Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

[Vicentehuerta777dragon]

Actually did Cinderella destroy the lift
preventing the queen from affecting the earth causing the raptures to try to find a new one ?
In only human is the lift still functioning causing the raptures to be more organized with no need for a new queen ?!?? Or did goddess squad with backup from the old tales nikkes made a comeback to destroy the lift even if they didn't get the queen? Did red shoes may she suffer in hell effect hansel,gretal and siren or did they kill her cause if not she may be still alive and causing trouble?

 

[Jsebas19]

But even if, how would Red Shoes get Rose's body? because I doubt he knows where Scarlet put it.

Also, given that Cinderella was not corrupted, I imagine that unlike the game, it will be reminiscent of Red Shoes in a good way.

Also, if Pinne survived in OH, I imagine that Siren, Hansel and Gretel will also survive to the present again due to the changes that Joe's presence brought, as well as if Abe/Grave suspected Red Shoes long before.
because I imagine that unlike the game Red Hood would remain on Goddess and she would probably suggest returning to the orbital elevator without permission from the government.

because if we think about it, Red Shoes would be the evils of Pandora's box that would end up destroying the world. Because she is the reason why the current game happens.

I don't know what that theory is called that says that the presence of a person is capable of changing the events of a time where they should not be.
I don't know if it's e, Butterfly Effect or some theory like the theory of change...

 

[BakaSmurf]

===
Chapter 65 - Tactical Opportunities
===

Ingrid, regardless of her intense aggravation with Joe's ongoing and increasingly typical brand of particular bullshittery, marched up to his desk, brusquely depositing the rifle case she'd been carrying into it with a huff.

"Matters of your persistent lack of forethought aside," the CEO began with no small measure of annoyance, "It is good to see that the operation was clearly a…" She turned aside to take in the sight of Pioneer, eyes tracking over the group with transparent reverence. "Success."

Indeed, all but one of the legendary Grimms were present—only Sleeping Beauty, Dorothy, was missing. The Nikkes that humanity as a whole owed their continued collective existence to. The most important warriors and heroes to have ever lived.

All of whom were clad in little more than what looked like borrowed gym wear, and the Commander's own ill-fitting clothes. By all accounts, they looked the part of a gaggle of teenagers in the midst of a sleepover, rather than unstoppable living legends.

…And Snow White's cheeks were puffed out from having a mouthful of something, with Scarlet being visibly drunk, given the heavy blush on her cheeks, her unfocused expression, and the way she swayed in place even while seated.

Elysion's CEO did not know how to even begin to process the absurd sight. So, she opted to ignore it and focus on Pholus. "I hope there was a purpose behind bringing Pioneer into the Outpost, and that you weren't acting entirely off of pure id." She blinked, rubbing her chin as something seemed to cross her mind.

"Also, after some discussion, it's been agreed upon that the Outpost should probably receive a proper name, given that it's rapidly looking to develop into a small town in its own right. Doubly so with the interest many Nikkes have been expressing in it lately."

While Joe wanted to take offence at the implication that he had a tendency to not think his actions through… Well, he had a tendency to not think his actions through, and so, passing the rifle case but a curious glance, he adjusted his position in his seat and set his soda can aside as he replied.

"Duly noted in regards to giving the Outpost a proper name. That aside: you previously altered existing records to make it seem like I was always endorsed by Elysion to keep the likes of Syuen off of my back," the Commander started as Pioneer looked warily between the two. "Could you do the same for the girls to make them an Elysion Black Ops squad, to discourage anyone from digging into their presence in the Outpost?"

Ingrid's response to that was immediate. "I could, but, frankly speaking, I have severe doubts about granting them any kind of excuse to set foot inside of the Ark given how increasingly brazen you've demonstrated yourself to be." Immediate, and more than a little scathing.

At that, Joe pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a heavy sigh as he bit down on his bottom lip in frustration.

"The Commander assured us that the Outpost is a haven, bereft of Ark monitoring, and staffed by naught but Nikkes who answer only to him," Scarlet piped up, her expression sobering up somewhat as she critically gazed upon Ingrid.

She continued on without missing a beat.

"We hath also discussed at great length the fact that any of us setting foot within the Ark, regardless of the cause, would be the epitome of suicidal. Whatever thine impressions of us are, we have survived conditions which demand nothing less than peak performance, and a keen intellect, for a hundred years."

"None here would be fallow of intellect enough to so much as approach the elevator to the Ark, without having had multiple layers of confirmation given to us beforehand," Scarlet pointedly finished.

"We aren't stupid," Snow White—who had a towel loosely secured in place over her shoulders by a hair clamp like a cloak—after swallowing her mouthful of food, curtly summed up Scarlet's counterpoint. "And we were told that the Outpost was made wholly secure by the Commander's allies. Were we misinformed?"

Ingrid turned to face Pioneer, her expression shifting to be somewhat uncertain. After a few moments of consideration, she replied with a notable lack of the intensity with which she addressed Joe.

"The Outpost is as safe and free from the CG's oversight as it possibly can be, all things considered," the CEO stated. "And I meant no disrespect to Pioneer, but Cmdr. Pholus has repeatedly demonstrated a tendency to behave without the foresight he should have given his status as the Legendary Commander."

It was Cinderella replied to that assertion. "So you're criticizing him for not having a strategic mindset that he never had, even in the midst of the Initial Rapture Invasion?"

The silverette—with her now-dry hair worn in her typical twintails and garbed in nothing but one of Joe's spare t-shirts—added on, levelling a firm stare Ingrid's way.

"Joe's told us about the missions he's been sent on, and the preparation and support—or consistent lack thereof—he's been provided for all of them. He's a tactician. His skill set has always laid in on-the-spot improvisation and making snap judgments while under pressure. He always had Lilith, or my father to provide intelligence and form long-term strategies to work towards before deployments."

The platinum-haired beauty noted the role Andersen apparently should have been filling very pointedly.

"From what we've been told, and as Rapi has affirmed, every time he's been deployed from the Ark, it's been with little to no actual information or directives beyond 'get it done.'"

"It isn't his fault if those who should be providing him adequate support and intelligence have been falling woefully short, putting undue pressure on him whose increasingly negative effects should be readily apparent and wholly expected."

Even Rapunzel—with a towel loosely draped over her crown as though it were a colourful, improvised nun's habit—joined in on playing defence for Joe, her lips lightly down-turning as she produced the closest thing to a frown she seemed to be capable of.

"The expectations placed on him in the midst of the IRI were somehow significantly less unreasonable than those of the modern day, considering how he's been offered so remarkably little to accomplish his goals recently. Even when made to go up against the likes of Tyrants, which we would never have allowed him to so much as approach without a Hoplon…"

Rapunzel paused, before finishing pointedly:

"And he never would have been knowingly deployed against something like Chatterbox without being informed of the danger he was approaching in the first place."

Snow White crossed her arms, brow furrowing as she added on: "And the one time Andersen was actually directly involved in the planning for an operation, Joe was deliberately lied to and misled as to the objective of the mission, leading to the necessity of altering the plan to account for him and Rapi being exponentially more competent than the Ark, meaning you, were willing to give them credit for."

