M4 groaned as her systems finally dragged her out of Level II sleep, and she was immediately flooded with damage reports and confused sensor readings.
Everything was tilted, the Humvee resting on its side, and the cab was cast in near total darkness. Switching to IR fixed this to an extent, revealing Sop's box to be still secured in the back seat, however the front cab was a mess.
"Rs?" She called, reaching over to try and shake her limp form. Rs was hanging from her seat, still secured by the belt, and M4 noticed some dark liquid smearing her window.
Cano was even worse. A crater sized hole had been blown in her chest, right where her core would be. Sparks lit the darkness from the now exposed internal wiring.
One dead, one likely incapacited, that left just her.
M4 lit her sensor suite up, picking up a dozen signatures closing in around her in a ring. Sangvis wasn't even trying to hide themselves as they approached. The signatures appeared to be regular types, though a bit different from the typical types.
Far in the back of their approach, another, much stronger signature was also advancing.
M4 scrambled for her weapon, then kicked open the turret door and crawled out. If she could hurry, the odds may not be too long to survive this. The Sf dolls began charging, aiming to cover the barely fifty meters separating them before she could fight back.
She tore her way up the side of the ditch the truck was in, and lined up on the first of the approaching Sf.
She never got the chance, as a massive round slammed into the snowbank beside her. It was mere centimeters from her, hitting with enough energy to melt the snow and asphalt in a glowing eruption.
M4 froze, noting that the only doll with line of sight on her from the direction it'd come from was the strongest signature, the ringleader.
The regulars were closing, she slid back down into cover.
A head poked over the precipice, the unmistakable visor of an SF Vespid atop an all too familiar head. That girl, from the market, one of the twins she'd bumped into.
M4 hesitated, long enough for the regular to get her weapon to bear.
They fired in sync. The regular went down with a bullet to the core, but M4's left hand was shredded in return. Her carbine fell from her now ruined hand as a dozen more SF dolls swarmed her.
They slid down into her cover, impassively snatching her good arm as she tried to drive a knife into the nearest.
A dozen hands wrapped around her as she fought ferociously. With a furious shout she ripped herself from their grip, kicking and clawing her way up the berm.
"That's enough," an even toned voice said just as she reached the frigid tarmac of the highway, "M4, stop this idiocy."
She froze. The ringleader was atop the road, barely a meter away with a massive rifle pointed her way.
"Y-you?" She managed.
"Ah, so you do recognize me. Nicely played at the bar by the way."
Fury welled up inside her, M4 baring her teeth and making ready to rush the doll. If she could just drop her, the regulars would be cut off and go into standby. She flipped her knife to a reverse grip.
However, rather than ready for a clash the ringleader dropped her own guard and sighed.
"Look, kid you've already lost."
"We'll see," she growled.
The ringleader produced a holoprojector, "See for yourself."
She gasped as she recognized the burning halls in the footage. Sf regulars exchanging potshot down the halls of main with a few ragged defenders. She watched Famas take a bolt to the chest, grenades exploding as MP5 desperately deployed her forceshield, and M14 standing between a bloodied commander and a ring of SF guard units.
Then footage shifted, showing four hulking behemoths watching the carnage unfold from afar, their railguns trained upon the main building.
"Like I said, you've lost," The ringleader said.
M4 couldn't move, her face a mask of fury while her mind raced in desperation. Was this ringleader leading the attack, maybe if she could just take her do…
"I'm not commanding them, if that's what you're thinking. However, if I die, Hunter won't hesitate to blow that place apart."
"No," She croaked.
"Okay," the ringleader said simply, "but you'll have to come with me if you want us to stop."
She gritted her teeth. The regulars were circling up around her, but they weren't moving any closer. The ringleader held out a hand.
"How can I trust you?"
"You'll just have to take my word for it. This is your only chance to save them, and you sisters."
"You promise?"
"Sure. Our forces will retire, I'll let the one here stay for pickup, and I can even let the one I have go if you like."
M4's eyes went wide, "Who-?"
"A rather prickly pink haired girl, Ar-15 was it?"
She trembled. She had orders, had directives, had training, but everything was contradicting itself. Protect humans, resist capture, save your sisters, protect yourself.
"Fine," She spat, dropping the knife.
