Girl's Frontline: Wicked Animandum

AA-12 was ready to do whatever you ordered, but you raise your hand to halt her. There's not much you can do from this position, you are in a poor place to negotiate. Back to square one… or square negative one?

There's only one way you'll outplay her, and that's with another surprise attack. You can only gamble.

"Well then, you don't want him dead, but you're still taking him… Ransom then? Maybe you plan to negotiate a higher reward with The Contractor?"

VMS cocks her head, as if thinking about your question. A glowing lightbulb appears on her mask, as if you've just inspired her. That can't be good… but she shakes her head soon after. Somehow, that was the most straightforward gesture you've received from her so far.

"Well, glad I'm giving you ideas…" You sigh, leaning against the wall and trying to stand up again. Your leg is wobbly and audibly creaks, but you manage to stand up somewhat. Your stature might be small, but the backbone of negotiation is to stand your ground.

"C'mon V, just hack her or something, or throw a 'nade."

Can't. She's too fast for a riskless shot, what she carries is too valuable to throw grenades, and for some reason you can't hack her…

"Sorry 12, I think I expended most of my awesome for today."

You crack a smile, but you're sure that this time, AA-12 can see through it. She sees that you've got the breath knocked out of you, that tingle of desperation in your eyes. Your face might've looked different if you were alone.

All the while, VMS keeps taking steps backwards. Just as you begin to wonder how she actually plans to get Mack away, you notice a car stopping at the alley's end. One of the cars you saw at the hotel entrance, covered in vinyls and gang insignia. Three men step out, two wearing bandanas and caps, the third with dreads.

"Hah, it's the boss! She's got the target!"
"And it seems a little opposition too…"
"The cops will be here soon, we've got to hurry!"

They all pulled out their sidearms and aimed them your way. Seems your stalling has gotten you into an even worse position now…

"Damn it…" you curse under your breath.

VMS' steps hasten, now under the cover of her gang members. Their choice of words, "boss", interest you. Is this T-doll really their boss? She not only took part in this bloodbath, she instigated it?

"... V? I don't think we can take them, even if we shoot to kill…" AA-12 whispered.

"..."

… the prospect of acknowledging when you're outmatched-

"... Mack? Listen to me. I know you're crafty. You'll make it through this, alright?"

-is never appealing. You already had to let go of your past once, and now when a fragment of it returns, it's slipping right through your fingers… as much as you don't want it to happen again, there's just no way you're walking away without one of you dying if you try.

"U-um, I appreciate your enthusiasm, m-my dear Veresk, b-but I'm not quite feeling it in this position…"

"Hah…" you chuckle. "... and VMS?"

The doll's gaze snaps towards you, or at least it looks that way. Her thugs seemed to react too, their enthusiastic smiles dropping like shell casings.

"What'd she just call the boss?"
"She ain't just gonna let her get away with that, right?"
"The audacity…"

Yet you stared her down, because you know there's just a pair of eyes behind that mask, just like any other.

"... this is one bridge you don't want to burn."

Her mask is once again blank, devoid of expression. Once she finally gets to their getaway vehicle, she hands Mack over to her goons to stuff in the back seat. VMS herself jumps into the driver's seat, and slaps the hood for everyone to get in. A smoking tire on her display mask communicates that it's time to burn some rubber.

It barely takes you a moment to blink before they're gone, leaving only dust in their wake. You exhale, hunching forward. AA-12 also drops her shoulders in annoyance.

"You sure that maniac is gonna keep him alive? She seems the type to send him back to you limb by limb."

"If nothing else, it'll buy us some time."

"... you're a gambler, V."

"Only when it's the last resort… mind helping me out?"

Setting her displeasure aside for a moment, AA-12 offers you one of her shield arms to support yourself with. You then begin to wobble on towards the jeep.

"By the way, where's Groza?"

You were then interrupted by the sound of sirens behind you. Where the gangsters made their getaway just moments ago, now a police car is making its way in. Neither you or AA-12 want trouble with the police now, so you hasten your steps and-

BOOM!

You paid witness as an explosion from above cause debris to fall from the buildings and block the alleyway, separating you and the cops. You then see none other than Ots-14 jump down from a window.

"You sure took your sweet time." Huffed AA-12.

"Thank me later. Found the target yet?"

"You just missed them. They took him away."

"Alive…?" Groza glances down the alley, then back to you. "Too late to engage pursuit I'm assuming?"

"..."

