()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM><BIN>9</BIN><黑屏1>0,10</黑屏1>:
()||<黑屏2><BIN>9</BIN>:
()<Speaker>???</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:...Oho, looks like a friend of justice is in a bit of a pickle.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<黑屏2><BIN>168</BIN>:You're...
()||<BGM>BGM_Room</BGM>:416 freezes as she sees the Doll in the lead.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:(I can't believe it's actually her...)+(Ha, what a joke! Is this what they mean when they say "it's a small world"?)
UMP45(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Oh, don't get me wrong, I had no intention of helping you.+It's just that the people we were investigating...happened to be talking to you.
UMP45(0);UMP9(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:45! This Doll's still functioning, but her body's taken severe damage and I can't pick up her surface cognizance.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>;UMP9(0)||:Ah...don't use that name around outsiders. I told you that before, didn't I?
UMP9(0)<Speaker>???</Speaker>||:Ehe... I forgot...
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:UMP45, do I have your name right?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Oh?
()||:The Doll with a scar running down her left eye narrows her eyes slightly as she sizes up 416, then she gives the latter an enigmatic smile.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:So it's you...long time no see. And here I was thinking that you looked very familiar.+Given the filthy state you're in...I do apologize for not recognizing you.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:What are you doing here?!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:I'd like to ask you the same question.+I heard that the Griffin Dolls in your batch were all destroyed after their mission was cancelled. Looks like you've been very lucky.
UMP45(0);HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:You don't look like you were sent here by Griffin either, am I right? +And that Doll beside you...she isn't a Griffin model.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(0)||:Very perceptive. It looks like despite losing your fire control core and access to the Zener Protocol, you haven't lost any of your previous data. +You should have just reformatted your neural cloud and become a maid or something. It suits you better.
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Why you! +Answer me, UMP45!
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Oi, aren't you being a little rude? +If you want someone to answer your questions, you ought to be more polite!
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:I wasn't talking to you.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Forget it, 9. We don't need to bicker with her. +After all, all she has left is her anger, and all she can do is wallow in it.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Even without my fire control core, I can still snap the neck of a weak little Doll like you.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Ooooh...I'm sooooo scared. +Let me think, how shall we make this former elite Griffin Doll see some sense?
()||:UMP45 giggles as she stands nonchalantly in front of 416. +Looking at a perfectly composed UMP45, 416 finds it harder and harder to match the sight before her with the wimpy Doll in her memory.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:(What...happened to her? She feels completely different from before.)
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:What happened after I left?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(0)||:That's a long story. Maybe we could find a café and have a good chat — assuming, of course, that you're willing to listen. +Still, what I can tell you now is that all the Dolls that took part in the operation back then no longer exist...except yours truly.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:...What?!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||<BGM>BGM_Brain</BGM>:The mission failed. Everyone died. It's just that simple.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Then what about M16?! She kicked me out of the squad to protect you!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:I'm not sure if I finished her off for good back then, but I heard that she was recovered by a research institute of some kind. Maybe she was still usable after being fixed and reformatted? +However, perhaps she was right - it was better that you didn't take part in the battle... At the very least, you're still standing here, full of energy and life to growl pointlessly at me, isn't that right?
UMP45(0);HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Dammit...she...
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:I haven't paid her back for what she did, how could she just forget me like that?! I won't accept this!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:That's your problem. +If you can't let go of the matter, then live on and go find her.
UMP45(0);HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:... Wait a minute. +According to what you said, you escaped from that place too?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(0)||:That's right. Now I'm like you, an illegal Doll with neither master nor employer. +Ah, I suddenly have an idea. How about it, want to join our little Illegal Dolls' Club?
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Join your club? Are you kidding me?! +My present circumstances are only temporary. Someday, I'm going to find a way to return to Griffin!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:Ah...such a lofty aspiration for an illegal, core-less Doll who doesn't even have access to the Zener Protocol.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:I'm not an illegal Doll... I was born for combat from the start! +I was specially made by I.O.P.! I've always been a specialized Tactical Doll of Griffin!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:Ah, but if I remember correctly, they usually take your weapons back when they remove your core, so why are you still holding that gun? Did you snatch it while you were fleeing? +Tsk tsk, what a fearsome obsession you have... Unfortunately, given your current condition, you probably wouldn't even be able to hit an elephant. +Oh yes, and that would be assuming you still had rounds for your gun in the first place.
UMP45(0);HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker><Shake>||:Grr...
