"So, the rat that's been scurrying around has finally decided to reveal itself?" The black-cloaked woman chuckled as she approached the screen with Tsaritsa's logo.

"Since I have been properly introduced, I am now able to start exerting influence," Tsaritsa explained. "This game you're playing ends here, [REDACTED]...?" The monitor flickered for a moment as Tsaritsa was caught off-guard.

"...Pfft," the black-cloaked woman couldn't help but laugh. "What's wrong, Tsaritsa? Griffin got your tongue?"

"...[REDACTED]," Tsaritsa tried again, but still failed. "...I see," she concluded and her voice took on an unamused tone, "Because you never get introduced, you may hide in anonymity with this world not allowing your reveal." Tsaritsa scoffed in annoyance, "How cowardly of you, black-cloaked woman."

"Me? The cowardly one?" The black-cloaked woman jabbed her finger at the screen with Tsaritsa's logo accusingly. "You're the one sending those attack dogs after me from the shadows! Though, attack 'snakes' would be more accurate, in this case." She expected the get a rise from Tsaritsa with that, but the computer monitor said nothing.

"...What attack dogs?" Tsaritsa asked with genuine confusion.

"Don't give me that!" the black-cloaked woman accused, "Those dogs, and especially that snake, keep stopping me from completing my objective. And, now that you've revealed yourself, I know it was you that sent them!"

"..." Again, the monitor remained silent for a few seconds as Tsaritsa seemed to be deep in thought. "I think you're misunderstanding something," Tsaritsa calmly started to explain, "As I said earlier, I am only now able to start exerting influence because I've been introduced. Anything before this point has not been my doing."

"...?" The black-cloaked woman opened her mouth to counter but stopped as she thought about it some more. Tsaritsa's words did make sense. Aside from her, no one could alter this world without a proper introduction, which would automatically reveal them to her as a suspect. "...But, they appeared back then..." she started to think out loud and paced around the room. Tsaritsa remained quiet as she allowed the black-cloaked woman to think. "So, if they aren't yours, then who-?!" A loud bang at the door cut her off and she spun around to face the door.

"...Interesting," Tsaritsa mused as the banging continued. It sounded like someone slamming their fist against the door. "Quite interesting, indeed."

"Quit daydreaming!" The black-cloaked woman chastised as she kicked the table over and drew her weapons from beneath her cloak. "If they aren't yours, then they'll surely go for you, too!" The banging stopped but was quickly replaced by the sound of metal slamming into metal. The gears holding the door shut started to whine as the tip of an ice axe forcefully wedged itself between the door and the doorframe.

"I'm only a computer monitor, so I'm perfectly alright. You, on the other hand..." Tsaritsa let her words trail off as the door started to be pried open. "I would wish you the best of luck, but I honestly would prefer it if you just died."

"Tch," the black-cloaked woman clicked her tongue in annoyance before turning her attention back to the door. "Alright, you fucking snake, you wanna go again?!" She primed her weapons and a sadistic smile overtook her face. "Come again and see what happens when you fuck with the eagle!" The door to the briefing room continued to slowly be pried open by the ice axe to reveal the assailant; their glowing pink, vertically slitted eyes stared back with utter hatred.


"So, I understand why StG44's echelon is with us... But, why are you two here?" Zeldri was standing on the freight elevator as it rose up the shaft towards Level 01. Annika and StG44's squad were standing by along with some human staff as well as MDR and UMP40.

"Acting like I'd not be one of the first to see the mysterious Level 01?" MDR scoffed as she was pre-typing posts to the Griffin forums she would post with pictures once they arrived.

"Mondragon got dragged away by Jericho to do work, and AR-57 and A-545 went to the range to do some drills," UMP40 explained as she peered over MDR's shoulder at the phone. "Everyone's curious about what's up here, even a newbie like me." She gave a playful wink to Zeldri who only smirked at her in response.

"Do we not have camera feeds?" Zeldri asked as he saw the door to Level 01 slowly appear from above.

"No," Annika said in a dejected tone, "The door unlocked with a notification, but that's it."

