NIKKE Xenoverse
Chapter 5: Hard To Swallow -Pause-
Minutes Later
"…And, you didn't bother to tell me anything?! Or due to the fact that Teri is missing a freaking arm and Roberta is missing a pice of her stomach?! How the fuck are you that incompetent as a Commander?!" An angry mature voice yelled over the comms. Suskian twitched in annoyance as he was being reprimanded by Vert, who was a voluptuous blonde with green eyes.
"Vert, lay off. That's not exactly fair… Syuen gave the order, and we can't exactly deny any orders from the Big 3," IF said in irritation as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "If anything, this is her fault. She also told us this was a Black Ops mission, so we couldn't get outside help." Vert groaned and IF gave Suskian an apologetic look.
"Iffy. You know the Deputy Chief is gonna be after your heads for this fiasco. A Commander is injured on the job, several Nikke are out of commission… What do I tell the higher ups? Plus, this isn't exactly a good first impression on your acting Commander," Vert said as she sounded irritated as well.
"Again. Blame Syuen, not Suskian. He did his best to keep the situation under control," IF said as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Vert… I'm fine. Some maintenance, and I'll be back up and running," Theresa said as she brought up the holoscreen to show Vert, "It's not the end of the world. Far from it… Despite it all, Suskian did well for his first mission… Not like he can be everywhere at once. That's what we are for, right?" Vert went silent at this and looked away.
"Vert… This situation isn't like Marian. None of us are corrupted, just busted up a little. We can recover from this, okay?"
"I… I know that. Iffy, you are all I have left as a friend. No, basically family… You not telling me where you went for 2 days makes me think you don't trust me anymore…" Vert said and IF blinked before shaking her head.
"That is FAR from the truth. I trust you 100%... But, I'm still a Nikke with flaws. I have to obey commands… And, this one came from a C.E.O…." IF said seriously as she shook her head, "Vert, I'm sorry we didn't come to you, but… We didn't have a choice. Now, we REALLY don't have a choice."
"May I asked what you encountered out there that got you guys making a choice like this?" Vert asked.
"Hunting Raptures," Suskian said simply as he folded his arms, "We… Met a Nikke up here." Vert blinked a few times.
"A Nikke? Was she part of a squad?" Vert asked them. They looked at each other and thought about it for a second.
"No. She was alone… And, she was donned in white clothing…" Suskian said as he shook his head, "And, she had an anti ship rifle." Vert sputtered at this as she never heard any Nikke capable of wielding a weapon of that caliber. Well, she knows of a family of Nikke that wields powerful weaponry, but they are all special cases…
"…Did she have a name?" Vert asked Suskian.
"…Snow White," Suskian said and Vert hummed, typing away at her computer for a minute of silence before shaking her head.
"I… Don't know a Nikke with that name. Rather, that name doesn't show up in the database," Vert said as she glanced back at the group. They looked at each other before nodding to each other.
"I figured as much," Suskian muttered, "Okay… We will need some med evacs here immediately."
"Shifty gave coordinates to Counters. They will lead you there and get you back to the Ark. Be ready to have your ass reamed by higher ups when you get back…" Vert said as she types away again at her computer.
"Phrasing," IF said with a sigh.
"Just giving you a warning," Vert said with a smirk.
"Thanks, Vert. We'll see you when we get back," IF said and Theresa hangs up after that, "Story of my life…"
"I'm gonna catch a mean stray for this, huh?" Suskian asked IF and she chuckled nervously.
"Sadly, yeah. Even though Syuen gave the order, you will get the heat for this. You and Ryu and the leaders of the squad, which is… Me, Rapi, and Mihara," IF said as she shook her head.
"That's unfair to you…" Suskian said seriously.
"It's life for a Nikke, unfortunately… I am dreading the punishment Ennik is gonna force on us," IF said and Theresa frowned at this.
"We have to move soon, guys," Ryu called to them as he hobbled over to them with Melina helping him.
"The transport will be here in 30 minutes, and our trek to it will take 20 minutes," Melina said to Suskian.
"Well, let's prepare ourselves for the inevitable shit storm coming," IF sighed and the others agreed. Chris looked the most worried and Suskian looked at her.
