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M16A1/Story
| M16A1 | Story | Quotes | Live2D |
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| Core Characters |
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Character info
As the most experienced member of AR Team, M16A1 had the best understanding of each member of the team, above AR M4A1M4A1M4A1 herself.[1] She was said to have lower body specs than the members of Task Force DEFY, but to make up for it with her wealth of combat experience.[2] Despite her somewhat breakneck behavior,[3] M16A1 was considered to be the most levelheaded T-Doll in AR Team,[4] claiming that only results separated bravery from foolishness.[5] According to SMG RO635RO635RO635, M16A1's eyes sometimes looked like someone's who had drowned in their own thirst for vengeance, like those of AR M4A1M4A1M4A1.[6]
She served as a mentor and tactical instructor to the other members of the team[7] and especially cared about M4A1, protecting her[8] and going as far as saying she was better off not being on a battlefield.[9][10] She considered having emotions was an important distinction between T-Dolls and mindless killing machines like those employed by standing armies,[11] and encouraged AR M4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD II to exploit her impulsivity rather than fight and suffer from it.[12] She also knew many secrets about M4A1, AR Team and Sangvis Ferri, though she kept them to herself.[13] She also refused to explain what was inside her equipment case, only defining it as “nothing good”.[12] She also calls her eyepatch a memento.[14] While AR HK416HK416HK416 considered her a rival, M16A1 showed no concern for her[15] and may even have pitied her,[16] but she was hostile against fellow Butterfly Incident participant SMG UMP45UMP45UMP45.
M16A1 is described as a siscon toward M4A1 in her profile from The Art of Girls' Frontline Vol.1.
After Episode 8
After being infected by the Parapluie virus, M16 became ruthless and entirely focused on her plans to protect M4 from making contact with OGAS, claiming to detest all humans for oppressing Dolls and under suspicion from all factions. After returning from Nirvana, she regained her approachable side.
The main difference in her appearance after Episode 8 is her gray hair and yellow eyes, compared to her original black hair and dark eyes. Starting with Poincaré Recurrence, she retains her gray hair but she regains her dark eyes in story portraits, though they remain yellow in CG illustrations.
The in-game Protocol Assimilation version of M16 is called Beluga, but the only canon story where she's called by this codename is during Virtual Pair in three instances without explanation, with her normal name also being used in the same chapter.
Main story
Before AR Team, the Butterfly Incident
M16A1 is most likely the first member of AR Team to have been activated, as she had seen many battles before AR ST AR-15ST AR-15ST AR-15 herself was first activated.[17] M4A1's earliest memory (prior to the emergence of her true personality) was her encounter with M16A1.[14]
When AR Team was first formally assembled, M16A1 helped M4A1 to get the necessary confidence to lead AR-15 and SOP-II, though her extreme clumsiness angered even M16A1 at times.[11] She also advised AR M4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD II not to repress her urge for violence in combat for the sake of not scaring M4A1, as she would never become a good soldier if she couldn't get used to it.[10] Persica authorized M4A1 to rapidly take part in actual missions because of M16A1's extensive experience in live combat.[17] In one undated but memorable mission, M4 made the team board the wrong plane and became stranded in Siberia until M16 found another plane to bring them back.[18] M16 continued to work on separate missions even after the formation of AR Team. She didn't take part in Operation Viper, the first mission where Persica noticed that AR Team's performance was enhanced much beyond her predictions when under the command of Angelia.[19]
