The cathedral was empty. At first, this was a relief for Kar98k, who was not looking forward to encountering more of the White Faction in another close encounter. Unfortunately, this only got more complicated as they searched the main hall of the cathedral, and found the deactivated Jaeger model that Juliet used as her public face. Her core and neural cloud were both destroyed, leaving her a lifeless husk on the pew benches. They were going to have to search the rooms that used to serve as the offices for the warehouse, digging further into unknown territory occupied by an enemy that knew everything about them.

As the group fanned out, weapons fire rained down from an upper balcony where a pipe organ was kept. Everyone scattered, trying to find cover from the energy weapon fire that burned craters into anything it impacted. Kar98k took cover behind a pillar, hoping it's large size would provide enough coverage if their attacker decided to focus their fire rather than let loose with random suppressive shots. As she hid, Kar98k couldn't help but feel a tickle in the back of her head, reminding her of the last time she had been hacked. This time, however, the target seemed to let themselves in. Whoever was hacking her must have had friendly access codes, judging from the lack of warning alerts. Her eyesight grew fuzzy for a moment before returning to normal. On a hunch, Kar98k peaked around the pillar at the source of the weapons fire and could only see the flashes of light from the weapon. Whoever was shooting at them was now electronically hidden.

"G43," Kar98k yelled to the other sharpshooter, "do you have a visual on the enemy?"

G43, who was hiding behind a pew, poked her head out for a moment before ducking back down. "One target," she responded, "big gun, black clothes, maybe one of those Nytos?"

Kar98k had heard of the Nytos from the information that had been redacted from the reports of the White Faction. The information that had been recovered stressed a very important fact that despite having very similar strengths and leadership capabilities as a Sangvis Ferri Ringleader, the Nytos were made from humans and still possessed many human features and body parts. Their heads especially were very susceptible to weapons fire, with their fragile human skulls protecting a very easy to damage brain merged with machine parts. So far Griffin had only encountered two varieties, a common black robed Nyto that could lead multiple squads of White Faction troops with relative ease; and a white robed field commander that will move across the battlefield with an imposing scythe, using speed and tactics to close the distance and reap anything that stands it her way.

Kar98k was not excited to know that one of them had just hacked her vision and was now raining fire upon them. There was no doubt in her mind that the Nyto was just trying to slow them down for the rest of her allies to arrive. Kar98k was not going to let that happen. "She's cloaked from me," Kar98k yelled, "G43, I need you to try and get some shots down range so I can get her out of my damn head."

"Yes ma'am!" G43 gave her a salute before swinging her rifle over the pew, using the back of the wooden seat as a support as she aimed her shot.

The weapons fire stopped in response, the Nyto clearly trying to aim back at G43. A low pitched whine began to fill the air, growing slightly louder. "Get out of there, now!" MP40 recognized the noise as a charging weapon.

G43 ignored her, wanting to prove herself after her previous failure. She pulled the trigger, her bullet exploding from her rifle and racing through the air towards the Nyto. It slammed into the railing that the Nyto was using as a support for her own weapon, the weapon itself building a mass of light and heat as it prepared to fire back. Realizing her error, G43 stood and tried to dive over the wooden pew in front of her. Unfortunately, the Nyto's rifle fired a volley of high powered energy projectiles. The first caught G43's leg, causing her to spin in the air as the second blasted directly into her. The smoldering heap that was G43 fell to the ground with a dull thud. Watching the instant carnage unfold, Kar98k swore at herself for putting her team into this much danger.

Glancing at the remains of G43, she couldn't help but notice just how quickly it had burned through her body. Even her metallic components were absolutely fried beyond repair. The heat and energy output of an attack like that would be immense, and the Nyto would have to have her weapon on a cooldown state before she could open fire again. Rather than put anyone else in danger, however, Kar98k realized that a great amount of heat like that would be very easy to find with the proper equipment. Luckily, she had recently received the thermal scanner module, allowing her to see great sources of heat. Peering around the pillar, Kar98k blinked and her vision shifted into a kaleidoscope of colors. Now able to see a rough thermal range, she was able to locate a massive source of heat on the balcony. Taking aim with her rifle, she aimed for the heat source directly, unwilling to take a risk aiming for the head.

The sound of her weapon firing was soon accompanied by the beloved ping of a bullet impacting a metal target. The Nyto's rifle began to overheat, becoming white hot on the thermal scans with the air around it growing just as hot. Its low pitched charging whine filled the air as the Nyto dropped the weapon. It exploded in mid air, causing the balcony under the Nyto to destabilize and fall. With the Nyto no longer able to focus on hacking Kar98k, she could use her normal vision to get a solid look at her assailant. The black robed Nyto managed to land on its robotic feet, gracefully placing its oddly shaped feet on rubble. FG42 swung around a pillar and opened fire, bullets whizzing through the air towards the half-doll. The Nyto moved at a speed that no human should be capable of, moving away from FG42 and diving towards MP40, who was about to contribute a cross fire from her position.

The Nyto grabbed at MP40's gun, trying to wrench the weapon from her hands. The two were locked together in their struggle before the Nyto smiled and twisted her grip. The action caused MP40 to yelp in pain as her hand, which was holding onto her weapons grip, twisted and snapped her wrist. The Nyto took this initiative to tackle the Captain to the ground, using her weakness to try and disable her completely. As Kar98k and StG44 approached, weapons ready to fire, the Nyto stood with a knife poised at MP40's back. The point was positioned to dive straight into her core, and instantly kill with little effort for a monster like a Nyto. "Surround your weapons." The Nyto spoke, her words distant and cold as if her speech would bring her great pain.

"We have the advantage, surrender and we won't kill you." Kar98k made her counter demand, wondering if the Nyto would allow herself to be taken alive. As she approached, she couldn't help but notice the physical state of the human half of the Nyto. If she didn't know any better, the Nyto looked starved, her thin body showing what bone structure she had under her skin. If the Nyto knew she had a better chance at life with Griffin then maybe she would actually give up. "We can take care of you."

"Yeah, we'll take good care of you." FG42 added a slight hint of sarcasm in her tone.

The Nyto looked between them. "Father would have me dead if I surrendered," the Nyto answered, "but failure leads to worse fates." StG44 pulled the trigger, her bullet hitting the Nyto's shoulder and splattering it's blood. The Nyto drove its blade into MP40 out of instinct, but missed the critical target as she pushed the Captain away. Deprived of cover, the Nyto moved to Kar98k, on a suicide charge. Kar98k reflexively smashed the Nyto with the wooden butt of her rifle, cracking her teeth but failed to stop her advance. The Nyto smashed into her like a freight train, bringing both of them tumbling to the ground. They both came to petty blows, trading punches as they rolled around on the ground. Kar98k grabbed the Nyto by the throat, hoping that it's human body would serve as a weak point. The Nyto grabbed at her wrists as she squeezed, trying to free her throat. As she felt the insides of the Nyto's neck contract, and felt the strained pulse of blood in her hands, Kar98k suddenly remembered watching Scarecrow do the same thing to one of the soldiers. She envisioned herself strangling that man, nonchalantly choking the life out of him as though it were nothing to him.

Horrified at what she was doing, Kar98k's grip loosened enough for the Nyto to pull her hands off of her. Now that the Nyto had her wrists, the two were trapped at a standstill. The two straggled to get the advantage, each of them glaring at each other in determination. Kar98k felt someone grab her by the collar, yanking her off the Nyto as a rifle fired next to her ear. It took her auditory sensors a moment to recollect themselves after the close range weapons fire, giving her enough time to take in the bloody sight of the now dead Nyto. Blood was quickly pooling, its face practically blown apart from the short burst of fire at such short range. Bits of machine and bone were scattered in the gore, putting its inner workings on display for any to see. FG42 let go of her collar, walking forward to give Nyto a kick to make sure she was actually dead. Kar98k had seen injured and dying humans before, as well as dolls that had been torn apart in combat; she was no stranger to injury and death. However, something about seeing a combination of both turned sour in her mind. It felt wrong, making her feel sick.

Kar98k turned her attention to MP40, who was struggling to stand with StG44. The Nyto had barely missed her core with its stab wound, but had managed to damage her cooling system. She wouldn't be able to exert herself for the time being until she could get it replaced, forcing her to hold back for the others to explore the Cathedral. "I can stay here with the Captain and watch the entrance." StG44 offered.

"What about G43?" Kar98k asked.

"Core is fried," FG42 explained, "klutz didn't even get a chance to black box."

Kar98k sighed as she realized they would have to restore G43 from backup. For a human, the idea that someone could die and come back to life seemed like a boon; but for dolls it comes across more like a curse. The fact that one can live a moment and know they lived that moment, yet have no memory of that moment, was frightening to a system that was built around memory recollection and learning. No doubt G43 will be wracked over her lost memory of this mission, leaving it up to Kar98k to help her fill in the blanks. Every doll needs someone to help them remember, even her.

"We need to find wherever Juliet is and shut this mess down." Kar98k motioned for FG42 to follow her.

"What about the snafu outside?" FG42 asked.

"That's Scarecrow's problem, not ours." The two of them made their way to the upper offices of the cathedral. "Bring 40 up to the rooftop," she told StG44, "when this is over we'll get picked up there."

