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"...And so we have another member of our team. Endless, meet the Brave Squad. Brave Squad, meet Endless."
Endless blinked and then nodded her head. "I am Endless. I belong to Commander Hoopa. Let us work together to keep him safe."
Anis gave me a blank stare.
Rapi covered her face.
Neon looked at Endless' anti-grav modules with pure inspiration.
Marian looked absolutely jealous.
Nami waved at Endless, giving her usual sweet smile.
Hana looked concerned for my safety... mostly due to Marian's reaction.
And Suri had wisely nodded and immediately left to patrol.
After my talk with Enikk, I had immediately booked it back to the elevator to head back to the Outpost.
Along the way, I got soooo many weird looks. Endless was terrible at blending in, after all... Not that I blended in either what with my armor, shield, and all that.
But anyway, we miraculously returned incident free.
But now I had to face my crew.
Anis slowly blinked. Then she gave me a blank look and said, "Commander."
"Yes, Anis."
"...Every time you leave us, you come back with another piece of insane tech." Anis looked at Endless. "And this time you came back with a self-operating Nikke body? Like, she's not even a real person?"
Endless tilted her head. "Query received. ...Define 'real.' According to Commander Hoopa's words, I am real. Moreover, according to Lady Enikk's words, I am a real woman. In fact, I possess a closer fidelity to a human woman than most Nikke in that I possess a functioning-"
I quickly clamped a hand over Endless's mouth. "Oookay. That's enough there, Endless."
Endless blinked. Then she nodded.
I sighed and let go.
Marian stared at me, her own violet eyes flitting between me and Endless. Then she gave Endless a once over before giving herself a once over. Finally, she said, "Commander..." Her eyes teared up. "Are you... replacing me?"
I froze.
It finally clicked.
Dark hair, violet eyes. Similar build... Even a similar hairstyle.
The only real difference was that Endless was slightly slimmer than Marian.
Anis furrowed her brow, giving me a fierce side-eye.
Rapi frowned.
Neon gasped. "Master! You couldn't-"
"Before we spiral." I immediately cut them all off. "Marian. I love you, so I will always be with you. Relax."
Hearing that, Marian hesitated. But she deliberately calmed down. "...Right. Yes, that's right. Commander isn't that type of man. If he was, he would have already pulled Anis into bed..."
Anis coughed. "What?! I wouldn't- I mean, Commander's alright, but... N-No! Wait, stop! You didn't hear anything!"
Rapi pinched the bridge of her nose. "...Commander."
"Yes, Rapi?"
"...At least tell me that we are on a break for a while?"
"Don't worry." I gave her a thumbs up. "Even if we wanted to go on a mission we couldn't. Shifty is on strike."
Rapi paused. Then she let out a soft chuckle. "I see. Then..." She smiled. "Shall we finally take some time and rest?"
===
The Outpost, evening.
While I was out with the others on our last mission, it seemed like Nami had taken to doing some renovations. Reading her report, she had built a flower park, hotel, armory, and quite a few other buildings.
At first, I was confused on how quickly it all occurred. But apparently, due to the Outpost being a key location for every Nikke Squad operating on the surface, quite a few guests had popped by to check things out.
Was Nami a manager or something in her past life? Although she didn't do much combat training, she left a very thorough report about the various facilities, resource management, and more.
As for guests...
I didn't have any faces to the name, but apparently a squad called Absolute, led by Eunhwa, had stopped by. A squad called Unlimited had dropped by too, led by Ludmilla. Then there was a squad called Maid For You... who had apparently set up shop in a cafe built somewhere in the middle of the Outpost.
And, while not a 'squad,' Nami wrote that two Nikke called 'Mint' and 'Prika' had visited with Mustang, asking for Anis. But since she wasn't around, they all returned to the Ark.
In short, lots happening.
But for now...
I stared at the pair of black-haired beauties following behind me as I walked towards the recycling center. "You know you don't have to follow me everywhere, right?"
Marian huffed and said, "I was Commander's first. So I'm going where you're going."
Endless nodded. "And I am Commander's second. Your life is my life. Thus, I follow."
Marian paused. Then she looked thoughtfully at Endless and said, "Endless."
"Yes, Lady Marian?"
Marian's eyes lit up and she smiled. "...So you're Commander's?"
"Yes." Endless nodded, a blank expression on her face.
"In every way?"
"Yes."
"Even in bed?"
"Anywhere and everywhere."
I felt my face heat up. "M-Marian. What are you-?"
Before I could finish, Marian pulled me in for a deep kiss, giggling the entire time. Then she draped herself around me and stared at Endless. "Mine. Is that fine?"
Endless nodded. "Of course. Commander is not mine. I am Commander's. Our duties do not conflict."
Marian's eyes lit up and she let go of me, reaching up to pat Endless's head. "Good girl! I like you!"
Endless blinked. Then she tilted her head. "...I like being good."
"Then keep being good! I'll take care of you!"
"Understood."
I blinked, still recovering from the ambush kiss. Then I noticed what Marian was doing and sighed. "...You have impure motives, Marian. I can sense it."
