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Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

Reader mode
Dorothy kinda reminds me of a knight fighting in memory and honor of her Lord if baka goes platonic route just in the way in game she calls you, your grace and how she clearly misses Joe reminds me when I read about knights.
 
With this timeline making Rose the corrupted one instead of Red Hood, Scarlet must have been really torn up about that for the last century.
 
Chapter 59 - The Return
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    • ===
    Chapter 59 - The Return
    ===

    Upon returning to the Outpost, hands professionally tended to and Rapi placated, Joe moved to amble his way back up to his office. Shredded palms or not, he still had a job to do as the Commander of Counters, and he didn't type with the meat of his hands.

    To say nothing of the fact that they needed to prepare to go out and reunite with Pioneer. They weren't terribly far away, so it shouldn't take that long to get to them—far less than even an entire day—but still best to have all their ducks in order before heading out to the surface.

    With luck, it had turned out that there wasn't all that much to account for. Everything was quickly ordered, and with unexpected rapidity, Joe found that they were already prepared to deploy to the surface and seek out the remnants of Goddess.

    Then Joe was surprised and confused when he found that Rapi, Anis, and Neon were the only members of Counters that were available to deploy, as the MP girls were otherwise occupied with 'Dispatches,' whatever the fuck those were.

    Not that he would have been dumb enough to bring anyone else along to meet Pioneer, but—actually, suddenly the Command Centre being so quiet made some sense. The building was empty of everyone save for just Joe and the original Counters girls.

    That being said, after some consideration, he came to the conclusion that, maybe, it should just be himself and Rapi that went out. Both because Anis was visibly overwhelmed by everything that had already happened and probably needed some time to decompress, and Neon… Was Neon. She should probably just sit this one out.

    "Just you and I should probably head out to meet Pioneer," Joe declared to Rapi, who had only briefly separated from him to get fully dressed in her typical beret and jacket. She then followed him to his room and plonked herself down on the couch, just quietly watching him work.

    The little Nikke blinked at being addressed, shifting in place uncomfortably. "...Shouldn't we wait until your hands have healed?" She asked.

    "We're not making them sit out there waiting for us for weeks on end, Rapi," Joe replied dryly and pointedly. "It's a straight shot to them as according to Snow White's map, and we can reasonably assume that they're keeping the area clear for us too."

    "...Very well," Rapi acknowledged the assertion with a degree of resignation. "So, we're just… Going now?"

    "Well, we have to pack for a day trip, but, it'd probably be best to not leave them hanging for too long," Joe declared as he tapped away at his computer, ensuring their stuff was in order for the trip. "We'll pack assuming it's gonna be an overnight thing, since, well… I figure we're gonna get all caught up in reunions, and such."

    "...I see," Rapi grimaced, discomforted by the notion of being reunited with Pioneer, but making an effort to keep it to herself lest she cause unnecessary problems. A sharp contrast to her time as Red Hood, wherein she'd have hemmed and hawed and whined and cried in an attempt to avoid the potential discomfort.

    As she had promised to Joe, back then, in the Central Government HQ, she had to do and be better for him.


    Upon sending a message to Andersen indicating that he and Rapi were about to leave to make contact with Pioneer, Andersen responded with a phone call.

    "Before you go to that," the Deputy-Chief Commander started immediately, "There's something I want you both to do first. There's a shipping container next to the Command Centre, among all the rest holding shipments from Elysion and Tetra Line for the Outpost's upkeep. It's the one red one that's a noticeably more intense shade compared to the rest. It has a digital lock. I'll message you the code to open it. Take Rapi, and collect what's inside, and after… Wait for a while as I have a package sent to the Command Centre for you."

    Joe blinked, an eyebrow quirking as he inquired: "And what would that be? Either of these things."

    "What's in the container? You'll see," Andersen stated matter-of-factually. "As for the package? It's…" the man paused, steeling himself on the other end of the line for a moment before continuing. "It's for Ellie, if she's among Pioneer when you reunite with them."

    …Ah. "Okay, I'll be sure to pack it along when we head out," Joe responded simply.

    "Good. Good…" Andersen trailed off, seeming to be a little winded by the topic. "So… I'll leave you to it, then."

    "Alright," Joe nodded, despite Andersen not being able to see him. "You'll know as soon as we're back."

