NIKKE Xenoverse

Chapter 6: Snow Blues Part 1

[-]

The Next Day; Andersen's Office

"You realize how much trouble you could have been in for this stunt, Suskian? Ennik is angry you did what you did… But, I'm glad she decided to let you off the hook this time," Andersen said in exasperation as he shook his head, "Look, I get where you're coming from, but… This is a bit much. Doing what you did would be problematic with the hierarchy, so to speak. It would make the other Commanders think they can just do whatever they want if they have you around to bail them out." Suskian sat in a seat in front of Andersen's desk, looking calm as Andersen was reprimanding Suskian. Andersen sighed and rubbed his face in irritation.

"I know you're not from this world originally, but there are rules you have to follow. Don't challenge Ennik's authority like that again… You may have gotten away with it today, but that won't work again. Understand?"

"I know that. It was a crazy plan, but it worked. Ennik knows about what we talk about… But, not about the Demon Realm faction and them manufacturing Raptures. I didn't trust her with that info because of the Terabyte incident and what Launch mentioned about it. It didn't sit right with me, so I intentionally left that part out," Suskian said calmly and Andersen sat back in his chair.

"Well, luckily your little gamble worked and Syuen is under professional review and Wardress is not under her command anymore. In other words, she did NOT get away with it. From this day forward, Wardress is officially disavowed from Missilis," Andersen said and Suskian raised an eyebrow at this.

"Then, send them over to Dawnbreaker. We will take then with open arms," Suskian said as he looked at him with a serious look on his face, "Syuen is stunting their growth. I can foster it." Andersen raised an eyebrow at this and smirked.

"Sticking it to her good, huh?" Andersen asked.

"Yep. Making sure she don't harm them again," Suskian said with a smile, "Plus, their abilities are very handy for many reasons."

"You're an interesting young man, Suskian. Alright, I'll pull some strings," Andersen said and his phone buzzed. He looked at it on the table and picks it up, checking his messages and he groaned.

"Syuen is on her way to the Outpost," Andersen groaned and Suskian flinched in shock and irritation. He stood up and sighed.

"Well, I better intercept her," Suskian said and brought his left index and middle fingers to his forehead and sensed for his comrades, "Ah, there we go."

"What are…?" Andersen asked.

"Sorry, I gotta run. We'll talk later," Suskian said as he glanced at Andersen and waved to him as he vanished into thin air. Andersen recoiled in shock as he glanced around the room.

"…He can teleport… Handy," Andersen said in exasperation as he sat up straight and went back to filing paperwork, "Wish I can do that…"

[-]

Outpost; Dormitory

Suskian reappears in the living room and immediately falls back as something careen into his chest. It was Syuen, and she was in some severe pain, clutching her chest.

"What the hell…?" Suskian groaned as he sat up and rubbed his chest and Syuen moaned in pain as she sat up and looked up at him and flinched in shock and slight fear.

"How did you get here so fast?! You were with Deputy Andersen!" Syuen yelled in shock.

"What are you doing here? Did I not warn you last time?" Suskian asked seriously as he stared at her, "Get off." He moves her away and stood up, patting his chest. Melina came over to touch his chest.

"How did it go?" she asked him softly.

"Despite it all, Andersen was pleased and pissed," Suskian said with a smile, "Business as usual."

"Call a medic…" Syuen said in pain as she raised a hand to the air.

Minutes Later

The group watched Syuen get taken out on a stretcher and Yuni and Mihara stayed behind, sticking at Suskian's sides as they watched their former boss. Yuni held Suskian's hand and she looked elated to be doing so.

"Thank you for taking us in," Mihara told Suskian with a smile, "We will ensure that you will never be harmed in battle in any way we can, as you are our new Commander. Do we call you Commander, or…?"

"Call hin whatever you feel comfortable with," IF told her with a sincere smile, "Don't hesitate to ask for help in any way."

"Thank you, IF," Mihara said with a smile, "I'm glad Suskian came to our aide when he did… Even if he was a little late."

"Speaking of which… Rapi, I need to ask. Did your memory get wiped?" Suskian asked her as he stared at her.

"…You knew at first glance, didn't you?" Rapi asked him and he shrugged his shoulders. The others in Counters looked shocked as Ryu flinched visibly at this.

"Yeah. It was like… I could tell just by looking that you were okay," Suskian told Rapi and she stared at him, not noticing that she was blushing slightly at his words. She was glad she didn't have to explain it to him.

"I also know we can't exactly tell anyone what happened or…"

"We risk being dismantled," Theresa said as she walked into the room with a metal arm over her missing left arm.

"Good to see you're back to fighting standards," Susksian said as he glanced back at Theresa.

"Being a Nikke has benefits," Theresa said as she flexed her metal arm, "And, to reiterate… This info on the failed memory wipe stays here."

