"HADWIN!"

My eyes fly open and I grab for my handgun in the predawn darkness. Instead, I grab some of 45's skin on her back, and pretty hard at that.

Her bright eye flies open and she gives me a confused look. There's no hostility there, which seems even more unusual and occupies my head for a second.

By the time I'm able to process that I'm not armed at all, I can see RO's head poke above 416's form, S.A.T.'s eyes blink open, and 15 beside me stirs awake, hand grabbing around for… something. Aleah sits up next to RO and looks to the door, where the voice had come from.

After a second or two of nothing exploding, I call out. "Er, hello?"

"Hi!" The chirpy voice replies. "Miss Kalina said that you might need my help?"

I look around at the five awake dolls and the still sleeping 416, wondering if any of them have any idea who it is, but they all just look back at me with shared confusion or indifference.

"Give me a minute." I call out and start trying to prop myself up. First obstacle; 416 has my arm pinned.

I try to pull my arm out, but she hugs it tighter, eyes opening just enough for me to see the glow in the darkness. "Noch fünf Minuten."

"Huh?"

"'Five more minutes'." 45 translates. "Which, coincidentally, I agree with."

"You would." I grumble, using my free arm to try to prop myself up, only for 15 to grab my wrist as 45's arms wrap around my neck to avoid sliding off. "I gotta-"

"I'll get it." Aleah stands up and opens the door.

On the other side, Honey Badger's knuckles are poised to rap on the door. "Oh!" Her eyes flick around the room. "...I suppose I'm intruding?"

"No." I push a little harder and sit up fully. "It's… fine. What's going on?"

"Well… Kalina told me that you picked up a Honey Badger to use, so I figured I'd teach you how to clean it." She looks down as S.A.T. crawls into her view. "I think I'll come back later."

"No, it's fine." I try to shrug off 45, who just pulls herself up so her head is no longer at chest level but instead her face is close to mine. She grins before pursing her lips and pulling herself closer to my mouth.

"It doesn't look fine…" She starts to close the door.

RO pops to her feet. "Alright! Time to get up!"

416 sits up next to me and grabs 45's face to keep her off of me.

S.A.T. gets to her feet along with Aleah, stretching and tossing the bedsheets together into a pile on top of the inflatable bed.

AR-15 sighs and slides her legs off the bed. "There goes that."

"Killjoy." 45 finally lets go of my neck and hops off backward to land on the floor. "Fine, I will be going then."

Honey Badger watches as the dolls start to gather themselves up and leave, her face blushing slightly.

RO is the last to go, hesitating as Honey Badger steps in and fiddles with her gun. "Hadwin, do you need me to stay?"

"...I should be fine." I rub my face to get my circulation going. "Okay, let me get my gun."

"Y-yeah." She looks back at the door as RO closes the door behind her. "Uh…"

I grab my new gun and set it on the table, then grab the magnetic mat Sop left me to disassemble it without the parts going everywhere. Then I pull out my tools and sit down at the table, only to find that the doll is still next to the door, looking uncomfortable.

"...Is something wrong?"

"No… just…" She takes a deep breath and walks over, apprehension all gone or hidden particularly well. "I was told that you're gathering a harem, but it was kinda shocking to see it in person."

I stop moving entirely as she pulls the other chair in the room and sits across from me.

"It's…" I can feel my eye twitch as my brain resets and I find my voice again. "I'm only dating one of them. Or, three, kinda."

"I counted six." She puts her version of the gun on the table and pulls her own small tool kit out of her pocket.

"They just showed up." I continue to protest. "Also, RO doesn't like me, Aleah is just here because I own her-" I shudder slightly at my own words, once more realizing how wrong that is. "-and S.A.T…. is just worried about me. I think."

"Uh-huh." She smirks. "As long as I'm not gonna get jumped."

"Not my type." I grumble, watching her hands and trying to mimic her actions as she starts disassembling her own gun faster than I can follow. "And I don't jump people."

"I'm not gonna lie, when everyone left like that I was a bit worried." She says. "But then again, I suppose most of what I've heard about you on Griffchan is a lot less lurid than what Kalina seems to think is going on."

"Why is she even discussing that?" I groan.

"You're one of the more entertaining things in Griffin right now." Honey Badger continues to pick apart her gun until it's little more than a collection of spare parts strewn about the table.

I keep my lips clamped tight, trying to remember what the next step was while half of my brain is recalling that being entertaining is most of the reason I'm here right now. It might be an open secret among those close to me now, but it's not public knowledge quite yet.

"You have to push out this pin." Honey Badger points to the part I missed.

"Thanks." I sigh. "Well, I suppose I'm glad you find my private life entertaining."

"No problem!" She continues to eye my hands as I continue attempting to disassemble the gun in front of me.

"Ah, yeah, thanks for saving me yesterday. That ELID came out of nowhere." I pull the trigger group out of the bottom of the gun.

"You're welcome. Kalina told me you might need a bit of help with your new gun and I figured you didn't want to be eaten."

"You've got that right, even if ELIDs don't typically eat their victims." I examine my pile of parts and compare it to hers, trying to determine if my gun is fully disassembled. "It's more, 'beat down and move on'."

"That's true." She grabs a rag and some gun cleaning solution. "You've fought them enough to realize that?"

"Not really. I had a really, really intense biology teacher. Dude showed us footage from outside the walls." I scratch my head. "Now that I think about it, he wasn't all there."

"Yeah, well… who is?" She shrugs. "At least you're not taking them lightly."

I agree with her, and the next five minutes are spent in relative silence as she guides me through the rest of the cleaning process, then tells me how to keep the gun in good condition.

Once she's completed her mission, she packs up her stuff and leaves, telling me that she'll give me a hand with it if I need it in the future.

I can't help but look down at the gun in my hands after she's gone, wondering if I'm ever going to get a chance to clean it again.

"I'm coming for you."

I glance up at P90, sitting on the table like she weighs nothing. Which is true, being a hallucination. I let the ominous statement hang in the air while I load the last round into my magazine and tuck it onto my tac vest. "Context, please."

"It's what that Hydra you've been facing off with said before you killed it." P90 inspects her nails. "I've been working on a translation for a while now."

"Oh. Thanks." I carefully check that my new gun is completely empty and then sight down it. I need to get it zeroed soon…

"Simple." P90 crawls on the bed to point at the gun. "I already calculated how much you need to adjust it. Do you have an Allen key handy?"

"Er-" I think back through the things I had been handed…

Which includes a small hex key. It came with the optic, if I recall, so it should work.

I rummage around in my pack to look for it, and P90 continues to swing her legs back and forth.

"There's more to what И1704 said. I'm working on decrypting it now."

"Thanks." I pull out the hex wrench and test it on the top of the optic where the adjustment screw is, and it fits. "Kinda surprised that what it said were actual words."

"Mmm, it was a message, but I had to figure out how to interpret the bitstream. Military encoding is tough to crack, and then I also had to factor in that И1704 is Russian and speaks Russian primarily."

"...You mean that it speaks a different language? Did it understand me when I spoke to it?"

"Probably." She shrugs. "It was responding."

"Huh." I hold up the allen wrench. "Found it, by the way."

"Yeah. Hey, can I use your hand for a minute?"

"Wha-"

Suddenly, my right arm starts to move without my thoughts powering it. All sensations from the arm are cut off like I slept on the nerve wrong, and it starts to move about, testing fingers and moving the wrench about. I'm still sitting there as P90 pushes the wrench into the screw and turns it very carefully, only about a quarter turn, then sets the wrench down and puts my hand on the handle on the gun.

"Can you look down the sight?"

"Why? It's not like I'm going to be shooting inside this train car."

"I need to verify the adjustment worked. I'll compare the before and after and make sure it only moved how much it was supposed to."

"Right." Feeling returns to my right hand as I bring my left around and hold the gun up into a shooting posture, careful not to aim it at anything important. I know it's unloaded, but as I keep being reminded I'm supposed to assume it's loaded at all times.

"Hmm… It looks correct." She muses.

"Alright, awesome. Never do that again." I set the gun back down in its case and zip it up. "Taking control of my arm like that was weird."

"...Um, I get that you don't want me to take over your body," P90 leans into view, her face set into mild annoyance. "But if you want to help you in combat I kinda have to."

"...Don't you just push on me with the motors in the exo suit?"

"That would be really dangerous and prone to breaking your bones." She shakes her head. "If it makes you feel any better, I won't take over your muscles without either getting your permission first if we're out of combat, or if we're in combat I'll just continue to tweak like I have been."

"...I hate to agree, but…" I've seen the damage the exo suit can do to someone's hands.

She nods. "By the way, I finished translating what И1704 said to you. Would you like me to play it back?"

I nod and sit back down on the bed, my vision suddenly overtaken with a burning Hydra, shattered glass, and the destruction that my last day in Kruševac had caused.

"Hey." I announce my presence to the Hydra, and it scrabbles a bit before giving up.

Its main gun is bent and twisted, the grenade pods are out of ammo, and it can't squish me.

I walk around to right in front of it, staring at the glowing green light right above its camera. "Man, you are one tough unit." I sit down on a chunk of debris in front of it.

It blasts a bunch of sound at me, though it's just more electronic screeching.

A box appears out of nowhere with a translation. "I will gut you like a fish. Stand still while I run diagnostics so that I may crush you. You will not get away this time."

"Yeah, see, I don't speak whatever that was. Look, I don't know what made you fixate on me, but it was a mistake. You almost got me a bunch of times, but, here we are. So, I know you're still transmitting." I lean in. "Make sure this gets sent back with your backup."

The light on its face turns yellow, and I pause a second, watching to see what it does.

After a few seconds, the light turns green again.

…Did it just ask me to wait?

Whatever. "I don't care that you have this nice metal shell, next time you come to harass me and my dolls, I'm going to tear your core out and figure out how to torture it. Not sure if it's possible, but you can be sure I'm gonna try. For now though, I'm just tired."

I bring my M16 up. "Goodnight, 1704."

It sends another burst of data to my headset, and I pull the trigger, firing at the camera and the light on the front.

"This isn't over, Hadwin Galanis. I will get you one day, I swear it. I am coming for you."

The caboose returns to sight, P90 no longer feeding me images.

"...Joy."

"It seems fairly obsessed with you."

"Yeah, and I'd love to know why." I bite my lip. "Did I kill its cousin or something?"

"I don't think the KCCO Neural Clouds are set up like IOP's are. They're not capable of emotions."

"It sure seemed to be angry at me." I mutter. "Alright, I've got a meeting to attend to."

"Shutting down."

I reach up and disable the Linker, the world looking much the same as it did before I turned it off.

I take a moment to consider how much I trust the device I strap to my head, wonder how much it actually controls me, and then get up.

I have a meeting to attend.

"You didn't say it was going to be on top of the train car!" I complain through the Linker, which is back on my head since NTW had decided that, for whatever damned reason, we should have this meeting on the roof of the train car.

It's not even stopped!

Hair whipping about her face, she turns to me and gestures for me to follow.

I just grumble and move forward, leaning into the wind a bit to not get blown right off the train. It's not the most stable of footing either, the train rocking intensified while standing up this high.

NTW effortlessly leaps the gap between the cars and turns around to grab my arm to pull me across, ensuring I don't screw up my jumps and slip between the cars, which I'm fairly sure would be bad.

"What are we even going to do up here?" I ask.

"We're going to teach you to shoot." She finally answers, hefting the large gun on her shoulder.

"I know how to shoot. I've been doing it for a month."

"You know how to pull a trigger, which is half of the equation. Now, you need to learn how to hit what you're aiming at."

We arrive at the car directly behind the engine, and she carefully sits down and sets down her rifle.

I remain standing, watching the scenery pass by much too quickly for my liking and wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into as she sets up her rifle, propping it up on the attached bipod and then pulling out a few magazines.

After she's done, her bright pink eyes glance my way and I reluctantly sit down beside her.

"Here, lie down on your stomach so you can work the rifle." She instructs. "I've set it up so that you have a good view of one side of the train."

I pull my eye up to the scope and look through it. At first, all I get is a blur, but then I start being able to pick out where the scope is aimed as the treeline fluctuates, comparing it with what I can see with my eye not held up to the scope.

It's still moving incredibly fast though. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hit anything like this.

And that's assuming there's even targets for me to hit.

"So… what am I aiming at?"

"The scout vehicle has seen some Smashers up ahead. We're going to make sure they don't knock the train off course."

"...Smashers?"

"Large ELIDs."

"And they can knock a train off course?"