    "I know. Good luck out there." With that, the older man ended the call, and a few moments later, the promised code was passed along to him via text message.

    Nodding, Joe gathered Rapi up, informed her of the current plan, and the pair immediately went to find the container in question. It was pretty deep into the lot. Clearly done to hide it in plain sight. But, just as advertised, it was the one container that was a noticeably more intense red compared to the rest.

    Upon finding the key pad—which was itself hidden beneath a low-profile swing-out case—the code was punched in, and the doors audibly unlocked. It only just occurred to Joe that this meant that the container must have been powered, strangely enough.

    But, moving on, he swung open the industrial double doors, and immediately, a light from within flicked on; illuminating what would have otherwise been a dark interior.

    Rapi let out a small gasp, and at once, the man could see why. Inside, at the end of the container, were Red Hood's bright red leather jacket and scarf set upon a simple stand, and her personal M82A2 over-the-shoulder anti-material rifle, Wolf's Bane.

    There was a notable pause in which Joe simply turned aside to look at Rapi. She was staring, eyes wide and rapidly fluttering. No small amount of melancholy overtook her features as she slowly stepped into the container, making her way towards her old, signature garb and weapon.

    Following her in quietly, Joe watched the strawberry blonde as she approached the artifacts of another life once lived. She stopped before the jacket, and gingerly reached out, brushing her fingertips down a sleeve, then taking a proper hold of one. "...It's just as I remember it…" she noted quietly, under her breath. Her voice was suffused with a pensive nostalgia terribly unlike her. "All this time…" turning aside, she acknowledged the massive rifle resting upon a gun rack embedded into the metallic wall of the container.

    The weapon was far too large for her diminutive frame, such was plain to see even with it simply resting within arm's reach of the little woman. Yet, Joe remembered clearly how she'd flail that thing around like it weighed nothing, handling it like a child would a pop gun with dismissive ease.

    Unlike the generic grey M82A2 she'd carried into the Yukon, this one was a midnight black with bright red accents. It had a massive custom super-tech scope, a muzzle brake which nearly came to a point to facilitate her tendency to drive it into Raptures like a spear. A personalized red and black sling was attached to it at the barrel and butt of the stock, and it was decorated with a decal depicting a red and white wolf clutching in its teeth a length of red fabric bearing the weapon's name.

    Snow White had personally built this thing for Red Hood when she first joined Goddess. Every single part of the weapon was expertly crafted and customized. Back then, Red Hood appreciated the act of generosity on the part of the squad's youngest, but never truly seemed to internalize just how much effort and skill had gone into craft producing this firearm by hand for her.

    Now, however, Rapi ran her fingers along the weapon's body with a distinct reverence Joe had yet to see from her. She had changed no small amount since she bore the title of Red Hood. In many ways, she had matured significantly since that time. Time enough to appreciate a long-lost gift, it seemed.

    After a few moments of simply basking in having these once-forgotten treasures all within arm's reach again, Rapi turned back to the scarf—which was simply slung across the jacket's shoulders—and took the old length of fabric in both hands. She just stood there, holding it for a time.

    Releasing the scarf, she stepped back—and after a few moments—reached up to remove her beret, setting it aside atop Wolf's Bane, then removing her black and red-accented jacket in turn.

    She looked upon the cropped coat she'd been wearing since at least as long as she and Joe had been reunited, and with a heavy sigh, spoke up. "...I shouldn't have been wearing these anymore anyways," she declared, voice soft, regretful. "My Absolute uniform… I clung to it all this time, despite having left the squad a long time ago. As though I was only taking a break from it. As though I intended to go back to them one day…" letting out a shuddering sigh, she set the black leather jacket atop Wolf's Bane as well.

    With her shoulders bare, she reached out to take her old scarf, deftly wrapping it around her neck, just as she would have back during the days of Goddess. Then, just as quickly and smoothly, the bright red leather jacket with a white liner and a silvery crest depicting a roaring wolf on the lapel rested upon her shoulders for the first time in a century.

    Reaching up, Rapi ran her arms across the nape of her neck, under her hair, and spread them out to draw her long locks out from under her jacket, streaming down her back like a strawberry blonde waterfall.

