Ch.4

I am here, send me.

"Some officers can't risk their men in battle. They don't have the guts for it. They lose a taste for boldness. They just want to protect their men, and themselves. They're cowards. In the long run, they got more people killed." – Phil Klay, Missionaries.

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TRIPOLI / LYBIA / 1SEP47 1910 LOCAL

The United States had better luck fighting the Soviets in Africa than they had in Europe. Earlier in the year, almost the entirety of the 7th Calvary was lost in a push to Berlin. Immediately after that the Euros turned tails and betrayed the US, wanting to fight Russians on their own. There was more to the reason, Political or National gains, something along those lines.

Atleast they had Africa though, atleast they weren't getting pushed back here. Although at this specific moment in time, Matthias Wall cared little about his country's success and failures. Because this moment would stick with him for the rest of his life. The smell of burning rubble, the residual heat of a missile strike, the yelling of those around him, and the person he held in his arms. An old friend, then a lover, and then only a short few hours ago, his wife.

Her name was Naomi, and she was the only person he was certain he would ever love. Now she was dead, she had bled out in his arms from a wound far too deep to pack. She had clung to him with every bit of strength she had left, begging him to leave her behind. He wouldn't have, even if he was going to die, he wasn't going to do that to her. Then in her final moments, she let go of him, smiled, and simply stated, "I love you."

As she died, Matthias did too. Every attempt to hold onto his humanity and beat the neural degeneration ceased then and there.

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STATION 794 / S09 / 12JUL62 1031 LOCAL

"I love you," Wall said as he opened his eyes. He didn't move, he remembered what had happened to him, and he knew he was in his room. His head felt like he had been hit repeatedly by the butt of a rifle. Slowly, he pressed himself up in his bed, only pausing to look down at his arm and the IV within it.

"Don't move too fast Matthias, or do you prefer Mister Wall?"

He didn't listen to the voice, his head snapped to the location of the sound. He regretted that as the pounding that ailed him became worse. "Gah Fuck!" he let out, almost involuntary, then used his left arm to support his head.

"I told you not to move quickly…"

Pain wasn't anathema to him, it just hurt less, but this hurt a lot. Slowly this time, he looked at where the voice was coming from. His room was dimly lit, like his lights had been turned down, but it was enough to see the two people sitting down on his small couch.

Two females, one was sleeping and leaning on the others shoulder. Both looked alike, as if they were twins, save for the fact the awake one was far more well-endowed.

Why the fuck does it have animal ears…. Was the only thoughtthat went through his mind as he maintained eye contact with the woman.

The Woman in question smiled, "I am Persicaria, or PNC, and this," she nudged her sleeping companion, "Is Perscia, my creator."

The nudge was enough to wake the sleeping Perscia. "Hoa mwww." She mumbled as she slowly woke up, blinking her eyes unevenly.

She has them too what the fuck….

Perscia stretched her arms out, "Ahhhhhhhh-mmmmmfh!" a loud yawn erupted from her, then slowly she stood up.

"You uh, you gave me this arm, right?" Wall asked, slowly moving his prosthetic left arm into view.

She ignored him, grabbed a small flashlight off a nearby coffee table, and walked over to his bedside. "So your finally awake huh?" she said as she raised the flashlight to his face.

"I could say the same to y-Ah fuck!"

The light turned on right into his left eye, he tried to recoil backwards but Perscia grabbed him by his shirt.

"Stop moving so much."

"Could have least told me first, fuck me." Slowly, he moved back towards the flashlight and opened his eyes. She moved the light back and forth, left and right, then did the same for the other eye.

Satisfied with her work, she turned the light off and tossed it to her other self, Persicaria. She leaned back up and looked down at Wall, who was busy blinking slowly.

"Good news or bad news first kid?"

"Kid?" He asked back, still trying to get his eyes to adjust. "No introductions?" He looked up at her, two black spots covered her face but were disappearing slowly. "Just straight to the uh, whatever?"

What was I trying to say?

"Don't be surprised by anything that seems abnormal." She leaned in to look at him closely again, then stood back up. "I'm Persica, and I'm not technically a real human doctor, but I've fixed you, twice now I guess." She turned around and walked back over to the couch. "I'm tired so ill keep it brief." She sat back down and placed her feet on his coffee table.

Why, why isn't she wearing shoes?

"You had a brain aneurysm, that coupled with several other health issues almost killed you. Luckily for you, I happened to be in the area when Juan called. He seems to be a," she looked away and smirked, "mutual friend," she looked back at him, "of ours."

"Wait I had a brain aneurysm?"

"Yes, and I'm not finished." She tapped her larger self on the shoulder, "PNC is a doll, made by and after me, she's great with AI stuff, but has a nice suite of medical gadgets onboard."

PNC smiled softly and nodded.

"I'm going to be very honest with you Wall, you're dying."

He shrugged, "I mean I've known that for a long time and all-"

He was cut off, "No I don't mean that in a joking manner, you can either drop dead between right now, or ten years from this second."

Wall blinked slowly, his head was still pounding but the pain was starting to subside. "So, actually dying?" He hadn't been afraid of death, for a long time he wished for it. Something about putting a number on the clock unnerved him though.

"Yes," PNC spoke up, "I'm sorry we must be the bearers of bad news. On top of the previous injuries you've accumulated, it seems that-." Persica stopped her, placing her hand in front of the doll's mouth. PNC closed her eyes and complied.

"Brain cancer, heart failure, looked like your liver is failing too. A real doctor and proper medical diagnosis are required, but they will tell you the same thing. Now, or in ten years."

