"Commander Zeldri," Persica tried to get Zeldri's attention away from the t-doll, "This doll is a prototype that's currently scheduled for dismantling." Zeldri noticed a twitch from the t-doll at the mention of their dismantlement. "We should move on."

"Why's she scheduled for dismantlement?"

"As a prototype, this doll is meant for internal testing purposes and isn't a valid candidate for being offered to Griffin & Kryuger commanders as a full t-doll."

"..." Persica was being oddly cruel and dismissive to this doll even though Zeldri got the impression that she cared deeply for her creations. It felt as if she was hiding something. He turned his attention back to the t-doll that was still sitting on the floor looking up at him. "Can you hear me? I asked you to get up and follow me."

"..." The t-doll picked up their guns and slowly got to their feet. They seemed hesitant.

"What's your name?" While he could guess her name by the standardized naming conventions of t-dolls, he wanted to get her focused on him and start responding.

"AE-...A-545, sir," she sounded unsure of her own name.

"Then, A-545, follow me to the firing range; I want to see you in action."

"Commander!" Persica objected, "I already told you they aren't valid for deployment."

"I'm not deploying them," Zeldri countered, "If they're a new prototype, then I can get a good base of how the t-dolls compare to each other. I also want to see what 16Lab will have in store, eventually." He was lying as his true goal was to see A-545 in action as this doll was obviously something he shouldn't have seen.

"...Fine." Persica knew it was too late, and Zeldri's interest was too piqued, to brush this aside with excuses. She'd only briefly looked at A-545's specs when she was called AEK-971 as she let her teams work, for the most part, independently to allow greater freedom in their creation of next-generation t-dolls. She hoped Maxim held back while providing her the unauthorized neural upgrade.

"You heard her," Zeldri said to A-545," Follow me."

"Y-...Yes, sir!" A-545 perked up considerably at the chance to prove herself. To maybe escape her fate? Things were going to plan, and only continued to when they reached the firing range.

"A-545, set up in the booth over there." Persica took a tablet from a nearby table and started tapping away at it.

"Yes, Miss Persicaria." A-545 approached the booth and lowered the visor on her helmet.

"I'll start up an intermediate firing exercise. After, I'll have other dolls run the same to compare for you, Commander."

Zeldri glanced over Persica's shoulder and asked, "Does that control the targets directly?"

"Partially," Persica admitted as she handed him the tablet, "We have some presets that do the work for us, but you can manually increase variables to adjust the difficulty of the desired test."

"And, these numbers on the left?"

"Those are the currently inputted t-doll's stats as compared to their peers. While a gun can only do so much, t-dolls can partially adjust their lethality and efficiency in combat with software and hardware upgrades as well as attachments for their gun. I remember a commander that spent hours fine-tuning and upgrading his t-dolls to maximize their efficiency, though such a thing was costly. Although," Persica took a sip of coffee as her mind wandered, "With the number of resources you have, that wouldn't be an issue."

"..." Zeldri looked over the stats and two radar charts that were next to it showing how A-545 compared to other t-dolls. Her Overall stats were low and her Class stats were mid-tier at best. Her fielding and repair costs were also the highest he'd ever seen for an assault rifle. Was this really a new prototype? Maybe Perisca's warning about it being unsuitable for commanders was right? But, something felt...off. "Begin." He pressed the start button.

"...!" A-545 quickly dispatched the targets as they came up like it was nothing and she didn't miss a shot. The tablet Zeldri held chirped.

Test Results: Pass

Missed Targets: 0

"...You said I could manually edit variables for the test, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, tap the bottom box and you can set restrictions for minimum stat requirements; the targets will adjust themselves to meet the criteria."

"..." Zeldri had a thought. Checking A-545's stats revealed that her Rate of Fire was listed as a rating of eighty-two.

Set Parameter: Rate of Fire Requirement: 90

"Begin." The targets shot up, and A-545 dispatched them.

Test Results: Pass

Missed Targets: 0

"Hm?" Persica raised an eyebrow as she saw a strange grin overtake Zeldri's face. A-545's accuracy was listed as forty-eight.

Set Parameter: Rate of Fire Requirement: 90

Set Parameter: Accuracy Requirement: 55

"Begin." The targets shot up and started moving around, but A-545 still dispatched them.

