The day before the anniversary.
Griffin Control.

Grizzly Huuuuh??

Commander Um, Grizzly...I'm terribly sorry...

Grizzly I'm very disappointed, Commander.

Commander I know...so like I was saying, I didn't want this to happen either...

Grizzly Commander, I've already finished making the dress that I'll be wearing for the event.
(Mutters) And I spent a whole week on it too!

Commander (Why have you Dolls begun to mutter so loudly recently...)

Grizzly ...I heard that, Commander.

Commander Ah...speaking of which, that dress will still be useful for this mission.

Grizzly Still useful how...?

Commander Listen, Grizzly...
Although our mission is to protect the jewel, we can't just stand around in full combat gear.
This is a birthday party after all, and if you're wearing a dress, you can better blend into the crowd...
Because...

Grizzly Because?

Commander Our opposition this time...

Grizzly Opposition?

Commander (Loudly) Is a band of phantom thieves!

Grizzly ...

Commander ...
(What should I do, is Grizzly not the sort of Doll to be interested in phantom thieves? Should I change my approach...?)

Grizzly Ah! I got it, Commander!
Phantom thieves! You mean like those villains that wear capes and fly around in the air while cackling out loud, right?

Commander Well, probably not all of that...

Grizzly I guess it can't be helped if it's to deal with phantom thieves.
I'll do my best to complete the mission!

Commander Ah, in that case, good...
I'll leave it to you, then.

I let out a sigh of relief as I watch Grizzly leave in excitement.
I did not expect the whole "phantom thief" premise to be so attractive to the Dolls.
I really am regretful that everyone would not be able to relax and celebrate the anniversary together...

Still, this mission ought to bring them a different kind of enjoyment.
I'm already looking forward to everyone's mission reports.

On the day of the anniversary.
At the cocktail party.

I see Grizzly dressed in a splendid dress, standing in the far corner of the venue hall. She is watching the men and women with an excited look on her face.
At the same time, she is still in her usual alert stance from training. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this sight, and I quickly make my way over to her.

Commander Hi, Grizzly.

Grizzly nods at me.

Grizzly Hello, Commander. Everything's normal so far!

Commander ...I say, Grizzly, aren't you being a little too tense?

Grizzly I'm staying alert, Commander.

Commander Uhm, about that...
You don't need to be so nervous.
Just keep an eye out for the phantom thieves, that's all.

Grizzly But Commander! They're phantom thieves!
How should I put this...they feel kind of cool, don't they?

Commander (So she was actually admiring them when she said they're "villains that wear capes and fly around in the air while cackling out loud"?)

Grizzly I mean, doesn't it mean that my friends and I are the protectors of the jewel?
As a friend of justice, I shall lay down the law on those phantom thieves!

Commander ...Did being teamed up with Welrod infect you with something weird?

Grizzly Huh? Like what? You know, it's more like we just get along really well.

Commander Forget it. In any case, you're being too obvious by standing here.
If there was a phantom thief around, they'd immediately pick you out as one of the security staff, right?
Also, it's important to enjoy the adventure.

Grizzly Mm...
You're right, Commander.

Commander It looks like you ended up looking forward to this mission after our chat that day, didn't you, Grizzly?

Grizzly Yes, this operation appeals to me very much.
I see...I was looking forward to it so much that I ended up getting a little nervous.

Commander That's alright, just put on a good performance.
I'll leave the security work to you.
I'll be heading next door to look around.

Grizzly Yes, Commander.
I'll take good care of the jewel!

One and a half hour later.

In a storeroom.

Grizzly Whew...I escaped...
I really have to hand it to them. They managed to separate me, Welrod, and ZAS...

In a corridor.

Zas M21 Grizzly! You leave first!

Grizzly What are you saying!?

Gd DSR-50 ...My, do you have so much free time to be exchanging sweet nothings?

Gd DSR-50 blocks Zas and Grizzly's path, and her tremendous firepower forces the two of them to focus on dodging.
ZAS shields Grizzly with her body and shoves the jewel into Grizzly's hands.

