"Alert! Sangvis Ferri forces have breached the perimeter of the base! This is not a drill! Alert! Sangvis Ferri forces have breached the Mountain!" The loudspeakers next to the exterior door of the Mountain continued to blare as the last human outside collapsed dead on the concrete. Sangvis units swarmed the outer lot and lined up outside the vehicle door as it slowly opened for them.
"Honestly," Scarecrow muttered to herself as she watched the door open. "You knew we were hunting your codes but didn't think we already had some?" Her fists clenched as disgust overcame her at the human's audacity. The t-dolls outside weren't nearly enough to withstand her full force crashing down on them. And, thanks to her spoofing signals, her main force was able to approach the Mountain undetected until it was too late. Once the door was completely open, Scarecrow flicked her conductor's baton forwards. "Advance!"
"...!" Guards formed a front line and entered the Mountain's main tunnel followed by Vespids and Rippers. Scouts rushed ahead to spread panic and catch any runners that managed to escape through the personnel door before it had closed. But, they weren't faster than Scouts. Screams started filling the tunnel as both humans and a-dolls were torn apart by plasma. One a-doll tripped and fell to the ground. They turned and saw a Scout hover over them priming its weapons to fire.
"Let us fight! And grasp our future!" Only for the Scout to be shot out of the air as a sniper round pierced its visor. The a-doll had gotten deep enough inside to be in range of the checkpoint at the vehicle bay's entrance. Mondragon pulled the bolt back on her rifle and chambered another round. "Cover any fleeing staff! Machine gunners, don't bother with the Scouts and wait for the main force! Rifles, open fire!" She relayed the orders she was receiving from Zeldri and continued to pick off the approaching Scouts. The a-doll that tripped suddenly found themselves yanked up by their shirt collar as Makarov rushed to their side and started dragging them to safety.
"I'm already on the battlefield, I won't let you lay a finger on my comrades!" She waited for a Scout to stop moving before firing and not giving it a chance to return fire as she escorted the a-doll back.
"Locked on," SV-98 activated her skill and leveled her rifle at the closest Scout. "Fire!"
"I-If you come any closer, I'll shoot!" FN-49 tried to steady her aim as her body shook with fear.
"FN-49, remain calm," Mondragon stoically counseled the t-doll. "Focus on saving as many as you can!"
"R-Right!" FN-49 took a deep breath before she continued to fire at the approaching Scouts.
"Good, no-!" A plasma bolt whistled past her head causing Mondragon to duck down behind the concrete barrier. "The main force is here!" Vespids fired over the Guards who led their charge through the tunnel.
"End their miserable lives!" PK popped out and started laying down suppressive fire.
"Keep firing!" Mondragon shouted over the roar of the machine guns as M1918 and MG34 joined PK and started opening fire. However, because of an oversight by Zeldri, the combat and logistic echelons got priority when it came to dummy links which meant no one at the checkpoint was fighting at full strength. This oversight was proving to cost him dearly. "We'll hold them as long as we can, Commander!"
"Just keep delaying! I've ordered all logistics teams to RTB as fast as they can so just hold out!" Zeldri quickly swiped through his tablet as he continued to relay orders to the dolls. "Horris, Annika, stay here! MDR, SVD, cover the entrance! I don't think they know about the train tunnel, so you shouldn't have to worry about it!" As fast as his bad leg would allow, Zeldri started to hurry out of the train yard.
"Yes, Commander!" SVD said and quickly got her team together to set a perimeter around sub-level four's entrance.
"You got it, Commander!" MDR linked up with SVD so they could speak through an echelon link.
"Wait! Commander?!" Annika rushed after Zeldri. "Where are you going!? You need to stay here, too!"
"No!" Zeldri barked as he continued to the exit. "If things keep getting worse then I need to set something up. STG44, update on muster stations?"
"Ja Kommandant (Yes, Commander)!" STG44's voice came over his radio. "9A-91 and Jericho both reported that sub-level two and three have all reached their muster stations and are hunkering down. My echelon has gotten most of sub-level one's staff to the muster station." STG44 was rushing through the halls and checking each room just in case there was still anyone inside. "But, there are so many people because of how busy this level is!"
"Get everyone, STG44! When you do, I'm going to have Mondragon and the dolls at the checkpoint pull back to you if things get too much for them."
"Verstanden (Roger that)!"
"Commander!" Annika had caught up with Zeldri and tried to get in front of him to block him from leaving.
"Annika, stay here!" Zeldri didn't have time for this. "I need to get down to-"
"Down!?" Annika interrupted him. "You need to stay here, or go up to one of the muster stations! Why are you going down?!"