There was a brief moment of silence, as if Persica was letting him soak everything else in. He didn't need time to soak it in though, he was surprised he had made it this far in life. Concussions, poison, radiation, bullet and shrapnel wounds, all that had to add up somewhere. He just didn't want to die a burden, he didn't want to die in inaction, he didn't want to die.

What? No, no no, I'm fine with dying, it's just all the shit piled up made me think that.

"Marcus Aurelius once said, stop whatever you're doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won't be able to do this anymore?" Persica had broken the silence.

Wall looked up and met her gaze, she was frowning.

Is that it? That's it right. There's no other reason, no fear, I'm just gonna miss this stuff, right?

His head started to pound again, "Have you told anyone?" he asked, once again rubbing his temples.

"You, me, and PNC. That's it's for now, but really, is that all your concerned with?"

"No I, ahhh." The pain was growing.

He heard Persica stand up and grab something, then walk over to him. "Take two of these."

He dropped his arm and looked at a pill bottle and glass of water she had outstretched towards him. He grabbed the water and set it down in his lap, then the same with the pills. "What are they?" He asked, though already opening the container with one hand.

"Unbranded medication, something for the headache for now."

He poured out two pills onto his lap, then closed the bottle. He scooped up the medication and tossed them into his mouth, quickly downing the two with a gulp of water.

"Ah, and for later?" He asked as he placed the glass back down.

"If there is one? You shouldn't need those for more than a week."

"Right…if there is one…"

"Why did you ask for who else knows?"

Wall looked back up, Persica was still standing right next to him.

"Why haven't you told anyone else, how long have I even been out?"

"Two days, Mister Wall," PNC spoke up.

"Because" She leaned in close, "We can work together."

Wall leaned back, her breath reeked of bad coffee, and that smell made his head throb.

"So, a deal then? I do some work, you keep quiet?"

"It will all be within your bounds set in your contract, you know that almost secret one signed with Heilian." She turned around and went back to her spot on the couch, "I have a special team, they are like my own children, one of a kind." Again, she put her feet back on the table. "If you aren't dead, you can assist them from time to time, without G&K knowing, sound fair?"

Wall shrugged, then laid halfway down on his bed. "Everything sounds fair at first, but whatever keeps you happy."

She was about to speak again when someone banged on the door, it was loud enough to make Wall wince in pain.

"Is he up?! PNC Said he was ok!"

He knew that voice, it was AK. He could hear IDW out there as well.

Persica looked at PNC.

"They had asked previously to be notified when he awoke, I hope this isn't an issue." The doll bowed its head slightly.

"I'm awake, come on in," he called out, his own voice was a little too loud for him. As the door opened, he turned to Persica and gave her a quick wink, she nodded back and watched the three dolls come rushing in.

Why are they moving so fast "OH!" Wall let out as IDW jumped onto him, his head slammed onto the concrete wall behind, causing him to almost blackout.

"Gah FUCK!" He yelped, IDW clung tightly to his body. He grabbed the doll by the collar and tried to pull her away but was stopped when M200 laid herself down gently on top of his arm and IDW.

"Guys, GUYS!" He legitimately struggled to get his arm free. "Get off now!" Neither of them complied.

"We thought you died…." AK said softly.

He looked up and met her gaze, a mixture of emotion seemed to swirl throughout her face. "We argued that day, I was so mad, then you just….dropped." Tears started to well up in her eyes.

Wall had forgotten how the mechanism inside the dolls that produced tears worked. But he had good money on the idea that these three worked that poor little machine into overtime since he'd met them.

PNC stood up gracefully and walked over to him. She pulled the IV out of his arm and tended to the medical equipment.

"Yeah it's my bad I, well.." He looked over to Persica

Come on sleepy lady work with me here.

Apparently, she could read his thoughts. "Your indomitable leader here is nearly completely fine." She shrunk down into the couch, "He passed out from exhaustion, he had a concussion from a fall earlier that night too. That nosebleed?" She tapped on her nose, "Apparently mister man here had some unknown allergies he had forgotten about."

"That's… that's it?" AK asked as she rubbed her eyes, "He was just tired?"

"I told you I fell down, the rest was Ego I guess?" He looked at AK, then shot a glance over to Persica.

"Yes, I believe we've talked enough about that ego too."

AK sniffled and shook her head, "Ego?" she reached down and pulled M200 off. PNC assisted and picked IDW up, both doll's faces were trembling.

"We thought you died, because of ego?" Her voice went quiet and trailed off. Wall saw her hands clench tightly into fists, then start to shake.

"Something like that yeah." He said matter of factly.

"why WHY WOULD YOU ACT SOME CALM ABOUT THAT!?" She yelled out. He winced again, though the pain was starting to subside, thanks to the medication more than likely.

"I THOUGHT YOU FUCKING DIED WALL! I THOUGHT THE MAN I WAS FALLING IN LOVE WITH DIED RIGHT UNDER ME!"

PNC shot Persica a glance, she smiled and shook her head, this was too good to miss.

"AND IT TURNS OUT YOUR FUCKING FINE AND JUST PASSED OUT?!" She took a step forward. M200's eyes were wide, and she showed a look of confusion. IDW was still in PNC's arms crying.

"Should I be mad?! Should I be FUCKING HAPPY!"

"You should fucking tone it down is what you should do."

Oops, that was supposed to be internal

"I…I should what? What did you just say?"

I'll go with it, I'm sick of this anyways.

"You need to stop, whatever this engrained emotional attachment is with me it needs to stop."

She huffed, then tried to speak but nothing left her lips as they moved. She looked around the room for a moment then back down to him, tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Stop? STOP!" She yelled out.

