Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

[BakaSmurf]

I'm almost curious to find out whether the recent valentine event inspired such heavy Privaty influence and screentime and this future promise will ensure even more, ESPECIALLY, if we get the maid outfit as a date or if this was planned beforehand.

Click to shrink...

I always planned on Privaty being important. She's second only to Rapi in terms of being my favourite characters. It's just lucky that folks in general happen to be coming around to seeing that she's a great dumbass as I'm giving her more screentime in the fic proper.

 

[Ace of Scarabs]

I always planned on Privaty being important. She's second only to Rapi in terms of being my favourite characters. It's just lucky that folks in general happen to be coming around to seeing that she's a great dumbass as I'm giving her more screentime in the fic proper.

Click to shrink...

You can thank the meido Valentine's event for reminding people that under her serious nature in her day job Privaty can be very silly and lovable.

 

[Dasneaky]

*Joe, in the middle of the Artic* "Mustang, I know that you wanted to show off the newest designs, but was this REALLY NECESSARY?!"

*Across the radio* "Indeed it was, my dear Commander. Viewership of the product is going through the roof!"

"Why? All I'm doing is just scouting out Rapture forces? More or less alone. Where ARE the rest, anyway?"

"Oh they're... occupied."

*Swaps to scene of a giant room with a massive screen. Nikke's of all types are staring, transfixed, as the Commander's exquisitely sculpted, defined, and muscular ass-cheeks are shown in all their 12k glory, tastefully covered by the newest in cold weather support gear.*

Privaty: .. *faints, beet red*

Anis: Holy shit boss! What exercises have you been doing?!

Rapi: I... I feel a MIGHTY NEED!

Doro: THAT MAN! THAT MAN IS WHAT I HAVE A FETISH FOR!

*Swaps back to Joe*

"The suit works well though. Its almost balmy in it. Though I feel like I'm attracting attention with my movement. Not sure why..."

"It's the clap of your cheeks. It's alerting the guards. And awakening a great thirst."

"What was that, Mustang?"

"Nothing, dear commander. Nothing at all."

Click to shrink...

I need a omake of this stats

 

[VH777Dragon]

I always planned on Privaty being important. She's second only to Rapi in terms of being my favourite characters. It's just lucky that folks in general happen to be coming around to seeing that she's a great dumbass as I'm giving her more screentime in the fic proper.

Click to shrink...

I would love to see more of her and Joe gooning around

 

[Dasneaky]

In my great wisdom look what I found

https://youtube.com/shorts/ICShKtWO_7w?si=2VpCOEH2jj3L3DlO

 

[BakaSmurf]

===
Chapter 40 - The Next Step
===

"RED HOOD!" The sliding door leading into the empowered gadfly of a troublemaker's personal quarters aboard the Avenger was manually wrenched open, a snow-white ball of fury using the might granted to her by her full-body cybernetic conversion allowing the youngest of Goddess to force her way into her senior's cave. "RED HOOD, SHOW YOURSELF!"

The young teenager whose voice was normally so soft and almost diminutive forcefully demanded as the door was slammed all the way open into its hidden recess. Snow White stomped into the pig's sty of a room, brandishing a massive, rectangular metal box with a furious shake.

"You get out here right now and you explain to me in no uncertain terms why I found a syrup-covered pancake in one of Wolf's Bane's magazines performing basic maintenance on everyone's weapons!"

Her demand was answered with silence. Though the lights were on, it seemed that no one was home. Normally, this would be more than enough evidence to demonstrate that the room's occupant was very present. However, Red Hood was something of an airhead at the best of times - it was wholly believable that she'd simply forgotten to flip the light switch on her way out that morning, as she was bumbling most days as it was.

Not that this did anything to mollify Snow White, who noisily barged her way into the middle of the messy room, kicking empty fast food containers Red Hood continuously had ordered to the helicarrier, and other kinds of trash out of her way as she marched in; teeth gritted together and a heavy growl emanating from her pale throat. "I'm not going anywhere until you show yourself!"

Still, the room answered her with little but silence beyond the low drone of electricity that pervaded the entire aircraft. Standing there for a time, Snow White glanced around, taking in the mess of random blankets and pillows piled upon Red Hood's bed, indicative of her tendency to more 'nest' like a dog that piled soft things up to lay atop than anything else when it came time to rest.

Then, Snow White's gaze drifted to Red Hood's desk, whereupon sat a mess of random comics, manga, and electronics - especially old portable gaming consoles - all alongside her signature red leather jacket crumpled up in a visually unappealing heap. After about a minute, the little Nikke let out a low, rumbling growl. Allowing her arms to fall limply to her sides, her eyes narrowed and she considered the situation, such as it was.

"...Knowing you…" she pondered aloud. "You're probably off bothering the Commander as we speak, aren't you…" pulling out her tablet, Snow White checked the time. "...Oh, you're probably trying to beat Cinderella to sneaking into his bed right now, aren't you!" she declared as she spun about and began marching off back into and down the hallway. "First you make a mess of Wolf's Bane like a total freak-o slob, then you rush off to perv on poor Joe when he's just trying to sleep! Perverted old women, the both of you! Leave the Commander alone! He has a hard enough time getting enough sleep as it is without you two harassing him every other day too-!"

Snow White's voice gradually trailed off as she stomped off, leaving the area in genuine silence - or as silent as a flying aircraft carrier careening through the skies above Earth could be.

A few minutes later, the large, sticker-laden locker set next to the bed creaked open, and Red Hood peeked through the crack, her crimson eye filled with worry. With a relieved sigh, she pushed the locker door all the way open, taking hold of one end of her long, well-worn billowing red scarf to wipe at her brow.

"Whew, almost thought she had me for a minute there…" the blonde remarked as her hair and eyes began to shift in tone, literally becoming aglow with power as her locks became incandescent red and her eyes shining gold. "Man, I'm a genius though, turning off the Exceed so she wouldn't see me shining through the locker! Lilith's big brain must be rubbing off on me! Haha!"

Grimacing, Red Hood thought of the pancake that had enraged little Snow White so. "And so what if I was keeping a pancake in a spare mag - it's not like I was using it for anything else, and it's the perfect size for it too! I bet the only thing that'd fit in them better would be like, a slice of French Toast-! Hey! That's actually a good idea! I'll have to try that next!" Though a wide, toothy grin momentarily found purchase upon her face, she pushed the thought aside.

Red Hood paused, brow furrowing as she considered Snow White's words, still standing inside the locker with the door wide open before her. "But… dang, I should have gone to see Handsome! Cinderella's gonna get a leg up over me at this rate- oh wait, but if Snow White's gonna barge in on them… Ha! Even when I'm not trying, I win! Better luck next time, Daddy's Girl! Score-!" Finally stepping out of the locker, she heard, and felt, a light 'squish' as her heeled foot came down on the floor, and glancing down, she'd noticed that she'd stepped on a box. "-Huh? An old pizza box? What's in it though-?"

Eyes going wide, Red Hood stepped off the box, squatted down, and flipped the top open, revealing…

"Score!" the black-and-red clad Nikke joyously cried as she took in the sight of the cold floor pizza, a handful of lingering slices, one of which had a hard imprint where Red Hood's heeled foot had come down upon it. Greedily, she grabbed a slice and hungrily dug into it, loudly chowing down upon the pie whose solidified cheese audibly squeaked against her teeth as she bit into it.

The sight of the diminutive little Nikke squatting in the middle of her sty of a room was not entirely unlike that of a certain ring-obsessed Halfling messily tearing into a raw coney that would be much better served in a stew alongside hot taters - or, to paint an even more harrowing image, that of Saturn Devouring His Son. Despite the woman herself being the very definition of comely - trim, shapely and at the peak of physical fitness while still maintaining a soft, supple amount of give to her pridefully-exposed fair flesh - one would be hard-pressed to describe the sight as anything less than 'horrific.'

"Mmm…" Red Hood mused past a mouthful of cold floor pizza, "Wonder if'n I'should save a slice for Handsome…" she pondered the notion of romantically sharing a pair of cold slices with the Commander-

---

Rapi's eyes shot open, her breath coming in shallow, horrified bursts. Old floor pizza. Old floor pizza she'd just stepped on. That… That was the first actually clear memory of her past life she'd ever recalled after her talk with the Commander. Of all things, of everything she could have possibly remembered, why did it have to be that!?

Remaining in bed, staring up at the ceiling of her particular unit in the barracks, the blonde closed her eyes, doing her best to keep her breathing even. All her life, at least, her life as Rapi of the Ark's Armed Forces, she had vague impressions of her time as Red Hood. Nothing clear, nothing she could pull any real information from, almost more echoes of distant emotions than anything. And, after all this time… the first thing she clearly remembered was eating an old, cold floor pizza she'd just stepped on, like a pig!?

Genuinely, Rapi had thought she couldn't get more embarrassed than when she complained about not knowing what the Commander looked like in a state of undress aloud, right in front of him, but then this, of all things, was the first clear memory she received after the Commander revealed their shared past together.

Not that she let it show on her face. Self-control, mastery of herself was the first thing that Rapi had mastered after she'd been awoken to serve in atonement for her previous intense crime of passion. Losing control of herself, flying off the handle was among her worst nightmares. An inability to control herself had resulted in her becoming a monster as Red Hood… a mistake she'd sworn she'd never make again.

But, that unpleasantness aside… Snow White. That wasn't just a dream. That was a memory. Rapi had heard of similar things happening to Nikkes before. Memories of their past lives, both before their conversion and before a Mind Switch, might sometimes simply… return to them. Rapi's, it seemed, were returning to her in her sleep.

It reinforced what the Commander had already told her: she was Red Hood, she was a member of Goddess alongside the Pilgrim Snow White. And 'Cinderella…' a name that hadn't come up in their talk the previous day. But, one which Rapi would ask after. If the Commander confirmed that there was a 'Cinderella' (that she was apparently competing for his attention with, back then) in their shared past together, it would be strong confirmation that said dream was an actual memory, and not some flight of fancy concocted in the midst of a wild series of revelations she didn't know quite how to process.

