Silently the door opened, and the commander let out a tired sigh, moving monitors and paper reports aside. He did not expect visitors, nor did he have a desire to welcome one, especially now. Too much data from previous encounters to analyse, too many strategies that should be coordinated with every specific echelon… Too many dolls under his command, especially after almost all other leaders died: Copies of those he knew, new ones he never heard of, tactical dolls he had no idea existed… Too many to spare even a thought for each, let alone care about them all in any way other than expandable pawns temporarily bound to his will. I hope the new recruitment program will work soon. Mourn shook his head - never in his life a danger of the brain wearing out was so close to be true.

"Needed something, WA?"

A cloaked figure that already slipped into his office raised her hood, revealing a pale round face. Expression, on the other hand, was unnaturally warm. Especially compared to what she was hiding under the rough fabric.

"What sold me out?" the doll asked, letting out a disappointed sigh. Commander smiled lightly: Not so long ago the sniper before him decided to exceed any other android in efficiency, and with his oblique help gained enough resources to satisfy her long expeditions after the Griffin's enemies, where she, along with skills, developed enormous perfectionism, now deeming any, even the most minor error to be catastrophic. And Mourn valued this trait more than discipline, albeit not knowing why his subordinate started this all.

"Out of all dolls, only my senior officers and you are met with silence. But while the former are respected, your silence has a taste of disgust and fear." he replied, taking a quick glance at one of the screens - another report. I'll look at it later.

"Hmpf." WA grunted with contempt. "Their problem. Strategics and logistics are taking longer than anticipated, aren't they?"

"Alas." Human replied tiredly, moving his shoulders in an awkward gesture. "Kalina is a good logistics officer, but still - trusting her completely would be a terrible mistake."

"It affects your health, so maybe you should rely on her more." His interviewee nodded silently. "Even though it is indeed a vulnerability." Finishing the sentence, she finally put her macabre trophy on the table. Wow…

There,with neck stumps tied to a rope, were lying five conserved heads, all with the same expression of disbelief. Three white and two black nytos, all in two weeks the doll was off. Near them WA already put her ammunition, and the commander counted the cumbersome cartridges. Only three less than she took, which was good: her new rifle, despite functioning the same, had larger calibre, with a bullet large enough to contain the tiny shieldbreaker device and therefore just as expensive as the weapon itself.

"They caught you, did they not?"

"How… ?"

"White ones, judging by the condition of their necks, were beheaded with shots. Your habit, and usual style. Black ones, however, were clearly chopped off. Which now can only mean that you neutralised your targets, but were caught while retrieving the heads by the other nytos and, unwilling to use the remaining ammunition, engaged them in melee." Mourn shrugged, not showing any signs of distress. In truth, he didn't feel it. "Still, your trophies are way more impressive than you think. Sit down, don't discharge your exoskeleton."

Upon hearing those words, WA fell into a chair, her artificial muscles and joints howling and ringing in protest. Cloak fell off, revealing a sorry state doll's body was in. How is she still able to move? Commander thought, looking with curiosity on each portion of exposed systems. In fact, the sniper's uniform, despite layers upon layers of flexible bulletproof fabric now present within it and proper pants, was severely torn, revealing pathetic pieces of skin that failed to cover shredded muscle fibre. Sometimes, even this was absent, revealing a scratched endoskeleton that creaked painfully every time its owner moved. Perhaps, the exoskeleton she was wearing was the only thing to keep her mobile. Everything comes at a cost… He thought, looking in the white nyto's empty eyes with calm visage. This time, sacrifices were worth it.

"I want to ask you something." her voice was strangely trembling, sounding unnatural even for what she was two years ago, let alone now. Commander raised his head in curiosity. "Do you…" She stopped, mastering enough courage to finish the question."Love me now?"

"No." A pause was deafening.

"What? But…" WA felt her throat going dry from simply hearing this word.

