We've all made it back from our first few runs in one piece, but I'm not exactly stoked about my performance. I can't say the halo didn't make any difference, but it certainly wasn't the kind of difference Victoria gets from it. I struggled to even hold my own against one guard on the first run, let alone the several she dealt with, Jackie ended up having to bail me out. It was embarrassing, frankly. I did a little better the next day, but not enough to be happy with it.

I ask Victoria about it and she just shrugs. "Sometimes it takes a while to get the hang of it. Not everyone can get 100% out of their halo right away, and your general combat training is rudimentary at best since that's all I could manage in such a short time frame, so that's probably also working against you. You'll get better at it."

I can't say I find this all that encouraging. "The whole reason I did any of this was so I wouldn't have to rely on the rest of you to save me every time I'm in a dangerous situation, but it doesn't seem to be helping all that much."

Victoria raises an eyebrow. "The halo can only get you part of the way there, anyway. It's a strategic edge, it's not a trump card. If you want to fight, you've got to fight."

"So what exactly do you think I've been doing the past few days? I wasn't exactly taking a leisurely stroll through combat doll production facilities!"

"That's not what I'm saying. Look, just keep up your training and I'm sure you'll get there."

I wish I had somewhere private I could storm off to. We're in a different maintenance bunker than the one I built my halo in, but it's more or less identical. One room, cots, desks. Jackie is still the only one who can come and go as he pleases since we're still pretty sure no one's seen his face. He's been wearing that mask and armor on our sabotage runs, so there shouldn't be any way to connect his face to the attacks.

I may not be able to get any time alone, but I still need to do something about this frustration, so I ask Jackie to spar with me. He's gotten the hang of his new gear pretty well already, which I guess shouldn't be surprising. The kid was living on the street before all this, after all, I'm sure he has a lot more experience fighting than I do.

He doesn't power the gloves on, of course. There's no need to risk injuring me when we're just sparring. Similarly, I tap a glyph on my short sword's handle and the blade dulls itself. Apparently this is a bit of a relic from Victoria's earlier days, when she was learning to fight. A training sword that can still be used in actual combat. She says she's got lots of weapons stashed away in little hidden nooks in these tunnels, so she won't miss this one.

We've only just started when I hear a loud thump from the ceiling. I turn and look for the source of the noise, just in time to catch a punch across the chin from Jackie. "Gah! Fuck!" I drop my sword, reaching up and cradling my jaw. It doesn't hurt as much as getting hit in the face with a lump of metal would have before I got my new halo, but it still smarts. "Gimme a sec, I think I heard something." Just as I finish speaking, there's another thump, louder this time. Penny and Victoria both look up from their respective corners of the room. "You're all hearing this, right?"

Instead of another thump, there's a loud crash as the ceiling caves in. Everyone shields their face with their arms to protect themselves from the dust and rubble that comes crashing down to the center of the floor. I cough a few times, and squint into the smoky cloud directly under the hole in the ceiling.

It begins to clear, just enough for me to make out a vague, red shape, and a massive hammer.

Stolen story; please report.

"Oh, fuck!" I dive and grab my sword, tapping the rune to give its edge back, and sprint toward the combat demon in our midst. She doesn't even take a proper swing, a tap from the end of her hammer's handle is enough to slam me into the wall behind me. I collapse into a heap, struggling to catch my breath.

While I'm struggling to fill my lungs, Victoria, Penny, and Jackie all descend upon the attacker. She begins taking wide, arcing swings with her hammer, forcing all three to give her some space, but as they do so they move to surround her. I struggle back to my feet, raising my sword and stepping up next to them. Jackie, who's currently behind her, runs in and takes a swing at her head, but she turns and bats his hand away. Victoria and I both seize the opportunity to approach from opposite sides. Victoria, of course, is a good bit faster than me, so we end up arriving staggered, allowing the demon to deal with us one at a time. Just like last time, she doesn't even swing the head of her hammer at me, instead carrying the motion of the swing that knocks away Victoria's sickles to jam the end of its handle into my chest. Even still, it's a much less impactful strike than before, and before I even start attacking again Jackie and Victoria are pummeling her exposed sides. Penny, who's been focusing on placing some defensive wards on herself up until now, joins the fray as well, peppering the attacker with small bursts of cosma. She's keeping her distance, and none of her attacks would be enough to turn the tide by themselves at that range, but the combination of her suppressing fire with the other three of us attacking in close quarters quickly proves to be too much for her and she drops down to one knee, gritting her teeth as strikes rain down on her from all sides.

If I'm being honest, it's much more Jackie and Victoria's hits that seem to be bringing her down. I'm swinging with all my might, but my blade simply glances off whenever it even manages to land. Just like on our runs, I'm clearly not getting the most out of my new halo. I'm not as fast as I should be, not as strong as I should be, to say nothing of my short sword remaining, resolutely, simple steel with a sharp edge. This thing was supposed to give me the power to stand on my own, but here I am, still relying on the others to handle things for me. I grit my teeth and batter the kneeling demon with my blade, but she doesn't budge. The thorns on my halo begin letting off sparks, but that's all it does.

By now our attack is down on both knees, leaning on her hammer for support with her shoulders hunched against our onslaught. Finally, Jackie and Victoria begin to let up, and she still doesn't stand back up.

Victoria grips her hair and pulls her head up, brandishing a sickle in preparation to cut her throat, but Jackie runs forward and catches it in his gloved hand. "There's no need for that, Victoria. Let's just get moving, we can't use this bunker anymore."

The combat demon laughs and coughs up a little blood. "Go ahead, you're leaving breadcrumbs anyway, and we've figured out how to follow them. Doesn't matter where you go, or if I'm alive to follow, we'll get you eventually."

"What?" Jackie cocks his head. "What bread crumbs?"

"Come on now, if you haven't figured it out yet I'm not about to drop the only advantage I have here. How about you first, tell me why you're targeting factories? What's being made there that you're so upset about?"

Penny gasps. "You don't mean… Is it the doll?"

The combat demon blinks at her. "What doll?"

"The one in the corner. It used to be human. Is that what you're tracking?"

"It used to what?"

Jackie and I react in similar shock, and even Victoria looks surprised, though she stays focused on holding the combat demon in place. The doll turns to look at Penny. It doesn't say anything, but it's obviously got the same question on its mind.

"Wait…" Penny looks confused. "You don't know about… then what did you track us here with? The doll's cosma signal is the only thing I can think of that could…"

Before she finishes speaking, the demon grabs its hammer and slams the end of the handle into the ground, bringing forth another explosion of dust. By the time the room clears, it's gone.

As everyone gets their bearings, the doll walks up to Penny. "Miss. Do you really think this one is the reason she was able to find you?"

Penny glances down at it, still coughing. "I… I don't see anything else it could be."

"Very well. It will leave."

"I… No, I don't want y-"

"Its presence is putting you in danger. It will leave, and you will retrieve it when the danger has passed," the doll replies, more firmly than I've ever heard a doll speak before.

Without another word, it walks through the entrance to the bunker and out of view. Penny looks like she might cry, but she doesn't try to stop it. It's right, we can't afford to be found so easily. After a few minutes, we all get up and begin preparing to move again.