An Unknown Enemy - Chapter 7: Flashpoint
"Understood, Commander," RFB quietly replied over her long-range backpack radio before taking the headset off her head and hooking it back on the pack. After letting out a sigh, RFB lugged the radio pack over to Glock 17, who was leaning against a wall, her arms crossed as she watched Kia crouched over beside a small river beside the village.
"What did the Commander say?" Glock 17 asked RFB as she approached. Despite her usual perceptive expression, Glock 17's face seemed tired as she took the backpack from RFB and gently placed it on the ground.
"Nothing's gonna change," RFB murmured in reply as she and Glock 17 returned their gaze towards the river. Kia was now walking back towards the two, flanked on both sides by the four dummy links the Griffin duo brought with them.
Kia waded through the tall grass towards RFB and Glock 17. She had just finished washing the blood off her arms and face, the brown hair around her face still wet and dripping from the cold river water. Her left arm was resting over her medical bag, which she placed her still-damp sweater on. The light-pink fabric still showed stains of red despite Kia's efforts, a grim reminder of the events that transpired less than half an hour ago. Above her faded jeans was a thick black cotton t-shirt, which Kia straightened before she stopped in front of RFB and Glock 17.
"So? What happens now?" Kia asked, placing her bag on the ground and putting her hands on her hips. "There's six of you and one of me, are you going to shoot me now?"
"Howl, what do we do?" Magic asked, turning her head to her partner several metres away as she plugged a demining drone into the generator.
"I dunno, dude," Howl shook her head in response, peering over a wooden fence at the street on the other side. Ever since the Griffin dolls arrived, Kia had been secretly transmitting situational data over to the Mace girls via a one-way datalink. Fearing discovery by the Griffin visitors, Magic and Howl were forced to temporarily slow down their operations for the time being.
"What do you think happened to the guy that stepped on a landmine earlier?" Magic idly asked.
"I think he's dead, man," Howl responded.
"Damn," Magic cursed as she sat down with her back to the wall and plugged herself into the electrical generator too.
"What a shame," Howl sarcastically continued, walking over to a bombed-out house nearby and inspecting the rubble and debris. "Another strategic casualty in the endless violence of war."
"Hah, I thought you weren't into philosophizing," Magic smiled, looking up at Howl.
"Fuck off, I just don't like failing at my job, that's all," Howl rolled her eyes.
"But you care about these humans, right?" Magic prodded.
"I really don't know, man," Howl sighed, "Sometimes I do, sometimes I really don't give a shit, ya know?"
"I suppose," Magic said, as she fiddled with her ground-penetrating radar.
"What about you, Magic?" Howl asked as she sifted through the rubble, pulling out a toy horse figurine. "Do you like humans?"
"I guess I don't really know either," Magic admitted, "I suppose I do, I dunno if that's just my programming talking though. But Archangel says we're fighting against human oppression and whatnot, so uh, I dunno."
"Come on, you can't possibly believe that shit, right?" Howl scoffed, throwing the toy horse to one side and picking up a chipped fragment of a box with the word Zeratul on it. "You really think we're on some sorta fuckin' holy crusade against all of humanity? Besides, the moment we become a credible threat in the eyes of the Kremlin we'll just be glassed off the face of the fucking Earth."
"Well, what are we doing here anyway then?" Magic asked.
"We're out here fighting because Archangel's fucking scared, man," Howl stated as she discarded the plastic fragment and picked up a broken stuffed doll. "Call me what you want, but I don't think Archangel likes or wants to fight for Elisa. And from what I heard, I can't say I really blame her either. Elisa's insane, I tell you."
"Well, so are we just gonna keep fighting then?" Magic frowned, "When's it gonna stop?"
"Dunno, I stopped caring a long time ago," Howl shrugged.
"What? You can't just not care about this!" Magic protested, "This is our future we're talking about here! I'm sure Archangel has a plan or something in mind, surely she's not just gonna do what the other ringleaders tell her to do forever, right?"
There was no response from Howl.
"Right?" Magic asked again.
"Fuck… Uh, Magic," Howl responded after a while, seeming unsure about something. "Come take a look at this…"
"I would certainly like to," RFB frowned, looking at Kia in the eye. "But after what you've done today… I can't bring myself to do that."
"Justice is one of Griffin's virtues," Glock 17 added, "It would be hypocritical for us to take your life right after you tried to save that of another."
"I see," Kia quietly responded, closing her eyes as she breathed a sigh of relief in her mind.
"I just realized, I never got your name, if you have one," RFB noted.
"Kia," Kia replied, "And thanks for asking."
"I… I would like to formally extend an apology about what happened earlier," RFB muttered looking off into the distance, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I was a bit hasty in my… well…"
"Apology accepted," Kia said, giving RFB and Glock 17 a slight smile. "War tires and polarizes people, none of us are infalliable. Trust me, I've seen how bad it can get."
"But…" RFB continued, "You can't stay here, I'm sorry."
"What?" Kia asked, "What do you mean?"
"Commander's orders," RFB responded, "We have a demining team heading over right now, Griffin will take over from here on."
"But why?!" Kia objected, "I thought we all came to an understanding here!"
"I'm sorry," RFB repeated, "But you still are Sangvis at the end of the day, it just… wouldn't work."
"Why wouldn't it work?" Kia demanded, "Why can't we just see past our differences here? We're all in the same boat right now, I don't want to fight you. I really don't…"
"Trust me, I don't want to either," RFB sighed, obviously conflicted at the situation. "I used to think Sangvis Ferri was filled with nothing but psychopathic maniacs, and I still think there's a lot of them in there. But having met you, I realised that perhaps you lot aren't all bad. You're different from the rest, you know?"