"I SAID FUCKING STOP" He returned her yell, slamming his prosthetic hand. That was the most honest thing he had said in some years with emotion, and it surprised him. He wasn't the only one surprised though, both M200 and IDW were stock-still and looked scared. AK still had tears rolling down her face, her mouth was agape.

"I can't keep doing this, I'm an advisor working in an austere environment, and I CANNOT keep playing fuck fuck games. This relationship I have with you three?" He paused and pointed at each of the dolls. "It's great, we work well and shoot shit together, but it is not sustainable. These, these," he stammered, "attachments all of you have, especially you." He pointed at AK, "Are becoming a legitimate burden, and you need to control that shit or get off my team."

"No, no please…" M200 Whimpered.

"Grandpa why." IDW let out, he could hear her start to cry again.

AK stood there dumbfounded, her lips trembling. A period of silence passed, the only sound coming from the base's generators.

"I'm off the team then." She said, wiping her face off and regaining her composure. She looked down at him one final time, "I'm off the team." She turned around and left, slamming the door on her way out.

"Well." Persica said, "That was interesting."

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PODILSK RUINS / S09 / 24JUL62 1500 LOCAL

"Range, seven-five-four. Winds two knots out of the southeast."

"You sure about that?"

"Don't speak, use our link," Wall said softly. With the slightest hand movement, he sharpened the focus on his spotting scope.

'WHY DO YOU GET TO TALK BUT I DON'T – M200

"Because I know when I need to be quiet, and I'm not the one shooting."

'THAT'S SLIGHTLY UNFAIR' – M200

"Did you pay the fare for things to be fair?"

The doll slowly moved her head away from her scope. She looked towards Wall and squinted at him.

"What does that even mean?"

He returned the gaze and gave her a wink, "Let's get back to work kid."

M200 shook her head, then returned to resting her cheek on her weapon. She adjusted her position for a moment to fix her eye relief. Rather a combat doll actually needed to adjust that, was anyone's guess.

Wall smirked, then took a look around at his surroundings. Remembering his age-old SLLS technique, stop look listen smell. He was a good deal south of Station 794, but always close to harm. Four days ago his new benefactor, Persicaria, had notified him of a task that she needed help with. But shortly after that on the same day, Gentiane had received word from G&K about the same situation. One of the more elite tactical doll teams ran by 16LAB and contracted by G&K, had gone dark. The bad part was they had been dark for a little over a week now, the good part was that the intel he had provided Agent with was worthwhile. Now, his reformed team was providing overwatch for Gentiane's entire entourage.

The city of Podilsk was ever so like so many destroyed urban centers he had seen before. A Civil War, the Russians, the Euros, then Sangvis Ferri. All had made their mark on this once populated and beautiful Ukrainian Oblast. Though what man destroyed, nature had a tendency to reclaim, and that's just what it had done. Trees, flowers, and grass, the whole shebang had sprouted out of the buildings and roads. To a naturalist this place would look like a real haven, even a good degree of wildlife had found its way into the city limits.

It seemed that the warm sun shining day wouldn't last long though. To the east, a massive system was blowing in, and the flash of lightning and clap of thunder could be seen and heard. The afternoon birds had gone quiet, and the slowly increasing sound of wind replaced their song. The smell of warm earth and cold steel was slowly fading away as the smell of rain blew in.

Wall brought himself back to the situation at hand and looked back down his spotting scope. The target in question was a lone Striker unit standing outside a single-story building that was facing his position. The building was one of several possible locations this secret team may have been left in for interrogation if they had been captured. That was hoping for the best though, it was more than likely that they were all dead and dismembered.

Fuck around and find out I guess huh…

"On you."

Not even a second passed before M200 pulled her trigger. A modified .408 traveled over a little more than 3700mps, hitting its target before the sound even had a chance to come close. Not much sound would ever reach it though, a suppressor made sure of that to a degree. He watched the SF doll take the round to the chest, then slam against the wall behind it and slowly slouch to the ground. Immediately after that G36, MAC-10, Skorpion, and C96 rounded the corner and breached the door. He waited for the team to report in, making sure to step out a zoom level for overwatch.

"Sage, nothing in here, give me a second," G36 said over the radio, a slight tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"Copy, where too next?"

There was a moment of silence, a breeze made its way through causing some loose foliage to blow atop M200.

"Do I look pretty now?"

Wall turned to her, she was still staring down her scope. Some leaves were on her back but atop her head was a single sunflower.

Wall snorted, "Real ray of sunshine you are."

Lightning lit up the ever-darkening sky, and a loud clap of thunder followed.

"I wish the sun was back out," M200 said solemnly as she slowly wiggled her torso to make the leaves come off.

M200 and IDW had taken the hit to the team harshly. Both of the dolls had seen AK as a friend and almost like a big sister. It took a good deal of convincing to make them believe it was for the best at the current time. IDW was one thing, she just liked being seen as an asset and useful. Once he had given her the lay of the land and previous experiences, she more or less understood the situation. M200 was another thing, after some questioning he had found out this had been a trend with her for three previous commanders now. The first one died next to her, the second one kicked her out of his echelon for not wanting long-range rifles, and the third was Band. Turns out Band and M200 enjoyed playing music together, and she felt like his death was again her fault.

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Somehow or another Wall almost dying and kicking AK off the team for something unrelated really unnerved the doll. She had been on her A-game ever since then, more so than normal. M200 could pass as a normal by the book and accountable soldier if she didn't look so young. Now she was almost annoying in how correct she acted, almost like she was turning off all the quirky shit the dolls had been programmed with, which was fine by him.

"Sage next target is marked bravo 6-1, you won't have eyes, it's east side of city." Gentaine's voice rang over the net.