"Very large ELIDs."

"...Okay."

She gives me a quick rundown of the honestly very simple operation of the gun and gives me an estimate on when the first of the Smashers will come into sight.

I wait, eye looking into the scope from a bit farther back after NTW told me not to press my eye into it or I'll punch my eye out.

Sounds painful, so I'll heed her warning.

P90 had offered to help, but I told her that if I'm being taught to shoot, I should probably learn without help just in case.

"Approaching. Fifteen seconds out." NTW's voice calls out.

P90 pops a small timer in the corner of my vision, and I watch it tick down.

When five seconds are left, NTW's voice once more draws my attention. "In sight."

I swivel the rifle slightly and aim at it-

Holy shit that's massive.

It's vaguely humanoid, but looks rock hard, it is about twice the height of a person, and looks angrier than RO when talking to me.

I do my best to put the spot where the thin black lines intersect on the thing and pull the trigger.

BANG

"FUCK!"

The gun slams into my shoulder much harder than I had anticipated, and without the exo suit to help me absorb the recoil I feel like someone literally just kicked at my shoulder, and hard at that.

NTW scoops up the gun, cycles a round and aims over the side of the train, tracking the incoming Smasher She fires a round without setting the gun down, absorbing the recoil in a way I doubt any human could.

"You missed."

"No, really?" I complain.

"It wasn't by much. Next time, make sure to hold it tight to your shoulder so the recoil doesn't kick you so hard."

"How does that work?" I mutter into the wind, watching in mild distress as she sets the gun back down in front of me. "It's gonna hit like a train anyway."

Still, I prepare another shot and wait for her to give me targets.

And boy does she give me targets. P90 pops up seven targets that are approaching rapidly as the train barrels forward.

The next one comes into sight and I place the crosshair on the Smasher-

This time, the rifle transmits its recoil directly into me, and it does actually hurt less than having it smack into me, but I still miss the shot.

NTW snatches up the rifle once more and finishes the ELID off after passing it. "You need to lead the target a little bit, Hadwin." She sets the gun back down in front of me. "Use the gradients, those smaller tick lines, to help judge how much you need to correct. I would say… approximately halfway between the main crosshair and the first tick?"

I nod and mentally relocate the aiming point to the side of the crosshair.

Another Smasher comes into sight, this one partially inside the forest but coming out hearing the noise of the train.

I line up the shot as NTW had instructed-

BANG

I watch as the corpse falls to the ground, headless.

"You did it." NTW's face has the smallest smile, yet somehow still the biggest one I've seen on her face. "Though, you might want to aim for the center of mass instead of the head."

"I thought I was." I admit.

"...Ah, I have my rifle sighted for five hundred meters. You can aim lower."

"What does sighting it in mean?"

"I've adjusted the optic so the crosshair accounts for five hundred meters of bullet drop." She glances at me. "Since you're so close, the bullet doesn't have a chance to drop so much and it seems like the rifle aims high."

"Makes sense, I guess." I prepare to take another shot, but NTW pushes her namesake back toward the center of the train.

"The next reported Smasher is on the other side of the tracks."

"Right." I adjust, moving the frankly enormous gun to face the other side of the engine.

Still, it's about a minute left before I have to try to take a shot. "So, why are there so many Smashers in this area?"

"Possibly because we're passing a major city that was bombed by collapse bombs during WWIII. Smashers are created when a person gets a lot more ELID poisoning than usual, even for an ELID." NTW ponders. "There's always been a large ELID presence here according to reports from Statesec."

"...Statesec?"

"It's Russia's national security team." She frowns at me. "Didn't Angelia tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"She and DEFY are both Statesec. Well, they were Statesec. I think they're on the run."

"I see." I note that the Smasher is showing up in a few seconds and pause the conversation to fire at it.

Another hit, this time lower on its body.

"This entire operation is a mess." NTW watches as I load another round into the small capacity 3 round magazine and push it back in, keeping the gun topped off. "Griffin and Kryuger was forbidden from operating outside of Russia, Gentaine snuck out with AR team and as many of us as she could take, and then we went running after the trail of Paradeus. We've been on the run since then, though Madam Helian has been able to get us some supply shipments, though it's been all very unofficial." She takes a deep breath. "And then we hit Belgrade."

"Right. Heard that went poorly." Saw the aftermath a bit, but it can't compare to actually being there.

"It wasn't pretty. The walls fell during a wave of collapse fluid, and the city was reduced to what you saw back there. None of us dolls really know what happened, but after M4A1 and AR-15 rejoined us, Gentaine became very agitated and started looking fairly hard for something. Presumably, we've found it since everyone's in such a hurry to head to Tallinn."

"Mmm." What did Gentiane call it? The Starfish?

"You really joined at a weird time."

"It's not like I really knew what I was getting myself into." I brace to fire once more, taking the shot and punching through the mutant's chest. "Honestly, I probably still don't."

"Don't worry, we'll give you a hand."

"Thanks."

The final few shots go fairly well, and NTW picks up the heavy weapon effortlessly once done. "We should get back inside."

I nod and follow her down the nearest ladder, grateful to get out of the wind a bit.

I hadn't expected to be greeted by Sop as I open the door though.

She grabs my wrist and pulls me into the car. I get pinned to the wall as her bright red eyes inspect me visually before she leans in to sniff at my clothes..

"Uh… hi?"

She frowns and lets go of me, eyes still looking me up and down. "What were you doing?"

"NTW was teaching me how to use her gun." I point to the pink-haired woman who had just finished climbing down behind me. "Why?"

"...You don't smell like 15."

I blink. "Is there a reason I would?"

"Well, this morning she smelled like you, so I figured you were doing something."

Ah. "Nah, she just slept next to me last night. Nothing weird."

I mean, maybe Sop will buy that.

"I dunno, every time I talked to her about it she blushed pretty hard, and RO refuses to tell me anything. M4 just sighs and tells me to talk to RO." She frowns. "I guess if even you say so…"

"Don't worry." I reach out and scruff up her hair. "I'd never do something to hurt her intentionally. You know that."

She nods under my hand. "I guess. Hey!" Her eyes suddenly blaze in the darkened interior of the train. "We should zero your new optic!"

"I already- er, sure, why not?" I wince as her expression starts to fall even as I say my words and change my mind. I'll just have to ruin the zero I have on it right now so she has something to do. "Can we do that with the train still moving?"

"That's not gonna be a problem!" She cheers up immediately. "We're coming to stop at the next city!"

I glance at NTW, who nods.

Well… this might be interesting.

"They seem to like us."

Mikhail sucks on his cigarette beside me, eyes flicking over the people with light disdain. "We've got supplies and money to trade. Out here, you take what you can get."

"I suppose."

The train tracks had a village sprout around them complete with ELID walls and scrubbers, and when we came to a stop, we started to trade supplies for fuel and other necessities. Kylie and Gentaine are handling all the actual negotiations, which are in a language I don't understand.

"Is it alright to trade away all that food?" I ask after a brief pause.

"It's not like we will need it for long. Either we die trying to fight off the KCCO or we survive and can go home. If we're brought into a protracted fight, we've already lost. The dolls can run off the power from the train for a few days in an emergency, meaning we're not going to have many problems even if we end up in a siege state, though we're likely to run out of ammo before food in that situation."

"I understand." I glance at his pack of cigarettes as he pulls out a fresh one.

"Want one?"

"Hmm? No, just curious." I shake my head. "Sop turned my lighter into a flamethrower anyway."

He smirks. "Sounds like something she'd do. Where is your date, anyway?"

"Presumably setting up a small firing range somewhere." I blow air out of my lips. "And please don't call it a date. 416 was about to strangle Sop when she announced it like that. It's not even a date, it's just going to a makeshift range and firing at things until my gun aims straight."

"I dunno, sounds like plenty enough of a date for most dolls."

I sigh and glance around to make sure nobody I care about is in earshot. "Yeah, I know, but Sop's got the head of a child. I can't really see her as dating material."

"Mmm. I have a hard time seeing any of them as dateable, but I perhaps have a stigma from my time in the Russian military."

"Don't let Welrod hear you say that." I grin at him.

"I don't think she's interested." He stubs out another cigarette butt on the metal of the train behind us before dropping it on the ground. "It would be a very awkward situation, I would think, being my adjutant."

"..." I glance at Gentaine, currently talking with G36 over a clipboard. "I suppose."

"Speaking of, have you picked your adjutant yet?"

"Not yet. I haven't settled on a roster yet either, though I kind of just want the teams I already had to continue working with me. Might be an impossibility though what with DEFY and 404 being non-Griffin dolls."

"Technically, Anti-Rain also belongs to another group." He drags out a third cigarette and lights it up. "16lab. Let me just tell you, if anyone says they're from 16lab, run. It's not worth getting involved with them."

"Really?"

He gestures to the train. "Most of this whole incident came about through Gentiane's desire to help M4 find M16, and then we tripped and fell into the rabbithole. Now we're on a suicide mission and we still don't know where the damned traitor is."

I blink. Didn't RO tell-

"Haddy!"

I turn to see Sop running up dragging two others behind her, one of them literally.

Honey Badger is happily jogging along behind the more excitable doll, but the one being dragged is a surprise.

15 glances at my face, then looks away, cheeks coloring.

Sop glances at her sister with a frown before deciding that it doesn't matter, at least for now. "Haddy, I got the firing range all set up! Let's go, let's go!"

"Yeah!" Honey Badger grins. "Let's get your new gun tested out!"

I wave goodbye to Mikhail as the three dolls lead me back the way they had come, to a small clearing that has had some targets set up and a folding plastic table set up to work on the guns.

I shrug the gun case off my shoulder where I had been carrying it for the past while onto the table when prompted by Sop. I had thankfully managed to tweak the optic out of alignment when she wasn't looking, so she shouldn't be mad at me for doing it without her.

Honey Badger pulls a magazine out of her jacket and loads it into her gun, taking a stance a bit away from the targets and starting to plink away.

I let Sop fiddle with the gun and notice that 15 is hanging back a bit, eyes flicking to meet mine as I turn to look at her, then quickly looking away again.

Okay something's up.

"Haddy?"

I focus back on Sop, though part of my brain is still worried about 15 as Sop carefully adjusts the optic, sticking her tongue out and eyes squinting as she tries to eyeball the optic into position.

"I think that's better." Sop pushes the gun into my hands and I carefully check that it's still unloaded before pulling out a magazine and chambering a round.

My Linker is around my neck, off for the moment. I kind of want to see what I can do without its help, as useful as it is normally.

I fire a few rounds, and they go… mostly where I aim them. Sop's hand-drawn targets are slightly distracting though.

"Hmm, slightly too low." She rubs her chin. "You were aiming for her face, right?"

I lower the weapon and flick on the safety before glancing back at her. "I actually met Architect, you know."

Sop points to her drawing. "Yeah, so you know how well I recreated her!"

"Right, but I really don't want to shoot her."

"Why not? She's the enemy."

I glance back at the grinning paper target. I suppose she is the most annoying out of the Sangvis dolls I've met…

Eh, it's not like she'll know about this.

I raise my gun once more, this time aiming at her face.

Hmm. It does fire pretty straight, doesn't it?

Sop claps her hands together. "It works!"

"Yeah." I switch the safety back on the gun and set it down on the table. "Thanks Sop."

"Yep!" She grins at me, her sharp teeth on full display. "So now that that's done, let's have a shooting competition!"

Honey Badger nods enthusiastically, and Sop pulls out her own firearm.

Well…

I look back at 15, who is now fiddling with her own gun, looking undecided about something.

"Hey, 15?"

She jumps at my voice, face flushing and almost dropping her gun. "Y-yes?!"

"Do you want to participate in the competition?"

Sop grabs my bicep. "But she's Anti-Rain's marksman! She'll win easily!"

"Still, she should be allowed to participate." I glance back at 15, who seems conflicted. "Er, you don't have to if you don't want to…"

"No, I'll participate." She steps up to the firing line. "What's the rules?"

Sop thinks for a second. "Okay, how about two teams. 15 and Haddy can be one team, Badger and I can be on the other. We'll each use one of the targets that haven't been shot at yet."

I glance downrange at a bust-up charcitature of 416 and some Sangvis doll I don't recognize. I don't think I'd enjoy what happens if 416 caught me shooting at her likeness. "Er, wouldn't you rather have 15 on your team?"

"Nope! I like challenges!"

I glance at 15 once more, and she's gone back to fiddling with her gun. Something's up with her but-

"Sounds good to me!" Honey Badger walks past me and bumps my shoulder with her fist. "Good luck, Hadwin."