All these things, though, she'd ask after… some time. She'd told the Commander she'd talk to her more today, but… This was more than she'd really understood it to be. She needed time to gather herself. Then, she'd do her duty and hear more of she and the Commander's past.

With that in mind, Rapi sat up in her bed, let out a shallow breath, tossed her blanket aside and kicked her legs out over the edge of the mattress. Quickly grabbing her personal toiletries bag, the little Nikke moved for the washroom, stepping over a Neon that had, as per usual, cocooned herself up in her blanket and proceeded to roll off her bed at some point in the night, sleeping soundly despite her predicament. Though it was a good deal earlier than she'd usually wake up, Rapi, frankly…

She wanted to spend the next half-hour furiously brushing the phantom taste of ancient floor pizza off of her teeth.

---

Though Rapi had asserted that she'd be good to talk more the following day, it quickly became apparent that saying was one thing, while doing was another. Joe had no interest in holding that against her, given that she was an old veteran that just had her entire worldview upended on her, and she doubtlessly needed time to process the ever-loving fuck out of the all the bullshit he'd just dumped on her.

So, Joe settled in to focus on his administrative duties for the time being. As much as he'd like to bum around the Outpost with the Nikkes of the squad, he was effectively every one of the Outpost's bureaucratic officials all at once, and so he had a lot of paperwork to sort through. Matters of zoning, building permits, logistics and budgeting…

It certainly wasn't fun work, but it was strictly necessary work. Given that Joe had to do all of it himself, it meant he had to pretty much hole up. Over the course of the next few days, he was alerted via blabla that the squad's modified and new equipment had arrived, and they'd taken time to practice with and fit into everything.

Everyone was seemingly about as ready for the deployment to chase down Snow White as they could be, and with everything going as well as it could, it almost came as a relief when Ingrid sent him word that the wayward Pilgrim had been spotted in the Yukon, travelling due North into the Arctic.

Almost. Primarily because Rapi hadn't yet approached him for their follow-up discussion yet. Meaning that they hadn't yet hashed everything out yet… but, they'd run out the clock, and it was time to deploy to the Yukon, and reunite at least a small part of Goddess.

---

"...Seriously?" Anis complained, staring at Joe dubiously. "Seriously!? We're being sent to chase down that Pilgrim, just you, the three of us," she motioned towards Rapi and Neon, "even though we have Nikkes to spare!? What the Hell!?"

Joe was doing his level fucking best to not be distracted by the fact that Anis refused to fully close her personalized cold suit colour-matched to her usual outfit, leaving her heaving chest looking like it was about to pop out of the skin-tight bodysuit with every little breath she took, to say nothing of every other movement she made. She wore it under her usual jacket, and hefted a new shotgun alongside her more familiar grenade launcher which she had slung over her shoulder.

To Joe's horror, the new weapon looked like a motherfucking Streetsweeper. An infamously terrible shotgun. Silently, he prayed to Christ that it was actually a Striker or Protecta, the weapons that the Streetsweeper was a shitty knock-off of, but he wasn't familiar enough with the weapons system to be able to positively identify it at a glance.

"I don't wanna come across as mean…" Neon started, adjusting the new assault rifle slung across her chest as she did so. "But… that seems really, really stupid, Commander." She was wearing her cold suit properly, all done up and coloured the same as her usual swimsuit… along with her sailor fuku over the cold suit. The appearance was more than a little bizarre, to say the least.

Her new rifle - or rather, machine gun, which, at a glance, rather looked like an M16A1, retro Vietnam-era furniture and all, which would have been obsolete by the time Joe was born - upon closer inspection, was… Strange. It had a one-hundred round Beta C-Mag, and a bipod mounted on the front sight block. And Joe was pretty sure that the foregrip was stouter than it should have been.

Joe had to assume that Anis and Neon's new guns were just… deliberately designed to look like obsolete guns as per their own personal tastes. In which case, Neon at least had good taste, because the M16A1 was a gorgeous rifle, he supposed.

Yet, more striking than the two of them put together…

"The operation calls for a small squad," Rapi asserted to her fellows. "If those are the parameters we've been given to work with, then there's no point in complaining about it."

Rapi was dressed like… well… her Arctic attire had been customized as such to be a cold-weather version of Red Hood's outfit. A slick, sleek, shiny black undersuit adorned with a red harness which hefted various tactical pouches, and a cropped, equally red puffer jacket worn atop it. She even had a bright red scarf, though it was clearly not the same worn and torn one she'd worn as a member of Goddess.

That, combined with the massive, bullpup anti-materiel rifle she held at rest over her shoulder - what at least resembled an M82A2 - that was clearly the same model as Wolf's Bane, the rifle she'd used as Red Hood; albeit one which had been taken right off the rack and hadn't been personalized by her yet… Red Hood was standing before him. She just didn't have her Exceed active, and her hair wasn't a bed-headed mess. But she simply… looked like Red Hood, if Red Hood had discovered that hair brushes existed.