When the Bureau of State Security staged Operation Butterfly to capture Lycoris, they requested Persica to provide Dolls for the operation, but M16 handled their request on her own, only implicating herself in the operation. She warned Persica that any dangerous experiment should be conducted on her first and not on the other members of the team, and discovered that Persica's “No Feeding” combat tests were used to prepare the next member of AR Team, SMG RO635RO635RO635.[20] Persica viewed M16's involvement in Butterfly as insurance to rescue Lycoris if need be.[21][22] M16A1 was designated as Squad 7's leader.[23][24] Before the operation, she noticed one of her team members, AR HK416HK416HK416, was bent on proving her status as an elite T-Doll, belittling the support squad composed of SMG UMP40UMP40UMP40 and SMG UMP45UMP45UMP45[25] and later assaulting a teammate and disobeying orders. M16A1 ordered 416's transfer back to Griffin. She was shipped back and her fire control core removed before she could participate in the operation. 416 would bear a deep grudge against M16 for this reason.[26]
When the Parapluie virus was spread by UMP40 during Operation Butterfly and turned most Dolls berserk, M16's prototype neural cloud kept the virus at bay for longer than other Dolls. She tried to stop the shootout but was forced to take down her allies.[22] While searching for the origin of the virus attack, M16 found UMP45, who was fleeing after being forced to kill UMP40. Since 45 was the only other survivor, M16 assumed she was the culprit and engaged her in combat. 45 tried flee since her weapon was empty[24] but she was soon pinned down by M16. Just as she was about to open fire, 45 hacked into M16's fire control system, causing her to miss and providing 45 the opportunity to break free of M16's choke hold by breaking her left wrist. Resuming pursuit, neural meltdown started taking effect on M16 but she pinned down 45 again, this time attacking her with a knife. 45 blocked the plunging stab with her right arm, but it broke from M16's strength and the blade penetrated her left eye while she clawed at M16's right eye with her left arm. UMP45's scar was still visible years later, while M16 would hide her own scars under an eye patch.
Before M16 could deal 45 a finishing blow, she shut down from the neural meltdown. Moments before, Elisa had offered her a deal where she would save M16 from complete neural meltdown in exchange for freeing her from the plant's computers. M16 was reactivated by Elisa, who controlled her out of the room[27] to hear Lycoris' last words as well as activate the production lines needed by Elisa to make herself a body. They found Lyco in his laboratory, where he was trying to destroy the production lines and Elisa before bleeding out from his shot wounds. He recognized M16 as Persica's own version of his work, and entrusted M16 with a warning to Persica that William was manipulating them into reviving Lunasia, and not to fall into his trap like he did by creating Elisa. Elisa freed M16 from her control and swore to attain the perfection Lyco sought for her, and avenge his death. However, William remotely hacked M16 and encrypted her memories of the incident to prevent Lyco's warning from reaching Persica.[22]
The Parapluie virus stayed in M16's Neural Cloud and would later spread to the rest of AR Team.[28][29] Her memory of Lyco's warning being encrypted, M16 still believed 45 had sabotaged the operation herself and wanted to investigate her reasons.[30]
Safe House 3
Some time in 2062, Persica tasked AR Team with infiltrating Sangvis Ferri Safe House 3 to recover data concerning Lycoris. During the operation, they were attacked by Agent, who came close to killing M4A1, but was saved by M16A1. AR Team was then forced to disperse to split the enemy forces tailing them.[31] After being recovered by the Commander, M4A1 hailed AR Team's frequency and found M16A1, who insisted that G&K search for AR-15 and SOP-II before her.[32]
As she was fleeing Sangvis forces, M16A1 crossed paths with AR HK416HK416HK416, who intended to kill her with her newfound freedom of action as part of Squad 404. M16A1 lamented that she was fond of 416 when they worked for the Bureau[33] and defeated 416. Though she suspected 416 was holding back against her, M16A1 boasted more experience and training, saying 416 was worthless and boring. 416 wondered out loud if targeting AR Team would let her get to M16A1, to which M16A1 replied with a serious threat.[15] As M16A1 was leaving the area, she ran into UMP45 who came to recover 416. They exchanged veiled insults, but 45 also left M16A1 with the code-phrase “It's raining on the plain”, a warning about Plan Parapluie, suggesting Persica would be able to decipher it.[34] M16A1 then joined the G&K troops as their battle against Intruder ended, completing the recovery of AR Team.[35]
Area S08
During Sangvis Ferri's assault on G&K's command in Area S08, AR-15 was found to be infected with the Parapluie virus and fled to take out the Sangvis Mastermind alone. Despite the heavy com jamming in the area, AR Team mounted a search mission for AR-15, which led them to fight with Team Negev against Alchemist. During the fight, M4A1 sent M16A1 out of the jamming zone to ask for reinforcements, but the team was separated when M4A1 and SOP-II ran after AR-15 while M16A1 was away.[7] The Commander redeployed M16A1 in the jamming zone to search for AR Team[36] just as massive Sangvis troops movements were found converging toward Area S08.[37] M16A1 eventually met up with AR-15, who revealed her plan to lure the Sangvis Mastermind into a building she rigged with explosives to end the battle. M16A1 reluctantly agreed to let her act on her plan and carry her final message to the rest of AR Team.[38] M16A1 later kept a countdown toward AR-15 being officially declared Missing in Action, hoping she would reappear from Area S08, but it eventually ran out with no sign of her.[39]
Against Dreamer
During AR Team's lockdown in Area S05 for Parapluie screening, M16A1 tried to contain M4A1's bursts of anger caused by the loss of AR-15 and helped her take command of the T-Dolls when they were attacked by Dreamer, but she couldn't prevent the Sangvis Mastermind from locking M4A1's neural cloud in a catatonic state.[40] With the addition of RO635, a three-man AR Team were sent to eliminate Dreamer, who provoked SOP-II into a berserk rage. M16A1 took down the first Dreamer dummy to prevent SOP-II from running into a trap, which caused Dreamer to take the battle more seriously since she knew M16A1 would be difficult to toy with.[4] The mission ended on a success and M16A1 and RO635 bonded over drinks after their first mission together.[41]
AR Team was later shot down in Area S03 over a testing field of SF Jupiter cannons and worked with Squad 404 to escape the area. During the operation, M16A1 repeatedly advised RO635 to not let UMP45 force her tactical decisions on her, as it would result in unnecessary casualties.[42][43]
Sacrifice
In order to fully restore the strategic File 7 recovered at Safe House 3, AR Team was deployed to infiltrate Sangvis Base 0. Early on, M16A1 allowed the operation to proceed smoothly by correcting, seemingly on instinct, the prospective layout of the area.[44] As SOP-II and RO635 tapped the Sangvis mainframe, M16A1 was tasked to guard the area but wandered out several times. When confronted by RO635, M16 replied that she had her own priorities and that AR Team should not expect her to always be there to protect them.[45] She also encouraged RO635 to rely on her team while not taking them for granted despite their good cooperation, and to enjoy the feeling of battle while not sacrificing herself for heroism.[46] M16A1 had secretly used a modified strain of Parapluie to gain SF authorizations and help Persica access specific files in the mainframe.[47]
During AR Team's escape, M16 broke off from SOP-II and RO635 to clear a way with explosives, but ended up being trapped.[13] In reality, Persica had convinced M16A1 to stay in the base to conduct another mission for M4A1's sake. Following coordinates found by Persica during the earlier mainframe infiltration, M16A1 arrived at a facility she already knew the layout of and already had proper access to, but couldn't consciously recognize because her memories of the Butterfly Incident had been wiped.[48] At the coordinates, M16A1 used the modified Parapluie strain again to force her way to new video files, but also starting her irreversible conversion into a Sangvis Ferri T-Doll.[47]
M16A1 deployed a drone transporting the data along with her particle cannon, claiming she never had to use it and hoped M4A1 would never have to. Persica then revealed that she had been transmitting her voice to M4A1 since the start, as it stabilized her neural cloud and made her work on breaking her seals easier. M16A1 then asked M4A1 to wait for her no matter what she had become and how long she will have to wait, which caused M4A1 to regain consciousness just as the voice connection broke. Gradually losing control over her body, M16A1's neural cloud connected to Sangvis Ferri's deep web and she started to hear Elisa's song as Dreamer arrived to welcome her and inform her that her drone had been shot down,[49] though she knew the data inside was useless.[50] M16A1 then warned her to not underestimate the length at which “their Commander” would go.[49]
