-2: 100
While Commander Hoopa was handling the revelation that he was the nominal Commander to roughly a dozen other Nikke squads that had already relocated to the Outpost on standby, Neon and a few other Nikkes were manning the defenses.
And by manning the defenses, they were roaming around the perimeter of the Outpost and clearing out any Raptures that got too close.
Neon cheered as she finished crushing a horde of invading Rapture units with her bare hands. "Finally! They're attacking again! I get to show off my firepower!"
Ark Ranger Black wiped a thin sheen of sweat from her brow and let out a satisfied smile. "So this is what it means to actually be a hero..."
Ark Ranger Red grinned and said, "This is what we've been missing. This is what it means to be a hero on and off-screen...!"
Ark Ranger Blue pursed her lips and fixed her hair. "Ugh. You two are having too much fun with this... And we're supposed to be on-screen heroes first. What's the point in running around like this on the Surface?"
Neon pointed at Ark Ranger Blue and said, "The point is Firepower! Especially for a show like yours! You have to get a feeling for how Firepower works so you get dramatic timing!"
Ark Ranger Red laughed and said, "You get it!"
"Of course I do!" Neon grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "It's what Master does! Now, come on!" Neon looked towards the distance at another horde of Rapture units. Ones with strangely colored cores. "It looks like they're evolving to have elements... so we'll practice with elemental Firepower!" She jogged over to the jeep that she definitely did not drive without permission before pulling out an array of modular gun parts. "Let's go!"
===
Liberalio idly kicked her legs from a perch on a high rise building in the Outpost, watching Neon and the Ark Rangers run around to defeat the invading Raptures.
Nihilister sat next to Liberalio, still wearing her white hoodie. As she did, she said, "I guess both the Queen and that fake AI thing are moving now."
Liberalio let out a sad smile. "Yes." Hugging a plushed commander doll, she gazed out at the destroyed Rapture units and said, "It's sad. Those little ones don't know that they can choose to not listen."
"I dunno about that." Nihilister glanced off to the side, where there were more groups of Raptures that were clearly maintaining distance from the Outpost. "I think the ones attacking are just idiots."
"A lack of knowledge does not give a reason to eliminate one from existence, Sister."
"True. But being dumb enough to rush into an unwinnable fight is." Nihilister yawned and said, "They're just rushing forward and hoping for the best. It's stupid."
Liberalio sighed. But she didn't disagree.
Nihilister watched as Neon and the Ark Rangers fought. Then she said, "...This boring time probably isn't going to last very long, is it?"
"...No. It isn't." Liberalio murmured. "I believe Father has bought a bit of peace from his recent actions. But since Mother has decided to force the children to attack, it's only a matter of time."
Nihilister glanced at Liberalio and said, "...You really fine fighting against her?"
Liberalio trembled. But then she let out a slow breath and hugged her commander doll tighter. "...No. But I understand now." She let out a sad smile. "Mother does not understand humanity. The very concept of 'communication' is beneath her. But Father does. And so... if I must choose between them, I will side with Father."
"Huh." Nihilister shifted her gaze up to the sky and murmured, "I guess time does change things. I would never have thought a crazy fanatic like you would turn against her."
"And I would never have thought a hot-headed lizard like you would be thoughtful, Sister."
Nihilister snorted. "Let's be real. We both know that meeting Pops changed something in us." She tapped her head and said, "It's quiet now. I still like fighting. I still want to destroy things. But there's nothing screaming at me to do it anymore."
Liberalio paused. Then she slowly nodded and said, "...Yes. Meeting Father... Whether it is a blessing or a curse would be subjective. I would like to believe it is a blessing, however."
"I guess." Nihilister stared off into the distance. Then she said, "But those 'Beasts' probably won't buy it."
Liberalio pursed her lips. "...Yes."
The Four Beasts... the other set of Heretics that operated on their own. The ones seeking enough power to defeat Liberalio, Nihilister, and Indivilia...
Nihilister glanced at Liberalio and said, "Think they'll be dumb enough to attack Pops?"
Liberalio let out a long suffering sigh. "...Considering the one they call 'Behemoth' is so brash and battlehungry... perhaps so."
"...Should we tell Pops about it?"
Liberalio paused to consider it. Then she said, "...No. Father will be able to handle it regardless of what he knows. Moreover... I believe Father is the sort who would not listen to anyone's opinions on a person to begin with."
"...True." Nihilister laughed. "Pops is crazy enough to even bring back that dumb Indivilia as his kid even after she died, so..."