There was a long pause, in which Ingrid looked more than a little bushwhacked.

After a fairly pregnant pause, she cleared her throat, and noted: "...I actually directly questioned the wisdom of expecting the Legendary Commander to not pull a miracle out of his ass when deploying on that mission, but Andersen would have known better than me, or so I thought…"

There was another significant beat, which was punctuated by Cinderella glaring at the smug little Andersen plushie set before her next to the chibi depiction of herself, on the coffee table she was seated at on the floor. She ultimately reached out and lightly punched the doll with a displeased huff. The little Andersen looked quite sad, now splayed out on its back like that.

At any rate, Joe was left awkwardly gazing about sheepishly. He had not been expecting to have the girls be so quick to rush to his defence, outwardly criticizing Ingrid like that. Granted, it felt… Incorrect, to him. It made him uncomfortable.

Rapi seemed to notice, shifting to stand closer to the man. Cinderella too noticed, her expression taking on a tinge of self-recriminating, envious longing at the sight of Rapi's physical closeness to the Commander.

Regardless of Cinderella's thoughts, Rapi spoke up next without any concern paid to the silverette. "I must admit, based on what few memories have returned to me of the IRI… The Ark's penchant for strategic and tactical considerations is… Woeful, respectfully, ma'am."

Though Rapi had said 'respectfully' in order to ensure that her words were… Respectful, Ingrid looked utterly aghast at her subordinate's assessment. "...Even Elysion?" She asked, uncharacteristically wary.

"...Yes," Rapi flatly replied, averting her gaze as she did so.

Ingrid looked like she'd just stepped on a nail, gritting her teeth near hard enough to crack a tooth as she sharply sucked in a lungful of air with a harsh hiss. "But our tactical acumen… It's second to none…!" She stage-whispered aloud.

"Resting at the top of a pile of rancid trash is no feat to be proud of," Snow White mercilessly declared in response.

Ingrid looked as though she'd been shot in the heart, actually needing to plant a hand on the Commander's desk to steady herself.

The girls, at least, seemed willing to relent, the suite growing silent, cyberpunk ambience aside, as Joe contemplated the newfound awkwardness.

Only briefly, however, before he decided that it would be best to keep the ball rolling on track. "So you won't modify Elysion's records to legitimize Pioneer's presence in the Outpost?" The man inquired.

It took Ingrid a few moments of wavering in place before she responded, audibly pained. "...They would be assigned an Elysion-specific squad name, and understand that they are never to set foot in the Ark proper unless cleared to do so by myself, Mustang, and Andersen, simultaneously and without exception. Am I understood?"

"Of course," Joe answered plainly, not noticing how the girls had all perked up at the mention of Mustang's name.

"They will always, and without exception, refuse to answer questions asked of them by anyone not a part of the conspiracy," Ingrid continued, recovering fully and crossing her arms beneath her chest. "To the point of being openly hostile if pressed. Elysion black operatives do not tolerate attempted interference from anyone. Even the CG understands that our toes are not to be stepped on, in certain regards."

"That sounds perfectly doable," Snow White declared matter-of-factually.

"They may need to also be deployed on missions apart from yourself, Pholus," Ingrid added, though she was obviously addressing everyone in the room. "If I'm obviously playing favourites and giving you exclusive command to a Black Ops unit that otherwise does little beyond mill about the Outpost, it will draw undue attention we do not need."

While Pioneer looked ready to collectively protest, it was Joe that spoke up. "It goes without saying that we can't have them accompany us on every single, or even most CG-assigned operations," he noted as he crossed his arms with a slow nod. "That would be like if Absolute suddenly did nothing besides deploy alongside Counters. Everybody would notice, and get understandably suspicious."

"It would be worse," Ingrid declared rather forcefully. "Absolute has a track record that, even if it can't be discussed openly or in any degree of meaningful detail, is known to exist. Pioneer? A 'new' Elysion Black Ops unit, that nobody outside of Elysion can attest to the previous existence of, has not appeared anywhere before suddenly showing up and working under the brand new rising star Commander of the Outpost, who also doesn't actually have a verifiable past anyone outside of Elysion can affirm?"

Closing her eyes and shaking her head lightly, the white-clad woman's wavy chocolate brown locks swayed about her sharp features.

"The most I can do most of the time is grant an allowance to call upon them in emergencies ala Absolute during the mission to hunt down Chatterbox. And even then, it would have to be in a staggered manner: Pioneer some deployments, Absolute other deployments, depending on either squad's availability. There can be no allowance for brute force on this matter which may reveal to the CG your true identities."

Pioneer, collectively, looked as though they'd bit down on one Hell of a batch of lemons. At once, the girls were all clenching and unclenching their hands, fidgeting in place in open discomfort. The reason why was obvious: not one of them wanted to tolerate the notion of Joe and Rapi going out into the field without them. But they weren't in the midst of the Initial Rapture Invasion anymore, and in fact, they were all technically fugitives that would be targeted the moment they slipped up and suddenly everyone knew who they really were.

"That will have to do, for now," Joe declared as he leaned forward in his seat, uncrossing his arms to rest his elbows on his knees and rest his chin upon his knuckles—a position which seemed to catch Cinderella's interest for some reason.

Otherwise… The mention of Chatterbox twigged something in Joe's head, and he found his brow furrowing heavily in deep consideration. Was he forgetting something regarding that? He couldn't-

"Fuck!" He suddenly jumped in his seat, which caused everyone to go on-edge. "Wardress!"

"Wardress?" Ingrid fixed the brunet with an intense stare. "The two-woman squad that accompanied Counters to hunt down Chatterbox in Vancouver? Syuen's little pet project... What about them?" She inquired, even as Pioneer, Snow White in particular, had their interest visibly piqued.

Joe took a moment to grit his teeth and calm himself—Christ, he'd completely forgotten… "Yuni and Mihara, Syuen abuses them, to the point that even though they heard enough about what Chatterbox said about Rapi being Red Hood-" Pioneer suddenly looked very pointedly concerned, to say nothing of Rapi herself, "they agreed to say nothing to Syuen or anyone else, so long as I myself didn't tell anyone-" Joe paused, considering if he actually should…

"If you didn't tell anyone what, Pholus?" Ingrid inquired, her eyes narrowing as she focused heavily on him. "Remember that the Command Centre and Outpost as a whole is clean of listening devices. Nothing that's said here leaves this building so long as nobody talks outside of it."

…Yeah, fuck it. "Yuni was able to blind Chatterbox by simply pointing at the thing," Joe declared, which very clearly piqued Ingrid and everyone else's attention in a big way. "So long as she maintained her focus, kept her finger firmly locked on it, Chatterbox's eyes just flat-out stopped working. I'm given to understand that isn't normal for a Nikke."

"It is not," Ingrid declared as she turned fully towards Joe, immediately leaning over the desk and planting her palms on the surface with a keen interest. "In fact, that sounds rather like the modern-day Grimms experiments that Elysion and Tetra Line have also been performing to grant decidedly unusual special abilities to select, high-performance Nikkes."