"And, those scientists are gonna be smart and not say shit. Otherwise… It's their ass," Suskian said as he folded his arms. Ryu then felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he took it out to read it.

"It's from Andersen. He's warning us that Syuen was on her way. I'll tell him that things were handled," Ryu said and texted Andersen back.

"So, why was Syuen ceremoniously flying into my chest?" Suskian asked the group.

"Well, she started to bitch at us that Wardress was taken from her and she was enraged, to give her credit. She also tried to blackmail the Commander into doing something else but Rapi kicked the near life out of her, and you showed up after the kick," Anis explained as she looked at Suskian.

"…What. I missed that?! Man!" Suskian pouted as he punched his fists together, "Good job."

"I took advantage of her thinking I got memory wiped and treated her like an intruder and did as such," Rapi said with a smirk, "It was easy. She didn't suspect a thing."

"We can only get away with that once, though. Wish someone would've taken a photo," Suskian joked.

"I recorded it, for safety reasons," Chris said as she held up her phone, "I made sure she didn't notice as I did."

"I was joking. Nice work, Chris," Suskian smiled and Chris bows to Suskian in respect.

"Okay, so we're back at square one. What is our next objective?" Anis asked.

"Well, we have a few leads. The Demon Realm faction, for one… What is their end goal? It's bigger than Demigra, apparently…" Suskian said as he sat down at a table and rubbed his chin.

"Godwyn," Melina said as she sat next to him, "Remember, Fia is with them, so she more than likely is siding with them since they can recreate anything. Problem is, why didn't they recreate him?"

"…More than likely they can't. Demon Realm Magic is very versatile, except creating something akin to a Demon God level threat. Cassandra divulged that to Jade before she died," Suskian told Melina, "They need a SHIT ton of magic and Ki to pull that off as well as life force."

"How much is that amounting to?" Melina asked Suskian.

"…I don't have an exact number," Suskian said as he shook his head, "All I know is Demigra needed 75 million years to break free from his prison. It would take at most that long… But, at the same time… It could take literal weeks to months. It's very inconsistent sometimes." Melina sighed and ran her hands through her hair, frustrated that they don't have a time frame to work with reliably.

"Then, there's the Demon Raptures, which I'm calling the mist effected Raptures. She said the Lust Wyrm was a variant, right? They could have more variants of them…" Suskian said and brought his face in his hands in frustration, "Not even a month in this world, and everything is happening at once. These guys don't play around, do they…?"

"No. It's incredibly harsh that we have to do this pretty much without our original team… Not knocking the others, but…" Melina said and the group came up to their sides, "You're not taking on a God or his followers. Not like me and Suskian, but we had a Godslayer squad back in the Time Patrol."

"Still do. But, they don't know we are still alive. We unceremoniously got brought here…" Suskian said seriously. Yuni sat on his lap at that moment and pinched his left arm harshly while pouting.

"Ow. What are you…"

"Suskian… We aren't useless. Nor are we gonna abandon you and Melina when you need help. So, stop being so negative and rely on us," Yuni said as she looked up at him and smiled, "Mihara, me… Dawnbreaker… Counters… We all are here to help you with whatever you need. Same goes for Deputy Andersen and miss Ingrid. Remember that we are under your command for anything, ride or die… It's our programming." Suskian went silent at this and smiled at Yuni, petting her on the head and she giggled while holding onto his arm.

"Keep your chin up, kid. You're not alone in this," Ryu told Suskian as he nods his head, "We all have our reasons for doing this. Mine… I have a goal for all Nikke to have free will. I need to work towards it and make sure I don't ever fail it."

"…That's noble of you, Ryu. I'm impressed," Suskian said with a smile, "Well, as long as we are here… We better help out however we can. Don't look at the negatives and look at the positives. Chronoa taught me that…" He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Anyone else feel tired?"

"Gotta be just you for worrying too much. Get some rest," Revy said as she took a smoke again and smirked.

"I'll take him to bed!" Yuni called as she pulled Suskain away.

"…I guess I'm gonna be up, then," Melina joked as she giggled.

"You're not worried about her trying to sleep with him?" Theresa asked curiously.

"No. In fact, I encourage it," Melina smiled as she nods her head, "Our marriage is open, as I stated a few times before. As long as we know who is no. 1 in our lives, there is no problem with other men or women coming in to sleep with us. It makes life more exciting that way… But, there are rules we both have to follow. And, we both agree that Fia is definitely off limits."

"Who is Fia, anyway? You said the name a few times," Theresa said as she sat in the chair that Suskian previously sat in.

"…She is named the Deathbed Companion, someone who has sex to gain life force from the one she lays with. She uses that life force to give to the Death God, Godwyn. Godwyn was one of the strongest Gods in existence in the Lands Between before the Shattering of the Elden Ring. She praises him by doing what she does best and plans to have a child with Godwyn… But, then… She set her sights on Suskian when she sensed how powerful he was. Much more powerful than Godwyn in his prime… Thanks to him training with the God Of Destruction, Beerus," Melina said as she brought out a holoscreen and showed them several images. Some of a squid faced being and a purple humanoid cat being as well as images of Fia.

