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.

34. Chapter 34: A Helping Hand

A beach by the ocean. Home.

I blink.

I don't know how I got here. Last I remember…

What was I doing? I seem to remember Anisim-

"Hadwin."

I turn away from the beautiful vista to face my family. Mom, Dad, and Lexi.

The stand outside of dad's car, pulled by the side of the road. Behind them, the city of Sector 3.

Dad steps forward. "Hadwin, we need to go."

"Why?"

Confusion on everyone's faces.

"You need to go to your medal ceremony." Dad once more gestures.

Ah, yes. Medal ceremony. They're giving me a medal for…

For…

Something.

Something important.

Whatever. It's something good.

I start walking back to the car, through the sand.

The sand provides a poor foothold, the seemingly short distance made harder and harder by the ever-increasing hill of sand.

Soon, I'm forced to use my hands as well, pawing at the ground to try to move forward.

Back home where I belong.

The waves crash harder and harder. I glance back to see the beach has turned into a cliff, the water threatening to swallow a whole group of people.

They're looking up at me, eyes glowing brightly.

I pause in my climb, sliding down slightly as the sand continues to shift beneath my feet.

Why aren't they climbing?

Can't they see the huge wave coming to engulf us?

They turn as one, marching towards the sea, as if eager to fight the incoming wave.

I stand up, the sand once more flat ground. I turn to yell out to the group marching to their dooms, but I can't raise my voice.

"Hadwin." Dad's voice, again.

They're right behind me now.

"Please don't go." Mom pleads.

"They're liars! They're trying to trick you!" Lexi's small arms wrap around my torso.

I take a step towards the ocean.

Then another.

Lexi's arms let go, and my whole family is crying behind me. Begging me not to go.

Still, I run forward.

After what could have been hours of running, I arrive at the edge of the cliff overlooking the ocean.

The group of dolls looks up, weapons poised to fire at the incoming wave.

It's gotta be fifty, no, a hundred meters down. It's far too late for them to climb back up. I step back from the cliff, intimidated by the drop.

The wave is getting increasingly closer.

"Hadwin, just come back!"

Three steps. That's all that stands between me and the car.

At the base of the cliff, the gunfire starts.

I turn, and take two painfully slow steps over the edge of the cliff.

The wind whisks past my head, muting everything but the wave rushing inwards.

Then, the wave crashes into the cliff wall.

I spin end over end in my freefall, splashing down headfirst in the water.

Below me, gunfire as the dolls continue to fire fruitlessly ahead, bullets fading hopelessly in the dark.

I try to swim down toward them, the red glow of the water tantalizingly far away.

I can't move.

I can barely breath, the strap around my chest squeezing me uncomfortably tightly.

The gunfire starts to recede, the dolls moving further and further into the uncomfortably warm water-

Get up.

P90 swims in front of me, steel in her eyes.

"I need you to get up."

I open my eyes, and it takes me a second to realize what I'm looking at.

It looks like the interior of an enclosed vehicle, illuminated red.

Nobody else is in the vehicle with me. Outside, I hear gunfire.

Gravity appears to have taken a leave of absence, pulling the wrong way.

No.

I'm upside down. There's straps wrapped around me, holding me in the chair despite the vehicle being upside down. That also accounts for the constricting feeling I have around my chest.

Now that I notice it, my gun and my backpack are on the ceiling.

I fumble with the buckle, trying to undo the clasp. The heat inside the vehicle has made my hands very sweaty.

A shadow passes on the wall, a human standing on the ceiling.

No, not a human.

416 appears in sight, her green eyes contrasting nicely with the flickering red light.

"You're awake. Grossartig." She grabs my shirt and pulls out a knife.

For a second, I think she's about to stab me, but the knife finds itself in the fabric of my harness.

A second later, the only thing saving me from crashing to the ground is 416's solid grip, lowering me down by my shirt.

When my back- or rather, my exo suit- touches the ceiling, she lets go and stands up. "We could use your help."

I nod, noting that my Linker is still both on and attached along with my exo suit.

That's probably not good. M16's warning is still fresh in my head.

"What's going on?" I scoop up my backpack and my gun, though I am acutely aware that I have no ammo for it, or my pistol.

"Paradeus ambush. We had to lure them away from the APC to avoid them blowing it up." She turns the way she came-

Oh, that's fire.

I scramble after her, keeping my head down as we emerge into a small village, the kind that looks like six people decided to settle down near one another in a hilly forest somewhere. I've never actually seen one outside of movies, mind, but this looks like it came straight out of a film set.

Aside from the disrepair, Paradeus corpses lying around, and bullet holes in everything, of course.

The fire is the front half of one of the Paradeus transport vehicles that had been ripped in half. The back half had been holding me, and I'm fairly glad that it was the front that caught fire, or I'd be crispy right about now. As it is, the fire illuminates the late night street and the several enemies currently attempting to locate us in the dark.

I slide into place behind 416 as she comes to a stop. "Where are the others?"

"Just ahead." She stands up, pops a few rounds into a Strelet, and grabs me to pull me behind.

"O-Ow! 416, you don't have to drag me-"

Her grip tightens even as I complain. "Yes, I do. You could do something stupid like try to hold them off by yourself."

I shut my mouth.

She continues to lead me until we arrive at a building with tall stone walls, almost tossing me into the gates being defended by Aleah and AR-15.

The two pink haired dolls barely acknowledge my presence, busy taking down the Paradeus troops.

416 leads me to a bench just out of sight of the front of the building and deliberately sits me down on it. "Stay here."

"Yes ma'am." I try to grin, but she takes off back towards the entrance before I can focus my scattered thoughts enough.

Well then.

I focus my thoughts as hard as I can, trying to figure out what happened.

Okay. I was fighting with Anisim, beating him to death, and then… The Nyto! The Nyto attacked me!

I glance at my arm, seeing a long scar overlaying the vein in my arm.

That part hadn't been a dream.

How is it healed already?

My hand is also better, no longer throbbing under the bandage. In fact, the bandage is gone, leaving nice healed skin on my flesh palm.

I can't have been out long enough for all this to heal, right?

P90 appears out of nowhere next to me on the bench. "You were out for all of six hours."

Ah. It's still… I run a mental calculation in my head. We arrived in Kruševac on Friday, Saturday was dates and anger, Sunday was when I tried to kill Anisim, and then everything went to crap… so it's still Monday.

Just not by much. My clock reads 1903. Only five hours left in the day.

"So, how the hell-"

"HADDY~!"

Sop bowls me off the bench, pinning my arms to the ground as she sits on top of me, examining me with her eyes.

"You're… you're okay!" Her eyes start to tear up. "I thought… I thought you wouldn't make it!"

I smile up at the doll. "Yeah, I'm… well, I'm alive."

She lets go of my arms and leans down, shoving her hands under me to wrap me in a hug.

At least she's not squeezing the life out of me. I wrap my arms around her as well, and she seems happy to just sit there for a minute.

"Y'know." I eventually interrupt the relative peace. "I'm surprised Gentiane let you come and get me."

"She didn't." RO's voice reaches my ears and I glance to the side to see she's sitting in the doorway of the rear garden, arms crossed. "We're not supposed to be here. Sop, go help at the gate. You can hug Hadwin more later."

"Yeah!" Sop springs up, breaking my grip effortlessly and charging ahead almost faster than I can track.

RO walks over to me, carefully staying just far enough away that I can look at her without looking up her skirt.

I really need to talk to whoever told the dolls how to dress. I've gotten flashed too many times recently.

…It's not a doll thing, though. DEFY dolls all wear pants. Come to think of it, M4 wears shorts, yeah?

Maybe it's a status thing.

Sounds stupid, but it's the only thing I can come up with right now.

I sit up. "If you're not supposed to be here then how? Don't get me wrong, I would have died there without you, but-"

"I did tell you." She smirks. "I'm not your average doll. I can override human orders."

"...Including mine. Hmm." I blow out my lips. "So Gentaine doesn't have the data yet?"

"Oh she does. I made sure to drop off UMP 45 before swinging back to get you."

"And Gentiane let you?" I furrow my brow.

"No. Like I said, I overrode her orders. 45 and 9 are back with her, working on the data. I managed to get Sop and 15 away from her before she could countermand my orders, Aleah delivered the information and turned on her heel to march back your way…"

"And 416 is 416." I conclude.

"Exactly."

I haul myself up onto the bench and notice that the rate of gunfire has significantly reduced. "Where are we?"

"Along the old A1 route. We were forced to detour due to a mass of ELIDs, and when we stopped here to see if we could scrounge for fuel, Paradeus ambushed us. Now we don't have a vehicle, so the point is moot anyway." She sighs. "We've been making poor progress for a while, and we're almost to the walls."

"The walls?"

"Gentiane stopped the train outside of Belgrade. They're rebuilding, and we're going to need more resources than we could realistically get onto the train to make it to Estonia. We are going to resupply there before continuing north." She sighs once more. "As long as we make it back to the train, we're gonna get back on. We're also dropping off your family there."

My ears perk up. "My family are just ahead?"

"Yep. You'll be with them soon enough."

I feel a complicated expression cross my face. "Okay. Right." I stand up. "Well, I should probably help-"

RO slams her hands on my shoulders and shoves me back down onto the bench. "No. We came to get you, and we're not going to lose you to something stupid before we get you back in one piece."

"...Understood." I hold up my hands in surrender. "Thanks for that, by the way. I wouldn't have blamed you for tossing me aside after… well."

She nods a few times. "Well… like I said in the hotel breakfast lounge, I know you actually have our best interests at heart. You're a good person, even if you really need to not play hero."

"...Thanks." That really makes me feel a lot better, like a weight I didn't know I carried has been lifted. "For what it's worth, I at least get why you did what you did, even if I don't like it."

"Yeah…" She fidgets a bit. "Er… may I?"

May I? What is she talking about?

At the confusion on my face, her own face falls. "I see."

"Ah, no, I was just- Yeah, sure, you may." I quickly try to cover my ass.

She stops, turns to me-

It takes me a full second to realize she's hugging me, arms wrapped around mine from a fairly awkward angle.

"I'm glad you're okay."

She lets go almost as quickly as she had latched onto me, walking away to try to hide her blush, though never leaving my sight.

…Okay, once again; She's in on the grift, why would she let herself be affected by-

"We're clear." 15 walks back around the corner. "Paradeus has been routed." She glances at RO. "What's up with her?"

"Uh… not quite sure." I pat the seat beside me, and she sits down. "Probably just relieved that we're all okay?"

15 shakes her head before letting it rest on my shoulder. "It's fine. We've got you back… for the moment at least."

There's something off about the way she says it, but I let it go.

Aleah and 416 also show up, Aleah leaning on the fence opposite me and 416 immediately moving to my other side grabbing my hand and intertwining her fingers.

Sop runs over to RO, whispering something to her, and suddenly RO is right back to business mode. She gives me a look. "You stay there. We'll be back in a second."

She and Sop disappear around the corner.

"So…" I look to my left and right. "What happened after I sent you away on the APC?"

15's hand moves around to smack my stomach, and I'm about to respond verbally when 416 pinches me.

"Wha- Hey!"

"That's what you get for worrying us." 15 mumbles, the sound easier to understand through her contact with my shoulder than her actual words.

"Ja. You shall not leave my sight." 416 confirms.

"Okay." I smile slightly. "But I do want to know what you did."

"We delivered the info to Gentiane." Aleah states. "Once we did that, we had to find a different entrance."