"Copy all, I'll move the shank over there."

"Thanks."

Well she sounds a little bit more annoyed than usual

He closed his eyes and sighed, grabbing the ISR control tablet right underneath his chest. He rolled over slowly and brought the tablet up, commanding the shank loitering munition to head east for the team, then he selected another and had it automatically follow G36. Four of them were in the air currently, one for ISR and a unit divided out to each team on the ground, save his. He saw the shrapnel pattern of the shanks before and wasn't gonna have one splash near him.

Clipping the tablet back into his carrier, he rolled to his left and nudged against M200.

"Next target is east side, let's get rolling for another point."

"Mmm!" She let out, moving to a kneeling position and breaking down the bipod of her weapon.

Wall plucked off the sunflower that had still been sitting on her head, causing her to flinch. He looked at it for a moment before tucking it into her molly.

"Good luck charm, right?"

She looked down at it, then back up to him and smiled, "aren't we supposed to not talk about good luck?"

He waved the comment off and collapsed his spotting scope, unscrewing the scope itself and pressing it into its bag. Once he was done, he reached up to his chest and toggled his mic.

"You alive cat?"

"…."

He looked over to M200, she just shot him a shrug.

"Sage 2, radio check?"

"Uagh! Uh! I'm awake!"

He shook his head, "Good that means you're not asleep right?" He didn't give her a chance to respond, "Startup the Razor, we'll be there shortly."

Fucking idiot doesn't even physically need to sleep, that better have been a joke

Wall stood up fully, tossed the bag around his shoulder, and picked up his MCX Spear. "Let's get goin," was all he said to M200 as he trudged off into the wood line ahead of him. A moment of silence passed as the two walked, a stager between them. The storm was starting to push in and rain was starting to fall.

"Sir?"

He turned to his right, then looked forward again. "What's up long gun?"

"Why won't you tell the truth?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, then turned sharply towards M200. "What?"

He must have scared her, cause the modern combat doll showed what went as physical fear.

"I…I" she stammered at first, "I said the rain is starting to come through." She pointed to the canopy above. He looked up for a moment, and a single drop of water fell right into his eye. He flinched and started to rub his eye.

"Fuck my bad." He continued to rub his face as he turned back to the doll, he gave her a half-smile.

"Thought you said uh, thought you said your jaw felt loose or something." He shook his head stopped rubbing his eye, blinked twice, then looked back at her. "I think my hearing is going on me finally."

M200 took a step towards him, "Are you ok Sir?"

Wall turned around and shrugged, starting to walk again. "Honestly? Probably not."

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PODILSK RUINS / S09 / 24JUL62 1540 LOCAL

"Do you guys smell?" Wall asked as he pressed a cigarette into his mouth.

"I better not, I take good care of myself," M200 said as she unfolded her bipod, and laid her rifle down on an old table.

"I meant-" he started

"Of course we can smell stuff!" IDW peaked around a door frame to his left. "Some of us can tell how many people are somewhere, and if they are scared or not by smelling them!"

M200 turned around, a frown on her face, "I'm sorry I thought you meant it literally."

Wall shook his head, "I did in a way." He turned towards IDW who was now entering the room. "Think the SF dolls can smell me smoking?" He wiggled the cigarette in his mouth up and down.

IDW grimaced, "If they can't, I sure can, and it smells bad."

"Aha~" He let out, then spit the smoke to the ground, "Well excuse fucking me Ma'am."

The doll's cat-like ears folded against her head, "I didn't mean it like that!"

He shook his head as he turned around and opened his gear bag, pulling his old pipe and a small bag of Tobacco out. He shook the baggy and looked at IDW, "Cherry Blossom," he said flatly, "should smell better."

The team had rearranged themselves from their last position. Now they were set up in one of the three two-story buildings on the south-eastern side of the city. The roof of this building had a small maintenance shack of some sorts, so he had his team hole up inside to best give M200 a fighting chance. As they had rolled in, Juan and his first echelon had made entrance into the area. Apparently, G&K, or someone, was very worried about this specific asset.

"Sage, Spaniard, radio check?"

Did this mother fucker really name himself Spaniard?

Wall finished pressing down some loose tobacco, "Lima Charlie, how me?" The rain outside was starting to come down harder.

"Good to hear your voice gringo, thought you ate shit awhile back."

"Nah." He paused to light his pipe, "Just was a bit ill and all. Who are you bringing to the fight?"

"Got two unarmed Fenneks, I'm rolling with Python, PzB, M82, M590, and little ol Aug."

"How they been holding up?" He asked, genuinely curious. He looked around the small room as he took a puff out of his pipe. IDW had set up his spotting scope, and was sitting behind it looking at something in the distance. M200 was fully set up in her new spot, unblinking and totally aware of her surroundings. He noted that she had moved the sunflower from her gear, it was in her hair now.

"They doing alright, it's been a good minute since all that stuff, you know how it is. Python says Hi."

"Mhmm tell'em I miss'em"

"PzB says uhhh…" there was noise in the background, "No I'm not saying that….no your not getting his fucking freqs…"

"Sorry if she's feisty, she really misses my nightly kisses."

IDW and M200 were apparently listening intently, as both their heads snapped over to him faster than he had ever seen before.

"YOU DID WHAT!" IDW let out.

He smiled and shook his head, "joke joke, just a joke."

The net erupted on the other side, "Stop yell-" Juan was cut off by a very loud PzB, "HE NEVER DID ANYTHING OF THE SUCH."

"Ahaaa" He let out dry, taking another puff of his pipe. "Shes still easy to rile up huh?"