"…Damn. I hate to say it, but Fia is a baddie," Roberta joked and Melina glanced back at her, "What? She's beautiful. I don't blame Suskian for falling for that. I would, too."

"Looks can be deceiving," Chris said as she folded her arms.

"That's an ugly faced being," Neon said as she points to an image of Godwyn in his prime, "Suskian has to fight something like that?"

"Hopefully he doesn't have to," Melina said as she shook her head while bringing up more images, "These are images of our team and his boss, Chronoa AKA Supreme Kai Of Time." She points to an image of Suskian hugging Chronoa as she was smiling brightly at Suskian. There were other images of different races of beings and Tarnished that were taken with varying degrees of emotions radiating from the images.

"Wow… Suskian has a lot of allies and friends," Anis said with a surprised look on his face, "No wonder he has no problem being around a lot of people." Rapi glanced at an image of Suskian and a girl that looked similar to him, both of them smiling and showing the peace sign. This image had both of them looking different and significantly younger, like preteen age. The difference in this image was Suskian didn't have a tail there.

"Melina… What's this one?" Rapi asked as she walked up to the image and stared at it, "Is this a younger Suskian?" Melina looked over to see Rapi staring at the picture and sighed sadly as she stood up and walked up besides Rapi.

"This… Is the earliest photo Suskian took before he became a Time Patroller. That's his twin sister, Jade… Both were in an accident that made them become Half-Saiyan via Reincarnation," Melina said and Rapi glanced at Melina in confusion, "Yes, that's right. They were born 100% human. They were wished back by the Dragon Balls to be Half-Saiyan. They have been Time Patrollers for years, and Chronoa raised them to be strong warriors."

"…Wait, sister?" Roberta said and widened her eyes, "He mentioned losing a sister… It was her?"

"Yes. Jade died in a battle between her and Cassandra, Dakimu's daughter… A year before we came here," Melina said as she held the holographic photo in her hands, "That Day… Suskian lost hope in himself and never truly recovered from it. When he sees loss and death, it breaks him. And, it's hard to bring him back a lot of the time… I'm afraid one of these days… I won't be able to bring him back from the brink of collapse. He always tells me I'm his shining light in the black void… The thing that keeps him going every day. You all may not know it, but he is always depressed when we are alone and out in public. He masks it well with confidence and humor… In Reality, it's the only thing that is keeping him from going insane."

"…I know how that feels," Rapi said as she folded her arms, "Wearing a mask… Hiding your feelings. I did it in the past… Maybe one day we can get him to open up and let it all out."

"…Hopefully," Melina said as she shook her head.

[-]

Meanwhile; Elsewhere In The Ark…

Andersen was working on paperwork when he got a knock on his door. He glanced up and blinked a few times.

"Enter," He called and in walks Commander Bradley with the purple hair with the D Clip Nikke, "Bradley, Nepgear. What do you need? You don't normally visit…"

"Sorry to bother you, sir… But, there is something we need to discuss about… A Rapture that is capable of human speech. I heard it has been spotted…" Bradley said calmly as he sat in the seat in front of Andersen's desk. Andersen narrowed his eyes at this and slowly glanced at Nepgear, who went to the door and closed it.

"…Yes. Why do you ask?" Andersen asked calmly as he sat up. Bradley sighed and looked down.

"Was it named Chatterbox?" Bradley asked softly and Andersen widened his eyes.

"How do you…?" Andersen asked.

"That Rapture killed my parents and Vert, making her a Nikke," Bradley said as he looked up at Andersen, "I need to know it's whereabouts so I can hunt it down and kill it." Andersen frowned at this and sighed.

"I can't exactly tell you," Andersen said and Bradley stood up while looking desperate, "Let me finish… I can't tell you because I don't know where he is. It's likely he escaped North. I was gonna send Dawnbreaker and Counters up north to investigate it… If you are gonna hunt it, then your best chance is to team up with them. You will be able to come out relatively okay. Is that fair?" Bradley silently nods his head and sat back down.

"But, you will need to wait a few days. Ryu is on suspension for taking an unauthorized visit to the surface under Syuen's orders. I'll contact you with the details when he is free to do operations," Andersen continued, "I'll call him and Suskian here first and call you afterwards. Be ready for my call."

"Thank you, sir. I couldn't go to my uncle about this because he would do underhanded tactics to get what he wants," Bradley smiled. He stood up and saluted to Andersen before leaving with Nepgear bowing to Andersen and following behind him.

"Wait," Andersen called and Bradley and Nepgear stops to look back at him, "I should let you know what you are getting into…"

End Mission 6

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-