Nikke: Nullable Type

The morning after meeting Rose, we managed to find a working jeep and some trailers in the back of the weapons depot.

Loading up the more valuable resources, like some weapons fabrication machines, the goddessium, and then a very thoroughly dismantled PC from the place where I found Rose (was NOT taking any chances with that), I hopped in the driver's seat while the rest of the girls either hopped in the jeep with me, or on top of the trailer.

By which I meant Marian hopped into the passenger seat, Rapi, Laplace, and Drake in the backseat, Rose standing on the trailer aura farming and Suri sitting on the trailer to keep a look out.

As I started the car, I glanced at Suri and said, "You sure you're fine back there, Suri?"

Suri waved me down and said, "Just drive like a normal person and I'll be fine, Commander."

Rose chuckled and said, "Worry not, Commander. If she falls, I'll retrieve her."

"...I won't. Maybe. ...Hopefully?"

Rose chuckled some more before pulling out a bottle of beer from a cooler and cracking it open.

Suri stared at her and said, "Are you seriously drinking? Now?"

Rose laughed. "Live a little. The world's ended, and from what I hear it's a long drive back. Let's relax."

"...You know what? After dealing with the commander and his antics, I've earned this." Suri pulled one out too.

"That's the spirit."

I started driving and glanced at Marian. "...Am I really that bad?"

Marian giggled.

Rapi sighed and said, "Commander... you are a human who can fight on par with a Nikke specialized for close combat and beat her with pure technique. You also have an uncanny ability to instantly destroy Raptures below Lord-Class with a single shot from an ordinary pistol due to inhuman precise timing. And we have not even begun to speak about the fact that you were able to partition Red Hood from my NIMPH and place her in a helper robot body while we look for a permanent solution."

"...Fair."

I glanced in the rearview mirror at Laplace and Drake, both who looked like they had better days.

"Ugh..." Laplace leaned off the side of the jeep and said, "I don't... feel so heroic, Commander..."

"Urgh." Drake burped and then leaned off her side of the jeep as well. "Villainy... has caught up to me today... Grk..."

I chuckled and said, "I DID warn you two that the beer was strong."

"Never... again..." Laplace shook her head. "A hero... does not drink. I'll remember... this fact..."

Drake groaned. "Only wine for me... from now on..."

Rapi stared at me and said, "Commander. Why are YOU alright? From what I saw, both you and Rose finished a case of twelve yourselves, did you not?"

"Hm? Oh, I'm used to drinking worse."

Ah, the millennial days of drinking everclear jungle juice...

"..." Rapi sighed. "I'll just... stop questioning things."

Marian laughed. "Well." She smiled and leaned against me. "Our commander IS amazing. Isn't he, Rapi?"

"...In many ways, yes."

Marian giggled. But then she suddenly clutched her stomach, turning a bit pale.

I noticed and looked over. "You alright, Mari?"

"I'm... fine. Just felt a bit queasy just now." Marian smiled. "I guess it's motion sickness?"

"Ah, I suppose we DID just walk here. And it's a bit bumpy, right?"

Since we didn't have any proper roads, I was driving over the grasslands. There was pavement here and there, but for the most part it had been overgrown with grass and greenery.

"The lack of lines is messing with your head, right?"

"I think so, Commander." Marian still looked a bit pale. But after taking a few breaths, she seemed to calm down.

"Let me know if you need me to stop, alright, Mari? Ah, you guys too, Laplace, Drake."

Laplace gave me a thumbs up. "I'll do that, Comm- Grk!?" She quickly leaned over the side of the jeep and threw up.

The moment she did, Drake gagged as well and threw up over her side of the jeep.

Rapi wrinkled her nose in disgust and then quickly reached around to tie her crimson hair up in a bun.

Rose laughed from the trailer and said, "Alcohol is fun, but you should know your limits, children."

Drake flipped Rose off.

Surprising, Laplace did as well.

Guess both of them weren't in a talking mood.

Marian sighed and closed her eyes, dozing off as she leaned against me.

After some more emptying of their tanks... to put it politely, at least. After that, Laplace and Drake did the same, passing out on either side of Rapi, leaving her stuck in the middle like a mother hen.

Rapi shook her head. "Honestly... and these are Absolute's rival?"

"Absolute? Ah, right." I glanced back at Rapi in the rearview mirror. "Your previous squad, right?"

Rapi nodded. "Yes, Commander. Before I met Anis, I was under Eunhwa's command... well, when she was still a human." She paused. "I'm not certain what led her to choose becoming a Nikke... but alongside Emma and Vesti, I was part of Absolute for a time. They're... close friends of mine. I regret leaving them as I did, but..." Rapi frowned, lost in thought.

"I take it you had a falling out?"