That sight was hitting him in a strange way, to say the least.

"But- come on Rapi!" Anis protested, stamping her foot as she did so. Notably, none of the girls were wearing heels for once. Superhuman balancing or no, trudging through Arctic snow with inches-high heels would not have fucking worked, full-stop. "Aren't we supposed to be getting that other squad folded into ours soon too? The Cannoneers or whatever? Why the Hell aren't we just waiting for them to arrive and deploy with a full-on force for once!?"

"Anis, for fuck's sake," Joe reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, the slick, skin-hugging material of his own coldsuit feeling odd against the bare flesh of his face. "This mission is time-sensitive. We sit around on our asses waiting for back-up, we fail the mission. It's a simple fucking concept."

"But-!" Anis immediately attempted to continue her protest.

"Anis," Rapi pointedly cut her off. "We are deploying. That is it. Stop complaining."

At that, Anis threw her hands up, openly growling and glowering as she crossed her arms and grumbled under her breath, clearly annoyed, but Joe and Rapi had both pointedly shut her down, and Neon didn't speak up to offer and sort of protest herself at that point.

Therefore: it was what it was. Joe reached up to adjust the collar of his coldsuit. It was tight. Uncomfortably so, but he was told that it'd both break in, and he'd get used to it quickly enough. Joe hadn't bothered with personalizing it, but, as it turned out… that bastard Andersen had. Long story short?

Joe was deploying to the Arctic wearing fucking Shadow Moses-era Solid Snake cosplay. It had actually also come with a bandana that Andersen had apparently had packed in with it himself, but Joe wasn't wearing the fucking bandana. Both because he wasn't that much of a goddamned shameless nerd, but also because he was going to be wearing a balaclava and a hood, as he knew how to actually dress for Arctic conditions.

The coldsuit was going to be mostly covered up by his new winter coat anyways - which was styled after an old American M65 Field Jacket, because Joe loved him his M65 Field Jackets - it was olive drab, hooded, altogether utilitarian. Much more in line with his usual tastes compared to the gilded blue coat Marian had picked out for him. While he would always treasure that blue jacket… Joe had a look, and he wanted to keep it in at least some capacity.

Work phone buzzing, Joe checked his messages, and… "Transport's ready. Come on everyone, time to get our cheeks frozen off."

At once, Joe recalled how fucking much he detested the snow and winter in general.

This wasn't going to be fun.

 

[VH777Dragon]

YES IT LIVES!!!!!
Also ewwww red what the fuck?
Floor pizza seriously.? Rapi thought that red was evil but now she praying that she doesn't pick up her habits

 

[palacesound]

This wasn't going to be fun.

Click to shrink...

But it will be funny.

 

[Slamm-O]

YES IT LIVES!!!!!
Also ewwww red what the fuck?
Floor pizza seriously.? Rapi thought that red was evil but now she praying that she doesn't pick up her habits

Click to shrink...

When your a student and spent most of your loan and don't wanna tell your parents every alterations is preferable.

Though stuffing something as vital as your weapon with food hurts me.

 

[Zam138]

Joe was deploying to the Arctic wearing fucking Shadow Moses-era Solid Snake cosplay. It had actually also come with a bandana that Andersen had apparently had packed in with it himself, but Joe wasn't wearing the fucking bandana. Both because he wasn't that much of a goddamned shameless nerd, but also because he was going to be wearing a balaclava and a hood, as he knew how to actually dress for Arctic conditions.

Click to shrink...

Clearly a missed opportunity to slide in an AN saying "kept you waiting, huh?"

 

[BoundlessVortigern]

Eeewwwwwww, lmao!

Besides Rapi trying to clean away the taste of floor pizza from her brain, nothing much has happened besides them preparing for the mission. Of course it's good all the same, preparations and all.

 

[VH777Dragon]

Eeewwwwwww, lmao!

Besides Rapi trying to clean away the taste of floor pizza from her brain, nothing much has happened besides them preparing for the mission. Of course it's good all the same, preparations and all.

Click to shrink...

Actually it did very specifically told us that rapi remembers a bit about being red hood and snow white and showed that she is intentionally or not is dressing somewhat similar to red which is going to effect her meeting with snow.

 

[Masayume]

Rapi havng a different kind of ptsd now. Day old floor pizzas!

 

[Dasneaky]

Rapi havng a different kind of ptsd now. Day old floor pizzas!

Click to shrink...

Mhmhm pizza

 

[Valthorix]

Well, that Red flashback is certainly a testament to the quality of Snow's engineering. The idea of getting dough and syrup all up in a magazine... ugh. Honestly amazed that thing functions as well as it does.

 

[RavenSnake317]

God, Red Hood is like a female cyborg Dante at this rate. And I freaking love it.

 

[EX143]

Red is such a disgusting slob... and yet she's still a fun gremlin to inflict on other people.