"Yeah, you too."

15 and I line up in front of the caricature of the Sangvis doll, 15 still seeming very distracted by something.

"Begin!" Sop cries, and the clearing fills with the sound of gunfire.

I carefully line up my shots and pull the trigger properly, while the Sop/Badger team just seems to go full auto.

15 though, once again seems not to be all here. She raises her gun to aim at the target, but after every other shot she glances my way and throws off her aim.

In the end, this results in me and 15 being the losers, my own shots somehow being more on target than 15's. 15's supposed to be the sharpshooter for Anti-Rain, right? For her to miss shots at less than forty meters…

Sop and Honey Badger celebrate their win, flexing their arms like trying to show off muscles. Honey Badger had removed her jacket so her bare arms can be seen, biceps bulging-

Wait, she actually has muscles?

I'm not able to dwell on that for long as Sop and Badger walk up.

"Looks like we won!" Sop crows.

"Yep." I give her a high five, and then slap both of Badger's hands at once as she holds them up. "Good shooting."

"Hell yeah." Badger glances downrange at our target. "I… er, what happened? Sop here told me that 15 is supposed to be pretty good."

I turn to look at 15, who is now staring straight downrange, though she doesn't seem to be looking at anything in particular. "I… don't know." I wet my lips. "She's been acting weird for a while. Since… earlier last night?"

"Before you tried to have se-"

I clap my hand over Badger's mouth and Sop raises an eyebrow.

"It was before anyone came to my room." I tell the half-naked doll I'm currently restraining. "Whatever it is, it really seems like it has to do with me… which means it's my job to fix it."

Badger easily pries my hand away from her mouth after a few seconds. "Well, I think I'll let you do it, then. Pretty sure we're gonna need her in top form to have any chance of surviving the week."

I set my mouth in a line.

Sop looks at her sister for a few more seconds before turning back to me. "I hope she's fine."

I scruff up the blonde's hair. "I don't think there's going to be too much of a problem. Let me talk to her alone, and I'll make sure you know what I find."

"Okay…" She frowns. "She hasn't been this bad since…"

I glance at the murder puppy but she shakes her head and turns away, scooping up her equipment and heading after Badger.

I take a deep breath and walk up to 15. "Hey, Star?"

She jumps practically out of her skin, whirling around and glancing around wildly for a fraction of a second before realizing it's just me and lowering the muzzle of her gun. "O-oh! Sorry."

"...What's wrong?" I maintain eye contact. "You've been acting weirdly for a while now."

"Um…" Her eyes wander back downrange. "It's nothing."

"Star." I place a hand gently on each of her shoulders. "You barely hit your target. It's not nothing."

He cheeks color more and more, but I'm going to ignore that until she gives me an answer. "It's… it's really not that big of a deal."

"It kind of is. I don't want you to be distracted when it counts. If this had been combat…"

Her eyes finally flick back to my face before looking down at her gun, where she flicks the fire selector back and forth nervously. "It's a really dumb reason."

"I still can't help you if you don't tell me what it is." I blow out my lips. "Did… did I do something wrong? I know I'm kinda bad at figuring out intentions sometimes-"

"No!" She holds her hands up. "Nothing like that! It's…" She hesitates. "I… I looked in your bag."

"...Okay?"

Her eyes snap to meet mine. "B-but, I shouldn't have been inside of it! Especially since…"

"Especially since… what?" I frown to myself. I don't have anything secret in my bag. Do I? "I'm sure you had a good reason to be inside it."

She nods slowly. "RO asked me to check it for medicine when you were knocked out in the APC we stole."

"So, there's no issue!" I smile at her. "As far as I care, you can go in there if you need something, just tell me if you take something so I know what's missing."

Her blush intensifies. "So… you didn't care that I saw it?"

"...Saw what?" I scratch my chin. "My underwear?"

She shakes her head. "The Oath Ring."

"Oath…?" I furrow my brow. Wasn't that pretty much an engagement ring-

Oh.

Oh shit.

Suddenly, her reactions make… a little bit of sense.

"I figured you were preparing to give it to someone." The color on her cheeks is as deep as I've ever seen it. "I didn't want to bring it up. First, because you were leaving soon anyway and then after just in case you were going to give it to me, but even when I tried giving you opportunities to give it to me, or at least tell me who you were going to give it to…" Her voice trails off, each word quieter and quieter until she's almost inaudible.

In other words, she thought I was preparing to propose, and purposely didn't propose to her. That's… well. "Hey, look at me for a second."

She reluctantly looks up.

"Gentaine handed me that ring way back at the mansion job. To be honest, I've forgotten I still had it. I am in no way shunning you, or planning to propose to anyone." I hold her eyes with my own. "Honestly, if I had to give it to someone right now… it'd probably be you."

Her entire body locks up, so still that she could pass as a statue.

"Right now though, I…" I finally let go of her and put my head in my hands as I think. "Look, I'm not in the headspace to get engaged to anyone. I don't really know how to take care of dolls, or even how I would go about getting you to move back in with me if I go back to Sector 3, or…"

She starts to relax slowly. "...O-oh, you forgot about it. S-so, you weren't just passing me over for-"

"No, of course not!" I put as much bite into my denial as I can. "I l-love you, and I'm not going to throw that away."

Great, now we're both blushing furiously.

"I… I see." A small smile crosses her face. "I understand."

"So… yeah." I look away, realize my gun isn't packed up yet, and walk over that way. "I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable."

"I wasn't uncomfortable. I was just… worried about it." She fiddles with her gun some more as I finish packing everything up and tossing it over my shoulder. "So, what are you going to do about the ring?"

I glance at the makeshift range. This needs to get cleaned up, and since Sop's already left… I walk out onto the range and start tearing down the targets. "I don't really know. I'm not really sure if I can ethically get engaged to someone when I might not make it past the week."

"Ah…"

I look her way, noting that she's folded the two chairs up and is working on the plastic table as I walk around.

"Um, Oath Rings aren't the same thing as getting engaged."

"They're not?" I try to think back to what Gentaine had said, but it was a while ago, and I had more important things on my mind at the time. "I could've sworn…"

"It's… complicated." 15 finishes as I walk up with the trash and shove it into my gun bag. "It's a serialized ring used to show that a human and a doll have committed to taking care of each other forever. The official wording Persica wrote makes it seem like it's marriage, but it's not legally binding and most dolls wouldn't care if you had multiple oaths."

"Huh."

"Marriage… Have you met FN FNC?"

"Yep."

"She used to talk about how when she found the commander of her dreams, she wouldn't settle for an Oath Ring, but would want a real wedding ring. Her head's full of fluff all the time, either chocolate or romance."

"...So even if I gave this ring to someone, it's not like I'm declaring my undying love to them." The forest closes around us as we get back on the path, me grabbing the table and 15 getting the chairs.

"No. Depending on who you give it to, they may take it like that though."

I glance to the side to see 15's face flush once more, showing that she's probably in that category. "Alright then, I won't just hand them out randomly then."

"Good." She nods. "...Still, I'd like it if I could get one someday."

My hands are full with the table, or I'd have hugged her shoulders. "I'm sure you will. Just… give me a bit of time to think about what you said."

"Mmhmm." She looks away. "...If you gave me one, would you be giving rings to 416 and 45 too?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I care for them too, but I feel like I'd be betraying you-"

"It's fine, really. I told you that you could, and you're obviously close with them as well."

I bite my lip. "Star, I want to make this clear. Yeah, I care for them. Probably even love them. But I'm not going to stop loving you, and if they get in our way, I'll… I'll…" I hesitate. "W-well, I would have to force them to stop, somehow."

She walks close enough that our shoulders touch, but doesn't push into me so I don't get pushed aside. "I understand. As long as you have time for me, I'm happy."

We finish our walk out of the woods and pop out relatively close to the train tracks. There's still a lot of activity going on around the platform, cargo changing hands and dolls loading and unloading crates.

Kylie notices me and waves as we come into view. "Hey Hadwin! Us commanders are getting lunch, wanna come?"

I glance at 15.

"Go ahead, I'll get these cleaned up." She gestures for me to hand her the table.

"You sure?"

"Yes." Her face is finally back to it's normal slight scowl, which had prompted my question but I realize she's just schooling her features. "I'll get Sop to help, and you really should make sure to talk with the other commanders."

"Understood." I take a few steps away as she juggles the collapsible furniture. "A-and Star?"

"Hmm?"

"Just so you know, you don't have to ask to be with me. If you want to sleep in my bed, or sit beside me, you're allowed to. No need to get permission."

A smile crosses her face once more. "Thank you."

I turn back and jog over to where Kylie is standing, joined now by Mikhail. Gentaine is wrapping something up even as I get into comfortable talking distance.

"And here he is." Mikhail smirks around his cigarette. "Have fun on your date?"

"Yeah, sure. Hey Kylie, what are we doing for lunch?"

"Talking about your date, for one." She grins. "That sounds interesting."

"I meant foodwise."

"I know." She glances over as Gentaine hands Kalina a clipboard, causing the young woman to sigh and start flipping through the pages. "We're just waiting for Gentiane to finish up so we can decide on that."

I turn to look out toward the town, which… well, it's still got about ten or twenty thousand people in it, and a wall surrounding the entire place. There's probably a few places to eat around.

"Okay! Done." Gentiane sighs. "Can we please get something to eat? I'm sick of rations."

"I was talking with the Mayor. He said there's a nice place only a few minutes into the city." Kylie speaks up. "There's some good hunting in this area, and they've got some killer stews."

"Sounds good to me." Mikhail Starts walking, the rest of us following him.

"So…" Kylie turns to me. "How'd the date go?"

"Eh. We fired guns, I remembered I had an Oath Ring, it was great." I deadpan. "How was yours?"

"My husband's back home in Sector- um, in Russia proper, now." She smiles. "I'm not going on any dates without him."

"Huh, didn't know you were married." I frown.

"I don't wear a ring." She holds up her hand, and indeed there's nothing on it. "I keep it on the down low so guys will buy me drinks at bars."

"...Huh."

Gentaine yawns. "Good god, it feels like it's time for bed already."

"That's what happens when you're up making battle plans all night." Mikhail turns to her. "And also why we're leaving M4 and RO in charge for now. They're capable of handling things for an hour or two."

"I suppose." Gentiane sighs. "Hey, Hadwin?"

"Hmm?"

"Figured out your adjutant situation yet?"

"...No. I'd probably have to pick Aleah though."

"Why's that?" Kylie asks.

"Well, she's got a good head on her shoulders." I shrug. "She's been acting out the adjutant role for a while anyway."

"What about RO?" Mikhail asks.

"She's busy with Anti-Rain." I shrug. "And I'm pretty sure she… uh…"

"She what?"

"She hated me for a while, and I'm still not sure if I trust her." I sigh. "And now I have no idea what she's thinking. It's kinda uncomfortable around her right now, though we're at least able to talk to each other."

"I'm pretty sure she likes you." Mikhail raises an eyebrow. "She spends a whole lot of time worrying about you."

"She defied my orders to go rescue you from Kruševac." Gentaine folds her arms.

"Didn't she specifically ask to continue working with him even after the first stage of… uh." Kylie glances at me. "The plan?"

"She was keeping an eye on me. Besides," I glance at some of the pedestrians staring at us as we pass. "She was in on the plan. How dumb do you need to be to fall for your own plan?"

"Uh…" Gentiane scratches her face. "Yeah, but she still spent a lot of time with you, right?"

I turn to stare at her, stopping in place and forcing the entire group to a standstill.

"She's actually the one that's probably spent the most time worrying about how you're doing, and since she was always in contact with you, that makes it more likely than the others to fall for you."

"...but, she was in on it."

Gentiane shrugs. "She didn't guard herself from it, so that means she's probably not against it."

I put my head in my hands.

"If it makes you feel better," Kylie speaks up. "She's always been kind of a stick in the mud, so knowing what she's thinking isn't easy."

"It does not." I groan. "Man, I really wish you hadn't forced them into this."

"...Hadwin, I just wanted to ask you something." Mikhail turns to me. "Why do you think you've got dolls tripping over themselves and we don't?"

"...Hmm?"

We arrive at the small restaurant and Kylie pushes the door open to let us in.

"I mean, I'm a commander too, aren't I? None of us have harems."

I glance at Gentaine, who is purposely not looking in our direction, but hiding her face in the menu. "Sure, but what's your point?"

"It's not like we forced them to like you." Kylie shrugs. "We did the equivalent of shoving you in a room with them and locking the door."