The ringleader slowly walked up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder which burned her spirit, "It's the right choice."
The wind howled in protest, pounding away at the plexiglass and clawing at the stubborn coffin of steel, trying to break in to grasp the small little bit of warmth within. Rs found herself pressing up against the freezing windows and metal doors rather than shying away however. The cool metal did wonders to temper her burning skin.
Countless tiny machines squirmed beneath her skin, warping and shifting as they sought after the damage she'd sustained, slowly stitching her back together. Fractured bones mended, torn muscle sown, and inflammation tempered. It'd be a few more hours until she was back in fighting shape so for now all she could do was suffer the feverish byproduct of the Nanites' efforts.
The concussion she'd suffered during the initial crash was a bit of a different story than the physical trauma. When Rs first came to she'd made the mistake of lighting up a smoke, which really, really pissed her systems off and as a result a blinding headache had almost knocked her right back out. The little nicotine that had made it in had slowed the healing process down, meaning she was stuck with a throbbing headache and nausea that was making her current task far harder than it really needed to be.
"Gah, Verdammt! Du piece of shit!" She swore as a spark flashed between her fingertips, causing her to recoil backwards away from the mess of wires and circuitry that'd once been the truck's radio.
Rs leaned back, wiping sweat from her brow. "God I hate electronics…"
She glanced back at Cano, who she'd needed to move from her seat to the back where M4 had originally been seated. It still hurt to look at.
"Ironic, isn't it Cano?" She said aloud.
The wind's howl picked up, battering against the Humvee even harder for a few seconds before returning to its lowered pace. The shattered windshield had been an easy fix, they always carried extra panes for this exact situation and the windows were easy enough to take off when motivated.
The radio,however, was in a real bad way. Shrapnel had cut through the front panel after one of the impacts, and as a result much of the wiring and a few transistors had been sliced or crushed. Of course, her phone had also been a casualty of the crash, so this was her only chance of contacting Matt.
M4 was gone. Taken presumably, and she'd slept through it.
It wasn't your fault.
"Yeah yeah, I know. Still feels like it though."
You're only human, this was inevitable.
"I'm not though… not really."
What difference does it make?
"Very little apparently," Rs chided.
She tried connecting the splice which had shocked her previously, this time with her new gloves on to try and provide a little insulation.
Perhaps, but you are still alive.
Her brow furrowed, "Thanks for reminding me, I love thinking about that."
Still running? What do you think Schwarz would think about that?
A face flashed into her mind at the mention of the name. Pale, and with blood smeared around the mouth and eye. A face that'd laughed, cried, ate and joked.
"Not much, she's dead isn't she?"
Perhaps Werner then? Or Salmaan, or Smith, Walter, Kertz, or…
More faces, some torn, others simply pale. Brown eyes, blue, green. Dark skin, pale skin, brown hair, blonde. All still, all dead.
"Shut up… I didn't ask."
… they would be happy for you, J.
Of course they would. She knew that so well she could imagine them saying as much, in their voices even. But she could never see it. Their faces never moved.
"Fucks. Sake. Cano, that's not my na- name…"
Cano's eyes were still dead, her lips slack. Her voice stopped now too, leaving Rs in overwhelming silence. A ringing began in her ears, almost drowning out the roar of winter beating against the truck.
She rubbed her eye with a free hand. She was losing it. Now was really not the time for that.
The radio sparked, bright enough to light up the streaming snowflakes outside for a brief moment, and Rs held up a now melted transistor which she was pretty sure was important.
"Of course," She muttered, "I guess I'm walking then."
She cast a glance outside. The winds howled, almost as if trying to call her out from her shelter, beckoning her to release herself to its frigid grip.
Perhaps it would be best to wait.
It was dark now. Really dark. She looked around but could see nothing, there was nothing around to see. Just an inky black wall which kept all light away.
But she could feel, could feel the tight confines surrounding her. Wood, close to her face, just leaving barely enough to turn her head and little more.
The smell, oh the smell. Earth and wood, mixing together in a sickly stench which consumed every breath she took, making it hot and thick.
She tried to push against the lid, tried feeling around the edges, but there was nothing, nothing but the wood.
She slammed a fist against the wood, raging against it to try and free herself, but it refused to give. No sign that she'd even touched it! Like it was made of concrete.