Test Results: Pass

Missed Targets: 0

"..." Zeldri's theory was proven correct: A-545's listed stats were wrong. While it could have been an error on whoever inputted them, Zeldri had a different idea for an answer. "A-545." Zeldri approached the booth, put on ear protection, and stood next to the t-doll. "I will be directly instructing you for this next one. Listen to and follow my orders. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" A-545 loaded a fresh magazine and readied herself.

"Begin!" Zeldri replayed the last test but took a more active role. "Watch for friendlies!" He added in targets on the fly marked as friendly.

"...!" A-545 almost shot the first friendly target, but quickly adjusted to designate her future targets. He next had some targets partially come up, only to go back down to see if he could fake her out. She fell for the first one.

"Stop wasting ammo!" Zeldri chastised. "You aren't trying to pin them, you're trying to kill them!"

"Yes, sir!"

"...?" Persica was confused watching Zeldri's show and quickly grabbed another tablet to see what he was doing. And, when she saw the parameters he was adding compared to A-545's stats, her heart skipped a beat.

"Crouch!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" She hesitated at the strange order and missed a target.

"I said listen! Stand! Keep firing!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Crouch!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Stand!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Switch!"

"Y-...Swi-?"

"Этот пистолет у тебя на спине только для вида (Is that gun on your back just for show)!?" Using his fore-arm crutch, Zeldri smacked the AEK-971 on the t-doll's back. "Switch weapons!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" A-545 swapped to her AEK-971 and continued taking out targets. She was just as efficient with it as her primary A-545.

"Crouch!"

"Yes!"

"Switch!"

"Yes!"

"Stand!"

"Yes!"

"Prone!"

"Yes!" This time there was no hesitation. A-545 hopped onto the booth and laid down.

"Stand!" Zeldri increased the rate of fire requirement.

"Yes!" She tried to match it but started being unable to keep up and a target went down without being hit.

"It got away! Again!"

"Падать (Fall)!" A-545 activated her skill. She grabbed the AEK-971 off her back with her left hand while firing the A-545 with her right and dual-wielded her rifles. This was another thing Zeldri had been waiting for as he wanted to know how this would work when he read her skill. Dual-wielding was already a frowned-upon practice with sidearms because of the cumbersome reload and accuracy loss. But, to dual-wield assault rifles? Zeldri had a rough idea when her rifles would run dry from watching her all this time so he felt a reload was coming up. With the last round of her AEK-971 out, she thumped her rifle against her chest, aimed it back at the targets, and continued shooting. An empty magazine clacked against the floor.

"...?" Zeldri missed what happened, so he kept his gaze fixed on the A-545 rifle. When it went dry, he watched her thump the rifle against her chest and caught what she was doing. Inside the sleeves of her coat were small, robotic arms. The arm shot out and ejected the magazine from the rifle as it neared her chest, it then grabbed a spare magazine from her vest and insert it into the open magazine well when the rifle thumped against her before finally grabbing the bolt and pulling it back to chamber a round as she moved the rifle back on target. Watching the arms felt like déjà vu, but Zeldri couldn't put his finger on why. He looked downrange and glanced at the tablet to see the results; her rate of fire obviously went up, but she also wasn't missing any targets. There wasn't an accuracy loss from this? Zeldri watched how she was shooting and noticed her rifles were aiming and shooting at different targets. Leaning forward, Zeldri saw A-545's glowing eyes were moving independently from each other; her left eye tracked the AEK-971 while her right tracked the A-545. Again, he got a sense of déjà vu.

Test Results: Pass

Missed Targets: 2

"...That's enough." Zeldri was more than satisfied with the results, but it didn't appear that A-545 was. She lifted her visor and Zeldri tracked her eye movement as they went straight for her missed targets. The fact she missed two was eating at her.

"C-Commander..." Persica had been too stunned to step in, but now that the test was over mustered up her will. She knew what Zeldri did, and what he now knew.

"This is quite the prototype you have here, Persica." Zeldri put in some flattery to A-545 which got a slight rise from the t-doll. "Why is she getting scrapped and not continued?"

"...Well-" Persica was trying to think of an excuse, but as she did an unknown man approached them.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?" He was an older-looking man wearing a lab coat. Zeldri caught him staring at A-545. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw A-545 refuse to meet the man's gaze. Persica also seemed slightly annoyed by the man's presence.