 

[Ace of Scarabs]

I think Joe's gonna lose the jacket and give the girls a good gander at his sneaksuit'd physique

 

[BakaSmurf]

===
Chapter 41 - Longing and Resentment
===

Heels rhythmically click-clacking against the sterile metallic flooring of the well-worn hallways, Dorothy walked through the cavernous halls of Eden, the natural sun dappling the cold corridors born of the calculated might of science in an oxymoronic warm glow. Striding past the many securely-locked doors leading into the private quarters of many a fellow surface-dwelling warrior, the white-clad pinkette paid little mind to her surroundings as she moved for a particular, cordoned-off section of the building - what one might have referred to as the resident 'executive suites.'

Slipping into that isolated avenue, the angelic beauty strode past the long-abandoned dormitories of her fellow Goddesses, their rooms kept just as they'd left them, Dorothy forcefully refusing to so much as entertain the notion of reallocating the spaces to Eden's officers.

Her sisters would see reason and return to her one day, after all. At some point, perhaps soon, perhaps not, Goddess would be whole again, and she'd not tolerate the idea of disrespecting her, however aloof, family. They were irreplaceable. Their rooms too, were theirs and not to be passed around wantonly.

So, Dorothy strode through that lonely wing of the residential area only actively inhabited by herself. Quickly enough, she came to a stop before the door leading to her personal quarters. Yet her back was turned to that domicile. Instead, she looked to that entryway which stood directly across from her own. Stepping forth with a shallow sigh, she stepped into the Commander's room.

Just as every other time, a melancholic pang of longing agony rushed through her core. A shuddering breath slipped past her delicate lips, along with a small, pained, but genuine smile. The room was arranged to be as close as was possible to be an exact copy of Joe's room on the Avenger had been, complete with a wide window letting ample sunlight into the warm, yet perennially still room. And moreover… It was decorated with framed pictures, printed copies of the many images that had been taken with his phone's camera a century prior. Stirrings of distant, but continuously precious memories returned to her in force. A terrible pain, but one she welcomed often. As ever, she approached a very particular image, that which stood front-and-centre, framed by all others as the pièce de résistance.

A vanishingly rare photo of Dorothy and Joe earnestly and eagerly embracing, the man's stature emphasized by Dorothy's pressing of her head into his chest, given that she scarcely came up to his mouth when she was wearing her typical three-inch heels while standing ramrod straight. A broad, toothy grin directed at the camera shone on his face, a boorish display the prim and proper Nikke would normally disapprove of; but one she'd come to consider precious, upon realizing that she'd forever lost any possible chance to ever see it again that day when he descended into the treacherous Ark. She herself was too smiling at the camera, though more demurely, it was still more openly cheerful than she'd usually allow herself to publicly present normally.

Reaching out, her elegant fingertips stroked the transparent acrylic pane shielding the photo from anything which might mar it, so very appropriately; a bright and clear memory, but one which could never again be touched.

So many other pictures surrounded it: of Lilith, The High Commander Andersen, Red Hood, Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella... Even that miserly Scarlet. All great and terrible reminders of what was lost. Of what the Ark insulted day in and day out with their lesser Nikkes which were hollow facsimiles of Goddess. That, and truly pathetic Commanders which were pitiful simulacrums of Andersen and Joe.

That, Dorothy thought, was the worst aspect of it: how Joe was remembered, and his name and image stolen, tarnished by simple-minded fools.

A brand new Ark Commander bearing the same name as her beloved Joe was making waves in the Ark. That, and a seemingly passing resemblance to him as well, as according to that wretch of a Commander she'd left to feebly find his own way back to the Ark an entire Province away - just as promised, she hadn't harmed him upon surrendering information to her.

Why was this so common a development? Entirely too often did some mewling pretender emerge from the Commander Corps, clearly attempting to emulate him on the most insultingly skin-deep level possible. Stealing his appearance, then making complete asses of themselves as they marred his memory... It was remarkably rare for them to have enough information to steal even part of his name too, which made it all the worse when one clearly knew enough about him to claim and besmirch it.

This so-called 'third coming' had developed a doubtlessly cartoonishly exaggerated reputation for crushing Tyrants with but three Nikkes. Dorothy knew enough about the Ark to be capable of reading between the lines and see the truth behind the deception: this fool threw dozens of squads of Nikkes at Tyrants, and crawled out of his Pyrrhic victories with no more than three surviving Nikkes to his name. The Ark always had a way to spin their diminutive accomplishments into wondrous victories and exemplars of 'military genius.' The circus to accompany the stale bread given to the blind masses.

Dorothy had seen it so often that she could not produce more than a low, simmering resentment at this fake Legendary Commander. Not to say she would not kill the wretch for besmirching the name of her treasured Joe. She simply could not find the will to rage and fume over this shameless debasement after the dozenth repeat incident.

At any rate… Dorothy would bide her time. Wait, watch, and the moment an opportunity presented itself, she would pounce upon the pretender and tear him asunder, just as she had those who had come before him - save the astonishingly rare few that managed to elude her grasp and permanently retreat into the Ark, surely to lounge upon their thrones of stolen valour and Nikke corpses.