Her heart began to pound. No way out, no way out, no way out, nowhere to go! She had to leave, had to escape had to be free. She couldn't stay here, no, no, no no no no no.
She pounded and pounded against the wood, her fists aching as each blow landed but she paid it no mind.
Then something replied. It was light at first, just a small tap against the wood above her head, then another, and another.
Like rain they began to fall, tapping and tapping and tapping against the wood, growing louder and more forceful until they reach a near constant crescendo of noise which seemed to hold and hold and hold-
Then it stopped.
The coffin shook violently as a massive hammer blow struck it, seemingly from all directions at once in such a terrifying blow that it paralyzed her body.
Another reverberating clang, far more metallic than the first, sent Rs rocketing up off the Humvee door. Her head smacked hard into one of the nearby seats which sent stars into her visions and caused a dark vignette to form at the edges of her vision.
The third clang sent her scrambling for a gun, any gun, as something struck the roof hatch. She felt around in the darkness, finding an M4 laying next to a body. She pointed the weapon at the hatch as the fourth blow reverberated the Humvee interior, causing a splitting headache to sprout from just between her eyes.
Like a parachute suddenly yanking her back as it deployed, her systems detected the massive rise in stress hormones in her body and compensated. Beta blockers streamed into her veins, slowing her heart down rapidly and raising the distortion in her vision.
When the fifth blow landed, she was coherent enough to bark a reply, "Who's there!?"
She heard just the faintest of shuffling outside, as if she'd just spooked whatever the source was. A moonlit shadow passed over the windshield, which she tracked with M4's rifle as a pair of green eyes came into view.
Humanoid, about 160 centimeters tall, seemingly unarmed. It was snooping in through the window, a little timidly like a curious wild animal.
Rs offered it a little wave, which it replied to in kind.
She considered leaving it there. Based on its body language, whoever was out there likely wasn't much of a threat. If it decided to press the issue, that's what the rifle is for.
She glanced back at Cano again for a moment.
Deciding that talking to herself was perhaps not a great sign of her mental wellbeing, Rs opened the top hatch. She poked her head out into the biting cold night, M4's weapon following.
"He-hello…" greeted a timid female voice in Russian from somewhere off in the darkness near the windshield.
"Who are you?" she asked, presenting her weapon, though not pointing it at her.
"Uh- I'm…"
It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but she appeared fairly young, late teens maybe. Average build, but her outfit was rather odd. She was wearing a black tanktop and shorts, normal enough, were it not -10 out. She wasn't even shivering.
"You're a doll?"
The girl jumped a little, "Oh, uhm, yes… are you?"
"Yeah," Rs said, perhaps a little too quickly.
"Oh good, good," the girl sighed, a wave of relief washing over her," I thought I smelled… blood…"
"Blood?"
"Yeah, I- I really hate blood. It's just so… ugh," the girl shuddered, "you know?"
"Sure…" Rs was suddenly very conscious of her torn, blood and sweat stained undershirt she had on.
"Anyway, are you with Griffin?"
"I am."
"Can I come with you then?" the girl asked earnestly.
"What for? Who are you anyway, and where did you come from?"
"I want to work for Griffin. From what I hear you guys mostly hire dolls right?"
"I mean yeah, but you do know what it is we do, right? Not really a good line of work for an A-doll."
"Well…" the girl squirmed a bit, "Can I come in? It's a bit cold."
Rs sighed, "sure." She had her suspicions, though her head wasn't exactly thinking quite straight and she was running mostly on autopilot.
The girl crawled her way into the humvee, with Rs trailing a few moments later after casting long looks into the moonlit night. It was a still night, far cry from the raging storm earlier, with mounds of white snow piled up everywhere. Even the truck was partially buried beneath a fresh snow drift.
There was serene beauty to it. Something you could only really see so far out from civilization. Then a noise cut through the stillness, a distant motor roaring down the highway.
"Someone's got somewhere to be," She muttered under her breath as she ducked back within the Humvee.
"Uhm…" the doll said, staring at the dead Cano in the backseat "what happened?"
"Long story. Do you have a phone or radio by chance?"
"Oh, no sorry."
"Mmm," Rs curled herself up against the Humvee roof, her head resting against the cool metal.