"Fucking thanks for that gringo, she's going batshit in here now, I think Python is dying from oxygen deprivation, if that's even possible."

"D-did you really have a thing with PzB?"

He looked up, M200s face was beat red.

"I'm pretty sure the ghost of my wife would kill me if I did."

IDWs ears went back again, "Well that was morbid."

He let out an actual laugh this time, "Damn cat your two for two today, who made you actually funny?"

"I wasn't funny before?!"

Something zipped inside and through IDWs hair. The sharp crack of a bullet followed almost immediately after.

Everyone reacted differently, but all with the same result.

IDW lunged forward and smacked into the ground. M200 grabbed her rifle and rolled off the table, landing hard on her back. Wall did a sort of awkward falling maneuver onto his shoulder, his foot catching his Spears sling, and dropping it on him.

"Where the fuck did that come from?!"

"Zero one zero! Didn't get the range!" M200 let out as she shuffled herself back near the window.

"Awhh! My hairs all burnt!" IDW pouted as she checked the chamber of her weapon.

Another round blew through the wall, just a half meter lower than the first shot. Concrete splattered throughout the room.

"Fuck my Dick and ass, Long gun can you smoke this fucker?!"

M200 moved to a kneeling position near the window. She pulled her bolt back to make sure she was ready, and then slammed it forward. "Send the shank over, I need to know where is from."

Wall rolled over on his side, he just realized his prosthetic arm had taken the force of the fall. Ignoring the lack of pain, he pulled out his tablet again and stole the overview bird.

"Fucking uh, zero one zero?"

IDW started to crawl over to him, "Yep!" She stopped just off his side and laid down, watching the contents of the screen.

"Fuck clouds…" He tapped on the screen, commanding the shank to a lower altitude to get out of the weather. Granted having it low wasn't the best idea, the situation dictated otherwise. With a general area selected, the Shank went off to its new destination.

"All players, Sage, contact on mine at Charlie two two three."

"Those don't sound like real grids…" IDW said, slightly confused by his reference point. Another shot pierced through the wall, again just slightly lower, M200 adjusted her position.

"Are you stupid? We gave out sectored grids, you know, a-b-c-d shit? We went over this before we came out here." He showed her his tablet, "everyone on our side knows where that is, hopefully."

The tablet pinged red right as he finished talking, then yet another round came flying into their building. Wall looked down and saw a little puff of heated gas in the IR view. A tap on a ranging tool gave him the information he wanted. He sent the data to M200 and IDW via his neurolink, causing both to twitch slightly, another kink he'd have to work out.

"Fuckers 2 clicks out M200, you getting this data? Can you get him or want me to waste the shank?"

"I can get him…."

"Good." He grabbed his radio's mic, "All players, Sage, sniper at forwarded grids, check your kit for reference, we are engaging."

"You're not gonna like how I need to get him though." M200 readied herself and her weapon to peep over the edge of the windowsill, "I'm going to need a distraction out the door."

"The fuck you are, I'm just gonna send the shan-" Wall was cut off by IDW leaping overhead and out towards the door.

"Get him before he gets me!" she yelled as she busted through the ramshackle wooden door and into the rain outside. As if the two were well-oiled machines, M200 pressed up and fixed herself towards the sniper's location just as a shot rang out and barely missed IDW. Not even a second passed before M200 returned fire, a single empty round ejecting as she cycled her bolt and fired again. Walls tablet buzzed again, he looked down and saw an impact on the window frame of the sniper's room, then another directly inside followed by an unnecessarily large explosion. The fireball washed out his IR image, so he switched to normal color, not like it was going to give him anything in the storm though.

"Gottem I think, I did use an HE round but, uhh." M200 paused as she kept her eyes on target, "I think whoever that was had extra stuff?"

IDW rushed back in, shaking herself dry like some animal as soon as she had a roof over her head. "Good shot!" she chirped out, "Hey grandpa did you like that?"

Wall at his point was the only person still down on the ground. Both of the dolls were now staring down at him with waiting smiles. He pursed his lips, squinted, and keyed his mic, "All players, Sage, sniper appears to be KIA." With that, he pressed himself up off the floor and walked over to IDW, grabbing the top of her plate carrier and pulling her in close. The doll's ears went back, and her face changed from happy to scared in a split second. After a moment of staring her down, he glanced at M200, whose eyes were wide open. He turned back to IDW and leaned in, she closed her eyes and grimaced, he gave her a light kiss on the forehead and let go of her plate carrier, only to pat her on the shoulder.

"I fucking forget how actually tactically proficient you two are sometimes. You both get free grill me anytime passes for me assuming looks meant how well you can fight. Fuck me silly that whole move was clean as shit, like you've both been practicing it or something." He left the dumbfounded SMG and walked over to M200 and smacked her on the back, "Really though that was good shit, next time just don't go into stupid sacrifice mode."

"Are…are you ok?" M200 asked

Wall looked back at her confused, then down at himself. "I'm not bleeding, am I?"

"No, it's just, that was the best compliment you've ever given us, and it uh…"

"Seemed real?" IDW added in

"Bahh all my compliments are real," he walked over to where he had dropped his pipe earlier and picked it up. "Sometimes though the level of proudness I feel changes, and right now it's pretty fucking high, so don't fuck up the rest of the day, and ill-treat yall to something nice."

"Sage, Spaniard" Juan had asked over the radio, breaking the feel-good moment inside.

"Go"

"We are about to run up outside yours, haven't seen anything on the route down, wanna chat for a minute and hitch a ride with us? We got some extra seats for the crew."