"You okay?" He asked her as he walked up to her and she blushed while twiddling her fingers.
"Ingrid is gonna kick my ass," Chris said as she looked at him, "I never did anything like this and she never knew about it…"
"We'll worry about it later. Come on," Suskian said.
[-]
25 Minutes Later; Meet Up Spot
The group of people made their way to the pick up spot and waited in silence, feeling like they are on edge. Yuni broke the silence by going up to Suskian and holding his hand and looking up at him.
"Suskian… Can I ask a favor…?" Yuni asked him softly and he looked at her.
"Yes?" Suskian asked her calmly.
"Can you be our Commander from now on…? You at least care about our well being, unlike Syuen… Who I willing to throw us away," Yuni told him, "I'll do anything… Please…" Suskian pet her on the head, which made her blush and look up at him in surprise.
"If I am able to do that, I will," Suskian said as he nods his head. Yuni smiled and hugs him.
"Promise…?" Yuni asked. He hugs her back and she giggled.
"Promise," He said softly.
"Well, then. You're gonna have to hold that Promise now," Mihara joked as she winked at Suskian.
"Why do that for them?" Roberta asked as she came up beside Suskian and folded her arms.
"Few reasons… Main one being Fuck Syuen," Suskian smirked as he shrugged his shoulders, "And, the other being I care about their well being." Roberta smirked and shook her head.
"He's a special case of interesting, huh…?" Roberta thought as she leaned against a Boulder and stared out at the open sky.
"Roberta… What's on your mind?" Suskian asked her as he stared at her and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Nothing, really. But, I hope you don't get slammed by Ennik judgment," Roberta said and glanced at Suskian.
With the others, you can see the others talking with each other… Except for Chris, who is looking down while feeling awkward. Neon stole a glance at her and went over to talk with her. Chris looked up and saw Neon walking over to her, blushing heavily as she looked away.
"Why are you all to your lonesome?" Neon asked curiously. Chris didn't reply as she was embarrassed by talking with the girl who she previously had a nightcap with the night prior.
"If it's about the night before, it's okay. I'm not mad about it… It was out of our control. We were under a weird spell and it made us… Act on our instincts. Well, I didn't think you were that romantic… Or that rough." Chris blushed harder as she looked slowly at Neon.
"And, to be honest… We both work under the same company, which means we are practically under the same person. So, let's try and start out ad friends… Okay?" Neon continued as she looked at Chris.
"…Okay," Chris said softly as she nods her head and Neon smiled at her.
"And… If you need help with anything… Just tell me. I'll be glad to help you out…" Neon blushed as she nods her head. Chris blushed and nods her head as well.
"Now, let's get back to the others, huh?" Neon takes Chris by the hand and led her back to the others. By the time they got to the group, the transport ship arrived to pick them up.
"Our ride is here, finally," Revy said as she nods her head. Suskian flinched in response as he felt several energies appear in the far distance. He glanced back and growled in annoyance. There were dozens of anti air type Raptures in the distance.
"Seriously?! I hate this mission!" Suskian yelled in anger, "Raptures in the distance!"
"This is some shit…" Roberta sighed as she got her gun ready.
"Don't worry. We were prepared for this," Vert's voice said over the comms. Suddenly, there were dozens of laser beams shot at the Raptures and blew them up. The group looked on in amazement as the transport ship lands behind them.
"Target neutralized," a deadpan tone said and they turned to see a group of women in the doorway of the helicopter.
"Eunhwa… Emma… Vesti…" Rapi said softly in surprise.
"Absolute?! Seriously?! Geez, this is a surprise to see Elysion's strongest team here," Theresa said as she stared at the group of women. Another transport ship lands a few feet away from the first ship and another group of women that Dawnbreaker recognized was waiting in the doorway of the helicopter.
"And, Phoenix too? Geez, throw out the welcome wagon, why don't you?" Launch joked as she smirked, "What's shaking, ladies?"
"Nice to see you too, Jekyll," Kyouka said with a smirk as Dawnbreaker, Suskian, and Melina got on the ship that Phoenix was on.
"Thanks," Suskian told them.