StG44 nodded and helped MP40 to her feet. Kar98k wasn't too worried about them; in a pinch, they could defend themselves or make an escape. FG42 and Kar98k moved silently, using hand motions and nonverbal cues to signal to each other. With the Nytos trying to ambush them, they didn't want to take any chances to give away their location. Making their way up to the offices, they moved in tandem as a single unit. Together, they quietly took up positions on either side of the first office door they found, listening for activity. While they listened, Kar98k felt the door and gave it a gentle tap. Taking note that the door would swing into the room, she stood in front of it and delivered a swift kick above the door handle. The door swung open, bits of wooden splinters flying as its latch was forced free. Kar98k swung her weapon around the room, followed by FG42. This first room was clearly a maintenance bay for the Juliet doll, filled with tools and spare parts. Poking around, they found no evidence that anyone was hiding in here.

Acknowledging the clear room, they moved further down the hall to the next door way. Kicking down the door, they were greeted to the smell of fresh flowers as they infiltrated what must have been Juliet's personal bedroom. It even came with a personal bathroom, filled with feminine hygiene products that no doll would ever require. Poking through her personal effects, they even found various forms of birth control for both men and women. "Looks like someone has a boyfriend." FG42 asked.

Kar98k poked through the trash with her bayonet, finding fresh evidence of Juliet's human functions. "Judging by what I'm seeing," she surmised, "I think he might have stayed the night."

FG42 opened up one of Juliet's dresser drawers. "Looks like men's and women's sets of underwear here," she observed, "both with absolutely terrible taste."

Finding nothing else of note, they moved on to the next room. At this point, the sound of doors being kicked in would have alerted anyone of the search, but the pair tried to stay stealthy as they were ready for the next door breach. Again, Kar98k kicked down the door to begin the process, and found herself set upon by a slightly overweight man with a heavy pipe wrench. The blow caught her across the face, the impact ringing throughout her own metal skull. She targeted back from the blow, allowing FG42 to bring her rifle to bear. There was no hesitation behind her pulling the trigger and opening the man's stomach with weapons fire. He fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding stomach. Kar98k recovered from her blow, her own synthetic blood running down her face as she brought her rifle to bear as she scanned the room.

They had clearly found the room where the real Juliet use to control the Sangvis Ferri dolls, filled with the haunting blue glow of the wall of monitors. Each screen was covered in static, cut off by Scarecrow as the battle raged outside. Cowering in front of the monitors, clutching a side arm like her life depended on it, was a woman in casual clothing. She looked no different than any person Kar98k might pass by on the street, nothing extraordinary about her beyond the Paradeus cult necklace she wore. With shaking hands, the woman pointed her gun at Kar98k, too frightened to pull the trigger. Kar98k lowered her weapon, holding her hand out as a sign of good faith. "It's alright," she reassured the woman, "I won't hurt you."

"You're not the one I'm worried about." The woman responded, her voice similar to Juliet's.

"We've already killed one of Nyto dolls," Kar98k slowly placed her rifle on the ground and held her hands up, "I will protect you."

"If this is Juliet," FG42 whispered loudly, "then she knows the Nytos are here for you."

"Then I'll have you escort her then." Kar98k responded, remaining calm.

"No!" Juliet screamed, placing her gun to the side of the head. She stared at Kar98k with wild eyes, filled with the intent to pull the trigger.

Kar98k took a step forward, hoping she could try to pull the gun from Juliet's hands before she built up the courage to kill herself. "I want to help you."

"If you wanted to help me," Juliet hissed, "you would have gone home with Paradeus when you had the chance."

Kar98k sprung forward to try and grab the gun, but found herself splattered as Juliet pulled the trigger. The doll stopped and watched as the human slumped to the ground, her blood pooling beneath her. Kar98k could only sigh and step away before the puddle reached her boots. Picking up her rifle, she looked at FG42. Her teammate simply nudged the man at her feet with her boot. "My guess," she said with a shrug, "they were both dead the minute Scarecrow blew their cover."

Kar98k knew that the only reason they had made it this far was because of the Ringleader, even in the ragged state they were in. She owed too much to Sangvis Ferri now, and she knew that eventually Scarecrow would call on her debt. However, she didn't have the opportunity to think on this much further as an urgent communication request from Scarecrow pinged in her neural cloud. "How is the deed, Doll Commander?" Scarecrow asked.

"Juliet neutralized herself," Kar98k explained, "we're going to try and pull information from their computers."

"Our enemy has begun fielding heavy support," Scarecrow responded, "I shall be evacuating now while I still have the chance."

"Good luck." Kar98k responded, but received no answer as the line was cut. She turned to FG42, realizing that the gathering of information would have to wait. "We need to leave."