Her eyes were still throbbing, the concussion still racking her brain with white, fracturous pain. She lay there for minutes, listening to the roaring engine grow louder and louder, until the rumble became a grating screech in her ears.
The doll seemed more bothered by it than her though, as her slightly glowing green eyes became wide and panicked.
"Friends of yours?" Rs asked.
The doll nodded slowly, telling the story her mouth seemed unable to speak. She was pressed up against the wall furthest from the road, hiding in the shadows.
"Alright, I'll have a chat," Rs grumbled, snagging M4's rifle and wrapping herself in the thermal cloak Cano had been using earlier that evening, "Stay here, keep quiet."
The doll nodded.
Rs once again clambered out from the truck into the white snow beyond, scrambling up the berm and into the brush on the side of the road. She went a few dozen meters away from the Humvee, and from there she got a perfect view of the approaching convoy.
Four pairs of brilliant white headlights rolling down the highway at a reckless speed. Two were technicals, pickups with MGs mounted, and two were ten ton transports with canvas covered beds. No markings were present anywhere she could see.
They rolled up to the Humvee and ground to a halt before at least twenty armed figures dismounted from the vehicles. Most appeared to be humans, armored up in older gear, but a few were clearly dolls.
"Sloppy," She chided under her breath.
Their security was lax, plenty of exploitable holes in their coverage and the two technicals had been fully dismounted. Not military clearly, possibly some police group or PMC but more likely a militia. The group clustered as they began to descend the berm, most headed for her Humvee while a scant few stood on security.
They'd find the doll in about ten seconds most likely.
There was only one man watching in her direction, staring down the road and perfectly silhouetted in the burning headlamps. Her body moved to align her weapon's sights upon him, and without a second thought, placed a ringing shot dead center.
M4's carbine was suppressed, but it still made enough noise to draw attention to her actions as the group whirled wildly on their heels in her general direction.
"Dolls first," She chanted under her breath.
Rs quickly slipped down off the road, and drew another bead on a doll, which she sent tumbling to the ground with another ringing shot.
Training kicked in as muzzles flashed, sending hot lead streaming into the darkness as the group tried to engage her. Snow crunched as she tore through the darkness, circling around the overturned Humvee for another angle. Her body moved on its own through the darkness, instinctively placing her in the best spot for a shot
The thick snow clawed at her feet, dragging at her and slowing her as she made her move. She nearly tripped over an unseen object in the dark, what felt like a sizable rock protruding from the drift. However, the darkness was to her advantage in all other aspects as with next to no thermal or EM signature thanks to the TC and her biology, her foes would only be able to find her visually.
Two men and another doll were awaiting the move, but failed to spot her before she placed a third round into the doll. It's companions noticed its death, but as they sprayed wildly into the dark they failed to stop her from dropping them in short order.
Some genius had dashed for one of the mounted weapons on the technicals, clearly visible in the night as he was illuminated by the trailing ten ton's headlamp. Heavy fifty-caliber rounds thundered out into the night, tracers sinking into the snow at random.
Rs took her time to line up the shot, and silenced the weapon with one clean shot that knocked the man off the truck.
Then a scattering of automatic fire began peppering the ground around her as three figures began sprinting across the snow towards her. Each held a knife in one hand, and a machine pistol in the other. Their movements were far too unnatural and powerful to be human.
A massive burst of adrenaline struck her, sending her heart flying off at a wild beat as her vision focused. Her thumb flicked the fire control and sent a quick burst of fire into the charging dolls, their movements appearing slow, almost as if they were running through water. One collapsed immediately as rounds found her, but the other two either took minor damage or avoided the rounds entirely.
Realizing her situation, Rs emptied the magazine, firing a steady stream of lead into the night until the weapon clicked empty. A second went down while the third stumbled, however she had no intention of letting it recover.
Barely two meters from her, she rushed the doll and threw every gram of strength she had into a shoulder charge. It fell in a flurry of flailing limbs and unaimed strikes as she slammed into the doll. Rs quickly withdrew her knife, and plunged the blade into the doll's chest as she pressed her full weight upon it.
Her breath froze as she saw the now dead face looking back at her. It was the same as the one in the humvee, the same green eyes, same short bobbed hair, same soft features.
Bullets whizzed over her head as the remaining humans laid down cover fire in her general direction, however it was clear that they were pulling out as they began scrambling into their vehicles.