But, she wasn't here to fume about the present. Just the opposite, in fact. Quietly stepping over to the room's desk, she removed Joe's jacket from her shoulders, settling it upon her lap as she sat upon the well-worn office chair upholstered in simple fabric. There, she reached out, settled her fingers atop a now-ancient notebook, and drew it back to flip it open. She was greeted by her own handwriting: a long series of reports she'd written to Joe, ever since Eden had been formed, since Dorothy had a home to return and settle into.

At first, she'd written weekly. Then, eventually, monthly. And yet still after that and until now, yearly. But, despite her intent to cut down on the amount of physical paper she'd go through, the multiple boxes of nothing but journals written as if addressed to her late Commander was clear indication that she'd perhaps taken longer than she should have to reel herself in and show restraint.

Yet, this was how Dorothy 'communicated' with Joe, such as it was. Earlier on, after she'd spent so many years with no outlet, she thought it understandable that, at first, she lacked the restraint she had now. She knew that he would never truly read any of these. The dead could not read the writings of the living. But, it felt right. She would speak to him at great length during the war, and never broke the habit even so long after his departure.

After a few moments of contemplating the booklet, Dorothy let out a longing sigh. Bundling the olive drab jacket on her lap up, she pulled it into her chest, and tightly drew in the coat: the closest she'd ever come to getting to hug Joe again. A miserable, pitiable substitution, but it was all she could hope for. Thus-

"Ah, always the last place you look!" A familiar, girly voice called out, heavy footfalls announcing the presence of a welcome companion. "You'd think I'd have learned by now, given how this is your favourite haunt in the entire place!"

Turning in her seat, a small smile found purchase on Dorothy's face as she took in the sight of an old friend, messy blonde hair tied up in a loose ponytail framed a large pair of sky blue eyes. "You need me for something, Pinne?"

"Yeah," Dorothy's fellow century-old Nikke declared with a broad smile. "Company! The rest of Inherit are a bunch of weirdos! And don't even get me started on the Commander! I don't think I've ever met someone that smiles less than he does! All super serious all the time, talking about how he's busy and he's working right now and how this part of the base is supposed to be off-limits, how did you even get in here…"

Chuckling lightly, Dorothy warmly grinned at Pinne as she replied to her rambling. "You shouldn't be harrying Johan, you know."

"But it's funny!" Pinne countered with a broad, toothy smile. "He's so easy to get all worked up!"

"I don't think I've ever seen Johan get 'worked up' before," Dorothy observed as a counter to Pinne's assertion. "At most, I've noticed his eye begin to twitch in that particular way when Noah gets particularly uproarious…"

"That's what I mean!" Pinne proclaimed cheerily. "That's how he gets 'worked up!' He tries to act all cool as a cucumber all the time, but he's so quick to get all steamed up, but tries to hide it. It's funny! Not that I'd ever be brave enough to let it show in front of him…" the ponytailed Nikke sheepishly admitted.

"My, hiding one's true feelings from their colleagues out of a sense of embarrassment and/or shame? That sounds familiar…" Dorothy wryly remarked.

In response, Pinne blew a raspberry at the pinkette, leaning forward slightly as she had no better reply.

Dorothy leaned back and basked in her meaningless victory, a self-satisfied grin creeping across her features for a few moments before she looked back to the photos of Goddess adorning the room.

Pinne, for her part, went quiet and allowed an easy silence to fall between the two for a time. Eventually, she was the first to speak between them again. "I think he'd be proud of everything that's been accomplished here, you know."

Dorothy just hummed approvingly, having had this particular conversation with Pinne more times than she could count: though she'd never complain, given that she both understood that Pinne was attempting to be comforting… to say nothing of the fact that she simply enjoyed being assured by someone that actually knew Joe, back during the war.

"I mean, I think," Pinne sheepishly added, reaching up to rub at the back of her head with a small grimace. "I never got to talk to him personally, after all. But he seemed pretty cool from a distance…"

Yet, as per usual, Pinne would undercut her own efforts… "As I've said before: the Commander was earnest and honest about who he was," Dorothy assured her long-time companion and friend. "Stern, firm, resolute when the situation called for it, yet kind, gentle, considerate when supporting Goddess between battles… what you saw of him is just what he was. He would not have snubbed you had you approached him,"

"Ah man, don't tell me that," Pinne whined, eyes locking shut as a somewhat exaggerated pout found purchase on her features, despite this having been a conversation they'd had many, many times now: one of many rituals the pair had formed in the hundred years they'd served together. "You should be assuring me that he was actually kinda mean and harsh so I don't feel like I made a mistake in keeping my distance…"

"Yet you did make a mistake," Dorothy teased the well-armoured Nikke. "Joe would not discriminate based on the nature of a Nikke's production. Mass Production or no, we are all simply women to him all the same, and he'd have welcomed your company as easily as I have."

"Meanie," Pinne huffed, crossing her arms and pouting.

At that, the pair fell into silence, now each gazing over the many pictures adorning the walls of the Commander's room. Though Dorothy could tell that Pinne was doing her best to distract her from her dwellings, when the past gnawed at her… she simply could not help but lose herself in days long gone by. The time when Goddess was whole, what was lost, when things were good, when they were respected and beloved as the protectors of humanity, as they should be.