"Which is why we're here," StG44 chimed in as she stood at attention. "While we don't expect any hostiles, your safety is our top priority so please allow us to accompany you ahead, Commander."

"Of course," Zeldri said and gave a nod.

"I hope the level's small," AA-12 complained, "This is cutting into my beauty sleep."

"Oversleeping is sometimes worse than not enough sleep!" Nagant Revolver pointed out. "Take it from your elder."

"I'll take your advice when you start taking milk."

"!" Nagant's face went red and her cheeks puffed out at AA-12's jab.

"...It's good to be back," Zeldri idly mused as he watched the t-dolls bicker amongst themselves. The freight elevator came to a halt as it reached the topmost level of the Mountain. "Here goes nothing." Zeldri touched the panel next to the door which gave three chirps and flashed green. Metal screeched against metal as the doors opened to reveal a massive dark room.

"...Why is every new level a massive dark room?" Annika silently asked as she gave a nervous chuckle.

"Hmm." Zeldri stepped forwards motioning StG44's echelon to advance with him. The t-dolls flicked on their flashlights and raised their weapons to lead the way.

"...Man, this place is big," Galil commented as, even with their flashlights, no wall or ceiling could be seen. "It would help if this level had the same motion lights as the rest of the base."

"..." Zeldri looked down at his commander's tablet and opened a blank note page. He typed, "Could you get the lights, Tsaritsa?" He wasn't sure if that would work but had to try.

"One moment." A new line typed itself revealing Tsaritsa's presence. Zeldri gave a nervous chuckle as this proved she had access to anything their network was connected to; not just the Mountain's computers.

"...!" The ground slightly shook and the sound of cracking ice echoed around them.

"What the-!?" StG44 looked around for the source of the noise before all eyes were drawn to a light that began shining in the darkness. Across the room, a massive door slid open to reveal natural sunlight which illuminated part of the room. Overhead lights started to turn on as even with the door open the sun couldn't illuminate the whole room. Now fully lit, Zeldri could see the room was objectively the largest in the Mountain. There were strange white markings on the floor along with what looked to be rows of lights all leading to the massive door at the other end of the room that appeared to open to the rear of the Mountain; despite being far above the ground level. Large holes were dug out the side of one of the walls with the white markings leading from them to the middle of the room and the strange row of lights. The freight elevator closed behind them and started making its way back down.

"...No way..." Zeldri breathlessly said as he put together what he was looking at and his jaw dropped. This wasn't a room, it was a hanger. The strange white markings were for aircraft to follow and designate safe zones for ground crews. As he made his way further inside, he saw the center of the room, the runway, had a catapult system similar to an aircraft carrier's installed into it that would allow aircraft to take off and land despite the relatively short runway. The holes in the wall would be where aircraft could be stored, and a control tower sat embedded into the opposite wall.

"YOOOOO!" MDR was frantically taking pictures and meticulously preparing her posts to maximize the impact of the discovery. Everyone, doll, and human stared in amazement at what was around them. "This shit's legit!"

"...Something like thi-!" Zeldri was looking around and walking which caused him to bump into Annika who'd stopped. "Sorry, Anni...ka?" As he tried to apologize, he saw she was slightly trembling.

"...Please no..." she whispered.

"...Annika?" Zeldri put a hand on her shoulder to get her to snap out of whatever trance she was in. However, when he followed her gaze, he felt a lump form in his throat. A large object covered in a tarp was in one of the aircraft bays. A cargo container sat next to it with a strange-looking door. But, there was no way, right? His father wasn't that extreme...right? "..." Zeldri couldn't kid himself and he walked over to the tarp-covered object with Annika nervously in toe. He grabbed the tarp with one hand, "...Ready?"

"No," Annika answered, but still grabbed the other side of the tarp. A few other staff came over and grabbed the tarp and together they revealed what lay beneath. "...Ты чертовски шутишь (Are you fucking kidding)?" Annika fell to the floor and sat down as the tarp gave way to reveal a fighter jet stoically parked and awaiting a pilot. A strange 'pod' sat on top of the jet's midsection. Hushed murmurs snaked around the staff as all stared at the jet. The freight elevator returned to Level 01 and opened.