Gritting her teeth, she snagged the machine pistol the doll had been firing and rushed towards the convoy. Another brave soul had clambered into a mounted machine gun and was firing into the darkness, but Rs paid him no mind as she weaved through the shadows.
Her goal was right before her, the trailing technical, occupied only by a driver and passenger. She scrambled up to the highway, just behind the convoy as the lead truck began to pull away in a panic.
The second vehicle then gassed it, burning away as the last few men still clambering aboard were nearly sent tumbling out the back. Then the third peeled off after it, leaving only her target.
Just as it began to lurch forward, she appeared by the window, muzzle pressed against the glass. Their eyes bulged.
Glass and blood filled the cabin as both men were shredded.
Her heart physically stopped beating and the bypass within her chest had taken over. Her face was numb, her finger still wrapped tight around the weapon in her hand. She didn't blink for a long time, her eyes unable to move from the sight she'd just created.
Why was she doing this again?
Those green eyes flashed back into her mind, and she whirled on the spot to face the direction of the overturned Humvee. The gears were turning at last, her mind finally catching up to the events that'd just occurred as the adrenaline began wearing off.
"Oh Joha you idiot!" She growled, feet tearing into the icy pavement.
The doll was right where she'd left her, still cowering in that corner and flinching as Rs entered. The machine pistol's muzzle was aligned for a perfect core shot, ready to dash the lights from those green eyes.
The girl didn't react.
"Care to explain yourself," Rs growled in russian," Who are you, who were they?"
"I-"
Rs narrowed her eyes, confident the doll could read the expression perfectly despite the darkness, "You're a tactical doll, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"And you work for those guys?"
"I did."
"Did, or do?'
"Did."
"Hmmm? Why the change of heart?" She menaced.
"I- couldn't…"
"Couldn't what?" she demanded, adding just a little force into her words.
"They wanted me to… to kill humans. I couldn't do it…"
Rs held her stare, trying to melt past the doll's mental barriers with her eyes. For her part, the doll seemed to be stubbornly clinging to her story, dimly glowing eyes meeting her's with a nervous gaze.
Not wanting to kill humans. It took her a moment to understand why that was a good enough reason to leave. If anything, the doll was probably better adjusted than her for that very reason.
"Who are they?"
"The FPPC."
"The anti doll group?"
The doll nodded.
"Why the hell would an anti doll group be using dolls…"
It came to her about mid sentence. FPPC was a known extremist group, high on Statesec's watchlist. They were probably planning to use this doll and her fellows to stage false flag attacks and such, typical terrorist play book things.
Rs eyed the doll carefully, "You said you wanted to work for Griffin?"
She nodded.
"Still the case?"
She opened her mouth, but the words appeared to fail her. Rs held her gaze, weapon still pointed. The doll's eyes flicked to the weapon, no doubt noting the steaming barrel, the musky scent of gunpowder in the air.
"I do," The doll said at last.
She sighed, letting her gun drop as she pulled back towards the roof hatch, "Well alright then, what's your name."
"0167."
"Oh? Well that won't do at all, here," Rs flipped the pistol around, "For now you'll be Tec-9, sound good?"
"Oh, uh," She took the weapon tentatively. This was a bit of a test to see where the doll's true intentions lay. If she took the shot, Rs was pretty confident she could play dead and escape, but she was also fairly confident that wouldn't be necessary.
Tec-9 took the pistol, then looked up to her expectantly, the weapon placed gently in her lap.
Rs grinned, "Come on out, would you? We've got work to do."
Notes:
Well, this was a light hearted good time
In all seriousness though, this was a tough one to write, however I think it worked out in the end. AS for the relevant reveals this time, yes that is the Tec-9 we all know and love, and this pretty much how her canon backstory goes too (apparently she just hopped off a truck and joined us?). As I have explained in the comments before, but figure I might as well do again here, the nanites I mentioned are how she heals, they don't force her to stay awake this time due to the different and milder injuries she took this time around compared to the Executioner fight (much less internal bleeding mostly :/)
Also Sop is doing fine, don't worry, I'm not that heartless.
In case your wondering how the hell RS won that fight btw, call it a combination of luck, experience, and being Spooky enough to freak the FPPC guys enough to send them running.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed!