UMP45 sat alone, staring at the empty magazine she held in her hand. Its weapon lay beside her, her namesake. Its plastic exterior bore both her name, and its, on the side; Its suppressor still glowing faintly with heat.
The scent of gunpowder was heavy in the air, filling the indoor firing range. Lead coated everyone's clothes and made their hair filthy.
Not that anyone really cared. Every doll in the room was electric with excitement, Mass marksmanship evaluations like this were a rarity, most had never been through one, but the few who had told the rest what it meant: there was a big mission coming up. This eval would likely lead to some echelon restructuring, a brief training window, and then the time would come.
Everyone was giving it their best, even her.
Especially her. 45 hadn't left the firing range for any reason but power and maintenance for four days. The instructors were starting to lose patience with her, the quartermaster threatened to start charging her if she went through much more ammo.
She felt she was getting better, yet her accuracy had taken an increasing nose dive. She didn't know why.
"Urgggghh!" 45 pulled at her hair, gritting her teeth in frustration. The smug, downlooking face of the human instructor burned into her vision everytime her eyes closed.
"Whoa… you okay?" a voice asked.
45 froze, her face buried in her hands and so keeping her from seeing the speaker. Was that directed to her?
She snuck a glance through two fingers.
A girl was standing right next to her. She was her size, her build, even looked a bit like her and held a weapon like her's. Differences were her olive skin, as opposed to 45's own pale appearance, and a warm smile on her face, as opposed to her own hideous scowl.
45 stared for about a minute, unblinking.
"Uh, hello?" the girl asked, bending over to better meet 45's gaze.
45 straightened up, brushed off her jacket, and put on a practiced smile, "Hello."
"Hi! I'm 40, are you UMP45?"
"Ja."
"Yay!" 40 cheered, throwing herself onto the seat beside her, "How are you doing?"
45 looked away from her, "just fine, thank you for asking."
"Oh? Are you sure? You seem down."
45's smile faded, and her shoulders drooped.
"Ah, there it is," A fist bumped into 45's shoulders, "So what's up?"
"Why do you care?"
"Cus I'm your sister."
45's eyes shot wide, and she whirled around to stare in disbelief at 40, "I… you… what?!"
40 tried in vain to suppress her giggle. After a second she gave up entirely, and descended into a full fit of laughter, that had 45 feeling slightly worse than before, somehow.
"Did you really not put that together?!" 40 managed between fits of laughter, "we're the same model, we- we have nearly the same guns!"
45 sighed and looked away again, "yeah… I should've. I guess I'm not good very for much at all."
40's laughter died pretty quickly, and as 45 sat there sulking she felt her sister scoot a little closer to her.
"Hey."
"What?"
"What's bugging you?"
45 rolled her eyes and huffed, "I can't shoot, I'm not strong or very fast, and I'm not all that observant it seems. All I have is EW, but why? We don't fight dolls very often…"
"Well, I'm most of those things too."
"You are?" 45 asked, shooting her a careful glance.
40 chuckled, looking at the team just coming out of the shooting range. The five of them seemed cheerful, the tall blonde and dark haired girl exchanging jokes, and seemed to be ribbing another of their teammates wearing a purple beret.
"I had the lowest accuracy on my old team, by far. My commander thought I wasn't good for much. All I seemed to be doing was slowing them down."
"Yeah…" 45 sighed, "I heard my boss talking with his boss, he's trying to get rid of me."
"He did," 40 stated, "You are no longer under your old commander, neither am I."
45 furrowed her brow, "What do you mean? Am I getting fired?"
"Hahaha," 40 laughed, "no. You see, you and I are now a team of two! I'm your leader, you're my only teammate. I guess someone figured we have some value for whatever's gonna be going down here soon."
45 blinked a few times, processing the information. Sure enough, checking the network showed that this was the case, however, there was an oddity.
"Who's our commander?"
40 shrugged, "We don't have one. I answer to whoever runs this upcoming op, but you answer only to me!"
Her sister met her gaze, "so I guess my first order is gonna be… be nice to yourself!"
"I-, mmm…" she groaned, looking back over at her weapon, "I'll try but…"
"What?"
"My accuracy has been going down all day."
"Oh?" 40 said, snaking around her and snatching up 45's weapon to inspect. She turned it over a few times, checking the chamber and firing mechanisms before peering down the length of the barrel, "How many rounds have you put through this barrel?"
"Um," she quickly recounted, "10k or so? I've been shooting alot this week too."
