.

45 gives her teammate a look but doesn't respond.

M4 seems to be thinking pretty hard. "Hadwin, you and Aleah go see what Sop and the others are doing. We'll see about our tactical situation while you see what you can get from them."

"Right." I turn to 45. "Do you think you should check the area Anisim met us in?"

"Hmm… That's an idea. 9, come with."

"Fi~ne."

I walk down the hallway that Sop had disappeared down, Aleah silently falling in step.

"So, what's it looking like outside?"

Aleah shakes her head. "Two Hydras, A few Orthrus, and more of the smaller units than I care to count. It's not going to be easy getting out of here."

I nod. "Thanks."

"Anytime, commander."

I look back at her. I just noticed, but he's ever so slightly taller than me, just like 416. "Y'know, you can call me Hadwin too."

"I will during peace. During missions, you are my commander."

I nod. "About that… From what you've said earlier about not being part of G&K… are you technically my property?"

"Technically." She shrugs. "As far as I'm concerned, it's not a big deal and preferable to the alternative, though I know you'll probably wish to 'free' me as soon as you can."

"...As long as we're on the same page then." I blink. "Okay, I have a standing order, if I order you to do something stupid, you are allowed to ignore it if your idea is better."

"Are you giving me command authority?"

I sigh. "I just don't want to control your life."

"I understand, and will take your order in the way it was intended." She smiles.

"Thanks."

I hear Sop's voice talking about… bullet drop? And follow it to find where they're all holed up.

"-find that you have to aim a bit higher, but at these ranges- Haddy!" She stops talking and waves at me. "What's up?"

"Just coming to check things out." I note that there's about thirty people in the room. "Okay, so here's the situation-"

I proceed to lay out in the best terms I can about what's going on. They seem a lot more receptive of my words than the dolls' earlier, and I can't really blame them.

"So, if anyone has any idea of what they might be looking for…?" I prompt.

"Uh…" A man I don't recognize raises his hand. "Before all of the upper brass disappeared, I heard them talking about bait."

"...Alright." I single him out. "Did they know you were listening?"

"Yeah." He nods. "They looked at me and started talking like it was code for something. I assumed they were talking about fishing until everything went to hell."

I chew on his words for a few seconds. "When did everything go to hell?"

"About 2? One of the scientists asks.

"Closer to one, if I remember right." Says another.

Lines up with when I killed Anisim… however well that stuck. "Okay, good to know. You've been trapped in here since then?"

"Not really." Another person replies. "We just kept working until our shifts ended to find a few robots out front."

"Nobody saw the shelter message?" I sigh.

"I guess not."

"Back to the 'bait' comment." I turn to the first guy. "Any other context? Where were they talking? Who was it?"

"Uh… I think it was Doctor Casabiino and Doctor Hemsworth. They were in front of the restricted office area, and…" His brow furrows. "It's good bait as long as they bite. It doesn't matter if they never get it."

"...Huh." My skin crawls a bit. "That sounds ominous."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

I glance at Aleah. "Please tell me you have actual people skills."

"I did translation for a small amount of time before I was captured. I'll manage."

I nod, making a mental note to ask about that later if she's willing to tell me. "Okay, I have to talk to the others. In the meantime, Aleah's here to talk to you. If you have any questions, she's got a lot of answers. Not everything mind you, but hopefully she'll help set your minds at ease."

"Hello." She steps forward.

I turn away as a few of the less terrified people start talking. "Hey 45?"

"I was listening."

"...I thought you weren't gonna eavesdrop?"

"Aleah fed me the stream, calm down." She sounds like she's grinning. "Not much to go off of, but I have a new worry."

"Self-destruct device?"

"Something like that. Get's the KCCO off their back and deals with us in one move, it's too good a chance to pass up. We're gonna have to ask them about explosives too, and possibly structural weak points…" She trails off. "Hmm."

"What's up?"

I found Anisim's laptop from the last time we were here. It's locked but-"

"Yeah yeah, what's in it?"

"...Ah, yes. I can see why the KCCO would want these, assuming they knew they existed."

"Are you keeping me in the dark on purpose?"

"Kind of." She once more sounds like she's teasing, though her tone grows serious as she continues to talk. "Paradeus has a list of Pike locations."

My heart stops.

Or, maybe it was only in my head, but I have to lean on the nearby wall to maintain my balance. "More Pikes?"

"Yeah… with locations and launch codes."

I look out at the people in the room, still talking to Aleah. "This is really bad."

"...Ja, no shit. I've copied the codes and wiped them off Anisim's computer. I need to check it for tracking software, but having it is better than not for the moment."

"Right." I sigh. "Hey, M4? Did you get that?"

"What is the matter?"

I turn to see that M4 and RO had decided to show up. This'll make it easier. "45 found-"

"Ahem."

A face I don't recognize appears in front of me, derailing my train of thought. White hair, harsh face, red-purple patches that remind me of the ones on Ange-

"Yegor." RO's voice is so full of hate I barely recognized it.

"Hadwin Galanis? I'm Captain Yegor." He addresses me specifically. "You've done well to escape us so far."

"Wouldn't say it's my doing." I hedge. "To what do I owe the privilege?"

"Normally, I'd have sent all of you Griffin dogs to hell and back many times over, but it turns out, you have something I need." His features, which had been harsh but at least not hostile, narrow down into a sneer. "Give us the codes, and we may even let you live."

RO looks like she's about to start yelling, but M4 stops her.

"And if we refuse?"

"It'll be a waste of ammunition." He shrugs. "But just to be clear, after what your friend did to me and mine-" He leans in close. "-You're going to pay, one way or another. You have fifteen minutes."

The connection is cut.

I glance at M4. "Is… Is she okay?" I gesture to RO, who is still struggling.

"She had a bad experience. You should really ask her yourself."

RO breaks free of M4's grasp moments later. "He fucking killed me!" She shouts. "Thanks to that, I had to get stuffed into that… that…"

"Oh! Sop pulls out a small yellow box with legs. "Banana!"

"ARGH!" RO throws her hands in the air and leaves.

"...Uh."

"I'll go after her." Aleah offers.