    Turning back around, the echo of Red Hood looked up at Joe. Recognizable, but unquestionably distorted by the passage of time. Her hair was no longer messy, her expression far from the cocksure, foolhardy grin he had once known. Her eyes lacked that vague, deliberate lack of awareness they once did, instead infused with a particular keen edge that betrayed her razor-sharp intellect. Yet…

    There she was. The little woman that had caused him so much trouble, so much grief, so much annoyance, so many needless headaches. All of that, and yet still, joy, laughter, comfort, camaraderie, and, even…

    Pointedly ignoring the sharp jolt through his heart that consisted of equal parts pain, longing, and adoration, Joe cleared his throat as he smiled down at Rapi. He did so, even despite the awareness of the moisture building up in the corners of her eyes, accompanied by the slightest shuddering of her lips. "Looking as good as ever," he declared, giving the blonde an approving thumbs-up. "Little Red."

    The misting of Rapi's eyes doubled at the mention of the nickname Joe had last used for her a hundred years previously. She sharply averted her gaze, and attempted to swallow a lump rapidly growing in her throat. After a moment of no small amount of awkward silence, she suddenly lurched forward and wrapped her arms around the larger man's midsection, drawing him into a tight hug.

    It took him a moment to process, but with an owlish blink, the Commander responded in kind as he circled his own arms around Rapi's tiny frame.

    "...Thank you, Joe," she uttered quietly. "Thank you… Thank you," she repeated herself with increasing fervency each time.

    Something told the man in question that this was about something more than what was immediately happening, but, this hardly seemed like the time or place. So, rather than press that, Joe simply squeezed Rapi and patted her on the back lightly. It somehow didn't feel like the right time to talk more about… Whatever it was that might've been going on in her head.

    So, after a bit, the two disentangled from each other, and Rapi took her Absolute jacket and beret, tucking them under her arm as she grabbed Wolf's Bane and easily set it in place over her shoulder… In just the exact same way she always had back then.

    If there had been any doubt before, it was gone. Her personality might've been forever changed, her memories broken and fragmentary… But Red Hood was still in there. Rapi hadn't fully lost herself. How else could she so easily assume that stance she always held while her signature weapon was slung over her shoulder? Just… Reassume her previous mantle without even thinking about it.

    Rapi was Red Hood. She simply was. She had changed, but that was just what people did. Scarlet had changed. As had Snow White. Though he couldn't speak to Dorothy, Cinderella or Rapunzel just yet, he was sure they wouldn't be the exact same people he remembered from their time aboard the Avenger either.

    With that thought, smiling broadly down at the little blonde, Joe declared with a gesture to follow him: "Come on then, little troublemaker. The squad awaits."

    Though Rapi was far more hesitant about the notion, she didn't protest as she followed Joe as faithfully as ever.

    It was as he said: Goddess Squad was waiting for them.


    With the package for Cinderella in tow, Joe and Rapi made their way across the surface, passing through the verdant green wilderness surrounding Vancouver and proceeding onward to Pioneer's camp.

    The sun hung high, birds sang cheerily, and the wind blew lightly. There were no Raptures in sight, none visible from the drone's elevated vantage point… Really, ultimately, functionally, this just felt like a hiking trip. One complete with his old trusty sword—now dubbed The White Reaper's Talon—once more mounted on the back of his hip.

    It was meditative, in a way. In no small part because unlike Neon and Anis, Rapi felt no apparent need to yap for its own sake. She seemed content to simply walk alongside Joe in silence, little other than the sounds of their footsteps to accompany them alongside those of nature.

    Thus, they moved on with no distractions to divert their attention. It didn't take as long as one might've expected to eventually reach Pioneer's camp, consequently.

    Approaching from a distance, the squad was settled under a lone tree, a small fire set in the midst of a pair of old camping tents.

    Heart skipping no few number of beats, Joe focused on the crew. The girls—his girls. Goddess, those he'd left behind a century previous.

    He saw them before he heard them. Notably, their backs were all turned to the Commander and Rapi, crowded around a particular point of focus, which, upon getting within earshot…

    "...What if they don't recognize us!?" Cinderella's lovely voice cut through the air, acting like an arrow straight through the heart as it suddenly registered to him that they were right there. Everyone… Except Dorothy. Was she, maybe, out on patrol or something…?