"Pfffft!" 40 sputtered, setting the gun back on 45's lap as she tried once more not to laugh, "Well…. There you go! It's already an old weapon, and you've worn that poor thing to a nub!"
45 frowned, "oh."
40 punched her once more on the shoulder, grinning, "Hey, don't worry. We probably don't need to shoot much for this op, we'll leave it to them," she pointed to that group from earlier, who were finishing up checking in their weapons.
"So, we're just going to be dead weight?"
"Nope! We have our own job, you'll see!"
This was way too easy.
Ouroboros let out a cackle as the grenade launchers at her hips sent dozens of grenades raining into the forest below her, watching as the fiery explosions ripped the earth and trees apart. Griffin signatures winked out of existence amid the fire, the few remaining quickly running for their lives.
Her lighter troops pursued them, splitting off from the main group that was still trundling down the roads to finish the survivors.
She was nearing the exit of the valley, she could see the pass in the distance.
"Soon you'll be out of space, what will you do then?" She mused aloud.
Up ahead another Griffin squad launched an attack. Grenades and cannons rumbled in the distance.
Her commands quickly sent the attackers back once more, reeling from her force's furious replies.
Again and again, Griffin tried to probe her forces, but they were weakening with each attempt. They had to be running short on frames and ammo by now.
Sure enough, they gave in after an attack so weak she felt it barely even counted as one. The last survivors melting back into the forest and disappearing.
Ouroboros huffed as she watched their signatures disappear.
"Pathetic."
She turned back to her column, reformed her formations, and moved to the center before her forces resumed their march.
Minutes later, not one more attack came. Her forward elements entered the pass, and began moving to leave the valley.
"Ouroboros, report," Agent's voice demanded on the SF net.
"Hmph, Griffin is broken, 404 is dead, I'm proceeding out of the valley at this very moment."
Agent didn't immediately reply, instead leaving the channel quiet for a minute.
Ouroboros wondered what she was thinking. Eliza's lapdog of a second in command always looked down on her, perhaps this was the start of a change in heart?
Ourboros' lips upturned in a vicious grin.
"Very well, proceed as you please."
"Copy~" she sang triumphantly.
She hung up, not caring if Agent had more to say. Instead she marched on, swinging her arms as she approached the pass herself.
But, just as she began to pass underneath the towering rocks, a series of detonations echoed from above.
Her body shot backwards as rocks plummeted down. Boulders the size of tanks crashed into the earth all around, crushing those of her forces not quick enough to evade. One nearly getting her, but she just managed to avoid it at the last moment.
Reports quickly streamed in, four manticores were crushed, and two nemeums. Most of the armor had already passed through though, and was stuck on the far side.
"Pfft, okay," she said, rolling her eyes and ordering the tanks on the far side to carry on towards the human settlements.
Annoying for sure, and perhaps something she should've expected, but not a real issue. Her second column reported no such explosions at their pass, and she likewise ordered them to proceed as planned. Perhaps she should feel honored, that attack had clearly been meant for her and her alone. Griffin had tried to off her as a last resort, and now they would bear the fruits of their failures.
Ouroboros and those of her troops now stuck within the valley turned back. As she began to march back, heading for her command base from which she would command the final part of Griffin's defeat, she passed by the wreckage of the few armored units G&K had managed to destroy in their attacks.
It was still smoking. She paused for a moment to inspect it, curious just what had actually destroyed it.
One side of its chassis had been punctured, a straight shot into its power supply.
It had been something large, and not from the direction of the forest…
Ourboros whipped around, facing the direction the attack must've come from.
Just as she did, another round passed right through the air where she'd just been. Close enough that she could feel the air move around the bullet on her skin.
Up and down her formation, lead filled the air. Griffin dolls seemingly emerging from thin air and opening up at point blank range, all while several rounds sailed in from somewhere in the distance to strike near her or her supporting elements.
"Tch, Haven't learned your lesson yet!?" She roared, sending a barrage of grenades into the treeline.
A blur of motion suddenly caught her attention. emerging from the nearby trees and bursting in through her formation, a blonde Griffin doll sprinted headlong for her.
The doll expertly wove between her troops, using the potential for friendly fire amongst them as her cover. Any of Ouroboros' troops that tried to fire on her were suppressed or destroyed by the covering Griffin dolls.
Ouroboros whirled around to face her, trying to level her grenade launchers on the doll as sniper fire rained down around her.
The doll fired first.
Rounds slammed into Ouroboros, striking all over her right side as she tried to shield herself.