"You're welcome," another Nikke on the Phoenix squad, a black haired girl with an hourglass figure donned in a red and white shrine Maiden outfit, said with a sultry smile, "Bradley, we are ready to go." Wardress, Counters, and Ryu got on the ship that Absolute was inhabiting and both ships took off, flying in the direction of the Ark. The plane ride for Counters and Wardress was… A little hostile for them as Eunhwa was mean mugging Rapi for some reason. Rapi, on the other hand, was silently looking at Eunhwa with what looked like regret and sadness on her face.
"I figured your rotten ass would be doing some missions and getting your ass kicked. You're not exactly the most careful Nikke around, Rapi…" Eunhwa sniped at Rapi and Rapi remained silent, staring at Eunhwa all the while.
"…You guys know each other?" Anis asked.
"She used to be part of Absolute," Emma said with a warm smile, "It was a while ago…"
"I heard about that, actually. Wasn't sure what happened," Tsubasa said earnestly as she stared at Rapi. Ryu stared at Rapi as she was thinking back to her time with Absolute and… Something before that.
"Nothing to say, you rust bucket? Not even a sorry?" Eunhwa asked in anger as she glared at Rapi.
"Hey, easy on the insults," Ryu retorted.
"You, hush. You have no idea what happened between us," Eunhwa said as she glared at Ryu.
"…Leave the Commander out of this, Eunhwa. He is ignorant of our past…" Rapi said sadly.
"Alright, Eunhwa. Leave Rapi alone. There are things we shouldn't just spring on someone," Emma chided Eunhwa and Eunhwa clicked her teeth in frustration and went silent after that.
"Sorry about that, Rapi. How have you been? Has your mental state been any better?" Emma asked kindly.
"…There are bad days, but I'm getting better," Rapi said earnestly, "…I'm sorry. I…"
"It's okay, Rapi," Emma smiled.
[-]
Hours Later; Ark; Deputy Chief Andersen's Office
Dawnbreaker, Counters, Ryu, Suskian, and Melina were standing in front of Ingrid and Andersen, but Theresa and Wardress were absent and were getting repaired. No one said a word, feeling nervous all the while.
"…No one is gonna say anything? Not a word?" Ingrid asked in irritation as she stared at the group. Suskian sighed and rubbed his face before speaking.
"It was a lapse in judgement, yes… But, we exactly couldn't deny the request, since it came from Syuen," Suskian said calmly as he stared at Ingrid and Andersen, "If it were different, we would have not gone. But, she threatened my squad and brought harm to my wife. I couldn't exactly… Say no, otherwise she would have done something worse."
"I accepted her proposal initially, sir," Ryu said as he stood up straight and stared at Andersen, "She used Wardress's abilities to render us all immobile and cause harm to get what she wanted." Andersen sighed as Ingrid grit her teeth in anger.
"Of course… Syuen. And, you can't deny an order from the Big 3 like that… And she knew that. Fucking brat," Ingrid growled as she pounds her fist on the desk behind her, cracking the frame. Chris flinched at how hard the desk cracked and Ingrid glanced at Chris before getting her composure back.
"There are many things that we need to sort out here," Andersen said seriously, "Main one being… What was the reason you went to the surface in the first place?"
"To hunt a special Rapture for Syuen," Tsubasa said seriously as she stared at the Elysion C.E.O. and Deputy Chief. Both looked confused at this and Ryu continued.
"She said it was a talking Rapture named Chatterbox. It was confirmed when we encountered it. He was intelligent, leading us all into a trap," Ryu said seriously.
"And, that's not the half of it," Suskian said calmly as he looked at Andersen and Ingrid, "Can I trust you to keep a secret?" Andersen looked at him and Ingrid had a serious look on her face.
"…There's more?" Ingrid asked in exasperation.
"Yes. And this is serious… Like, it could collapse this realm serious," Suskian said, putting emphasis on it. Both looked aghast at this and slowly nods their heads.
"Enemies from my world and Melina's realm, The Lands Between, have infiltrated this world and are making new variants of Raptures and created a new Rapture. It feeds off of a living beings lust and primal desires for power. It also affects Nikke, but doesn't corrupt them in the same sense. They can come back harmlessly from it… But, it depends on the Nikke and their mental state, apparently," Suskian stated and both glanced at each other before asking…
"Can you confirm this…? Any of you?"