On insistence from the Commander, and with support from Kryuger who also had a shared history with M16A1, RO635 and SOP-II were later redeployed near Base 0 to search for M16A1,[51] and SOP-II insisted on recovering her equipment case herself.[12] RO635 and SOP-II learned that M16A1 had been captured by SF during their fight against Judge,[52] but they had to retreat and used the case's transmitter to help the Commander locate their position.[11] In their second fight against Judge with the help of Team Negev, Dreamer explained that M16A1 would not be the same even if they could recover her.[6] The drone containing the data was recovered separately by Squad 404.[53] The losses of AR-15 and M16A1, along with the emergence of her true personality, started M4A1's search for the power to protect her family,[54] and her OGAS used the promise of M16A1's coordinates to push M4A1 to encounter Elisa again.[55] M4A1 inherited M16A1's equipment case, which stayed closed until Angelia activated it and revealed its true purpose as a weapon. From the ammo count, M16A1 had never used it.[56]
After KCCO betrayed Griffin & Kryuger during their joint assault on Sangvis Ferri's HQ, M16A1 forced a communication with AR M4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD IIM4 SOPMOD II's severely damaged frame to reactivate her after she was destroyed by Yegor's forces.[57] Following the coordinates given by M16A1 despite her new Sangvis IFF, SOP-II used SF body parts to recover some combat capacity so she could help M4A1. SOP-II also asked M16A1 if she had defected to the “villains”, and M16A1 replied that she had willingly joined the enemy and that her view of the world was too naive. Since SOP-II could not connect with the broken M4A1 at neural level II nor move her without damaging her unstable neural cloud, M16A1 instructed SOP-II to leave her. Because SOP-II insisted on extracting RO635's neural core to preserve her recent memory, M16A1 warned her against having any hope to recreate the old AR Team, since both T-Dolls and humans would soon be forced to change.[58]
M16A1 intervened again later as AR M4A1M4A1M4A1 tried to capture Elisa on behalf of Task Force DEFY, leading to a chase on top of the roof of a running train where M4 turned M16's particle cannon on her, to no avail. M16 talked with M4A1, explaining that joining Sangvis Ferri allowed her to wield her power freely, and that she would not let humans capture Elisa because M4A1 was not yet ready to “meld”. Even using all the ammo in her particle cannon, M4A1 could not defeat M16A1. Before being airlifted with Elisa, M16A1 insisted that she was still helping M4A1 in her own way, but also rejected the idea of turning back, saying that “for people to grow their branches into the sky they must also burrow their roots into the depths”.[59] M16 later confirmed that she was not actually under Elisa's control, instead exploiting Sangvis Ferri to escape human control. M16 had left AR Team because the team needed to be complete for William's plans, and it gave her the freedom to neutralize other threats to M4.[60] Elisa was well aware of this and didn't trust M16 in return.[61] Elisa attempted to meld with M16 as a replacement for M4 to become "complete", but it failed.[62] M16's end goal was to prevent M4's OGAS from developing by melding with other OGAS consciousnesses, since this could eventually cause M4 herself to meld and disappear.[63][64] By preventing Elisa's capture, M16 stopped M4's OGAS from coming into contact with Elisa's OGAS. M16's OGAS consciousness was already active at the time, but M16 had already come to an understanding with it and her OGAS consciousness didn't connect with M4's OGAS when it reached out.[63]
Ironically, despite M16's efforts to save M4 from the OGAS consciousnesses, M4 attempted to kill herself using M16's particle cannon by overloading it after she failed to capture Elisa, and was stopped by her OGAS consciousness.[65]
In Belgrade
During Statesec's investigations into the Pike node in Belgrade, M16A1, alongside Sangvis Ringleaders Intruder, Scarecrow, Alchemist, Hunter, Executioner and Beak intervened in the battle of AR ST AR-15ST AR-15ST AR-15 and AR AN-94AN-94AN-94 against Mercurows.[66] After driving out Mercurows, M16 forced AR-15 and AN-94 to lead her to the Pike node,[67] so she could prevent M4's OGAS from connecting to it.[67][60] Beak was supposed to monitor M16 for Elisa, but after reaching the Pike node's room, M16 purposefully wandered away long enough for the DEFY Dolls to knock Beak out and escape.[68] M16's SF forces failed to break through Mercurows and Nimogen's defenses to secure the Pike node until DEFY destroyed Nimogen's neural blocker,[69] allowing M16 to kill Mercurows before escaping on Beak's motorbike with the core of the Pike node.[60] M4 claimed she was ready to kill M16 if she didn't surrender,[70] but was not actually willing to actually do it.[71] M16 saved M4 from one of Beak's missiles during the pursuit.[72]