"What!?" Pioneer collectively jumped in place themselves—with Snow White actually leaping to her feet outright. "The Ark has produced more Grimms in the modern day?"

At that, Ingrid openly snorted derisively. "Hardly. They can do things other Nikkes cannot, but their baseline performance rarely exceeds that of typical specialist Nikkes. We do our damn best to push the envelope, but…" the CEO growled outright, letting her frustration show openly. "It's a miracle we've managed what little we have, as it is."

Regardless, she turned to Joe again.

"Why are you bringing them up in the first place, regardless?"

Joe was quick to answer. "Because I wanted to find out if it would be possible to have them transferred to Counters."

While Rapi looked somewhat put-off by the notion, Ingrid just scoffed. "Good luck with that," the violet-eyed woman declared. "If Yuni is actually a modern Grimms prototype, Syuen will never so much as consider loosening her grip on their leash. Just as Mustang would never surrender Alice to myself or Syuen, and I would never surrender… Any of my specialists to them."

Again, Pioneer visibly reacted to the mention of Mustang's name, though it had gone unnoticed by Joe and Ingrid.

"She abuses them though," Joe countered pointedly, rising to his feet as he fixed his own gaze on Ingrid. "Mihara told me outright: it's the reason she was willing to cut a deal and not tell Syuen what they'd seen or heard about Rapi and Snow White. They aren't loyal to the little twerp, and clearly aren't happy working for her."

He needed to get Ingrid in on the idea of poaching Wardress from Missilis… Perhaps…

"My mind trembles at the sheer breadth of tactical applications that would grant us," the man declared damn near boisterously, and, notably, Ingrid's eyes lit up, damn near metaphorically burst into flames at the mention of the word 'tactical.' "We've already seen that Yuni's ability works on Tyrants, Chatterbox had to determine that it was her doing it specifically before it knew to fling attacks in her general direction to break her focus. If it works on something as powerful as a Tyrant… Well, what if it would also work on a Heretic?"

At that, Ingrid outright bit down on her nail through her ivory-white gauntlet like a dog might a bone, her pupils darting about as her mind visibly started overclocking. "The tactical applications… The tactical avenues it would open up…! The tactical opportunities…! The tactics…!"

She trailed off, the fervency in her voice rising despite her volume noticeably decreasing to a whisper with each utterance—which was starkly noticeable, given that otherwise, Ingrid had no indoor voice and was always shouting.

"...Tactics…!" She finished with a breathy whisper just barely on the edge of hearing.

Weird, but, okay, it seemed to be motivating her to seriously think about the notion, if nothing else.

The woman clenched her eyes shut, and after a few moments of consideration, she replied: "I seriously doubt I'll be able to produce a miracle, but I'll put in a request on your behalf, and probably get into an argument with the little shit over it. Just don't expect anything to come of it."

Well, that… Yeah, Joe didn't like the idea of leaving Yuni and Mihara with someone that was literally using them as punching bags, but, if they couldn't swing it, then they couldn't swing it. "I appreciate that you'll try, regardless."

"That's about all I can promise," Ingrid declared before looking over Pioneer, giving the ancient squad a particular look of appraisal. "I'll let the Commander know as soon as all the paperwork has been fabricated to point to you all as being an…"

Her gaze drifted to, and visibly hung on Cinderella and Rapunzel in particular for a few moments before continuing.

"...Inter-Manufacturer Black Ops squad—because nobody would believe that anyone other than Tetra Line would produce Nikkes that look like you two. It'll take me a bit, given that additional wrinkle, but it'll get done."

"...I'm not sure if I should be offended or not…" Rapunzel noted, brows furrowing and lips down curling somewhat at her and Cinderella's having been singled out. "What is that supposed to mean? That we have to have been made by Tetra Line?"

Rapi averted her gaze sharply, suddenly finding an empty soda can sitting on Joe's desk to be remarkably interesting. Snow White grimaced and acted like she didn't hear what was being said, and Scarlet was suddenly a lot more tipsy than she was before, conveniently too much to be able to be relied upon to explain much of anything.

Joe, meanwhile, did his level best to not respond to having attention indirectly called to Cinderella and Rapunzel's figures by looking. Meaning that suddenly, Ingrid was the only one that was actually looking directly at the two.

Which, unfortunately, meant that it was Ingrid that elaborated on the matter to Rapunzel. "Your figures, mode of dress, and the way you present yourselves is far more unnecessarily glamorous and obscene than what would typically be found in the average Elysion Nikke," the professionally-clad woman declared with all the bluntness of a bull moose.

The poor nun, at that, suddenly seemed to spontaneously develop the ability to use Exceed herself, given how her cheeks took on the same glowing hue that Rapi's hair did when she activated her own super mode. "I-I-I-I'm not 'obscene!'"

Rapunzel protested in a high-pitched squeal as she jumped in place to cup her cheeks in scandalized horror, the act causing her massive and presently unsupported chest to jiggle about so violently as to nearly break Joe's neck with the sudden, onset gravitational pull the motion the two borderline celestial objects had nearly produced.

"I-I'm a good, well-behaved and conservatively dressed girl! M-my outfit doesn't even show any bare skin below the neck! How is that obscene!?"

Joe pointedly did not note that Rapunzel's full-coverage outfit was a skin-tight body glove that hugged and emphasized every single one of her absurd curves, leaving damn near nothing to the imagination, in so doing. The poor woman, she didn't understand…

Cinderella, meanwhile, only took on a slightly reproachful expression. "'Obscene' is not the term I would use," she said calmly, flicking her hair with a hand for effect as she did so.

"I am simply emphasizing my natural beauty for all to see: for beauty is something that all should appreciate in all of its forms. Rapunzel, clearly, is doing the same, and why should she not? A woman's beauty is something that is adored and appreciated by all, and we shine so brightly as resplendent Goddesses, even just our presence serving as a balm to weary souls in terrible need of any and all forms of comfort they may receive…"

She looked to the Commander, an expectant, somewhat presumptive little grin finding purchase on her features as she did so. "Isn't that correct, Joe?" She sweetly asked as she arched her back in such a way as to emphasize her own chest which rivalled Rapunzel's, despite being clad in nothing but one of the man's own oversized shirts-

Joe tore his gaze back upwards with a mortified grimace as he realized he'd just dead-ass and rather openly looked.

However, Cinderella only looked smugly satisfied to have caught Joe looking. She put on that grin—that fucking grin—the one she'd inherited from her father, the one that just shattered one's defences as ruinously as her beatific, earnest smile would.

Hadn't she just recoiled and made a point to avoid invading his personal space the night prior? Joe wasn't sure what to think of that—unless she was just doing that thing she usually did where she wanted praise from anybody for her looks?

Regardless, as Snow White rolled her eyes at the display, Joe rather quickly and forcefully planted his ass back in his seat, coughing repeatedly into his fist as he did his best to not let his intense embarrassment show—quite unlike a poor, crying Rapunzel that had hid her face beneath the towel she'd previously had laid over her head not unlike her typical habit.

