Nikke: Nullable Type

The elevator down to the Ark. Me, Rapi, Neon, Suri, and Marian.

As the lights flickered past us, I pulled out my phone and called Shifty. "Shifty, you there?"

Shifty flickered into existence on a hologram and said, "I'm here! Just finished filing everything. Are you guys heading to the Ark?"

I nodded. "That's right. I just wanted a quick status check since you're actually down there."

Rapi glanced over and said, "What's the situation like, Shifty?"

"Uh..." Shifty tilted her head. "...It seems normal? I mean, I guess people are a bit less Nikkephobic these days? Tetra ran a special about the Legendary Commander and the Goddess Squad, comparing it to you, Commander."

I blinked. "They did what?"

Marian's eyes lit up. "Oh! I forgot about that!"

I looked over at Marian and said, "I was on TV?"

Suri sighed. "Not just you. But you and Matis too. All the footage of you, Drake, and Laplace clearing the surface and paving those roads were edited together with old Goddess Squad footage to show how times were changing again."

Huh.

I chuckled. "I KNEW it was a good idea to stock up on B-roll footage... But then does that mean the citizens of the Ark are alright, Shifty?"

"Well." Shifty hummed. "Most people are just living their normal lives. But I guess people are happier? There's a bit of hope in the air now?"

"That makes sense... and Deputy Chief Burningum's reaction?"

All I ever got from the guy was a text back saying 'Well done.' So I was curious how he was taking things...

"Um, I'm not sure? It seems like he's been a bit busy recently too. He's the one who worked with Mustang directly on the special, you know? Apparently, he was the one who looked for proper actors to fill in for the parts of the Goddess Squad that weren't filmed. I even heard he was suuuuper picky about it."

I rubbed my chin. "He DID seem like he knew a lot about them..."

Between being on the same level as Andersen... who was apparently my dad.

Still had to wrap my head about that.

But anyway.

Between Burningum being a fellow deputy chief and the implication that he had access to the old records, he probably wanted to ensure things were accurate.

But...

"I guess he's using me as a morale piece, huh?"

It was a smart play.

Since I was working with Matis, the known best of the best Nikke, and since I had definitely reclaimed key infrastructure on the Surface, it was a clear hope spot for the citizens of the Ark. That, paired with my speech earlier... which was still apparently being passed around on forums and social media as memes.

...Memes ARE the DNA of the soul-

No. Just because I have power armor doesn't mean I should make those references.

Rapi frowned. "...If so, Commander... Won't we have issues? Deputy Chief Burningum is not the only one. And neither is Deputy Chief Andersen."

Suri nodded. "Yeah... Having your face plastered everywhere isn't a good thing."

"On the contrary." I chuckled. "It's an incredible thing. Burningum must have realized it too. Rapi... didn't you say I looked just like Andersen when he was younger?"

Rapi paused. Then her eyes widened. "...You do. Red Hood said that too."

Marian gasped. "And the Legendary Commander always wore sunglasses and a hat!"

Suri blinked. Then she said, "No way. You're saying that Deputy Chief Burningum is implying that you're the Legendary Commander?"

I laughed. "I don't know if it was intentional... but I'm sure that it's probably a conspiracy theory right about now. After all, isn't everything I've done a bit too outrageous?"

My level of competence as an 'amateur' commander was just too unbelievable.

But if you took into consideration the fact that Mustang had been around since the start of the Ark (supposedly).

The fact that I had been rushing headlong against Raptures like I'd been fighting them for decades (I hadn't, but knowledge buffs are OP).

And the fact that I had just reclaimed an entire weapons depot from the surface without any casualties or even damage...

I chuckled. "Occam's razor cuts in our favor on this one."

The truth was even more outlandish.

The fact that I was a test-tube supersoldier baby made from Andersen and Liliweiss's genetic material, that I just happened to have knowledge no one else did because of what I did back on Earth, and that I was familiar with all sorts of tropes from Earth's fictional stories...

Yeah. No one would think that.

"I see..." Rapi placed her hand on her chin and said, "That would make most people hesitate. At least, the average citizen and terrorist. But... Commander." She frowned. "...Since Deputy Chief Andersen IS the Legendary Commander... won't that bring more questions from the upper brass?"

"Probably. But that's why we're coming in armed."

Neon chuckled and smacked a fist into her palm. "Firepower is the solution to every question~ Right, Master?"

"No. Violence is the question and the answer is yes."

Neon's emerald eyes sparkled. "I KNEW I liked you, Commander!"

Marian giggled. "You're just enabling all our worst habits, aren't you, Commander?"

"Never said I was a good man."

Shifty sighed. "...I shouldn't have taken Persephone as my codename. It's a curse, I tell you. A curse..."

I laughed. "Too late now, Shifty. We abducted you into the dark side."

Shifty groaned. "...At least I'm paid well..."

"Yep. Ah, right..." I hummed and looked around. "Shifty. There's no active surveillance on the elevators, right? We can connect to things, but signal's a bit unsteady unless we use the comms."

"Huh? Well, yeah. It's what people complain about, actually. Comms use shortwave stuff so they can still work. But it's not really stable enough for cameras and things. Why?"

"I'm about to have another one of those conversations."

"O-Oh no! Commander! The signal-"

Shifty's hologram completely flickered out and vanished.

Huh.

I chuckled and said, "She's getting better at that."

Suri took off her visor and rolled her eyes. "She's got to. Honestly, I'm surprised she hasn't been abducted and turned into a Nikke yet..."

"Probably Burningum. He knows I'd wage immediate civil war if that happened. Shifty's our friend, after all."

Marian's eyes flashed with violet light. "She is. And we would."

