Dolls of the Red Zone(Girls Frontline)

Chapter 17 - Admissions

Hours passed in Persica's office in almost silence, yet a dread lingered over the room the entire time, a collapse bomb was sat against a table, who wouldn't be at least a bit weary?

Persica worked restlessly to get Ayako into a functional condition, she didn't want to risk leaving Ayako alone for a night while in level three, even if it should be perfectly safe; it wasn't a risk she wanted to take with the entire base in danger. 

She refused to elaborate what was going on to anyone that asked, answering with a simple 'confidential matters' to any questions she was asked, but that will only get her so far for so long. The staff had learned to mostly tolerate Persica's projects and her tendencies to not be too concerned for sleep. 

But after nearly four hours of repair time, a marathon of time for anyone to keep working, nevermind being sleep-deprived and metaphorically held at gun point; Persica had finished Ayako's repairs, she didn't know if she wouldn't be waking like Kimiko, but maybe she would, that's all the chance she had. 

And the second Persica switched Ayako out of repair mode she jolted awake shooting up from the bed and finding her hands around Persica's neck in barely the blink of an eye, but she wasn't choking her, not yet at least. 

Ayako: P-Perisca is it....you?

Persica: Yeah, do you not recognize me?

Ayako: Can't tell if it's another of Elisa's tricks.

Persica: Elisa? She's the one that did all this to you?

Ayako: Yeah.....

Persica: You sound broken.

Ayako: 'Cause she did.....she found my only exploitable weakness and used it.

Persica: Are you still you? Under this different look?

Ayako: Barely....I'm a threat to you all now, does.....my team know about this?

Persica: No, SOP and RO are the only ones who know.

Ayako: RO...so that's her name, she's a smart doll. 

Persica: That she is, analytical to a fault, but about you. 

Ayako: I can't stay forever, I'm sure you know that.

Persica: Unfortunately yes, OGAS will eventually take over, and your shield well, I got a letter about it. 

Ayako went wide-eyed; Persica had heard of her shield and what it was, yet she was still here and being treated barely any different.

Ayako: What else.....did the letter say?

Persica: Told me to send you back but in the end it was my choice, but I don't want to make it for you.

Ayako: I'll go.....just being here puts you all in danger.

Persica: It may, but please think on this, I went over a lot of things when I was repairing you, how OGAS was interacting, but you have one hell of a fight in you.

Ayako: And I'm fighting a ghost, I can't win and soon as I misstep the battle's over, that's all there is to it. 

Persica: And I've figured out just how much you're hurting.

Ayako: I'm hurting for a lot of reasons, can't act on many of them without doing more damage than it's worth. 

Persica: I don't want you to abandon your team, they're not doing well. 

Ayako: What happened to them?

Persica: Kimiko isn't waking up, Nako's drowning problems in alcohol, and Haz refuses to speak about anything to anyone.