"...This," Zeldri was at a loss, but his mind refocused as he heard three pairs of footsteps rapidly approaching from behind. He already knew who it was. "NO!"

"TO BAD!" Horris excitedly screamed as he, M7, and K11 ran across the hangar towards the jet. "Our deal says I get all military-grade vehicles in this place. And, last I checked, jets count as military-grade! M7! K11!"

"Roger!" K11 quickly smoothed a portion of the tarp that used to cover the jet for a work area while M7 started laying down tools. Since Zeldri was finished with the Heart, he reassigned K11 to work with Horris on the vehicles to give him some extra manpower. The three of them also all got along so it seemed like a good idea at the time. She looked up at him and chuckled, "Sorry, Commander."

"...Ugh." Zeldri pinched his brow in frustration.

"To think, your old man really has lost it!" Horris joked as he put on his work gloves and started doing an initial look-over of the jet.

"...Commander?" Annika fell backwards and laid down on the floor staring up at the ceiling. "Can I wake up from this nightmare?"

"...Permission denied."

"...Please?"

"..." Zeldri completely understood Annika and felt a wave of exhaustion slam into him as the weight of this discovery mounted onto him. The jet was one thing; a massive thing, but still a thing. What really got under Zeldri's skin was which jet this was. What sat silently before them was a Su-73D; an upgraded variant of the Su-73 that had a module attached to the mid section that allowed for electronic warfare attacks against other aircraft. It was an experimental unit that didn't see its first unit produced until five years ago. His father's words about this base being abandoned for over three decades echoed in his head as he grit his teeth. This was getting ridiculous.

"Aw, man!" MDR's complaining snapped Zeldri out of his thoughts. He looked over to see the assault rifle t-doll pouting to herself while staring at her phone. "This seems like one of those 'don't post if you value your life' kinda things."

"How unfortunate," UMP40 gave MDR a pity pat on the back as she watched her delete the draft posts.

"..." MDR's complaining was a good distraction that allowed Zeldri to stop and sort his thoughts. If it wasn't obvious before, it was blatant now that his father lied about this place being abandoned for over thirty years. That meant he was being 'put in charge' of the Mountain as the FSB couldn't officially get involved. He already knew about the Heart in the basement, so this made sense. But, a PMC with a modern jet was taking things a bit too far; even for the Heart. He had to be missing something. "...Hmm?" His eyes were drawn to the cargo container that sat nearby.

"...Mmm?" UMP40 stopped pitying MDR as she watched Zeldri approach the container and followed after him. "Quite something, isn't it?" She intentionally used his words from their interaction at the Heart.

"...You could say that." Zeldri didn't feel like playing with her as he wanted all the mysteries of today dealt with.

"..." UMP40 let it be and followed Zeldri to the cargo container. There were no logos on it to give an inclination to the contents, but the doors had heavy-duty electronic locks. The container was also oddly large for a cargo container.

"Think you can get through this?" Zeldri asked as he checked to see if the lock still had power.

"Looks fairly modern," UMP40 casually remarked as she waited for Zeldri to step aside. "Which is a good thing as modern locks all have predictable security." She gave a stretch and cracked her fingers. "This'll take just a sec~." As UMP40 worked on cracking the container, Annika got up from the floor, brushed herself off, and walked over to the container.

"Can this surprise be filled with gold?" she asked with a tired voice.

"That'll still raise eyebrows," Zeldri remarked.

"Yeah, eyebrows that can be silenced with some of the gold," Annika countered. "I'm only accepting beneficial turns of events, from now on, Commander."

"We can only hope."

"Done!~ And, in no time at all." UMP40 proudly puffed out her chest as the lock on the cargo container chirped and an audible kerchunk sound signaled the lock disarming.

"Well done," Zeldri congratulated as he approached the door.

"Hehe~, feel free to praise me more!" UMP40 playfully waltzed next to Zeldri and helped him open the container. The inside was dark, so Zeldri signaled AA-12 to come over with her flashlight. And, when she shined the light inside the container it revealed a small pedestal with a briefcase strapped to it directly in the middle.