"Once we got in, we had to find your location." 416 continues.

"It wasn't hard." 15 snorts. "Just follow the trail of explosions and buildings falling over."

"By the time we caught up with you, you were busy with Anisim. We barely got there before the Nyto decided to join the fight, any longer and you'd probably be dead."

"Speaking of." 15 grabs my arm. "How did you heal so fast? I was about to start doctoring you up when your arms started to close up all on its own."

"...That wasn't you?" I frown.

"We wiped away the blood." 416 confirms. "That was it. Your cuts and wounds started to heal without our help."

I poke my chest, no longer feeling anything wrong in my ribcage. "Oh, I don't like this…"

"Did they inject you with more of that drug?" 416's eyes narrow.

"N… no?" I think back. "They never injected me with anything, or forced me to eat-"

My stomach, having been reminded of the desperate lack of food, chooses this moment to growl.

"In… in any case, I don't think it's either of those." I poke my arm with my free hand, cold metal tracing the new, subtle scar. "So, you five just walked into Kruševac and came to get me?"

"Well, we had a few complications. A few KCCO here, Paradeus there…" Aleah shrugs. "Had to borrow some 5.56 from the local police station."

"It was abandoned. They weren't using it." 416 sticks her nose in the air.

"I'm sure it went to a good cause." I assure her, squeezing her hand.

Some lights turn on down the road, the holes in the wall from the bullets suddenly allowing dots of light to paint the four of us.

15 and 416 prepare their weapons, Aleah picking hers up.

"Hey." RO's voice intrudes over the Linker. "We got one of the Paradeus transports running."

We all relax as she drives the six wheeled vehicle around.

"Looks like we have a ride for the rest of the journey." 15 stands up and offers a hand. "Let's get going."

I get up with her help, only for her to draw me into a short hug, then run off before I can respond.

416 pulls me around on our still interlocked hands before breaking the grip herself and grabbing my face.

Once she has extracted her due, she too continues ahead.

I glance at Aleah, who is standing there and chuckling. "What?"

"Do you hug just anyone, or…?"

"I have to like them." I fold my arms. "Or, you know… sometimes they just hug me without giving me time to react."

"You could order them to stop."

I let my eyes close to half mast. "I could, yes, but nobody seems to listen to my orders."

"I see." She smirks and points back towards the vehicle. "Let's get going."

---

"Ow!"

Sop frowns as she pulls my stump closer to her eyes. "Oh, stop whining, Haddy. If you hadn't messed this up, I wouldn't need to fix it."

On the ride back, I told her about how the hand isn't working properly after I stubbed it, and she had started to try to fix it on the ride back. I decided to distract myself by trying to think about how I could have healed, when the answer was handed to me on a silver platter.

"Nanites."

I'm careful not to let anything on my face betray my surprise at P90's announcement. "Excuse me?"

"You recall Anisim was able to heal in battle?" P90 appears to be sitting across from me, though none of the others acknowledge her, obviously. "When you got injured, the nanomachines in his blood got into yours."

"...Holy shit, our blood did mix." I shudder involuntarily, and both 15 and 416 at my side look up at me in concern. I smile at them, though it's strained. Going back to my conversation with P90; "I'm just glad my body didn't reject his blood. I hear mixing blood types is bad."

"You and Anisim are completely incompatible. It was only the Nanites in his bloodstream that adapted the blood to work with you."

I considered this for a few seconds. "Wouldn't they kill my cells, not his?"

"Originally." P90 grins. "I was able to hack them and turn them to your side." Her grin fades somewhat. "There's not that many left right now. I still have control of them, but unless I can figure out how to control them better and get them to replicate without turning you into goo, you don't have much more healing left."

"Well, I appreciate what I've got."

It's about then that Sop's work ends up zapping me, drawing me back to the real world.

"Ah! I didn't mean to mess my arm up, I was-"

"Yeah yeah." Sop lets go of my arm. "I can't fix it right now."

"...Huh?"

"It requires me to do some intricate work I can't do in the moving car. Just shut off the nerves for now like you've been doing and I'll get it fixed when I can."

"Well… Thanks for looking at it." I plug my hand back on, a sharp spike of pain leaking through the suppression. "I guess I'll just have to go to bed with one hand."

"Or you can keep your Linker on." Aleah smirks.

"...Yeah, I'll pass." I can't help but shudder once more, and P90 nods in agreement.

Not that anyone can see her.

"Hey, we're almost there." RO calls back and I look forward.

If it had been in good repair, I might have mistaken it for Sector 3's wall. As it is, It's almost terrifying. Holes are being patched, people are crawling all over it like ants.

And there's tonnes of corpses. ELID, human, and Paradeus. It's been over a month, but they're still cleaning everything out.

There's a whole bustle of activity at the train station, still small, but growing larger through the viewport. Our destination, I presume. Soon enough, we get close enough to see that temporary structures have been erected and there's people moving between all of them.

RO stops the car at the end of a row of other vehicles and we all pile out, the dolls naturally falling in behind me, as much to watch me and make sure I don't bolt than out of some sort of twisted respect, I'm sure.

I abandon the exo suit in the vehicle for now before disconnecting my left hand, then disengaging the Linker, and letting it dangle around my neck.

For the other people's parts, they take a look at me and either gawk openly or immediately turn away and refuse to look my way. Some of the gawkers look like they had just seen a new type of candy; others like their loved ones, just lost a hand.

And it's my fault.

"W-why are they looking at me like that?" I mutter.

15 plants herself firmly on my side. "The video of you smashing Anisim's face in was sent to Belgrade live."

416 steps up on my other side and glares holes in anyone foolish enough to look hostile.

"Oh." Suddenly, I find I wish I had something to cover my head with. This longcoat doesn't have a hood after all. "Great…"

RO pushes me forward subtly, Sop taking point with her teeth bared, and Aleah casually bringing up the rear… weapon drawn.

Our extremely hostile group continues forward. I weather the stares, eyes forward, only moving my eyes side to side to register the new people that come into view, figure out if it's my family, and continue on.

"Hey, isn't that-"

"It's him. It's the guy-"

I increase my pace so I can't hear what they say, RO no longer forcing me forward.

Coming here was a bad idea. I should have just called someone from outside the camp-

"Sop?"

We all turn to see M4, who had seen the Sop in the lead first.

Sop's face lights up, crouching down for a flying tackle that M4 handily catches, the two smiling at each other like long lost sisters.

RO and 15 also drift over to their sister, leaving Aleah and 416 at my sides. In the close streets of this temporary city, we're still in the way of everyone, so once M4 is done hugging her sisters and exchanging quiet words with them, she beckons us to follow her.

"I wonder where G11 is." 416 mutters. "45 and 9 better not have ditched her."

"I don't think they would." I turn to the worried girl. "You're a team after all."

"G11 is my responsibility. They've made it clear that she's my burden."

"Still." I shrug. "Maybe 45 would, but 9's not gonna ditch."

"…I suppose." 416's eyes once more wander to the faces of the people watching us pass.

"Hadwin, look." Aleah nudges me and I follow her finger.

Three red uniforms like the one on my back, slightly brighter and with gold buttons. Three faces I know. Gentiane, Mikhail, and Kylie.

They're currently talking with someone I completely don't recognize, seemingly not getting anywhere. Sop also spots them and coils up for a spring, only to be arrested by RO's hand grabbing her shirt collar in time. M4 leads the group up to the three commanders.

I straighten myself up, tugging at the creased coat to try to make it look just a little nicer, though at this point, it's basically a lost cause.

Whatever. It's not like I've ever been that presentable anyway.

Mikhail and Kylie notice the approaching group first, being the two not actively engaged in arguing with the man I don't know.

After confirming all of the dolls, both of them lock eyes with me. I stare back, almost challenging them, unable to come up with the effort needed to pretend to be nice.

Mikhail appraises me for a few seconds before nodding to me once and turning back to face the three's current opponent.

Kylie lingers longer, face flickering between approval and discomfort. She raises her voice as we get within hailing range. "Hey, Field Agent!"

This gets Gentiane's attention, her head snapping to the side so fast one might fear whiplash.

The man she had been arguing with also looks in my direction, a spark of fear in his eye as I approach, the dolls parting way so I can draw all of Gentiane's wrath all on myself.

"…You made it back." She notes as if talking about the overcast day.

"Yep."

She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "Okay. I'll deal with you and the traitors-" RO winces, but the other dolls that had come to get me remain steadfast. "-later. In the meantime, Kylie will get you some food."

"I will?" Kylie blinks. "Oh, sure, I'll do that."

"The rest of you, get repaired and rearmed." Gentiane looks pointedly at the dolls that had come to get me. "We've got a job to do."

The dolls turn to me.

"Well, Hadwin." RO stands up straight. "I'll be seeing you."

…That sounds final. I open my mouth to question it, but the others interrupt.

"Haddy, I'll see you later!" Sop waves. "Let's go! I wanna get ready as soon as we can!"

"Hey, hold it you dolt-" 15 chases after her excitable sister, turning to walk backwards. "Hadwin, I'll see you later!"

416 taps my shoulder and turns away. "I'll be back soon."

Aleah is the last one, and she raises her eyebrow.

"I guess you should go with them?"

Aleah nods. "I'll keep an eye on them for you."

"Thanks."

Gentiane watches them go, her face unreadable. Then, she turns back to her adversary, who continues to steal glances at me.

As Kylie walks up and slaps a hand on my shoulder, I can hear him talk in a low voice to Gentiane, probably thinking I'm out of hearing range. "Isn't he the kid that-"

"Yeah." Gentiane cuts him off. "That's him. Back from the dead and ready for round two."

Great. I'm being used for clout.

I let myself get led away from the now-cowed man and to a stall with some seats set up beside it. A delicious smell comes out from the stall, and I find myself drawn to it before Kylie can gesture to it.

Ramen, according to the sign. An East-Asian man smiles as we approach.

"Welcome!" Despite his appearance, he has an Australian accent, probably a refugee from the country.

I sit down on the stool outside the counter. "Hello."

Kylie pops onto the stool beside me. "Two of the pork."

"Comin' right up."

After ordering for both of us, she turns to me. "Seems like you've had quite the adventure."

"Yeah…" I look away. "Not exactly what I wanted to be doing."

"You survived." She shrugs. "That's about all that matters in this world."

"I did." I stare down at my stump, ending in a bunch of electrical contacts that had been jarred aside. "Mostly."

"Cheer up." She grins. "You've got a bunch of girlfriends now, yeah?"

"I have one." I grumble. "The other dolls just… uh…" I frown. "Wait, you know about the plan."

Her smile falters. "Y-yeah, I do. We all did."

I glare at her for a second, but decide to drop it. "...Whatever. You know why they act like they do."

"I do." We pause as the man comes out with two bowls of soup, placing one in front of each of us. "I heard about it from Gentiane." She puts the smile back on her face. "So, what are you gonna do now?"

I'm left handed by default, so I'm still wrestling with the chopsticks in my right hand when she asks that. I stop with the chopsticks halfway to my face, a slice of pork dangling in the air. Hadn't been expecting that question, that's for sure. I resume eating as I think about her question.

"I'm gonna go home." I eventually say. "I was lied to, manipulated, and almost killed a bunch of times. I don't really see a good reason to stay."

Kylie nods. "I get it. Just… You've talked with the dolls about it?"

I open my mouth to respond before deciding I don't want to, instead shoveling more of the noodles into my mouth.