He looked over at his two, and gave them a thumbs up or a thumbs down. They both nodded and IDW started to help M200 pack her gear up.

"Sounds like a plan, we are on our way down." He turned around and stuffed his pipe and tobacco back into his gear bag, then tossed it over his shoulders. "I'm gonna head down, ill meet yall by the main door alright?"

"Sounds good!" IDW called back, holding M200s utility bag open.

With that, he made his way to the now broken-down door and stopped at its threshold. He took a moment to get eyes on the stairway exit, then bolted for it to avoid getting shot by another sniper. The move would've looked a lot cooler if he hadn't almost slipped on his first step. Once he was down a safe amount into the stairwell, he made sure his helmet was still clipped on, and shoulder his weapon. It didn't matter they had cleared it out before, because no one had been watching all the entryways for a good minute, anyone could have come in. With a deep breath, he moved into the second floor with his gun ready.

There was no time constraint, so he moved slowly and methodically. Each step was as light as it needed to be, the storm outside drowning out other movements. His rifle moved with his head as he took chances to pie doors and look for traces of interaction other than their own. Only when he reached the stairs heading down to the first floor did he realize his mistake.

Why the fuck did I go alone

His hair stood up on the back of his neck, and that sense of long-forgotten dread came back in a flood of chemical reactions. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he was feeling an emotion at its max level. Something awful was going to happen, he didn't know what it was or what caused it, but every fiber in his body was telling him to leave the building. The issue was getting worse, his heart rate was spiking, and he could feel the onset of cold sweats.

He was having a panic attack.

"Fuck me auh.." He lowered his weapon and grabbed ahold of the railing next to the stairs leading down. "Relax man you're, we are chill man let's go." His arm was starting to shake like it would if he had been workout out all day.

"You're not fine"

That voice was back, and it was real again.

The crunch of glass underneath a heavy-set foot brought him back to reality. His brain reversed its mode and went into overdrive on finding the new threat. As quickly as he could he grabbed his gun and leaned over the railing, pointing the weapon down. He was too late though, someone else had theirs trained on him.

His mind didn't process it fast enough, the whole situation that is. Without regard for his life, he flicked the safety selector to auto and held down the trigger, ducking off to the side as his rounds impacted whatever was below. He wasn't thinking straight, he knew that, he was still trying to recover from whatever the fuck just happened to him.

"Friendly!" The voice from below called out

"Fuck you are!" Wall yelled back, dropping his now empty magazine and replacing it. "CONTACT FIRST FLOOR!" he yelled out, hoping IDW and M200 would hear. Realizing the idiocy of not just sending it to them via his link, he cursed at himself and got up.

'CONTACT FIRST FLOOR, NEED ASSISTANCE' – Wall

"Please! Your G&K right?!" The voice yelled back, it was feminine. Something in his brain racked it as a familiar voice.

Another voice came over, this one even more panicked. "Wall! Wall we got fucking hostile air heading towards yours!" It was Juan, he and been so loud that the voice escaped his headset.

"Everyone we have a Sangvis attack chopper on station!" Juan again yelled out over the net, this time broadcasting to all.

"Fuck! WHERE ARE YOU TWO!" Wall yelled out, hoping his team was finally done packing.

"W-Whats going on?!" the voice below called out.

"Drop your fucking weapon and make yourself known!" He called back, risking it all to peak over and look down.

A rifle flew into view and bounced against the stairs, then slid down a little. A person came into view, and Wall snaped his rifle to the target, hovering his sights right on the head. Then personal recognition came into play, he remembered who this was. It was the same girl, or doll rather, from when he had been almost killed at Bands outpost. It was the same doll from the brief, except now she looked worse for wear.

M4A1 had seen better days, she was dirty, wet, and looked like she had been in a near-constant gunfight. If dolls had the total ability to mimic humans, he was certain that her eyes would have been dead too.

"M4A1?" he asked, lowering his weapon just slightly.

The thump thump thump of a rotary aircraft was getting closer. He turned around and looked out of a window behind him, then back to M4. He was going to say something to the doll when IDW yelled for him.

"Wall!"

He turned again and saw her and M200 running at him at full speed, their gear bouncing slightly. He gave them a small smile, "bout fucking time!"

Then the world slowed down.

M200 was the first to go, a rocket impacted the building outside the wall and the blast and fireball blew the doll into a room she was running past. Another impact, everyone's reactions were slow, he watched as the building and hallways between M200 and IDW slowly disappear, then as a fireball engulfed IDW. Death was slowly inching its way towards him, impact after impact. Mere seconds away from his demise, he decided to toss himself over the railing and down towards M4, he was only a quarter of the way over when a rocket hit near him. His fall was turned into a throw as he was launched to the other side of the stairwell, he slid down headfirst on his back to the first floor as the helicopter continued its attack run. He tasted blood and was trying to say something when M4 grabbed him by the back of his plate carrier and started to pull him underneath a door frame nearby.

A little under ten seconds had passed since the initial volley of rockets, and M4 was still pulling him away as the building started to crumble around him. He could hear guns spool up and open fire on the second story. Both M200 and IDW's IFF signatures went blank, then RED, indicating they were deceased. What brainpower that still existed in him went into overdrive. He pulled his tablet off the face of his gear and looked to see if any of the shanks had eyes of the chopper in their FOV.

Two of them did.

He highlighted the helo and sent the command for both the loitering munitions to kill it.

10 seconds for the first impact, 15 for the second, it wouldn't be fast enough.