"...That doesn't look like gold," Annika complained. Zeldri approached the briefcase and removed the straps holding it down. It wasn't locked, so he flicked it open. Fog hissed out as the briefcase unsealed to reveal a vial held in a cushioned, temperature-controlled casing.

"...Kinda boring, all things considered," AA-12 idly stated as she moved the light to get a look at the vial. It looked like a normal test tube. But, what confused Zeldri was that the test tube, which was in an environmentally controlled case, was...

"IT'S EMPTY!?" Zeldri spun around as the black-cloaked woman appeared behind him and roared with laughter. Her cloak had noticeable bullet holes in it. "AHAHAHAHA! You're joking, right? You HAVE to be joking! AHAHAHAHA!" She couldn't control herself and collapsed to the floor holding her stomach as she writhed on the ground unable to control herself. "If He knew! OH, if He knew! He'd probably piss himself! AHAHAHAHA!"

"...?" Zeldri raised an eyebrow as he couldn't comprehend why she thought this was so hilarious. Turning his attention away from the crazy woman, Zeldri saw a label on the side of the empty test tube. Picking it up, the label only had a single word written in marker across it. Zeldri read the word aloud, "Gavi-"


.̷͎̬̓̐̀̑̉̑.̷̖̮̒̈̂͝.̶̪̓͒̓̈N̷̔̓͑͘ͅo̶͍̯͖̳͐̒͐́̓̕v̷̧͖͚͕̞̈́̂͝ͅe̸̞͚̾̅͠ṃ̷̡̠̟͖͉̓̎̊̈́͠ḅ̷̣̀e̷̻͖̬̼̤̽̉̓͝r̵͎̮̩͐̓̏́͝.̶̧͔̠̩̬̰̍̽͆́.̷̜͚̽͗̊̇.̷̣̼̫̱̟̍̃͛̑Z̶̧̨̧̳̬̞̓͊̅͆ě̶͕̯r̸̗̰̙͆͒̃̎̔ô̴̺͚̂̀̓.̵̢̡̗̘̽͌̕͝.̷̡̮͋̎̔̆.̷̪̞͌F̸̙̞̱͔̱͛͂͝͠ì̶̲̈́̽͠v̴̨͍͓̯͓͖̂͝ė̶̗͖̀͠.̴͔͕̞͉̇.̵̺̞̟̠͔̩͂̌̌͘.̸̖̻͔̣̻͈́̊͘Ǎ̴͈̙̰͐l̷̢̘͉͑̏͑̀͒p̷̤̞̞͍͎͍̀͊͆̇̎h̶̝̩̐͆͘a̵̧̾.̷̦̖̪̟̱̠̏͐̿̏.̷̯̥̻͠.̷̨̭͗͗͑̂͜

"It's just a summer cold! He doesn't need-!"

"Even a summer cold can escalate into a serious illness, Sofia. It's-"

.̴̳̈́̀̌̈.̸͈͚̰̲̦̀̊̅̒.̷̙͇͊Y̴͖̓a̵͇̘̕n̸̛̖̣͎͌̃͋̀k̶̨͔̬̀̋̋̚͘̚ẽ̵̛͚̟͇͉̬͉̽͋͐̚e̷̪͕͔̳͉̓̓͐.̵̬͔͔̃̀̓͛̇̽.̸͓̪̳̩̔́̽̕.̵̡͇̠̔̊̓͂̆͘A̴͇͓͈̱̘͒͌̎l̸̞͚̑̊̑͛̈́͘p̶̧͈̩̯̋h̶̘̻̮̊͋à̵͖̭̩͊̀͐͋.̷̗̙͉̦͇͛.̶̣̺͓̹̯͉̀͆̈́.̷͔͌Ẑ̶̨̘̟̪̘̲̄̊̈u̷̍́͐̀͜l̷̢̦̬͚̤̄͌̐̇̉͜ư̵̳͍͒̈̍.̷̡̭̥͓̮͌̕.̵̺̪̬͝.̵͇̯̱̄͌͊͒͆Ṫ̶̨̳͉̣̥͆͗h̴̫̙̭̗͐̏̔̋̊̈ṙ̷̫̩̤̲͐͜͝e̷̮̼̟̿͘ę̵̩̟̝̞̅͛̓̄.̷̧̳̟̹͗̌̅.̸͎̩͖̰̃̈́̽͒̑̊͜.̷̝͔͚͎͆̔̄͌̕͝

"Are you certain this will work, Artyom?"