"Thanks." I turn back to M4. "So, what do we do?"

---

"Your fifteen minutes is up." Yegor contacts us once again. "Have you decided on your fate?"

"Yeah." I hold up my hand, palm out and all of the dolls around me also throw up rude gestures. "Go fuck yourself, Spetsnaz."

"Oh, I am going to enjoy smashing open your skull."

The connection terminates.

RO looks over at me. "Are you sure you have this?"

I heft my new burden, courtesy of the minds of GeneLab, and grin. "It's gonna be fun!"

"If you see the man in the video-"

"Yeah, I'll let you get first crack at him." I nod. "Let's get ready."

We hadn't spent our fifteen minutes grace period idly. We had identified the emergency escape tunnel for Paradeus use and promptly sent all the scientists down it, though we did manage to coerce a few of them to help us with a desperate plan.

From some of the tech that was already being developed, they cobbled together a plasma cannon like the ones the Paradeus tend to equip. I figure that the tech was developed somewhere like this place and secretly used for their plans, but I can only guess why they still had some of it on hand.

In any case, it's now portable as long as I have the exo suit on, and I have a bunch of targets to test it on.

Very angry targets, now that we've pissed them off.

"All the civvies are clear." 15 reports. "Hatch is sealed, and all of the non-critical data is being purged."

"I have a backup all stored." 45 rolls her shoulders. "We'll sort through it later."

"So…" I turn to Sop. "Why did you fuse this… robot to their gun?"

The yellow box turns to look at me, it's cable plugged into the side of the newly assembled plasma gun.

"Well, you're using Banana's targeting system. Dinergates have energy weapons from the factory, so he's used to that."

"Uh huh."

"Also, I gave him a laser eye. If you're in a pickle, use that. Just don't use it too much, it's really draining. I almost passed out once from using it!" She laughs.

"It's not funny, she almost died for real there." 15 mutters. "Barely any power left."

"Noted." I whisper back.

"So yeah… are we ready?" Sop looks around.

Everyone's geared up. Seems like it's go time.

M4 nods to Sop. "Blow it."

Sop once more picks up a trigger device and squeezes the handle, setting off a set of charges placed on the wall.

The detonation is focused outwards, allowing us to be closer to the blast than is technically safe, but this is going to rely on speed.

45 and 9 lead the charge, the Exo-legs that they have letting them leap forward extremely quickly through the dust. The rest of us follow, Aleah and I bringing up the rear as the ones bringing the firepower.

The KCCO had obviously not expected us to blow out the side of the building, and we caught them slightly off guard, committing their troops to heading into the building away from where we're going.

I hardly know where we're going, so if the KCCO knows I'll be mad.

The UMP twins start firing their namesake weapons, spraying a hail of bullets toward the closest of the KCCO troops, doing little aside from getting them to back away.

Next, the ARs move in. M4 and Sop start spraying their weapons, again forcing the enemy to back out a bit. 416 and 15 are more reserved, picking targets and firing, then moving onto the next one.

RO is holding her weapon at the ready, but she's not firing yet. Aleah is prepared to fire, but isn't quite at the point of picking a target yet.

Me? I've got this heavy plasma cannon that I can't even aim properly, relying on my Linker to provide a firing solution. I'm not here to fire at smaller KCCO units.

I'm here for the Hydras, Orthrus, and anything else that stays still long enough for my human reflexes to catch. So, for now I focus on following the path M4 and 45 had sent to me, guiding us to our next stop.

"They're regrouping!" RO calls. "Our surprise round is over!"

"Yes, well-" 45 tosses away an empty magazine. "That just means it's time for part two!" She pulls out a small cylinder from her bag, yanking on the pull ring before lobbing the cylinder towards the approaching KCCO troops.

The grenade detonates, filling the space between us with a dense smoke. I tuck my head down and redouble my efforts to hustle after the main group.

Man, they're fast.

Sop, 15, and 416 are busy guarding the rear as I rush past, and I catch a glimpse of a few Aegis units appearing out of the fog only to be dispatched swiftly. Sop especially just grabs one of them and starts pulling its armor off in a frenzy, the torn off parts sent flying.

I make it to the alley we've decided to route through, not stopping even once I'm past the threshold. I'm under no pretexts: I know I'm the slowest member of the group and I need to keep moving unless there's something big enough that they need the Plasma cannon to destroy it.

Speaking of-

"Hydras are on the move." Aleah reports. "We're going to be able to get ahead of them, but staying ahead of them will be difficult."

"We hardly could when Hadwin wasn't lugging around a large hunk of metal." 15 snaps. "It's a matter of when they'll catch up, not if."

"Keep moving!" M4 orders and I turn all of my attention toward running forwards. One foot in front of the other, don't trip on trash, follow the direction my Linker is pointing.

"9?" 45 turns to her sister as they continue to move forward in the alley, easily passing me by.

"Working on it!" 9 skids to a stop and turns back to the building, still running in the same direction as everyone else. "Paradeus has way too much security."

"Tell us when you have it triggered." RO glances my way. "Once they realize they can't get the information from the building, they're certainly coming for us."

"It's not like they're not already!" 15 fires a few more rounds behind us, one-handing her rifle and glaring over her shoulder at the approaching enemy. "Just get it over with!"

"I… I got it!" 9's face fills with a grin. "Self destruct activated, 5 seconds to detonation!"

I risk glancing back over my shoulder and up at the sky while mentall counting down to zero.

The ground shudders and the sky briefly flashes reddish orange as the building detonates, a much larger reaction than what we had caused ourselves earlier. The roar of the explosion is deafening, and the alley fills up with a blast of wind and heat carried away by the detonation.

"I think…" I gasp out. "We should start… a demolition company."

"Yeah!" Sop cheers.

"Why?" RO gives me a look.

"We keep… blowing everything up." I try to grin at her through my heavy breathing. "Might as well… get paid for it."

"We do get paid for it though." M4 steps up to keep pace. "We get paid by Griffin."

"Yeah, but we don't get to blow up buildings often enough." Sop points out. "Maybe I should see about sneaking more C4 out of storage-"

"No, let's not." M4 shakes her head.

