A/N:
Had to make a few minor corrections to the past chapter to drop plot threads I didn't want to pursue and to stop implying Hadwin knew about the deal Griffin gave its dolls since he doesn't.

"So-"

"Ugh. Shut uuuuuup."

"He's not exactly talking, Lenna."

Lenna glares at P90. "You should also shut up. I don't care if he's not using his dumb human voicebox, but he's still polluting my neural cloud with his garbage data!"

"He's just excited to see you."

"Uh, thanks 90, but I can-"

"SHUT. UP!"

I continue clinging to the outside of the drone platform, the unnatural grip afforded by my partially mechanized body making the ride a sure thing rather than a neardeath experience.

Then again, what with how the person piloting is driving-

I duck another bridge we're getting much too close too, wondering if I'm going to manage to survive to our destination.

"Okay, seriously." P90 puts a hand on her hip, the harsh winds not affecting her incorporeal form. "What's your deal?"

"My deal?!" Lenna puts a hand to her chest in mock surprise. "My deal is that this bastard spent months romancing my sister, only to abandon her!"

Ah.

"You mean, when Griffin forced us to sign a 'do not interact' contract and kicked Hadwin out into Sector 3, penniless?"

"Penniless?" Lenna rolls her eyes. "I know for a fact that Griffin had a very nice package in line for Haddy."

"Oh sure, as long as he did one last job." P90 walks up to where Lenna is currently holding onto the ship. "All he had to do was kill Gentiane."

Lenna's mouth sets into a thin line.

My mind drifts back to the day in Griffin offices, all of the dolls suddenly refusing to talk to me, Gentiane missing, Kalina having quit that morning, and…

Well, when I was brought before the senior leadership and Helian was the only one I recognized, I was shell shocked.

When they told me Gentiane was on the run, and if I'd hunt her down they'd give me her pension, I spit in their faces. Literally, which… was a bad idea.

Next thing I knew, I was homeless in the streets of Sector 3. My parents could only put me up for so long before my reputation caught up with me…

I shake my head, opening my eyes once more to take in the wild ride as we soar upwards, higher and higher in a spiral to avoid the thousands of bridges spanning the hole ODE-01 had been carved into.

"...Fine, but you have to convince her." Lenna finally grouses. "If she wants you dead, I'll be the first one to pull the trigger."

"Noted." I state.

"Does that mean she's nearby?" P90 asks.

"...Maybe."

I nod, not wanting to set Lena off once more. I haven't seen 45 in close to a decade, and given that she never attempted to contact me, I figure she got done with me for whatever reason.

Unfortunately, my own heart refuses to move on, so this can only be insanely awkward. I just hope she doesn't immediately hack my mechanical parts and twist me into a pretzel.

Below my feet, the drone craft stops its preprogrammed winding pattern and heads for the glass wall of one of the nearby buildings. The wind stops biting my face, and I dare to let go of my grip on one of the plates of our chosen transportation.

"Here?"

"Down a floor." Lenna walks to the edge of the craft and peers down. "We can't tip them off."

"Who's 'them'?"

"The police." Lenna turns on her heel and walks across the surface of the drone, the thrusters adjusting to counter the shifting weight with each stride. "They're on someone's payroll, Most likely Girard's Group."

"Still don't know who they are."

"Heavy machinery company. They build purification equipment."

"...Why am I always fighting manufacturing companies?" I grumble. "Alright, so when do we expect the cops to be there?"

"Right now." Lenna lowers the goggles over her eyes. "Hold on one moment."

I turn from the Doll that had switched to Level II and look over at the windows of the skyscraper we're hovering next to. Kalina's on the other side of those… I check my primary firearm, a much abused M16 that I had kept since being handed it a decade ago. It should be functioning well right now.

"Nervous?" 90 appears next to me, legs swinging over the side of the craft into the void.

"I haven't been in combat for years."

"You have. Just not against humans."

"ELID hunting isn't combat. It's a slaughter."

"Can't deny that. Could be either way too."

"Never hunting a fuckin' Boojum again."

"Unless Kalina asks you nicely!"

"I would say no. Not worth it."

"Anything with tits."

"Then I would always go along with your ideas, and never my own!"