"You really should-"

"Don't you dare guilt trip me." I growl around a bite of food. "I understand you've got an interest in keeping me here, but I'm kinda past the bit where 'but think of the dolls!' will work."

"I understand." Her voice is soothing. "I'm not saying you should stay. I'm saying that, like it or not, you have a relationship with at least 15, yeah? You should probably talk with her about it."

She has a point.

I finish my bowl and glance at the untouched one in front of the Commander. She wordlessly slides it my way, gesturing for me to go ahead.

My stomach still feels pretty empty…

Aware that this is an ingratiating tactic, I nonetheless partake of the food in front of me, hunger winning over appearances.

She waits for me to start eating. "I know you're probably not going to believe me, but I'm actually in agreement with you leaving."

I glance at her, but I have a bunch of noodles dangling from my mouth and can't respond.

"It makes sense for you to leave. Hell, I wanna leave, but I've got debts I need to pay off and I can't afford to quit." She sighs and leans on the counter. "It's not like it's all bad here. I got a few friends and a bunch of dolls that seem to like hanging out with me, but in the end, we get shot at way too much for my liking. If I was on the front lines, I don't know how long I would have survived."

Swallowing, "If you have doll support, probably as long as me at least. It's not like I know what I'm doing."

"Sure, but they're very protective of you for obvious reasons."

I nod and let her continue, instead focusing on my food.

"Anyway, my point was that I get you wanting to leave, and I don't blame you. Frankly, the fact that you have the option is kinda making me jealous. So, if you decide to go… I'll back you."

That's not where I thought that would go. I swallow the last of the food and turn to her. Her eyes seem to indicate she's being earnest, but I'm not the best judge of character.

"Thanks." I pull out my wallet and stare into it for a moment, wondering if I have enough of the Serbian currency left to pay for my food.

"Don't worry about it." Kylie passes the shopkeeper some bills. "I've got you for today." She smirks. "Think of it as a bonus for taking out Anisim."

The two of us get up and start walking back to where we left Gentiane.

"At least I did something useful." I grumble.

"Are you kidding? Taking him out means that we're not gonna have to deal with him when we head up north!" She grins. "You've made our job a lot easier. I'm not sure if I can, but I think I'll try to get you an actual bonus."

"...Why?"

She shrugs. "You deserve it, as far as I'm concerned."

"I-"

"There you are." We both turn to see Gentaine and Mikhail striding up. "We've got a meeting to get to."

I stare at her balefully, but she shakes her head. "Hadwin, it concerns you so you should come." She hesitates. "Unless you're quitting right this second?"

"...I suppose not."

We wend our way through the tent city, four humans in a sea of them. I keep looking for the dolls, but I don't see any of the ones I recognize. A few A-dolls are walking around with enough mechanicals exposed to show they're not human, a sign of disrepair.

The more I look, the more I see how bad the situation really is for everyone.

People are wearing rags out here. Several of them are severely emaciated, virtually none of them are clean, many of them are missing small body parts here and there… The dolls are little better, some operating with broken mechanicals just to have something that works at all.

In the back of my head, I knew about this. I know that most people aren't doing too well. The walls keep people out just as sure as they keep out the ELIDs, and out here, their next meal isn't a sure thing. A-dolls are treated even worse, being the disposable workers that can be thrown at a problem, or so I'm told.

Hearing about it and seeing it are two entirely different things though.

I find that I can't maintain eye contact with any of the people out here. Kylie's talk of paying me more than the sum that I'm already receiving… It feels like I'm spitting in their faces, despite the actual circumstances.

Eventually we get to the Griffin tent, a veritable hub of activity. People swarm the area looking to do work for the apparently rich people who just rolled up in a train, eager for whatever they can get.

We pass them all, heading inside the tent into relative peace and sit down at a small table, just big enough for the four of us.

G36 sets down a tray with some coffee on it, and we each grab a cup.

I take a sip, the chemical stimulant flooding my veins.

"It looks like we'll be able to pull out tomorrow morning." Gentaine finally stops savoring her coffee to address us all. "It's a race against time, sure, but for the moment, we're actually not doing too bad. Paradeus is probably reeling from our activities, at least a little, and we know that the KCCO is still attempting to mobilize."

I blink, wondering why that would be, but decide not to comment.

Mikhail notices my face though, leaning in to whisper to me. "They've got a whole military to pack up, not just a few dozen people and a hundred dolls. Loading something as big as a tank takes time, and they've got a lot of those."

"I suppose that makes sense."

"Ange and DEFY have gone on ahead." Gentaine continues. "Ange isn't at one hundred percent, but she's doing well enough that she can get her dolls to hopefully secure the area before we get there."

"How long is it expected that we're going to need to get there?" Kylie asks.

"About five days, assuming the tracks are all intact." Gentiane sighs. "Last train to come through we've heard about was a week ago and everything was good, though there might be some ELID hordes that'll be in the way."

"We'll just have to hope we don't have to deal with those." Mikhail frowns. "How many dummy links do we have left?"

"About four hundred." Kylie replies.

"Hmm… We'll need to keep combat to a minimum. We can't afford to lose any more before we get to Talinn and Paldiski."

I continue to drink my coffee in silence. I have exactly no head for logistics. I get that it can make or break a fight or a war, but when they start talking about shifting around ammo and how to equip different dummies, my eyes start to glaze over.

I am barely paying enough attention to hear when Gentaine changes subjects. "Now, onto the new train route between Belgrade and Sector 3-"

I interrupted before I realized I had opened my mouth. "But, Sector 3 hasn't had decent railways into it for years! We've gotten all our supplies from the port."

"Which is why we're helping fast track negotiations." Gentiane nods. "Actually, Mayor Panagos is currently discussing the trade route with the Belgrade political types from what I understand. I think she said they were gonna try leveraging their Mediterranean access as a motive for the other side to help fund the new rails."

Wow… a railway in and out? That would make traveling outside our borders so much easier…

"What's that got to do with us?" Mikhail raises an eyebrow.

"Well, I've been working on securing a permanent supply route for Griffin using this new railway. We get in now, we'll be much better off once we get the KCCO off our backs and Statesec start doing their damn jobs."

I once more let their chatter fall into the background, finding that I'm having a hard time focusing on the words, my mind drifting away every few minutes to some random topic or another.

Thinking about the mental tangents sends me into another tangent, my head concluding that what I really need is about ten hours of uninterrupted sleep, but in the process, I manage to miss even more of the planning.

Not that I really think I need to pay that much attention. I'm going to be leaving soon anyway…

Ah, I'm on a tangent again.

I once more try to refocus only for all three of the Commanders to turn, hearing something that I had missed in my exhaustion.

I turn to find two people in the doorway.

Mayor Panagos and Dad.

I barely have time to register their arrival when dad strides over and hugs me.

"Hey dad."

He doesn't speak, just holding me tight.

I wrap my arms around him in return, deciding I don't care who is watching.

"'I'm so glad you're safe." He mutters. "Your mother and I were so worried."

"You know me." I laugh bitterly. "I keep hanging on."

"That you do, Had. That you do."

Dad lets me go and gestures for me to get up. "Come on, let's go see Mom and Lexi."

I get up, glancing back at the three commanders who all nod to me.

Okay.

I walk along behind Dad, once more trying to ignore the sights to either side.

Quickly, we get to a clearing where a bunch of the faces I recognized from the welcoming ball inside Kruševac are waiting.

Mom and Lexi jump up when they see me. Lexi tackles me much the same way Sop tries, but without the force behind it. I'm able to catch her easily. She squeezes me tightly for a second before letting go, her teenage pride not letting her hold onto me for longer than that.

Mom doesn't run, but walks over with a purpose and wraps me in a hug. She rocks me back and forth a few times, content to confirm I'm really here and safe.

She lets me go and gestures for me to join the ring of people around the campfire.

I recognize several faces.

The two former security guards of Myroslav Rud, Gregory and Oleksiy. Lucas. Derrick.

Eva.

I sit down on the seat next to Lucas, whose face lights up as he recognizes me, hand grabbing my shoulder and shaking it. "Dude!"

"Hey." I smirk. "You doing alright?"

"Man…" He shakes his head. "These past few days have been so weird."

"I believe it."

"Also, where's your hand-"

Derrick leans over. "Hadwin, I saw you on TV!" I wince, but Derrick isn't known for his tact. "The beatdown you laid down on that dude in armor? So cool!"

"Yeah…" I say slowly.

"How much of that speech was true?" Lucas asks.

"Speech?" I blink. "Oh. Um… about half? It's not like I was tasked with getting the dolls out instead of myself, just… had a few things get in my way." I look down at the ground. "And, you probably know I wasn't supposed to be the one left behind."

"You shoulda heard Gentiane when she realized we were taking off. I learned a few new swear words." Derrick grins. "She was so mad, I thought she was gonna hulk up and rip the door off its hinges just to yell at you."

"Well she seems to have calmed down a bit." I deadpan. "I guess I helped speed things up enough that she's no longer deciding how many bullets to pump into me."

Mom and Dad sit down a few seats, eyes constantly flicking back over to make sure that I am indeed still here.

"Actually…" Lucas hesitates. "You look like you were pretty messed up back there. How are you doing?"

I roll up my sleeve, showing my relatively unscatched forearm… though, it does draw attention to the fact that my metal hand is completely gone. "It's fine. I… er, I think I accidentally got a bunch of nanites stuck into me, and they healed me up."

"...Huh?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen how effective they were. Brought someone else back from the brink of death."

He nods slowly. "I guess that makes sense, though that kind of tech is supposed to still be a few years out…" He fades away in contemplation.

Derrick once more picks up the conversation. "So, you gonna get a full camera crew following you around?"

I smirk. "Not likely. I think I'm done with TV appearances for the time being."

"Speaking of." Gregory walks over, holding a bottle of beer in his hand. "I wanna hear about what happened inside of the city. I get the impression that there's been quite a lot going on while I sat next to someone guarding them."

"Well…"

"Yeah!" One of the other people from Sector 3, a kid about Lexi's age joins in. "I wanna hear about what you were doing!"

I look around, realizing that there's a lot of eyes on me. In the firelight, I can almost imagine those eyes glowing, but they're all so dull.

"Okay…"

I stand up and proceed to regale the group with my adventures in Sector 3. Heavily edited of course, not detailing the fire in the government building, basically only admitting to the dates at first. I am willing to talk about fighting that occurred after I had tried to assassinate Anisim on stage when he revealed the Patrollers, going from that to escorting DEFY out, though I left out their elite status. Then I covered our retreat from the hotel, finding the Paradeus factory-warehouse that I destroyed with the Uhlan, then the helicopter plan.

I can see that the people that had been to some of these events seem like they don't agree with the way I'm describing the events, but I am purposely trying to keep my own perceived involvement down if only to not freak out my parents.

I then describe running from the helipad after blowing it up, getting the hidden data from the KCCO and then being split from the group.

I avoided talking about P90, going berserk in the Uhlan, or murdering Ricardo. No need to say those things out loud, and for once, I can use the excuse that there are children listening.

When I get to splitting up, I find myself hesitating, not sure how much I can share and eventually deciding that the answer is 'nothing.'

"-so I had to hide, running around from cover to cover for most of the day until I got caught between the KCCO and Paradeus. They both thought I still had the key, so." I shrug. "You saw the rest."

"Holy shit." Derrick stares up at the stars. "You survived running from mechs all by yourself?"