"You know, Hadwin." 9 once more spins to face the rear. "Before you showed up, we didn't have to blow up every building we saw."

"Maybe… Architect's right." I lower my gaze to navigate some spilled trash. "I'm an explosion magnet."

"Or maybe it's just easier to completely erase your fuck ups than deal with the consequences." 45 shrugs.

"Probably that." Aleah nods.

I laugh breathlessly, still running as hard as I can.

My muscles are starting to really burn, deciding that they're not too happy with all the extra effort I've been putting in recently. A week isn't a long time to condition your body to heavy exercise, and Kylie's training regime can only go so far.

As we continue to run, we do manage to leave the smaller units behind, the heavy things too slow to catch up with our speed. However, the Hydras can be heard rampaging through the streets, and with each street we cross they're sounding closer and closer.

"It looks like we might make it." 416 eventually says. "At this pace, we'll get to our destination before the Hydras are able to catch up. We'll still have to deal with them, but hopefully the underground garage will give us an advantage."

"Been keeping an eye out?" 45 glances back at her teammate.

"Ja, wanted to prepare for any problems."

"Well, good." 9 points ahead. "Because we're about to have one."

I look up, slowing down just enough that I don't need to watch every step to avoid falling.

As if a gift from the angels, a car crashes nose first into the ground, flipping as its momentum carries it out of sight.

A second car goes flying past, and I realize that the KCCO has caught up.

The Hydras are here.

I skid to a stop at the mouth of the alley, acutely aware that, with heavy vehicles raining from the sky, I might need to really be on my toes to not get squished.

As I peek my head out from around the corner, 45 and 9 run around behind me, dashing into the street to try to draw the attention of the larger machines.

For my part, my ability to aim is severely compromised. Turns out, running flat out for a few minutes takes a toll even if you have an exo suit. Worse, this plasma cannon is so heavy that the exo suit is hardly able to compensate for its weight, meaning that every move I make with it is exaggerated, further throwing off my aim.

Inside the Linker, the aiming reticle Sop had set up bobs and weaves all over the place, unable to settle on one spot long enough for me to actually attempt to pull the trigger.

The Hydras have no such limitations.

As I watch, one of them starts aiming its own cannon my way as the other flattens itself the the ground, shoves a leg under a car, and launches it into the air in our general direction.

The car spins gracefully in the air before slamming into the third floor of a nearby building, glass and bits of the car raining down from above. It's a few dozen meters off target though so I don't have to take evasive action.

Well, not from the car at least.

I dive to the side as the cannon on the Hydra finishes its firing sequence, the shell ripping through the air overhead. Having the immediate backstop of the alley, it detonates just behind me, scorching the back of my neck.

Here isn't safe, so my feet propel me forward toward our final destination that's finally in sight; Yet another parking garage, though this one is different.

This one has our APC.

"Anti-Rain, we're going to grab the APC." M4 announces. "If the rest of you would please hold the Hydras off until we can get it running?"

"Ja, no problem." 9 says sarcastically. "These things are barely a threat!"

"Good to hear." RO deadpans. "ETA is five minutes."

Five minutes?! What, are they going to polish the APC before driving it out?!

I continue to weave between the abandoned cars, desperately trying to get my breath back so I can return fire. It's certainly easier said than done with the two large machines bearing down at me.

I risk poking my head up for a second to see if I can get a glimpse of the two, and I indeed do get a decent view of the side of one of the units.

The one that's been slinging cars is И1704.

I rest the body of the plasma cannon onto the nearest car, hoping that I'll be able to get off a shot before it notices me.

That hope is in vain, the Hydra immediately spotting me and swinging all of its weapons to bear on me.

I'm forced to duck and scramble around, practically dragging the plasma cannon in my haste to get away from the incoming blast.

The blast that's arriving aaaaaany second now-

A car that's been aimed a lot better than that last one comes crashing down on top of the two nearest parked vehicles, all three frames buckling and glass shattering right overhead. My eyes snap shut involuntarily against the hail, and I can feel the sharp edges digging into my nose, cheeks and forehead. My Linker saves my eyes, to which I am eternally grateful.

In any case, time to motor before the recently suspended car can fall down the rest of the way and crush me.

"…45, there's something odd going on." 416 reports. "One of the Hydras is focusing solely on Hadwin."

"Fascinating." 45's voice is terse. "So, let's get the other one until he can take out his own."

"Commander, I've got you covered." Aleah's voice arrives in my ears. "Try to move out."

"No shit!" I do my best to start sprinting from a start, though my bulky cargo isn't quite conducive to that effort.

Aleah's gun starts ripping towards И1704 in an effort to distract it, but the large beast barely seems to take note, the bullets pinging off the armor and ricocheting everywhere.

И1704 keeps its optical sensors on me, as if transfixed.

It's… it is certainly tracking me, isn't it? I don't understand why, necessarily. Sure, I have a vendetta against it, but as far as I know these are just machines. No pilot to have a grudge, no human fused into it like the Paradeus mechs.

Was it because I damaged it? Was it told to specifically kill me over the others? Is it just mad that I escaped it?

P90 shows up beside me. "It's going to try to kill you."

I give the doll beside me a look. She's not real, her opinion doesn't matter-

"Say, it's been oddly reluctant to fire its cannon, don't you think?" P90 tilts her head. "D'you think it's not working or something?"

"…Maybe." I admit. "It's only been throwing cars."

"Yeah, I've been watching." She pokes her head around my current cover. "The servos on the main gun are completely still. It looks like it's locked into place."

I stare at the doll, thoughts frozen. This isn't real. She's an apparition. If I reach out to touch her, she's not there.

Right?

She looks back, finding my hand lifted slightly, halfway between trying to touch her and deciding not to. "In any case, it's starting to get close. We should probably move."

I quickly retract my hand. "Yeah, let's go." I shift my weight to drag the heavy cannon with me once again.

A grin splits her face, and she offers her fist. "Don't die, Haddy."

Slowly, terrified to find out, I raise my fist and bump hers.

My knuckles feel hers.