"Just stay here! Everything will be fine once I go-"
"Then I'm going with you!"
"Anni-!"
"Commander!" Mondragon's voice came over the radio. "They're pushing us hard here! I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out!"
"Uuuu..." MG34's voice could be heard in the background over the gunfire. "I can't face my sister li-" The sound of twisting, burning metal cut the t-doll off as she was peppered with plasma.
"MG34's down!" Mondragon reported before returning fire. "Commander!?"
"..." Everything was moving too fast. Zeldri knew he needed to remain calm, but it was getting harder and harder by the second. "Mondragon, start pulling back to sub-level one's muster station and help secure it!"
"Yes, Commander!"
"..." Zeldri turned his attention back to Annika and the look on her face told him he wouldn't be able to leave her behind. "Fine, get the elevator!"
"Yes!" Annika rushed ahead to call the freight elevator.
Once she was out of earshot, Zeldri muttered under his breath, "It'll be your freedom's funeral," before hurrying after her.
"Pull back to the stairwell!" Mondragon gave a shout to the other t-dolls.
"What did I...Tch." Makarov was annoyed but laid down suppressive fire for the retreat. "Fire at will!"
"FN-49, SV-98, pull back first!" Mondragon ordered as she reloaded.
"Damn!" SV-98 reluctantly started moving back to a crate closer to the stairwell. "Wasn't careful enough, retreating..."
"M-My turn!" FN-49 went to follow SV-98, but as soon as she left the concrete barrier a bolt of green plasma ripped through her head.
"FN-49!" Mondragon watched her comrade's body fall to the floor. She looked to Sangvis' line to see Scarecrow floating above her units. Smoke wafted out of her drone's weapon that was aimed where FN-49 once stood. "..." While she wanted to stay, Mondragon had her orders, so she reluctantly pulled back with the remaining dolls.
"Your chances of victory are at zero. We advance as planned." Scarecrow leisurely watched from the rear of her forces as they pushed inch by inch closer to Griffin's defensive line. The drone next to her hovered away as its weapon powered down. While this was a rather blunt strategy, Scarecrow didn't care anymore. All Sangvis Ferri Ringleaders hated humanity, but Scarecrow made sure to always keep her hatred in check. She was supposed to continue observing for a while longer. She was supposed to send out her forces and secure all the codes she could in an attempt to find its code. She was supposed to do things carefully, but that was before she was blown up by some lowly human trick. Her fist tightened around her baton as genuine anger threatened to overtake her. "That man..." Zeldri had done more than just beat her in battle, he had completely humiliated her. When she had awoken in her backup body, Dreamer was the first to greet and belittle her. Even Agent, when giving her updated orders, held some disdain in her voice over what had happened. Being tricked and beaten by a human with a limp in a direct confrontation? "...Unforgivable..."
"...!" Scarecrow's anger was leaking into her link with her units and they all started pushing Griffin's line with even more pressure. The Guards started rushing. The Rippers sprinted past the Guards to try and get in which made them easy targets for Griffin's t-dolls. And, the Vespids fired until their weapons forced them to stop and cool down.
"Stand by for now!" Quickly realizing what happened, Scarecrow reigned in her units. It appeared that Griffin was trying to pull back, but if she rushed in then she would just suffer more losses. Losses that would be held over her head by her peers. "Just keep calm," Scarecrow spoke to herself, "Everything is within my calculations. I know their numbers and they've been caught by surprise. Their death is within my calculations." Griffin's t-dolls retreated into what looked to be a doorway leading to a stairwell leaving the vehicle bay empty. Her troops fanned out and secured the vehicle bay. Scarecrow hovered forwards and her eyes wandered to the 2S35 Koalitsiya-SV that sat silently in its parking space. The weapon that executed her humiliation. "It's fut-"
"Scarecrow."
"...!" All her troops froze as the broadcast that was repeating over the loudspeakers of the base stopped and was replaced by a familiar voice. "That man...!"
"You seem to think yourself victorious now that you've taken the vehicle bay."
"...!" Scarecrow's eyes quickly scanned the room until they landed on a security camera that was looking directly at her.
"You are not."
"...No." This man wouldn't dare.
"You have only sealed the fate of this sector by forcing my hand."
"No!" He surely wouldn't!
"Come to sub-level five so we may discuss the terms of your surrender. Any further attacks on my forces will result in your immediate defeat."
"..." The conductor's baton snapped in half as Scarecrow's fist couldn't get any tighter from her now overflowing anger. "NO!" Her drones blasted the security camera. With eyes ablaze with rage, Scarecrow lifted her hand into the air drawing the attention of all her units. "Secure the entrances to each floor!" A group of Rippers and Guards rushed into the stairwell. "All others, with me!" Her remaining forces gathered at the door of the freight elevator.