Cinderella's smug expression only intensified at that, even as Rapi's own intensely dissatisfied expression went unnoticed at large.

Ingrid, all the while, just gave the entire group a heavily lidded look, eventually rolling her eyes in turn as she turned aside to face Joe properly once more.

"At any rate, Pholus," she slapped the rifle case to call attention to it. "The rifle you brought back from the Yukon. I had it inspected, maintained, and treated to be capable of handling a far hotter load than was typical of such ancient-pattern firearms. Additionally: owing to the eclectic variation in Wildcat cartridges produced by Tetra Line, I was able to procure several boxes of reproduction, high-powered .30-30 cartridges for it."

Joe blinked, paused, looked at the rifle case, then around the room… What the fuck, he hadn't even noticed that the old lever-action rifle was missing. Holy shit, talk about missing a spot check. When had she even taken it from him!?

Leaning back up, Ingrid set her hand on her hip as she continued. "First and foremost: this rifle is a non-functioning replica, and nothing more. Never, under any circumstances, admit to the CG that you have a non-biometrically locked and untracked firearm. They don't tend to appreciate it when a weapon they can't control exists anywhere near the Ark. Understood?"

The Commander gave the rifle case a serious look, decidedly caught off-guard by the entire notion, but one thing in particular stuck out to him. "It's been 'treated' to 'handle' hotter-than-normal loads?" He inquired.

"With the same process we use to reinforce conventional firearms used by Nikkes," Ingrid answered with a nod. "Of course, even with that treatment applied to it, it absolutely could not handle a true Nikke-grade cartridge without exploding, given that it isn't built from Goddessium, but it'll be far more powerful than it ever had been historically, with no cosmetic changes to speak of… Besides the addition of muzzle threads, at least. There's a powerful muzzle brake and a heavy-duty suppressor included in the case, incidentally."

Ingrid shrugged.

"Do what you will with it, just, again, never let anyone that works for the CG know that you have a functioning firearm that lacks a biometric lock. Understood?"

…Did Ingrid… Holy shit, she just gave him an emergency trump card, didn't she? Something he could grab in case of an emergency, rather than being completely helpless.

"Understood," he answered, getting the point she was non-verbally making.

"Good," the CEO declared with a nod. "Additionally: while you were gone, the Outpost's Armoury was finished, and your personal high-mobility tactical exoskeleton was delivered to it. Inspect it yourself whenever you see fit, though it should be good for deployment whenever you next go on a surface excursion."

His.

What.

"Don't ever call attention to the Hoplite input it has either," Ingrid added pointedly, shifting her balance where she stood. "...Additionally," her gaze drifted over to First Affection, Marian's submachine gun, resting on the wall over Joe's desk as it was. "Nikke firearms are, obviously, biometrically locked, and would be impossible for a human to use safely even if the lock was defeated by an exceptionally skilled engineer anyways."

She made that declaration while pointedly not looking in Snow White's direction.

"An unaugmented human would require an exoskeleton that had been built, or modified to be capable of better handling the recoil of a weapon meant for Nikkes, and any such weapon itself would likely have to be altered as well to tame its recoil on top of that to minimize strain on the exoskeleton and operator just the same. Such developments would be absurd, and unreasonable given how human soldiers are so terribly unsurvivable against Raptures, regardless of how well they're armed."

The violet-eyed CEO shrugged, still making a point to not so much as glance at Snow White.

"Not that it would matter regardless. Even with extensive modifications and heavy-duty equipment to allow for it, a human would only realistically be capable of handling a pistol-calibre Nikke-grade firearm in semi-auto, at most, anyways. The tactical applications of that would be limited to, what, emergency situations?"

"Nothing the CG would be willing to waste resources on, given how unlikely it is for the average Commander to be put in a situation wherein they wouldn't be just relying on the Nikkes under their command anyways. Especially considering that no Commander would have the acumen to suggest they'd be able to meaningfully or intelligently contribute to combat situations regardless."

Joe just stared at Ingrid in silence as he was forced to contemplate the implications, the woman returning his gaze as Snow White's eyes were quietly locked onto the side of her head.

After a few beats, Ingrid continued. "So, with all of those disclaimers and warnings out of the way… I'll inform you as soon as Elysion's new Inter-Manufacturer squad is ready for deployment, and I'll be damn sure that Andersen knows that he is the one that will handle the next inevitable briefing you'll need."

Cinderella's breath hitched in her throat, and she reached over to gingerly pick up the little plush doll of her father, bringing it to a gentle hug against her chest in sharp contrast to how she'd smacked it in retribution for his poor conduct towards Joe earlier.

A firm reminder that, despite her protests to the contrary, she ultimately was her father's daughter.

"Until next time, Commander." At that, Ingrid about-faced and moved for the hallway door, her stark white and red-accented greatcoat whipping around her frame as she marched. Though, she stopped at the threshold, halting and holding her position before she turned back around, this time to face Pioneer, sparing a glance Rapi's way as well, before… She simply, sharply saluted with a reverent declaration of: "Thank you for your service."

There was yet another long pause, none of the girls seeming to have seen that coming.

Not that it seemed to bother Ingrid, who, after holding the salute for a few moments, spun on her heel and continued on her way with no further aplomb, leaving the group as she proceeded back on to the Ark to handle everything that had been set on her plate without complaint.

After a long, pregnant pause, Joe's attention was grabbed by his having noticed Snow White's golden oculars being focused squarely on him. When he returned her look, her stare momentarily shifted to First Affection, hanging on the firearm for a few moments before once more meeting the man's gaze.

With a small, gremlin-esque mounting smile, Snow White declared to Joe in a deliberately, exaggeratedly dry tone: "Now I have a machine gun."

"Ho-ho-ho."

 

[NJesus]

kek I somewhat feel for Ingrid I'd be done with this shit too in her position

last two chapters and anniversary event converted me , Cinderella is new best girl her beauty cant be beat and Redshoes beat Crow as the new hatesink kek

 

[LordAxel20]

With a small, gremlin-esque mounting smile, Snow White declared to Joe in a deliberately, exaggeratedly dry tone: "Now I have a machine gun."

"Ho-ho-ho."

Click to shrink...

Can't believe Joe introduced Die hard to Snow lmao.

Also damn thats one hell of a trumpcard-scratch that, series of trumpcards that Ingrid just dropped on Joe's lap. While the Hoplon Exosuit and Nikke-grade SMG will probably only be brought out on critical missions, if Joe can find a good way to sneak it out, he will always be armed with a shotgun that can probably do enough damage to one-tap normal robots. Which is a hell of a lot better than his handgun that's for sure.

 

[Krome]

So what's the plan to integrate Red Shoes into this universe? Also a thing to note imo, since Cinderella transfered to Goddess before RS could corrupt her and the fact that none of the othe second generation Grimms took her place as Anachiro, does that mean RS was so desperate she was literally forced to use a dead nikke? Also is it even Rose still or would it be another Nikke using her body?

 

[Dasneaky]

HUZZAH it live baka you don't know how much I needed this struggling with depression. You just made my day.

 

[Xenoxn]

Also a thing to note imo, since Cinderella transfered to Goddess before RS could corrupt her and the fact that none of the othe second generation Grimms took her place as Anachiro, does that mean RS was so desperate she was literally forced to use a dead nikke?

Click to shrink...

Remember that before Red Shoes corrupted Cinderella the raptures had already modified her Corruption code, so it is entirely possible that Rose got corrupted by some random rapture in this fanfic.

 

[Dasneaky]

Btw is it cannon that or fannon that Cinderella is Andersen daughter. Or did I miss something, or did baka make this part up. Ethier way cool work baka cheers. Also I think imma addicted I check every day to see if this gets updated HAPLZ.

 

[JamesAsmodeus]

...Man, I don't get it. What was Ingrid talking about? CLEARLY Joe can't utilize First Affection and neither does he have various trump cards to deploy at his own disposal. Wink.

Also, Joe literally using First Affection would be very much awesome, I would love it ever so much if we see him fully wield it in combat. His relatively brief, compared to the other Nikkes, yet intricate relations with Marianne is just balm for my soul in this fic, it's going to be intense when it's fully established. Whooh!

 

[Your Target]

God this is exactly what i needed today.
Thank you for the chapter.

Now we need some more fluff with the squads.

 

[Nehef]

Which, unfortunately, meant that it was Ingrid that elaborated on the matter to Rapunzel. "Your figures, mode of dress, and the way you present yourselves is far more unnecessarily glamorous and obscene than one would typically be found in the average Elysion Nikke," the professionally-clad woman declared with all the bluntness of a bull moose.

Click to shrink...

Funny how the "obscene" Tetra Nikkes and the "jack of all trades" Nikkes from Missilis get better results on their respective towers huh...

Something to say Ingrid? Not very tactical huh? Gimme my Absolute rework and SSR Rapi

 

[Jsebas19]

Funny how the "obscene" Tetra Nikkes and the "jack of all trades" Nikkes from Missilis get better results on their respective towers huh...

Something to say Ingrid? Not very tactical huh? Gimme my Absolute rework and SSR Rapi

Click to shrink...

What Ingrid said seemed hypocritical of to say that considering that Elysion has Nikkes who dress in a very immodest, eccentric way and with extravagant personalities:

-Neon is a crazy person with the power of fire whose short skirt exposes her butt
-Maiden who every time she uses her kotodama opens her mouth in a somewhat suggestive way without mentioning her clothing that exposes her chest, thighs and nurse.
-The Aegis squad who have immodest clothing
-Phantom who dresses eccentrically and is a ghost thief.
-Miranda with her police suit that leaves her entire abdomen exposed and with a very short skirt.
-and let's not forget Absolute with its modifications from chapter 33 with Eunwha and Emma who wear VERY short clothes (and the latter has a very curvy body)

Not to mention that Maiden, Helm, Emma, Rapi, Privaty, Brid, and others have very curvy bodies

 

[Vicentehuerta777dragon]

What Ingrid said seemed hypocritical of Ingrid to say that considering that Elysion has Nikkes who dress in a very immodest, eccentric way and with extravagant personalities:

-Neon is a crazy person with the power of fire whose short skirt exposes her butt
-Maiden who every time she uses her kotodama opens her mouth in a somewhat suggestive way without mentioning her clothing that exposes her chest, thighs and nurse.
-The Aegis squad who have immodest clothing
-Phantom who dresses eccentrically and is a ghost thief.
-Miranda with her police suit that leaves her entire abdomen exposed and with a very short skirt.
-and let's not forget Absolute with its modifications from chapter 33 with Eunwha and Emma who wear VERY short clothes (and the latter has a very curvy body)

Not to mention that Maiden, Helm, Emma, Rapi, Privaty, Brid, and others have very curvy bodies

Click to shrink...

I'm just wishing shift up give nikke of each company their own tactical armor suit .
Elysion get full practical body armor with color fitting each squads .
Tetra gets personalized glamorous bling bling armor depending on the nikke.
While missiles gets their crazy tech armor .
Or just enable overload gear on the three d model which you get to customize your nikke colors.

 

[Jsebas19]

Remember that before Red Shoes corrupted Cinderella the raptures had already modified her Corruption code, so it is entirely possible that Rose got corrupted by some random rapture in this fanfic.

Click to shrink...

Yes, but I think Red Shoes' research was what made the raptures make their activation code stronger.

But, I have the possible scenario that when Joe took Cinderella without Red Shoes corrupting her, the latter became desperate to continue looking for a compatible Nikke, which made Abe and the rest of Old Tales suspicious and discovered her, which ended with him. squad killing Red Shoes and subsequently destroying their research with the help of Oswald.

because in previous chapters Modernia carried like a gem that regulated its corruption, Joe's mention of the Ultra Rapture that it corrupted in the first invasion. and the fact that Pinne is alive in the current era, which would mean that Joe not only saved Cinderella from her fate as Anachiro but also that he took away the raptures' power to strengthen the corruption code because possibly Red Shoes was discovered a lot. before.
but it's my theory.

 

[Ace of Scarabs]

last two chapters and anniversary event converted me , Cinderella is new best girl her beauty cant be beat and Redshoes beat Crow as the new hatesink kek

Click to shrink...

And Abe is best fairy godmother.

...I am absolutely certain Ether would instant recognize Cinderella purely because MMR has been attempting to reverse-engineer her Glass Slippers from whatever documents Abe left behind for the last century. (Cecil used her own efforts to create Noah's shields based on the defensive components of the Glass Slippers, and Ein's Feather Drones use beam weapon systems derived from them too , in fact Laplace's beam rifle might even be derived from them too.)

 

[Xenoxn]

because in previous chapters Modernia carried like a gem that regulated its corruption

Click to shrink...

That's just the gem that she has in her design, it's never stated that it regulates corruption.

which would mean that Joe not only saved Cinderella from her fate as Anachiro but also that he took away the raptures' power to strengthen the corruption code because possibly Red Shoes was discovered a lot. before.

Click to shrink...

The corruption code got strengthened by raptures before Cinderella was corrupted, if events happened like you said then neither Rose or Marian would have gotten corrupted at all.

Remember that first corruption only gave Nikkes paralysis that only lasted a few seconds, and then Red Shoes made changes to it that made Nikkes think like Raptures, which was then modified further by the Raptures. All of this happened before Cinderella got corrupted.

 

[Jsebas19]

That's just the gem that she has in her design, it's never stated that it regulates corruption.

The corruption code got strengthened by raptures before Cinderella was corrupted, if events happened like you said then neither Rose or Marian would have gotten corrupted at all.

Remember that first corruption only gave Nikkes paralysis that only lasted a few seconds, and then Red Shoes made changes to it that made Nikkes think like Raptures, which was then modified further by the Raptures. All of this happened before Cinderella got corrupted.

Click to shrink...

I read it again on tv tropes, and yes, it seems that I didn't read it correctly.
my mistake.

