A/N: Welcome to the Holiday Special! This was another one of those things meant to be a small one-shot, but I quickly realized during the brainstorming process that scope-creep was likely going to spiral out of control like it always does, so enjoy this short prologue in the meantime.

Prologue: The Elixir

Griffin Temporary Office, Berlin, Germany, October 31st, 2064...

"Alright Commander, you're up."

RO635 stepped away from the small podium after doing a mic check, making way for her Commander who stepped up to address the crowd of dolls gathering in the Café.

Clearing his throat, the Commander began. "Alright boys and girls - well, okay, just girls. I know you're all eager to enjoy your Halloween, so I'm going to keep this is as short as possible, I'm not going to bore you with a PowerPoint or anything like that, don't worry. Nonetheless, before you guys go wreaking havoc around my office or around this fine city, I'm going to have to lay down some ground rules. The rules are as follows - Do not add to the population. Do not subtract from the population. Do not end up in jail. If you do end up in jail, be sure to assert dominance as quickly as possible-"

Small giggles emitted from the ground, the Commander held up a hand as the laughter died down. "No, I'm kidding. Seriously though, for all of you who have gotten yourself a pass to go out on the town, do not go pulling any fuckery that lands yourself in jail, I mean it. If you think I can be a touch on the grumpy side when I'm hungover, I can promise you that you haven't seen anything compared to when I have to go out in the middle of the night to post someone's bail and I'm hungover. For all of you staying in and enjoying the festivities inside the office, please for the love of fucking god do not send anybody to the repair bay or the infirmary. I don't think any of you wants to be worked on by technicians that are shaking off a hangover, and if any of you chucklefucks make me have to get worked on by Doctor Bob while he's drunk, I will haunt you from the grave. Lastly - No fuckery, period, no pranks or anything like that, even on our new friends from Sangvis Ferri."

The Commander suddenly pointed to a certain silver-haired, heterochromic doll. "Yes MDR, that means you."

The Commander scanned the crowd again. "And yes, AK-12, I know you snuck away from Ange again to be here and are hiding amongst us, I am talking about you too. I'd ask you all to please keep the drinking to a minimum, but for one, I know that's a lost cause because some of you people seem to be capable of manifesting bottles of whiskey out of thin-air, and two, I'm going to be getting plastered tonight too, so who the hell am I to tell you not to? I just want to ask that those of you who aren't going to be getting blackout drunk, please keep an eye on your friends who are and try to hold them back from doing something completely fucktarded. That being said, please enjoy the festivities, and don't eat all your candy at once. Yes, that means you AA-12, I don't know if dolls can get diabetes but let's not test any hypotheses tonight. Alright, anyways, you are all dismissed. Have fun - don't ruin mine."

The Commander stepped down from the podium as the Dolls began dispersing, roaming off with their groups of friends and chattering amongst themselves. The Commander silently thanked the forces of fate that things didn't immediately spiral out of control, so he and RO could at least enjoy some reprieve during the holiday, however long it would last...

"Well, at least that's over with." The Commander remarked as he strolled back over to RO, who had joined SOP-II. He eyed the long-yellow cape she was wearing over the outfit, as well as the yellow mask over her eyes. "Who are you supposed to be, anyways?"

"Captain RO635!" RO replied enthusiastically, raising her megaphone in the air. "Count up your sins, evildoers! Justice is at hand!"

The Commander smiled in response before turning over to SOP-II, who was wearing a crimson mask as well as a long white beard. "And...who are you, Santa Clause?"

"Mad Doctor SOP-II! Ahahahahaha!" SOP-II laughed menacingly.

A small laugh escaped the Commander. "Alright, miss evil genius, don't go destroying the city on Captain RO's watch, now."

"Hey, speaking of which, where's your costume, Commander?" RO asked.

"Uh...I guess I haven't had time to put one together..." The Commander scratched the back of his head.

"Well, that's no fun! You could have at least ordered a cheap one or something, you need to get into the spirit!" RO pouted.

"The girls don't need my help with that, they're having plenty of fun already. Maybe next year."

"Hmph. I'm going to hold you to that, Commander. You should have said something earlier, I'd have helped you make one...It's too bad Halloween's only for one night."