"Y-yeah." I nod. "Don't plan on it."

She flashes blue as her grin spreads wider and she dashes away, gun spraying bullets at the Hydra. Her form shifts to look like me, though she's still carrying a P90 even with my appearance.

The crazy part is that it actually responds. It turns to track the moving doll, and I realize that this is my chance.

I haul the weapon up onto the hood of the nearest car, bracing it to get a good shot.

И1704 notices something is up at the last second, but it's too late.

I carefully adjust the aiming reticle to the side of the KCCO behemoth and watch as it settles on the text indicating which unit stands before me. I crank it to max power-

The plasma cannon jerks violently as I pull the trigger, also stumbling me as a beam of energy slams into the Hydra.

Its armor plating melts, and it staggers, attempting to continue its turn but not quite able to as the molten slag of armor plate drips down and solidifies on its leg motor.

Yes. Hell yes! I've managed to hurt it!

I check my readout to see that the cannon's got… a thirty second recharge.

1704 starts moving its legs to test its own maneuverability, and slowly starts to turn around to face me. The two pods on the back that launch grenades start to move, and I quickly do the mental math. If I stand here, it's going to bomb me out of existence well before the cannon recharges.

Shit.

I pick the plasma cannon up and start to move away from it, circling around it to prolong the time it needs to get a firing solution.

"Just turn down the power and shoot the pods!" P90's voice comes through. "That'll disarm it!"

Good plan.

I move the selector to about a quarter of max to find it's almost ready to fire as it is.

I will say, if P90 is such a convincing delusion that she's able to suggest things to me that I didn't know or think of, I'm probably so far gone as to be irrecoverable.

I'll deal with that when I'm not being shot at though.

The cannon indicates that it's ready to fire, a small green light appearing on the display.

The Hydra is still turning to track me, but I'm able to once more brace the cannon and fire.

There's less kick as it sends out less plasma, and the smaller lance of… whatever plasma is made of, rips right through its target, destroying one of the two gun pods.

Holy crap.

Holy crap!

It's working!

I check the cooldown timer, and it's only a few seconds. Great!

"What's your ETA?!" 9 demands over the radio.

"We've got the APC out of its spot, but it's not exactly easy to get it out of here!" RO snaps. "I don't think anyone wants this building to fall down on our heads!"

"If you do crash it, try to aim for the Hydras." 45 snarks.

"Oh! That sounds like fun!"

"No, Sop, we need to get out of here." RO sighs.

"Aw."

"What's the effect of the Plasma cannon on the Hydra?" M4 asks.

"It's effective, but Haddy clearly doesn't know where to shoot." 9 sounds very frustrated. "By the way, shoot the verdammt legs!"

"I'm trying not to get a hail of grenades launched at me, thank you very much!" I answer, booking it around the rear of the Hydra, only for it to stop turning and start limping back to meet me.

Excellent. The cannon's already charged.

I just need to fire one more shot and I'll be able to move onto the other Hydra.

P90 stands on top of one of the cars, pointing at it. "Use this one! You'll be able to get a good shot!"

I nod and slide down behind the indicated car even as P90 leaps off of it, heading away from me. It creaks and dents as I lay the cannon down and start pivoting it on the hood of the vehicle, forever ruining its nice paint job.

It's for a good cause, I swear.

The reticle hovers over the second gun pod and I wait just the briefest of moments to make sure it's not going to jerk away.

The plasma cannon bucks for the third time, the sound eerily familiar as the sound of a Paradeus weapon.

I'm just about to jeer at the Hydra, elated that it's down. P90's killer, taken out.

Its remaining good front leg moves a lot quicker than it had been, spearing into the asphalt and dragging itself to directly face me. Its underbelly cannon that had been completely still until now comes alive, adjusting to point right at my head.

Oh… fuck.

I had only gotten this close because I thought that was inoperable. It was a trap. I wasn't aware these things could think through a trap.

The cannon won't be able to fire again so soon, and I'm less than five meters from certain death. At this range, I can't dodge.

"Incoming!" 416 calls.

I duck as the distinct pop-thump of an underbarrel grenade launcher goes off, the grenade hitting the Hydra's bad leg and stumbling it slightly. Its cannon misses my head by mere centimeters, the shell whistling past my ear.

"AIM FOR THE LEGS, DUMMKOPF!" 9 yells at me.

"GOT IT!" I roar back.

И1704's front right leg is now completely gone via 416's shot, and it struggles to lift its cannon to any sort of height, the barrel pinned underneath itself.

My plasma cannon is charged up enough for another blast, and my finger itches to fire at it and finish it off.

It hurt me, killed P90…

No, I have to stop the other one from killing other dolls that are still alive.

"You're lucky!" I shout, regardless of whether it can hear me or not. "I've got more important things to shoot than you!"

A deep, guttural roar emanates from the machine, its legs scrabbling at the ground to try to do anything it can to shoot me. It's moving so violently that I involuntarily step back to avoid getting hit.

Yeah, it's got a microphone somewhere on it.

I give it the finger and turn around to face the other Hydra just in time to see the APC drive out of an underground garage, getting a bit of airtime before smashing into the remaining Hydra.

"Well… that works." 15 grumbles. "C'mon, let's get going."

"Yeah, let me just…" I start looking around before realizing that I'm looking for P90. She's not here.

Still, I found her.

She waves at me from the entrance to an alley, before turning and entering it.

I drop the cannon and bolt after her, ignoring the dolls around me calling after me.

I make it into the alley-

It's a dead end, and she's nowhere to be seen.

But…

"Hadwin!" 416's eyes are blazing, her hand digging into my flesh. "What are you doing?!"

"It's…" I stare back into the alley. There's no manholes, no places to hide, no way to scale the walls. "It's nothing."

"Uh, guys?" Sop sounds nervous. "The rest of the KCCO are almost here. We gotta move!"

I turn around and run back to the APC. Aleah's recovered the plasma cannon and is loading it into the APC as I run over, saving me the trouble of stopping to pick it up.

416 and I reach the APC right as the first Cyclops rounds the corner. It fires its rifle ineffectively as I dive into the vehicle and 15 closes the rear hatch behind 416 and I.