    Shaking his head, suddenly, it occurred to Joe that maybe Rapi was going through it just the same as him. So focused on keeping the ball going, Joe had simply gone full brain-off and fish-eyed on the road ahead without considering that, well… He and Rapi were about to reunite with the rest of the girls. A reunion a century in the making.

    Looking aside to find Rapi, indeed, looking more than a little anxious, he reached out and gave her red-clad shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

    "It's been so long! No, nooo," Cinderella continued to whine.

    "Ellie, come on now," Rapunzel's gentle tone washed over Joe in turn as well. Hand out, she was comfortingly rubbing the back of the little silver-haired beauty more than an entire head shorter than her. "Joe wouldn't forget what we look like. He's going to stroll up, and it's going to be like nothing happened!"

    Despite her attempts to reassure the far smaller Cinderella, Rapunzel had no small amount of anxiety filtering through into her own cadence as well.

    "Rapunzel is correct," Snow White asserted in turn, rolling her shoulder with a huff. "The Commander has not forgotten us. And Red Hood… Can be reminded. It is as simple as that."

    Where everyone else had been so inattentive as to completely fail to notice Joe and Rapi come to a stop, standing at the edge of the camp, Scarlet did notice. She had been standing somewhat apart from the rest, as was typical of her.

    She, before anyone else, spied the two out of the corner of her eye, and with a wide, beaming smile, called out to her squadmate: "Cinderella, art thou truly so keen on the possibility that the Commander and Red Hood might happen upon thee in such a state? Hemming, hawing like an anxious teen… Imagine, perhaps, what they might say if this was the state in which they'd first seen thee after a century apart?"

    Oh, Scarlet you mean little lady.

    "Nooo!!!" Cinderella shook her head, almost seeming to attempt to fuse with the tree she was standing against now. "Don't say that! They wouldn't… My hair's a bird's nest! I haven't been tending to myself adequately at all lately, have I? I-I have to make sure I look good in case they arrive today!"

    Reaching into a small pouch worn on her thigh, she withdrew a folding hand mirror. Popping it open low, and immediately checking her features in it as she was stooped over.

    "Oh, my eyelashes are in disarray, my lips are so dry… No, don't let this be how they see me for the first time again!" Cinderella whined and worried about her flawless looks, as she typically did. "Maybe it's just the angle? I'll just-"

    Lifting the mirror up to eye level, Cinderella suddenly stopped speaking, catching sight of Joe and Rapi's reflection over her shoulder, and harshly gasping before spinning in place as she dropped the mirror outright.

    Everyone else quickly followed suit. While Snow White and Scarlet just smiled widely at the familiar sight of the two on the other side of camp, Rapunzel had clasped her hands over her mouth in surprise.

    Where Cinderella stared in open shock, tears immediately began streaming down Rapunzel's cheeks as she looked upon their long-lost, once thought long dead teammates.

    Choking, sobbing, the white and black-clad priestess began wavering where she stood, so overwhelmed with emotion was she. It took a few moments, but Cinderella too began to process that Joe and Rapi were right there, and tears rapidly formed and began to freely fall down her face.

    Joe couldn't help but smile, seeing these faces that he now recognized so clearly, as all the emotions, if not necessarily the memories, came back to him in a torrential flood. His girls… So damned long he'd left them to wonder, to wander. So damned long, they'd been left to think him and Rapi dead. So damned long, they'd been left to needlessly mourn.

    No more. Never again.

    Working past the lump growing in his throat, Joe was the first to speak up. "Hey girls," he started with no small amount of a heavy warble present in his gravelly voice, Rapi silently, anxiously shifting her weight as she looked upon her old, once forgotten comrades with blatant uncertainty.

    Yet Joe's smile only redoubled as he finished with a declaration.

    "Kept you waiting, huh?"
     
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    • BakaSmurf said:
    "Kept you waiting, huh?"
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    YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!

    Now time to "Learn the pleasure of using one's own body."

    C'mere drunk woman.

    nikke-scarlet.gif
     
    Dorothy not being there is probably a good thing. From what was hinted at before she just believes that Joe is some sorta poser. Even if she does actually see him in the flesh she would probably think it's just some look alike or someone who went through surgery to look like him.
     