"Indi is not dumb. She is just... lacking in life experience."
Nihilister laughed again. "Sure, sure. But anyway..." She stood up to stretch. "...Pops seems like he'll be busy for a while. And at this rate, the 'little ones' like you call them will tear each other apart in deciding whether to listen to the Queen or not. So... wanna go start collecting them for Pops?"
Liberalio stood up as well and said, "...I suppose that would be the most productive use of our time. And it would help as well to secure more territory for the humans."
Nihilister cracked her neck and said, "Alright then. Race you." After that, she laughed and jumped off the building, immediately turning into her dragon form before flying off.
Liberalio rolled her eyes and said, "Honestly. Such uncouth showmanship..."
===
Back in the recycling center, Sophia, Maxwell, Mihara, and Yuni had gathered to run some diagnostics on the latter two.
Mihara waiting in the capsule and said, "So what's the damage, docs?"
Sophia sat at a terminal, checking on a few various projects.
Defragging the Mirror.EXE from where they found Rose, synthesizing Syuen's new body, adapting the Alva Particle network for transportation...
After taking a second to parse the information from there, Sophia shifted her attention towards the readings from Mihara.
"It is quite interesting." Sophia read the diagnostics scan and said, "You have experience in Nikke development, yes, Maxwell? What are you thoughts?"
"Well..." Maxwell read the diagnostics and said, "This *is* interesting." She tapped some notes in her datapad and looked over at Mihara and Yuni. "You two said that Jien modified you before she sent you off on your mission?"
Yuni hopped out of her capsule and nodded. "Yes." She furrowed her brow and said, "She said something about Syuen not doing enough to make us strong, so she started using weird things on us."
Mihara stepped out of her capsule as well and said, "What Yuni said. Although the 'weird things' seemed to be Rapture parts. Jien never confirmed what they were though..."
Maxwell lowered her datapad and said, "It definitely looks like Rapture parts. But... it's also not? Right, Sophia?"
Sophia nodded. "It's very interesting. For some reason, you two are quite close to Creator at the moment." She paused. "I mean, the one you would refer to as Commander. Rather than Nikke or Rapture biology, you are actually closer to human biology but with additional components."
Yuni gasped. "We turned back into humans?!"
Mihara paused. "...That would explain why I started bleeding again."
Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "Bleeding?"
Mihara nodded. "That's right. When Yuni and I played a bit rough the other day, I started bleeding. I thought it was just the usual coolant, but it distinctly smelled like iron... and didn't clean out as easily."
Yuni nodded. "Mmhm! It was a little scary... but more fun when we realized it!"
"More-" Maxwell shook her head. "No. Don't answer that." She looked back at Sophia and said, "What do you think happened, Sophia?"
Sophia ran her fingers across her keyboard and said, "It appears to be similar to Mari. Their Nikke frames as well as the Rapture components corresponded to a higher command. Then it began restructuring itself on a biological level to intwine as one in the ideal form of humanity."
Yuni gasped and said, "Does that mean we can have babies?!"
Mihara paused. "...I am interested in the answer to this question."
Sophia hummed. "...Theoretically, yes. Although the mechanism would have to be the traditional means of fornification, if you would like to experiment with alternative means, it should be possible."
Maxwell's eyes lit up. "Experiment? And in potentially creating offspring from Nikkes? Or former Nikkes? How would that work? Particularly since they're both female? Would we need to design additional hardware? Because if that's the case, I have some ideas..."
===
At a certain hidden lab that Hoopa set up, deep in the Outpost.
After a fabrication machine ran all night, burning way more Goddessium than Hoopa would ever admit...
Syuen stepped out of the production capsule, steam and a faint violet glow following her as she did.
The moment she did, Laplace, who had been standing watch all night, Laplace dashed around Syuen and said, "Wow, Syuen! Now you look like a real hero too!"
"Sh-Shut up. That's not the point." Even though Syuen rejected Laplace's words, she couldn't help the faint smile on her face. Especially when she saw her reflection against the nearby window.
A black visor covering her eyes, to pretend that she was a prototype mass-produced Nikke model. Although she still had her usual accessories, the purple hair ribbons and necktie, they had turned into a weird crystal material that was channeling... Alva Particles? Or something like it.
Although her face looked normal, and if she took off her visor, Syuen could pass as a human... there were clear signs she wasn't human. Or even a proper Nikke.