"…Fuck." I groan.

"Holy shit, what happened to your face?" 15 leans over after ensuring the door is secure.

"Some safety glass that wasn't quite safe enough." I give her a wan smile. "At least it's not as bad as it could be. Still got my eyes."

She stares at me, her head shaking back and forth slightly. "I'm going to buy you a full face mask, just so this doesn't happen again."

"I kinda like it." 45 sits down on the floor beside me. "Scars can be fairly cool."

416 nods and also sits down next to me, hands reaching up to my face.

I pull away, but 45 pulls the Linker cable out of my exo suit trapping me in place.

Unable to move, I just sigh and try to relax as 416 starts to very carefully pluck the glass out of my flesh, 15 joining in with a set of bandages pulled out of the emergency kit.

The Linker is turned off and removed for easier access to my cuts, and the relatively dark interior of the APC is darkened further, leaving me able to tell the dolls apart only by their eyes.

"Ow." I intone as more antiseptic finds my forehead cut.

"Shush, you." 15 rolls her eyes. "I doubt this hurts more than breaking your leg."

"Or losing your hand." 9 quips.

"Or losing a foot." RO adds.

"Do you actually have a thing for robotic appendages?" Aleah asks. "Because if you do, we need to keep you away from Ange."

I snort. "It's not like I wanted to lose those, I'm just not able to repair myself as fast as you can."

"Maybe we should stuff him into a doll body." 45 muses. He's going to lose body parts anyway, we should make sure that we can replace them easily."

"Oh, ha ha."

416 sits back, studying me carefully. "Nein, I think that's a good idea. Maybe we can also digitize his mind?"

"If that was possible, I'd think more people would be doing it." I smirk.

"Possibly."

"Can we not talk about this? It's kinda creepy." 9 says.

"It is." M4 adds. "Humans and dolls are different."

"Yeah…" I sigh.

15 and 416 start opening up the exo suit and someone reaches over my head and flicks on the Linker.

Ah, I can see and move again. Wonderful.

Still, it's not like there's anything I can do if I stand up. We're in the back of the APC and unless something happens-

No. Nothing will happen. We're going to get out of here without incident.

If I tell myself that, I might be able to believe it.

"Well, looks like they've caught up." 15 stands up and walks over to a hatch. "Hey, Sop. Help me with the Plasma gun."

"Alright." Sop crawls over to the weapon and hauls it closer to the hatch.

…Well…

"Alright, let me do it." I plug my Linker back into the exo suit and watch as it clamps around me. "You all said that you have a hard time aiming it anyway."

"True…" 15 looks at Sop. "But he's-"

"If he wants to get his head blown off, let him." RO sighs. "It's not like you can stop him."

"Don't worry!" Sop pushes open the hatch, revealing a sky that's no longer pitch black but a deep navy. "I'll be up there too!"

She hops out through the hatch, pulling on the Plasma cannon as 15 lifts it from behind. Between the two of them, they manage to set it onto a rail along the rim of the hatch. It looks like Sop added some sort of attachment to the bottom. That's what was scraping the car judging from the ends with small flecks of color.

I pop up, and the Linker helpfully shows that the KCCO are currently gaining on us. To be fair, we're in a heavy APC and they're in buggies. We're both dealing with the stopped 'traffic', which basically means that's not a factor. So, they're rapidly gaining on us.

I grab the control to the Plasma cannon and aim it at the nearest of the buggies, the targeting reticle bouncing around. With the APC moving, it's hard to get a shot off. At least I'm not straining myself to hold it up.

I set the power way down, just needing to destroy a bunch of buggies. It's not like they're armored.

The first shot from the plasma cannon goes wide, searing right through a store window and setting something inside on fire.

The second shot melts straight through the windshield of the lead buggy, but fails to phase the robot driver or disable it outright.

The third shot melts right through the front driver's wheel, sending the vehicle careening into the stopped cars all over the road. The KCCO units inside go flying out, obviously either having elected to not wear seatbelts or too heavy for the straps.

"YEAH!" Sop cheers, reminding me that the energetic doll is still on the outside of the APC, standing on the moving vehicle like it's standing still. "Go get 'em, Haddy!"

She loads a grenade into her launcher and fires it behind us, detonating a few of the stationary cars in the process of forcing the incoming enemies to dodge down a side street.

I fire the cannon again and it rips apart the street in front of the nearest buggy. It's unable to swerve, the front wheels get stuck and it is thrown up and over, landing on its roof pinning the unfortunate KCCO units to get crushed.

"Okay, we're going to the new exfil now!" M4 swerves the APC down a side road.

"What? We weren't already on our way?" 9 asks.

"We were on the way, but with all of these KCCO around, it's going to be impossible to escape." 45 expounds. "We just switched to the backup route."

"Why's it the backup?" I watch another buggy make it around the corner into sight and aim the plasma cannon.

"Because the 'backup' is just heading straight out the main tunnel." RO snips. "There's no way that's undefended."

"We've got the plasma cannon." Aleah points out.

"And they're a literal army." 9 returns. "With the new turret, our APC is now an IFV, not exactly equipped to take on the world."

"We're not taking on the world." M4 says quietly, though the Linker conveys the information perfectly. "We're taking on a small blockade."

"Well, when you put it like that." I snark. "Okay so what-"

There's a large jolt, and my world flips end over end. The sky and ground swap positions too many times to count, and I barely have the thought to protect myself before I slam into the ground, bouncing and skidding along.

The exo suit scrapes against the ground, chewing at the frame as I try to stop tumbling without scraping my palms off.

Well, palm.

I slam my metal hand down and stop the rolling, and the skidding stops soon after.

Ouch.

I wish this exo suit covered me, not just boosted my strength and reaction speed. Armor would be nice for once.

"Haddy!"

I glance up, the world still spinning, to see Sop running up to me.

"Are you alright?!"

"I'm not dead." I manage to get to my hands and knees. "Did you get the number of the truck that hit us?"

"No, and I don't think it was a truck." Sop looks back. "Hey, there's 15!"

I look over to see that indeed, 15 is sprinting toward us.