Well, thinking about it again, it can be assumed that Red Shoes would still be desperate to the point of going crazy prematurely when Joe "stole" her masterpiece (I mean Cinderella) and because of that, possibly Abe and the rest of the old tales would discover her and They would kill to prevent him from corrupting Abe.

which I imagine that Red Shoes did not have Joe's presence and that the latter would manage to prevent Cinderella from becoming Anachiro.

If in the game he died with a happy grin for having corrupted Cinderella, in this timeline he may have died with sadness or a grimace of despair and madness because Joe "stole" what would have been his masterpiece. Because I doubt Red Shoes knows where Rose's body was.

and I imagine Red Shoes cursing Joe for taking Cinderella.

-Red Shoes: "Damn you, Joe Pholus!"

If you remember the spiderverse movie when Miguel 'hara said about the famous 'Canonical Events' and that Miles Morales is an anomaly. So here at OH we can interpret that Joe is an anomaly that prevented Nikke's 'canonical events' from happening such as the corruption of Cinderella, the suffering of Wardress, the possible survival of Siren, Hanse, and Gretel, that Pinne is still alive, and not I know what else.

 

[NJesus]

And Abe is best fairy godmother.

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Grave is probably the biggest turn around on a character I've seen in the game yet , the earlier story chapters with her had me pretty meh on her but with 33 and 34 + the event I really like her now

am seriously disapointed in joe tho , I cant comprehend how someone can even leave the bedroom with cindy around

 

[Matttts]

am seriously disapointed in joe tho , I cant comprehend how someone can even leave the bedroom with cindy around

Click to shrink...

A man with an ironclad will and a sword hanging above his head in the shape of his friend. He's not the legendary Commander for nothing.

 

[Ace of Scarabs]

am seriously disapointed in joe tho , I cant comprehend how someone can even leave the bedroom with cindy around

Click to shrink...

Reminder that Andersen threatened him last century with actual emasculation if he broke Cinderella's heart. Do not cross a girl's protective father.

 

[NJesus]

A man with an ironclad will and a sword hanging above his head in the shape of his friend. He's not the legendary Commander for nothing.

Click to shrink...

kek after that final animated cutscene and its very "subtle" shoots a nuke over his head shouldnt stop him and sword shouldnt register

Reminder that Andersen threatened him last century with actual emasculation if he broke Cinderella's heart. Do not cross a girl's protective father.

Click to shrink...

I think what I described wouldnt even leave enough time to break her heart if he wanted to kek

 

[Dasneaky]

Reminder that Andersen threatened him last century with actual emasculation if he broke Cinderella's heart. Do not cross a girl's protective father.

Click to shrink...

Good old shovel talk imma right?

 

[Least Devotee]

It's been interesting reading this for the first time over the last four days. Especially since I started reading around the same time Old Tales part 2 unlocked. Kept having to remind myself that a majority of this was written before the latest event and, based on best guesses from some of the plotlines and chapters per page without checking SB, probably before Red Ash.

Thanks for writing this. It's very well written and entertaining.

 

[Jsebas19]

Reminder that Andersen threatened him last century with actual emasculation if he broke Cinderella's heart. Do not cross a girl's protective father.

Click to shrink...

If Andersen threatened to castrate him, I can't imagine how Grave would threaten him if Joe knows her and the rest of Old Tales so well.
I also hope Grave acts more professional when she meets Joe, and not like an obsessive Simp Goddess like her game counterpart.

Come to think of it, when Grave saw Joe when they picked up Cinderella much earlier, he possibly became curious about the existence of Commander Joe instead of Andersen, so he would start investigating him and when Joe explains to Grave that he is from another world . When the latter demands answers, he would refer to Joe as follows:

-Grave: "Now I understand, you are not from this world. You are an anomaly that should not exist in this world."

-Joe: "In my defense my arrival in this world was accidental, I even try to understand this Isekai madness"

-Grave: "You know... When I saw Cinderella being taken away I felt a strange sensation that something didn't feel the same. And when Oswald informed me of Red Shoes' betrayal... you have my greatest gratitude. Not only did you save Cinderella of a horrible fate, but you also fulfilled it. her dream of being a Goddess."

 

[BakaSmurf]

===
Chapter 66 - Starseeker
===

Eventually, Joe found himself running headlong into a particular little issue: he, as per usual, failed to account for his recurring character flaw of not thinking his actions through all the way. That is to say: night fell, and Pioneer, not exactly having the credentials to simply rock up to the barracks and claim some free bunks for the night just yet… Made themselves comfortable in the living room area of his suite, once Rapi left for her own bunk.

Joe was surprised by how surprised he was, to see that Scarlet was drunk enough to attempt building herself a pillow fort. She claimed that it wasn't a pillow fort, and that she was only preemptively attempting to shield her hungover eyes from the morning light.

Nobody bought it, and the sloshed swordswoman was forced to instead simply use her comically massive conical hat as a makeshift tent on the floor instead. Scarlet was small enough for this to actually work, notably. So long as she propped one side up with a pillow and balled up under it, at least.

Snow White simply curled up under her poncho in one of the room's corners, asserting that she would need nothing else for a tolerable night's rest. She also noted that sleeping in a climate-controlled building was wildly opulent in of itself, regardless.

Rapunzel simply claimed one of the two sofas which sat across from each other, making herself a cozy little bed atop it, and laying down to drift off without causing a fuss. Angel that she was, she sought to avoid making trouble for anyone if she could.

Cinderella, meanwhile, quietly claimed the opposing couch, giving Joe a small, gentle smile as she laid on her side and watched him retreat into his room for the night.

While one might have expected Joe to pass out the moment the opportunity presented itself, he instead wound up just sitting on the edge of his bed, only having removed his jacket. Face in his hands, the man found himself lost in his head—his thoughts getting to him as he, as per usual, found his brain taking the lack of external stimuli as a prompt to start thinking.

No small part of him wondered if he was ultimately doing Pioneer a disservice, putting them into a position wherein they were made to serve the Ark… Considering everything as a whole, that was debatably a bad thing. The Ark didn't deserve their service. Not with the way they'd been betrayed at the end of Operation Ark Guardian.

On top of that, Ingrid couldn't even realistically guarantee that they'd be able to consistently support him and Rapi in the field. This was debasing, wasn't it? Couldn't he be said to be screwing them over, in some capacity?

Though, it was entirely possible that he was overthinking it too. Ingrid wasn't stupid. Ingrid knew what the Central Government was. In fact… Given that Pioneer would answer exclusively to her, she would doubtlessly have the presence of mind to put them to work undercutting the CG's power, wouldn't she? There were things Pioneer could do, places they could go, resources they could gather, things they could fight no other Nikke squad could.

Hell, Ingrid wouldn't make Pioneer do anything that she knew would piss off Andersen.

Worrying for nothing, ultimately. Typically, the so-called Legendary Commander, upon stopping to think, thinks stupid. Just with extra steps. Screwing himself out of precious sleep for no good reason-

The door automatically slid open, Cinderella's arresting sky blue eye peeking past her alluring bangs at the man in no small amount of surprise.