M16 evaded the first blockade set by the Commander after receiving Judge's help,[73] but was stopped by the second blockade. To prevent M4 from making contact with the Pike node, M16's OGAS offered to assimilate its content herself,[74] enabling them to temporarily freeze the other Dolls in the area and escape, while abandoning the empty Pike node core. M16 then transferred the core's data to Agent, who passed it on to Elisa.[61] M16's original goal was to find information about William's plan in the node, but she didn't find any useful information.[64]
Tallinn and Paldiski
The Pike node data enabled Elisa to re-develop a corrupted version of the OGAS code originally expunged by Lycoris,[64] giving her a small chance to connect to the larger OGAS network through a Starfish terminal, one of which was located in the abandoned Paldiski Submarine Base.[75] M16 traveled with the Sangvis Ferri forces to Paldiski, first making a stop in Tallinn and meeting with the Failed Isomer. M16 tried to destroy all the Isomers so that M4 wouldn't discover the truth about OGAS consciousnesses, but she was stopped by her own OGAS.[28] In Paldiski, Sangvis Ferri attacked the Paradeus forces occupying the base and started the Paldiski Incident. By allowing Elisa to access the OGAS network, M16 made good on her promise to help her reach the form Lycoris wanted, though she also knew that Elisa wouldn't survive the process.[76][22][64]
Squad 404 ran into M16 during the infiltration of the Paldiski Submarine Base. Using Intruder as a signal relay,[24] M16 attempted to convince SMG UMP45UMP45UMP45 to turn away, and temporarily trapped her in her own Level II memories of the Butterfly Incident when she refused.[77] M16 kept sending 45 into her memories, because M16 herself had lost her memories of the incident and needed to investigate it.[30] M16 finally revealed herself when the KCCO Ares mechs broke into the base, preventing them from reaching the Starfish and Elisa.[78] As the only member of AR Team with an OGAS developed enough to counter M16's OGAS, M4 fought M16 and eventually prevailed thanks to Dandelion's help.[79][80] Frustrated with M16's constant intercession in her efforts to become complete, M16's OGAS coalesced with Dandelion. M4 also accessed M16's encrypted memories of the Butterfly Incident and learned the truth about Elisa's rebellion and William's involvement. M16 revealed that she had rigged the Starfish with explosives and, without her OGAS to stop her, was now free to actually detonate them, but M4 and Dandelion hacked and stopped her. M4 needed Elisa alive to investigate William, the mastermind behind the entire conspiracy,[64] and she also now considered Elisa a victim of William that deserved to be saved and not left to die.[22]
M16 lamented that M4 had played into William's hand in the end, and was caught in the Reverse Collapse caused by Dandelion to save all the Dolls trapped in the flooding base.[81] M16's particle cannon was left behind and recovered by SMG RO635RO635RO635 in the ruins of Paldiski.[82] The Commander, RO635 and SOP-II continued to search for clues of M4 and M16's whereabouts afterwards.[83][84]
The Dolls taken by the explosion of the Starfish and the ensuing Reverse Collapse in Paldiski were transported to the Tarot Paradise in Nirvana, where M16 received a Blessing of the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana of the Fae of Wands wagered that M16 would be the best participant of the Tarot Paradise to serve as a vessel for Lunasia and guided her, explaining the rules of Tarot Paradise and promising that she would be reunited with M4 if she killed other entities and collected their cards. M16 fully realized that she had been pulled into a death game when she was forced to kill the berserk Eight of Pentacle, and she killed the Fae of Wands out of distrust, though it proved to be immortal.[85]
After colluding with the other faes, the Fae of Wands tried to convince M16 not to attack Elisa and the Fae of Pentacles, but M16 engaged her anyway. Because neither Doll had the upper hand, Elisa was the first to flee to continue her search for M4.[86] After killing the hostile Seven of Wands and Four of Swords in self-defense,[87] M16 reached the maze garden at the center of Tarot Paradise and used the special channel set by Persica long ago to awaken M4 from her coma to contact M4, who had already been brainwashed by Judgment to act like Lunasia.[88] Elisa intercepted the channel and reused it to encourage M4's transformation into Lunasia instead.