For one, her hair was solid. Although it looked like it was in strands, it was really in clumps of a solid material. Not only that, but although it looked like she was wearing form-fitting black armor, they were actually fused with her flesh, making her arms completely mechanical.
"This is weird." Syuen took a look at herself in the mirror, staring for a bit at her dramatically fluttering white cape. After that, she said, "...I have to admit, I look cool. But..."
'Is this how I see myself?'
The Nikke process took the individual's self-image as a basis and created a body close to the ideal form.
The fact that most of her body looked mechanical and that her form was blurred at parts, making her look inhuman...
Syuen let out a wry smile and said, "The perfect weapon developed by Missilis. A true hero who can fight long after humans would have died. I guess... that's me now, isn't it?"
There weren't any doubts in her assessment.
Considering the ridiculous amount of resources that Hoopa had wasted on her body, Syuen knew that her Nikke frame was powerful.
Not only that, but since he even snuck back into the Ark to grab her Harmony Cube to serve as her Nikke body's core, the raw output of her body would surpass any modern Nikke.
And since he had incorporated the information from Neon's overspec form, as well as the theoretical blueprints that Syuen had been working on to overspec Matis...
Syuen was still a prototype. But she was confident in stating that she was the strongest Nikke produced in the modern era.
Still...
Syuen frowned and grabbed her chest. "...He couldn't have given me a little more?"
Laplace blinked. And then she let out a sly smile. "Oh~? Did you want a little more added on top, Syuen?"
"Gah!" Syuen flinched and turned a bright red. "O-Of course not! I'm perfect the way I am!"
Laplace chuckled. "I'm just teasing." She let out a soft smile and said, "It's probably just how you see yourself, right? I mean, I didn't change much either."
"...That's true." Syuen turned to look at Laplace, reminiscing on the scrawny girl who had barged into the break room on that third floor hallway and demanded to be a hero.
Laplace looked back at Syuen, a sad smile on her face. "...But since you're like this. You died too. Didn't you? Like Maxwell."
Syuen's breath hitched. But then she turned her gaze to the side and said, "...I was caught off guard. And... I'm NOT like Maxwell. I'm still me."
Laplace smiled. "I know. Just like I'm still me. But..."
"No buts." Syuen crossed her arms. "We have work to do. I might not be the CEO of Missilis anymore since some bitch stole my body, but I'm still me. And this time..." She laughed. "I don't have any restraints."
It was different from the past.
Although Syuen hadn't grown much physically... to her annoyance. She HAD grown in her capabilities as a Nikke designer.
Since she had been chained down by the anxieties of keeping Missilis afloat since it was all she had...
Now she didn't have to do that.
In fact...
"...Huh."
Laplace tilted her head. "What is it, Syuen?"
Syuen stared at her hands.
They weren't human anymore. Technically, they weren't properly Nikke either.
But they were still hers.
And right now, that was all Syuen was: herself.
In fact, technically, she didn't even have her name.
"...No. Not Syuen, Laplace. Not until we handle that bitch who stole my company."
Laplace blinked. "Not Syuen? Then... Oh! Are you going to have a hero name? Like, a secret identity?"
"That's right." Syuen puffed up her chest and said, "Since she stole my name, she can have it. For now. Until then..." She struck a pose and said, "I am Ultra Hero... Wisteria!"
"Wow!" Laplace clapped. "That's amazing, Syuen- I mean, Wisteria!"
Syuen felt her face burn up and coughed. "...You can still call me Syuen in private. But don't forget about Wisteria when we're around others. It'll be bad if people realize I'm still alive..."
As much as it would be interesting to see what Hoopa would do if word got out that Syuen was still alive and masquerading as a mass-produced Nikke...
Syuen didn't want to cause THAT much trouble to him. Especially since he was already going through hell from his relationships.
"Okay, Syuen!" Laplace let out a bright smile and said, "Then... Since you're a hero... This means we can fight against the Villain Society that Drake made with Vanitas!"
Syuen blinked. "What?"
Laplace grabbed Syuen by the arm and said, "Come on Syuen- No, Hero Wisteria! We have to prove that Heroes will prevail against Villains once and for all!"
"W-Wait, Laplace! I haven't even... I don't even know what I can do!"
"We'll find out together!"
"Laplace! Wait! Waaaaaiiiiit!" Syuen's voice trailed off as Laplace picked up speed, scooping Syuen up over her shoulder as she ran.
"No time to wait, Hero Wisteria! It's time for the decisive battle!"