Rapi gave a curt nod. "Indeed. Shifty is part of the Brave Squad. And we're family. All of us."

Neon nodded too and punched a fist into her palm. "Yeah! If the Ark wants to see what True Firepower looks like when it gets mad..."

"Mmhm. But anyway. Conversation topic. Since we're in a private location and have a decent chunk of time, I wanted to talk about something." I looked at everyone and said, "Do you remember the pictures of the humanoid raptures I had on my phone last time?"

Neon blinked. "What?" Then her eyes widened. "MASTER MET HUMANOID RAPTURES OUT ON THE SURFACE?!"

Rapi shook her head. "No, Neon. We didn't. But it seems Commander knows someone who did? Right?" She looked at me and said, "Those photos were sent from someone."

Marian hummed. "...Are you building a private army, Commander?"

Suri covered her ears. "Lalala. Not qualified to hear this."

I chuckled at Suri's reaction. "Alright, Suri. Plug your ears for a bit then."

Suri nodded. "Turning off auditory function now. Tap my shoulders when you're done!"

"Alright, testing. One, two... Yep, looks like she can't hear now. But anyway." I put on a serious expression and said, "It's confirmed. While I don't know how exactly it unfolded... Do you three remember when I said I was dominating some Raptures as a test?"

"Ooh!" Neon nodded. "You said you were testing alternative dispute resolution techniques! Then you said you were asserting dominance on a wolf-like Rapture!"

"That's right. Well." I chuckled. "It seems like that made me its king. And since Raptures apparently can evolve and adapt if motivated to do so, they became humanoid. Think like... the suit I have now, but more animal themed."

Rapi's eyes widened. Then she placed a hand on her chin, lost in thought. "...That's why the Raptures around the Outpost don't attack. They recognize it as your territory."

"I think so. That, along with the 5th Weapons Depot now. Since I've been going back and forth along it, the Raptures seem to be keeping their distance."

Marian tilted her head. "...But that's weird, isn't it, Commander? Aren't you just a human?"

Neon adjusted her glasses. "Isn't it obvious? Master's a sleeper agent for sure! Probably a super secret V.T.C. experiment... Like Mechanical Messiah or something!"

I laughed. "Well. Possibly. But either way, it doesn't change the fact that we now have a clear alternative win condition."

Humanity was pushed into a corner. And they were under the impression that they had to defeat the Raptures in order to reclaim the surface.

But.

Now that I was here, and now that both Raptilion and I had proven the fact that Raptures COULD be reasoned with or befriended... at least some of them.

That meant that we could actively start reclaiming the world. That a real unification could come where we were simply 'human...' or at least 'people.'

I paused. "Heh. Wouldn't it be funny if I was like Sephiroth and was heading up the Reunion?"

Rapi blinked. "...What does the Sephirot have to do with the Raptures? Is that a biblical reference?"

"No, I mean- Wait. Does Final Fantasy not exist?"

"...Final Fantasy?" Rapi tilted her head, thinking. "...Oh. You mean the old game? Red Hood mentioned that Snow White used to play things like that."

"...Right. Post-apocalyptic world." I sighed.

Marian giggled. "Well, obviously, Commander. Most people don't have time to play games... but does that mean that Commander did in the academy?"

Rapi paused. "That's right. You do seem to make quite a few obscure references, Commander... Did you have a lot of free time at the academy while you were slacking off to maintain being in the middle of the pack?"

Nope. Because I absolutely didn't have ANY memories of being at the academy. I was pretty sure that any records of that time which existed were fabricated.

But I kept a straight face and said, "Probably. To be honest, it's kind of a blur."

"...Of course." Rapi sighed.

Neon adjusted her glasses and said, "Does it matter? Master is Master, even if he's a closet game nerd!"

"'Closet' game nerd?" I laughed. "Neon. I'm a PUBLIC game nerd- Wait." I placed my hand on my chin. "...Speaking of games, I wonder if I could make a Pokeball? I mean, Raptures were basically data anyway, and if I set up a storage system with Sophia-"

Rapi pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "Commander. Could we please not introduce any more potentially catastrophic technology until we've returned to the Outpost and can actually weigh the pros and cons."

"Ah, fair." I tapped my white power gem bracelet. "Already got this. Can't go TOO overboard with the tech. Even if Syuen is backing us."

Marian looked over and said, "...Is Miss Syuen alright? I still remember Commander panicking when she sent you the last messages..."

"Oh right. You and Rapi were there."

Rapi paused. "...I didn't want to bring it up. But yes. Should we be concerned?"

"Hm..." I placed my right hand in my pocket, palming my hidden multitool. At the same time, I palmed the customary pistol they issued all commanders resting on my left side. The one still loaded with the Anti-Nikke bullet Snow White gave me a while back. "...We'll see. Even if something happened, she wouldn't actively go against us right now. She has too much to gain."

Even if they offed Syuen and wiped her as a Nikke, Missilis in general had too many benefits to me moving about with Matis and advertising my tech as theirs.

Although it was a fine line to toe... Burningum had mentioned it. The 'middle' people were the ones to be wary of. And those guys only cared about profit, if they were anything like the corporate bigwigs from my Earth.

At that time, the elevator door opened.

I stepped out first, donning my typical platemail and equipment plus my standard issue pistol.

Just in case.

After my last run-in with Exotic, I wasn't chancing things.

And it seemed like neither was Enikk.

Because standing there just ahead of us was Eternity.

The white-haired Nikke nodded and looked at me with her golden eyes. After a faint smile crossed her face, she said, "Welcome back to the Ark, Commander."

Neon gasped. "Are you Endy's sister?!"

Eternity tilted her head. "...Endy?"

Rapi sighed.