Because somehow, he'd failed to account for the possibility of a certain someone doing what she typically did. Again, stupid, just with extra steps and more wasted effort spent on the wrong thing.

"...You aren't sleeping," the silver-haired beauty quietly noted, big blue eye glimmering with concern.

"You expected otherwise?" Joe responded with a lop-sided smirk. "Neither are you, Ellie."

Where most might've worn a reproachful look at that observation, Cinderella just put on that smug, dangerous little grin of hers. "Yes, I've successfully monopolized even a small fraction of your time, all to myself."

She stepped into the room, silently closing the door behind her as she did so.

"Spend enough time with someone, and you will learn how long it takes for them to fall asleep, thus letting you act with impunity. I've learned well from my Commander and Lilith…" The little platinum-haired beauty declared, laying out her plan to have waited for the rest of Pioneer to be left in no state to interrupt her plan.

Joe just sighed in defeat. What troublesome Nikkes he was saddled with. Yet, he didn't complain as Cinderella quietly padded over to claim the spot next to him, her expression becoming slightly uncertain as she lightly wrung her hands together.

After a few moments of the two just silently sitting in the dark, Cinderella took a deep breath, visibly bracing herself as she did so. "...Joe," she started, "I… I would like to apologize to you," she eventually said, her voice now somewhat reproachful.

The man blinked, confused, staring at her in naked perplexion. "...Huh? For what? The washing machine thing? I'm not-"

"Wha-" Cinderella's eyes fluttered in confusion this time, shooting the Commander a bushwhacked expression. "N-no, I- You dummy, I'm trying to be serious here!"

"About what?" Joe held his hands aloft in defeat like a put-upon used car salesman. "What do you have to apologize for?"

"How I conducted myself during our time together in Goddess!" Cinderella asserted, brow furrowing momentarily before she stopped and took a moment to recentre herself.

That only served to confuse Joe even more, but he bit his tongue and simply waited to let her get to the point she was trying to make.

"...My behaviour back then," she started back up, Joe making a point to not interrupt her. "From the first time we met in person, to the very last… It was inappropriate, and only in retrospect did I come to realize it."

That really caught Joe off-guard, and he did not understand where this was coming from. "I… what?" He expressed his confusion quite openly.

"...You know how I feel about you," Cinderella continued, directing her gaze to the floor with a small grimace. "I've always been upfront about it. So… Only after we had lost you, did I realize why you never acknowledged my feelings. It's because I approached you like… Rather than as a good man, I approached you like a celebrity, as though I were an immature, smitten teenager, despite us both being grown adults."

"For the longest time, I couldn't understand why it was that you and Red Hood had what you did, yet, despite her assertions that it was only casual and to not consider you as being 'tied down' with that rakish grin of hers, you never… You never took my hand, no matter how often I offered it, no matter how long I kept it extended."

"When my dream was taken from me, when I was told I would never be allowed to be a Goddess of Victory, that I would never be allowed to be a beacon of hope for mankind… You fought for me. You, literally fought for me, even though we'd never met, even though you didn't even know who I was, you fought for me where nobody else ever had before. You fought my father to give me back my hope. You struck him down, forced him to treat me well for the first time in my life to grant me my dream…"

Cinderella turned to face Joe, giving him a resplendent, glowing smile.

"You gave me my glass slipper, gave me the chance to meet my fairy godmother… You became my first love. My Prince Charming, who brushed the soot from my face and picked me up, carried me into the light, and gave me the chance to spread my wings, fly, and become the hope of all mankind, even if only for a few, beautiful fleeting moments…"

"Yet I harried you away, by acting so… Forceful, so shameless. I was jealous that Red Hood could be with you—even so casually—while I couldn't. So I tried so hard to be like her, to approach you shamelessly, to suggest that I was offering the same thing as her…"

"Of course you would keep your hands to yourself, despite my being everything you would ever want, despite me having every trait you desire in a woman, the perfect encapsulation of femininity and beauty. You already had what I seemed to offer with Red Hood, and… That isn't what you wanted. Not truly."

"Yet, not only is that what I seemed to offer, I did so with such… A distinct lack of maturity. I acted desperate. But still, I wanted you to be the one to make the first move, I wanted to be the Princess you would scoop up in your arms and carry into the sunset."

"Of course you were turned off. Of course you wouldn't take my hand. My behaviour was shameful, pitiful, not beautiful at all. I'm sorry, for being so… For my uncharacteristic lack of pulchritude. I'll be better than I had been. I'll conduct myself more appropriately than I did. I'll give you cause to reach back and take my hand."

Her smile only intensified as she rose to her feet, looking so very sweetly down upon Joe as she did so.

"I've waited, kept this flame burning for a hundred years, if even in mourning until so terribly recently… I can wait a few more weeks, or even months, to show you, to demonstrate that I can be a worthy Princess for you."

She turned to face him properly as she shifted to stand directly before the man, stooping over as her arms encircled his shoulders and neck, gently pulling him into a tender embrace.

"I've missed you so much, Joe," her voice warbled slightly. "I'm so happy to have you back. I'm happy to see your face, to hold you, to see your smile and know that you never stopped cherishing us as much as we cherish you. So…" She pulled back just slightly, and after a ruinously heart-stopping moment, a wondrously soft, warm, pillowy sensation graced his cheek, and Cinderella held it for a few long moments before she pulled back from the kiss.

Even despite the heartfelt tears of happiness lightly streaking down her face, the smile she wore was Heavenly. The way she shifted her hands to gently cup his cheeks only increased the intensity of the moment a hundredfold.

"Watch me, Joe. Watch me so keenly, so intently, as I shine brighter than the brightest star for you. Watch me show you that I can be your worthy Princess, become the star that you seek, just as I reach towards the brilliant night sky for you… And maybe, in doing so, you'll come to understand that you are the perfect Prince we deserve. Maybe you will be kinder to yourself, when you are offered the rightful praise, loyalty, and protection you have earned from your resplendent Goddesses of Victory."

She made a point to brush his cheeks lovingly in the instants before she started to back off, the tips of her fingers seeming to protest against the motion of being removed from his face.

"I wish you only the most pleasant of dreams, my perfect Prince."

With that, she quietly backed out of the room, the door quietly opening and closing, the gorgeous silverette continuing to stare longingly at the Commander from between the door and its high-tech frame for as long as she could before it soundlessly slid shut.

Thus, Joe was left alone again.

He stared.

He stared, and stared, with eyes as wide as saucers.

Firstly, because she actually said it. Cinderella just said it, outright, leaving no room open for interpretation.

Yet, further, because Cinderella, for an entire century, had been ruminating on the way her interactions with Joe had gone aboard the Avenger and beyond… On the mistaken belief that she'd done anything wrong, and it wasn't that fucker Andersen's fault that he hadn't pounced on her on day one.