"RUN!"

Behind her is…

Is…

Is that a tank?

I turn and bolt for cover, 15 and Sop hot on my heels.

Since when did the KCCO have an actual tank? I mean, sure, they're the real Russian military, and there's not reason they can't have a tank, but-

A laser scorches the air as we pass, and I feel the heat sear my exposed skin. The beam lances straight through a local building, prompting me to turn down a side alley.

15 and Sop follow me in, both of them immediately preparing to turn right back around and fight that tank.

It's not fair that they get a tank. I want a tank.

"M4?" 15 asks.

"We're okay. The APC survived the hit." M4 reports. "We're heading for the wall still, but we're going to try to shake the KCCO off. Meet us there!"

"Yeah, good luck." 15 glances back at me. "So…"

"Even I'm not stupid enough to fight a tank." I sigh.

"Eh? But, in Sector 3-" Sop begins.

"That was a special circumstance. Besides…" I peer around the corner. "At least that one was on the ground."

Indeed, the KCCO vehicle that had been shooting at us moments ago can hover. It's got thrusters or something in those legs, and it's able to keep itself aloft.

Terrifying.

"So, what are we going to do?" 15 asks.

"Well…"

---

After much sneaking around, my plan bears fruit.

We're back where this crazy ride began, at least in the context of the city.

The hotel.

The three of us slip down into the subterranean parking space and locate our objective.

AEK's bike.

"I'll be riding the bike." 15 turns to the two of us. "I've ridden in combat before. Hadwin, I want you behind me."

"Alright." I walk up next to the bike. "What about Sop?"

"I'm gonna hotwire this!" Sop points to… well, that's a nice car.

"Is that going to be able to navigate through the streets?"

"Probably not, but then again, I wanna test the durability!"

I watch Sop smash the window to the expensive luxury car. I kinda wish I had a chance to drive it, but I'll go with 15 instead. Now's not the time to play stupid games.

…Says the idiot that made the call to be here instead of Gentiane.

I shake my head to clear it and mount the bike behind 15.

She turns around in her seat. "Make sure your weapon is ready. We're going to be moving pretty quickly, and you're not used to reloading in odd situations yet."

"Yeah, good point." I check that my mag is full and once confirmed I secure it and ensure the burst mode is selected and safety is off. "Ready."

15 turns on the bike, the deep roar thumping in the garage. Beside us, Sop's stolen Ferrari also rumbles to life, its engine a lot less thumpy and more like a buzzsaw.

With a nod to each other, the dolls both start moving, 15 taking the lead as we drive our way out of the underground lot. It's certainly easier when you don't have tall buggies to drive out.

As we hit the ramp and turn out into the street, my Linker reports that M4 is trying to connect.

I accept it and both her and 45 show up as if from thin air. "Did you all get a ride?" M4 asks.

"Yeah!" Sop cheers. "See, I get a Fer-"

"Good." 45 cuts the excitable doll off. "We've managed to evade the KCCO, though they're blocking the entrance to the tunnel out. We're going to try something… unconventional to clear the way, but we're going to wait until you three get closer."

"Unconventional?" 15 raises an eyebrow.

"Yes…" M4 blushes. "We're going to pull a Hadwin plan."

"...Y'know, when you use my name as an adjective, it kinda sounds like you're mocking me."

"That's because we are." 45 smiles. "I'm sending you a route that should be clear of the KCCO, largely. Follow that and get here. We'll be ready."

The connection cuts, and I'm left talking to 15 and Sop over the link.

"Wow. You get tactics named after you, Haddy." Sop swerves the expensive car into the curb to avoid hitting another car, scraping up the rims. "I want tactics named after me."

"Let me put it this way, Sop." I glance at her stolen car. "You can probably call your charge into battle to literally rip off the enemy's heads something, and that would forever be attributed to you."

"Yeah, but it's not the same if it's a special move. I want an entire tactic named after me."

"I have one." 15 sighs. "It's the 'Disappearing Star'."

"How does that work?"

She glances back at me briefly before focusing on weaving through traffic. "You strap copious amounts of C4 to a dummy and walk into the enemy's base."

"...Is that why everyone keeps giving you odd looks whenever explosives are mentioned?"

"Yeah." Her cheeks are starting to turn red. "It's embarrassing, but… well, we have that in common now, yeah?"

I can't help but bark out a laugh. "If that is all we have in common, this is going to be an interesting relationship."

"Well… I mean…"

I hold my M16 closer to myself and snake an arm around her waist. "Don't worry about it. You're stuck with me until you decide to throw me away."

"That's not gonna happen."

"Then we've got nothing to worry about."

Her face turns a slightly darker shade of red, and she pulls the bike up into a wheelie, probably to try to hide her emotions.

That's fine. I know how she feels.

How I feel.

Fuck, I'm really off the deep end now.

We weave through the stopped cars, occasionally coming across paths cleared by the tank bulldozing through the vehicles in its way, crushing everything under its hover treads or whatever. It's not like it's actually in the area, or we'd have a serious problem.

15 slows down to navigate a particularly tricky section where the cars had been tossed about, and once the roar of the bike is quiet enough she starts talking to me out loud instead of over the Linker. "Hadwin?"

"Yeah?" I respond in kind.

"If… If I decided to go back to your home with you, back to Sector 3… would I be allowed to?"

"Of course."

She nods. "T-thanks. I… I hate the idea of being apart from you for too long. I have to help M4 with something, she's my sister and my friend, but once that's done…"

"I'll accept you with open arms." I squeeze her tighter with my arm wrapped around her torso. "M4's important to you, I'm not gonna say you can't come because of that."

"...Yeah, I knew you'd say that." She looks to the side to turn, and what looks like tears of gratitude are starting to form in her eyes. "I appreciate it."

"It's not like I want to be apart from you." I let my forehead rest on her back. "I'm just…"

"Thinking about things."

"Yeah."

We continue to ride in comfortable silence as she guides us through the city.

"Hadwin?"

"Yeah, Star?"