    Matttts said:
    Dorothy not being there is probably a good thing. From what was hinted at before she just believes that Joe is some sorta poser. Even if she does actually see him in the flesh she would probably think it's just some look alike or someone who went through surgery to look like him.
    Click to expand...
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    On the other hand convince Dorothy that Joe is the real deal and she will actually have a workable plan to dismantle the Ark's government with more efficiency than her original plan. Shes smart but very very vengeful.
     
    Wait, wait, wait. Him waking up in a hospital, a military career and skills he didn't know he had, an outpost where recruits are liberated from their previous government shackles to form a new body of paramilitary regime and previously forgotten elite veterans on a mission to save the world!

    Jokes aside, this really is just MGSV with waifus. More waifus. My God, Dorothy is Miller! She even has her own merch line!

    Really liked this chapter and was gladly surprised the reunion happened now. I do believe that, once he hears about Dorothys self imposed isolation from the squad, he will try and send a message to her at least. Probably not gonna believe it's him or that he, too, wants to burn down the arc but it will be hilarious.
     
    Thinking on it, yeah it was pretty obvious in hindsight that Dorothy is Miller. She has an unshakeable trust in in Joe and his plans, always believing in him.
     
    Baka I know we touched on that you wouldn't write arknights or azurlane fic but what about punishing gray ravens or blue archive fics. A man can dream can't he.
     
    Chapter 60 - A Century in the Making
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    Chapter 60 - A Century in the Making
    ===

    Immediately, Joe was bum rushed by Cinderella, the little silverette charging the burly brunet and tackling him around the waist. Had Rapi not reached out to catch him, the man would have been knocked flat on his back at the assault.

    Rapunzel was quick to follow, the tall blonde too lunging out and pulling Joe, Cinderella, and Rapi into a big hug.

    It surely went without saying that some ugly crying and incoherent blubbering was happening.

    Shortly, Snow White and Scarlet both marched up and joined the rapidly snowballing standing cuddle pile. Joe, needless to say, was caught somewhere between Heaven and Hell—squished between a mess of beautiful women, most of which were ruinously soft, yet at the same time, they were hidden muscle women desperately crushing him with their vice-like grips and metal bones.

    The man knew a fellow Canadian compatriot from the old world who would have attacked and dethroned God for the chance to be crushed between the arms of even one powerful woman. Unfortunately, Joe didn't quite share his long gone friend's proclivities towards muscle women, and so, was mostly just kind of suffering.

    Aside from having Cinderella's whole, soft and supple body pressed into his own. That was the Heavenly aspect of the situation.

    It took several long minutes for the girls to finally pull back and let the beleaguered, yet still genuinely smiling, man free. Except for Cinderella. Cinderella refused to let go, not that Joe could find much reason to complain about that.

    It was no surprise when Rapunzel was the first between them to compose herself well enough to speak. "J-Joe…" she started, sniffling and wiping at the tears streaming down her face with both hands. "Red Hood…"

    "Rapi," Snow White interjected to correct her fellow. "She goes by her real name, now."

    "R-right," Rapunzel let out a shuddering breath, even as Rapi averted her gaze with no small amount of visible discomfort. "You two… It's been so long! It's so good to see you two again! We missed you so much!"

    "They have been bounding about like anxious cats since we reconvened with them and were informed of our reunion," Scarlet remarked to Joe with a small grin. "Yeowling and braying as they paced about…"

    "S-Scarlet!" Rapunzel immediately protested being called out by the resident squad alcoholic. "Y-you don't need to say that!"

    "'Tis most amusing to do so, though," Scarlet asserted with a small, cat-like grin of satisfaction.

    "This place is full of mean ladies," Joe remarked in a put-upon tone, which caused Rapunzel to choke and cover her mouth again—evidently taken aback by simply hearing his voice again.

    Cinderella, meanwhile, slightly tightened her grip around his waist, damn near whimpering at the sound of the Commander's voice.

    In reply, the man lightly patted the littlest Goddess on the back, smiling gently as he circled his arms around her shoulders. "Alright, alright, come on, I'm here Ellie…"

    "Joe…" Cinderella whined as she attempted to somehow snuggle up even closer to the man in question, despite already having her entire body pressed into his. "Commander…!" The silverette hiccuped once, then twice, and Joe knew at once that she was crying.