"...yeah." I duck my face, but I'm sure a bunch of people caught that there's something I'm not telling them. "I-in any case, I got rescued by the dolls and now I'm here."

Dad clears his throat drawing attention to himself. "Er, son… Did you pretend to have the key so that the KCCO would stop attacking the city?"

"Well, yeah." I blink. Oh, right, that was broadcasted too-

"So the only reason the city didn't get shelled is because you were busy running around?"

"Nnnnnnno…" I drag out, trying to come up with something. "It's not like I was responsible for the city. In fact, if it was anyone else, the KCCO wouldn't have been shelling the city in the first place." My eye twitches. "It's kinda my fault the KCCO didn't immediately come after Gentaine and the rest of Griffin. It works out for us, but the city did get pretty messed up." I shudder thinking over just how many buildings and vehicles I had destroyed or been a part of destroying.

"But, you did make sure they didn't get shelled."

"...Yes."

"Dude." Derrick starts laughing uncontrollably. "Dude! You're a fuckin' hero! Not only for Sector 3, but Kruševac too!"

"No, I'm not. Heroes-" I start only to be cut off.

Lucas slugs my shoulder, interrupting me. "Just let it happen."

I glare at him, but drop it after a second.

The rest of the crowd starts to talk excitedly about the tales they'd just been told.

I retreat back into myself, smiling and nodding along with the excitable people celebrating the return of their hero.

Though, internally, I can feel the distance between everyone growing.

I'm not a hero.

I just wanted to save about twenty people, twenty dolls, and I went out of my way to do that.

Is stupidity the same thing as being heroic?

Heroes are characters in stories anyway, not real people. I didn't set out to make everyone happy, just a few dolls. That's all I cared about. Well, Maybe a little bit for everyone else, but I have some very selfish reasons for leaping into battle.

I come out of my funk when Lucas turns back to me and drops the bombshell. "So, you're coming back with us, right?"

"...Huh?"

"We're going to be convoying back with a delegation from Belgrade." Mom confirms. "Mayor Panagos has already set the date for tomorrow morning."

Tomorrow morning?

"Actually, thanks to your actions, Sector 3 is getting a new railway!" The chief of police says, I'm a bit too tired to recall his name. "You've done a lot for our home, kid."

"Yeah. That's… great."

"Cheer up!" Lucas elbows me. "Your name will be written down and told as a story for future generations!"

My eye twitches.

The mood becomes weird as people start to realize how unenthusiastic I seem about the topic, and the party starts to settle back down a bit, much to my relief.

"Say, Hadwin."

I glance over at Derrick.

"Do you wanna spar? With those nano-whatevers, you should be all fixed up, yeah? We never got to after you broke your leg." He glances at my wrist. "Well, uh… maybe we could wait until you get your hand back."

"Sure, why not?" I shrug. "I can wrap my arm in a towel or something."

"Hell yeah!" Derrick leaps to his feet, and much faster than I anticipated a ring of sorts has formed.

Someone ever produces boxing gloves for the two of us.

I have to get help to carefully pad up my stump and slip the glove on, the large padded glove feeling like it's just dangling but it at least is staying on. I punch the air a few times to feel it out, and… well, it's not like I'm gonna be able to do much anyway.

I don't have my Linker, exo suit, access to guns-

Oh, I'm regretting this already. I can see my future, and it's full of bruises. I'm not going to be able to do a full spar like this.

Derrick pulls on his gloves and looks over at me. "First to three good shots?"

"What, you only wanna hit me three times?" I give him a lopsided smile. "I'm not really that good of a fighter."

"I saw you take on a guy in a suit of armor." She grins. "And you won."

"A fluke, really."

"We'll see about that."

The crowd around the impromptu ring has grown even more, lit unevenly by the barrel of fire that is off to one side.

The two of us square up. I had sparred a few times with Kylie and Mikhail before, but never against someone who was seriously trying to hit me.

"Begin!" Someone yells and Derrick suddenly leaps at me.

For a brief flash, I feel like I'm back in high school, Derrick bullying a kid, me trying to distract him and getting beat up myself. It happened more times than I particularly remember, and his face still gets that ecstatic grin when he's winding up for a punch.

Kinda looks like a male Sop.

I step backwards just enough that he's forced to overextend himself trying to throw his punch, and I lift my front leg to kick at his stomach.

He sidesteps, then brings his glove right into my face.

The glove takes most of the impact out, but it still comes as a shock and stumbles me backwards somewhat.

That's one.

I step back in and snap out with my hand, jabbing him in the stomach with my good hand before he can retreat, his eyes widening as he realizes that for the first time I was actually able to counter.

I skip back a few steps and once more settle into a stance.

"Oh, this is gonna be FUN!" He practically yells.

Oh shit.

I focus every fiber of my being on dodging his strikes as he steps back in, arms swinging with tightly controlled movements like those I had seen from the humans training on base that had known what they were doing.

While dodging, I tried to look for openings, not that he had many. In fact, I do actually spot a few but too late to actually do anything about them, my untrained body not keeping up with my panicked mind.

He snaps out a kick that slams into my stomach, knocking the wind right out of me, coming in for another blow as a follow up.

I go to one knee holding up both of my arms to surrender. "Okay! You've got me!"

He falls back into a stance before blinking and realizing that I had given up. "Ah, shit. You okay bro?"

"Yeah." I stand back up and suck in some painful air. "Man, I'm really bad without that exo suit, aren't I?"

He laughs. "Well, you're better than back in high. I actually felt that gut punch!"

Lucas breaks from the circle. "You're okay Hadwin?"

"Yep. Just winded." I tap his shoulder. "Thanks though."

He nods.

"...Hey." Derrick's eyes narrow and he strokes his chin dramatically. "If I can breat the hero, does that make me the villain?"

"Nah, you're his eternal rival." Lucas smirks.

Derrick throws his arm around my shoulders and pulls a cheesy pose. "Yes! Us two, friendship forged in flame, we shall save this universe from the threat of the alien menace!"

I can't help myself. "But they have Pikes."

"W-well…" He blinks. "We'll just have to use the power of friendship to overcome!"

The crowd laughs and the mood is once again cheery.

I head towards the edge of the circle, aiming for a few familiar faces.

When I get there, I notice a few figures in the background.

Glowing eyes. Multiple sets.

As they realize I'm looking their way, they turn.

I start to push through the people, smiling at the people congratulating me and trying as politely as I can to get past them.

A hand grabs my shirt and I round on the owner, ready to snap at them.

It's Eva, looking fairly small, and my anger dies in my throat. "Um… can I have a bit of your time?"

I glance back, but there's no sign of the dolls.

"...Sure." I try to keep my voice even. "What's up?"

She pulls me gently away from both the light and the crowd, to a smaller tent off to the side. "Um…" She tries to begin, words catching in her throat.

I try to relax, forcing myself not to seem impatient or to look around for the dolls. Whatever this is, it's probably important.

"H-Hadwin." She fidgets, but has evidently found her voice. "Er… I know that this is kind of sudden, but…" She hesitates, closes her eyes and cliches her hands. "I've liked you for a while, can we please go out?"

…Huh?

My brain short circuits, parsing her words. I'm not entirely surprised to hear she likes me. I kinda figured that one out back in Kruševac, but for 'a while'?

I stare at her, and apparently now that the dam of her words has burst, the flood comes forth. "I, I know that you have those T-dolls you like, but since you're coming back with us, I figured that I might have a chance again. And, I mean, it's not like you're going to completely cut them out, right? I wanna be a doll designer now that Sector 3 is opening up, so you and I could work together on that. Not that you have to, but-"

I gently put my hands on her shoulders. "Breathe."

She huffs a few times, her chest rising and falling as she tries to reset her brain, her face visibly red even in the flickering firelight. "S-sorry."

"It's okay." I let go of her and stand there awkwardly. "Er… lemme process that a bit."

"I… I realize that you're currently in a relationship, but!" She suddenly clutches her hands again, stepping into my space. "They're not human!"

"Yeah… I know." I frown. "...Uh, see… that's not really a problem for me. A-and, I'm flattered that you like me! That's… not something I would have ever considered." I scratch my face. "But-"

"H-hold on!" She throws her hands up. "Before you say no, can you please think it over? Just for tonight, before we head back."

"...Sure." I promise, though I feel like the pit in my stomach is starting to grow. "I'll think about it."

"That's all I can ask, I suppose." She hesitates, then steps right up in front of me, face upturned.

…She's asking for a kiss.

Even with my recent history of kissing multiple girls in succession, I hesitate. Unlike the others, this one isn't a doll. She's a flesh and blood human just like me.

My mouth works silently, trying to articulate that something is wrong but unable to find words until I hit a realization.

I don't like Eva.

She's a fine person, but she's not someone I really care about one way or another, aside from a vague sense of camaraderie from being classmates.

I just don't know her.

That's not to say I dislike her or that I could never come to love her. I hear humans date first, then fall in love once they get to know one another, but…

I have a few people I love.

None of them are human, but what does that matter?

I wrap her in a hug instead, hoping the dark hides my troubled face well enough. "Well, we should probably get back."

"Y-yes." She nods into my shoulder. "I'll… I'll be waiting for your answer!"

We seperate, and she runs back to the circle of people, who are now watching another fight.

I follow more slowly. Watching the stars above instead, the glittering in the night reminding me of robotic eyes staring back down at me from above.

I walk up to mom and dad after a minute or so of staring up. "Hey…" I begin.

"There you are!" Mom beams. "We've got a place for you in the tent all set up."

"Soon we'll all be back in Sector 3 and we can rest." Dad nods. "I'm thinking about taking a few days to hang by the beach and do nothing."

"That sounds good." Lexi yawns. "I wanna sleep in my bed again."

"...R-right, uh, I need to… say goodbye." I wince. "T-to the dolls."

Dad looks at me. "So you are going home with us?"

"That's… the plan." I have been saying it for a few days now.

I had thought I was resolved.

Now, with less than a day to go, suddenly it feels so real, and my chest is starting to hurt. "I-I'll be back."

"Alright." Dad claps a hand on my shoulder. "Our tent is that one right there." He points. "Just come in when you're done."

"...Tell them that they're welcome to visit." Mom says to my surprise. "Especially Belle- ah, S.A.T."

"I will." I start backing out of the circle, my body screaming at me to hurry back to the dolls, my Echelon 11.

No.

I can't.

I already decided I'm going home.

My feet quicken despite my instructions, my heart beating faster and faster despite my instructions to the contrary.

Before I know it, I'm running towards the Griffin tent.

Once I arrive, I skid to a stop outside of it, eyes darting around to see if I can identify any dolls.

Nope. Not a single one.

Gentiane's face appears in the tent entrance, looking at me. "Hadwin?"

"Hey." I glance around again. "Where's… uh…"

She crosses her arms. "You know, this is probably the best time."

"Huh?" I blink.

She gestures for me to follow her and I climb into the pavilion after her.

She gestures for me to sit down across from her at a table and an exhausted looking Kalina walks over, giving me a faint, sad smile before dumping a folder on the table.

I wonder about that until Gentaine pushes the folder towards me. It's got my name on it, and opening the folder shows me a form I had signed a while back.

The contract.

"You've said a bunch of times that once you were out of the city, you'd be resigning. Here's the paperwork."

I flip through the pages in a daze. Most of it is my contract, in all it's small text and legalese that I usually associate with my Dad's job. The last few pages are the only ones not filled out, describing an NDA ensuring I don't purposely leak classified information, some generic formalities ensuring I don't defect to another PMC… Details of my severance. I don't get to keep the Exo suit, Linker, or any of the guns or equipment.