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, since I've not encountered this before, but…" Her cheeks turn bright red. "I think I lo-"

As 15 is speaking, we're driving through an intersection. Before we can clear it, a shell from the cross street detonates the car in front of us, forcing 15 to do a reverse wheelie, the bike's rear tire coming up in the air and almost launching me off. As it is, I only managed to hold onto 15 and the rifle by a small margin.

As we come to a stop in front of the now-blocked street and the rear tire slams back down, I turn to see where the shot had come from.

A Hydra, scratched and missing both of its gun pods, stands in the middle of the cleared street.

Its previously ruined leg has been replaced, and the slagged armor where the number had been has been hastily patched up with sheet metal. One of the KCCO mechanics must have helped as there is a hastily sprayed bit of paint on the metal sheet, black paint on shiny metal standing out even in the barely illuminated sky.

И1704.

"You just don't give up, do you?" I mutter.

Sop's stolen Ferrari screeches to a halt. "Uh… I don't think we have the firepower to take that out."

И1704 kicks a car out of the way, the movement so violent that the car is crushed almost flat against the building.

"Yeah, no. We're going!" 15 once more wheelies the bike, this time to allow her to turn the bike around quickly.

I ensure my gun is secure once the front wheel touches down, and I see Sop's driving of the Ferrari hasn't gotten any better, wheels churning to move the vehicle away from the Hydra.

As we move, another shell rockets past us, and I curse. My hands are full trying to hold onto 15 and my M16 at the same time, and the only real shot we have at harming this right now is strapped to my backpack.

The AT4 I had been holding onto for just this occasion.

As carefully as I can, I pull my hand out from around 15 and start trying to secure my M16.

"What are you doing?" 15 asks.

"Getting my AT4. Try not to throw me off!"

"No promises!" She moves the bike into a turn that puts us at an angle that honestly makes me nervous, but we pull through on the other side.

I once more resume trying to reach back and free the launcher, which is frustratingly just out of my reach.

How do I…?

We swerve down a local alley, Sop continuing past.

"I'll lead it away. You two…" Sop starts. "Um… it's trying to follow you."

I look back, and sure enough, it's at the mouth of the alley.

Watching us.

"What is its problem?!" Star yells.

"It's fixated on me for some reason." I strain my hand and grab the lip of the launch tube. "I mean, I know I hate it, but I dunno what it has against me specifically."

"Who knows." 15 sighs heavily. "Maybe it's also got a neural cloud and has fallen for you."

"That's… absurd."

"Is it really?"

"...No, dammit. But, I'm going to put my foot down. If you try to kill me, you're disqualified."

15 pops the bike out of the alley, moving it around at low speeds as we're now back in traffic. "What about 45 and 416 then?"

"That's… uh…"

A glint of light catches my eye, and I look over to see the Hydra had elected to smash its way through the office building rather than go around, sending a spray of glass hailing sideways, shredding the building opposite.

"Hold on!" 15 orders, and I let my grip on the launch tube go to hold on tight.

She rides up on top of a truck, the metal buckling underneath the tires, but that's the least of our concerns as И1704 starts plowing through anything in its way, desperately attempting to reach us.

My Linker indicates another incoming connection and I activate it.

"Hadwin-" 45 blinks. "What are you doing?"

"Running away from a really persistent Hydra." I snark. "What's up with you?"

"Well… we have an update, and it's not a good one."

"Just… what is it now?"

"The KCCO are pulling out of the city. We went to sabotage the tunnel only to find that the forces we'd seen guarding it had pulled back."

"How is that bad news?!"

"Well, we know they don't have what they want. So, they've either decided that it's not worth getting the info, or they're regrouping."

"...Shit." I glance back at the Hydra, still tearing up a path that 15's barely able to keep ahead of. "So, why isn't this one giving up?"

"Maybe it's decided to join your harem."

"Okay, did you two plan this beforehand?" I demand.

"Of course not!" 15 snaps. "Just, given your history-"

I clamp my eyes shut, tempted to pinch my brow, but too afraid to actually let go of 15. I remember a month ago when it was Rakim that was being told he was a sex pest, not me.

"In any case, we've set up the charges." 45 resumes her initial conversion. "Once we're through, we'll blow the charges to force the KCCO to move around the city. Oh, and Sop just arrived."

"Sounds like a plan to me." 15 guns the bike and leans forwards to keep the front tire on the ground. "We're coming in hot."

"Arming charges." 9 states. "Three minutes until detonation."

A clock appears in my vision, counting down from 180.

We turn a corner to see the tunnel leading outside the wall, an APC tucked up next to the entrance.

I twist around to look behind us-

…Where's И1704?

I twist around the other way and I spot it waiting at the end of the street, not advancing.

I stare at the large mech, getting smaller as we speed away from it.

"Something's wrong."

15 glance back for a brief second, but that brief second proves to be crucial.

From the sky, a Patroller lands in front of us, and 15 tries to put the bike into a slide to stop us from careening into it.

It's not very effective and the Patroller stabs its leg down onto the bike, crushing it. 15 had leapt off with me in tow at the last second, leaving the two of us to hold each other as we tumbled across the ground.

"Paradeus is still here?!" RO's voice comes through as I try to get my bearings, hauling 15 to her feet.

"Seems like it." M4 states quietly. "More incoming."

"Get out!" I yell. "Get out now!"

100 seconds left.

The ruined Ferrari once more roars to life, Sop throwing the vehicle into gear with the APC right behind.

I start sprinting for the tunnel, still a few hundred meters away as the Paradeus forces start revealing themselves.

Two Doppelsöldners. The Patroller. One other unit I don't recognize, but basically looks like a beefed up Strelet.

The two Doppelsöldners are advancing after the APC, and RO is manning the cannon to try to keep them at bay. The other two, however, are focused on me.

My Link to the rest of the dolls is severed, and a new face appears before me.

"Hadwin." Anisim smirks at me and I have to consciously avoid stumbling. As it is, this breaks my concentration enough that I have to stop running and instead start crouch-walking between the cars to try to stay hidden.

"Wha- didn't I kill you?" I snarl.

"We talked before your little… episode with the Uhlan." His face twists into a sneer of disgust. "You were a bit out of it, and I'm frankly surprised you managed to survive linking yourself with the Uhlan. It's designed to work with Strelets, not humans."