Grizzly H-Hey!
Why are you doing the same thing as Welrod...

Zas M21 It's not the same.
As far as the goal is concerned, Welrod's there to tie off loose ends.
After all, assassination and the like is child's play for her.

Grizzly ...

Zas M21 On the other hand, we need to escape pursuit, protect the jewel, and deliver it intact to our client.

Grizzly Then why are you...!

Zas M21 You're kind of a bonehead, aren't you?
This is the most sensible plan! I'll delay her so you can escape with the jewel!

Gd DSR-50 Hello, anyone there?
Why are you two chattering among yourselves while ignoring me?

Gd DSR-50 fires at Grizzly.

Zas M21 Run!

Boom!

Grizzly rushes into the smoke under the roar of the explosion. She escapes down the corridor as ZAS lays down covering fire, then she finds the door to a storeroom and ducks inside.

Grizzly Ah, my dress ripped... DSR's bullets must have grazed it earlier...
That's just going too far... I hardly ever get the chance to wear a dress so I spent ages working on it...
Tch...I didn't expect the battle with the phantom thieves to be so intense...

Just then, Grizzly's communicator begins to flash.

Grizzly Huh, an internal call?
It should be a Griffin signal...

The call connects.

??? (Ahem)...Hello? Can you hear me?

Grizzly (Huh? There's no image?)

??? This is Griffin HQ. Are you Grizzly from the jewel protection squad?

Grizzly Yes, this is Grizzly.
Our squad was attacked by phantom thieves, please send reinforcements!

??? Understood. What's your current position?

Grizzly I'm in the third storeroom along the corridor to the north of the event hall.
Zas is currently engaging DSR in the corridor and she should be able to hold out for a while. I haven't spotted any enemies on my end, and I'm safe for the time being.

??? Understood.
A Doll with a scar running down her right eye will be there in ten minutes. That's UMP9. Hand the jewel over to her to complete your mission.

Grizzly Roger.
...Uh, hang on?

??? Wh-What is it?

Grizzly This conflicts with our squad's original mission. Please re-confirm.

??? No, there's no conflict (static) mission is to hand the jewel to UMP9.
(Static)

Grizzly (Huh? What was that just now?)
Please re-confirm! This jewel is very important!

??? (Static)
...Yes, that's correct, it's a direct order from the Commander. (Static)

Grizzly (It sounds like some sort of abnormal interference...)

??? Grizzly? Hello, are you still there?

Grizzly Ah, yes.
I understand the operational directive. I'll wait to make the transfer in the storeroom.

??? OK.

The call ends.

Grizzly gingerly walks over to the door of the storeroom and carefully listens to the sounds from outside.
Apart from the sporadic noises of shooting and explosions, Grizzly strains and manages to hear something she wants to but also doesn't want to hear.

The sound of footsteps.

Grizzly (Just as I thought...)

The footsteps stop outside the door. Grizzly holds her breath and tightly grips her gun with both hands.
One second passes, then two, then three.
The door opens with UMP9 standing there. Grizzly raises her gun and presses it against UMP9's temple.

UMP9 Phew...calm down, Grizzly...I'm UMP9.

Grizzly ...

UMP9 I'm here to collect the jewel~
But you already knew that.

Grizzly Got it.
UMP9, huh...you must be one of the phantom thieves, aren't you?

UMP9 A member of the phantom thieves, huh...am I or am I not, I wonder?

Grizzly disengages her pistol's safety.

UMP9 Okay, okay, I'm not a phantom thief, I'm just here to retrieve the jewel!

Grizzly I don't believe you.

UMP9 ...Hey, now you're just being unreasonable.
I say I'm a phantom thief and you want to shoot me. I say I'm not and you don't believe me.

Grizzly (Glares) ...

UMP9 I'm one of the good guys. I'm not with DSR and the others.
Just trust me, it won't do you any harm.

Grizzly You wouldn't have faked a Griffin signal in the call if you were on my side.