"That's because, unlike Kalina and Lenna, you can't touch mine." She gasps dramatically. "That's why you wanted to buy me a body!"

"No, it's not."

"Pervert! I'm not safe in here!"

"Ugh. Can't you read my thoughts? Why are you accusing me, when you can just look and see that's not what happened?"

"Because it's fun to irritate you?"

"How the hell did I survive a decade of this?" I rub the bridge of my nose.

"Desperate for old companionship, and I usually try to spare your feelings a bit but since you went and screwed us both over, I've been feeling mildly vindictive."

"At least you're honest." I pull out my handgun and start to check that it's ready. No longer sporting the old Walther since that had been lost in…

I bite my tongue. Don't remember. Just don't.

Anyway, now I have a Mk.23 that a certain Doll had given to me as a present. Big, but very reliable and threaded with a suppressor I'm fairly sure is illegal.

"Get ready, Haddy." Lenna mutters, barely audible over the whine of the engines. "Three seconds."

I crouch down, one hand grabbing a tiedown bar to anchor myself in place.

Three, two, one-

A bright light emanates from one of the windows, so bright as to be almost blinding in the night.

The drone drops down four meters, I achieve weightlessness for a moment before I crash back to the surface of the drone.

Guns mounted on the underside of the drone open up, shaking the entire platform and forcing me to hold on tighter, the glass of the window that light had come from instantly shattered into a million tiny shards. Inside, I can see a familiar orange haired woman hiding behind a desk, her hands over her head to duck away from the onslaught.

As soon as the guns wind down, Lenna gets a running start and leaps across the gap into the building.

I'm only a second behind, handgun already aimed as my legs hit the nicely polished floor, barrel sweeping the room for any movement.

The drone had done a good job of clearing the room, and I glance over to see Lenna handing Kalina a pistol.

Well…

Oh, over there. Movement.

I fire a round into the man still attempting to grab his gun, stopping him cold.

"Thank you for the save, Lenna."

Outside, the drone turns around, revealing an access hatch that is lowering into position to let us on.

Inside-

Inside, there's a girl. Short gray hair frames her face, marred by a scar over her left eye, permanently closed. Her arms both look like they're in good shape, and she has a slight smile on her lips.

"LEVA!" Lenna turns around and leaps into what I had assumed was a drone airship until now, but from this angle I can clearly see the cockpit through the hangar bay.

Kalina hops across the gap, Lenna peeling herself off Leva for a moment to grab the human's arm.

"Leva, I missed you so much!"

"Yes, yes. Kalina, you attract some very interesting attention."

"It seems the Girard Group is having some fun tonight. They're the ones that set the cops on me."

"Intersting." Leva's single eye tracks into the building and locks onto my face.

For a minute, we just stare at each other.

"My, you didn't tell me you had visitors." Leva grabs Kalina hard enough that the human woman winces.

"You didn't know? Lenna brought him with her on the roof of your aircraft."

Lenna bops the side of her head and sticks out her tongue. "I, um… must have forgotten to mention him."

Leva sighs and turns to me once more. "Hello, Hadwin."

"Hey Four- uh… Leva."

The aircraft rocks slightly, moving with Leva's gestures as she crosses her arms, Lenna nd Kalina stumbling with the sudden movements. "You've decided to finally show your face?"

"You could say that."

"What he means," P90 appears in one of the seats lining the inside of the aircraft. "Is that we got your note."

"My note?" She raises her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, but I've been forbidden from contacting any humans I may or may not have had former dealings with."

I can feel the gun in my hands growing heavier. "Ah."

"Well…" She pauses, the faintest hint of her usual viscous smile on her lips. "I suppose if you're the one breaching the contract, it can't be helped."

"But Leva!" Lenna jumps in front of her, blocking her from my view. "He left you for dead all these years!"

"I suppose he had." Leva pushes past her sister and walks to the end of the ramp. "Got anything to say for yourself, Hadwin?"

"...I'm sorry."

"Oh, COME ON!" Lenna throws her hands in the air.

"As amusing as this is, we need to get going." Kalina interrupts. "Hadwin, get on."

I take a few steps toward the broken window only for Lenna to leap onto the loading ramp and spread her arms out. "No! He can get down another way! I already don't get enough time with Leva, I'm not giving more of it up so they can stare into each other's eyes or whatever!"