His chuckle is immensely irritating.

"Well, if you're still alive, I can fix that easily enough. Come out, coward."

"Come out?" His face spreads into a manic grin. "Why, I'm already here!"

I'm about to reply when a hand grabs me. 15 grips my arm and starts hauling me at breakneck pace toward the tunnel.

60 seconds remain.

RO aims the cannon carefully, firing a plasma blast that forces the Patroller to leap away a bit giving us room to move.

"Thanks, Star." I grunt. "Let's get the fuck-"

The giant Strelet slams into the two of us, bowling us over and separating us. My shoulder is suddenly on fire and the Linker reports that it's dislocated.

Meanwhile, 15 gets to her feet and…

Her arm's not working, hanging limply by her side.

As I watch, the Buff Strelet takes two steps up to her before she can raise her gun and smacks her towards the tunnel.

Sop runs out and grabs her sister, firing a grenade at the Doppelsöldner closest to her.

40 seconds remain.

I feel my teeth crack with how hard I'm gritting them.

How DARE they.

With my good arm, I start firing the M16 one handed. My aim is shit, but some of the bullets hit my target and it turns around.

"HADWIN!" RO's voice drowns out everything else. "Come here! You need to get out before the charges go off!"

I slide under a truck and crawl out the other side, hiding from the Buff Strelet's view, only about a hundred meters from the tunnel.

Twenty seconds.

The two Doppelsöldners are bearing down on the APC, which is likely still in the blast radius. They need to move, now. The Buff Strelet is smashing something as it nears my position. The Patroller is down the street, blocking the end.

I could have the APC come to get me and see if we can escape to another exit through the Paradeus…

Or…

"RO." I steel my voice. "Get everyone out."

"Wh-" Her eyes go wide. Understanding comes and she stares right at me.

I turn away from the mouth of the tunnel.

"Hadwin, what the fuck-" 45's voice starts raising, but is cut off.

"All units." RO's voice is hard. "We have the info. Time to get it back to Gentiane."

"Wh- but Hadwin's still-" 9 starts to argue.

"RO?" Sop's voice sounds scared. "Why aren't you letting me get him?!"

"RO! Geh zum Teufel!" 416 snarls. "What did you do?!"

"You need to get this info to Gentiane and get to the Pike before Paradeus." I intone.

"Hadwin." Aleah's voice is calm. "You're sure?"

"Yes."

M4 puts the APC into gear and it starts moving away from me at breakneck speed.

"RO!" 15 pleads. "We need to go back!"

"RO!" 45 snarls, her tone indicating a rage almost worse than she's directed at me. "HADWIN! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

I can't see them in the darkness of the tunnel anymore. Just the taillights of the APC, and a set of orange and yellow points of light.

RO's eyes blink once more as I watch, before turning away. "Orders are orders. Good luck, Field Agent."

"Stay safe." I reply.

The charges detonate, collapsing the tunnel.

The APC… was not as far out of the blast zone as I'd have liked. If they're not okay-

I can worry about that later. Right now, I need to focus on Paradeus.

The roof on the tunnel continues to buckle and collapse, blocking not only the entrance, but basically collapsing the entire tunnel. The top of the wall starts to buckle as well, but it settles down. One of the Doppelsöldners is too close and is crushed by the falling roof, but the other one escapes.

"Heh. Hahaha. HAHAHAHA!" Anisim's voice once more reaches me. "What, decided to face me alone? Do you really think you can survive?"

"I dunno." I take a deep breath, close my eyes and grit my teeth. "Okay exo, please…"

The suit responds, putting excruciating pressure on my arm and shoulder. I give out a startled cry as the shoulder slips back into place.

Oh, that feels so much better.

"So, you said you were here?" I snark. "I don't see any pansy ass-"

The truck that I had used to shield me is suddenly ripped apart, and the buff Strelet appears.

"I stand before you." The words boom from the unit in front of me, and not from my Linker. "You killed my flesh, yes, but I still live." He raises his arms up to the sky. "I have been reborn as a Gladiator, with the sole purpose of ending your pitiful life."

"What?" I sneer, picking up my M16 and raising it up to aim at the hulking machine even as it advances towards me. "Finding Pikes too boring?"

He chuckles, the voice echoing off the walls. I am distantly aware that the Patroller is stalking back and the remaining Doppelsöldner is approaching from the rear, but they haven't ended me yet.

Anisim clearly wants to monologue.

"So, what is your plan, Hadwin? I see no other dolls. You've got very limited ammo, and I've got a whole army hidden here." The Gladiator leans down, bringing its ugly mug within a meter of me.

"I'm not a planner. I just wanted to make sure the women I care about make it out." I shrug, though I don't drop my aim. "Though, it would be a bonus if you would just die here."

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot my ticket out of here.

Just in time.

"You've got balls, kid." Anisim stands to his new, fairly imposing height. "A shame it had to come to this."

"Yeah. Shame."

The gun bucks in my hands as three bullets spear into Anisim's left eye.

He roars, and I sprint for my fucking life as the Patroller and Doppelsöldner both start bearing down on me.

I make it around the corner of a road, briefly getting out of sight. Quickly, I hide behind the trash bin, and wait for a brief flash of blue light.

Seconds later, the Gladiator frame sprints past, its voice bellowing in rage, chasing a holographic projection of me.

The Doppelsöldner barrels through right after, followed by the Patroller.

I wait for the heavy footsteps to fade, the angry yelling getting more and more distant, before standing up.

"Hey."

I nod to P90. "Thanks for the save."

"Any time." She grins. "So, what's the plan?"

I can't help but laugh. It's just like always. "The plan?"

"Don't tell me you still don't have one."

"Survive." I shoulder my rifle. "And take out Anisim once and for all."

---

Author's Note:
Man, my chapters are getting bloated. I had to split this and the next into two parts.

Beta Note:
Also, join the server to see the antics Johnny and I here create. It's loads of fun…
discord. gg / 4pTJbbSKR5
As usual, remove spaces and let it rip~!