"... get V in the back, I'll drive."

Professional as ever, the assault rifle strolls over to the jeep and jumps into the driver's seat. With wounded pride and body, you climb into the backseat, and watch as the place of this unsuccessful confrontation distances itself.

— Raincheck —

"Hold still, some bent metal is halting coolant flow. I'm gonna straighten it out…"

You wince slightly as you feel the shifts and turns within your leg, the owner of the garage shop digging her way in with screwdrivers and pliers. But the pain doesn't feel the way it usually does… or rather, you don't feel it to the usual degree...

"This is bad…" You hear David's voice, pacing back and forth nearby. "If they captured Mack… goodness knows what they've got planned for him…"

"Don't you know this employer of yours?" says AA-12, sitting on a nearby tire, filling an empty drum magazine with shells. "What could they wanna do with him?"

"... beats me. I figured they'd have just killed him. I mean, that is what they were going for with me… right?" He raises his arm in an inquisitive way, but it's an answerless question. "So why did they take him alive?"

"Chances are those weren't the contractor's orders." Pipes in Groza, who's swapping modifications from her assault rifle and stashing them into her weapon case. "Those weren't hitmen, they were just a gang making a hit. V said they resembled the… Deadline Tsars, was it?"

"The Tsars? This would've sounded like their typical M.O…."

"Would've?"

"... town has changed quite a bit since Heather was last here." He sighed. "Back in the day, the Tsars were just troublemakers, vandals. Opportunists mostly, and big show-offs. But about a year back, they've become a lot more organised. There were rumours about new management, but nothing concrete."

"Hah, surprised a city boy like you heard about that." says the mechanic, with a half-mocking tone.

"I used to get my hands dirty back in the day, when I was still working with Heather. The Tsars tried to steal a package from us once. Didn't work out for them." He looks towards you, a gaze of worry and… something else. "Can't believe they got the better of you like that…"

"It was because of that Doll… VMS or whatever." AA-12 butts in. "If it wasn't for her, this Mack guy would be safe and sound with us by now. What a freak…"

"So they're using dolls now? How did thugs get their hands on hardware like that?"

"Actually… The other gangsters referred to her as "boss", and it seemed like she was ordering them around. As ridiculous as it sounds…"

"A T-doll, in charge of humans?" her voice followed with her metallic footsteps as Ouroboros joins in on the conversation, looking intrigued. "And here I thought human society would never allow such a thing."

"Ugh, who let the snake out?" groans the shotgun, but before she could shoo her off…

"Nono, she's got a point…" spoke David, getting a raised eyebrow from both the shotgun and the Sangvis. "You're right, they would never allow that…"

"Well of course I've got a point." She puffs out her chest, pouncing at recognition like a predator. "For a doll to have attained such a position of power, she must be very powerful herself."

"Like you?" Groza says wryly.

"Hah, very much so… wait, is that mockery I sense?"

"I dunno, remind me who's in charge here, oh powerful Sangvis?"

"Why you…!"

"Alright alright, calm down everyone." David raises his hands, prompting the dolls to stop glaring at each other. "Speaking of who's in charge…" he turned his head back towards you. "How's the leg?"

"I've done what I can manually, but she's gonna need some time in the repair station." Answered Luv as she wiped her hands from coolant, her hands finally having left your leg. She looks up at you. "Try it out?"

Slowly, you look down. Your leg still looks like shit, but that's mostly because of the exposed internals and ruined stockings. It feels heavy as you give a half-attempt at moving it. Stiff, but it works, you guess. The mechanic grimaces.

"Eh, no permanent damage. Though, lil' gal, I can't fix what's up there." she says, pointing at your noggin. "Why don't you take a walk? The repair bay can wait."

"I-I don't think that's a good idea." interrupts David. "What if they're out looking for us? The Tsars I mean. No offence, but this doesn't seem like the nicest neighbourhood."

"Oh puh-lease." Luv throws her stained cloth to the side, packing away her tools with a smile. "My garage is neutral territory, gangs know not to start shit here. Y'all are safe here… of course, if it keeps being of benefit to me."

David sighed. "I'll get the paperwork…"

You watch idly as they walk away, around and about, but at the same time you don't. Your eyes and your thoughts weren't aligned, nor were they since you arrived. You passively absorb information, but don't react to it. Things are… at a standstill. Sounds were only processed in the back of your mind…

A snapping sound brings you back to reality. You look up to see AA-12 snapping her fingers.