"Remember what Springfield told you?" Charles Mourn spoke again, his tone radiating with tired irritation.

"How do you…" sniper's voice died down the moment she remembered who sat before her and how malicious this lean, frail human actually is.

"It now is obvious why you came to a cafe that day, and the question you asked her too. So… Do you remember what she told you?" His expression did not change.

"That you don't love anyone…" Again, the room fell completely silent.

"And it is true. I respect you as a professional, I adore your new habit of bringing me heads as proof of your success, I cherish the memories of teaching you strategies and tactics. But love, especially in a way you mean… Forget it. I do not love even my senior officers. I respect them and treat them as equals rather than subordinates, but never love. For me, it is but a concept I've never deemed to be important. As for the ring on PPK's finger back then…"

"I remember. I was there, after all." Doll stopped him, raising a shaking hand in a weak gesture and after a brief moment lowering it back."You'd rather give her a proper medal instead." Charles looked her in the eyes. She was about to cry, which couldn't surprise him - it is always painful when the task one desires to complete turns into dust before their eyes. "So… It all was for nothing?"

" You gained way more knowledge than you possessed before, sharpened your skills, made a perfectly working weapon with your own hands… It costs way more than a single emotion. Even if it wasn't the result you wanted, it is still incredible." Weak smile appeared on the commander's face. Smile of gratitude, kindness and support, one he clearly copied from Springfield. But now even this was enough to calm the assassin down.

"I… am not sure it was worth it." She responded quietly.

" With such prey, you can ask me for a lot of things. Additional payment, access to personal workshop, vacation… proper neural upgrade, even." Human replied calmly, standing up from his chair. "Choose whatever you desire."

WA sighed, going deep into her thoughts. Do I need anything? Her pride would choke her if she went without a reward. Hmm… Wave of sharp pain coursed through mangled body again, almost causing her to scream. Finally, she came up with a proper answer.

"I want a neural upgrade. And for you to escort me to the repair bay, if it won't be too much of a burden." Her voice trembled no more, finally gaining back the strength it had

"No matter how bitter the truth tastes, the sweet illusion is still worth less." Mourn laughed bitterly, but nonetheless opened one of many secret storages and started to put on his own exoskeleton.

"Please, let me taste this illusion." Doll pleaded, rising from her seat as her mechanical support creaked in response. "Just this once."

Commander did not respond, simply walking to her and offering his aid, which she gladly accepted, wrapping her arm around his neck.

WA had no doubts about how strange they looked when walking out of the office. But still, an illusion was pleasant, even if she knew it wouldn't last long.

" I have another question."

"Hmm?" Mourn responded indifferently.

"Why did you ignore me? Past me, I mean." doll asked, adjusting her walking speed a bit."I didn't give you any reason to doubt my skills, as far as I know."

"You didn't. It was your loyalty that I found questionable. Yes, your performance was exceptional even then, but outside combat your attitude was quite hateful towards me for no clear reason. This, combined with your 'pranks' and… cooking, made me think that if it wasn't for loyalty protocols, you would kill me before I have time to even blink."

"I must admit, cooking is still my weak spot." the sniper smiled in defeat, leaning onto the human a bit more. "At least my poisons are good enough to kill."

"How did you know it?"

"I… was oftenly running out of rations during my operations. And sometimes tried to make them taste better. How it turned out…You can most likely predict." Both giggled, barely able not to trip over. " By the way… What were you doing with my trophies all this time?"

"Something you'd be pleased to see." Mourn simply answered, finally reaching a door. "Well, we're here." He let her go, and she immediately stepped into the repair bay.

"It was good while it lasted, huh…" WA's expression darkened, but voice was filled with acceptance.

"As I said, I don't love anyone." Human nodded, already turning around. " But you can count on my friendship, if it'll appease you."

"Better than you, commander." Doll's voice was muffled by the whirling and creaking of the repair pod she stepped in at the remains of her frame's strength.