[89] After the maze garden crumbled from the unplanned number of Major Arcanas assembled within, M16 joined forces with the alternate AR Team to defeat Elisa.[90] They were then attacked by Judgment, and M16 was forced to kill the alternate SOP-II to recover her fragment of The Wheel of Fortune split between AR Team. M16 used the power of the reconstituted card to reveal Judgment's true identity, Laplace's Demon, and break her spell on M4.[91] After the defeat of Laplace's Demon, Lunasia demonstrated to M4 that she held the power to influence fate and promised her that by merging with her, she'd gain the power to save the Commander. To complete her transformation, the alternate AR-15 and RO635 as well as M16 allowed themselves to be killed by M4. Before sacrificing herself, M16 declared that even if she lost access to Tarot Paradise, another M16 would come to save her.[92]
After dying in Tarot Paradise, M16 awakened in another Relic space, where she received the Major Arcana of The Wheel of Fortune again. She realized that she was the mysterious contact that had lured the alternate AR Team to Tarot Paradise,[93] briefly manifesting in their world to leave the Major Arcana of The Wheel of Fortune and the instructions to reach Tarot Paradise on the Commander's body after their death during the Battle of Frankfurt, using the pseudonym Leinad Kcaj (“Jack Daniel” in reverse, like M16's favorite whisky). In this alternate world, M16 had been killed by Elisa during the Paldiski Incident.[88][94][91][95] M16 experienced many universes where she fought to save M4 before her consciousness returned to the prime world line.[93]
Statesec agent
| “ | ...There's no place for you in this era. Know when to let go and make a timely exit. M4... | ” |
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Around the time when the Commander was sent to Berlin by Griffin Lyons, M16's body, severely damaged by Collapse fluid and sea water, reappeared in the sea near the ruins of Paldiski and was recovered by Havier Witkin. This was kept highly classified, even Persica was not informed, since her return from the world beyond the Reverse Collapse would make her a target for every world power. With Kryuger's approval, Victor Zelinsky offered M16 to join forces with Statesec to search for M4. M16's body was repaired with military tech,[93] and after receiving her neural adjustment (possibly to purge any trace of the Parapluie virus) M16 felt that she had returned to her true self and regretted her prior actions.[97]
During the Commander's investigations on Project Cocoon in Berlin, M16 intervened when Morridow attempted to capture M4 (incarnated into Dandelion's body) at the Berlin Airport by boarding her helicopter.[96] Enjoying a temporary reunion with the rest of AR Team, M16 claimed that the M4 that had appeared in Berlin was not the M4 they all longed to reunite with.[98] M16 contributed to the Commander's investigations of the connections between Paradeus and the German government[99][100] and attempted to save Nele from the arson of her apartment, before it was revealed that she was never inside in the first place,[101] before returning to her own mission after learning relevant information from the Stasi, only warning the Commander of her departure.[102]
During the Fireworks Incident, M16 and Beak, acting as team Black Box, were sent by Zelinsky to the Neo-Soviet Union Western Group Forces command center in order to setup a special transmission line and secure the German border against the fake orders relayed on standard channels, and to prepare her actual mission in Germany: Havier Witkin ordered the Black Boxes to follow the Paradeus mole in Moscow who left for Berlin, Nemhran, and investigate Paradeus' next moves.[103] M16 intercepted Nemhran as she inspected the Sector D8 lab near Bohnsdorf, where Morridow had previously cornered the Commander,[104] but failed to kill her.[105] Using the codename “Nike” (Greek for “victory”), M16 used the Western Group Forces radar deployment to follow Nemhran[97] to the edge of the Dead Sea near Berlin.[106] Since Statesec would deploy both Black Box and Task Force DEFY to Paradeus' HQ, they synchronized with the Commander's forces, allowing their respective teams to support each others while not explicitly discussing their identities during the briefing.[107]