"We're not going to do that." Leva gives her sister a look. "We will need to have a talk, though."

"So…" I hesitate. "Am I jumping on?"

"Yes." Kalina rolls her eyes.

"NO!" Lenna stamps her foot.

"Looks like I'm the tiebreaker." Leva shrugs. "Come over, Hadwin. You could be useful."

"Leva…" Lenna looks like she's about to cry.

Alright. I step up to the window sill-

Gunfire.

A bullet whips past my head, and I turn around to see more cops, this time with some mechanical backup.

Including a Goliath, might I add.

"You've got to be kidding-"

The rest of the police squad opens fire, forcing Leva to shut the cargo bay door and edge the aircraft away from the building.

I turn and leap, powerful motors embedded in my legs launching me a good fifteen meters away from the building toward the aircraft.

Unfortunately, I'm not quite high enough, and I slam onto the side and bounce off, unable to grab onto anything for purchase.

"FUCKKKK!"

The aircraft's engines whine hard as the craft begins to maneuver above me, though I hardly register it over the wind tearing past my head.

A comms connection is automatically approved by 90 as I tumble, barely able to keep my bearing.

"Haddy, what-"

"He's falling." 90 snaps at Lenna. "Good job, 9."

Lenna's face is frozen, shock on her features in the comm window.

"Lenna, grab Miss Kalin." Leva's voice comes through the comms. "We're going diving."

90's voice is harsh in my ear. "Haddy, spread yourself out to slow down as much as possible."

I do as she says, the motion arresting my tumble somewhat.

The ground is a lot closer than it was when I leapt.

The aircraft suddenly soars past me, engines accelerating toward the ground in a suicidal attempt to get under me.

I turn myself slightly to fall over the airship, and it levels off, engines suddenly screaming as they are pointing down toward earth once more, decelerating the fall.

I slam hard into the top of the aircraft, artificially boosted limbs putting dents into the metal sheeting that makes up the outer hull.

The airframe strains under the effort of arresting its fall, and the buildings to either side are still passing by extraordinarily fast.

If I've gotten everyone else killed trying to save me-

The descent is slowing though, and I scrabble around for a handhold to avoid getting thrown off as the entire frame begins to scream in only the way metal way past its engineered tolerances can.

I squeeze my eyes shut and offer a prayer to anyone listening. Od, Buddha… maybe Lunasia.

The aircraft slams into the ground, sending me flying off the front and onto the bridge span. I tumble on the ground for a few moments before coming to a halt on my back.

The vehicles on the bridge come to screeching stops around us, some of them slamming into the guardrails in their efforts to avoid us.

"...Hadwin?" Leva asks casually.

"Owwww."

"Hmm. Lenna, report."

"Miss Kalin is okay!" Lenna reports. "How's the transport?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to buy it, but since it's a rental anyway…" Leva sounds like she's shrugging. "It still seems airworthy."

The aircraft lifts off the ground, and I flip over onto my face, the metal roadway of the bridge cold against my skin. It feels kind of nice to be honest, but I get my hands under me and push off the ground to see the underside of the rental.

"Uh… you've lost your deposit on that." I mutter.

"What?"

"You've mangled the undercarriage and the guns." I report. "I- fuck, that hurts. I think you may want to ditch that as soon as possible."

Something slams into a nearby car so loudly that I almost jump out of my skin, rifle strapped to my chest coming up and aiming at…

"Leva, get Kalina and Lenna out of here."

"Why? What's out there?"

"The Goliaths."

Another one crashes down on top of the aircraft, bouncing off and falling over the side of the bridge.

"Are they active?"

I watch the one embedded into a car engine in front of me beep once and start to rotate its faceplate. "Yeah… why does it have a Griffin logo on it?!"

"Hurry, get on!" Kalina orders. "Leva, turn this aircraft around."

Another Goliath slams into the road beside me, punching a hole through the decking. It too activates its timer.

"Haddy, grab on!" Lenna yells at me, the aircraft pivoting around to point the opening loading bay my way.

I glance around at the all the cars trapped on the bridge. Scared faces of people just going about their daily live peer back at me, including a family inside the car that had its engine crushed.

"You get out of here. I have to disable the Goliaths."

Another one slams down, this one speared onto a streetlight, punching its core right out and disabling it.

"Haddy!" Lenna yells. "Grab. My. Hand!"

I fire my rifle into the air, and that finally gets people scrambling away. My first step is the car next to me, and I let my rifle dangle from my sling as I reach the Goliath, slapping my hands onto it, on either side of the faceplate.

"90?"

"You know, these things aren't supposed to be defused?" She cries. "Just be glad Griffin hasn't bothered updating the security on them!"

Seconds later, the faceplate stops twisting.

I turn and locate the next Goliath that had fallen and sprint toward it.

"I can't hack these fast enough, Haddy." 90 mentions. "We're buying seconds, at most."

"Well, hack faster!" I skid next to the Goliath embedded in the road surface and slam my hands down on it. My vision blurs as 90 shuts down more of her assistance functions to hack the Goliath.

"Ah, for the love of-!" Lenna lands beside me, taking off toward the next bomb in sequence, her goggles over her eyes.

"What's going on out there?" Leva asks.

"They're disabling the bombs." Kalina reports, her face peeking out of the cargo bay. "THey're trying to buy time for the civilians to get off the bridge."

"Ah, Haddy." Leva sighs. "Never change."

"I'm fine with him changing!" Lenna gripes. "Haddy, there's some people in that car over there, they look like they're trapped!"

I stand up, shake my head to clear the fog, and sprint over to the vehicle, tugging on the handle and finding it unlocked. Inside, the occupants appear shell-shocked.

"Hey. HEY!" I clap in front of the driver's face, a young man staring straight ahead. "Get off the bridge!"

"B-but-"

I pull him out, and the action snaps him out of his stupor just enough for him to turn and grab an infant from the back seat of the vehicle as the woman in the passenger seat climbs out as well.

"What's going on?" She asks.

"Bombs." I snap. "Get off the bridge, now."

As if to punctuate my point, another Goliath crushes a nearby van.

This one isn't the standard black, but a bright red.

"Oh, we need to get away from that one." 90 cautions. "We can't hack that."

"Lenna, get back on the aircraft." Leva calls, the airframe shifting away from the bridge as the ramp lowers and locks into position. "Hadwin-"

I scoop up the man, still holding his infant in one arm, the woman in the other, and put my legs to work, running as fast as I can with my burden.

My legs are burning, the people are screaming-

Behind me, a new star is born as the red Goliath detonates, sending waves of heat and pressure that send me flying face first into the decking.

God fucking… I let go of the dazed couple and check on their kid who is crying. The kid looks okay…

Behind me, the air is filled with smoke from the detonation, already starting to clear.

I haul the parents to their feet and point down the road toward the buildings. "Get away from here, and check yourselves for injuries."

"Uh… ah… thank you."

"Move!"

They bolt.

I turn back around, only to find that the aircraft we had is starting to fly to the side, one of its turbines partially damaged from debris.

"Ah, shit."

"We're going to go find a place to set down." Leva states, calm as usual. "I'll send you coordinates as soon as I can."

"Alright. Be careful."

"Always, Hadwin."

The connection drops, and I walk off the destroyed road and slump against one of the guard rails.

Everything hurts. Why does everything always have to hurt?

"Because you're an idiot."

"90, please."

She appears out of nowhere, walking along the bridge and kicking at bits of vehicle that had descended from the skies. "Alright, so we've saved some civilians, but now we're lost in ODE-01, have illegal weapons on us-"

I glance down at the M16 that has a few new scrapes from landing under me, and the handgun in my leg holster.

"-and I would bet you three new Doll frames that the police are on their way and will not be happy to see you."

"Alright. Been in worse situations before."

"Sure, but you used to have backup."

I climb to my feet, using the fence on what remains of the bridge to haul myself up. "Alright… let's go find somewhere to hide until we get coordinates from-"

"Hold." P90 disappears.

I start to limp off the remnants of the bridge, once more glancing back to see the hole, a good forty meters across with the edges slagged due the heat of the explosion.

I'm not sure what compound the Goliaths are packed with, but it's nasty.

"I have some coordinates…" 90 hesitates. "They're close by but it's going to be fun getting there on foot."

"Well then." I roll my shoulders. "Point me. I want out of this city."

"Finally." 90 grumbles. "Head down that alley-"

"Please stay inside. Bandits have appeared-"

I mentally tune out the new bulletin showing Groza's face once more. I've heard it ten or more times since getting on the streets, and I'm in no mood to hear it again. "There's nothing here."

"No, there isn't."

I spin around on the deserted street, trying my best to spot someone hiding in the alleys, or peering out the windows. "This is a trap."

"Of course it is." P90 snips. "Leva and Lenna seemed just thrilled to see you, I have no doubt that they'd immediately put you into a trap."

"Well…"

"Do you recall when you first met them and they ditched you in a warehouse and tried to get you shot?"

"Right." I place my pistol back into its holster and unstrap my rifle. "Forgot."

This deep down, there's no natural light to be seen, just the color stains of LED neon strips and the dim street lights. These lights reflect off the thousands of dirty windows, making it hard to focus on any one given surface.

If I had to pick a place to ambush someone, this would be it. Deserted during the day since all the residents head out to work on the trains out, dark, and with plenty of hiding spots.

"Yeah, so maybe use one of them instead of standing out in the open like an idiot."

I'm about to take 90's advice when I notice a bright light out of the corner of my eye.

Down the street, a vehicle skids around the corner, its headlights the only thing I can really see. As I stand there like an idiot in the middle of the road, I can hear the roar of its engine bouncing off the concrete canyons.

Behind it, several more vehicles join the chase, and then I hear gunshots.

"Wanna bet that's Gentiane's dolls?"

"No bet, that's them." 90 sighs. "So, gonna let yourself get run over?"

"Nope." I turn and run.

"Hadwin, you can't outrun a… Oh." 90 sighs as she reads my intentions. "I'll let you know when they're right behind you."

"Thanks."

The oar of the engine gets louder and louder in my ears as I run as fast as I can, trying to minimize the speed difference between me and the fast approaching vehicle.

"Now."

I crouch down, springing up into the air to let the speeding jeep drive under me. My feet get clipped by the windshield, sending me tumbling into the rear passenger seat.

When my eyes clear of stars, a gray-haired doll is holding a sword to my throat, a nasty look on her face.

"Uh, hey. Krolik, right?"

Colphne looks away from the road for a split second. "Ah~! It's the Commander's old friend!"

"The blurred winds… require haste."

"No, we do not need to speed up!" Krolik snaps at the very purple doll with a rifle. "In fact, I think it would be nice to slow down!"

"Can I stand up?" I ask.

"Of course you can!" Krolik snaps. "Why are you asking me?!"

I tap the blade against my throat with a finger, and she huffs as she pulls the blade away.

I sit up and peer out the back of the vehicle to see repurposed Sangvis units chasing us, each of them with the Griffin and Kryuger logo emblazoned on their bodies. One of them aims a gun our way, and I return the favor, firing a burst into the driver's core, sending it careening into the front of a nearby shop.

"Okay, so why the hell are we driving around here like maniacs?" I demand. "And where's Groza?"

"Leader… didn't make it." Colphne's voice shrinks.

"We're trying to get rid of these pests!" Krolik glares at the next vehicle in line that had managed to squeeze around the first one.

"A cloaked escape… is impossibly important."

"We need to shake them. Okay." I take a deep breath and stand up. "Next fork in the road, take a left."

"Ah? Who are you to pick directions?" Krolik grabs my shirt.

Oh, this is just going to be great. "Okay, then where are you going?"

"Train station." Colphne swerves, and Krolik lets me go to keep her balance through the corner. "At least, if we could find a way through the streets."

"ODE-01 isn't that big."

"But they keep throwing road blocks in the way!"

I look out the cracked windshield to see that the road has some automatic bollards in the shape of panels to stop precisely what we're trying to do.

"Okay, so why are you driving away from the train station?"

"A wanderer's dilemma… Locomotion is unfortunate."

"...You're lost, then." I grumble. "Fortunately-"

"I downloaded a map!" P90 appears in miniature, sitting on the dash in front of Colphne. The blue-haired doll blinks at the tiny P90 as she continues. "Follow my lead."

"Maps are good and all, but if we keep getting blocked we're not ever gonna reach the train station."

"Nemesis is short on ammo." Krolik huffs. "So we can't run for too much longer either."

"Then, we get as close to the station as possible and bail." I gesture to her sword. At least on foot you'd be able to use your weapon."

She grinds her synthetic teeth.

"Creating a loophole… making the voyage… exquisite."

"As if you've had any better ideas!" Krolik snaps at the doll that appears to only speak in riddles.

I glance Colphne, her tongue peeking out of her lips as she concentrates on driving, swerving every time the road is locked down, then at the bickering doll with rabbit ears and her smirking companion who I can barely understand.

"How did Gentiane not go insane?" I mutter. "Maybe the rest of her dolls are better."

I plant myself on the back of the vehicle, arms braced around my rifle the way I've seen sniper dolls do when they're on unsteady terrain, doing my best to stabilize my weapon. I don't exactly have that many shots-

My next shot hits an enemy unit, sending it over the side of its jeep only for the next one in line to hit it and crash.

"Four for the price of one." 90 smirks. "Still haven't lost your touch."

"Well, now I'm going to miss, because you brought it up." I sigh.

"Used to this, are you?" Krolik sneers. "What, you one of the glory seeking URNC soldiers?"

"If I was-" I fire another shot, and this one misses its target by a hair. "-then I wouldn't be helping you right now!"

"You're not a Varjager, are you?" The cold tone of voice is so different I almost don't recognize it as Colphne.

"No? Who are they?"

"Bandits that operate in the yellow zone."

"Seeing as I came from a white zone, no." I brace myself once more, line up my shot-

Colphne is forced to swerve, and my bullet goes wide.

"A white zone? What's a rich kid doing with a rifle? Do you go hunting on weekends and think you're some sort of hot shot?"

I'm starting to get tired of Krolik already. "Sure, Krolik. For now, can we focus on getting out of here?"

"Hmph!"

"God, you're worse than Wa."

P90's voice enters my mind. "Nobody's worse than Wa."

"Who's this 'Wa'?" Krolik's brow furrows. "I demand an answer!"

"Are you sure, 90?"

"Maybe not!" She laughs.

"I demand an answer!"

"A cavernous understanding… fields of cotton bounce."

"I am not a tsun-whatsit!" Krolik snaps.

"Yes yes, you two are adorable together." Colphne speaks up. "But we're almost at the train station."

I raise my rifle, switch it over to burst, and dump the rest of my magazine into the incoming enemies, sending two of the cars careening into infrastructure and partially blocking the rest so they're slowed down. "Take the next turn so we get out of sight."

"Aye aye, leader!"

"I'm not your leader."

"Then what should I call you?"

"Hadwin."

"Eh… I prefer titles!" She spins the wheel hard, sending us down a narrow alley. "How about 'Sensei'?"

"What am I teaching you?"

"Then, Sarge!"

"Sure, Colphne." I shake my head. "Whatever."

"Alright, Sarge!" Colphne pauses. "Sarge?"

"What?"

"Dead end."

I nod. "Alright, time to bail."

"Bail?" Krolik asks as the vehicle comes to a stop.

"We need to get to the train station, and staying on the road is a horrible idea. We have more chances to duck oversight on foot." I hesitate. "Unless you three have cloaks?"

"No."

"Nope!"

"As a cloud passes by… it takes away-"

"Alright, no cloaks." I take a deep breath. "90, got a route for us?"

"Yes, but…" She hesitates. "We need to go through a dump."

I glance at the map she pops up for me. "...We do? What about this route right here?"

"It's blocked."

I narrow my eyes at the depiction of 90 in my vision, and the three dolls behind me look at each other.

"Fine. If you have a good reason."

"Yeah…" 90 looks away.

"What's going on?" Krolik demands.

I gesture for them to follow me. "We've got a path. Let's follow it."

"Wait a second." Krolik demands, and I turn back to watch her haul a large box onto her back. "We need to bring Helena back."

"...She's inside the box?"

"Yep~!" Colphne claps her hands together. "So, let's get going before this trip is for nothing!"

Half an hour later, we're on the train headed out of ODE-01.

Gentiane had a set of tickets, one for each of us, supposedly given by Kalina.

In the row of seats in front of me, three dolls sit down with a case resting in the empty seat next to Krolik.

Gentiane and I had gotten seats behind the dolls. We're only going about an hour away, but it's been half an hour and we haven't been talking to each other.

"So." I finally break the silence. "These dolls seem entertaining."

"Don't get me started." She sighs. "I feel like less of a Commander and more of a babysitter every day."

"Do you know a Peritya?" I glance at her. "Krolik was cursing out someone when we found a communicator we found of hers."

"The one you used to contact me?"

I nod.

"She's… one of Krolik's old friends. I think."

"Huh."

She sighs pretty hard. "Alright, fuck it, I need to get it over with eventually." She turns to me fully. "So, Hadwin…"

I raise an eyebrow as she trails off, waiting for her to continue.

She seems to attempt to form a sentence a few times before finally getting something out. "How are you?"

I snort. "Peachy."

"Ah, good. Good." She sniffs. "Doing mercenary work?"

"Nah. I was hunting ELIDs around Sector 3 until they stopped appearing, and then I was just border patrol. You?"

"Bounty hunter." She tries to relax. "I had a contract to transport an item, and it's turned into a lot more trouble than it's worth."

"So, business as usual then."

"No, for the past decade I've been doing better jobs." She sighs. "This one was given to me by Kalina, actually."

"Oh. Neat." My mind wanders back to… ah, shit. "Those assholes!"

Gentiane raises an eyebrow.

"Leva and Lenna! They left me behind!"

It's her time to snort in amusement. "So you met up with your old girlfriend?"

"Very briefly before the Goliaths came out." I growl. "When I see them again-"

"How are you planning on doing that?" Gentian suddenly sits up and cuts me off, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

I hesitate due to her sudden enthusiasm, but continue. "I need to figure out where they're heading next, and then get there. I have questions I need to ask of Leva, after all."

"Well, do I have a deal for you."

My hackles raise, but I don't say anything.

"I happen to know exactly where she's going, and I have a vehicle capable of getting there. Why don't you join up with me until we meet up with them? We could always use a spare set of hands."

I just stare at her, face stony.

"You'll get to meet Mayling. She's adorable."

"..."

"And… uh, you'll get to see my Elmo. It's our land train, it's really cool."

"..."

"It'll… be just like old times."

"I don't have good memories of my time with GnK, Commander." I put emphasis on the last word to get her to pay attention to my words. "I recall being manipulated into a relationship with a truly absurd number of dolls, waging a fucking war against Paradeus, and when it was all over I was forced to sign a contract that forbade me from seeking out any of the dolls!"

I barely register that the three dolls in front of us had stopped chattering and had turned around to look at us.

"They turned their backs on me. Oh, I'm sure it is easy for them, all they need to do is… shut off their emotion modules, or reset their relationship graph or whatever! But I'm human and my stupid fucking brain developed an attachment to all of them. I loved them, and then in less than a day they all just fuckin' disappeared."

I can feel my hands trembling, and I look down at the floor to try to calm down.

"The Dolls are the only good memory I have of my brief stint as a Field Agent, so if it's just like it was before minus that, I would compare it unfavorably to HELL."

"...Sarge is scary."

"The flames in the forest… flow like wine."

"No, we should not step in, you idiot."

Gentiane bites her lip. "So, you don't know."

"...Obviously not." I cross my arms. "What?"

"Hadwin… the dolls were forced to sign a contract when they left. It stipulated that they're not allowed to contact us or seek us out. You and me, specifically, by name. If they were found to be in breach, their neural clouds would have been forfeit."

My mouth works for a few moments as my world crumbles around me. "But… why?"

"I think they wanted to keep any of them from coming after me." She pauses. "Well, maybe they just didn't want me to have an army. Or you."

"But, I wasn't allowed to seek them out either." My body seems to freeze as realization hits me. "Wait, so we were both told we can't talk to each other?!"

"Hadwin-"

"I spent… I spent years thinking they all just hated me for some reason. I… I…"

A hand rubs my shoulder, and I look up to See Colphne smiling at me. "There, there, Sarge. I bet we'll see them again. We've already encountered a few of the Commander's old dolls before."

I raise my head up, and Gentiane awkwardly nods. "Right now, we have a doll I used to command on the Elmo, but… uh…" She sighs. "It seems like I'm being monitored still. I got a notice to drop her off as soon as possible."

"Anyone I know?"

She shakes her head. "I don't think so. Suomi?"

"Nope." I shiver. "Fucking… seriously?"

"That does explain some things." P90 comments. "Not everything, though. Leva never contacted you and she wasn't Griffin."

I can't keep the grimace off my face, but nobody comments on it.

"So… how about it?" Gentiane tries again. "If you come with me, we could find more of your old flames."

"When you put it like that, you make me sound like a sleazebag."

"I don't know anyone else dating twelve women."

"It was sixteen, and they were all dolls."

Nemesis tilts her head. "A sweeping vista… creating a violent storm?"

"They all agreed to share." I grumble. "And, it was kind of her fault anyway."

Gentiane shrugs apologetically.

"How do you understand her?" Krolik asks.

"Hmm?"

"I'm the only one able to understand her." Krolik kneels on the seat to peek over the back, her large red armored bunny ears wiggling slightly. "Do you have a way of translating her gibberish?"

"No? She said there was a sweeping vista, like when you say there's a garden of beautiful women, and then she asked if it got violent like a storm."

"That's…" Krolik thinks for a second. "Well, it's close enough."

"Great."

Nemesis nods.

"So." Gentiane continues to press me. "Will you join me?"

I sigh. "How much would I get paid?"

"Don't trust her!" Colphne jumps up onto her seat. "She keeps promising to restore Mayling's rice wine stash, but hasn't!"

"She'll work you like a dog." Krolik growls.

"The evening sun… is as bright as a flame."

I mull over the words, but they don't seem to correlate to anything.

"She said that you'll be exposed to collapse radiation."

"Oh." I roll my eyes. "So no pay, no sleep, and plenty of collapse fluid baths. Just like last time I worked for her."

"I paid you quite well."

"Sure, Gentaine." I sigh. "Fine. I'll agree to go with you at least until we get to wherever Leva and Lenna are. I have words for them."

"Great!"

Overhead, the speakers inside the train crackle to life. "Attention! We will soon be stopping in W_2070_0023-"

"Our stop." Gentiane turns to Krolik. "I need you to go to level two and delete the camera footage off the train."

"Haa?" Krolik's eye twitches. "I don't want to!"

I glance at P90, and she rolls her eyes.

"We need to cover our tracks, Krolik."

"Then have Nemesis do it!"

"A waving plane… over a void of salt."

"If you're so good at it, why haven't you deleted it already then, huh?"

"I thought it was impossible." I mutter, and Gentiane gives me a look.

"What?"

"A doll more of a Tsundere than Wa."

"That's not Tsundere, she actually just hates everyone."

"Ah. Anyway, footage deleted."

The dolls look my way, and I shrug. "What?"

"How?"

"Hey." P90 waves at them. "Nice to meet you, I'll be your hacker for the evening."

I glance at Gentiane. "P90."

"Oh. Right." She nods. "I'm surprised they let you keep her."

"They tried to take her away, but were convinced that trying would kill me and they were oddly reluctant to do that."

"Hmm." She taps her finger on her armrest. "And Aleah?"

"...Let's not talk about her."

Gentiane nods. "Well then, let's get going. I bet Mayling will be thrilled to meet you."

"I'm sure."

A/N:
Fun fact 1: Depicting a red "plus" on a white background means medical assistance can be found at that location. It's why in real life you see it on emergency kits, red cross vehicles, etc. It's actually a war crime to depict this symbol without offering medical aid, so Colphne's backpack means GFL is finally committing war crimes, not just inspiring… uh, I mean, depicting war crimes.

Fun fact 2: the sensation of your stomach going up into your throat when you drop suddenly is actually accurate! I bring this up because I was in the middle of writing Hadwin falling and mentioned his stomach before remembering he didn't have one anymore. There goes that turn of phrase.

Why yes, I am pedantic enough to care about that. Now, let's talk about my magical zero-blowback shoulder fired launchers that I had in the original Field Agent-