Allright.. Where should I put you… Charles sighed. The sight didn't disturb him in the slightest - if anything, he was astonished by his subordinate's results - but there was barely any proper place for new trophies, so placing them without ruining the existing composition would be difficult.

Office door didn't make any noise as he stepped in, taking another glance at the heads. Hmmm… I might have an idea. Exoskeleton detached itself from the commander's body, whirling in process, and he once again placed it in a secret niche. It will actually look quite well.

With an emotionless visage he stepped out of the office once again, WA's trophies in hand. Base was mostly quiet - the few dolls present were only patrolling the corridors, and therefore would remain silent until something or someone dangerous would happen. At least, they were disciplined enough not to scream at sight and just step away from his path.

Another hall opened its doors before him, showing a bit of its contents. Nytos, especially dangerous dolls, ELIDs - cumbersome stands and shelves were holding their heads, arms or weapons, depending on what the german hunter was able to take as a proof of her victory.

Air around him was quite cold - despite new conservation chemicals, he still insisted on this measure just to be sure that the stench of rot would never reach the other premises. And on the opposite end, shining in dim lights, was a bulky chair, placed on a raised platform so the one sitting on it could see every single showpiece of this morbid exhibition.

Carefully Mourn stood on an armrest, placing the first white-haired trophy on a specially mounted holder right above the back. It responded with quiet hissing, fixing the head in place. four more…

"Looks good." a deep, resonating voice nearly made him fall from the position, but he calmly stepped down on the ledge, turning around.

"Did not expect to see you there, Alchemist."

"I mean, it's partially my doing too." Ringleader shrugged, looking in curiosity at a sharp scythe. "Without me, she would spend years on developing these sweet one-time toys."

"So, are you satisfied with their performance?"

"It is honestly better than I anticipated." Her tone reeked with malicious happiness. "I thought it would take at least two rounds to pierce the white's forcefield, but it worked just fine."

"Either the rounds worked well, or… "

"Paradeus, just like Elisa, prefers quantity over quality whenever possible." Alchemist's words were venomous enough to kill. Commander stepped down, finally reaching the floor.

"Or our new hunter is skilled enough with them to dispatch nytos without caring about their rank." He grinned, almost completely replicating one-eyed doll's sadistic smile.

" To be honest, I didn't think much of her until she changed." Gynoid replied with an unchanged facade, but her voice oozed with contempt. "Just an arrogant prick that is only good enough at her profession to not be executed. Now, however…" She slowly shook her head in a silent respect and closed the distance between herself and commander, barely holding her curiosity from taking over. "Really, how did you convince your psychologist to move her that way?"

"I didn't have to lift a finger for this to happen." Short giggle turned into an irritated sigh. "Albeit I thought she just wanted my attention. Back to the point, Springfield's compassionate and kind nature did the job better than I could ever hope to. She really is something when it comes to helping others understand themselves and change for the better… " A bitter, but grateful smile appeared on Mourn's face for a brief moment." She did what I was intending to do perfectly, setting WA on the best possible path out of a mere will to help." his face became an emotionless mask again as he looked the Sangvis doll in the eye."Is project nine-seven functioning?"

"Perfectly." Alchemist replied, her grin getting even wider. "I have ten of those ready to deploy." She leaned closer, now smiling conspiratorially. "You just have to give an order, and this precious continent will turn into a black zone filled with nothing but craters and ruins. Even the military won't survive…"

"Not yet." Commander shook his head in disagreement. "I don't want the remains of the world army upon our door sooner than we'll become useless for them."

"Killjoy." Alchemist snorted, crossing her arms over her chest, though her smile didn't disappear. "Tormenting nytos with chemical weapons is already boring." she stated, following the human to the trophy hall entrance.

"No need to worry." Charles said back, his malicious grin barely visible. "If they try to disarm the dolls despite our warnings, I'll push the button without hesitation."