Instead, I get a bunch of money.

"Uh…" I point to the document. "There's a few too many zeros on here."

"Really?" She takes it and looks where I had indicated. "No, that's how much we decided on." She sets the paper back in front of me and folds her hands. "Hadwin, I'm going to be clear with you."

I sit up straight, sensing how serious she's being.

"While tempers were high in Kruševac, and understandably so, we've both had a chance to calm down and figure out some things. At least, I have. I… probably stepped over the line with hiring you under false pretenses. I will not defend my actions; You and I both know why I did what I did, and I still think I made the right choice. I will acknowledge that my actions caused you in particular harm and I'm willing to pay you for that." She taps the number on the paper. "This is for several things. One, it's for the damage caused to your person, having lost two parts of your body. Another bit of it is just how much hazard pay you've gotten for going above and beyond. A third section of it is apologies for lying to you. Money doesn't actually equate, but it's better than nothing. The rest is your pay as a Field Agent."

I once more stare at the figure. It's more than my dad makes in a year.

It's more than my dad made in several years.

It's more money than I'd ever thought I'd see outside of a news site describing a bribe.

"Ah. So, it's a bribe to keep my mouth shut."

She hesitates. "Well, not really. We're not forcing you to stay quiet about day-to-day things about Griffin, just don't describe overall missions or goals. If you do, people will die, and I'm fairly certain that you're not that enthusiastic about that."

I nod and continue looking at the paper.

"If you want to badmouth Griffin or myself, we're not legally in a position to stop you. I'd obviously appreciate it if you didn't, but…" She trails off and shrugs.

I continue reading.

The next few lines are small things I don't really register, until I get to one that confuses me. There's a line about… a radio?

I tap it a few times, thinking to myself.

"What's up?" Gentiane looks up from her phone.

"Trying to figure out this one." I point. "What's a XM355v4?"

"Satellite radio." She sighs. "Like it not, there's a bunch of dolls that have a relationship with you. I'm not quite stupid enough to think you leaving is going to go well with everyone, especially not the three that are still not revived."

AEK, Ithaca, and S.A.T.

"So, I'm going to give you a satellite radio. There will be times where you can't talk to us anyway due to operational requirements, but you'll be able to talk to them sometimes. We'll work that out when we can. You can see that we're required to get it to you within 30 days, right?"

"Yeah."

There's not much left, to be honest. Just a place to sign for me, Gentiane's signature already in place, and a date.

She pushes a pen across the desk towards me.

I can kinda write with my right hand, but it'll be a bit messier than I'd like.

Not like I have a choice right now though.

I pick up the pen, mind elsewhere thinking at the speed of light.

This is what I want.

To be free of Gentiane's grasp.

To stop being manipulated.

I'll get a lot of money and I can go back to my peaceful life. Hell, I'll be able to live like a king back home.

No 3 AM wake ups to go shoot the enemy.

No trying to stealth my way through a building.

No being shot at.

I won't have to watch anyone die, by my own hand or others.

This isn't a decision! I've already made up my mind, I'm LEAVING!

I uncap the pen clumsily and go to place the tip on the page, but something stays my hand.

I'll be able to talk to the dolls. To 15. To all of the Griffin dolls, S.A.T. and Sop and Tokarev…

"Uh, what about 404?"

She raises an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"Will I be able to talk to them?"

"If they have a satellite phone. I doubt they're incapable of finding one. 45 might even have the hardware built into her, I don't know."

"...Yeah."

"What are you waiting for?" She sets down her phone. "Having second thoughts?"

"And third, and fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh thoughts." I set down the pen and massage my right temple. "...Will I at least be able to say goodbye?"

She glances away, something that I actually manage to catch. "Most of them, yes. Like I said, there's a few that haven't been revived yet, while Sop, 15, and RO are currently on a mission as punishment until later. 404's somewhere else in the camp, you'll have to ask 45 what she's doing. She's not been very receptive to my calls today."

"What about Aleah?"

"She's not Griffin. She'll be released to your custody once the contract is signed. She's going to be stripped of her fire control core, obviously, but everything else should remain the same."

"...Okay." I pick up the pen, my stomach dropping hard as the pen comes down, every nerve screaming at me to stop.

But why? I'm not losing anything… It's not like I'll never see them again. I'll be in contact. This action increases my survivability, something that's been pretty low up until now. I'll have money.

I just won't actually see them for a while. Who knows how long?

I take a deep breath and scratch my signature into the paper, making my separation from Griffin official.

"Well." Gentaine takes the folder once I stuff the papers back inside. "I guess that's it then."

"..."

"It's been a month, but it's been a very full month." She stands up and holds out a hand for me to shake.

I reach out and grasp her hand, though for some reason the sensation is mildly numb, like my brain isn't quite catching up with reality.

She brings me to Kalina, who doesn't look me in the eye as she pulls out everything in the backpack, stuffing my clothes back in and leaving out all the gadgets and weapons. She also takes the tac vest and the handgun.

They give me back the backpack with my clothes in it.

"Since you're here, let's have you say your goodbyes." She gestures for me to follow her, the folder tucked under her arm.

I hadn't really noticed it, but the large tent Griffin is using as its base is right next to the train track and a dilapidated old train that must have been their ride here.

She bangs on the side, and the cargo door of the nearest car slides open to reveal a set of ruby eyes glowing in the dark, the light from inside the train framing her silhouette. The large bow in her hair pegs her as Tokarev immediately.

She sees me and immediately hops out of the train, skipping over to me.

"Tokarev." Gentiane stops her before she gets to me. "Send a message to… well, everyone from Echelon 11, I suppose, telling them to come here, priority 3."

"Even M4?"

Gentiane looks at me, and I shrug.

"You can leave her out. Just tell everyone else."

"Da." Her eyes glaze for a second, and a clattering can be heard from the train car.

Seconds later, six faces appear in the light, silhouetted just as Tokarev had been before they hop down and walk over.

Aleah, NTW, SV-98, M200, and Mk23 I had expected, but not P90. The doll looks around nervously, trying to figure out what's going on.

Only six, and one of them doesn't even want to talk to me, I'm fairly sure.

I guess that makes sense. DEFY and 404 aren't here, Echelon 11-1 has been gutted leaving only Aleah. 11-2 had survived in their entirety. Anti-Rain is not available, so…

"I'll give you all some privacy." Gentiane looks at her watch. "You have… ten minutes."

The dolls glance at her questioningly, but stay with me as she turns and heads back towards the front of the tent.

"So." Aleah folds her arms. "Leaving?"

The other dolls snap to look at her, then back to me as I nod.

"Just signed the paperwork."

She nods. "What's going to happen with me?"

"You're… technically my property, so you can come with me."

She nods. "I understand. I will see about getting myself cored. Please spend this time with the others."

They all look at me as Aleah steps back into the train car.

"You're… going?" M200 steps up and grabs my sleeve.

"Yeah." I sigh, reaching out to pat her head. "I realized I had a problem with Gentaine and I'm going home for a while."

"Will you be coming back?" SV grabs my shirt. "You're coming back, right?"

"I want to." I say truthfully. "But, I don't know how likely that is. I'm a civilian now. I can't go with you to certain places. Like, warzones."

She digests this, allowing NTW to speak up in her usual dour manner. "We'll be able to communicate, right?"

"Yeah, I'm getting a satellite phone."

Mk23 suddenly runs up and wraps her arms around me. "I'll miss you, darling."

Tokarev joins in on the hug from behind, burying her face into my back.

M200 also joins in a second later, followed by SV and even NTW, the five dolls holding me in place, strength so much higher than me that I couldn't move if I wanted to, but yet gentle enough that I barely feel pressured.

My eyes start to water.

"S-so!" SV suddenly speaks up, her voice falsely cheerful. "What are you gonna do when you get back to Sector 3?"

"I'm still thinking about it." I smile at her.

"You should sew." NTW says, pulling out something from her jacket.

The patch I made.

"You're good at it."

The others let go, each of them pulling out their patches. NTW actually produces several more than just hers, three of them. From Echelon 11-1.

Right.

"I'm gonna keep wearing this." SV proudly holds the fabric out. "It shows that we were once an invincible squadron that saved cities!"

"Yeah!" Mk23 jingles her bells, dancing a bit, her tail waving back and forth. "It's proof that we are a group, despite the distance that separates us!"

Tokarev looks up at me. "Thank you for the knife."

"Of course." I pat her head, careful not to disturb the bow. "...Just be careful with it."

"Da."

The dolls keep chatting with me, reminiscing about our short month together, our final time dwindling down to nothing with alarming speed. P90 remains silent, but she's been paying attention, and the others sometimes turn to her to explain something or another as we recall things.

Eventually, Gentiane comes back, breaking into the conversation when there's a lull, unwilling to interrupt us.

"Girls, it's time."

SV turns back to me and wraps me in one final hug. "Thank you, Hadwin."

She lets go and heads into the train, but I don't get the chance to follow her with my eyes as M200 takes her place grabbing me.

Then Mk23, her tail winding around my leg.

Tokarev, her chin digging into my chest as she looks up at me even as she hugs me.

NTW, whose face develops a faint blush as she imitates the others.

Finally, P90 takes a deep breath. "Well, Haddy…"

"Good luck, P90." I nod. "Take care of yourself, yeah?"

She grins. "Of course."

Once she heads into the train, Gentiane turns to me. "Said your goodbyes?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Well…" She looks at her watch. It's almost ten PM. "It's time for you to leave."

"...Right." I walk with her through the emptying tent, most of the Griffin staff already having left. "You're leaving early in the morning?"

"Around 0700, yes."

"...Can I come say goodbye to everyone?"

"Of course." She sighs. "I'm not heartless. At least, I try not to be. I'm just also running a war."

"I get it." I nod. "Sorry."

She claps a hand on my shoulder. "Well, as much of a pain in my ass as you've been… it's been an interesting month. I'm glad to have met you, even if it wasn't the same for you."

"It's certainly been something." I laugh nervously. "W-well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Goodbye Hadwin. Good luck with your future endeavors."

"You too."

We both head different directions down the street framed by tents, me towards where my parents are sleeping, and Gentiane… wherever she's going.

I stop moving, only to realize that my whole body is shaking, like a diabetic person without insulin.

Uncontrollable.

I've done it.

I'm free.

…Why am I not happy?

15's face appears in my head, and I wish I could talk to her.

Just… talk to her.

A take a few steps.

Wait.

I have an idea.

Carefully, I pull my walkie talkie out of my pocket, set it to 15's frequency, and key the push-to-talk. I think I was supposed to surrender this with my backpack, but- "Hello?"

"...Hadwin?" 15's voice is a whisper.

"Hey. Um… where are you?"

"I'm standing guard on the edge of the tent city. What's up?"

"I… need to talk to you."

She pauses. "Sure. Give me a few minutes. I'm right beside the section where the train tracks leave heading north."

"I'll be there in five."

I'm probably not supposed to be doing this, but, what do I care?

I walk along the train, stepping onto the tracks once I pass where it is parked for the night.

Soon, I come to the edge of the tents, looking out on a plain with uncut grasses dominating the ground.

I look around, spotting two points of pink light looking back at me in the dark.

I hold myself back from sprinting over, limiting myself to a quick walk.

"Hey Had-"

I wrap her in a hug so tight that her words get cut off. She pauses a second before returning the hug.