"You okay there V? You've been zoning out since we got back."

"... yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna go take that walk now." you reply, finally deciding to stand up.

"Hold up, I'm coming with you."

You turn around to see AA-12 setting aside the half-full magazine drum and stand up to follow you. You react fast. Perhaps too fast…

"Um, nah it's ok, no need."

"... huh? Why?"

"Uh…"

C'mon Heather, think… you can't let her - or them - see you like this…

[X] "You still need to bring Ouroboros up to speed. I'll be back by then."
[ ] "I'm gonna make a few private calls, check if any of my old contacts still know something. I'm gonna need some quiet for that."
[ ] Throw Ots-14 a "help me" look.

"Oh c'mon, do I have to?" the shotgun almost deflates at the prospect. Ouroboros simply sticks her nose high, like she didn't need this. But you know well that she does.

"Hey now, y'all need to learn to play nice, you hear?"

"Ugh… you're the worst."

"Aw please, you love me~"

The shotgun waves her hand in dismissal of your comment as she turns around. Her exasperation at your orders is not a foreign sight, yet she always does as she's told. This observation goes unspoken though.

You turn around as well, going to take that walk you mentioned. The voices of your teammates finally grew distant and quiet, until you could no longer hear them. Exiting the building though the back exit, you lean your back against the wall and released a deep sigh with closed eyes.

"Where did I go wrong…"

The words released into the air, but you got no response. At least, not from the outside.

"I'd say… just about everywhere, chief."

When you open your eyes again, you are in that little world within your head again, a place of code and data. But this time you can't afford to doze off, so you opt to stay awake as you dive into your digimind. Thus the virtual world and the real world bleed together, allowing you to see your virtual dummies as if they were there with you, though this V-vision only applies to you.

"Gamma." You speak. "Always the pessimist."

Γ: "You made me. Ergo, you're the pessimist, chief." she crosses her arms, her blue eyes glaring at you from under her cap.

"Well, maybe I don't need pessimism right now."

B: "Perhaps a little encouragement, then?" says a lighter, gentler variation of your own voice. Looking to your right, her yellow locks almost seem to glow in the sun.

"No thanks Beta, optimism doesn't sound very productive either."

Γ: "Well, realism is out of the question with Delta still in the closet." argues Gamma. "Ever thought maybe that's the root of this spectacular failure?"

E: "Hey now! No way that's true!" jumped yet another you on your left, her green strands waving loosely with the rapid motions of her head. "This totally ain't our fault! It was that sleazy doll! And the sun was in our eyes! And-"

"Is that really the first thing my gut reached for? Excuses? What the heck Epsilon?"

E: "Ah, um, eheh… uh, sorry… lap pillow to make it better?" Epsilon gives an apologetic smile. You can't help but chuckle.

"Maybe later… Right now, I need ideas. Line up, girls."

At your commanding tone, the dummy links straighten their backs and lined up in front of you, though only two of them managed to keep their eyes on you for more than 10 seconds. Epsilon is already gazing off at clouds in the distance. Despite that, you continued.

"Mack is gone, we've got no leads, and it's probably a matter of time until he is killed, or worse."

E: "What could be worse than death?"

Γ: "Tortured, then killed?"

E: "... fair."

You sigh. "Let's just gather what we know so far. The contractor has hired the newly reformed Deadline Tsars to handle Mack. They opted to kidnap him, which we do not know if it was in line with their original job. Furthermore, they seem to be led by a T-doll, which makes them far more formidable than they've been in the past. Any leads?"

B: "... well-" begins Beta, her golden eyes contemplative. "-perhaps pursuing leads about the contractor might eventually lead us to Mack as well, since they want him just as much. Two birds with one stone, wouldn't you agree, dear Alpha?"

Γ: "Peh, by the time we follow up on any of those leads he might as well be toast. The contractor will have to wait." Gamma disagrees, as is her nature. "Only way we get Mack is by going straight after the gang."

"That sounds like something Epsilon would say."

Γ: "Epsilon would say we should just stroll up into their territory and ask for him. I'm saying we go after them in a sensible way."

"Sensible, but considering the new management and modus operandi of the gang, they might've hidden Mack somewhere else, if their territory is still the same place as it was years ago." You furrow your brow. "Even if it was all the same, that's much too large a territory to search by ourselves, covert or by force."

B: "Very thorough assessment, dear Alpha. Seems there is no clear way to force this with the information we currently have."