"Alright, I don't want to have this conversation again." I sigh. "I get why you did what you did, but I still feel it's a bit scummy. Still, I'm here because despite it all, 45, 416, and 15 all do like me, I like them back, and I'm not gonna abandon them."

Gentiane sets down the menu and raises an eyebrow. "Didn't you quit?"

I glare at her, and the other two commanders snicker. "You know damn well why I did that, and why I came back."

"Actually…" Mikhail taps his own menu distractedly. "All I know is Gentiane got a call in the middle of the night."

"I was tired, so I don't recall much more than anger at being woken up." Gentiane scratches her head. "Did you ever tell me what happened?"

"...404 convinced me to stay." I decide I don't want to go into details. "They were going to try to settle their debts and come after me, which would've made it harder for all of you, and… I dunno." I shrug uncomfortably, 9's threats still burned into my head.

"I can honestly say that if 404 threatened to follow me, I think I'd just off myself." Kylie mutters. "They're so creepy."

"Careful." Mikhail elbows his fellow commander. "He's dating two of them."

"Hah."

We pause the conversation to talk to the waiter, who takes our orders and grabs us drinks. I tilt the lemonade down my throat as Gentaine turns to me.

"So, what happened inside of Kruševac once I left? RO came to me yesterday, and she was pretty distraught. She told me that it had to do with your time in the city, but she didn't tell me what it was."

"...Right." I sigh. "So, after the VTOL took off-"

Hours later, I find myself once more inside the storage car that Kalina had practically started to call home.

"More bullets?" Kalina peers at the requisition list.

"Yeah, I used a few of them to sight in my gun today and AR-15 says she's gonna do a barrel swap over to .300 blackout." I hesitate. "That's… something that can be done, right? She wasn't pulling my leg?"

"It should be fine. If I recall, I had to get her a rechamber kit after she got back from working with DEFY after Belgrade, so she knows what she's doing."

"That's good." I nod. "Because when she starts talking about barrel pressure my brain turns off."

Kaline smirks. "If you're gonna be dating Tactical dolls, you're going to have to get used to that. It's part of the core personality, after all."

"Right." I take the box she hands me, but hesitate for a moment on leaving. "Actually, can I ask you for some advice?"

"Only if you pay me."

"...How much?"

She blinks. "That was a joke, but if you're willing to pay, I'm not gonna say no."

Alright. "So, I've been thinking about the future, if I try to date a doll-"

She wolf whistles, interrupting me.

"-and it came up that I don't really know what's required to maintain a doll for any length of time."

She chews on this for a few seconds. "It's about three thousand credits per month, per doll." She runs her chin. "A bit less if they're not using their firearms."

"Three-?!"

"It might actually be more for you. You would have to rent out a repair facility, and those aren't cheap."

"How does anyone afford to keep a doll?!"

She twirls her pen in her hand. "If you get lower quality frames, it's cheaper. Also, you don't have to put them in for maintenance monthly, but since we're in combat, we don't skimp on that. Still, since all of the girls you're dating have tactical refits, you'll probably need to get them to a repair facility at least every other month to avoid breaking down."

I quietly think back to the money I had managed to earn this past month. It wouldn't keep three dolls for more than a few years, and that's assuming I don't need any of that myself.

"Huh. Sounds like I need to save up some more."

Kalina slides up next to me and elbows me in the ribs. "Hey, tell me about your girlfriends."

"...AR-15, HK 416, and UMP 45." I state.

"I already knew about those three, I thought there were more now. Nevertheless!" She sets down her clipboard and pen and sits on a nearby crate. "C'mon, give me the juicy details!"

I set down the box of ammo on the floor and lean on the wall. "What exactly do you mean?"

"You know! How many times have you kissed, stuff like that."

"Uh… a bunch? 416 seems to like them the most, she keeps grabbing me whenever she can lately. 45 doesn't really like any public displays of affection, and 15 is too shy to ask for them."

"I see, I see!" She leans forward. "45's a shy girl, is she?"

"Surprisingly. I figure she's just been on the run so long that showing weakness would've gotten her killed."

"Probably." Kalina nods. "416's pretty bold from what I've seen."

"I'm partially convinced the only reason she hasn't grabbed me and handcuffed us together is because she's still kind of trying to play the perfect doll." I scratch my head. "Which is probably my fault after what I said to her during and after we were in Sector 3."

"Hmm… and 15?"

"Shy." I nod. "But she's happy."

"I see, I see!" She repeats herself. "So, how about the others?"

"I'm only dating three-"

"And how long is that gonna last, really? I hang out on Griffchan, I talk with the repair crews and I talk with the dolls too. I know for a fact that at least a few more are after you."

"...Wonderful." I make sure my tone of voice conveys as much sarcasm as would fit into the word.

"Oh please, you've got a ton of pretty girls who want you. I'd kill for a bunch of rich men that would give me anything I want and could be ordered around."

"Good luck with that." I pick up the ammo can again. "The only rich guys I know are certifiable creeps."

"Yeah…" Her eyes narrow. "Actually, don't you make a lot too?"

"Uh-"

"Yeah, you do. I was in charge of the paperwork." She tugs on the ribbon around her neck. "Hey, won't you buy a gal a present~?"

"...If I do, will you stop that?" I ask weakly.

She burst out laughing. "Oh jeez, you're a riot!" She calms down a bit before continuing, untying and retying her ribbon to lay just across her cleavage. "Nah, you're not my type anyway."

I can't help but let out a sigh.

"Speaking of presents though." She turns around and digs into a nearby crate. "I found these."

Five small black boxes.

I already know what they are, but I grab one as she sets them down and open it, looking at the pair of rings inside.

"Figured you might want to make it official before we toss ourselves into the meat grinder." She shrugs. "It can't hurt."

"I'm pretty sure it can." I pick up a second box and set it on the ammo can next to the first. "How much for the two of them?"

"What, don't need one for SV-98, RO, or Aleah?"

"Nope. How much?"

She makes a show of clicking her tongue and pouting, but shows me how much and I agree to have the funds removed from my paycheck.

Now I have three sets of rings.

Kalina grabs the two black boxes and puts them into a bag scrounged from some of the supplies. "Pleasure doing business with you! If you decide to shack up with anyone else, make sure to come back for more!"

"Yeah, yeah." I wave back. "I'll pad your wallet if I need to."

"Glad you understand!"

I barely had time to set down the ammo box in my room when a siren blares overhead, one I am thoroughly unfamiliar with.

15 and Sop look up from where they're adjusting 15's secondary gun to use the .300 blackout I had just retrieved.

"What's going on?"

Aleah's face goes blank for a second. "Large ELID presence approaching."

I glance up at the roof of the caboose, quietly wondering if this town's defenses can hold up.

Aleah turns to me. "You're being requested by Gentiane."

"Hey, toss me the Linker!" I call Sop, who lobs the device at me. I slide it on and flick the switch, waiting a second for it to boot before "Connect me to Gentiane."

"Hadwin." Her voice comes through so crisply that she's obviously wearing a Linker herself. "We've got a problem."

"What?"

"Your sniper squad. 11-2, right? They went outside the walls earlier to go hunting. This town is going to seal the doors in a few minutes, and they're not going to make it back in time. I've contacted them, they're on their way back, but-"

My blood runs cold. "What?!"

"Last known location was about a mile out, down the tracks."

"SHIT!" I walk over to the exo suit, plug the trailing cable into the Linker, and let it snap around my body.

"I know you're going to want to go out there-"

"No, really?!" I snarl, picking up my new gun and making sure I have everything. Ammo, gun, exo… backpack. "Which way?"

"Hadwin, what good is running-"

"Which. Way."

"South exit. Follow the rail lines out. They're not going to keep the doors open for you." She hesitates. "You're too valuable to risk-"

"Don't care." I step out of the back end of the caboose and mentally command P90 to cut the transmission.

"Commander!"

I turn to see S.A.T. running up to me, gun at the ready. Behind her, AEK and Ithaca run up. Aleah hops out of the train car behind me, her own weapon at the ready and a bundle at her side.

"You guys are coming with?"

"Sì." S.A.T. nods. "There's no way we'd let you go out alone."

"...Good. I'll need the help." I admit. Glancing at Ithaca, I notice she still doesn't have her gun. "Ithaca-"

Aleah shoves the bundle she was carrying into my arms, and I peek at it even as Ithaca walks over at my call.

…It's her gun. I turn to Aleah and mouth 'thank you' to her before fully unwrapping the shotgun and presenting it to Ithaca.

She looks down at it, then back up to me and wraps me in a bear hug.

I faceplant into her breasts, and try to back up for a second before I realize she's holding my head there.

You know what? Fine. I'll just sit here-

She releases me after a few more moments, relieves me of the gun in my hands and starts to walk down the tracks.

AEK pulls even with me, even at our jogging pace. "Jealous."

"You could ask her to do the same to you."

"But where's the fun in asking?" AEK checks her gun one last time, arranging the links of the belt to feed through the gun smoothly. "It's better if they do it to you unasked."

I just shake my head before connecting to everyone with the Linker. "Okay, so, it sounds like 11-2 is still outside the walls. They were hunting, but now there's ELIDs on the way."

"Ahhh… I wonder if they got anything tasty." AEK levels her gun and starts walking beside me.

"I would like to use fresh ingredients for once." S.A.T. muses aloud.

I look at the blonde-haired shotgun who seems lost in her own world for a moment, before deciding to drop it. "We've got to see if we can get them back before they get hurt, and preferably get back before they close the doors on us."

"I guess they're not going to keep them open then." Ithaca loads a few shells into her weapon and cycles it with a hefty click-click.

"Probably not."

As I say those words aloud, the large metal gates start to groan to life, yellow flashers activating as a warning to stay out of their way.

"Fully automated." Aleah notes, her own eyes scanning around. "Once they're closed, they will not be opening until the alert ends."

"...Wonderful."

"Commander?"

I glance back to see 15 and Sop looking out of the back of the caboose.

"Hold on a moment, and we'll be right with you-"

"The doors are closing." I point out, walking backwards to maintain my momentum. "I can't afford to stop. Besides, I might need someone on the inside to help convince the authorities to let us back in."

Our squad of five crosses the threshold of the wall, the six meter thick metal monstrosity that keeps its inhabitants alive. Smaller than Kruševacs by two orders of magnitude, but still effective in keeping out the collapse fluid and monsters that are created by it. The doors are closing in, about to seal us out.

"Normally," S.A.T. watches the big doors close behind us as we step into the greater outdoors. "you wouldn't send more dolls out in this situation. In fact, sending out a human too is kind of stupid."

"We've got to conserve doll frames." I deadpan.

"And the real reason?" Aleah's lip quirks up.

"Nobody left behind." I charge my Honey Badger and flick it off of safe.

"There's the stupid human emotions we all love so much!" AEK crows. "Let's go!"

Easy for her to say. I'm almost at full tilt already, feet finding purchase on the wooden rail ties instead of the soft ground to either side. P90's constantly adjusting my steps for me to force me to remain upright and go faster, faster than I think it's usually possible for a person to run.

The dolls on either side of me seem to have none of the same restrictions, feet pressing into the soft ground and gravel hard enough to spray debris behind them with each footstep. Ithaca, S.A.T. and Aleah have serious expressions on their faces, but AEK's still got her relaxed grin for now.

It's only two minutes before our teammates come into sight, the partially cloudy weather allowing the sun to beat down at the sight up ahead.

A wall of ELIDS.

In front of them, four dolls desperately dragging a fifth while shooting behind them.

SV-98 is firing rapidly, reloading faster than I thought possible.

Tokarev has forgone her weapon in lieu of twin blades that she uses to slice and dice her way through the encroaching horde.

M200 is desperately firing at the bigger ELIDs, her lanky frame able to keep her upright through the process.

Mk23 is picking off anyone that gets close, dragging the unmoving NTW.

S.A.T.'s energy shield pops up and I decide to ignore the screaming pain in my legs and push as hard as I can forward.

Then P90 tells me that I'm in range.

I continue to move forward at a prodigious rate, but slow down just enough that I can keep my balance without my arms, flick on the laser, look for the dot-

An ELID goes down in the first spray, then a second.

To either side of me AEK and Aleah skid to a stop and open up, bullets tearing into the flanks even as S.A.T. and Ithaca continue forward.

Ithaca reaches the group of scrambling dolls first, charging past them and slamming into the lead ELID with her shield. It goes flying even as she comes to a halt, her shotgun coming around to blast the next one in line.