One of the Nemeums nearby turned and fired on the doll, and though it avoided the explosive bolt, it forced her closer.
Ouroboros launched forward at the doll, and drove a kick into her center that sent the doll flying back off into the treeline.
She quickly followed it up with a barrage of grenades in her direction that lit up the trees around it like candles.
But the Griffin doll was gone, in fact they were all gone.
"Tch, damn cowards," she growled, wincing as she held her side.
Furious, Ouroboros sent half her troops after the enemy dolls while she began to limp back towards her command point.
"And there she is," 45 said with a smirk on her face.
45 was situated atop a wooded hill, lying prone in the grass as she carefully observed the area below. The rest of the team lay nearby, nestled in the both watching their flanks and the base.
At the base of the hill, about sixty or so meters, was a looming compound of concrete and steel. Its walls topped with sentry guns and sensor clusters.
Just entering it at that moment, and surrounded by a decent escort of underlings, was a limping Ouroboros.
To her left, 416 stirred, "so let's go get her!"
45 held up a hand, "Wait. Let's not throw away the advantage we earned. I wanna get as close as we can first."
"How?" Tokarev then asked.
45 winked at her, "I'm a rat. I'll find a place to scurry in without being seen. "
That earned an eager grin from 9 and Tokarev, and even a rare approving nod from 416.
Then G11 spoke up.
"Hey uh…. Who's the blondie?"
45 gazed over in the direction G11 was facing, and sure enough she spotted a blonde T-doll weaving quietly through the brush towards them.
"Groza?" 416 muttered, raising her rifle to line up a shot.
45 shot Tokarev a glance. The doll's features were uncharacteristically soft, almost innocent, and as the doll approached them a small smile grew.
"Hold fire," 45 muttered, standing and dusting herself off.
416 and G11 lowered their weapons.
Groza spotted her shortly after, and must've recognized her immediately as 45 sensed now hostility from her on spotting.
"Good Evening, Groza," 45 greeted her.
"Well hello squad 404, I do hope Toka hasn't caused you too much trouble while I've been out," Groza greeted them as she came the last few feet to their position.
Behind her, 416 huffed, but 45 ignored her.
"No, she's actually been very helpful, in her own way."
Groza smiled warmly, "Oh good. It's been a while UMP45, I know we never spoke much in the past but it is nice to see a familiar face," the elegant doll then directed her gaze over past 45, towards 416, "and likewise to you 416. I'm glad you're doing well"
"Hmph," 416 huffed, turning away, "yeah sure you are."
"So what's an elegant lady like you doing all the way out here?" 45 asked.
"Ah, I had a little scuffle with the enemy ringleader, though I'm afraid I didn't do much more than spook her. Afterwards my commander had me trail her to her base, then search the area for you.," Groza winked.
"He knew our position?" 9 asked, cocking her head.
"No," Tokarev spoke up, "I think he simply knows how you four think, and made an educated guess. What did you call yourself, 45? A rat? You could say he's one too."
45 chuckled, "Takes one to find one."
"Mmm, Toka~" Groza hummed, drifting over towards the doll, "do be quiet."
Groza's face, for just a split second, broke into a furious glare before returning back to the normal expression she'd always worn.
Tokarev was unfazed, "I don't mean to insult your boyfriend Groza, I'm simply stating a fact."
"Oooohhh!" 9 cooed, leaning over Tokarev's shoulder and wagging her eyebrows at Groza, "You're in loooove?"
Groza's eye twitched.
416 cleared her throat, "Okay, can we not? Don't we have a job to do?"
"Ah, yes. Now you care about your job?" 45 said smugly.
"I swear…" 416 scowled at her.
"Yes yes," 45 waved her off, "Well, Groza, nice of you to join us. As it happens, we were planning on assaulting the Command point down there."
Groza turned to gaze down upon the place in question, "I see. Just the six of us?"
"Ja. Did Jasinksi say what his plan was?"
Groza pursed her lips, "All he said he would do is 'keep a knife in her back'."
45 nodded, "I guess he really does think like a rat."
"Hrmmmm?" Groza growled.
Behind her she heard Tokarev and 9 giggle. 45 grinned, staring down at the dark Sangvis FOB. In the distance, rapid gunfire and thundering cannons echoed.
"That's just what I was hoping he'd do."
The six members of squad 404 and team Groza crept along the wooded hillside in silence. Each of them walked along in single file, following Tokarev's exact path as the doll scouted out the best path through the trees. At their rear, Groza
45 was happy to have them, though she'd never admit it. Groza was a solid combatant, M16 or 416's equal for sure, but Tokarev was the real asset.
