-3: 116
It was a chaotic mess. Cheers, tears, people screaming out of joy, disbelief, or just pure emotion.
In the middle of it all, Anis had completely forgotten about me and was spilling out everything that she'd done since she'd last met Pretty as if afraid she'd run out of time.
Mustang hugged Pretty in his arms, draped around her like a shield as if fearing someone would harm her.
Mint, Prika, Nami, and Avistar had run over to talk with Pretty as well.
That was great and all. And since Pretty seemed to be Anis's oshi, I was happy for her.
Except I could see Pops and the rest of my aunts rushing towards me and swiftly going to secure the exits to get a proper answer from me about what the hell happened.
I sure as hell didn't know, but they definitely wouldn't believe me.
So, like every great magician... even though I wasn't one, I pulled out a magic escape trick.
In other words...
"PARKOUR!"
...I immediately sprinted up the wall, scaling it in an instant before vaulting over the top floor balcony and making a swift exit through the fire escape.
"GET BACK HERE KID!"
"JACOB IAN ANDERSEN WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU...!"
I heard Pops and Aunt Doro shout after me, but I was already racing along the rooftops.
Marian's giggles and Rapi's laughter echoed after that, both of them clearly enjoying the show.
But...
"My, my." Scarlet's voice echoed from my right.
When I glanced over, I saw her standing on... a sword? Huh?
At that time, Rose's voice echoed on my left. "Running away from the scene of the crime, Commander?" Rose chuckled and said, "I thought you were the Valiant?"
I glanced over and saw her standing on a floating sword too.
That was interesting. Did Sophia or Maxwell indulge Aunt Scarlet's larping? Or were they bored?
A beam of white light shot through the floor and Aunt Doro appeared, floating up like an angel rising from hell... which wasn't inaccurate considering everything unfolding below.
She smiled at me and said, "Well then, Nephew. Care to explain?"
"...Ah, right. I forgot that literally everyone except Aunt Rapunzel can fly-"
At that time, golden wings fluttered before Rapunzel landed opposite me, a serene smile on her face. "You were saying, Dearest Nephew?"
"...Fine, fine." I chuckled and held my hands up. "I surrender... Is what I would say if I didn't have an accomplice! Quency, Phantom, now!"
Dorothy blinked. "Quency?"
Scarlet tilted her head. "Phantom?"
A silver and purple flash dropped down in front of me before striking a pose. Phantom, the Librarian by day and Phantom Thief of Justice by night. "Never fear! The Phantom Thieves are here!"
A black flash appeared after that before grabbing me. Quency, the escape artist who was still technically captured. "Instructor! You've got to stop calling like this! And I'm still technically in Rehabilitiation!"
"I make the rules, and I say we dip! Now, good night and adieu!"
Quency laughed and tossed a smoke bomb before running away with me. "You owe me candy, Instructor~"
"I'll make you custom chocolate!"
"Deal!"
===
Andersen finally stepped out onto the fire escape only to see Dorothy, Scarlet, Rapunzel, and Rose standing there. He sighed and said, "The kid got away, huh?"
Scarlet chuckled and said, "T'would appear that he acquired thine flair for the dramatic, Commander."
Andersen sighed and leaned against the wall. "...I can't even blame anyone for that. Yep. It's all me."
Dorothy pursed her lips. "That disrespectful, reckless, ridiculous nephew...!"
Footsteps echoed from behind and Snow White appeared, followed by Red Hood.
Snow White glanced at everyone and said, "I take it our Nephew managed to escape?"
Red Hood laughed and said, "I knew Lil Boss would do something like this. He always does something ridiculously over the top at big events!"
Andersen massaged the bridge of his nose. "...Ordinarily, I would have just ignored this. But how the hell am I going to explain that Pretty, the Nikke behind literally all the anti-Nikkephobe laws who martyred herself... How do I explain that she's alive again?"
Red Hood shrugged. "Don't. It's not her. It's Freesia."
Andersen blinked. "What?"
"What? It's obvious, right? Lil Boss has a Nikke Manufacturing company. Maybe a kid had Pretty as her ideal form. Not that uncommon, right? I think there's a kid in the M.M.R who looks like that underworld queen or whatever, isn't there? I saw her in Lil Boss's dossier. Zwei, I think?"
Dorothy paused. "...That is true. It isn't unheard of for some Nikkes to adapt characteristics similar to their ideal..." She slowly turned off and stared at Red Hood.
Red Hood grinned. "Yep! Like me and Rapi! So!" She pointed at Andersen and said, "Don't worry about it, Boss. What's more believable, eh? That someone came back from the dead? Or that your genius son made Nikkes modeled after the greats from the past, just like he was copying the Legendary Commander for a bit?"
Dorothy gave Red Hood a blank look and said, "...I forget that you can have the most astute observations at times..."
"Besides! Lil Boss has appointments tonight, you know? I bet he's got tons of 'treats' to unwrap, hehe."
Rapunzel giggled. "Oh my... that's true. I might have to give him a treat of my own for showing me how he solved corruption..."
Andersen immediately snapped his head to look at Rapunzel. "Say that again?"
"Oh my? Has he not told you all?" Rapunzel giggled again, fanning her face. "Oh my, oh my... To think that my dear nephew shared such an enticing secret with just me... I have tingles just thinking about the level of intimacy required for that...!"
"Rapunzel, I'm being serious." Andersen frowned.
Hearing that, Rapunzel composed herself and said, "It will take a bit of time. I need to verify and confirm the principles... but there are already a few case studies of our dear nephew being able to circumvent corruption."
Snow White crossed her arms, thinking. Then her eyes widened. "...Marian."
Rapunzel smiled. "Yes. And if you have spent any amount of time with Endless, you will have heard her say it, would you not? 'Those with violet eyes belong to the commander.' It was theorized that Raptures who calmed down and consumed plants and vegetation would shift towards a blue core. But if corruption is still active, but if it was repurposed..."
Andersen's eyes widened and he said, "...Then red and blue would make violet. Like Marian's eyes. And the eyes of Liberalio and Nihilister. Indi as well."
Rapunzel's smile widened. "Indeed. Fascinating, is it not?"
Dorothy held up her hand. "Okay, fine. I get that our nephew can deal with corruption somehow. But is anyone going to explain how he brought a Nikke back to life without a proper body? ...And if so, why nobody else?"
Snow White's eyes softened. "...You miss Pinne."
"..." Dorothy pursed her lips.
Rapunzel shook her head. "The Lord's miracles are not to be questioned or yearned. But... Since midnight has tolled, it is now November 1st. All Saints' Day. A day of miracles to celebrate the saints... And among the Nikke, would Pretty not qualify as one?"
Dorothy's eyes teared up and she said, "Pinne is a saint too! It isn't fair that-"
A faint sillouette in the distance.
A familiar one.
Without another word, Dorothy flew off.
"Dorothy!?" Andersen called after her, but Dorothy ignored him.
===
A blur of scenery.
As Dorothy flew across the Outpost, she slowly recognized places that she had once crossed in the distant past.
'Of course... of course they would build it here.'
It hadn't clicked until now.
The Outpost was the same outpost they used at Operation Ark Guardian.
The infrastructure was different. Because various commanders and Nikkes had continuously reworked it to serve as a base of operations, the terrain had changed. Even more so after her Nephew took over.
But.
If she followed the path, the feelings in her memory...
'There.'
A section of abandoned buildings just beyond the Outpost's perimeter.
A place burned into her heart even if everything around changed.
There, sitting on an aged and rotted crate...
"It's been a long time, Dorothy. I'm glad you learned how to ask for help."
...Was the person that Dorothy would have given everything to see just one more time.
Ashy blonde hair kept in a short pony tail. Clear blue eyes. Heavy armor plating and a heavy shotgun that looked brand new.
Someone who looked like she had just stepped right out of Dorothy's memories.
And her name...
"...Pinne?"
===
In the recycling center facility, Sophia quietly sat behind her usual terminal while reading various outputs and data logs from across the Outpost. As she did though, she noticed something odd.