I savor the moment.

Soon, I won't be able to do this.

"Star, I'm sorry."

She looks up at me, sees my face's horrible state, and points to a decrepit bench that she had probably been sitting on until recently.

"What are you sorry about?" She asks as we sit down.

"I… I signed the paperwork." I admit. "I'm no longer part of Griffin."

"...Oh." Her face falls. "I was hoping you wouldn't."

"...Yeah." I lift my left arm to wrap it around her, then realize that that might not be welcome.

She leans in, resting her head on my shoulder and pulling my arm around her like a coat, dispelling my worry. "So, this is goodbye?"

"No. Yes. Um, it's complicated." I scratch my head with my right hand. "I'm gonna get a satellite radio so we'll be able to talk."

"I see."

We stare out into the darkness, the wind blowing the long grasses in long susurrations barely visible in the fireight of the many fires in the tent city.

"At least you'll be safe." 15 says.

"Hmm?"

"In Sector 3. You'll be safe there. It should be quiet at least, it's far enough from the warfront that you should be safe."

But… "But you're not going to be."

"That's… my life." She snuggles into my shoulder a bit more. "I have to protect M4, there's no way she's not going to chase down this lead. She's my sister, my friend."

A wan smile crosses my face unbidden. "No fair, preempting me asking you to come with me."

She chuckles a bit. "I doubt 16lab or Griffin would let me go anyway."

"It's not fair."

"It never is." She sighs. "It's been a wonderful month."

"It has?" A more genuine smile crosses my face. "I mean, some parts were fun, but…"

"I got to go on a date in a white zone and see the Mediterranean for the first time. I met a bunch of nice humans, and training and fighting with you is… fun, in an exasperating way."

"Gee, thanks."

She lifts up her head and grins. "You really suck at tactics, yeah?"

"Hey! I've been learning!" I throw a pout on my face. "RO's been teaching me…"

"Hasn't improved you by that much." She once more looks out over the plain in front of us. "We're not going to be able to do this again."

My arm tightens around her. "Maybe." I hedge.

"You know Hadwin, I like how you have such a positive attitude. We are up against both the KCCO and Paradeus. One is the Spetznaz, a rogue faction of the Russian military. The other is some mysterious high-tech cult that appeared from nowhere and started to blow things up. There's not much chance we're going to survive the following week."

Her voice is gentle but firm, forcing my immediate rejection of her words to die in my throat.

"I just hope we're able to find our answers."

"...I don't think anyone ever told me what you were looking for." I sigh, letting my head rest on top of hers. "But I hope you find those answers too."

A comfortable, if sad, silence descends between the two of us, looking out into the interminable dark.

She moves her head, tucking down to my chest and wrapping her arms around me and squeezing. Not hard enough to hurt, but so tight that I feel like it's harder to breathe.

I move my arms to cradle her in return, allowing me to feel her back as it jerks slightly with every hiccup.

She's probably crying.

I know I am.

"You are my Star."

She nods, not lifting her head from my chest.

"A-and… I love you. I won't forget you." I assert.

She suddenly grabs my shirt, pulling herself up to my face height. Her bright pink eyes come closer and closer until her face meets mine, soft lips against mine.

Her arms wrap around the back of my neck to keep us close.

I lose track of time, brain too focused on the woman in front of me to think about anything as stupid as that.

I just want to savor every bit of this moment, this one moment that will be ending all too soon.

We'll go our separate ways.

She finally decides to break the lip lock, and in the glow of her eyes I can see small tears. "I love you too, Hadwin."

I can't do anything but cling to her, eyes watering anew.

Once more, my brain refuses to accept the reality in front of me.

I will be leaving.

She won't be coming with me.

I hold her tight as I can, muscles trembling to try to draw her in closer, to hold her tighter, like that will extend our time together.

Alas, all good things come to an end.

I hear someone start to yell, only to be cut off moments later. I recognize the voice, and 15 obviously did too, relaxing her grip before wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

I watch as her pained smile reverts back to her usual mildly pissed expression before I turn in the direction of the sounds.

As I had expected, two sets of glowing eyes. One pair of red, one yellow and orange.

Sop and RO walk up to us.

"Saying goodbye?" RO asks.

"Yeah." I nod. "Signed the paperwork."

"I see."

Sop sits down on my opposite side. "Um, Haddy, are you really leaving?"

"I am." I pat her head.

"You should just come with us." She mutters, voice small and child-like. "We can't protect you if you're nowhere near us."

"Sop, he'll be safe in Sector 3." 15 points out. "He's not likely to survive the upcoming battle if he comes with us."

RO grimaces. "As much as I hate to agree… It's a good thing he's not coming with us. He'll be safe."

"But-!" Sop jumps right back up to her feet and whirls around to glare at us. "It's not right!"

"He's still mostly a civilian, Sop." RO walks over to the irate dog, but she ducks away and puts her hands on her hips.

"NO! I don't care what he is, he's still our Haddy! I'm not gonna give him up!"

"Sop-"

"Why aren't you two mad?!" Sop yells, her voice growing louder and louder. "You both like him too! Why aren't you insisting he come with us? I… I don't wanna lose more of my family! Not again!"

Tears fill her eyes, and this time RO is able to grab her in a hug as the blonde breaks down sobbing.

I can't say anything, staring down at the ground, heart actively being run through a woodchipper.

"We're not gonna lose him." RO soothes. "We'll know where he is, and we'll be able to talk to him. He'll be safe."

I manage to say something after a few false starts. "I'll make sure to talk to you whenever I can, okay?" I stand up and hesitate on touching her shoulder with my stump, forgetting I don't have a hand attached right now.

"...Okay." She sniffs, eyes looking down at my arm. "O-oh. I never fixed your hand."

"That's fine, I'll get someone-"

"No!" She breaks free from RO and grabs my arm, sniffing once more. "I'm gonna fix it! If you're not gonna come with us… t-then, I can at least… at least…"

Her face pinches as she starts to cry again, and I have to wrap her in a hug to try to calm her down.

…This sucks.

It sucks, but… I can't do anything about it.

It's too late.

It's always too late.

---

Once we got Sop calmed down, Sop managed to find an unused table to fix my wrist at, adjusting the small exposed bits carefully.

It felt like someone was playing with my nerves, but I had 15 anchoring me down to keep me from ripping my arm out of Sop's grip.

Once it was done, RO promised she would get my hand back to me by tomorrow.

I said my goodbyes, kissed Star briefly once more, and then they had to report back to the train.

I wander back to the tent, feeling empty.

Two parts of me fight with each other; One insisting that I'm doing the right thing, staying away from Gentiane's clutches; The other screams and screams that if I lose 15 or 416 or even 45, I will never be happy again.

It's not like I can just force my heart to change its mind.

Then again, if I go with them, I'm unlikely to survive.

My head's still going in circles when I feel a hand tap my shoulder.

I turn around-

45 had backed up two paces while I turned around, and once I faced her and registered her presence, she leaps forward like Sop.

I catch her easily, arms wrapped around her.

She holds the hug for a few seconds before abruptly ending it. "Glad to see you're okay."

"...You too. Where have you been all day?"

"Oh… around." She changes the subject. "Hey, do you have a few minutes?"

I bite my lip. I should probably head back and go to sleep. I've got an early morning if I want to be by the train to see everyone off. "Yeah, I have a few. What's up?"

She hooks her arm in mine, pulling me away from the tent. "So… I've been thinking."

"Uh-oh."

She smirks. "Oh, don't worry. I think you'll enjoy what I have planned."

"You have to realize that doesn't actually make me feel better."

"That's why I said it that way." She shrugs happily. "Anyway, here's what we've decided. We're going to be heading back to Sector 3 with you."

My train of thought derails so hard that I smack into a defunct light pole that had yet to be knocked down.

45 snickers as I recover myself.

"Owww… Man, you really got me with that one."

"I'm sorry, it was too perfect timing." Her smile becomes less mischievous. "But, I wasn't lying. I discussed it with 416 and 9. We'll be heading to Sector 3 once we've… settled a few things."

"I… wow. I never considered…" My mouth fails to keep up with the pace my mind is going, thoughts spinning wildly.

Her face once more takes on the playfully evil expression she normally wears. "416 was crying her eyes out, begging me to let her go with you."

"Uh-huh."

"Even 9 was trying to make excuses. Eventually they wore me down, and we figured out what it would take to move into Sector 3."

"Yeah?"

She nods. "It's unfortunate, but we're… kind of in debt at the moment. Living as an illegal doll is fairly expensive, you see."

"I have-"

"Nowhere near enough." Her expression tinges with sadness, and I feel my heart dropping out again. "We've got a plan in place to earn what we'll need."

"Can't you just sneak in?"

"It's not a good idea for us to leave these debts unsettled. People would come to collect."

"...Oh."

"So, we're going to come clean. Get out of this life as much as we can."

I nod. "Are you still going with Gentaine then?"

She shakes her head, much to my shock. "No. We've picked up some lucrative jobs in Belgrade. If we do things around here, we'll make it back to Sector 3 faster. Besides…" She looks away, toward the north. "That mission is likely to be one way."

Right.

And 15 and RO and Sop and the rest are going-

My heart seems to have stopped for a second, but I manage to get it back started with a thump to my chest.

She doesn't comment on my actions, probably guessing what I'm thinking. "So, we'll be in Sector 3 before you know it, and we'll even be clean."

"That's-"

We round a corner and both 416 and G11 come into sight. 45 lets me go and pushes me towards 416, who wastes no time in drawing me into a tight hug.

…I was going to say, 'That's too good to be true'.

Instead, I draw my arms around her and return the embrace.

G11 grabs both of us, her smaller arms not able to wrap around the two of us though she tries her best.

The puddle of emotions that had been in my head for the past few hours continues to get muddier, the elation of suddenly not losing 404 mixing with the horrible knowledge that the rest are heading into hell.

I push those thoughts away, trying to just enjoy 416's presence.

She eventually lets me go slightly, just enough that she can grab my face in a familiar gesture.

By the time she lets me back up for air, the final member of 404 had poked her head out of the tent. Only her head, the rest of her tucked back into the tent like a sleeping bag.

9's face is even more sour than usual, eyes fixing on me. "Hey, time's wasting."

416 reluctantly lets go of me, her hands grabbing my arms for a final second before she releases me. "Be safe, Hadwin."

"Well." 45 steps up to me and 416 scoops up the sleepy G11. "We've got a mission to do."

"...Already?" I turn back to 45.

"The faster we get our things done, the faster we'll be able to get to Sector 3." She places her hands on my shoulders and starts pushing me towards the tent 9 had poked her head out of. "In the meantime, keep 9 company, ja? She's gonna be lonely."

"...Huh?"

Something is odd, but I realized it way too late. 45's grip is like iron, shoving me toward the tent. Her expression too. It's too nice.

The zipper moves around from the inside, opening just enough for 45 to shove me through.

I land on an inflatable sleeping pad, one of several on the bottom of the small tent. So small that I suspect it's designed for less than four people…

"Good night, Hadwin~!" 45 calls in a singsong through the tent. "Have fun~!"

"What the fu-" I snap, turning back. 45's voice sounded really weird, and I had planned on questioning her on it, but…

9 is crouched down beside the tent flap, zipping it back up. Now, I knew she was in here. That's not what threw me off track.

It's her clothes, or rather the startling lack of them. Not to say she's naked, just that she's not wearing much.