"I can," Rapi said as she nods her head, "I have the most combat data recorded from the encounter."
"Did you get a name from this… Faction?" Andersen asked seriously.
"I'm calling them Demon Realm, since most are from the Demon Realm in my world. They also have another, who is called Fia. She is a Deathbed Companion, someone who sleeps with someone to steal a significant amount of life force for her Death God, Godwyn. She and I have… History," Suskian said as he folded his arms.
"Fia is from my realm but she is technically supposed to be dead by now. It's likely the leader of this faction brought her back for some reason… It's not clear what her take in all this is, but I bet it's to bring Godwyn here. If that were to happen…" Melina said and looked irritated.
"This is a lot," Andersen said as he leaned back against the desk.
"Chatterbox, the Demon Realm, the possibility of Godwyn appearing… Yeah, I can agree to that," Suskian said as he covered his face.
"That's not to say you all are off the hook. Unfortunately, you took an unauthorized visit to the surface and got several Nikke and a Commander injured. You're lucky that's all what happened here..." Ingrid said as she stared at them, "Ennik is calling for the squad leaders to be Memory Wiped. IF and Rapi as well as Mihara…" IF blanched at thus and Rapi looked horrified.
"What?! That's not fair! Syuen is responsible for this!" IF argued as she glared at Ingrid.
"It's not my call, IF. It's Ennik," Ingrid said seriously.
"…Ma'am, can't you at least… Delay it a bit more? This is a bad time to do this…" Rapi said in a rather scared tone, which did surprise everyone, "There's so much here that would hinder us if myself and IF get Memory Wiped."
"And, Mihara shouldn't have to pay for Syuen's pigheaded moves," Suskian agreed as he had a serious look on his face.
"That's the rules, and we have to follow them," Ingrid argued and IF stormed out at that, slamming the door behind her and cracking the wall. Ingrid sighed as Suskian stared at his team in apologetic fervor.
"Don't. You did your best for this team. Keep doing that, okay?" Roberta said as she held Suskian by his shoulders. He nods his head and sighed.
"I'll go talk with Iffy… She needs someone to vent to," Suskian said, "Apologies." He turned to leave… But, not before turning to Melina and giving her a look. She smiled and nods her head. He quickly runs out the door and closed it behind him.
An Hour Later; Infirmary
Suskian searched for an hour for IF, but couldn't find her anywhere. He decided to head to the infirmary to find out if Theresa and Wardress were okay. So, he headed there to see… IF there, talking with Mihara, Yuni, and Theresa. They were sounding distressed and upset, especially Yuni. Suskian walked on quietly and the others looked at him sadly as he walked in.
"…I'm sorry. I should have done something better to fix this," Suskian told then as he sat down on the bed that Yuni was laying in.
"…Don't apologize. Syuen did this… We will manage through this. I was just telling Yuni to complete me again when it happens," Mihara said with a sad smile. Yuni held Suskian's hands and stared at him with desperation in her eyes.
"Please. You have to do something, Suskian. I can't lose Mihara… I just can't…" Yuni begged as she stared at him with unshed tears at the corners of her eyes. He took one of his hands and pet Yuni on the head softly.
"I'll figure something out," Suskian said softly to her, "Rest, okay? I promise I'll fix this." He turned to IF and she was looking lost and scared.
"Iffy… I won't abandon you either, you know that. You been through enough. That's a given." IF looked at Suskian in surprise at how passionate he was to her.
"We only know each other for a few days. Why go so far for us?" IF asked him softly.
"You're my comrades and friends. And, friends don't give up on each other like that," Suskian said seriously, "…I have a crazy idea."
[-]
A Few Days Later; Ennik's Sanctuary
The powerful A.I. hovered in her sanctuary, thinking to herself while working hard to better the Ark for the humans and Nikke. Just then, the door to her sanctuary opened and in walked a tan skinned male with a long brown monkey tail. He looked serious as he walked up to her and stood several feet away from her. Ennik turned to him and looked at him curiously.