    That elicited a weary sigh from the man, who was the sort of guy that was very strongly affected by crying women. There wasn't much he could do about it, unfortunately. The girls had missed them. Thought them dead for an entire century. Now, here they were. Reunited with their former squad after one hundred years… It wouldn't have been reasonable to expect or demand that any of them not cry. Least of all Rapunzel, easily the most emotional of Pioneer. So… It was all Joe could do to just let the girls cry it out, get it out of their system.

    Which meant, of course, that Rapunzel had to grab both Joe and Rapi and pull them into another hug along with Cinderella again. This went on for a fair while, too. An exhausting amount of time, in fact. Eventually, as Joe's worry continued to mount over the continued absence of Dorothy, he decided that it was time to coax Cinderella into backing off. "Ellie," he started as he gently stroked her platinum locks. "I can't really give you the package I was instructed to deliver to you if you won't let me move, you know."

    That finally got her to react beyond stammering and whining. Pulling back slightly, she looked up at him with her big blue eye, still glistening with moisture. Though with no small amount of hesitation, she did peel herself off of his torso, stepping back as she continued to look up at him with uncertainty.

    Smile redoubled, Joe unslung his backpack, dropping to a knee to dig into it and withdraw the package from within. It was unadorned, didn't look outwardly special outside of being sealed. Presenting it to the little silverette, to the intrigue of the rest of Pioneer, Joe noted as Cinderella reached out to take it with both hands: "Andersen had it shipped right to me just before we left, with instructions to make sure you received it if you were among Pioneer."

    Everyone sharply halted at that, eyes going wide, and after a few moments, Snow White was the first to break the sudden silence. "...Andersen is alive!?" She cried, her smile somehow growing all the while.

    "What?" Joe began incredulously. "You thought that stubborn old bastard would let the reaper take him before his duty was done?" He inquired rhetorically.

    "I suppose the two of you always did have that in common," Rapunzel appraisingly noted with a beaming smile, wiping at renewed tears at the affirmation that Andersen too was still kicking around. "Stubborn, unreasonably so…"

    "To think, the Reaper can do naught but watch as the men of miracles outpace him with such gallant ease," Scarlet added her own thoughts with an amused hum.

    Snow White, meanwhile, laughed aloud at the revelation. "And here I thought it was unreasonable and greedy to hope he'd survived too! You two… I'd never imagined I'd meet two men that are just too stubborn to die!"

    Yet, Cinderella looked as though she'd been flashbanged. Her lone visible eye having gone as wide as a saucer, she just stared uncomprehending at Joe for a good long couple of moments before she became responsive again. Gaze drifting down to the lightweight package, she finished reaching out for it, taking it terribly gingerly. It took her a few moments to seemingly work up the will to do so, but she slowly and deliberately undid the seals, revealing what was contained within, at least to herself.

    After a beat, she reached in, and withdrew a piece of paper. It quickly became apparent from the way her eye scanned it left-to-right, that it was most certainly a hand-written note from Andersen. Partway through reading it, she let out a few strangled, choking sobs. Nobody spoke up or otherwise demanded to know what was written on it, because the message was intended for her, not the entire group. When she finished, Cinderella clamped her tearful eyes shut, and had to take a few bracing breaths.

    Once she had recentered herself, the slip of paper was returned to the package, and she reached in to retrieve something else, presumably the main attraction, as it were. Easily, Cinderella withdrew from within… A pair of little plushies.

    Rather than being situated on all fours like… Well, the Doro had been, they were instead seated upon their rumps with their stubby little legs and arms splayed out in a cutesy manner. The subjects in question were of Cinderella herself, and Andersen as he'd appeared in his High Commander uniform. Notably, the Andersen plush was holding a little flag depicting a crude chibi depiction of Cinderella's face with markered-on text reading '#1 daughter.' While the two plushies were set to dangle from keychains, they could also be joined together by their left and right hands respectively by sewn-on Velcro strips.

    Cinderella stared at the paired little dolls, which, Joe idly recognized from his memories, were the only two figures she had never gotten around to creating plushies of by her own hand. Back on the Avenger, she'd made little cutesy depictions of the entire squad, sans herself and her father.