Someone was yelling over the radio, but he couldn't hear them at this point. It sounded like the chopper was hovering right outside the damn building and going to town with its guns. Out of options and not knowing what to do next, Wall grabbed his gun, and huddled up into the doorframe. M4 crouched down and met his eyes, "We will be okay" she mouthed, then tried her best to cover him with her body, like a mother protecting their child in a storm. The building started to come down after that, little by little, then the whole thing. He felt rubble smack onto M4 and then him, then everything went black. He was still awake, M4 had slid off him and was groaning.

Then the first shank hit its target, a loud BOOM outside followed by an engine failing. By the sounds of it, he guessed it wasn't a hard kill, it sounded like the pilot was trying to regain control. Then the second shank hit home, another BOOM led only by the attack chopper smashing into the ground. Five seconds passed in relative silence, save for M4s pained groaning. Wall blinked a couple of times, and then took a flashlight off his belt. He turned it on, only to see they were surrounded by rubble of the like. He started to cough and moved the light to M4, her arm was bent completely backwards, and she was leaking fluid from it, and her head.

"You ok?" He asked as he repositioned himself slightly, not wanting to cause a cave-in.

"N-no.." the doll said back, eyes closed, she was grimacing and holding her broken arm.

He looked around and saw a smear of light starting to bleed in from a gap in the rubble. He took a gamble and used his prosthetic arm to press the broken concrete slab away. It fell down, followed by some more rubble. He flipped around and covered M4 this time for a second, only turning back when it had all stopped. A gap big enough for him to move through had opened up to the outside world.

"Can you move M4?" he asked as he made his way to the gap, making sure it was safe to travel through.

"Ah..yeah, yeah I'm up.." She said back, grabbing onto the back of his belt as he moved out and into the open. She followed close behind him, only letting go once they were both outside.

"Ok uh, stay here, helps on the way I think, I gotta find my team."

"Sounds…sounds good…I can repair myself…" He turned around and watched as M4 propped herself up against a broken pillar and pulled out a small repair kit.

She should be good right? It doesn't matter right now…

He turned back around and took his first step, making sure his weapon still had a round in it. Only then did he notice he was bleeding from various locations. Nothing seemed like it was deep, only surface-level cuts, he ignored them and pressed on.

"IDW! M200!" He yelled out.

'YALL ALIVE' – Wall

He tried to retrace his steps through the broken building, "CAT! LONG GUN! WHERE YALL AT!" His voice sounded rough, a lot rougher than usual. A piece of debris moved on his right, and he slung his weapon over to its location.

"Grand…" A weak voice let out, it was IDWs.

"Cat!" He yelled back and ran over to her, almost falling once on the way. He crouched down where the rubble had moved, he could see grime-ridden face undeath some collapsed flooring. "Hold on hold on I gotchya kid." He took a moment to look at the area, hoping that he wouldn't hurt her more if he moved something. But he wasn't an expert, and he didn't know if time was on his side. He grabbed a piece that looked like it covered her torso and picked it up. It was heavy, very heavy. But he hadn't wasted most of his life working out for no reason. With a good deal of struggle, he moved the slab off her and tossed it to the side. He looked back down and saw IDW was missing her leg, both torn clean off just an inch or so below the waist.

"Fuck, ok kid you'll be alright ok?" He was about to reach down and move her.

"I…I'm backed up…I'll be fine" She gave him a sad and pained smile.

"No no no, listen you'll be alright Juan's on the way, what do I need to do?" he had seen that same look before, heard those same words before mostly.

She looked up at him, "Find M200," she reached out her hand, and he grabbed it. "I have…forty minutes…till I die…my core is ok….I think…"

He tightened his grip on her hand, then let go. "Ok…ok… stay here alright?"

"I can't move too much…anyways..ha.." She let out, lacking all her normal energy.

"Your far too funny to die right now kid, I'll be back."

She smiled again and pressed herself up slightly. Wall stood back up and was about to start looking for M200 when he heard pained coughing from the downed helo. He turned and started walking towards it, weapon ready.

The wreckage was strewn about the road, the tail section was lying on top of a building right across the street, and what was left of the fuselage was burning in the center of the street. The turret was off to the side, smoldering and pointing straight up. He heard the coughing again, and turned to see a blood trail leading behind a broken-down car. He approached it carefully, weapon ready. He peeked around the corner and saw an individual in a black flight suit, helmet still on.

"Don't fucking move!" He yelled out.

The individual did the opposite, wall saw the revolver coming up to meet him, he fired a round and tore off the bicep that was holding the handgun. The individual screamed in pain, wall kicked them down to the ground and jumped on top of them, slinging his weapon off to the side. With little resistance, he tore the helmet off and was met with the grizzled face of a man. The man screamed something in Russian, his face was full of hate, one of his eyes was completely bloodshot and blood was dribbling out of his nose.

Wall returned the favor, "FUCKKKK YOUUUUUU!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, his broken voice distorting the words. Something in him clicked, the rage that carried him through World War 3 flooded back. He grabbed the wounded man by the collar and slammed him hard to the ground. The man tried to fight back, his good arm reaching for Walls's throat, his bleeding half stump just flailing through the air. Wall picked him up again and slammed him back into the ground, moving his hand towards his throat right after. The man kept the fight up as Wall choked the life out of him. Red rage flooded his vision, double by the fact he could see an old soviet air force tattoo on the man's neck.

All bets were off, he was going to kill him.

Then another unexpected turn of events happened. As Wall tightened his grip on the man's neck, something, or someone hit him in the back, hard. His grip faltered and he fell off the man, catching spurting blood on his face. He flipped over and drew his handgun in a practiced and quick motion, squeezing the trigger as he lined up whatever hit him. He paused, just less than a pound of squeeze away from ending a life.

It was PzB, she was pointing her gun and him.