S.A.T. unloads her weapon in rapid fire, clearing enough space for her to grab NTW, throw her over her shoulder, and put both her hands back on her shotgun.

Tokarev and Mk23 take the moment to step back, reassessing the situation as I skid to a halt beside them.

That… is a lot of ELIDs.

"Keep moving back!" I command, and the dolls immediately start retreating, guns pointed at the incoming horde. Tokarev swaps out her blades for the small pistol she usually carries, carefully picking her targets.

My gun clicks empty and I quickly jam a new magazine in and charge the gun. "What happened to NTW?!"

"She-" SV kicks at an ELID that gets too close before jamming her barrel down its throat and pulling the trigger. "She got hit by a tree."

"A what!?"

M200's voice cuts in. "Commander, I'm red on ammo."

"Can you carry NTW?"

"Yes."

"Swap with S.A.T.!"

I can't afford to look back as the ELIDs press closer and closer, our slim buffer zone clear of the dead growing smaller and smaller every second.

Aleah's supporting fire suddenly cuts off, and P90 helpfully labels her as reloading. Meanwhile, the ELIDs on that front start to press in as their suppression ends.

I try to pick up the pace, but we can only go so fast as we walk backwards down the track.

I didn't even bring out that much ammo to begin with-

A roar that can be heard even over the sound of gunfire pierces the air, and some smaller ELIDs go flying as the largest one pushes its way through the crowd.

A Smasher.

I had shot a bunch of them earlier in the day. But, that was from a moving train, with NTW's namesake, and they were a good bit away and below me.

They're a lot more intimidating when they're running at you.

"RUN!" SV screams.

I turn around and bolt as fast as my legs will carry me.

Which, as it turns out, isn't fast enough.

"HADW-"

I don't hear the rest as something slams into me, sending me flying off to the side and slamming into a tree off the side of the path.

"...ooooowwwww."

"Status report: Exo at 59% capacity, two power cells have shorted and then been isolated. Biometrics indicate a light fracture in three of your ribs.."

"Thanks, 90." I groan as I get to my feet, arm partially tangled around my gun on its lanyard. "What the hell-"

Oh.

I turn back to see what had happened, only to find that the Smasher is looking my way, a full fucking tree in it's hand, gripped like a club. Judging from how hard I went flying…

And now it's coming for me. Slowly, bouncing its club on the ground like a thug with a baseball bat.

…Sometimes I forget these things aren't quite mindless.

The rest of them are still going on ahead though.

"HADWIN! HADWIN!" S.A.T.'s voice is hysterical. "PLEASE ANSWER ME!"

"I'm up!" I send back. "Keep moving!"

"But-"

"Oh, for the love of- I'm going to run through the forest. I'll be slower, but so will that thing!"

"It won't." Aleah notes. "It's actually likely to brute force its way through the trees, and you'll be struggling with the uneven terrain."

I pause for a fraction of a second. "Okay, then. Can we kill it?"

"I'm out of ammo." M200's voice sounds like it's on the verge of tears. "And NTW dropped her rifle back there!" A small highlight shows up in my vision showing where the rifle had been dropped.

"I hate to say it, but none of us are really equipped to deal with the beast." Ithaca's voice is still calm, though I can hear her gun cycling faster than any human could likely actuate the mechanism.

"We weren't expecting a horde! There wasn't supposed to be any near here! I checked first!" SV cries out. "The only horde this large we went past was the one we had to stop for."

"And they picked up some buddies along the way." I mutter.

The Smasher continues to march forward, tree brandished.

"Can you guys push back toward me?" I ask.

"No." Ithaca's calm voice responds. "We're still being pushed back."

"Shit. FUCK!" A map of approximate locations of everything on the battlefield shows up in front of me…

Ah. There's an option.

"Can we thread through them like that?" I ask P90.

"If you let me take over."

"...Too risky. We'll head after the rest of the dolls-"

Then the Smasher howls again, raises the tree trunk for a mighty sweep, and I take the moment to run.

"Hadwin?" S.A.T.'s voice interjects. "You're going the wrong way."

"I know, but I don't really have much choice at the moment!"

"...Can you reach the NTW?"

"I- Maybe?!"

"Then come back around, we'll try to hold here until you get here-"

The tree once more swings in my direction, and I have to duck, the air almost whistling with the sheer force of the swing.

"Unless you think we can outrun this thing, I don't think waiting is a good idea." My stomach drops out. "I-I'll see if I can circle around to the gun."

"...If you don't come back-"

"S.A.T. I'll be back, even if I have to drag myself there. Don't worry about me."

I glance back at the Smasher.

It rears back and sweeps the heavy log one handed, sweeping a large blow that takes out some of its own before it gets close to me.

I leap upwards over the attack, the exo just able to give me enough height to avoid the blow.

I almost stick the landing, but I have to put one hand down to avoid face-planting in the brush.

Now that I'm closer to the stream of ELIDs, I start to draw their attention again.

Shit.

I fire at the closest few ELIDs, still pressing my way forward, P90's assistance the only thing allowing me to literally dodge through gaps in their unorganized ranks, jerking this way and that.

A part of me not trying to dodge the wave of grasping hands and teeth realizes that any of the ELIDs that make it past me aren't turning around, but continuing to charge forward. Even the ones that spot me are only taking a swipe or two in their hurry.

The Smasher swings the tree and clobbers another whole section of smaller dead people, and it moves forward again.

Whatever everything else is running from, this guy isn't.

I raise my gun up-

My heel catches on something heavy and I fall on my back.

Looking down-

Ah, the NTW-20. I was heading for it, but-

I struggle to grab it, but a regular sized ELID trips over me and sprawls to the ground, turning its dead eyes back my way.

I draw my pistol in a panic and fire a few shots, one of them finding an eye socket and punching through whatever it is that ELIDs use as a brain.

The Smasher swings its weapon of choice once more, clearing out all of the small fry in the area and probably taking a bit of skin off my nose with the sweep. As the blow finishes, the tree sweeps back and up, preparing for an overhead blow that I can be a hundred percent sure I will not survive.

I grab the heavy NTW and yank it with me as I roll to the side, ignoring the ELIDs that try to grab at me as the tree comes down and completely crushes anything underneath it.

The ground sports a furrow deep enough to trap a car when the Smasher draws the log back after failing to hit me again, already winding up for its next attack.

I manage to struggle to my feet, noticing that both the ELIDs coming closer are starting to thin out, and that even the ones closer to me aren't trying to hit me any more.

I glance toward the oncoming wave, but I can't see what is causing them to run like this. They can't all just be chasing the dolls, right?

I don't have much time to dwell on thoughts like that as the tree swings once more, and I barely leap out of the way in time, the heavy weapon instead crushing another ELID, ichor getting everywhere.

I lift the absurdly heavy weapon up to my shoulder, the exo suit straining to keep it up.

Come on, just aim for the head-

I pull the trigger.

Nothing.

I cycle the bolt with incredible speed, eyes glued to the tree coming up for one more attack. One, final attack.

The cold, already spent casing ejects and I catch the briefest glimpse of brass still in the chamber.

Good.

I don't even bother to look down the sights of the gun, I just raise it up, brace with the top carrying handle and-

MOTHERFUCKER!

I land flat on my ass, another ELID smacking into me and screaming.

My entire right arm is numb after that blow, and I consciously ignore the six or so warnings that flash into my vision to pull my pistol out once more and fire it into the ELID now trying to leap at me.

The small caliber bullets don't find any weak points in the silicon armor, and it manages to land on top of me.

It balls its fists and starts to swing them down, blows so heavy the first one winds me completely.

Still, I manage to spring my hand open and stab its eye out, and puncture it further, killing it once more.

It collapses on top of me and I have to struggle with one arm to get it off, all the while looking around to see what happened to the Smasher.

…It's not dead.

It's on the ground, legs dragging limply, but it's clawing hand of hand to get to me, swatting away the other, smaller ELIDs that get in its way of coming to bash my brain in.

Finally, I manage to shrug the corpse twice dead off and stagger to my feet.

So many warnings. My head hurts enough that I'm not sure I'm reading these right. What does 'excessive ELID exposure' mean? One tried to hammer your head in?!

The text changes to read 'collapse fluid' and I wince. But, that's an issue for a later time.

"Hadwin!" P90's voice is sharp. "You need to move!"

"Moving!"

I grit my teeth and reach down to grab the NTW again, by the carrying handle this time, and start moving through the running crowd of ELIDs.

The Smasher continues to claw its way toward me, trying to bellow but just wheezing instead the hole right through its body apparently through a lung. Or something.

Agh, so much pain.

Gotta keep moving.

I check the map P90 made for me, and I can see that the dolls are almost at the walls of the town.

So are the ELIDs, but hopefully they'll be able to get back inside.

I don't know what the fuck got into the ELIDs to get them to ignore me, but-

BOOM

I freeze in place at the sound.

That… that was a cannon of some sort-

Something hits the edge of the forest, blinding as it detonates and incinerates the closer ELIDs.

My first thought was that that was one of our HOCs, but the direction that the initial blast had come from…

I look back the way the ELIDs had arrived.

Down the tracks, coming around a bend about three kilometers down, is a train.

A massive train, needing both sets of parallel tracks.

On the back of the train cars, there's a cannon that is raised in the air.

Oh.

That's the KCCO, isn't it.

"Hey-" I cough a few times, spit the blood out of my mouth, and try again. "Hey, Gentaine?"

"Hadwin?" Her voice conveys that she's frowning. "Status report."

"Good news." I spit again, picking up the pace. "Smasher's dead, and the dolls are almost at the wall."

"Bad news?"

"I'm not close to the wall. The ELIDs aren't attacking me either."

"...Uh-"

"It's because the KCCO is chasing them, I think." I glance back to see that the train has an escort of several Hydras and two Typhons. An escort that I most certainly wouldn't survive. "We need to get moving ASAP."

"Shit. SHIT!" She yells. "Mikhail! Recall all of the dolls NOW! Kylie, contact the may-"

P90 cuts the transmission. "Hadwin, there's something crazy happening to your body-"

I wince. "Sorry, 90, but I know the effects of ELID and I don't want to hear about it."

"No, that's not it-"

I find myself setting the butt of the anti-material rifle on the ground and using it as a cane, a heavy cane, to walk to the forest edge.

Gotta… get back to the wall.

"Aleah?"

"Commander."

"Sitrep please." I lean on a tree for a second. Just a second.

"We're at the base of the wall. We're almost out of ammo, but since we retreated around the side a bit, it's been lighter. It seems like the ELIDs are too busy to target us directly."

"Yeah, that's cause they've been herded here by the KCCO."

"...Ah."

SV's voice cuts into the transmission. "Are you okay?"

"I'm surviving." I push myself off the tree and put the rifle's strap up on my shoulder. "I'll be heading that way ASAP. Get inside if you can."

"I actually know of a side entrance that I used earlier, it should allow us to get in without breaching the entire town's security." SV replies back with some amount of bravado. "I'll send you the coordinates."

I look at the distance finder, and realize that I'm still half a kilometer away.

"Hey 90?"

"Hmm?"

"How fast can we make it to the wall?"

"If you want to try to slog it through the forest, maybe ten minutes. If you run along the tracks, maybe three?"

"Shit. Okay, here's hoping the KCCO isn't willing to shell a single person."

"You mean like they did back in Kruševac?"

"...Fuck." I take another few deep breaths, grip my Honey Badger, and start to run.

The vast majority of the ELID presence is already past, the track clear in front of me aside from the scattered ELID corpses. There's enough space for me to plan a route out that gets me in between them, so I'm making decent time.

"We're nearing the door." Mk23 says. "ETA thirty seconds!"

"Got it."

BOOM

I glance back, and P90 traces an arc and a splash zone for the round… it's going to hit the edge of the forest on the other side of the tracks again, the explosion overlapping the track-

I watch the shell impact, bracing against the pressure wave.

The ELIDs aren't so lucky, blown to bits or just swept aside and smashed into trees.

"Why aren't they aiming for the track?!" I glare back at my new pursuers, and note with worry that the Hydras have broken formation and are moving closer.

"They need the track intact if they want to roll through here." P90 reminds me. "So they're aiming off to the side to avoid damaging anything."

"Suits me just fine." I grumble.

Still, I keep an eye on the map that P90 is keeping updated.

"We're at the door!" SV cheers.

"Is it open?" M200 asks, her voice still strained.