    Andersen, it seemed, at some point, finished the job for her, possibly believing that she'd died before she'd gotten the chance to.

    While Rapunzel, at the sight, immediately started sniffling and lightly crying again, it took a fair few moments for it to seem to register to Cinderella. Gently, she joined the doll's hands together, and at once, her lips and shoulders started quaking before she rapidly drew them both into her chest in a tight, desperate hug. "Dad…" the silverette mewled, "S-stupid old man…!" Tears flowed as freely as they had before, and without hesitation, Joe drew Cinderella into a hug of his own this time. One which Rapunzel was, again, quick to join in on, both immediately seeking to comfort their emotionally overwhelmed squadmate.

    As Rapi hung back, feeling more than a little awkward—despite remembering as much as Joe himself did now—Snow White approached her to take up position alongside her, as she always would back then. Though Rapi once more averted her gaze with some uncertainty, Snow White spoke up. "Our situations aren't so different, you know," she started, eliciting a surprised look from Rapi. "I used to be a completely different person as well, and was utterly changed by a mind switch just the same. I understand that it can feel daunting, that it can leave you feeling an overwhelming sense of imposter syndrome… But even if you don't remember the things we do, it doesn't matter. You're still our sister, and we're all still grateful beyond words to have you back."

    Reaching out, Snow White set her hand on the red-bedecked little strawberry blonde's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

    "Rapi, or Red Hood, it doesn't matter. You're still her. You're still one of us. If you don't remember, then we'll just make new memories together. It's as simple as that."

    That got to Rapi, causing her to once more avert her gaze, grimacing despite the reunion being what it was. There were several reasons for that, but one of which being… "...I've remembered more," she clarified, immediately piquing Snow White's interest. "A bit of the first time we met, when I joined Goddess, and, a lot of… Around the time Cinderella joined too. The lead-up to the Orbital Elevator…" She made a point to leave out her recollection of the moment Joe had 'died' in the Central Government's headquarters.

    Smiling just a little bit more, Snow White nodded once warmly. "That's good. It's much better than nothing. It means you're one step closer to our situation being just the same. Meaning there's nothing for you to worry about. You're right where you belong, where you've always belonged… And we'll make sure we never lose sight of you again."

    With that, Snow White suddenly reached out and yanked Rapi into yet another hug, squeezing her tight and ignoring the small, uncharacteristically girlish 'eep' she let out at the suddenness of the embrace. After a few moments of this, Snow White let out a hearty chuckle. "I remember when hugging you used to mean getting a face full of your big dumb chest, without fail… Now, if you weren't wearing heels, I'd be able to see clean over your head…"

    "Y-you only have like, three inches on me!" Rapi defensively fired back, immediately sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth at her own childish reply. The sort of thing Red Hood would have said, rather than…

    Unaware of Rapi's internal narration, Snow White just pulled back enough to present a cattish grin to her senior. "That's right. Three whole inches. And don't you forget it," she smugly declared.

    At that, Rapi couldn't help but feel the corners of her mouth twitch upwards and fight to contort into a smile. Some deep-seated, distant part of her felt stirred at the light teasing. Something that otherwise had only tried to claw its way out in the midst of her deeper interactions with Joe, or when she thought about him, in a more… 'Intimate' manner.

    Was there really so much of Red Hood still inside of her? This… Immature self that wanted to act outside of the boundaries of strict professionalism? That felt so strange, so difficult to consider. Red Hood was so childish, so terribly id-driven… To the point that it had ruined her would-be relationship with Joe, back then. She had been such a fool, such a moronic, ungrateful idiot, condemning him over something so damned stupid, just to make her feel better about herself…

    This, when he deserved the absolute best she could be. No, she couldn't be who she was. She couldn't be the Red Hood that was anything less than perfect, that was anything less than everything he needed, wanted, deserved. She had to be the Rapi he had come to know. Quiet, dependable, stalwart and true. Utterly devoted, no matter the circumstances. She'd promised him, swore as much to him once before. A promise she would keep, no matter what attire she donned, no matter what moniker or title she went by. Goddess, Absolute, or Counters… Regardless of the squads she had fought alongside, been a part of… Here, today, she would strive to be better.