"Ah, hello. You must be Commander Suskian, tye otherworldly being. I was curious on how you operate, but you coming to me is…" Ennik said and Suskian held up his hand, stopping her.
"Save it. Call it off, NOW," Suskian ordered as he glared at her. This… Is odd. Ennik tilts her head to the side.
"Call what off?" Ennik asked as she looked at him curiously. Suskian frowned as he brought out his scouter and puts it over his eyes and brought out his holoscreen.
"I'm not playing this fucking game. The Memory Wipe you incompetent A.I.," Suskian told her seriously as he typed away at his holoscreen and a pillar of light appeared next to him, letting a woman's body appear next to him. Ennik blinked a few times as she looked at the body and frowned as she was just insulted.
"You realize who you are talking to. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so flip lipped…" Ennik told Suskian and he glared at her seriously.
"You don't get it. We are in the middle of something rather important, and we don't need any setbacks like a Memory Wipe. All hands need to be on deck, and we don't need any broken wheels," Suskian told her, "Upload complete." The body trembled and stood up, stretching her limbs out and standing up.
"Selene 4.0 A.I., fully functional. Good morning, Suskian… I am up to date with what is going on," the woman said as she looked at Suskian and then at Ennik, "The backbone of the Ark, and the judge, jury, and executioner of all things according to it. We need to discuss some things rather… Unpleasant." Selene walked up to Ennik and placed a glowing yellow hand on Ennik's head and Ennik gasped before her eyes went blank. Suskian sat down in a nearby chair and waited.
Mindspace
Ennik flinched as she looked around at the white void she was floating in and Selene appeared before her again.
"What is this…?" Ennik asked as she looked around.
"I joined our CPUs together to share this information cloud. It will show you everything you need to know about what I am about to reveal to you. If you were to reveal this to someone undesirable, the memory will destroy you from the inside out with an incurable virus. Do you understand?" Selene said seriously. Ennik blinked a few times before slowly nodding her head.
"Good. As you know, Suskian and Melina Naoko are not from this world. There are from the realms labeled as the Dragon Ball realms and the Lands Between. Each are unique in how their powers work, but they work in harmony as co-existing realms due to an incident with the current Elden Lord, Yuki Bertha, and Suskian that happened quite a bit ago," Selene explained as she brought up a few screens and showed several scenes that played on the screens. Ennik carefully watched the scenes in silence and blinked as she was confused on why this A.I. had info like this.
"After this, he was sucked into a battle with the Demon God known as Demigra alongside his wife. Unfortunately, he was brought here to this realm alongside the Demon Realm faction. Now, they are making something… We don't exactly know what, but their end goal seems to be bringing back Demigra." She brought up an image of Demigra for Ennik to stare at.
"This man is NOT someone any normal human or Nikke can handle. You are to ensure to have only Suskian and Melina handle this. They are powerful enough to fight him and beat him. Do not send any helpless Nikke to fight him, like I know you most likely would even with this warning. So, take this to heart… Suskian WILL cause harm to those who harm innocents or his loved ones, including me. ESPECIALLY Melina, who is his better half. Do you understand?" Ennik stared at Selene seriously.
"What does this have to do with canceling the Memory Wipe?" Ennik asked.
"You're a smart A.I., Ennik. Think," Selene said with a smirk. Ennik blinked and widened her eyes as she realized it.
"Counters… Dawnbreaker… Wardress… All squads have fought someone from the Demon Realm faction yesterday, haven't they…? And, the memory wipe will hinder their ability to effectively fight and aide in any Rapture attack they encounter by assisting," Ennik said seriously as she stared at Selene and Selene nods her head, as if pleased that Ennik was getting it, "But, that's not exactly something I can take back. My judgement is final and only I can take it back. They disobeyed an order and have to pay for it." Selene sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.
"Yet, you let Syuen get away with so much as long as it does not damage the Ark, correct? What's the difference?" Selene asked her as she glanced at her in annoyance, "This is more than some silly mission fail, Ennik. You just got told this is more than reclaiming the surface… If the Demon Realm have their way, reclaiming the surface would be a fever dream you swear you wanted to have again. All hands need to be on deck and we don't need to lose any people or allies. Doing this will not do much favors for you." Ennik looked away and Selene sighed.