"It's-"

My exo suit clamps around my body and throws me to the side, just in time for a cannon to fire behind me and punch through where I just was. I barely manage to keep my feet, glancing backwards to see what that was.

A Hydra.

It's a shiny new frame, with bright white lettering on the side.

И1704.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me-!"

I focus on running again, legs burning so hot they start to feel like there's pins stabbing into them. I'm a minute from the wall.

И1704's cannon fires again, brushing past me and plowing into ELID ahead of me, destroying it completely.

"I'm not in the mood to play with you!" I snarl at the robot, only to get a burst of electronic noise in return.

"It says 'Too bad'."

"You sure translated that quickly."

"Well, now that I know how to speak Hydra." P90 comments. "Also, that's the abbreviated version."

"What is the long version?"

"'I think you will find that, in absence of extremely unlikely circumstances beyond either of our control, I will continue to be able to 'play' with you'."

"Oh, so it talks all fancy, huh?" I want to flip it off, but I'm afraid of spending the time to slow down and taunt it.

"Very formal." P90 agrees.

From on top of the wall where the tracks are, bullets rain down from people I don't recognize, the town's self defense force most likely. This is dwindling the number of ELIDs hammering at the wall, or trying to go around.

I'm not eager to get mulched by either side and break away to head for where the other entrance SV noticed is located.

I cut through the trees a bit, breaking out from the treeline-

S.A.T.'s gun sweeps past me, the barrel aiming right at me for a fraction of a second before she adjusts her aim and fires at an ELID beside me.

"Why aren't you guys inside?!" I look around at the dolls standing around with guns out, firing at any ELIDs that get in range.

"Door's sealed shut." SV grimaces, pointing to the large metal shutter that looks like it blocks a hole about as wide as a truck. "No call button either."

I turn around, but the incoming horde isn't going to let us past.

"Let me try." P90 says to me.

"...Okay." I mutter, and Ithaca's eyes follow me in mild curiosity as I step up to the door.

"Hmm… This is a nice encryption suite they have." P90 muses. "It's gonna take some time-"

"You don't have time!" I snap out loud, drawing more glances. "Just get it done!"

"Sure."

The HUD disappears, the exo locks up, and I suddenly have a piercing headache that threatens to white out my vision in pain.

"Utilizing additional local resources."

In the background, I can hear S.A.T. cry out as two somethings hit the ground.

I start to wonder when the torment will end, only after my brain cooks off or-

I wake up with a gasp, the door sliding open.

Turning around, I see that both Tokarev and Mk23 have collapsed, though the others have grabbed them.

"GET INSIDE!" I shout, and we retreat inside the wall.

I find the emergency override lever and throw it as soon as we're all inside, watching as the door slowly slides back shut.

It's only once it settles that I allow myself to collapse to the ground, exhausted.

At which point, I'm tackled by an orange and blonde blur.

S.A.T. land on top of me, though she doesn't actually put any weight on me, and grips the front of my exo. "You-!"

I can't find the energy to do anything more than half smile up at her. "Sorry, but I made it."

"..." She stares at me for a second before letting go of the front of my exo, instead grabbing my face, and-

Huh?

At first my brain refuses to process the sensation on my lips.

When she sits up, still panting, her eyes sharpen into a glare. "What did we tell you about heroics?"

"...Huh?"

"Hey." AEK hauls the shotgun to her feet. "We've gotta move, you can pin him down later."

Ithaca reaches down and helps me to my feet, and I notice that Mk23 and Tokarev are starting to blink themselves back awake.

"What happened?" I mutter to myself.

"There'll be time for that later." Aleah grabs NTW from M200. "We need to get on the train, NOW."

I watch the town shrink into the distance, body aching all over.

All of us made it back to the train before it left, barely. Kylie managed to get the town to open the gate for us as well, putting a guard up so we could roll past without worrying about the ELIDs.

The KCCO also stopped to refuel, so despite the worry that they were right behind us, it seems like we'll still have a bit of a head start for now.

"How are you feeling?"

I turn around to see 45 saunter up behind me to lean on the railing. "Eh, I'm… fine."

I'm really not. P90 had informed me that I almost died from sheer ELID poisoning out there, but those fucking tiny robots that leaked into my bloodstream that fixed my arm up reactivated in response to the collapse fluid leaving from the ELIDs, which is the only reason I'm not dead from several other things.

She said that I'm showing some early signs of ELID poisoning, but the nanites are consuming most of the junk before it can kill me.

Still not a good idea to walk naked into a red zone, but-

"Well, that's good. I'd hate it if you needed me to figure out a way to find a container of Strelet juice to keep you alive."

I shudder.

"I got you this instead."

I glance to the side to see she has a bottle of some sort in her hand.

"It's apparently very tasty." She eyes the bottle. "Though I can't say for sure I'd know the difference between a good wine and a bad one. I don't drink often."

"Oh?"

"My frame makes me look like I'm in my mid-teens." She gestures to herself. "As you might imagine, that makes it hard to get alcohol."

"I suppose it would."

"Come inside, we've got dinner."

Reluctantly, I duck back inside the caboose after 45.

Inside, there's an odd bunch of dolls strewn across the room.

S.A.T. is using the cookware she got in Kruševac to create a stew along with a bunch of MREs and the deer that SV had managed to snipe before the ELIDs showed up. It was attached to NTW's frame, apparently. I wasn't really looking at her so it's fair that I missed it.

Since she managed to get it, SV is also present, as is M200, Mk23, and Tokarev. I feel especially bad for the poor handguns who had P90 forcibly take them over to hack into the door control software, and as such they have been given the privilege of sitting on my lap.

This is apparently a privilege that S.A.T. herself assigns, and the two smaller girls are waiting expectantly for me to take my spot on the edge of the bed once more.

At the table, G11 and 416 are waiting their turns for some of the stew, G11 predictably fighting to stay awake and 416 looking my way every few seconds.

Sop, M200, and 15 are sitting on the floor playing with the deck of cards I had in my pack. Ithaca was playing with them, but she decided to just stare at me once I re-enter the caboose.

"Ah, the stew's almost done!" S.A.T. beams.

"Thank you." I nod to her, then settle down in my spot, the two handguns taking a leg each almost immediately. "Hey, SV? How's NTW's repairs coming along?"

"Hmm? Oh, she'll be fine. She was hit so hard that some of the power circuitry came disconnected. We've got the repair team rewiring her back up and she'll be up in no time."

"That's good." I sigh. "I was worried there."

"It was very dangerous when all you managed to get out of it was a deer." 416 frowns. "Next time, someone needs to restrain him from leaving if he's going to buck his escort."

"It wasn't on purpose." I assure her. "Blame the Smasher."

"They don't usually use trees." SV's eyes stare out into the distance. "Now I've got to worry about that."

"It's weird how much they seem to be aware of." Sop muses aloud. "I mean, if it was a zombie show they wouldn't be able to fire guns, but if it was a horde of humans, then they wouldn't just sprint at us like ELIDs do."

"They're not real zombies." G11's sleepy face peer over the edge of the table at the murder puppy. "Real zombies can fly."

"Nein, we don't talk about that cursed show." 45 climbs onto the bed behind me and sits directly behind me, poking her head over my shoulder.

"But-!"

"Drop it." 416 informs her.

G11 folds her arms and pouts.

"Anyway." S.A.T. starts taking the paper plates and putting some of the thick stew on them. The plates are handed out quickly, and before long, we're all munching down on the stew and chatting.

It's much better than the stuff I had gotten at the restaurant earlier, despite being half MRE. I guess it's the home cooking touch.

45 had grabbed some solo cups from somewhere and poured the wine into the cups, one of which was handed to me. In case you haven't tried it, having two teenage girls sit on your legs kind of makes it hard to eat, especially if there's no table available, so what ended up happening is Mk23 and Tokarev decided to take turns 'helping'.

It's a comfortable scene. I barely have time to talk with my help, so I spend the time just listening to the dolls talk amongst themselves. Little things, like the paper crown Mk23 made up to celebrate SV's shot, or how much S.A.T.'s face lights up every time someone praises the stew, or M200 finally figuring out the rules to old maid enough to win the game once.

I sip on the plastic cup full of what is probably very good wine, keeping my mouth shut just enough that neither of the two handguns would try to jam a fork into my mouth.

"Enjoying the festivities?" S.A.T. walks over from the side of the pot, a whole two steps, but it forces me to look up at her.

"Yes." I keep the cup in front of my mouth to ward off the two forks. "Your cooking is delicious as always."

Her cheeks color slightly. "I'm glad!"

I drink some more of the wine to try to hide my own embarrassment. She had kissed me earlier, and it feels like I shouldn't be ignoring her for long. "Ah, well… t-thanks for keeping us all safe out there."

Her face folds into a small frown. "You know, I get really worried when you try to play hero. When I woke up and heard that you'd gone and sent everyone else on ahead back in Kruševac, I almost went to yell at you."

"Sorry." I set down the cup and look her right in the eyes. "I mean it, I don't want to make you worried."

"Ah, wunderbar." 416's voice catches most of us off guard, her tone angry. "More empty promises."

45 peers around S.A.T. and winces. "Uh-oh."

"What?" I turn to her.

"Someone gave 416 a cup."

S.A.T. steps aside as 416 stands up abruptly, chair sliding into Sop, before turning to march the entire three steps over to me and grabbing my shirt in her fist, the cup still in her other hand.

"Uh, 416-?"

"Nein. My turn to talk." She drains the rest of her cup and tosses it over her shoulder. "You keep charging into battle without us, and then when you come back you say, 'Oh, I didn't think you'd get worried' like I don't care about you."

"H-hey, I didn't say that."

"Halt die Klappe. I want you to know that no matter what, I'm worried for you, so if you want me to not be worried you have to lock yourself in a box and give me the key." Hey eyes shift to the side, and I can't help but wonder if she's actually considering it. "But since you're not gonna do that, at least let me come with you into combat."

"Yeah!" Sop cheers. "Me too!"

"Not you, infernal dog."

Sop blinks. "Huh?"

416 drops me back on the bed and turns to face Anti-Rain's youngest member. Or, youngest seeming. "I'm his wife, so I'll be going out with him!"

"You two got married?" SV looks at me in confusion. "Uh, congratulations?"

"SV, she's drunk. Try not to take her words at face value."

Meanwhile, 416 continues. "That makes it my job to keep him safe. You don't get to come along!"

"Huh?!" Sop pops up to her feet even as 15 grabs for her, the pink haired doll just a fraction of a second too slow. "I don't see a ring on your finger!"

My eyes shift to the plastic bag in the corner of the room next to my backpack. If she only knew-

"I'm sure it's just a matter of time." 416 announces with absolute confidence. "I heard from Kalina that he bought an Oath Ring!"

There's a chorus of 'Oooohhhhh' and while I try to hide behind my cup I still manage to notice 15's glance my way.

I hope she doesn't take that the wrong way.

"I wonder who that ring is for." 45 pokes my cheek with her metal finger. "Surely not a woman who gets drunk and starts claiming things that aren't true."

I don't even get a chance to answer.

Sop walks over to the corner of the room. "If that's true, then he must have gotten them when he went to get ammo." She picks up the plastic bag, and sticks her hand inside. "So it would have to be in here somewhere-"

She draws out her hand…

That's a box of condoms.

Dammit, Kalina.

I hand Tokarev my cup and massage my temples as the room bursts out into laughter, leaving a bewildered Sop looking at the box in confusion.

15's face draws into a smirk. "If you really want a ring for your finger, I suppose that would work."

"Wh- huh?" 416 snatches at the bag, but Sop yanks it away without effort, eyes, still studying the small box in her claw. "I looked at the receipt! There's no way-"

The room devolves into chaos at this point, and it's a good five minutes before everyone calms down enough for me to talk, and 45 ended up taking 416 and G11 from the room. 15 is still trying to explain condoms to Sop when I stand up and clap. "Okay, let's wrap this party up for tonight. Y'all might be able to work on no sleep, but I get squirrely."

Everyone starts to filter out, but I stop 15 and Sop from leaving and make sure to ask S.A.T. if she's willing to share some more of her stew with RO, Aleah, and AEK who had decided not to attend the crowded party.

Once it's only the three of us left in the room, I turn to Sop, who is still holding the box. "Sop, can I have that?"

She hands me the box. "I still don't get why everyone freaked out over these." She grumbles. "Everyone has them."

I was about to stuff the box into my backpack when Sop's words struck me to a halt. "Uh… they do?"

15 turns to me, her face once more flushed. "We have them in case of bad conditions that would get mud or sand into the barrel of our guns."