A capable scout and useful support in fight. Her predictive algorithms had made their battle with Executioner more of an exercise in bullying than anything else.
Up ahead, the SF compound appeared through the darkness.
Groza and Tokarev had scouted this position out before 404 had even gotten in the area, and so had already identified that one side of the compound was positioned just a little too close to the forest cover surrounding it.
Team Groza had lacked the tools to exploit it then, now though...
45 grinned, and as Tokarev paused at an invisible line of detection about ten meters from the fortified wall, she strode confidently forward.
Security systems were hacked and frozen in her wake, and she walked up to the wall without any fuss from within. Had SF still believed them to be in play, this would likely have gone about as well as it did with Scarecrow's base earlier that night.
The rest followed her, all now invisible to the many sensors and cameras that watched this area. The turrets atop the wall stood silent.
Rappel lines went up and over the wall, hooking into the top and securing themselves. Once they were confident in the lines, the six of them ascended.
"Well well, that went better than expected," Tokarev smugly commented as they all hunkered down on the top of the wall.
"We're professionals, and your commander has drawn SF's attention," 45 commented dryly.
"I never had any doubts," Groza replied.
"If you say so. It seems we've not been noticed, so let's get to it."
With that, they all leapt down off the wall and began pushing into the base. Weapons quickly scanned all directions as they moved, darting back and forth to clear their way.
Then suddenly, about halfway towards the center of the base, a dozen cone-like trails appeared in 45's vision, all cutting into their formation.
The six of them scattered as SF plasma followed on along the trails a split second later. More such trails appeared, and 45 quickly propelled her body forward to weave between them as she prepared a smoke grenade.
Pin pulled, she tossed it towards their flank and then slid in behind some cover.
Groza, 416 and G11 began exchanging pot shots with the SF defenders, 9 and 45 hucking grenades and offering some EW support where possible.
Tokarev, though, was silent and staring.
More and more trails appeared in the air, and positions of the SF troops firing on them also streamed in from their tac net.
"They're coming out of the woodwork!" 416 growled on comms, "we can't sustain this!"
"Ja, I can see that!" 45 shot back.
A pair of Vespids appeared suddenly from out of nowhere. 45 responded quickly with a full magazine of automatic fire at the pair, dropping one and winging the other.
"What do we do?"
45 pursed her lips as she swapped mags and clicked the bolt release. The earth shook as 416 loosed a 40mm into a distant group of SF dolls.
They were nearly out of grenades, and ammo was getting low.
"Cover me, then pull back to the main gate!" She commanded, rising to her feet and tossing every grenade left to her at their enemy.
A wall of smoke exploded in existence, and she sprinted headlong for it.
404 was alive.
Ouroboros slammed a fist in into a nearby wall, "Goddamn Rats!"
How were they alive!? They couldn't be! And how could they get so close without her noticing? Was she too distracted with Griffin? How could they have coordinated so well, there had been no signals, no trace of the dolls after Executioner's sacrifice.
And that doll.
Her eyes narrowed as the image of the blonde Griffin doll that'd wounded her appeared. She'd been at the far side of the valley not long ago. Had she followed her here? Led 404 to her?
Griffin was beaten, running with their tails between their legs into the woods. She'd crushed their efforts to harass her, bulldozed all their excuses for strong points and killed who knows how many frames.
And yet she was having her victory ripped from her by these rats!
"Ouroboros. Report"
Agent's grating voice sent an even deeper scowl across her face.
"I'm fine."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Agent's scowling face appeared, "I've received a report from Executioner that she has recovered Scarecrow. She also claims you 'threw the pair of them away like trash'. Is that so?"
Ouroboros' eyes bulged. Executioner was alive? How had she gotten Scarecrow?
"That traitor… " she growled.
"Executioner claims she was merely following her programmed priorities, and that you are the traitor."
"Me!?"
Agent's eyes narrowed, "we will discuss this on your return further. If you succeed tonight, Master may be lenient."
"If!? You doubt me?" she snarled.
Agent merely stared with cold eyes, building a rage in Ouroboros that she had no way to outlet.
So, she closed the call, head still reeling.
As she did, she noticed something. The 404 and Griffin dolls were pulling back, effecting a fighting retreat backwards towards the main gate of her base as the smoke cover they'd deployed dissipated.
But UMP45 was absent.
She checked every view point, every camera, every doll she had, but no one had eyes on.
Her eyes narrowed. Had they been killed, their bodies hidden from view? Was that why the infiltrators were now retreating?