"I can't just show leniency for them. That's showing favoritism," Ennik told her calmly as she glanced back at Selene.
"How are you showing favoritism when we are showing you proof that there is something bigger than the Raptures out there? And we don't need a setback as a few members down?" Selene asked, "You're literally helping us save millions of innocent lives here by letting us work with a full deck instead of missing a few cards!"
"I understand the situation perfectly… But, like I said… Nothing I can do to change the outcome. Unless you do something drastic to stop the memory wipe, which I doubt you can do…" Ennik told her as she shook her head and her vision went white.
Ennik's Sanctuary
Ennik lets out a few gasps as she came out of her trance and looked around. Selene walked quickly over to Suskian and told him what she and Ennik talked about and Suskian frowned, understanding what needed to be done next.
"Plan B," Suskian said and brought his left index and middle fingers up to his head, "Found them. Immediately, too. Let's go." Selene touched his left shoulder and they vanished into thin air. Ennik looked bewildered and confused before regaining her composure and sighing with relief.
"…Interesting. If what they say is true, then… We have an entirely new threat…" Ennik muttered to herself as she turned away and shook her head, "This is game changing…"
[-]
Research Center; NIMPH Center
Rapi stood to the side as she had already had her mind wiped… Or so the researchers thought. On the other hand, Mihara was in the process of getting her mind wiped and IF looked super terrified as she was gonna be next. She is sweating buckets as she doesn't want her memories of her friends and Marian erased. Rapi glanced at IF and touched her arm, which IF flinched and stared at Rapi, who gave a small smile before going back to her stoic personality. It was then that IF immediately knew that Rapi was not memory wiped…
In that instant, Suskian appeared with Selene at his side and Selene immediately pushed a scientist away from Mihara, who was awake and looking confused. Sele3n brought her hands to Mihara's temples. Just then, Mihara gasped in surprise as her memories were rewired into her brain.
"What? What are you doing here, Suskian…?" IF asked him as some scientists stared at Selene in shock as she restored Mihara's sense of self and her memories were repaired.
"Plan B. Selene told me it was too late to stop you guys from being on schedule for a memory wipe, so she took the data that Ennik took from you guys and restored Mihara's memories. Did either of you go through the memory wipe just now?" Suskian asked and IF shook her head and glanced at Rapi, who nods her head slowly. He stared into her eyes for a few seconds and raised an eyebrow before smirking.
"Understood. We'll figure something out for Rapi. Selene, you done…?" Suskian asked. Selene stood back and Mihara panted in shock, feeling like she ran a marathon.
"Yeah, she needs a minute," Selene said and Suskian walked up to Mihara, staring at her. Mihara looked at him and blinked a few more times before slowly smiling and hugging him.
"…Suskian. Thank you," Mihara said softly, "You are… An angel." He hugs her back and Selene glanced back at the scientists.
"If any of you report this to Ennik, we WILL find you," Selene said calmly as she looked around the room, "You could have doomed us all by acting hasty. Luckily, I know how to reverse a memory wipe. Suskian, Mihara will have to be monitored for a few days in case of any side effects."
"Understood. Let's get out of here," Suskian said as he held Mihara in his arms and moved to the door, "Rapi, IF… We're heading back to the Outpost. I'll talk to Andersen later…" The Nikke followed behind him closely as they left the NIMPH Center, leaving the speechless scientists behind.
End Mission 5
Commander: Suskian Naoko
2nd In Command: IF -Weapon: Twin Desert Eagle Handguns-
Operator: Vert -Weapon: Spear-
Team Member: Launch -Weapon: Bear Commander Assault Rifle With Grenade Launcher Attachments-
Team Member: Chris -Weapon: Crossbow/Minigun Combo-
Team Member: Theresa -Weapon: Ranged Cross (Huge Cross that uses all types of ammunition)-
Team Member: Roberta -Weapon: 50 Caliber Sniper Rifle/Railgun combo-
Team Member: Revy -Weapon: Twin SMGs-
Team Doctor/Psychiatrist: Harleen Quintzel AKA Harley Quinn -Weapon: Revolver With Scope Attached-