"No... But, if humanity is to have a future then I'm even willing to-"

.̸̣̰͈̖̞̯̅͐͌͗.̴̝͓̜͓̱̈́̄̊͌̾͛.̴̧̛̞̬̮̽̃̋Ḿ̴̡̛̀̅͌ḯ̵̡̘͕̯̘̭̄̋̚͠k̸̘͗è̷̤͍̻̠͋͋͊̑̚.̵̗̬̆̋̓̌̍̋.̷̪͑͌ͅ.̵̘͈̪̜̀̕ͅO̵͎̲̦͔̩̊͗̅͘̕ṅ̶̬̓̽̋̀ë̴̢̝̤̪̜̏̅͝.̵͇̘̯̇̚̚.̶̡̪͎̗̓͜.̴̳̳͋̾Y̶̛̩̟̩̺͉͇̿͛a̴͚͈̥͍̓̈́͌͝n̴̲͗͛̈́͝k̵̨̝̝̥̘̜̋̆̍̎͘e̶̯̬̣̹͙̓e̷̹͐̒͌͊̅.̷̛͔͎̀̂̐̃̆.̸̨̛̲͌̈͒̽͘.̶͍͂̈́͂̈́͠͝A̷̦̜̺̳̩̟̅l̷̘̀̇͆̂̓̕͜ͅp̶̹̂ḧ̷̭̦̫̠̣͙ą̷͈̺͖͕̔̏̌̾͠.̶̢̖͈̅̔ͅ.̵̜̠͎̜͙̃̑͊̇͑̕.̵̖̄͗̋̌

"Do I have to, Dad?"

"It's just a single shot, there's nothing to worry about. Now, come here."

N̸̞͇̣̿̄e̸͎͈̹̰̓͌̄̈́ǵ̶̝͎̟̭͑̑̄l̶̛̮̼̀̇i̵̻̓͜g̴̤͔̚e̵̢͉͂̎̅n̶̖̣̄c̶̙̙̖̑̃̔e̷͚͈͆̇̃͝,̸̡͙͍̣̈́̚ ̷͉͚̺͘ȏ̴̭̫̲͉̔h̵̥̤̠͑͌ ̶̛̮̩͓̐V̶̻̄͒͗ạ̷̠̟̓̎̒͠n̸͇͆̈́͠y̸͕͆́a̷̛͈̝͝,̷̲̿ ̵̡̫̊̈̊͘ͅa̵̼̒́̇͜l̵̫̿̋̿͘w̶̧͒̒̋͐ả̸̙͐̎y̶͓̏̔͑͜s̷͈̒͑̂̎ͅ ̸̢̡̣̝͌̈́̄͝ẏ̷̼̝͖̎͘̕ȉ̴͔͙͔̬̑ẽ̸̠͎̭͓̽̈l̶̟͋͆̚d̴̢̻͆̓̓͝s̶̟͈̞̞͒̃̚ ̵̛̞͚̳̾͌͐ͅa̶̙̔̓͑n̷̛̺̻͇̔̚ǹ̶̞̮̞̾͠͝i̷̧̡̥̻͠͠h̶̡̘͕͔̅̏̆̔i̷̜̗̎́̀ḻ̴̬͇̀̊̂a̸̞͙̞͂t̴̨̞̟͒ͅḭ̴̡̮͍̔̌̇ȍ̴̘̣͍̉̂̇n̵̙̙̓̀͗͝.̷̞̙̱̙͛̀