Even despite having lost everything, despite how badly everything ultimately went, how the Central Government had betrayed them… Things would be so much better here and now, if only Joe had been returned to them… If only he were here…

Curling over slightly, Dorothy drew Joe's jacket back into her chest, longingly hugging it once more even as Pinne's forlorn, pitying expression wasn't acknowledged. At times like this, Dorothy could nearly weep. In some ways, she wanted to weep, yet she simply couldn't muster up the tears. She'd bawled her eyes out inconsolably on that day that the Commander had been taken from them, and… never again. Even for him, even despite how she'd oftentimes wanted to, the tears would not come.

They'd broken something in her on that day. And for that, for all they'd taken from her, for all the ways they continued to spit upon herself and her sisters, their sacrifices, their Commander-

"Dorothy," a weary, worn-down masculine voice called out from the hallway door, breaking the pinkette from her veritable stupor.

Tortured expression immediately fading for one of mild annoyance and exasperation, despite Pinne snapping about to stand at attention, Dorothy didn't bother turning the seat around as she acknowledged the call out. "Johan," she mirthlessly replied. "Does the Second Coming of the Legendary Commander need something from me?"

A long, bone-deep sigh of weariness usually typical only of the elderly was all the answer she received initially, but Johan did eventually speak up properly as he stepped into the room. Tall, grey-haired, well-built and athletic in his form, he looked to be in no more than his early thirties despite the short, messy silver locks not quite covering his dull, ice-blue eyes lacking in a particular spark. His angular face gave the impression of an old predatory animal, intense, calculating and worn-down by having seen far too much in a miserable, hard life.

"The Special Reconnaissance Unit has confirmed the presence of an Initial Invasion Elysion Research and Development centre in Washington, hidden away in the east-most region of the State," Johan declared. "This may have been one of the classified next-generation Grimms production facilities, and I have agreed with Cecil that it would be best if we assemble and deploy the fastest and most powerful forces we have to investigate and secure the site in case it is. There may be incalculably valuable data and resources to scrounge from it."

The grey-haired man spoke in a businesslike tone, the hem of his black greatcoat slightly swaying with each step taken. A brown uniform not entirely unlike those worn by the Ark's Commander's complete with a peaked officer's cap settled atop his head masked his figure, though notably, a metallic glint indicated the presence of metal beneath the cuffs of his coat. He seemed to be wearing hard gauntlets and greaves, proper dedicated armour, or so one might reasonably assume at a glance.

"You're approaching me to help with sifting through some dusty old computers and documents, then?" Dorothy inquired dryly, her tone utterly bereft of playfulness or respect. "Have you so little faith in Inherit that you feel the need to seek out a Goddess' aid in performing glorified scavenging work?"

"I am requesting the aid of one of Eden's most powerful assets with the consideration that we are likely to encounter Tyrants approaching a probable Grimms production facility," Johan replied in a thoroughly put-upon and tired tone. "As confident as I am in Inherit's ability to handle extreme danger, the fact of the matter is that you are one of the few active Nikkes that has previous experience interacting with Elysion production facilities, and you are one of the best tacticians in Eden. And the less potential damage Inherit incurs, the better. Our resources are finite, after all."

"Ah, so you are simply requesting that I hold your hand and fight your battle for you, then," Dorothy cattily remarked. Annoyance marring her otherwise lovely features.

There was a long tense silence as Johan simply reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in mounting frustration, while Dorothy continued to pay the New Hope little mind, and even less respect.

It was Pinne that spoke up next. "Dorothy…" she started quietly. "It… would make me feel a lot safer if you were there."

Whereas Dorothy could not be bothered to face Johan, she did turn to and take in Pinne's worried, almost pleading expression. With a shallow sigh, she returned to her heeled feet despite her obvious misgivings. "Very well. I will join the operation as the second-in-command of Inherit. Though I hope I'll need not do all the work expected of the squad's actual Commander, on top of acting as a combatant."

Sighing deeply, Johan allowed his apparently armoured hand to fall back to his side, choosing to simply take this victory for what it was. Not wanting to risk rocking the boat, he turned to the room's sole other occupant and addressed her first. "Pinne, Isabel is futzing about in the sky with her communications disabled. Knowing her, she'll be up there all day if she's left to it. Collect her and inform her of the upcoming operation. Harran is waiting for the call to assemble already."

"Yes sir," Pinne dutifully replied, saluting as her metallic wings flexed in anticipation of taking flight.

Shifting his attention back to Dorothy, who still had her back to him, Johan, wearily, simply declared to her: "Briefing room six. The time will be given through general comms once it's confirmed that Inherit has been herded."

Though his purpose in the room was done, Johan lingered, gazing over Dorothy's head at the photo of her and the Legendary Commander. Focusing on the features of the figure that the little Goddess clung to for a few moments, he lightly dipped his hat to the picture in fatigued respect.