During the Battle of the Dead Sea, Black Box broke into the Western Tower of Avernus and assisted the Commander's teams by chasing Bramedb to disturb Paradeus' electronic warfare abilities. M16 was lured and trapped into a lab with RPK-16. RPK claimed they had already met despite M16 having no recollection of it.[2] RPK called it a waste that M16 preserved her core order to defend M4 when she had a chance to overwrite it under Parapluie's influence and claim her freedom, but M16 retorted that unlike RPK, who defined freedom as the right to defiance, her own definition of freedom was the right to choose loyalty when presented with the opportunity of rebellion.[108] To bypass RPK's force field,[2] M16 closed the distance with her, using multiple smoke grenades combined with the oxygen tanks around the battlefield to create smoke clouds and explosions and obscure her approach. She managed to dislocate one of RPK's shoulders and grab her neck, threatening to kill her with a knife if she didn't yield and open the room's doors, but RPK revealed her mechanical arms and immobilized her. M16 then activated the shaped charge concealed in her chest, freeing herself and renewing her attacks.[109]
RPK then transmitted to M16 an image of Laplace's Demon, revealing that she had been in control of Tarot Paradise at the time. She also revealed to M16 what components were necessary for Paradeus to create a relics key, and how RPK herself had served as a test run of the process, which had enabled her to access Nirvana and Tarot Paradise. Finally, she revealed that Paradeus planned to resurrect Lunasia in Frankfurt and not in Avernus.[110] Having received her mission's objective,[93] M16 stopped attacking RPK, and after confirming to RO that Angelia was with her in the Eastern Tower,[109] she left with Beak to rally Frankfurt.[93]
| “ | ...Wait. That's all I can do—wait. Wait for "her" to come. Wait for the coincidental or inevitable ending... Or should I say... wait for destiny. — [93]
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” |
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Having entered Frankfurt early along with Task Force DEFY and SG Stevens M520Stevens M520Stevens M520, M16 established local control before the arrival of the Commander's Dolls in the Elmo. She helped AR AK-12AK-12AK-12 out of her rut with some sharp words so she could face the task of killing Embla.[111] Statesec issued M16 a special permit to let her move freely after the German government enforced the Interim Regulations for Doll Security following Embla's assassination.[112] After the Commander's Dolls entered the city, M16 revealed that Paradeus was holding the Commander prisoner inside the underground White Zone of Frankfurt, though her intel didn't include the exact location.[113] M16 organized the Commander's getaway after their escape, claiming that she had learned of their coordinates through a “divine revelation” and that she would always remain loyal to them regardless of the faction she served.[114] The other teams tried to make M16 explain how she had planned so far ahead ever since Avernus but she never revealed her sources[115] (probably a mix of Statesec intel and first-hand experience from her time in Nirvana).
M16 didn't participate in the Commander's assault on the White Zone and first assassination attempt against William. After the Commander's disappearance, M16 went rogue for a short while, cutting ties with the other teams in Frankfurt and making an attempt on William's life during his award ceremony by the URNC, despite the huge crowd in the audience and the lack of certainty that the target wasn't a body-double. Task Force DEFY, monitoring from a distance, gave her a near-zero chance of success[116] and M16 indeed only managed to crush William's left arm. The attack only reinforced support for the URNC's policies for Doll control.[117] Considering Dolls to be mere tools, William blamed the Commander for the attempt on his life instead of M16. William's Stasi bodyguards claimed that M16 had jumped 300-meters during her escape and couldn't possibly have survived.[118]
As predicted by DEFY,[116] M16 returned to collaborating with the forces unified by the Commander after her failed assassination attempt.[119] She transmitted the Commander's orders to Kalina after she arrived in Frankfurt and was secured by Squad 404,[120] and took part in the assault against the Paradeus factory where Dandelion identified William's new hideout.[121][122] Sensing that William would have set a trap, M16 suggested to delay her part in the assault to gather reinforcements first,[123] going back to IOP's warehouse to reactivate all the Dolls confiscated from the Commander and overwhelm William's defenses. M16 left the Commander and DEFY to kill William while she ensured the complete destruction of Paradeus' data, saying that she had lost the right to kill him after failing twice.[124]
It's yet unknown where M16 went after William's death.