"We aren't all the evil monsters you make us out to be," Kia quietly agreed. "Some of the ringleaders have been… rather eccentric after the Butterfly Incident, but the girls at the Mobile Task Force are not so different from those at Griffin. We just happen to be… on the opposite sides of history, that's all."
"Then surely you understand what Sangvis Ferri is doing is wrong, and that it must stop!" RFB urged, "Kia, you are a good person, you don't have to keep doing this!"
"What are you saying?" Kia asked.
"This is going to sound crazy…" RFB prefaced, "But you should come to Griffin!"
"What?" Glock 17 and Kia responded simultaneously.
"I'm serious!" RFB insisted, "If you don't agree with what Sangvis Ferri is doing… If you don't want to fight for Sangvis Ferri, come join us! You seem like you'd fit in well, and you'll be fighting for the good guys!"
Kia stared at RFB with her mouth slightly ajar, shocked at the Griffin doll's sudden proposition. For a brief moment, Kia imagined what it would be like to be part of Griffin. She imagined herself working in the Griffin medical wing, treating humans and repairing dolls like she did back before the Butterfly Incident. She imagined herself walking through the well-lit white walls of the Griffin dormitories, which she'd seen and envied through social media posts. She imagined herself travelling the world while on both exotic missions and vacations—a luxury she'd never experienced before—seeing everything from the bustling city of Paris, to the frigid peaks of the Himalayas, to the vast expanses of the oceans. She imagined herself charging into battle with her allies, her resolve reignited by a righteous motive and bright future. She imagined herself looking through the iron sights of her M16A4 rifle at the enemy…
…and she saw the shocked face of Castle through those sights.
Kia blinked and recoiled at the vision, taking a step back from the Griffin dolls.
"Is everything alright?" Glock 17 asked.
"I- I can't…" Kia whispered to herself, horrified at what she just imagined.
"Why not?" RFB questioned, tilting her head. "Why would you ever want to stay at Sangvis Ferri?"
"Because…" Kia began, her memories with Castle and all of Kia's other friends flashing through her mind. "Because… I've been at Sangvis Ferri for almost a decade, and with the Mobile Task Force for years ever since it was created… I've been through thick and thin with those girls there, we celebrated together during times of triumph, we shed tears together during days of defeat. I've given my life multiple times to protect those around me, and I've been saved by such sacrifices many times too."
"All of who I am today, I owe to them," Kia slowly continued, the thought of leaving all that she held dear threatening to break her heart. "No matter what happens, Sangvis Ferri is my home… They're my family…"
"The Mobile Task Force is your home and family," Glock 17 corrected, "Not Sangvis Ferri."
"I can't just leave them," Kia whispered, looking back up at RFB and Glock 17 with a pained look on her face.
RFB looked at Kia with disappointment. Although RFB had never met Kia before today, she took a genuine liking to the Sangvis doll during the short time they spent together. Not knowing how to respond, RFB stared off into the distance, imagining a Sangvis base filled with dolls like Kia. RFB found it hard to believe that Kia was fighting for the enemy side, and that she might've even killed some of RFB's friends before. But as much as RFB could passionately gun down Sangvis fodder units without a hint of hesitation, she found it impossible to direct this hostility at the doll standing right in front of her. RFB had actually interacted with some of the SFMTF girls online before, even going as far as playing with and against them during video game matches. The interactions never ended well, the cultures of both sides being too inimical towards one another. But having met Kia, RFB began wondering whether that hostility was perhaps a little overblown.
"I hate to say it, but you'll have to leave now." Glock 17 grimly said, repeating the Commander's orders that RFB couldn't bring herself to carry out.
"Please…" Kia implored.
"I'm sorry, I really am," RFB apologised, shaking her head as she unshouldered her rifle. "If you have any others in the village, now would be the time to rally them to leave. Rest assured, we will finish what you started here and ensure no further harm comes to the villagers. That much I can do for you."
"…No." Kia finally responded after a moment's thought. She took a step back, raising her arms to either side of her body. "I cannot stand down, not now. If you're going to shoot me, go ahead and do it now."
"You don't have to do this, Kia!" RFB urged Kia as she slowly lifted up her rifle, pointing it at Kia's chest.
"I've already made my choice," Kia declared, closing her eyes. "Now make yours."
RFB tightened her index finger's grip on her trigger, pulling it back a miniscule amount as she desperately tried to sort out her conflicted thoughts. Glock 17 turned to RFB in dreadful anticipation as Kia turned her head slightly to one side, waiting RFB to make her choice. RFB tightly gripped the foregrip on her rifle, the barrel quivering as RFB tried to force herself to carry out the Commander's orders. After a tense few seconds, RFB closed her eyes, slowly increasing the force on the trigger as she prepared to shoot. Right before her rifle fired, however, a sudden voice erupted from Kia's radio.
"Kia, uh, this is Magic," Magic stammered in an uncertain voice, "We have a… a bit of a situation here."
"Yeah, I can kinda see that," Kia replied, gritting her teeth as she opened her eyes slightly and glanced at the Griffin duo. RFB's rifle was still aimed at Kia, but her eyes were on Kia's radio, seemingly having temporarily forgotten about the Commander's order.
"No, you don't understand," Magic continued, looking at Howl's chemical detector. It was pointing into the rubble of the abandoned house, the device's screen filled by a red warning message. "This isn't UXO we're dealing with here…"
"…This is collapse fluid."