One-hundred years, Cinderella had been left believing she was a fuck-up, that she'd done so much wrong, that it was her fault that Joe hadn't eagerly taken her hand all those years ago. One-hundred years, she'd longed for him… An entire century, she'd not stopped wishing for him, even despite believing he was gone forever…

All because Andersen just had to do what he did best, and ruin something for her at the first opportunity he received.

Joe was going to make that dumb fucker regret being born.

---

As per Rapi's report, Pioneer scattered around the Outpost come morning, the girls being considerate of the fact that Joe had shit he had to do as the administrator of the budding community. Rapunzel, Scarlet and Cinderella went to explore the area in general, appreciate the opportunity to simply traipse about a small settlement that wasn't in ruin, and mirrored those of the old world as well.

Snow White, meanwhile, moved to immediately lay claim to the newly-built Armoury, to nobody's great surprise.

Thus, the Commander was left free to do the shit required of him.

Which started with Rapi noting that the Carronades had actually arrived at the Outpost a few days prior, and were getting somewhat visibly irritated that he'd not come to greet them.

So, more than a little sheepishly, Joe proceeded to the barracks to meet the new girls, idly wondering what else he'd missed in the avalanche of shit happening lately.

While it really hadn't actually been all that long since he'd last set eyes on the iDolls, it somehow felt like it had been months since Joe had last interacted with them. Mia and Flower each presented a happy wave the Commander's way, while Sunny only spared him a passing, wildly uninterested glance with her big blue eyes. While Mia was still wearing her headgear, the other two had gone without all of their tactical equipment and were just sitting around the common room in regular (if somewhat skimpy, in Sunny's case) clothes.

Surprise surprise, even despite being Mass-Produced Nikkes, Sunny and Flower were gorgeous. Joe was sure that Mia would be too, the moment she allowed her face to be seen, but alas, that time was not now.

While idly tapping away at their phones, the three were watching the TV; what looked like some sort of Power Rangers/Super Sentai knock-off.

Flower spoke up on Joe and Rapi's approach. "Commander, you've been busy lately, huh?"

"'Commander!?'" Joe did not get the chance to reply, however, as a new, very girly voice interjected from deeper into the barracks, followed by a very loud series of bounding footfalls.

"Belorta, wait!" Another, equally girly voice called out, audibly following the first as quickly as she could. "Don't get us in trouble with a new Commander again!"

The first, regardless of the second's pleas, slid into the room with a scowl which could only be described as 'cute' worn on her button features, looking almost poised to strike out like an irritated dog.

The first thing that was noticed was how small the new girl was—or rather, small wasn't the right descriptor to use. She was pale-skinned and short, but otherwise, easily and impressively rivalled Anis in build. Short, clad in a form-fitting red button-down capped with a thick, fabric gorget neck protector, and detached baggy sleeves adorned with athletic stripes. Additionally, she wore a short skirt supported by suspenders, and simple red-and-black short boots over thigh highs lightly decorated with three-or-so inches of vertical stripes over the elastic bit.

She had yet another stark head of snow-white hair (which seemed a bit oddly prevalent among Nikkes to Joe) done up in girly little twintails, and wow she had pretty golden eyes and—why was she looking at Joe like he was the most shocking thing in the world-

"T-The-!" The little Nikke, Belorta, going off of the second girl's words, started as she stared at Joe.

"Belorta, please!" Another girl, darker in complexion than her fellow, but still rather fair-skinned, bounded into the room worriedly. She was significantly taller than Belorta, yet still quite short. Built far more modestly, but dressed in a far more provocative, very high-cut leotard beneath a cropped baggy orange-and-black jacket. Her black socks only just went over her knees, ending with simple black boots zipped up the front.

She was brunette, her excessively long—to the point of rivalling Rapunzel's—silken hair adorned with a simple headband, otherwise worn loose and trailing down her back to her ankles. Her eyes were grey-blue, large, and sparking with intense worry.

The brunette attempted to finish her plea. "Don't get us in trouble-!"

Only to be cut off. "-The Legendary Commander!?" Belorta cried out at the top of her lungs.

The slim brunette, at that, jumped, turning towards Joe and Rapi, then- "R-Red Hood!?" She too, all but screamed upon setting eyes on Joe's second.

The room went completely silent, aside from the sounds of sentai action in the background, the TV continued with little heed paid to the room's occupants.

After a few moments of significant tension, Joe reached into his pocket, withdrawing his phone and immediately going through his contacts. There was a beat, the device audibly ringing before, even despite it not being on speaker mode, everyone in the room heard the man on the other end. "Aaaah, mon cheri Commandant Pholus! I have been anticiper the moment your oh-so-masculin voice would grace mon téléphone intelligent! How might I servir you?"

"I just met the Carronades," Joe started in a plain monotone.

Mustang all but crooned in reply. "Ah yes, little Mica and Belorta, such adorables petits chéris they are, oui? Are my sweet little pétards treating you well, mon cheri?"

"They just exposed Rapi and I's identities to the iDolls." Joe very flatly declared to the CEO of Tetra Line, Rapi wearing just about the most put-upon and exhausted expression on her face that he ever did see.

There was a beat before Mustang flatly replied. "Do not allow anyone that was present in the room when this was said out of your sight. I will be there shortly," he stated matter-of-factually as he dropped his usual flouncy pomp, the line cutting at once.

With that, Joe returned the phone to his pocket, just blankly staring at Mica and Belorta. They, in turn, wore expressions of mixed horror and dismay. Belorta in particular looking the part of a chastised puppy, her large, glimmering eyes becoming equal parts watery and pitiable.

The iDolls, meanwhile, were just blankly staring at the tableau, rather visibly dumbstruck into a collective stupor. Given the weight of the revelation they'd just been exposed to out of the blue, such was rather understandable.

"If it's not one thing…" Joe started, his eyes heavily lidded as he pondered how in God's name these two could have even known who he and Rapi were to begin with. To say nothing of how much the two just complicated things involving the iDolls.

"...Then it's another," Rapi finished his sentiment as she rubbed her forehead in pure exasperation with a heavy grimace.

 

[Dsaeg]

Hahahahah, marvelous ending! I have no clue who the Carronades and Idolss are but this is beyond amusing. At least construction Nikke form the past was not that eager. I wonder who else will recognize Joe?

 

[Matttts]

Poor Joe. Can't catch a damn break.

 

[Nomad-117]

Joe was going to make that dumb fucker regret being born.

Click to shrink...

That mucht at least should be exceedingly easy. Just bang Cinderella like a screen door in a hurricane and mission is accomplished.

In all seriousness... fuck. I mean Cinderella missing Joe for a whole century, thinking he is dead and all the while believing that she fucked up every interaction she had with him is pretty messed up, poor girl.

Only to be cut off. "-The Legendary Commander!?" Belorta cried out at the top of her lungs.

The slim brunette, at that, jumped, turning towards Joe and Rapi, then- "R-Red Hood!?" She too, all but screamed upon setting eyes on Joe's second.

Click to shrink...

Motherf-

 

[Dasneaky]

HUZZAH always a great day when baka updated my favorite fic on QQ and I don't say that lightly. Keep it up baka, cheers.