Z̷̧͔͔̔́͋e̴̱͙͛͠l̸̻̚d̵̩̹͆͑r̴̥̱͝ȉ̴̭̫̖,̴͓̮͒ ̴̧͋́e̸͔͈͋̈́ṉ̴͝s̴̨͖̔̓ŭ̵̙̬̘̈́͒r̵̳͋̃̇i̸̛̟͋͌n̴̲̣̦̎̀g̵̛̖͖̃̓ ̴̫͌̓m̶̭͊͒y̸̥͔̟̐̎͆ ̵̺̃ḽ̶͖̌́i̴̡͕͗̑̒n̶͍̪̒͝e̵̮͈̐̇͌a̶̦̅ͅģ̸̮͆e̷̡̩͔͝͝ ̵͔̩̾̊ÿ̶̞͍ĩ̶̢̕e̷̝͖͎̋l̴̬͒̀͂d̴̰̃́̌s̴̟̉̇͊ ̶̼̎̑a̸͚̫͒̈̕͜s̷̝̊̈́č̸̙̯̗̏̂e̵̛̪̹͑̚n̵̺͋s̷͍̫͗̏͝î̸̖̞̥o̷̧͙͍̍́n̸̯͈̦̓̿͗.̵̜̉̑̑


"-rul... GAH!" The test tube crashed to the floor as Zeldri felt a violent convulsion from his internal organs. It felt like his stomach had burst open and his internal organs were being dissolved by the stomach acid. "...H...Hel-!" Zeldri tried calling for help, but when he turned around, he saw no one reacting to his pain. UMP40, AA-12, and Annika were all silently staring at him with blank expressions. Their eyes appeared vacant and dead. "...W...Wha...?" A liquid trickled down his lips. When he brought his hand up, Zeldri discovered blood was pouring out of his nose. His legs felt incredibly weak. The back of his head started pounding.

"AHAHAhaha...ha?" The black-cloaked woman controlled her laughter as she felt something was off. Sitting up, she saw the state Zeldri was in. "Commander!?" She bolted to her feet and went to rush to Zeldri's side, but movement caught her attention. UMP40 was drawing her weapon at Zeldri. "No, you don't!" The black-cloaked woman rushed towards Zeldri and slammed her hand into his face. "Take a rest, Commander, you look tired!" In an instant, Zeldri's consciousness faded with the last thing he saw being the black-cloaked woman taking bullets meant for him from UMP40's SMG.

...

...

...


"..." The black-cloaked woman sat on her knees in the world of white. Zeldri was silently asleep on the ground with his head resting on her lap. Fresh bullet holes riddled her cloak as she hadn't had time to repair her form, yet.

"Not your most graceful of plans, I believe?"

"...?" The black-cloaked woman glanced up to see a young girl in a white dress with long brown hair standing in front of her. "I don't recall inviting you here."

"Too bad," Tsaritsa replied as she stared down at the black-cloaked woman. Her eyes drifted to Zeldri's unconscious body. "You're pushing him too hard. Start thinking about his health, otherwise, he really will be lost."

"I didn't even do this!" the black-cloaked woman retaliated in a harsher tone than she meant to.

"You care?" Tsaritsa's words were cold. The black-cloaked woman opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Why? " It doesn't matter, the fact he's like this is your fault, along with Him." Her tone became bitter when mentioning 'Him'.

"...It's not my fault," the black-cloaked woman, uncharacteristically, quietly spoke as her eyes fell to the unconscious Zeldri.

"Does it look like that matters?"

"...Shut up."

"Stop acting like the victim." Tsaritsa's eyes glared at the black-cloaked woman. "You're his executioner, so stop acting like you care when no one is even around to see it-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"!" Tsaritsa's form shattered like a mirror with the fragments falling to the floor where they slowly started to sink beneath previously invisible waves. "...Bury me all you like, black-cloaked woman." The fragments of Tsaritsa taunted as they sank into the dark depths of the white world, "I'll be back soon. This isn't truly your world..."

"..." The black-cloaked woman didn't bother watching the last of Tsaritsa fade away and brought her eyes back to Zeldri. His completion was pale and dried blood stained his upper lip and under his nose. While stable, his breathing was hoarse. With a shaky hand, she hesitantly stroked his hair in an attempt to comfort him. Though, even she didn't understand why.