"Hm… then we need more info. But from where…?"

E: "Oh! Oh!" Epsilon raises her hand, but doesn't wait until called out to speak anyway. "Let's catch one of their goons and interrogate 'em!"

Γ: "Really? And what'd he tell us? What lady TV face has shown him?"

E: "It's a start, ain't it?"

"Hmm… you're both onto something. We need to catch someone with more info, but not just anyone." You look towards your right. "Seems you weren't far off the mark, Beta. The contractor would know more about this than we do."

Gamma crossed her arms, huffing. Meanwhile, Epsilon was already compiling a mental list of suspects.

Γ: "And pray tell, Alpha, where would we find one such individual?"

"That… is a good question, actually." As you realise this, you also notice that the list Epsilon was making was empty, and was instead just a doodle of Dinnergate. In other words, your mind is drawing a blank. "Hmm… who could I find with ties to the contractor…"

"What about Bizon?"

Suddenly, your gaze snaps to the side at the intrusion of a new voice, one that wasn't a variation of your own for once. Hey cyan eyes caught you off guard.

"G-geez, AA-12, what are you doing here?"

"Making sure my leader hasn't gone completely insane." She replies flatly with her arms crossed under her chest. "Were you seriously just talking to yourself again?"

"C'mon, you know it's more complicated than that." You defended. "And weren't you supposed to bring Ouroboros up to speed?"

"I gave her the crash course, she got all hissy, so now she's Groza's problem." She seems tired just talking about it. "And you're not walking much for someone taking a walk."

You sigh. Whatever image you were trying to uphold has been shattered. Out of the corner of your eye, Beta, Gamma and Epsilon are grimacing, representing your defeat, shame and awkwardness respectively. Thankfully, only you can see them, as AA-12 isn't connected right now.

"... alright, you got me. Your glorious leader, oh so defenceless and vulnerable, you could just sweep me off my feet~"

"Heh, maybe I'll do that. But I'd let you fall, hoping the impact might restart your digimind."

"Ouch, tough love~" You grinned, to which AA-12 rolled her eyes. "Anyway… what was that about Bizon?"

The name was heavy on your lips. The doll that was meant to set you free, only not in the way you anticipated. After her failed attempt to eliminate you, you subdued her partner in crime, Lupara. Bizon ultimately escaped, on the backseat of some mysterious bike rider.

"Right. When they escaped the diner - where you went to deliver the package - you said they raced off towards the city, right? Considering that VMS is in town, who was also at the diner, they might be here too."

"Fair assumption, but we still have no means to track them-"

"C'mon V, how little imagination have you got? You've seen the bike they escaped on, right? You said it was fast and possibly modified. And where are we right now?"

She looks up, which prompts you to look up also. It seems she was directing you towards the building's advertisement sign, the latter half specifically. Luv's Garage.

"... huh, guess I could extract an image from memory and present it to Luv… good one, 12."

"Eh, this is what listening to detective shows till 3AM gets me." She chuckled. "And what hanging around your teammates gets you, V."

"Hah, pot calling the kettle black much?"

"Peh… guess we just both can't take our own advice." Her expression softened. Seems she's getting used to your teasing. A shame almost…

… but she has a point.

"Welp, c'mon. If you want me to be social and talk to the snake, you're sure as hell gonna be there with me."

"Aww, did I make you feel lonely?"

"Not. The. Point."

Eventually, the shotgun convinced you to retrace your steps and return to the garage, where your teammates were waiting for you. The three copies watched the two of you go, chuckling and sighing.

B: "Ah, I hope they'll get together…"
Γ: "They won't."
E: "Fufu, question is if she wants to."
Γ: "You're intuition. Does she?"
E: "I dunno, do you?~"
Γ: "... fucking tease."


Lub eyes the image for a good few seconds. "Huh, yeah, I recognize that one. It's a Ducati Diavel Draxter. Pre-war classic. Worked on that baby a few weeks back."

"So you know the owner?" Asked AA-12, who was sitting next to the table you were lying on as the mechanic continues the repair of your leg.

"Yes and no." She replies simply, reaching for another of her many tools. "I did a few performance upgrades on it, but not once was it the actual owner that brought it in. Instead they would just send a doll."

"So, who is the registered owner?"

"That's the funny part: a private military company. Griffin & Kryuger, I think?"

You exchange glances with your colleagues. Groza asks the question on everyone's mind.

"Who was the doll?"

"Ah, well, I didn't really ask, and she didn't really say. Always kept her helmet on. But she knew quite a bit about bikes. She ran that baby by every mechanic in town. The owner must've been a racer."

"A racer, huh?" Groza murmured. "How do you reckon?"

"C'mon, I'm a mechanic. I see the patterns. When someone comes in knowing exactly what they want, I can tell right away what for." Luv puts on a welding mask as you start to feel a burning sensation in your leg. While she did so, you put on your sunglasses and look at AA-12.

"Well, that narrows down our search, doesn't it?" You smile through the discomfort.

"Yeah, we just gotta search every race track and racing ring in town. Piece of cake." She said sarcastically. "Some more concrete info would've been nice."

"Hah, so unimaginative." The voice of Ouroboros - she must have been listening all the while - slithers forth, much to someone's eye-rolling displeasure.

"What are you on about now?"

"Clearly you wouldn't understand, with your subservient position and all. Allow me to enlighten you-"

The Ringleader places her hands on her hips, reaching a point where she usually would've been interrupted by a blunt force to the face already, but you held said fist firmly in place. AA-12 might've shaken off your grip had she not wanted to interfere with your leg being welded. Groza thankfully had much more patience.

"-the point of a race is to decide who's fastest, right? To prove one's dominance on the streets as the undisputed apex racer? Well, then to draw out our opponent, we must show them who the true queen of the board is!" She raised her hand dramatically, proclaiming loudly. "Leave it to me. The streets will be set ablaze, and the competition will tremble at the sound of my hovercraft. Surely then will our opponent rise to the challenge!"

"Hey, um, not to blow out your torch, but-" Luv raises her mask, being done with the weld. "There's a street racing ring just downtown that gathers every Saturday. I've seen this bike almost every time I've been there. If you head out right now, you might still make it before sundown."

At the sudden revelation, the torch was pretty much - as the orange-haired lady just said - blown out, leaving Ouroboros frozen in her exaggerated motion.

"Then what are we still waiting for?" says Groza, interrupting the awkward silence. In response to that question, you gazed towards your mechanic.

"Doctor, will I ever walk again?~"

"Hah, put some ice on it and you'll be running on walls in no time." she chuckled.

You proceed to sit upright and push yourself off the table. Finally nothing's creaking or wobbling as you put pressure on your leg. You would've asked for skincare if you had the time, but your stocking will have to hide the metallic casing for now. You take a deep breath, feeling invigorated.

"Hey guys, good news." David arrives from a nearby room, holding his phone. "I checked in with a few old contacts. The incidents you've been involved in have been covered up, and the police apparently have no info on us. It seems this contractor would like to keep everything off the record."

"Old contacts, huh?" Hummed Groza. "You sure you used to be just some delivery guy, mister Kolsurd?"

"Well, that's just a matter of perspective. Do you think Heather was just some delivery doll?"

Her golden eyes shift to you. You return the gaze with an innocent smile, beaming up at her.

"Not for a second."

"Well there you go." He crosses his arms. "By the way, Heather, I got Mack's address. I know it's a long shot, but we might find something useful there, if it isn't being ransacked by that gang that kidnapped him."

"Fair idea, they might wanna capitalize on the guy not being home." Another thought strikes you, so you looked up at David. "Say, what about your place? Got anything sensitive there?"

"Way ahead of you. Someone tripped the silent alarm, guessing more of those hitmen. I already deleted all of my computer's data remotely. But there's still some things there I wouldn't want contract killers to get their hands on…"

"So giving both your and Mack's place would be a good idea."

"But I doubt we can get to one in time before the other gets completely ransacked." He looked down with a grim expression.

"Well, then we'll just have to divide and conquer." Groza speaks, stepping forward and taking position next to David. "I'll take our client here to whichever place you choose, along with our resident Sangvis. All while you take AA-12 and track down that racer."

"... guess it's better than nothing." David scratched the back of his head.

"Hey, you guys coming?!" Called AA-12, who was already waiting at the entrance. "We're burning daylight!"

She was right, which meant you needed to decide right now. Sending your allies to Mack's home first might provide some clues, but sending them to David's home would stop some sensitive information from leaking out. Choosing one means endangering the other… Either way, you and AA-12 will be elsewhere, tracking down that bike in the nearby racing ring. You simply have to decide what your allies will be doing in the meantime.

[ ] Search Mack's home first
[ ] Search David's home first