"..." Something about the man seemed familiar, so Zeldri pressed for his name. "I'm a client here for a t-doll and just finished watching a test. Who are you?"

"Maxim Verkov... And, you were using A-545 as a test?"

"..." Once Zeldri heard the name it clicked in his head why he felt the déjà vu from earlier. They were practically handing A-545 over to him, at this point. With a smile on his face, Zeldri replied, "Yes, she's quite the t-doll and I am extremely satisfied with her performance."

"You are?" Maxim seemed surprised, and A-545 perked up at the praise.

"How could I not be?" Zeldri started to stroke Maxim's ego and continued to praise A-545, "I was quite surprised when I saw she could dual wield assault rifles so efficiently. Overcoming the cumbersome reload and maintaining accuracy while shooting? She's an absolutely amazing t-doll."

"Jeez, how do his boots taste, Commander?" The black-cloaked woman groaned as she was leaning against an empty booth. No one reacted to her presence.

"Of course she is!" Maxim puffed out his chest with pride. "I built her myself to be the best! Isn't that right, Aisha?"

"..." A-545 slightly winced at the name Maxim called her.

"You don't say? You're her creator?"

"From start to finish. Everything in her was designed by me and built here in 16Lab."

"Including the military-grade parts?"

"Ye-!" Maxim caught himself only too late. Persica's eyes widened in surprise. "I...don't know what you-"

"I served in the military for seven years, Mr. Verkov." Zeldri kept the smile on his face as he watched Maxim start to squirm. "And, now that I look at you, I remember you from an event three years ago where a bunch of contractors were showing off their prototypes to the Ministry for funding. I was there as they wanted the opinions of personnel who'd been in the field for extended periods with military dolls. You were showing off a module for the Aegis that allowed it to reload while its off-hand was occupied. You also showed a special variant for that one line of now-discontinued military dolls that had the special lenses which let them keep depth perception while only having a single eye unit. They didn't take it as, obviously, the Aegis was relegated to a melee role and that military doll was discontinued in favor of keeping the Cyclops units which already have similar tech. I thought A-545's abilities seemed familiar. What's someone like you doing at 16Lab?"

"..." Maxim's face was a pale white. And, not just because Zeldri was drilling into him, but from the death stare Persica was shooting into the back of his head. It was obvious to Zeldri that she was out of the loop on these 'original' design decisions Maxim had used to build A-545. Even A-545 seemed surprised by the reveal of where her enhancements came from.

"But, I have to ask, even though they weren't picked they were still military grade enhancements that should go beyond what a PMC is legally allowed to have. I'm quite curious as to how you got around this since you were making her for us commanders at Griffin, correct?"

"...!" Maxim's face gave away all Zeldri needed to know. Persica had mentioned a 'special guest' earlier, and he pieced together that A-545 was originally meant for them. He figured they passed A-545 due to the resource cost, though that seemed weird since they were already a private client so they should have the resources available to fund her. But, Zeldri wouldn't look this gift horse in the mouth.

"You seem a bit pale, Mr. Verkov. Perhaps you should leave and get some rest if you aren't feeling well? That might be for the best."

"..." Maxim hesitantly backed away before taking Zeldri's out and leaving the firing range.

"...You gonna let him go?" Zeldri asked as he turned his attention back to Persica.

"..." She silently looked at Zeldri for a few moments before giving a heavy sigh. "I can deal with him later..." While some people were watching them, no one was close enough to have heard Zeldri over the other t-dolls using the range. Zeldri was also someone who had connections with the military and FSB; one word from him could bring agents to knocking at her door. So far, she could still bury this if she played it right. "I'll see A-545 transferred to your base."

"I'm glad you pick up quickly." Zeldri took out his commander's tablet and tapped at it. "I'll have Annika send the resources, you should get them soon."

"...You're paying?"

"I am making a purchase. Besides, I think the True Core Mask doesn't fully cover how valuable this t-doll really is, don't you agree?"

"...You really are something else." Persica seemed to relax slightly as it was obvious Zeldri wasn't going to make any unreasonable demands to keep his silence about A-545. "If that's all, then I take back what I said when we first talked; you're far easier going than most military types."

"I try. Though, you really should do something about Verkov."

"Yes... I thought all my staff knew what lines they shouldn't cross when making t-dolls. But, it seems like Maxim let his ego get the better of him. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

"That's good." Zeldri put his tablet away and turned towards A-545 who was silently listening to their conversation.