"Yeah...nothing can be done about it now, I guess...Hey, where's M4, Star, and M16?" The Commander asked, looking around the room.

"M4 said she wasn't interested in Halloween...She'll still probably help herself to candy, though." RO huffed. "I can't find AR-15 anywhere, she said she had better things to do than play dress-up, but-"

SOP-II suddenly interjected. "She made a costume! I saw it! She kicked something under her bed when I came into the dorm earlier today and started acting all embarrassed!"

RO nodded. "Right...anyways, Sixteen's around...but..."

"Yooo~ Commander!" The Commander heard a familiar voice behind him, a deep, mature one with a hint of inebriation.

The Commander turned to face the source, and found himself taken completely off-guard.

M16 stood before him, clad in a dark gray dress that left little to the imagination - cut low at the chest with a layer of lace bordering the inside, the sides cut off at the waist, exposing her hips and legs and leaving only a long strip of cloth hanging down her front and backside. Thigh-high socks hugged her legs, stretching down to a pair of tall heels, lengthy black gloves stretched all the way up to her bicep, and a large witch hat rested on top of her head.

"...Sixteen?" The Commander uttered.

RO sighed loudly. "Sixteen...Just what on earth are you wearing?"

"Tch, come on, RO. Is this really that bad compared to what some of the other girls are wearing?"

"You are a senior member, you're supposed to- You know what, never mind." RO grumbled. "Sangvis really influenced you for the worse..." She uttered under her breath.

"Are you...supposed to be some kind of witch?" The Commander finally asked.

M16 cracked a smile. "I am a sorceress, Commander. One who specializes in...Alchemy."

RO pressed her face into her palm. "Oh, Jesus..."

M16 continued. "Would you be interested in one of my potions?"

"Sixteen!" RO snapped. "The party has barely even started!"

The Commander, however, contemplated. "It has been a long time since we've sat down for a drink...and we did promise we'd get one when things calmed down..."

RO grumbled loudly. "Don't go starting any trouble, you hear?"

"Relax, RO~ I'll bring him back in one piece." M16 gently hooked the Commander by the arm and slowly pulled him towards the Café counter.

They slowly trudged through the crowd of dolls, the Commander caught glimpse of Springfield clad in a brown witch outfit, handing out candy to an assortment of costumed dolls. One of the costumes caught the Commander's attention - a black raincoat with a chest-rig and battle-belt worn over it that stretched down to the legs, which were fully exposed save for a drop-leg holster on the right thigh, and a pair of black combat boots. A gas mask with red-tinted bugeye lenses underneath a PASGT helmet concealed the wearer's identity, and a patch depicting a red-and-white patterned umbrella was worn on the shoulder. A Lady HUNK cosplay, an intricately detailed one at that...he wondered who the wearer was.

They sat themselves at the counter near Executioner. From the brief glimpse the Commander got, she appeared to be upset about something, but the Commander's attention was quickly redirected to M16.

"Sooo~ How about we make things interesting? I've got a special potion for you tonight, and you are the perfect test subject~" M16 cackled.

"Right...and I take it this 'potion' comes in a bottle?"

M16's smiled widened. "No, Commander...It comes in a jar."

The Commander raised a brow. "A jar?...Don't tell me..."

"Had to use my Jack sparingly while at SF, so I went ahead and set up my own still. This was the last batch I made before we left for Tallinn, I was so close to perfecting it..."

Sixteen slid a jar of clear liquid across the counter, gracefully coming to a halt right in front of the Commander.

M16 smiled expectantly "So, whaddaya say, Commander? Think you can handle it? I put my love into it, ya know."

The Commander gently closed his fingers around the jar. "I don't know how I could say no when you put it that way - you're on."

Unscrewing the lid, the fumes hit him almost immediately - a single whiff sent fire shooting up his nostrils.

There was no backing out now, the Commander picked up the jar and quickly knocked it back...

The burn overwhelmed him within a second, it was as if someone had poured liquid fire straight onto his brain. His chest was set ablaze, his head throbbed like nothing else before, his vision blurred and was knocked out of focus, the world began to turn on its side as darkness encroached from all directions...

THUD