"Will that bluff buy us more time?" Annika asked as the elevator continued to descend.
"It's not a bluff," Zeldri responded in a monotone voice.
"But-?" Annika started to ask but stopped when the elevator halted at its destination; sub-level five. Zeldri went to the terminal next to the door and punch in a code. After a second, the terminal chirped three times and the door to sub-level five opened. "...!"
"Come on!" They needed to move fast now that Scarecrow was sufficiently taunted.
"Commander, how di-?!" As they entered the tunnel, the freight elevator door closed behind them and they heard it start moving up. Scarecrow was on her way.
"Move!" Zeldri yanked Annika out of her stupor as he approached the door to the Heart's chamber. It was already open since K11 was there, but Annika didn't fully register it until she was standing in the doorway. When she finally registered what she saw, the weight of the world crashed down on her.
"W-...Why..." Her voice trembled as her legs froze. The sudden stop caused Zeldri to lose his grip on her wrist and Annika stood in the doorway with her mouth agape. "WHY IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS HERE!?" The Heart sat silently in the center of the room where Zeldri had lowered it all those days ago. A computer sat on a cart next to it with cables connecting it to the Heart. There was also an open toolbox on the bottom shelf of the cart with tools scattered across the floor. "Commander!?" As if Annika panicking wasn't enough, another voice started to assault Zeldri's mind; for his mind was the only one who heard it.
.̷͎̬̓̐̀̑̉̑.̷̖̮̒̈̂͝.̶̪̓͒̓̈N̷̔̓͑͘ͅo̶͍̯͖̳͐̒͐́̓̕v̷̧͖͚͕̞̈́̂͝ͅe̸̞͚̾̅͠ṃ̷̡̠̟͖͉̓̎̊̈́͠ḅ̷̣̀e̷̻͖̬̼̤̽̉̓͝r̵͎̮̩͐̓̏́͝.̶̧͔̠̩̬̰̍̽͆́.̷̜͚̽͗̊̇.̷̣̼̫̱̟̍̃͛̑Z̶̧̨̧̳̬̞̓͊̅͆ě̶͕̯r̸̗̰̙͆͒̃̎̔ô̴̺͚̂̀̓.̵̢̡̗̘̽͌̕͝.̷̡̮͋̎̔̆.̷̪̞͌F̸̙̞̱͔̱͛͂͝͠ì̶̲̈́̽͠v̴̨͍͓̯͓͖̂͝ė̶̗͖̀͠.̴͔͕̞͉̇.̵̺̞̟̠͔̩͂̌̌͘.̸̖̻͔̣̻͈́̊͘Ǎ̴͈̙̰͐l̷̢̘͉͑̏͑̀͒p̷̤̞̞͍͎͍̀͊͆̇̎h̶̝̩̐͆͘a̵̧̾.̷̦̖̪̟̱̠̏͐̿̏.̷̯̥̻͠.̷̨̭͗͗͑̂͜
"Inside!" Zeldri once more grabbed her wrist and forced Annika to move and approach the Heart. While he understood her reaction, now wasn't the time to be left dumbstruck as an enraged Ringleader was on their way. "K11!?"
"Huh? Commander?" One of the Heart's exterior panels had been removed and K11 was rummaging around inside of it with the computer's cables as they approached. She squeezed her way out, stood up, and brushed herself off to greet Zeldri before stopping as she saw he wasn't alone. "Mrs. Annika!? Commander, what is she-?"
"No time! Protect her!" Zeldri forced Annika to the side and K11 quickly rushed to her side. "What's its status?"