They were uncontested as they found the nearest stairway to the rooftop. As they climbed the floors, the sound of a helicopter landing could be heard as they approached the top. Pushing open the doors, they saw MP40 and StG44 aiming their weapons at a helicopter adorned with Sangvis Ferri markings. Scarecrow stood in the open side doors, as if she were waiting for them. The Ringleader spoke to them directly using their communications so she didn't have to yell over the helicopter, saying "You won't be able to evacuate on your own."

"You're asking a lot to trust you right now." Kar98k responded, keeping her own weapon leveled and ready.

"You're in no position to not trust me," Scarecrow motioned at the team, "you're down a doll, with another crippled. Once I withdraw, our enemy will be crawling all over this place."

"Why would you care?" StG44 yelled over the helicopter's rotors, despite not needing to.

Scarecrow shook her head. "Your capture has been the goal of our enemy, and I intend to deny them your capture." A trio of her gun drones began to float around her. "You are now an enemy asset, which I will deny to them by any means necessary. Make the right choice Commander."

Kar98k lowered her rifle, knowing that Scarecrow had a point. Staying here was suicide at best, and she had no intents to be reclaimed by the enemy that had been fighting so hard to capture her. Whatever fate awaited her, would have to keep waiting. "Everyone get on the helicopter." She said begrudgingly.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to trust that bitch." FG42 also stepped away.

"Absolutely not." StG44 lowered her weapon and took a few steps back. "I'd rather take my chances."

MP40 sighed, knowing she wanted to stay as well. "Yes ma'am." She made her way to the helicopter, climbing in despite her injuries.

Kar98k looked at the other two who had decided to stay. "I can't just leave you." She pleaded.

"If you're right then you can tell my backup all about it." StG44 gave her a reassuring smile.

Kar98k had to force herself to turn her back on her comrades, standing next to Scarecrow in the helicopter. She looked back at the rooftop, knowing that they would be overrun in seconds. Lacking a doll without proper command protocols, their coordination would be heavily reduced. Kar98k fought every instinct she had to stay with them, but she knew that her presence was what damned them in the first place. She slumped to the floor of the helicopter as it rose into the air, taking them away.


StG44 watched as the helicopter faded away, a slight pang of regret ringing in her neural cloud. Maybe she should have swallowed her pride and trusted the bitch ringleader, but it was too late now. Now was the time for a glorious final stand, to give her enemy something to remember her by. Mounting her rifle to launch a grenade, she prepared to fire one down over the rooftop when FG42 spoke up. "Would you have stayed if I didn't?" She asked.

StG44 thought for a moment, seeing some light in the question. It was true, she didn't want to die here alone if she could help it. Maybe things could have been different. "Truthfully," she replied, "I don't think I'd have the guts to stay here by myself."

"It's a shame you're so predictable."

Before StG44 could turn and ask what FG42 meant, bullets ripped through her lower torso. The precise aim shattered the leg motors in her pelvic region, causing her to collapse to the ground. Landing on the rooftop with a thud, she realized her weapon was in a relatively harmless configuration to fire a grenade. She was crippled, and defenseless. FG42 walked over, kicking the rifle away despite its lack of use and pointed the barrel of her own weapon at StG44. Neither of them had any words for the other.

The doors to the rooftop slammed open as a trio of Nyto's walked out to join them. Their graceful strut betrayed their killer intent, the white robes leader carrying a massive scythe on her shoulders. FG42 simply rolled her eyes once she saw them. "You're late." She yelled to the half dolls.

"You failed." The white Nyto replied, her voice cold like a morgue.

FG42 pointed aggressively at the Nyto. "You failed me the second you let Scarecrow go undetected in this city."

"How were we supposed to know she was here?" The Nyto defended itself. "We were not informed to keep an eye out for such a possibility."

"Your lack of ingenuity is why you're just a nameless cur for Father to throw away with the rest of the garbage." FG42 spat at the Nyto, hitting StG44 in the face with the spittle.

Rage overtook the scythe Nyto. "Your glorious ingenuity led to our quarry's escape."

FG42 gave the Nyto a smug grin. "I let her escape, it's how I plan to break her."

"Break her?" The white Nyto laughed. "You couldn't even break wind!"

FG42 sighed and pointed to the black Nytos flanking the white one. "You two, kindly remind her who Father put in charge."

Silently, the Black Nytos brought their rifles to bear and bludgeoned the white Nyto in the back with them. Caught by surprise, she fell to the ground, where the black Nyto's began to stomp on her. FG42 took the time to lean into StG44 to speak to her about the situation. "Don't worry, I'll get you all fixed up," she gave a cruel promise, "you're going to be the bait for my next trap. We'll see just how much the Commander's broken heart can bleed."