"You'll...take me?" There was a desperate plea in her voice.

"Of course," Zeldri leaned into the praise to build her image of him, "Your results were phenomenal. You're exactly who I need for a special team I'm building."

"Really!?" Her eyes lit up, but quickly fell. "But... My cost-"

"Is manageable."

"!?"

"Something you'll come to learn is that I'm quite good at managing my spending. While you're expensive, and won't be fully dummy-linked for a while, I'm more than willing to put in the investment for your continued excellent performance." A strange thought entered his head as he remembered his friend who liked anime, again, and gave it a shot since it, probably, wouldn't hurt. A-545 tensed up for a second but quickly relaxed as Zeldri put his hand on and softly patted her head. Her cheeks slightly reddened. "I'll be counting on you, A-545."

"O-Of course, Commander! I won't let you down!" The look in her eyes as she stared up at him said it all; his plan to get an absolutely loyal t-doll was successful. "I'll be the best t-doll you have! That you'll need! No matter what happens, I'll be there for you without fail! No matter the cost!"

"..." Maybe a little too successful. Persica raised a concerned eyebrow at Zeldri. But, he figured it would be fine...probably.


"Well, well," AK-12 cooed from her perch in the observation room overlooking the firing range. She and AN-94 were waiting on Ange to finish some paperwork before they could leave so they decided to pass the time watching the t-dolls practice their drills. "This turned out to be a great idea, after all. We got to see something good."

"Mmm," AN-94 nodded as she watched A-545 go through Zeldri's test.

"Though, I gotta say, that Commander sure is something." The drill had finished and Maxim walked up to them. They watched as Maxim's face turned pale and he quickly left. "It's like I said..."

"Hmm?" AN-94 looked over to AK-12 to see her smiling to herself.

"Your fangs aren't needed in DEFY, Little Snake. But, that doesn't mean someone else doesn't need you." Persica and Zeldri were talking, so it seemed like the excitement was over. "Alright, let's-" But as she went to turn away, she watched Zeldri head pat A-545 and A-545's subsequent reaction. "...AN-94, come here."

"Hmm?" AN-94 approached AK-12, "Is there something I can hel-!" AK-12 put her hand on AN-94's head and gently patted her. AN-94's normally stoic face broke as she became embarrassed. Her eyes awkwardly looked around before resting on AK-12. "...Um...AK-12?"

"A secret technique!?" AK-12's eyes opened wide as she captured the embarrassed face of AN-94 in her digimind. "I'll be sure to thank you for this one day, Commander of Griffin."


"!" Zeldri shuddered and looked around.

"Commander?" Persica seemed confused.

"I feel like something dangerous just happened."

"...Ahuh?"

"...Anyway, since this didn't take as long as I originally thought, I'll be leaving unless I need to fill out any paperwork for A-545?"

"No, since this is just a doll acquisition you don't need to do anything special; despite the circumstances... Your discretion is appreciated, Commander Zeldri."

"Of course. Come on, A-545, you'll tag along with me as I still have some errands to run while in the city."

"Of course, Commander. I'll follow you wherever you go."

"...Right."

"Finally heading out? Don't forget about me~." The black-cloaked woman waltzed over to the group and got in Zeldri's face. "While seeing the inside of 16Lab for the first time was fun, the novelty had passed. Also, I'd really like you to leave that snake behind, but I know it won't change anything. We also can't go too slowly, you know?"

"..." Zeldri rolled his eyes at her whining.

"Oh~! You reacted that time!" It seemed like she was making a game out of what he would react to. Zeldri went back to ignoring her and followed Persica to the exit. "Commander~!"

"..." A-545 lagged behind the group. Without Zeldri realizing it, the world paused for the briefest moment. A-545's eyes appeared dead and vacant as she stared daggers into the back of the black-cloaked woman. Her gaze softened as she looked to Zeldri and she spoke in a voice distorted by static and too quiet for him to hear. "I̸'̸l̷l̸ ̶f̵o̸l̴l̴o̴w̸ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̶w̷h̷e̷r̶e̵v̸e̵r̸ ̴y̴o̷u̶ ̵g̷o̴.̶" The world then resumed and, without skipping a beat, A-545 quickly followed after Zeldri.