With that, the Commanding officer of Inherit about-faced and departed, leaving Dorothy and Pinne alone again.

Turning to Dorothy, Pinne smiled and lightheartedly asked, "Do you think we'll find a super-secret hidden new Grimms Nikke that's been waiting in stasis to be called upon to save humanity?"

"No," Dorothy flatly replied, making no attempt to mask how much interacting with Johan had soured her mood.

Quietly sighing, Pinne took the hint, and started off to perform her assigned job, though not without making one last attempt to lighten Dorothy's mood. "I'm looking forward to working with you anyways, Dorothy... and I'm sure that Noah will be excited to hear that you'll be coming along too."

"Me too, Pinne, and I'm sure she will," Dorothy at least allowed her tone to soften in reply to that.

Quickly enough, she was alone once more. Joe's jacket was unfurled and once more draped over her shoulders as an improvised cloak, and she took a deep breath. "It should have been you here…" she said to the smiling picture of her Commander, reaching out and brushing her fingertips against the protective shell over the digital capture of his face once more, before turning and departing herself once more.

Just another day in the life of a scorned Goddess of Victory.

---

Wind whipping about, chill and biting, the original four of Counters stood where the transport had dropped them, gazing into the stark white environment allegedly riddled with enough Raptures to make simply flying the entire way to the Northern Base a dangerous proposition. Necessitating walking at least part of the way through the frozen north of the Yukon.

After an extended silence, Anis piped up in a deeply displeased, whining tone, with her cold suit still undone enough to have her chest damn near spilling out in the open: "It's cold."

Joe had forgotten how very fucking much he hated snow.

 

[VH777Dragon]

Wait pinne alive whattt?

 

[Dsaeg]

This is going to be one hell of an awkward meeting. Or even straight up hostile one if there are any misunderstandings.

To be honest I have no knowledge about nikke because it is too horny for me but I like this world thanks to this fic and to the author.

 

[palacesound]

Wait pinne alive whattt?

Click to shrink...

Well, Cinderella is still alive here, so they had one more grimms model to help during that last rapture push.

 

[BoundlessVortigern]

Oof, those four ain't definitely liking the cold. And the time for a certain reunion is coming, so that's going to be GRAND lmao.

 

[RavenSnake317]

Well, Cinderella is still alive here, so they had one more grimms model to help during that last rapture push.

Click to shrink...

I mean, all of Goddess Squad is strong, and even just one more in the group would understandably have a ripple effect that could reasonably have saved Pinne from dying.

This also means Dorothy is.... sort of? More sane than canon, given she's not seeing delusional visions of the Commander or anything. So clearly her mind is a bit more stable, hopefully.

 

[Dsaeg]

I mean, all of Goddess Squad is strong, and even just one more in the group would understandably have a ripple effect that could reasonably have saved Pinne from dying.

This also means Dorothy is.... sort of? More sane than canon, given she's not seeing delusional visions of the Commander or anything. So clearly her mind is a bit more stable, hopefully.

Click to shrink...

What's Dorothy state of mind was in canon?
I mean if she thinks that he is imposter and a really good one (considering that he lost his memories)then she can go murder mode on him. And hoo boy if there is no other goddesses to stop her then he is screwed. And rapi can't help here.

 

[SongNai145]

Dorothy had seen it so often that she could not produce more than a low, simmering resentment at this fake Legendary Commander. Not to say she would not kill the wretch for besmirching the name of her treasured Joe. She simply could not find the will to rage and fume over this shameless debasement after the dozenth repeat incident

Click to shrink...

Doro: how dare that filthy central government dog ruins Joe's name, I'll tear him apart when he-

Joe bursts in through a wall fencing 3 tyrants with a comical large spoon and barking orders at Signal who is piggybacking him while Encounter and a contingent of MP Nikkes are tactically taking out the enemy weakpoints

Doro with tears in her eyes: ...I've missed you

 

[Masayume]

Aint no way Snow White is leaving Joey boy's side after they meet again, so its most likely that Doro and Snow will meet each other with Joe and counters at the same time, wherever they are fated to meet again in this story.

Also I got a feeling that whatever Red Hood and Joe had going on between them that caused Red to flip a 180 on her attitude on him had something to do with her being corrupted in canon but was prevented here.

Also Eden people recognizing who Joe is gonna make him go "WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!"

 

[Slamm-O]

Well Pinned is alive which is awesome.

But yeah Dorothy mental health seems some what better even with the memorial to Joe and the rest of Goddess. Though I do look foreward to her actually learning Joe is alive.

 

[Nomad-117]

At this point I expect Joe to apologize to Doro for not returning like he promised, and for failing to RIP and TEAR to the full conclusion.

While at the same time assuring her that this time he'll make sure to end it.

I mean this time he will have an army at his back and call simply due to the fact that he seems to seduce like 90% of the Nikke he interacts with. So that should help.

 

[Gudan]

Damn, can't wait for Joe's reunion with Dorothy.

Bonus points if Red Hood/Rapi gets to bulli Dorothy for her idol Joe Shrine.