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(0)||:Whether you were originally designed as a Tactical Doll or a toaster, it's plain to see that you're not doing very well as either. +Fortunately, I happen to have connections that can help me acquire a fire control core and ammunition...but not for free, of course. +Look at it this way, if you join us and obey me, I'll give you what you want in exchange.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Are you kidding me? I'd never make a deal like that with you!
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(3)||:And what about that Doll on the ground? Didn't you want to save her just now? I can add another condition and make repairing her part of the terms of our deal.
UMP45(0);HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:And if I said no? Would you just leave her to die?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>;HK416(0)||:Of course.
UMP45(0);HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<震屏>:You bitch! +I've always hated you, but I've never hated you more than this very moment! +Who gave a selfish, useless Doll like you the right to stay in the team back then...and what gives you the right to decide someone else's fate right now?!
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Well, I have to say, you still don't seem to understand your situation. +I've remained civil throughout our conversation, but that doesn't mean I'm not angry.
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Did you actually save her just now? You're only deluding yourself into thinking you did. +And if I hadn't done anything just now, the two of you would have been early morning specials on the Doll black market.+You're just looking at this world in a self-absorbed way, still lost in your childish thoughts. You have no idea how much effort went into saving you. All you know is to whine about this and moan about that.+Someone like you really ought to just disappear.
()||<SE1>AVG_weapon_reload</SE1>:UMP45 raises her weapon and lays the sight squarely between 416's eyes.
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Huh? 45? Are you going to shoot? Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to save as many Dolls as you could...
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Shut up, 9.
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Okie...
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...
()||:416 glares hatefully at UMP45, and UMP45 responds with a condescending look in her eyes. +After a long while, UMP45 slowly lowers the gun she's pointing at 416.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:I'll let you off today. You can leave with that Doll on the ground over there. It was never my business to begin with.
()||:416 says nothing. Instead, she runs over to the white-haired Doll who's collapsed on the ground. She looks at the dents on her limbs and face, hesitates for a moment, then scoops her up.+UMP45 looks at them one last time and turns away.
()||<BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:UMP9 nervously questions her but 45 simply waves her off without saying anything. Just as they're about to leave the area, a shout comes from behind them.
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<BGM>BGM_Truth</BGM>:UMP45! Why are you living on like this?!
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Why are you running from your past, from your former friends, and scraping out a miserable existence in this illegal gray area?! +If I'm being childish, then is what you're doing considered mature?!
()||:UMP45 stops, but does not turn back.
()<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:I didn't choose to run away, and I didn't choose to live a miserable life.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Then what are you doing now?
()<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:I'm going to find the culprit who killed everyone and caused the passing of my best friend. +I've taken steps to obtain weapons that I can use to fight, found better modules, and I've even found friends I can work with. I'm not like you, who gets by with a mouth that can only spew nonsense! +What have YOU been doing? Searching for batteries every day to keep yourself topped off, like a cell phone?!
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:I can...I can do all of that too!
()<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Do you have a credit account? Can you find someone to maintain your body for you? +Can you alter your base layer access privileges to protect yourself? Can you find weapons and ammo to keep fighting? +What can you do? You can't do anything!
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:There'll be a way... I'll find a way out of this!
()<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:You're just lying to yourself! +You talk about wanting to go back and find her, but you can't even protect that illegal Doll by your side! +What can you accomplish just by wanting something?
()||<SE1>Rope</SE1>:416 lowers her head and clenches her hands into fists. She knows that 45 is right, but she doesn't want to face the facts.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...If you can save her...
()<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:What?
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:If you can save this Doll, I'll take orders from you, but just this once! +If I don't approve of what you're doing, I'll leave immediately! That's my condition!
()||:At that, UMP45 flashes an unreadable smile.+She gestures at UMP9, who gives a nod and runs over to scoop up the unconscious Doll. 45 grins as she looks at 416, sending a chill down 416's spine.
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:Hehe, I'll take that as a yes. Let's begin our arrangement, then~
()||<黑屏2><BIN>88</BIN><BGM>BGM_Empty</BGM>:...Several days later, in a certain abandoned warehouse in the city.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Catch. This is what you wanted, right?
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<SE1>ClothingUp</SE1>:This is...! Ja, that's it.
