The sun began to rise, poking its warm rays over the snow capped peaks and valleys. The battlefield lay quiet for just a moment, welcoming the dawn as a reprieve from the night of warfare and death. The night was hectic, but in the end all parties took a moment to lick their wounds and prepare for one final push. The military finally has Mastermind cornered, unknowingly drawn out by a yet unknown third party. Sangvis Ferri, with cards still tucked in its sleeves, has readied itself for one last stand against its enemies. A powerful weapon has found itself air dropped into the battlefield, ready to remind the world of a forgotten fear. Lurking on the edges of the battlefield awaits another constituent, ready to pounce on the remains of whoever is left. More importantly, the remains of Griffin's forces have resumed their evacuation, having struggled to push away the Ringleader Agent's assault on their camp. The Chief Commander almost found themselves at her mercy, nearly crushed beneath her as she rolled through the sparsely defended camp. Now, as dawn broke over the land, there was new hope for the exhausted PMC.
MP40 pushed her way into the shattered command tent, making her way around remains of last night's attack. The Chief Commander, despite their injuries, was still trying to oversee the last phase of the evacuation. With the human personnel gone, it was time for the dolls to start leaving too. As their defensive line dwindled from the mass exodus, the Chief opted to stay and more accurately coordinate the operation in case of emergency. However, MP40 wasn't interested in where the Chief was remaining for the time being. "Commander," she snapped a salute and waited for an acknowledgement, "I haven't been able to locate our commander, and I know she wouldn't evacuate like the humans would."
The Chief simply sighed and shook their head. "I take it the casualty list hasn't been updated then?"
MP40 finally understood what it meant to feel her heart sink in her chest. The drooping of her emotions almost made her break her poise in front of the Chief. "I-uh," she stammered, letting a bit of her weakness show, "no, I don't think it has, Commander."
The Chief walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to let her know it was okay. "You're lucky that your commander is a doll," they assured her, "otherwise things would be much more difficult."
"What do you mean?" She asked, clinging to what little hope she had.
"She could have easily survived her wound if her core didn't catastrophically fail as a result." The Chief explained. "Agent was quite ruthless in that regard, but we were able to recover her black boxed neural cloud before it completely shut down."
"So if you have it you can just download it into a new body."
"If it weren't for the unique circumstances of her neural cloud, then yes." The Chief pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. "We have it safely stored and will be sending it back with you when you evacuate."
MP40 looked at the paper she was given. It was a formal letter addressing the situation to whomever would be restoring Kar98k back to operational status. There was some corruption during her back up process, as well as the necessary upgrades to restore her to optimal functional capacity. Of course, MP40 knew that this was just child's play to Fredrick, and that he could easily get her back on her feet in no time. "When will we be leaving?"
"I need your team staying as long as you can," the Chief explained, "you're still relatively up to full strength and capable of holding this position if need be."
MP40 thought of the ruthless execution of MG42 when they mentioned being at full strength. While there was no doubt that they could put up a fight, it was no longer something that any of them wanted to do. Everyone was tired and exhausted, and knowing that Kar98k was hanging on by thread would only dampen their spirits even more. Regrettably, MP40 knew that they were still in a better position than most other groups, and at least there was a chance that their Commandant could survive. There were too many dead humans on the battlefield, and even more dead dolls. Unfortunately, that was simply the beginning.
The military successfully captured Mastermind, strapping her onto their train for immediate evacuation from the region. Unfortunately, this was followed by the detonation of a collapse bomb, bathing the region in radiation. Dolls and mechanical units continued in their warpath, while humans struggled to remain alive. Those who succumbed to the huge spike in radiation found themselves shambling corpses, violent to friend and foe. In the confusion, Sangvis Ferri was able to retrieve their Mastermind and leave the region, only to be replaced by an even worse foe. Having watched the battle unfold, Griffin was in precisely the position that the new faction had been waiting for. Their sights set on the Chief Commander, they descended upon the Griffin camp, only to be pushed back after an immense effort. Unfortunately for MP40 and the rest of the Brigade, they would be caught in the middle of the attack. Forced into a corner and surrounded on all sides, rescue seemed bleak and hopeless. One of her own, a doll of the Brigade, was quite aware of the bold future that was about to shine down upon them. Pulling her weight with the new mysterious faction, when hell rained down upon the battlefield it pulled its punches for the Brigade. They still had yet to fulfill their purpose, and were rescued by a beleaguered force from Griffin.
"I have been working Griffin over for months, and you roll in like a bat out of hell and almost blow my entire operation!"
"I seek only to please Father's wishes." The white haired doll stated.
"You dumb bitch, what do you think I've been doing?"
"It is not my fault that you failed to protect her at such a crucial moment." Her smug voice was sickening.
"You idiots are playing this battlefield looser than your gaudy robes. Griffin is not to be underestimated."
"It was a mistake on a part of my lesser subordinate and it shall not be repeated." She was clearly referring to one of the black haired dolls accompanying her.
"Not only did you almost blow your own operation, you almost blew mine! That makes two failed operations if you had failed successfully. Do you know how Father repays failures like that?"
The white haired doll shook with anger. "I am not meant for the same fate as trash like them!"
"Then do your damn job right next time or die. But if I so much as smell your prim and perfect ass anywhere near me and my operation again, I'm going to mount you on that pathetic scythe."
"You have made your point." Her attitude shrank as she turned to face her subordinate dolls. She took out her anger on them, abusing them like broken toys.
The Chief Commander would find themselves a prisoner of this new faction within time, but none of that was the concern of the Brigade. This doll would make sure that the Brigade would stay as far away from them as possible, if only for the safety of her own schemes. Father's creations were too eager to prove themselves, and they'd only get in her way.