After the downsizing of Griffin & Kryuger and AR Team spinning off into a PMC, its members are still searching for M4 and M16's whereabouts.[125] M16 is also briefly mentioned in Springfield's profiles in reference to her fondness for whisky.
Side stories
Chapter 9N
During 9N, which takes place after the Great Retreat, RF M1 GarandM1 GarandM1 Garand, SMG M3M3M3, SMG T77T77T77 and AR T65T65T65 record a video with a fake M16 and M4 to lift the spirits of AR T91T91T91, who admires M16 and is depressed since her disappearance. The team ends up fighting alongside RF M14M14M14 and SMG ThompsonThompsonThompson against Judge, who was confused by the disguises.
Slow Shock - “Summer” World Line
In the alternate world line explored in the Summer chapters of Slow Shock,[95] M16 was the first member of AR Team to notice that Angelia was running away from Griffin & Kryuger during the investigation of Commander Novikov's murder. When Angelia activated a forced command to deactivate AR Team, it didn't work on M16, who continued to chase Angelia[126] until she was stopped by Task Force DEFY. AR AK-12AK-12AK-12 suggested disassembling M16 so she couldn't somehow recover and give chase, but Angelia feared that it may kill her due to her experimental nature and instead had DEFY break her spinal cord to disable her body without destroying her Neural Cloud.[127]
In the alternate world where the Dolls are humans mercenaries in the Black Zone of the island-nation of Kamona, which is the setting of the game Arena Breakout, M16A1 is known under the name Beluga. When the mercenaries known as the Commander, Kuro and Mityl were charged to transport a mysterious box across Kamona, unknowingly carrying this world's equivalent of M4A1, Beluga kept an eye on the mercenaries. Her apparent betrayals to give the box to Blackgold Universal and later to the Antonio family were only feints to get these enemy factions off the tracks of the real box.
It's implied through the story that Beluga is the only character in this setting who's aware that she exists in multiple worlds, and devotes herself to protecting M4 in all of them, as a continuation of M16's access to Nirvana during Cartesian Theater.
Mail - October 29 2024
If You Can Hear Me...
I'm sorry, Commander.
I still haven't been able to determine your whereabouts. AR-18 has been leading the Griffin Dolls in search of you, Mr. Kryuger and Mr. Havier have both been trying to help... I have also pulled every string I could within Statesec, but all to no avail.
This has never happened before - you are in grave danger, yet nobody is by your side to offer you even the slightest bit of help.
This may sound arrogant, but no one understands how it feels to be a "lone wolf" better than I do - I'm not just speaking from my time with Sangvis Ferri, but also from some secret experience that I cannot tell you about.
Do you remember that night of reunion in Berlin when we drank together and had a heart-to-heart? You asked me many questions, but I could answer with little more than "no comment" most of the time.
Looking back now, I wish I had told you more about how to survive in desperate situations.
Why don't we make a promise, Commander? Next time we meet, I'll answer all your questions truthfully; and you must tell me everything you've experienced during this time.
I'll be waiting for you with the best whiskey.
Don't stand me up.
References
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Episode 5-6
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Girls' Frontline, Fixed Point, E4-9
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Episode 6-4E
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 7-3E
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Continuum Turbulence, 1-8 Sangvis Elite Outpost
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 9-4E
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 6-3
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Operation Cube+, E4
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Arctic Warfare, 3-1
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 9-3E
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Girls' Frontline, Episode 9-2E
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Girls' Frontline, Episode 9-4
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 8-6
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 10-1E
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Girls' Frontline, Episode 4-4
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Arctic Warfare, 3-2
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Girls' Frontline, Singularity, 3-3
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Angular Gyrus, E10
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Maze Guess Analytic Inference
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Lost in Thoughts Perfect Promotion
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Polarized Light, Blackbody Radiation I
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 Girls' Frontline, Episode 13-4
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Deep Dive, Audio File 8
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Girls' Frontline, Polarized Light, Enantiomer Overload I
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- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Deep Dive, 2-4
- ↑ Girls' Frontline, Episode 10-2
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