"Not... quite a falling out. I just..." Rapi sighed. "...There was an incident. A human died due to shrapnel from a launched grenade. At the time... All I thought was that it was a bother. That realization startled me. Instead of being concerned with human life being lost, I just was... annoyed. And so I left."

"That's fair though."

Rapi blinked. "I... What?"

"Hm? No, I mean I understand. It is annoying, isn't it? The fact that your skills were so deficient someone was harmed in the process? And then on top of that, you're forced to do paperwork? And that life lost is treated as just another data entry?"

Rapi was quiet. "I... never considered it like that."

"You didn't? Seems obvious to me."

Rapi rolled her eyes. "Commander. The words 'obvious to me' should never come out of your mouth."

Suri chimed in from the trailer in the back. "Yeah!"

Rose spoke up too. "I agree. You're well above the standard of 'obvious', Dear Commander."

"...My bad?"

Rapi laughed. Then she hummed and said, "I wonder how they're doing? I heard they had a recent successful mission, but Instructor hasn't contacted myself or Neon recently..."

"Hm?" I glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Ingrid hasn't contacted you or Neon? Isn't she like, super up-to-date with the Elysion personnel though? At least, that's what I hear from the grapevine."

Mustang talked about it a bit in our texts. Apparently, Ingrid was like that strict aunt who secretly doted on all her nieces. And she saw every member in Elysion as her niece.

So the fact that both Neon, who Ingrid DEFINITELY spoiled, AND Rapi, who Ingrid definitely prioritized due to the situation with Red Hood, hadn't heard from her...

"Do you think she's alright?"

With everything going on in the Ark, it was slightly concerning.

Rapi nodded. "I'm sure it's fine. Instructor usually goes dark every now and again. And we've also been quite busy, Commander."

"Have we?"

Rapi laughed. "Perhaps it hasn't seemed that way to you. But it HAS been roughly three months since we formed the Brave Squad. Since it was built from scratch, and since we were assigned to the Outpost, we've all been quite busy."

"...Oh. Should I have been doing things?"

"Mm. It's fine." Rapi smiled. "Your job is to command. And more than that, your role is different from most Commanders. After all..." Rapi gestured around us. "...As you can see, we're sort of out of a job when you're out on the field with us. The least we can do is paperwork when we're at the base."

"Fair, fair. Although..." I looked around. "It IS weird. Hey, Shifty. You there?"

*Oh, you FINALLY remember about me, huh?*

A holographic display flickered slightly to the right of my vision, just far enough to not obscure my view of driving. Inside of it, Shifty adjusted her light blue hair and said, "Do you know just how much typing I've had to do since last night because of what you found? A reactivated Nikke from the time of the Goddess Squad, a fully functional arms facility, signs of a rogue party reviving fallen Nikke... There's at least 100 pages of notes here! And that's not even accounting the map data you sent! Or the combat data! And let's not even BEGIN to discuss the fact that I have to crossreference all the pictures of the inventory you sent!"

I winced. "Yeah, sorry about that. But at least you're not just sitting there twiddling your thumbs?"

"I'd prefer doing that! At least I can play my games then!"

I coughed. "Right. But in any case..." I smoothed my expression. "Can you do a scan? The Raptures are acting strange."

Shifty noticed my change in expression and focused as well. "Scan commencing... Hm. That's odd. Do you have visuals on any Raptures?"

"No. Suri? Rose? Rapi?"

Rapi shook her head. "None that I can see."

Suri adjusted her visors. "Negative."

Rose scanned the surroundings and then said, "...Confirmed. I don't see anything, Commander."

Shifty nodded. "...Yes. That's what I see on my end too. There's nothing around you for a ten kilometer radius. Strangely, the Alva Particle concentration is remarkably low as well."

"Ah, the Alva Particle concentration being low is because of me, so don't worry about that."

I patted the multi-tool hidden beneath my chestplate.

Glad to see my little side project was still working...

Shifty gave me a blank stare. "...Is this another one of those things that if I know about it I'll get turned into a Nikke and have nanomachines shoved in my head?"

"I'd say 90% yes."

"LALALA! Never heard anything~ What was that? Your connection's shaky? Ahahaha."

Shifty immediately cut the connection.

Rapi stared at me through the rearview mirror and said, "Commander. One of these days you're going to give Shifty a heart attack."

"Well, her codename is Persephone, isn't it? She took a bite of the forbidden fruit, so I'm afraid it's too late for her."

Shifty immediately came back on and huffed. "You're terrible! And how did you know that?"

"I finally got around to reading my personnel files for everyone. Speaking of which, did you know that Neon's name apparently isn't Neon? It's just something she chose after she woke up and saw the city lights outside her window."

"Hm?" Rapi blinked. "Really?"