    Unaware of Rapi's internal brooding, Snow White pulled Rapi back into a strong hug, just grateful to have her back. Otherwise, Joe and Rapunzel stepped back from Cinderella, the little blue-silver-clad lady lightly hiccuping as she continued to cling to the plushies of herself and her long thought dead father.

    Once it seemed as though everyone was winding down, Joe glanced around, his expression becoming particularly pensive. Eventually, upon confirming that she wasn't anywhere within sight, he asked everyone present as dread built up in his gut: "Where's Dorothy?"

    It was as though an ice cube had been dropped down the spines of Pioneer, at once, their expressions falling in perfect tandem. Immediately, Joe feared the worst. That Dorothy wasn't present, because she was dead.

    Upon seeing that growing, dreadful revelation clear on his face, Rapunzel immediately replied without missing a beat, shooting down the misunderstanding before it had a chance to take root and hurt their Commander. "Dorothy's alive!" She forcefully assured Joe, entirely blowing past Snow White's previous concerns about keeping him in the dark about Dorothy. "Or—at least, she was, the last time we saw her…"

    No small amount of sudden tension in the air between the gathered members of Pioneer became incredibly apparent. Glancing between them, Joe felt the sudden swell of relief at the affirmation that Dorothy was alive waver, and he was immediately on-edge. "...Why is everyone suddenly so tense?" He asked, his wariness mirrored in Rapi's features.

    "...It will take some time to entirely explain the situation with Dorothy," Scarlet spoke up from where she'd been standing apart from the rest. She had clearly been taking advantage of having faded into the background to drink without being called out on it. "Yet, explain it we shall. Over food, might I be so bold as to suggest?"

    Looking about, Joe let out a heavy sigh, nodding as he allowed it, moving for the small campfire Pioneer had going. With his backpack now set between his feet as he claimed a seat at a fallen log, the man withdrew a shitload of Tetra Line's high-quality MRE's. "If we're going to eat, then let's go ahead and-"

    "Feast," Snow White's eyes had gone wide and her pupils dilated at the sight of the great many packages of food. All of this, in addition to the freshly-foraged but numerically meagre fruits, vegetables, and dried meats Pioneer had on hand. To say the very least, the White Reaper looked ready to charge like a starving wolf set upon a wounded deer.

    She was held back only by Scarlet, giving her taller companion a reproachful look and speaking with a chiding tone. "If the Commander intends to cook for us, least of all for the first time in a century, Snow White, then thou shall allow him to cook."

    As that occurred, Cinderella gracefully claimed the spot on Joe's right, and Rapi rather pointedly—and with something of an inexplicable huff—his left. The white-haired Nikke smiled upon him cheerfully and contentedly despite the tears streaking her still flawless features. Rapunzel, for her part, set up for herself a large, chair-sized rock she effortlessly picked up and placed before the fire pit with a casual ease. A casual ease the sight of which would certainly fill a certain demographic with a powerful need for big, powerful, yet notably gentle women.

    Snow White, that aside, seemed cowed by Scarlet's words, ceasing her attempts to force her way to the mountain of food. Standing as tall and proud as she typically did—this, even despite the dribble of saliva visibly trickling down her chin. "Then he shall cook," she declared, clearly attempting to sound cool and deep as she did so.

    With a sigh, again, Joe allowed it as he settled in to prepare a meal for most of his girls, a good hundred years after the last.

    Even with such meagre ingredients… He'd do his best to ensure that it would be the best damned meal these girls had eaten in a century.
     
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    • nice one , excited to see Joe's reaction to dorothy going around the bender even if its gonna bring the happy vibe down

    you think they could equip Joe with some custom doro merch for that meeting? doro shirt, doro hat , doro flag , doro underwear just to keep her from shooting the "imposter" due to sheer wtf 404

    also it took 7 months but I finaly pulled modernia so does anyone have some Pilgrim gear lying around?
     
    BakaSmurf said:
    "Feast," Snow White's eyes had gone wide and her pupils dilated at the sight of the great many packages of food. All of this, in addition to the freshly-foraged but numerically meagre fruits, vegetables, and dried meats Pioneer had on hand. To say the very least, the White Reaper looked ready to charge like a starving wolf set upon a wounded deer.
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    So adorable...

    PAT! PAT! PAT! PAT! GET HAPPY! GET HAPPY! GET HAPPY!
     
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