()||<BGM>10194</BGM>:416 opens the crate, and with unparalleled familiarity, she swiftly assembles the parts within into an assault rifle.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<SE1>Select</SE1>:While I should probably zero it first, having this in hand is very reassuring.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:I'm not too familiar with makes, models and whatnot, but he calibrated this gun to your condition, and he also prepared ammo of a matching caliber. +With this, along with the fire control core and the deletion of the prohibition of assault against humans, I've given you everything that I owe you.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Don't forget, our deal includes fixing that Doll.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:You still want more even after such a big down-payment... I haven't even made a cent back yet. I'm losing big on this deal.+I just hope that afterwards, you'll prove that you have the skills to pay the bills.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:So, what do you need me to do?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Our client — that young machinist you saw earlier — heard that there were gangs doing business in illegal Dolls, so he asked me to investigate the situation.
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Ah, you mean like that couple I KO'd with my slingshot the other day?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Ja. In an uncharacteristic turn of events, 9 made a big contribution. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to take them alive with guns. +After sticking tracking devices on them, we managed to find the group's base soon after. +They're villains through and through, but they didn't even take precautions to protect themselves. How laughable.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Now that you know where the criminal organization is based, why not report it to the police and let them handle it?
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Ha, how naïve do you have to be to say that...
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Our client once thought the same way, but the police always ended up missing them. That group always had enough time to escape, change their location, then set up shop again.+The most logical explanation is that either the group has bought the local cops, or they have connections keeping an eye on the inner workings of the police. +Now that we've gone to all this trouble to find their new base, forewarning them will only waste all the effort we put into our earlier investigations.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:So that kid hired us to take down this organization? And he's paying you for it? How does he benefit?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:It's probably because the lives of rich people are always dry and boring. Sometimes, having fun is very important.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:You can't really tell that he's wealthy or anything just by looking...
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:All that machinery in his workshop isn't cheap, and given his age, there's no way he could have shouldered the burden of purchasing all that. +Also, he can order fire control cores and ammunition off the black market, things that shouldn't even be purchasable normally. Do you think an ordinary person could do that?
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Fair enough. Anyway, let's take it that I believe our client is reliable for the time being — so how about you?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Me?
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:What's in it for you?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:It's a trade. In exchange, I gain the resources I need for the next step of my plan. That's all.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:Going up against an armed, illegal organization like this is extremely risky, even for a Tactical Doll. +We're not like how we were before. We don't have Griffin to back us up, and if we fail, it means we're gone for good... I'm sure that in your case, you clearly have a thousand other ways to make the necessary money. +I don't think that you in your present state are taking this risk simply "to obtain resources".
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:...
()||:UMP45 stares at 416, the corner of her mouth curling up slightly.
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:There are a few other reasons... Perhaps I'll tell you about it someday, when we become sisters who can share everything with each other.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Forget it. I don't think that day will ever come. +Smash an illegal Doll-trafficking syndicate or whatever; are you trying to be a comic book superhero? +If you do things with that juvenile mindset, I won't be able to work with you for long.
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:Hehe, but isn't there another superhero here who jumped out in front of a gun for the sake of a Doll she didn't even know?
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Shut it.
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Alright, that's enough. We need to finish this job before we and the new intern start killing each other. +To cut a long story short, I'm going to hack into the power supply in the sewers to throw the Doll traffickers into confusion. Then you'll charge in and take everyone down. +According to the data our trackers picked up, there may be several core members of the group, as well as a few dozen low-level hitters they use to gather ownerless Dolls from all around or to assault and rob civilian Dolls walking around outside by themselves. +I predict that when we attack, there'll be around ten-odd fences in the base. +These people have small arms and some degree of anti-Doll EW hardware. As Dolls, a head-on confrontation will probably leave us at a disadvantage. Any questions?
UMP9(0)<Speaker>UMP9</Speaker>||:That's a quick and simple operation~
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:It's because I've taken care of the part that needs the most brain work.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:When you say "take down", do you mean eliminating the enemy or just rendering them unable to resist?
UMP45(0)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:I don't know. I'm just relaying the client's request in his own words. In practice, just make sure you don't give the opposition a chance to make a move. +Besides, we'll be informing the police when we withdraw after the operation is complete, so I'll let you decide how you want to handle that.
()||:416 closes her eyes, and an image of a ruffian beating up a Doll with a baseball bat fills her neural cloud. She makes up her mind.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:...Understood. When do we move out?
UMP45(3)<Speaker>UMP45</Speaker>||:Do you have to ask? Right now, of course.
HK416(0)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||:(Her eyes...make me really uncomfortable. For some reason, she looks like she's hiding some kind of ulterior motive under that not-quite-a-smile of hers.)+(However, I don't have any way out of this now.)
HK416(3)<Speaker>416</Speaker>||<黑屏1>:Let's go, then. I'll prove my worth to you.