"I told you to fucking stop!" She yelled out, concern growing on her face.

"Wall! Wall fuck!" Juan called out, running over to his friend. Wall fell back to the ground, releasing his trigger and letting out a deep sigh.

"I'm good, M4 and IDW are over there in the building." He pointed with his 1911, not caring for any safety at this point. Juan kneeled down next to him and took the sidearm away, decoking it before putting it back in his holster.

"Gringo you are pretty beat up.." Juan looked up, "Aug! get a fucking TQ on that idiot!" he nodded in the general direction of the wounded pilot. "82, 590, secure the fucking area! Pezz and Python, start looking for survivors!"

"Juan…" Wall said as he raised his hand, Juan grabbed it and helped him up.

"What's up man?!"

He looked at his friend, Juan's face aired concern, "I think I lost M200 man..."

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ALEXANDER GARDEN / MOSCOW / 25JUL62 0921 LOCAL

Early morning Moscow was as busy as ever. Weather predicted a nice warmer than usual summer day, so families were out and about. Inside the Kremlin, state members went about their daily tasks. Outside, on a bench in the Alexander Gardens, Alexi Troksev was reading the daily news and enjoying a smoke. Alexi was a senior member of the FSB, or Federal Security Service, and in charge of a branch within the KCCO. He was on duty currently, and was taking a small break before going to another intel brief on threats for the Union.

The news was boring, it was all state-sponsored crap anyways. Not to say he wouldn't live and die for his country and its people, but the information stranglehold on basic town news erkd him to this day. He sighed, folded his paper, and took one last inhale on his cigarette before tapping out the rest and tossing it into a bin. He stood up, stretched, and placed the newspaper underneath his arm. He started to walk towards the parking lot nearby, he had left his car there and wanted to grab a bite to eat before continuing his day. Something caught his eye though, something only someone that had been working as long as he had would've noticed. A white van, with markings tailing to a normal cleaning company.

It didn't add up in his mind, that company only came on Thursdays, but today was a Wednesday. He smiled, it could've been a mix-up, a contractor error, or someone had called them in, or a plethora of different reasons. But he knew what it was. Deep in his stomach, he knew it wasn't supposed to be there. He paused to place his newspaper on a bench nearby, then made his way over to the van.

Once close enough, he unbuttoned his jacket, making it easier to draw his concealed MP433. Alexi approached from the rear of the vehicle, his course perfected just so anyone inside wouldn't have noticed him until the last second. He could see a face in the driver's seat, looking down at something. He knocked on the driver's window and smiled again when the man inside jumped a little. The window rolled down and Alexi smelt something odd.

"Good morning comrade, here on an off day eh?" He asked, pressing an alert button on his belt, notifying the FSB and police of a potential spy or terrorist.

"Ahhh yes.." The driver responded, he smiled back at Alexi. "My brother got called, something about a broken sink inside…"

"Inside where Comrade?" Alexi pressed the question, where did he remember this smell from? He noticed the man looked sickly.

The driver's smile turned sour, unnerving even, "Inside is inside comrade? Who are you…"

Alexi pulled his FSB badge, and gun, at the same time. He pulled them both up and pointed them at the driver. "A concerned citizen, now comrade, step out of the van before I kill you, yes?"

The diver stifled a laugh, "A bit too late for that one commie." He said in pure English. As he finished, something in the back of the Van started to beep.

Alexi's eyes went wide, he shot the man in the face at point-blank range. The beeping didn't stop. He grabbed a small radio from his belt and opened the side door to the van.

"EVACUATE EVERYONE NOW!" was the last thing he ever said. The device inside detonated and killed him.

----------------------------------------

UNKNOWN / UNITED STATES / 24JUL62 1625 LOCAL

"Mister one?"

An automatic door slid open, then closed again. The room was dimly lit as always, just enough to never be able to make out the face of the man sitting behind the desk.

"Good morning Mister Trident…" The leader of the Big Six said back, the faint glow of a cigarette moved up to what would be his lips. "How can I help you?"

"Sir our sources report active detonation of the ELID device in Moscow. We can expect intelligence to give casualty numbers within the hour."

"Estimated or actual?"

"Estimated to be in the tens of thousands at first, since the device wasn't tested, it may be a lot higher."

"Let's hope for higher Mister Trident."

"Ah…yes sir…" gulped, in all his years of employment, no one ever made him as nervous as the leader of the Big Six did.

"Something wrong?"

"Sir, couldn't we have nuked them? Or used a different chemical? ELID is just…"

A low and deep laugh made him stop. "I lost my son to ELID, I know what it does, and I wanted them to feel that pain." stood up and started to walk towards a group of TVs on the wall. The lights around him auto dimmed, keeping most of his figure hidden. He waved his hand and the TVs turned on, various news channels, intel articles, and other images came and went.

"Nothing breeds fear like a terror attack, and nothing sets hate like a mutual enemy. EU Ultra-Nationalists planned this attack, that's all the Soviets will know…and Mister Trident?"

"Yes…sir?"

"Get Red ready for Germany, whispers of a G&K commander up there knowing something, and that something isn't good, I need him to cozy up to some upper echelon"

"Understood sir."

NOTES -

NGSW 6.8 Is now the MCX Spear, or Spear. Forgot it actually had a name, when its designation changes again, expect me to adapt to it.

Sorry for the overall delay, was supposed to drop this midish may, but opted to write up a 40k GFL oneshot for some writing style testing and 40k brain dump shit, if you like that idea it will be up eventually.

As always, I do hope you enjoy what I'm pushing out. If anything looks stupid or reads bad, don't hesitate to talk shit, constructive or unconstructive.