Sop nods. "Which is why I don't get why it was so funny. I mean, the thought of that stuck-up German wearing one on her finger is pretty funny, but-"

"Sop, they have another use." I sigh. "An adult use."

She frowns. "...You mean sex."

I nod.

"Fine." She huffs. "Nobody ever tells me anything, so I guess I'll just have to take your word for it."

I pat her head. "You'll learn about it when you're older."

She gives me a look. "I'm a doll. I don't age." She huffs again, before crossing her arms. "I bet 15 knows."

15's face has been hot enough to cook on for a bit now, so she's not going to be any help. "Probably. Hey, listen." I lightly put a hand on her shoulder, and push forward when she doesn't shake me off. "I'll talk to RO about sitting down with you, okay? It's not really my place to tell you."

Sop doesn't stop pouting. "RO's the youngest one of us. I'm older than her."

"Yeah." I nod. "And apparently G11 is the oldest one in 404. I still wouldn't consider her an adult." Still, knowing that RO is the youngest sister is… weird.

Sop's frown does disappear, but it does lessen. "I get it." She walks over to the door. "You promise?"

"I promise that I will talk to RO seriously about talking to you." I place my hand over my heart.

"Okay then." She opens the door and leaves.

Now there's just us two.

I nudge 15 and she jerks awake, looking around to realize we're alone. "O-oh. Um…" Her face continues to be bright red.

"I'm going to talk with RO about telling Sop." I summarize for her. "You don't have to worry about it."

"Okay." She nods.

I wrap my arm around her and she drops her head on my shoulder.

"So, since you didn't know about using them on guns, why did you get that box?"

I resist the urge to groan. "It wasn't me, I swear."

She laughs.

A day later, I'm lying on the roof of the stopped train. We're still ahead of the KCCO train, though not by much, occasionally catching glimpses of it on long stretches. They seem to be purposely keeping their distance as well, which… is disconcerting.

Today had been relatively uneventful, just a few ELID groups we had to slow down for and the aforementioned KCCO sightings to the rear until we got to where we are now, when the rails have been completely torn up on our track.

I had watched the process of restoring the rail line for a bit, but then as the sun set I noticed something crazy.

Because I've lived in a city almost my entire life, I've never really had a chase to look up at the stars. Too much light pollution.

Tonight though, there's nothing attacking me, no nearby city, and I'm not desperately trying to sleep just an hour more so I don't crash.

So, I'm on top of the train, looking up to the sky at the thousands of tiny points of light that are balls of fusion so many kilometers away that I can't properly visualize the number.

I don't really know the constellations, seeing as I generally never had much to look up at, but it's pretty all the same.

From one side of the train car, I can hear a clattering, but I don't look over until I hear her voice call out to me.

I turn to look, my eyes meeting her two pink dots. "Hey Star, climb up. I saved you a spot." I tuck the radio back into my pocket and turn it off.

"Okay." She walks over to where I'm sitting and plops herself down on the towel I had set out as a cushion. "You can see a lot of stars tonight."

"Yep." I reach over and find her hand, wrapping my fingers in hers. "And now I can see one more."

She groans. "That was bad."

"Yeah well." I chuckle. "I could have gone with 'but there's only one Star I want to look at' instead."

"I take it back. The first one was better."

"Thought so."

We fall into a nice silence, looking up at the stars that I'm unable to touch and holding onto the one that I can.

"I was thinking." I start to say.

"Uh-oh."

"Ha. I was thinking about what I was gonna do once we get back from Paldiski."

"That's a death flag."

I glance at her, and find her eyes are staring back at me. "Should I just hold this for another time?"

"...No, I was just…" She sighs. "I'm a bit nervous."

"Ah. Why?"

"I dunno." She looks back up at the sky. "I feel like we're getting close to the truth, and every time I feel this way, something goes wrong."

"Huh." Without letting go of her hand, I turn to her and throw my other arm over her to pull her close to me. "Then we'll have to be careful."

She nods.

I sit there, looking at her face for a few minutes, neither of us speaking.

"...Um, what did you want to say earlier?" 15 eventually asks. "I won't interrupt this time."

"Heh. I was just gonna say that after we're done in Paldiski, I was trying to think about what I was gonna do with my future. The problem is, it's not really that certain. And, like, I didn't want to say 'I'm gonna go back home' in case that's not an option, but I haven't exactly been having the best time with combat."

"Yeah…" She looks down.

"I came to the realization that it's pretty much a crapshoot from here on out. Still, I'd like to spend what time I know I have left wisely. There's a few things that I'd regret not doing should… uh, anything happen."

I fumble around in my pocket, and I swear I can hear 15's internals lock up and see her eyes burn brighter.

"S-so." I stumble around my words as my hands clamp around the box. "If you wouldn't mind, could I spend the rest of my time here with you?"

I offer the box and she opens it, showing two small shiny rings gleaming pink as the sharp edges catch the glow.

"W-w-w-w-wait a minute! I thought you said that you weren't ready-"

"I did, but… ah, I did some thinking." I pull one of the rings out of the box and pull her hand closer. "We don't know how much time we've got left, and I'd rather spend it with you if I can."

She lets me slide the ring onto her finger, staring down at it with an intensity I hadn't seen from her before.

"S-so…" I pull the other ring out. "Are you fine with-"

Her arms snap out and grab me, pulling me closer to her, her lips crashing into mine.

It's a while before she lets me up for air.

We hold each other close for the next while only interrupted by RO calling out names.

I climb down first to see what RO wants.

She waits for me to climb down, taking in my appearance and then just shaking her head. "Train's about to move. We're making sure everyone is accounted for." She looks up at the roof. "...Is 15 up there?"

"...Yes." I wipe my mouth.

"Great." Her eye twitches. "We leave in three minutes, make sure you're not on the roof by then."

The next morning, I'm in the scouting buggy out ahead of the train, sitting in the passenger seat and looking at the woods rushing past.

"Y'know, when I said I wanted some time alone…" I mutter, voice taken away by the wind.

"Hmm?" 416 turns to me. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." I purposely keep myself from looking in the back of the buggy at G11, happily snoring away across the back seats. "Just… I wanted to have a serious talk with you."

She bristles slightly. "I see."

I realize a bit too late that what I said was basically the dreaded 'we need to talk' and attempted to backpedal a bit. "It's nothing bad, I swear. I just want to make sure we're on the same page."

Her face is stoic as usual, eyes continuing their methodical sweep, keeping track of anything unusual about the rails or ELIDs threatening to get in the way.

I glance back at G11 happily snoring away in the back seat. "Look, I told you-"

"I understand. 15 is your type." 416 bites out, and I sigh.

15 hadn't exactly been subtle about her new ring, showing it to her sisters first, then creating a digital copy of the ring during our big, trainwide Level 2 meeting. She drew a little bit of attention, but then MDR had to raise her voice and ask what the shiny thing on her finger was.

At which point, the meeting devolved into chaos.

…I'm starting to wonder if I should just stop attending meetings. My presence seems to cause them to devolve into madness.

I quickly got tired of fielding questions from the peanut gallery, so I tried to hole myself up, but Mikhail told me that 416 was going on patrol, and I decided to join her, getting a bit of time away from the rest of the crowd.

"416, look." I nervously tap the dashboard. "You know that 15 and I are a thing. It wasn't exactly a secret."

"Ja."

"I'm… this is so stupid." I mutter under my breath again. "Look, you and I are also a thing."

She doesn't turn her head, but her eyes slide my way.

Seeing that she's listening, I plow on. "You're the first one to start supporting me, even after our disastrous first meeting, and you've pretty much been by my side since then. It's reassuring to have someone there who always has my back, no matter what. Hell, you stuck with me when I flipped out back in Sector 3."

She nods.

"And… I wanted to let you know that I'm glad you're the one by my side, and that you're always willing to help me out in a pinch."

"Of course." She nods firmly, then recalls she's supposed to be angry at me and the slight scowl returns.

I glance back at G11, still snoring away. Well… I reach into my pocket and grab the small black box, but I don't take it out yet. "So, I want you to know that I do love you, and I want you to be happy too."

I wait for a bit to see if she'll say anything more, but she doesn't. "U-um, I know you're not really the type to just dump your feelings out, but… uh… can you tell me what you're thinking…?" My confidence, already draining, makes me lose my voice.

With the last bit of bravado I have, I set the black box on the dashboard.

416 looks at the box.

A second passes.

Then a few more.

I look forward since I'm worried we're going off course, what with 416 staring at the box.

"Uh, 416?" I call out, only to get no response.

Okay, this is bad. We're starting to drift towards the treeline…

I reach over to grab the wheel, steering us back on course, the jerky movement enough to knock the ring box to the floor.

416 blinks awake and immediately starts putting inputs into the controls, bringing us back closer to the track. "Mir leid. I thought I saw… Nein, it was nothing." Her German accent, usually not that pronounced, thickens as she gets back on the tracks. "What were you saying?"

I reach down, rummage around in the footwell and withdraw the small box.

416's eyes fixate on it again, and I quickly hide it, only for her to snap out of her stupor again.

…Uh-oh.

Maybe… maybe she doesn't want to be with me anymore. I mean, who would if they were in her position? I already gave a ring to someone else.

"I… I'm sorry." I lean back into my seat and turn away from her as much as I can. "I guess I fucked up."

"N-nein." 416 blinks a few times as if confused. "I… will not say I am happy about your choice of partner, but I understand it, even if she's one of them." She scowls before continuing. "And I appreciate that you think of me that way, commander."

Commander. Not Hadwin.

I close my eyes, trying desperately not to let tears out.

I should have known. I should have known. It doesn't matter that they all say it's okay, it just isn't.

And now…

Fuck.

…just, fuck.

We continue on for a while longer, the only sound the rushing air blowing past us as 416 scans the track ahead for defects.

"Hadwin."

I start, and I realize that in my thoughts that had been swirling around inside my head had consumed me to the point I hadn't even noticed the buggy stopping. "Hmm?"

"Our shift is up. Time to drive back to the train and swap out."

"O-oh." I try to subtly wipe at my eyes and open my door so we can swap seats.

I climb into the driver's seat in short order, take a deep breath, and put my hand on the gearstick.

416's still not inside the car though…

I glance her way to see her halfway up, arms locked onto the grips to pull herself up, eyes fixed on the small black box I had accidentally left in the seat.

My mouth starts to babble out words as I scramble to get the box. "I-I'm sorry, I should've known that you wouldn't want a ring after I gave one to 15, and I through that just in case I could give it you, but then I realized-"

My fingertips brush the box, but she finally starts moving again, hand flashing out at lightning speed and snatching the box up, eyes still glued to it as she slides into her seat as if on autopilot.

I can do nothing but stare as she slowly, ever so slowly, opens the box up to reveal two shiny metal rings.

"...Sorry." I mutter one last time, shrinking in on myself.

"I thought I was imagining it." She pulls one of the rings out and examines it in the sunlight. "This is an Oath Ring, Ja?"

"Yes." I put the car into gear, turning it around and starting back down the opposite way. "I wasn't thinking-"

Her voice grows sharp. "This was for me?!"

"Y-yes?!"

Her eyes remain locked to the side of my face, but I try desperately to preoccupy myself with driving so I don't freak out.

"...You are not going to abandon me, then?"

"I wasn't planning to." I shudder, the pit of my stomach starting to roil with each word. "I-I mean, I lo- you're too important to me."

"But humans only have one partner."

"Normally, but I… uh… w-well…"

"You're willing to give me an Oath Ring?"

I glance her way, her face is still frozen in a neutral expression as she stares at the ring. "Yes."

She carefully sets the ring back into the box, sets it down on the center console-

-and lunges straight for me.

I barely have time to react as her lips find mine, hard. The rest of her body presses into me, as if trying to merge with me, and the buggy swerves as I lose control of my steering as I lose my ability to see forward with her head blocking the way.

She lets me up for air for only a second before diving back in, regardless of the fact that I'm desperately trying to brake and keep us on course, instead of focusing on ramming her tongue into my mouth.

I manage to bring us to a stop, only for her to climb over the center console and straddle me into the seat, still not letting up in her assault on my mouth, her small hat falling off in her haste.

When she finally lets off for another second, I bring my hands up and manage to place them on her shoulders to stop her from moving back in for a third round. "W-wait, I thought-"

Her eyes dart to the center console before I can say anything else and she grabs the black box, pushing it into my hand and talking in German so fast I can't even make out the sounds.

Well, maybe it wasn't German, but it certainly wasn't anything I understood.