"Yep. She proudly wrote it in her own case notes."

Rapi paused. Then she said, "...What do I have in my case notes, Commander?"

"Well, if I'm remembering right... the summary is something like 'a troubled yet reliable girl, Rapi seeks to answer the question of just what Nikkes truly are.'"

Rapi turned an immediate bright red and said, "Commander. When we return, I politely request you redact or update that entry."

Suri glanced back and said, "What about me, Commander?"

"Oh, since you're new, Suri, I get to write your entry. I'm thinking... reliable but also anxious beauty who has a habit of obssessing over worst case scenarios? Also, formerly a celebrity Nikke."

"That's... not wrong, but isn't that too personal?!"

I chuckled. "If you think that's personal, you haven't read them, have you? Since I'm a commander, I get to look at all the entries for every Nikke currently in operation. And some are pretty ridiculous."

A quiet silence fell upon the group, broken only by the soft snoring from Marian, Laplace, and Drake.

Rose spoke up and said, "What's the worst?"

Rapi glanced back. "Rose..."

"What? I'm curious."

I sighed. "Definitely Endless's. You haven't met her yet, Rose. But... to quote verbatim... Ahem. 'One half of the autonomous Nikke developed as Enikk's personal agents. After developing a sense of self, she has given her mind, body, and soul to her commander. Be it battle, research, or in bed, she gives her all and bares her everything for her commander, who owns her in entirety.'"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Rapi, Rose, and Suri were quiet.

And finally, Rose said, "I'm beginning to think that my younger sister's stories about wanderers of the murim and Jiangu being pursued by jade beauties wasn't far from the truth..."

I felt my ears heat up and said, "Hey, it's not like I go out of my way to collect beautiful women, okay? The bar is just literally in hell and I'm a decent guy."

Suri snorted.

Rapi chuckled. "That... is sadly true."

Rose laughed. "Well then. Should I be cautious about my own heart being stolen, Dear Commander?"

Marian immediately woke up and gave a pointed glare at Rose.

Seeing that, Rose just laughed some more.

I rolled my eyes. "I've got enough on my plate with Rapi, Anis, Endless, and Mari, Rose. Thank you, but no thanks. I mean, unless you're fine with the barest attention or like just following me around anywhere."

Rose teased. "I'm fine with being a swordmaid. That's what they call the warriors that followed esteemed lords in the past, yes?"

Marian pouted and jabbed my side. "Commander..."

"...We'll talk about it some other time, Rose."

Rose laughed. "Oh, you're a baaad man. A good man would say no when his lovely companions are right there."

"Well, I never confessed to being a good man."

Rapi sighed. "That is unfortunately true."

Shifty spoke up over the comms. "Commander Hoopa is terrible! Don't let the name fool you! It's a psychological trap! He'll steal your heart and make it palpitate with just thinking about him to the extent you don't know if you're terrified or in love!"

I paused. "...Uh. Shifty?"

"Eek! I didn't say anything!"

Shifty disconnected again.

Marian pouted. "Commandeeeeeer!"

"What?" I laughed. "Don't hate the player. Hate the game- OW!"

"Hmph." Marian crossed her arms and leaned against me. "You'd better spoil me when we get back. I want headpats and cuddle time."

I chuckled. "Alright, Mari. Sleep for now. Love you."

"...Love you too. Meanie." After mumbling that, Marian drifted off again.

Rapi shook her head. "Those three words are practically a spell..."

"Love you too, Rapi."

"Grk." Rapi turned a bright red. "C-C-Commander. Time and place..."

"Oh?" Rose called out. "Are you giving out free love confessions? Me next then, Commander."

"Bet. Rose. You're a wonderful woman who earned a chance to truly live. Thank you for being alive. I love you dearly."

Rose was quiet, although the faint blush on her cheeks showed her feelings about those words. "...My. You're a dangerous man in more ways than one." She laughed, her eyes shimmering a soft violet hue. "If you were our commander back then, we would have lain everything down for your sake... So it's good you weren't."

"Probably."

"And so flippant about it too!" Rose laughed, raising her beer bottle towards me. "May you live long and prosper, Commander. And not be torn to shreds by the many women bound to enter your life."

"You and me both, Rose. You and me both."

Rose smiled and then turned around to drink her beer.

Suri sighed. "...And this is why Hana is staying away from you, Commander. You have a habit of winning women over..."

I teased her and said, "What? Am I stealing your heart too, Suri?"

"Sh-Shut up! You're not my type anyway. I like girls- I mean-! YOU DIDN'T HEAR ANYTHING!"

I laughed.

A cheerful and light-hearted ride home.

'This is the life.'

While I didn't know how or why I was here just yet... I wouldn't have it any other way.

Paragenesis

"The future is born from the lives we've touched."