Lacy white panties and a matching bra. It's partially see-through. I look away, focusing my eyes in the far corner of the tent and refusing to look back.

"Hey." She says, voice even.

"H-hi… Uh, maybe you should get dressed?"

"Why put more on when I'm gonna have to take it right back off?" She sighs. "Well… we've got about forty five minutes, so we better get started."

"Started? Started with what?" I lick my lips nervously. 9 doesn't like me, at all. I'm sure 45's words about 9 earlier were lies, she was trying to make it seem like she wasn't the one who wanted to come back with us, but I know better.

Probably. It is still 45 we're talking about.

"Well, I'm not sure how much 45 told you." 9's hands land on my shoulders, and she digs her thumbs into my muscles in a massaging motion. "We're not doing too hot on finances. We've also lost several big contracts due to not going along with Gentaine."

I open my mouth, but she doesn't allow me to interject.

"So, 45-nee, 416, and G11 are going to sneak into Belgrade's walls and kill a bunch of people." I freeze up, but her hands keep the pressure on my muscles, her fingers forcing me to relax. "It's the fastest way."

"But-"

"We are in so much debt, that if we got real jobs, it might even take a few decades to get out from under the debt, assuming none of us break down. It's not like we've had proper maintenance… well, ever, but we'd figure it out. Maybe."

"9, what-"

I had tried to turn around, but she had anchored me firmly in place before continuing to massage my shoulders and talk. "So, we're trying to make as much money as we can, as fast as possible. We were brainstorming this when I had an idea."

"Uh-"

"If you recall, you made a bet with MDR. A very, very profitable bet. A bet that says you'll have sex with one specific person on a specific day, as your first. It was made in jest, but-"

She suddenly jerks me around, forcing me to face her in a smooth motion. Her expression is one of well controlled rage, the kind I learned to make whenever a customer was being difficult.

"-right now, we really need the money." The tinge of anger fades as she lowers her chin and looks up at me with wide eyes. "It would be really nice of you if you would donate your winnings to a bunch of poor girls just trying to get by."

My eyes involuntarily look down at her state of undress, her words soaking through my skull unusually slowly…

…The fuck. What the fuck!

"N-no!" I look away before my eyes can wander around more. "This is stupid! I have money, I'm getting a lot as my severance. I'll give that to you."

She groans, her voice reverting back to her sarcastic valley girl manner of speaking. "Oh, for- Hadwin. I've seen the paperwork, it's not that much. Your bet got really out of hand, though, so that's some real cash. Otherwise, do you think I'd ever get into the same room as you dressed like this?"

"I… I suppose you wouldn't." I gulp. "B-but, you and I don't like each other."

She shrugs. "I've had to fuck a lot of people I didn't like. Comes with being a doll owned by thugs. You're not quite as disagreeable, so I'll even make it feel good instead of just taking pictures to convince MDR and kicking you out on the street, naked. I'm also asking, which… wasn't always how this was going to go down."

"Can't we, I dunno, lie? If we both lie until MDR hands over the winnings-"

"She's going to ask for proof. I could fake some images, but that's going to take time that I don't have to do it properly. Train's leaving at seven sharp." She draws closer, and I have to strain my neck not to look at her.

"What if I say no?"

"Well… we're going to have a hard time financially." Her hand grabs my shoulder, lightly enough that it startles me. Her voice has gone back to being sultry… "It'll be a few years before we realistically make it back to Sector 3. Not getting this money will mean it'll take another year."

I bite my lip. "How… how much is the bet?"

"Two-hundred-thousand credits, if we're done in-" She checks the time mentally. "-the next thirty seven minutes."

…What the FUCK-

"There is one other option." She grabs my jaw in her hand and pulls it around to face her again. She's so close that her face fills my vision. I can feel the heat off of her body as well, though I know from experience that it's not quite as warm as a human would be-

"W-what is it?" I ask, my voice weak.

She leans in, pressing her ample chest onto mine, horribly reminding me of my first day around the dolls when she was teasing me. Her head comes close to my ear and she whispers right into my ear. "Oh, it's not hard. You just have to do one simple thing."

I gulp.

"You just have to get your fucking job back."

…Huh?

She shoves me hard, sending me hard into the air-filled pads on the ground, face twisting into a snarl. "Oh, boo hoo, we all tricked you. Grow up! It's all that happens on the street!" She leaps on top of me, the normally suggesting positioning and her state of dress completely disregarded with one glance at the rage in her bright yellow eyes. "You know how many times I was lied to?! How many times I was told to do some ultra shitty thing like fuck some disgusting old man just so I could plug myself into a power for half an hour and maybe survive another day? You're bitching that people you love and trust were stuck in the same room with you long enough for a bond to form. GROW. THE FUCK. UP."

I try to respond, but she continues, her hands like claws on my shoulder as she leans over, teeth bared slightly.

"404, we've been together for years. 45 has been chasing something for all this time, and we've finally found some leads. We're here for a reason working with Griffin to find something, anything. Then, you show up, and Gentiane concocts her dumb plan, and it fucking works, now 45 of all dolls is infatuated with you. We finally are this close to answers, and she's willing to throw it all away just to be with your sorry ass!" She snarls, jamming her finger into my face. "If you want to make things right, you wanna know what you should do? Go back to Gentaine, beg for your fucking job back, and stop trying to derail everyone's life!"

"W-wait! I'm not trying to derail anyone's life!"

"Yeah, well, guess what? Like it or not, 45 likes you. She's been acting like a goody two shoes-"

Wait, seriously? That's goody-two shoes?

"-and doing her best to tone down the bits of herself she doesn't think you'll like!" She claws at her face. "I don't want her to change. You're ruining my family, you're ruining my life, you're ruining the lives of everyone in 404! Think about how we feel, you piece of shit!"

I blink at her, waiting for her to continue, but she doesn't, just panting, her rage heating up her core to a high enough degree that I can feel her breath starting to get uncomfortably warm on my skin.

I also noticed that at some point during her rant, small tears had formed in the corners of her eyes.

We stare at each other for a minute before she collapses back into a sitting position, her hips resting on my stomach. She folds her arms to partially cover herself as well, though it doesn't work as well as either of us would have liked. "Sorry. Reina came out… wasn't supposed to ruin the mood."

"Um… can… can I talk?" My voice is meek, almost too hard for my own ears to hear.

"Sure, why not?" She rolls her eyes. "It's what you're good at."

"I, uh, know that 45 likes me." I grant her that, though I will say I'm still not entirely sure myself. "B-but if I had known she was going to ditch her goals I would have told her…"

"What." She asks, voice deadpan. "What could you possibly ask her that would get her to change her mind? She loves you, dumbass. So does 416, but that's an entirely different problem."

"I'd tell her that she should continue finding out… whatever it is you're looking for." I shrug uncomfortably. "I don't know what it is, but if it's that important, I'm willing to wait. You can go with Griffin and-"

She smacks her face. "God fucking- Hadwin, sometimes learning secrets like this is an automatic one way trip to hell. If we go in, we're not coming back out. She had to pick between getting her answers, answers we've been looking for for years now, or chasing a boy she met a month ago, and she chose you."

"Oh…"

"So, what will it be?" She puts her hands on her hips, once more exposing herself. "Are we fucking, are we faking, or are you going to go beg for your job back so we can continue on?"

My mouth gapes open and closed a few more times.

"It's almost the end of the day. We've got twenty three minutes, you've gotta decide one way or another."

I close my eyes and screw up my face, trying to think. The abuse my poor brain has suffered recently, the emotional rollercoasters of the day, and the stress of time pressure makes even thinking a chore.

On one hand, I could just give up and screw 9. She'll get her money and they'll be able to join me in sector three… in a few years. I'll get to go home, no more long nights and killing people, no more death. I'll go back to my white zone, away from Gentiane's influence and eventually two of the women I had fallen for would show up. Hell, I'll even be classified as a hero and live a celebrity life. My family will get me back, I can spend my days relaxing on the beach…

That's the path I picked. The path I had been insisting on since I had learned of Gentiane's lies. Well, there's been tweaks to it, but that's to be expected.

On the other, missing hand… death. We all march to our doom together, struggling to survive just a bit longer. 45 gets her chance to learn… whatever. 15 too, and I'll be there until I inevitably die from not dodging a shot, or getting caught in a falling building or an explosion.

A path where nobody is happy.

Why…?

Why am I reaching for my phone?

I've told myself a thousand times. I'm going home. I can't go back on my word. My family wants me back. My friends too. I can't just turn my back on everything I've been saying! My breathing pace starts to accelerate, in my panic I'm unable to get it under control.

I'm going home!

I've always picked home!

Did you?

My eyes shoot open, but there's nobody here but 9 and I, and 9 isn't looking like she's in a talking mood, her expression sour.

I'm not wearing my Linker. Where the fuck-

What about with DEFY? Why didn't you escape then?

I had to get the rest of the dolls out. Obviously.

What about with the VTOL?

Gentiane needed to get out more than me. Fate of the world and all that. And, I wasn't about to abandon the girls-

What about with Sangvis?

…I was right behind them. I had no way to know Paradeus was coming.

Uh-huh.

I clamp my eye back shut and confront the voice in my head.

It's just me, this time. Looks like if I've officially gone crazy, it's not going to be P90 haunting my thoughts. Instead, it's just… me. Weak, with sunken features that greet me every time I look in a mirror.

The expression on his face though. That's one of anger and regret I'm not sure has ever crossed my real features before.

You and I both know the reason you stayed behind. You love 15. You love 416. You love 45. Leaving them behind to cover for you was too much for you to bear.

Fucking so what?! I told them I'd get them out! I promised-

And your promise ended when the city's limits did? Is that all our love amounted to? 'Well, I protected them until they went out of my service range?'

"SHUT UP! Shutupshutupshutup-"

9's hand clamps down over my mouth, bringing me back down to reality, and also coincidently forcing me to stop hyperventilating. I can feel my lungs slowly start to fill with carbon dioxide as she holds my air passageways closed.

"Are you done screaming?" She asks, voice flat.

I nod.

She lets go, and I stare at the ceiling of the ratty tent once more.

"What was that?" She peers over me, and I have to look away as her body enters my line of sight. "If you go crazy, I'm not going to fuck you. I don't deal with crazies."

I bark out a short laugh, tears in my eyes. I had just beaten my sense of reason to death in my head, and all that's left is to make it official. "I… I'll call Gentiane. Can you please get off of me?"

"No." She grabs my face and forces me to look back up at her. "You are going to call her right now or I'm going to pull down your pants and take the money, understand?"

"Y-yes." I finish pulling my cell phone out of my pocket. 9 is understandably watching me like a hawk. I open my contacts and load up the number Gentiane had given me for emergencies back in Sector 3.

The phone rings three times before a very sleepy sounding Gentiane answers the phone. "'Ello?"

"Er, Commander?"

She pauses, and I hear rustling sheets. "Okay, there better be a good fuckin' reason an ex subordinate of mine to be calling in the middle of the night."

"...Can I get re-hired?" My voice shrinks with each word.

"...Are you fucking- Hadwin, do you realize how much of a pain in the ass you're being? It's almost midnight."

"Yes." I nod, not that she can see me. "I understand, but-"

"I don't care. We don't have any spots for Field Agents anyway. Griffin doesn't hire for the position anymore, too dangerous."

"...but-"

"We're not playing games here!" She snarls, the sleep fully leaving her voice. "This isn't a party you can just opt in and out of on a whim!"

"I understand." My voice is extremely quiet.

"Do you now?! Because I distinctly recall you signing paperwork dissolving our arrangement! And now I get a call in the middle fo the fucking night-"

"Genny, your blood pressure." G36's voice is quiet, but high enough to be heard.

"I know I'm being unreasonable, but… I realized that I can't handle not being with 15, or 416 , or 45. I can't take away their goals either, and the only way to do that is join back up."

"...This. Is not. A game. We are going to go to hell, and not all of us are making it out alive. Me cutting you loose before you could think things through was a mercy."

"I-I understand."

"What are you talking about with 'goals' anyway?!" She demands, showing that she's still not quite awake.

"Erm… 404 said that they were going to quit to try to move to Sector 3. I was led to believe that they wouldn't be going with you."

Gentiane breathes into the phone heavily. When she finally speaks back up, her voice is slightly quieter and less angry. "So if you leave, so does 404?"

"Y-yes. It wasn't my idea!"

"I know." She sighs. "For fuck's sake. Fine, show up at the train at 0530. I'll ask Kalina what we can do."

"...Thank you."

"Don't. You'll regret it soon enough. Oh, with that said-" She grunts like she's sitting up. "-You pull any shit like this again, I'm going to dump you off wherever we are. If we're going to rehire you, you're going to work for the duration of your contract or you might find all of the dolls suddenly can't remember you and one of them is attempting to snipe you."

I shudder. "Understood."

"Go to sleep." The tiredness creeps back into her voice. "If I had known how much of a pain in the ass you were-"

The phone disconnects.

9 sighs. "Well, that's that then. I'll tell 45-nee that she doesn't have to fill those contracts if she doesn't want to, we're heading out with Griffin… and with you." The disdain and anger that had been just below the surface starts to fade away, her eyes glazing over as she communicates with her sister.

"S-sorry."

"Hey, I got what I wanted." She shrugs. "But…"

"...But?"

"Two hundred thousand credits." She leans down, pressing her chest into mine, the thin cloth doing very little to hold her form- "We've got five minutes, and either way, we do have a debt to pay off."

"Ah, n-no! I'm good!" I try to struggle my way out from under her grip, but she once more proves just how strong a doll can be-

"What are you doing?"

We both look to the side to see two acid green eyes staring holes into us through the clear plastic window near the top of the tent.

"Winning a bet." 9 says. "Remember the betting pool MDR has?"

416 frowns. "I suppose."

"We're gonna fulfil Haddy's dumb bet and get the money. It'll be nice to have a little bit of a cushion. Gotta finish before midnight-"

416 steps inside, grabbing 9 by her neck and tossing her aside. "Get dressed."

"But-!"

416 wordlessly points behind us at the open door.

G11 walks up sleepily, crawling into the tent on all fours.

"Hey, commander." She smiles at me. "You're coming with us to Talinn?"

"Y-yes." I sit up to hide the part of my body that had not ignored 9's state of dress. "Looks like I'll be hanging with you for the foreseeable future."

As short as that future may be.

"Yay!" She cheers quietly, but what might as well be full volume for her. "We can finally watch my movies!"

"S-sure."

416 turns to 9. "No sex in front of the child."

"I'm not-" G11 yawns. "-a child! I'm older than all of you…"

"Yeah, yeah." 9 grumbles, ignoring G11. "You came back too quickly, in any case."

416 turns to G11 as 9 grabs some clothes tossed in the corner, shrugging them on. "Bedtime, 11."

"But I wanna talk to Haddy!"

"You can do that tomorrow." 416 looks over at me. "You should probably head back to your tent. There's not enough room in here for five."

Indeed, there's not really room for four either, G11 practically on top of 416.

"W-well, goodnight." gather myself up and step out into the night, my body still shaking from the ordeal.

…Everything I've done, undone in a single phone call.

I'm certainly going completely insane.

A single yellow eye approaches in the night, and I wait for 45 to get close enough for me to greet her.

"I hear you broke down because you didn't like my sister's body." She calls by way of greeting. "I don't know whether to be offended you won't get us a lot of money like that-" she snaps her fingers. "-or happy you're not going to just screw anyone that drops her panties."

"...Hey, 45."

9 pokes her head out of the still-unzipped tent. "I'm gonna fake some images, see if I can get the money anyway, 45-nee."

"Well!" She smirks. "Best of both worlds then."

She walks right up to me, and I grab her in a hug.

She returns it slowly, as if deciding whether it's okay to. "So-"

"I'm not gonna let you die." I mutter into her hair. "I'm not giving up any of the girls I love. I will protect you to the end, even if it kills me."

"My, is that a confession?" She looks up at me, smirk firmly in place. "And here I thought you were too much of a loser to realize-"

I lean down and kiss her, forcing her to stop talking for a moment.

She leans into the kiss after a moments' hesitation, wrapping her arms around my neck to hold herself up to my height.

"I'm not gonna lose you." I say once she broke away. "I refuse to."

She opens her mouth once, then twice, trying to formulate words. Eventually, a blush crosses her cheeks and she looks away in embarrassment. "I think I can trust you on that."

"I'm glad."

"Um… well." She shakes her head, and when she stops moving she's back to normal. "Clock just struck midnight. You've got only a few hours until your interview, ja?"

"...Yeah." I hug her once more, but quickly this time. "Sleep tight."

"I sleep with one eye open." She grins.

"You only have one eye."

"And I keep it open. Sweet dreams."

She turns back and enters the tent, leaving me watching until the zipper closes fully. Then I turn back the way 45 had led me earlier, back to my tent.

My brain, having given up completely by this point, spends the rest of the walk wondering how much I could have done with the bet money.

In the end though, the only conclusion I can come to is that Reina is fucking dangerous.

---

I had woken up at 0500, five hours of sleep feeling almost luxurious somehow.

My family had woken up with me.

Explaining to them that I wasn't going back was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Dad had assumed I wouldn't even break the contract, Mom was sad, but understood. Lexi pouted, but didn't say anything.

When I mentioned that I needed to see Gentiane about rejoining, dad's eyes lit up and I realized that with him being a lawyer, of course he's gonna want to see the contract. I tried to dissuade him, but…

Gentiane glances at my Dad as she sits down at the table that's been dragged into the pre-dawn light. There's a fog this morning, and the tent city is starting to wake up in earnest with the incoming light. M4 stands behind Gentiane, watching the surroundings cautiously.

"As I told you last night." Gentiane pushes some papers forward. "We don't have positions for Field Agents open."

I glance down at the paper. "So… cook then?"

"Just read it over."

I pick it up and start reading the small print, trying not to get distracted by the conversation Dad and Gentaine start having immediately.

"So, where's your next destination?"

"Classified."

"What are you gonna do there?"

"Classified."

"Are you going to take the train all the way there?"

"Classified."

"Do you know any words other than classified?"

I peek over the page at the two, who are bantering. Gentaine at least seems to have a smile on her face, even if it's only a basic polite smile.

"I do know other words, but right now, you're asking about classified things."

"Okay then, what's my son's role to you?"

"Fluffer." I mutter. They both heard me mutter, and turn to me.

"What was that?" Dad asks.

"Uh…" I quickly scan the page. "I'm being hired as… a Commander?"

"It's the only role we need filling." She sighs. "Seeing as we lost one a few days ago in a fire."

I wince and my dad frowns. "What? When was this?"

"He was in the city when the municipal building burned down. Tragic, I know, but he was a traitor."

"...Ah."

I stare at the piece of paper. "But… I'm not qualified to be a Commander."

"Of course you're not." She snorts. "If you look at the language in the contract, it details your duties and those are the same ones you've been expected to perform until now."

I flip to the indicated page and start reading the duties. "...This is literally just what I was already doing."

"Well yeah." Gentiane sighs. "I don't want you to actually be in command of our forces on a wide scale. You'll do what you've already been trained to do. You'll note that we're waiving the doll compatibility test-"

I snort, seeing a few pages with "N/A" stamped all over them, covered in questions like "What's your opinion on A-dolls?" and "Would you rescue an A-doll damaged in combat? Why or why not?"

I think I've given my answer to those well enough.

Dad holds his hands out and I hand the papers over to him.

Gentiane tenses up slightly, but I don't know if dad actually noticed or not.

"Soooo." I drag out the sound. "I'm sorry about last night. I was in a rush."

"I still don't get why you were in such a hurry."

"...Did you hear about MDR's betting pool?"

She glances back at M4, who just looks back. "Let's say I don't. What's the relevance?"

"I could've won a lot of money last night with my bet, and 404 was going to need that. Instead, I joined back up so they wouldn't need to go through with that."

Gentiane chews on this for a moment before turning back to M4. "Which betting pool…?"

"The one about his vir-"

I stand up, the plastic chair clattering against the gravel as it scoots back. "Anyway! I decided not to go through with it, and here we are! Past the deadline, and with you as my-"

"Hadwin." Dad cuts me off, not looking away from the paperwork. "You can't let them know you're desperate. They'll take advantage of you."

"Yeah well, what else is new?" I roll my eyes.

"Uh…" Dad blinks. "Okay."

He scans down a few more pages before frowning. "'Must be able to develop and maintain a romantic relationship with at least one doll.' What the hell-"

"Oh. Right." I scratch my head. "That's… part of the job."

He glares at me. "Seriously?"

"Hey! I've got Star." I cross my arms. "It just means that I have to stick with her. Which I plan to do."

Gentiane and Dad look at me, then at each other, and then start chuckling.

"W-what?"

"Nothing, son, nothing."

"Dad…"

"It's just, you looked so drained last night after quitting, and now that you're joining back up you look chipper again."

"It's… that obvious?"

"Yeah." Dad nods, handing the papers back to me. "These are okay to sign."

I blink. "You finished?"

"Yep." He smiles.

I grab the pen in my shiny left hand that M4 had provided to me, a new model Sop had spent all night tweaking. I can feel the pen in my hand like it was my own skin. The sunlight as it hits my hand, the cool breeze…

I once more sign my life away, sure in my decision, but also just as sure that it's a horrible idea.

I've made up my mind to march into hell with my dolls, and I'm not going back on that.

…I do notice the contract is only for a month, for some reason, but I'll worry about that later.

Once I sign the paperwork, Gentaine takes it, glances over it, and sighs. "Okay… welcome to Griffin and Kryuger once again. Now, you better get your stuff, we're going to be leav-"

I'm bowled out of my chair by a flying black and blonde blur.

When I come to a stop, back painfully pressed into the gravel, I find Sop sitting on me, arms pinning mine down. "YES! HE'S COMING WITH US!"

More dolls flood out of the train, crowding around, chattering excitedly.

Even Ithaca, S.A.T. and AEK, who hadn't been restored last night, show up.

15 especially goes down to sit on the gravel carefully, reaching out to touch my face.

In a voice too quiet to be heard over the commotion, she mouths to me.

"Idiot. You better not die on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I look off toward the sunrise, already a few lengths over the horizon in contrast to every narrative convention ever.

"Alright!" Sop leaps up and drags me to my feet. "Let's go!"

"Uh, I need to say goodbye-" I start, but she starts pulling me towards the train.

Several of the other dolls start pushing me from behind, and I find I have no choice but to move forward.

…Whatever. I'm moving forward with them.

A smile crosses my face. What a stupid line.

Yet, I wouldn't have it any other way.

---

Author's note:
And so starts the final arc of Field Agent. Way too many words later, this story is finally nearing its conclusion.

…We're still not at the flash forwards.