UMP9 Well, uh...
You can't really call it faking a signal because I definitely count as a Griffin T-Doll too~

Grizzly Hah. Things are getting more and more interesting.
What is this, some kind of riddle game? I really wish Welrod were here right now.

UMP9 Come on, is it really a good idea to treat a colleague who came all the way through hostile fire to meet you as some kind of criminal?

Grizzly I never did that, don't talk nonsense. And besides, I haven't confirmed whether if you're a real colleague or not yet.
I'm going to tie you up here before returning the jewel.
Then I'll fetch my teammates to help solve this mystery and report on this mission to the Commander. That's all.

UMP9 Oi oi, what do you mean by solving this mystery? Don't you think that's just a li~ttle out of the scope of your mission?

Grizzly (Glares) ...

UMP9 Alright, alright, in order to prove I'm a good guy, here.

UMP9 suddenly holds her hands out to Grizzly, who is so startled that she nearly pulls the trigger.
UMP9 smiles to Grizzly, and motions for her hands to be tied up.
Grizzly holds onto her gun with one hand and extends her other hand to UMP9.

Everything fades away the moment Grizzly's hand comes into contact with UMP9 - the sounds of shooting and explosions, the scenery around them, and even UMP9 standing before her.
UMP9 lays the unconscious Grizzly neatly on the ground before rifling through her dress for the jewel and pocketing it.

UMP9 That's the end of this adventure game for now.
You really are scary, Miss Grizzly. If I hadn't prepared "this thing" beforehand, you might have actually caught me. -- Yours sincerely, Miss Phantom Thief.

Nighttime, Griffin base.
Dormitory.

(Knock knock)

I knock on the door of Grizzly's dorm, and shortly after, the door opens.
Grizzly still has her dress on with a doubtful look on her face, as if she had spent the whole night doing complicated math questions.

Commander Hey, Grizzly, how was your night?

Grizzly Commander...
I don't get it at all!

Commander Huh? What's the matter?

Grizzly I clearly had the jewel secured and I was going to hand it over to the client...
But then something happened, and the jewel disappeared...
Ahhh, for the life of me I can't remember what happened.

Commander Well, about that...
There's no need for you to worry.

Grizzly Commander?

Commander You've already completed your mission.
I heard people talking about how reliable you were on the battlefield! And your teamwork was excellent as well.

Grizzly Does this really count as...completing my mission?

Commander Yes it does. Trust me.

Grizzly (Glares) ...

Commander (Ah...how am I going to explain this to her...)

Grizzly I understand, Commander.
Since you've already said as much, I won't remain hung up on this any longer.

I'm surprised to hear Grizzly say that, but I'm also happy that she would trust me to this extent.

Commander (Pats Grizzly's shoulder) Good.

Grizzly Although there's way too much that I can't figure out, tonight's events felt just like an adventure story...
In any case, I thought it was really cool.
But—

Commander (Nervous) B-But?

Grizzly Commander, I hardly ever get to wear a dress, and mine got torn during a fight...

Commander ...

Grizzly So if I get the dress fixed, I'll be able to wear it the next time I go out for a ride with you.

Commander ...You're going to ride while wearing something like that?

Grizzly Don't underestimate my skills!
Commander, since it's the anniversary, can I request that my mission payment take the form of a dress repair...?

Commander Hah, you're not very good at acting cute, Grizzly.

Grizzly Oogh...I'm not trying to act cute! It's a reasonable request!

Commander Is this really all you want after going through all that?

Grizzly I can't think of anything else, and I'm not sure whether it actually happened or not...
The only thing I can be sure of is the damage my dress took...

Commander Unfortunately, there's no such option on the payment request form.

Grizzly Really...

Commander But I'll make a special request just for you. Don't worry about it.

Grizzly Huh?

Commander Well, if we're wrapping things up, we might as go for the perfect ending, right?
After all, simply fixing a pretty dress like this won't be enough.

Grizzly Really, Commander? Thank you so much!

In this instance, I see a flash of light in Grizzly's starry eyes.
It would seem there is a perfect ending to this mission after all...
...Both for her, and for me.