45 slid into the room without a sound.
It was dark, lit only from one source: the multiple holographic displays projected in front of the only other figure in the room.
Ouroboros was surprisingly short, intimidating in stature, and visibly damaged. It seemed Groza had been more successful than she let on as the ringleader's right side was reduced to endoskeleton.
45 narrowed her eyes as she slunk closer, carefully measuring each step so her footfalls would be as quiet as was physically possible.
Closer and closer, step by step, the range narrowed. At about ten meters she slowly lowered her UMP and withdrew a small, single bladed knife, and clicked the soft button on its hilt. She shut down every unnecessary system within her, even fire control.
A signal, too weak to notice from anything but point blank range, began to emanate from within the blade.
The ringleader was still as a statue, clearly focused on the battle still raging beyond this room. Whether it was the Griffin Commander's ongoing efforts in the valley or her own ad hoc team's infiltration that was consuming more of her attention, she wasn't sure.
At the four meter mark, 45 stopped and waited. She carefully observed the ringleader, noting how transmissions in and out of her changed, the rhythm to them, and she felt for their pulse.
Patterns began to reveal themselves, looping repetitions that almost anyone but her may have missed. She had but one chance here, mess it up, and she might die. They all might die. It had to be perfect.
She picked her moment, and leapt.
Ouroboros spun around, her eyes wild and viscous as 45 slipped beneath an hammer blow from the ringleader's fist that would've taken her head off.
With a single minded focus 45 darted forward.
The knife slipped under her opponent's guard, weaving through the air until it met flesh.
Ouroboros roared with fury, and drove a knee into 45 that flung her far across the room, her chest aching from the blow.
45 groaned as she lifted her slumped head, staring up at the ringleader with a sly grin
"Heheheh," 45 chuckled, wincing from the pain in her chest "gotcha."
Ouroboros stared at her, both red eyes burning with fury before the ringleader launched herself once more at 45. Like a charging bull, the enemy doll bore onto her, but she never made it.
Instead, the ringleader collapsed at 45's feet.
Slowly, and on shaking legs, 45 got to her feet and let a smug expression creep across her face as she looked down upon the plainly furious ringleader.
"Nanites," she said simply, "In twenty seconds you'll stop all transmissions, another twenty and you'll be in the same state as Scarecrow. You're welcome~"
Despite the vicious little robots working their way through her system, Ouroboros still managed to raise her head and growl, "H-How… you l-little rat-t-t. I'm t-t-top of the li-line. T-THE BEST!"
45 winked, "Oh, your design is good, for sure. However, us Sangvis dolls were always meant to work as a team."
Ouroboros' eyes widened, but it was clear she was beyond speech now. The transmissions to and from her stopped right on time, and 45 let out a sigh of relief as Groza reported that the lesser enemy dolls had ceased fighting.
"Your subordinates knew that, and I know that. Maybe if you knew that too, you'd have won," she shrugged, "I'm sure you'll analyze this for every second of whatever time G&K gives you, play this night over and over again in your head, but until you figure that out you will lose every time."
With that, the light in Ouroboros' eyes went dim.
"Allcon, Ouroboros is down. Marking location on net now."
"Copy that," replied the Griffin Commander on comms, "good work 404."
45 allowed herself a small grin, then switched over to the team net, "we're done here, get ready to pull out. Make sure to lose Team Groza somehow."
"Copy!" 9 chirped, "We're heading out shortly. Groza's heading in to you though."
"Tokarev?"
"With her."
"Copy, I'll avoid her. Let me know when they're out of visual contact."
"They just left, we're good," 416 interjected.
With that, 45 sent a signal across the Griffin area network. It was almost nothing, from the outside it would look like nothing more than a quick status update of the kind that dolls sent dozens of times a minute.
However, this was no ordinary signal. It was an activation code. Within a moment every shred of evidence that 404 had been present would disappear from Griffin's net and dolls. The only one who would remember her would be their commander, and Helian would handle that.
45 spared just another moment to glare back down on the still Ouroboros.
But she said nothing, and quickly moved back out of the room, careful to avoid the likely route Team Groza would take to enter. Disappearing back into the night as if she'd never existed.
NOTES:
phew, that was rough. I wasn't expecting cube to be as much of a pain as it was, but at last, we're done! The snek is betean, the dperession has begun, and we're on our way~
Anyway, I hope but can't promise more regular updates will follow. I've been procrastinating on this chapter with other chapters, so I do have a few nearly done, we'll see