Slowly, watching her face to see her reaction, I open the box and pull out a ring.

Her entire body starts vibrating in anticipation as her eyes widen, hand snapping into a position that makes it easy for me to slip the ring on.

"Um," I hesitate as I take her hand to line up the ring. "I'm a bit confused, I thought you were starting to hate me."

"Nein! Nien nien nien!" Well, at least I understand her denial, if not the rest of her words. "Schnell, schnell!" She pushes her hand closer to the still outstretched ring.

"I-if your okay with it-" I slide the ring onto her finger and she immediately goes into action, grabbing my hand like a vice and sliding the other ring onto my finger, then positively wrapping herself around both me and the chair I'm sitting in with her arms and legs, pinning me on place with an almost bone crushing force.

I focus on making sure I have a way to breathe for the minute or so she's pressing herself into me. When she finally lets off the pressure, her lips are quirking up against her will into the most adorable half smile, and her eyes keep dancing about.

"Uh…" 416 starts and I turn around slowly to see a grumpy G11 rubbing her eyes. "Why have we stopped?"

416 looks down at herself, still straddling me, and leaps back into her seat like my lap was suddenly on fire.

"N-no reason." I stammer, letting my foot off the brake and letting the motor continue to push us forward. "Go back to sleep."

G11 frowns in the rearview mirror, then leans forward and glances at the both of us. "...Something happened, didn't it."

"Nothing you need to be concerned about." 416 snaps. "Our shift is done."

"Okay…" G11 yawns. "Wake me up when we get back to the train."

"Ja, ja." 416 waves dismissively.

Seconds later, G11 is once more out cold and 416 brings her left hand up and stares at her ring. "So, we are really married now."

"Eh-"

"Good." She smiles for real, her face softening as she continues to stare at the metal band on her finger. "I was… afraid that I had lost."

I bite my tongue to avoid interrupting her.

"I didn't know you bought more than one ring. I assumed that I had been passed up and you were attempting to cheer me up… I'm glad I was wrong."

"Heh, I don't think I could actually leave you alone." I can feel the knots in my muscles relax as I realize that I must have been misinterpreting her body language before. "S-so, you're happy to be with me?"

She holds her hand up to the sky so the sunlight glints off the silver band once more. "I want nothing more."

I barely managed to escape being immediately dragged into the caboose by 416 when we got back to the train and swapped out with the next patrol, but she got a message from 45 that she was needed for another task, letting me head to my temporary location.

I need to prepare-

"Hello, Hadwin."

I jump slightly and turn to see 45 leaning on the wall, hands playing with something in the dark.

"Hey, 45." I smile at her. "I thought you were with 416."

"No." She shakes her head. "That was a distraction."

"Well, in any case," I flick on the light and turn back to her. "It was a welcome… distraction…"

45's got a small black box in her hands, open, two shiny metal hoops in place.

She notices me staring at it and smirks. "Ja, got it from that bag over there." She gestures to the backpack she had given me all that time ago. "Seems someone's been preparing to hand out a bunch of these. Why, if I didn't know better, it might give a gal hope!" She snaps the ring box closed and tosses it to me casually, voice chirpy.

"Er…" I move my hands around to grab the box upright. "Actually-"

Her voice goes almost flat, though a hint of bitterness creeps in. "I told you, Hadwin. You need to be careful who you give those to. It's a serious commitment for us, not something to be handed out like candy."

"I know."

She sighs. "So you say you've thought about it, hmm? You've thought about taking in a murderer, a black ops doll with a bounty on her head? You've considered the consequences of making a dumb descision like that?"

"Yes." I push the box toward her and open it back up. "I was gonna make a romantic kind of atmosphere if I could, but…"

She stares down at the box, eye narrowing. "You already gave a ring to 15 and 416, ja?"

"...Yes, I did."

"And despite having them, you still want more? So greedy." Her tone drifts toward joking, but doesn't quite reach it, like she's too busy with something else.

"45." I keep my voice firm. I can do this. "It's only been a month, but after all we've been through, with how much you've helped me, and been there when I needed it, you've become super important to me."

"Stop."

"You've rescued me time and again, and even put yourself in harm's way to help me out. You helped me figure out who the traitor was, and even trusted me and vouched for me in front of the others."

"I said, stop."

"You were willing to give up on your goal, the thing you're looking for, because I was leaving Griffin."

Her expression snaps from resigned to focused quickly. "How do you know-"

"So, I'm putting this question to you; I love you, and I'd like you to remain by my side."

Silence.

Slowly, her hand reaches out to tap one of the rings in the box, making a small metallic pinging noise. "I'm not who you think I am."

I continue to hold out the ring box.

"I've lied to you. I lied to everyone; it's what I do."

I hold the box out.

"I almost got you and your parents killed." Her tone becomes more forceful. "I broke your rib. I left you to die several times."

"You came back."

She grits her teeth, and her hands ball into fists. "I have a secret agenda you don't know ANYTHING about! I could be plotting to use you for something and just kill you when you're no longer useful!"

"...Uh, we're going on a suicide mission." My arm dips, the strain of holding it straight out starting to take its toll. "So that seems a bit moot."

Her eye closes and she brings her hands up to her temples. "I'm not a good person! You're too- too innocent of all of this. I work in the shadows, Hadwin. You know who gets a happy ending? Nobody that works in the shadows. Not us, not our families, not our friends, and especially not our lovers! If you give me that ring, you are writing in blood that you're not going to live a happy life."

I look her square in the eye. "I won't be happy without you, so-"

"GAH!" She yells and turns around. "You're so STUPID!"

"I-I'm serious!"

"I know you are, you can't lie, and that just makes it worse!"

"Wha-"

"You know that I'm going to ruin your life, but you're still holding that ring out! You're an idiot! Dummfkopf! Gott verdammt arsloche! Your brain is made of air! Nobody with half a brain would willingly saddle themselves with me!" She snaps and pokes her finger in my face. "You are making a mistake!"

Still, I hold the ring out, despite the fact that it's extended past her now after she stepped in to yell at me. "But… I love you."

Her arms go limp as she continues to stare at me, face cycling through a few emotions. Anger, rage, resignation, and finally…

"...Fine." She pinches her brow. "Suppose I accept it. What's your end goal?"

"I want to spend my last few days with you, and maybe longer if we make it out the other side. I just want to be with you as much as I can."

She glances back at the rings held in the small box. "You will regret this."

"Can't know that unless you accept."

She continues to stare at the ring, hand reaching out to touch the ring again and recoiling as if she got burned when she makes contact. "I-I'm actually going to take it. If you're going to back out, this is your last chance!"

I keep the box within her grasp.

She slowly grabs the two rings from the box, holding them in the palm of her left hand for a moment. "...I'm not even an IOP doll. It's not going to register with me properly."

"I… didn't know they did that." I frown. "It doesn't affect your minds, does it? Because if it does-"

She barks out a laugh. "Hadwin, even if it completely overwrote our personalities, I doubt either 15 or 416 would voluntarily give up their oath rings unless you literally cored them and wiped their memories. It's a lost cause. Like you, in many ways."

She picks up one of the rings in her right hand and slides it onto her left's ring finger, then grabs my right hand and slides the other one onto my index finger, leaving two rings on my ring finger and one on my pointer for a total of three. "But, you're my lost cause."

I allow myself to breathe again, and wrap her up in a hug before she can get away from me. She doesn't respond immediately, but does reciprocate. When I let her go, she grabs my shoulder and gets up on her tip-toes to plant a kiss on my lips.

"Well, it seems like we'll be partners for the next two days or the rest of our lives." Her smile, usually some form of smirk or even condescending, has changed into a sad, yet genuine one. "Whichever lasts longer."

Tallinn.

I stand next to the buggy that's about to take Anti-Rain into the city on a scouting mission, making sure we can make it all the way through so we can redirect ourselves to Paldiski.

15 pulls me into a hug, a tight one that threatens to break something, her eyes screwed shut.

"I wanted you to come with us, but-"

"Gentiane already told me." I caress her back, glad that for once the other two are busy with something else. The last two days had been weird as 416 and 15 jockeyed for position with a higher intensity than before and now 45 had taken to goading them on and sneaking in while they argued. "I've got something else to do to prepare. But, you have your radio."

Her hand comes up to where her radio sits on her shoulder. "I do. I'll send you a message if I need help."

"I'll come running."

"I know." She squeezes me one last time before releasing me. "I'm off."

"Be safe."

She nods and climbs into the buggy.

"This is it." I glance over at RO, who had politely waited until 15 was done before walking up to talk to me. "I can feel it. We're close."

"Close to what?" I glance at the city wall decaying and even collapsing in sections. "We've still got some time before we get to our destination."

"Close to the end." Her mouth sets in a line. "M4's been acting oddly for a while now, and ever since we've gotten on the train she's been exceptionally distant."

"That's… not good." I glance at the leader of AR team who is talking to 15 inside the Buggy.

"No, but it's going to happen whether I want it to or not. We need to be ready."

I nod. "Stay safe out there, RO."

She nods, but doesn't move toward the buggy even as Sop races past, waving to me and bounding up onto the buggy without bothering with silly things like handrails.

"...Something you need?"

"If… when we make it out of here," She looks at the city with open hostility. "I'm going to ask you out on a date."

"...I'm taken."

"Didn't stop 416 or 45. Or S.A.T. for that matter."

"I'm not dating S.A.T."

"Not yet." She makes a decision, steps closer to me, and awkwardly wraps her arms around me for a moment.

I return the gesture more out of habit than anything else, and she releases me fairly quickly and turns to stride over to the buggy.

…I'm turning into a deplorable person, but I suppose as long as they're happy…

I turn and walk back to the stopped train even as Gentiane finishes her goodbyes to M4 and starts walking back with me.

"She'll be okay." Gentiane says aloud as she pulls up next to me. "They'll all be okay."

It takes me a second to realize she's talking more to herself than to me. "They're pretty competent, from what I've learned. If anyone would be able to survive today, it's them."

"I know… but, I just can't shake the feeling…" she sighs. "Okay, let's get you to your team for your mission."

She points and I change directions, walking around to the other side of the train-

416's arm wraps around me and pulls me into an embrace, one I am wholly unprepared for and as such have both of my hands pinned against my body as she holds me. It's less aggressive than her kisses, but it's still mildly terrifying if you're not expecting it.

"Hello." 45 leans into sight, and I see 9 and G11 behind her. "Are you ready?"

"No, I don't even know what I'm doing." I point out. "And I don't have my exo suit, or my gun… Uh, 416? Can you let go of me please?"

She finally releases me, and I turn to see that my stuff has been neatly set beside the train. Well, I guess I should just put it on… I slide the Linker onto my head and step into the Exo suit as usual as Gentiane clears her throat.

"Ahem. So, as some of you know, M4A1 has been behaving oddly recently."

I nod, and so does everyone in 404.

Gentiane continues. "You five are tasked with providing electronic support… and following them in secret and figuring out why, if at all possible. She's become more and more withdrawn and on edge the closer we've gotten to Tallinn, so I think she knows something she's not telling us. I'm hiring the four of you to follow them at a distance."

"Sounds good to me." 45 chirps. "And we get to bring Commander Hadwin here with us?"

I glance at her out of the corner of my eye as I finish buckling my tac vest and pull my red coat over it. "45, I told you-"

"On missions, you are our commander." 416 states firmly. "In private, you are Hadwin."

Yay, arbitrary professionalism. "Sure, whatever." I glance around. "Uh, I don't see any vehicles around…"

"We're walking." 45 loops her arm through mine and grabs it. "It's not that far."

I peer at the city that looks to be several kilometers away. "Right…"

I swear I see G11's eyes tear up behind me at the thought of the long trek.

Gentiane smirks. "Anti-Rain is going to be tied up with locating our preliminary scout team. You have plenty of time to catch up."

"We'd better get moving." 9 glances behind us. "No clue when the KCCO are going to catch up to us."

I turn to face Tallinn, take a mental inventory assisted by the ever-so-helpful P90, and then step forward.

416 grabs my other arm, G11 hops onto 416's back, and 9 walks beside her sister, and like that, the five of us head for the dead city.

Author's note:
Welcome… to Shattered Connexion.

It 'only' took 36 chapters, but I'm back to the point I was imagining back at the start of the story, seeing as SC had just arrived in EN when I started writing this. Hadwin has come a long way, forged several strong bonds, and will now move into the story of the game proper.

We're back to (almost) canon, baby!

Now I have to go re-read SC a few more times…

Peace.