Marian stuck out her tongue. "I'm just planning to be a good teacher~ And to eliminate the competition!"
For a split second, her eyes flashed purple.
...Huh.
Yeah, okay. So she definitely changed after being corrupted. I sense SEVERE yandere vibes. They'd been in check until now, but at this rate...
"Marian, dear."
"Yes, Commander?"
"No attacking teammates."
Marian blinked. "Commander! I would never do that! I would just remind them of how improper it would be to pursue a superior officer!"
Endless tilted her head. "...Are you not doing such a thing now, Lady Marian?"
"It's different, Endless!" Marian let out a bright smile. "Commander isn't my superior! He's just mine! And I'm his! See?"
Endless nodded as if it made perfect sense. "I see."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU SEE?!
AAAHHH.
No.
Calm down.
Don't be stupid.
You have two beautiful women who prioritize you above all else.
If you don't accept this situation, you aren't a man.
So instead, I nodded and said, "If you see, that's good. Now..." I continued on my way, heading towards the recycling center. "If you're insisting on following, then stay close."
"Yes, Commander!"
"Understood."
Marian and Endless immediately moved behind me.
I entered the recycling facility and turned the lights on.
It was the same as I'd left it, complete with the sliced Rapture parts laying on the ground.
Seems like the iDoll girls were polite and knew that this was my place, so they kept it secure.
Good on them. I appreciated people who understood privacy.
I took off my armor piece by piece, then walked over to the fabricator.
Marian moved beside me, while Endless looked around the area, curious.
"What are you doing, Commander?" Marian peeked over my shoulders.
"I'm making a better sword. And better weapons." I pulled up the last blade schematic I had and then started pondering a bit.
I'd used the toughest Rapture metal we had for my last blade. But even THAT had snapped clean in half after a single slash.
"Hm... if the durability doesn't matter..."
I'd spent so much effort making a self-sharpening sheath, but it was pointless if the blade snapped.
So I'd scrap that.
"Metal is expensive, but glass isn't. So... how about this?"
Glass was easier to get to monomolecular than metal was. And while it wouldn't hold its shape very long, I didn't need it to. I just needed it to 'bite' first, and then the rest would follow from a normally sharpened blade.
Marian watched me work. But I noticed that as she did, her face looked more and more troubled.
So I paused and said, "What's wrong, Marian?"
"Commander..." Marian trailed off and then frowned. "...What are you making?"
"Hm? Isn't it obvious? A monomolecular glass coating over a Rapture metal alloy." I looked up at her and said, "My last monomolecular blade snapped despite me using a hyperdense alloy, so I figured I'd be more cost effective."
Marian blinked. Then she said, "A... monomolecular blade? Is that what you used to cut that Rapture's arm off?"
I nodded. "Yeah." I paused. "Did I not tell you guys?"
Marian shook her head. "No. We all just assumed that you had acquired it somewhere. But..." She stared at the schematics and said, "...I'm curious, Commander."
"Go ahead and ask then, Mari."
"...You realized that this wouldn't cut a Rapture."
"Of course it would." I laughed. "All you need is the first cut. Then everything else shears right off. And this gives the first cut."
"Commander..." Marian looked at me and hesitated.
"What?" I blinked. "Am I wrong?"
Endless walked over and looked at the schematic. Then she said, "This is physically incapable of cutting through Raptures according to recorded data." She paused. "...And yet Lady Enikk says that Commander was able to do so?"
I waved my hand. "Eh, you probably just haven't done it right. Cutting properly requires enough technique. Nikke can't do it since they only approximate musculature. There's a certain intuition that can't be replicated unless you have a fleshy human body, you know?"
Endless paused, tilting her head. "...Unable to compute. I do not doubt your logic, Commander. But I possess insufficient data to confirm its veracity."
"Here." I printed the blade and then stacked up the Rapture plating again. "Watch." I got in a basic one-handed sword stance. This time, like I was holding a jian. Then I stepped forward and slashed at the same time, moving my body like a whip.
There was a slight resistance when my blade touched the Rapture's plating. But it immediately vanished as my blade cut through, leaving behind a glassy finish where the blade cut. "See?"
Marian froze. "That's... impossible."
Endless stared. Then she kept staring. And staring. Then she said, "Requesting confirmation from Lady Enikk. ...Confirmed." She tilted her head and looked at me. "Commander. Lady Enikk has performed the calculations. Your physical feat is impossible."
"Pft. I just did it though?" I swung again and the Rapture plating still sheared like paper. "See?"
Marian's eyes widened. "That... makes no sense."
Endless blinked. For one moment, her emotionless face flickered with clear confusion and frustration before going back to its usual blank appearance. "...It does not compute. Commander's musculature and physique should not be able to output the force required to shear the Rapture plating in such a manner. The speed is far from sufficient."
I waved my hand. "Yeah, yeah. You keep saying that. I know it works."
They probably just had their numbers wrong. That, or they couldn't account for the kinetic chain amplification that martial arts provided.
"Anyway... I'm going to keep making more armaments. You girls entertain yourselves."
Now... let's try making different types of blades...