.̴̳̈́̀̌̈.̸͈͚̰̲̦̀̊̅̒.̷̙͇͊Y̴͖̓a̵͇̘̕n̸̛̖̣͎͌̃͋̀k̶̨͔̬̀̋̋̚͘̚ẽ̵̛͚̟͇͉̬͉̽͋͐̚e̷̪͕͔̳͉̓̓͐.̵̬͔͔̃̀̓͛̇̽.̸͓̪̳̩̔́̽̕.̵̡͇̠̔̊̓͂̆͘A̴͇͓͈̱̘͒͌̎l̸̞͚̑̊̑͛̈́͘p̶̧͈̩̯̋h̶̘̻̮̊͋à̵͖̭̩͊̀͐͋.̷̗̙͉̦͇͛.̶̣̺͓̹̯͉̀͆̈́.̷͔͌Ẑ̶̨̘̟̪̘̲̄̊̈u̷̍́͐̀͜l̷̢̦̬͚̤̄͌̐̇̉͜ư̵̳͍͒̈̍.̷̡̭̥͓̮͌̕.̵̺̪̬͝.̵͇̯̱̄͌͊͒͆Ṫ̶̨̳͉̣̥͆͗h̴̫̙̭̗͐̏̔̋̊̈ṙ̷̫̩̤̲͐͜͝e̷̮̼̟̿͘ę̵̩̟̝̞̅͛̓̄.̷̧̳̟̹͗̌̅.̸͎̩͖̰̃̈́̽͒̑̊͜.̷̝͔͚͎͆̔̄͌̕͝
"Huh?" K11 was still a bit out of it as things were happening quickly. "Ah, I managed to hook it up to the computer like you asked, but-!" Before she could finish explaining, Zeldri went to the computer on the cart and punched in a code; a code he was all too familiar with since the Heart wouldn't shut up about it. Zeldri noticed a strange distortion on the screen of the computer that made it impossible to read, and his eyes couldn't focus on the keyboard as he tried to type for some reason. But, he had memorized the code and was proficient at typing so he didn't need to see, or think that much, as he entered the code. The irony of using the first test site of them as the activation code wasn't lost on Zeldri and he would have laughed if his situation wasn't so dire.
N̶͉̙̐͝0̴̛͉͍̃5̸͇̔͝À̷̱̻Y̵͙͇͊̓A̸͚͑̍-̵̥̾Z̷͎͗̊3̷̬͋M̶̯͐̆1̴̗̆Ý̸̞͙A̷̡͉͋̚
There was a deep kerchunk noise as Zeldri punched in the activation code and the Heart was primed. "...!" K11 was an enthusiast when it came to science to the point she would often lose herself in interesting projects. She had even been so absorbed with her work that she didn't hear the alarms going off about the Sangvis breach. It was only now that K11 had stepped back and was able to fully think about what Zeldri had her do that she now realized the true weight of her actions.
.̸̣̰͈̖̞̯̅͐͌͗.̴̝͓̜͓̱̈́̄̊͌̾͛.̴̧̛̞̬̮̽̃̋Ḿ̴̡̛̀̅͌ḯ̵̡̘͕̯̘̭̄̋̚͠k̸̘͗è̷̤͍̻̠͋͋͊̑̚.̵̗̬̆̋̓̌̍̋.̷̪͑͌ͅ.̵̘͈̪̜̀̕ͅO̵͎̲̦͔̩̊͗̅͘̕ṅ̶̬̓̽̋̀ë̴̢̝̤̪̜̏̅͝.̵͇̘̯̇̚̚.̶̡̪͎̗̓͜.̴̳̳͋̾Y̶̛̩̟̩̺͉͇̿͛a̴͚͈̥͍̓̈́͌͝n̴̲͗͛̈́͝k̵̨̝̝̥̘̜̋̆̍̎͘e̶̯̬̣̹͙̓e̷̹͐̒͌͊̅.̷̛͔͎̀̂̐̃̆.̸̨̛̲͌̈͒̽͘.̶͍͂̈́͂̈́͠͝A̷̦̜̺̳̩̟̅l̷̘̀̇͆̂̓̕͜ͅp̶̹̂ḧ̷̭̦̫̠̣͙ą̷͈̺͖͕̔̏̌̾͠.̶̢̖͈̅̔ͅ.̵̜̠͎̜͙̃̑͊̇͑̕.̵̖̄͗̋̌
"C-..." Annika collapsed to the floor as her legs gave out. Her face was stricken with horror as she stared at the Heart. This was surely a bad dream, right? Surely, she would wake up from this nightmare she found herself in. Right? "Zeldr-" The loud sound of the freight elevator door opening stopped Annika's voice. Vespids rushed into the room and trained their weapons on Zeldri, K11, and Annika. Scouts hovered around in the air waiting for their orders but kept their distance. Once a perimeter was established, the Vespids parted to allow Scarecrow to approach. Her eyes immediately went to Zeldri, but soon shifted to what was behind him; the target of her original objective. Sitting silently behind Zeldri was something both elegant and industrial. Both a glorious icon and a grave sin. The Heart of the Mountain, an AN602 'Tsar Bomba' that waited to beat.
"Well well~." The black-cloaked woman silently cooed to herself as she sat on top of the bomb. None reacted to her presence except Zeldri who was purposefully ignoring her. While she didn't mind being ignored, what she didn't like was the computer screen which was distorted to the point that she couldn't read it. "Tch. Right." It was annoying, but not completely unexpected. Deciding to refocus on what was going on in front of her, she chuckled to herself as she watched Scarecrow size up the situation before turning her attention back to Zeldri. "Either way, show me how interesting you can be when you beat her again, Co~mann~der~."