"...An increase in Alva Particle concentration? No, an increase in photonic activity as well..."
It was anomalous.
There was no reason for something like this to occur. The weather patterns didn't indicate it, there was no technology present, Rapture sightings didn't account for it as well.
But it occurred anyway.
At first, Sophia was confused.
And then she realized what it was.
"...Ah." Sophia quickly did a check on the number of Nikkes currently present within the Outpost.
Officially, there were only a few hundred.
But if you included the massproduced Nikkes who were no longer capable of combat duty that Commander Hoopa simply allowed to live on the Outpost, as well as the ones that had come up for tonight just for the gala...
"5,000, the same number that Jesus was said to have fed with a miracle. And it has just turned November 1st, All Saints' Day." Sophia murmured, instantly connecting the dots. "Creator is known for miracles. Sufficient belief within a gathering of Nikkes is enough to leave residual Fluctlight and photonic traces. In that case..." She let out a soft chuckle. "...I see. The one who creates a miracle by virtue of making the impossible appear possible. How unexpected."
There had already been a similar phenomenon recorded within the elevator. The conglomerate fluctlight trace of the 200 mass-produced Nikke who chose to self-destruct rather than harm humanity.
The lingering will was sufficient to physically manifest and interact with Commander Hoopa, even if for just a few moments in the elevator.
But here, in the Outpost where the former denizens of the Outer Rim saw Commander Hoopa as their savior. Where the disabled mass-produced Nikkes set to be scrapped saw him as a saint unto himself for giving them the chance to simply live. Where so many unique Nikkes with concentrated willpower and self had gathered to celebrate Halloween, a night where everyone wouldn't find it strange to meet a spirit or lost soul...
Although there was no logical proof of it, Sophia could feel it in the air.
A sort of sensation that couldn't be quantized or described other than 'tonight, a miracle wouldn't be odd.'
And as a result, the proof of it was being recorded in realtime.
The martyred Nikke, Pretty, returning on stage in a grand comeback concert.
Dorothy's beloved companion Pinne, returning for a few moments due to her belief that 'she should be here too.'
But.
"...This is quite dangerous." Sophia murmured, carefully observing the various energy readings across the Outpost. "If tonight, belief is sufficient to manifest spirits..."
===
Because the party was being hectic, Neon had decided to head back to her dorm room early to relax.
After making it there, Neon headed to her bathroom and yawned. Taking off her glasses, she turned on the sink to wash her face.
But as she raised her head to look at her reflection...
'You seem healthy, Stall III.'
...A face that was similar, but different to hers stared back.
Neon's eyes widened and she quietly whispered the name of the person she saw. "...Princess?"
A haughty beauty with aristocratic features, white hair fashioned in drill twintails, and emerald eyes.
Princess let out a soft smile and said, "You're doing well for yourself. I'm glad."
Neon's breath hitched and she slowly reached her hand out to touch the mirror, watching as Princess did the same. "How...?"
Princess chuckled. "I'm a genius! ...Is what I'd like to say. But I guess the Lord grants miracles even for a sinner like me. I'm not here long... but let's chat?"
Neon let out a soft smile. "...I'd like that."
===
Jien was busy working in the Outer Rim, having just finished the conversions of the two Nikkes that Sixo provided her into Heretics... or at least modified to be similar to Heretics.
But just as she was about to order them to go wreak havoc in the Ark as a last minute Halloween nightmare...
A voice echoed. "So you're here after all, huh?"
Jien froze. Then, slowly but surely she turned her head to stare at a nearby monitor.
And there, Syuen stood, looking just like her cute younger days. "Didn't you want to put our father on the operating table, Jien? Why are you trying to destroy the Ark and what I built instead, huh?"
"...Syuen?"
===
After giving Quency some fancy chocolate to tide her until I could make her a proper chocolate, and after handing Phantom the notes I had about the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5 and how they changed hearts, I returned back to my bedroom.
Anis might take a bit, but if I followed the flow of events right, I'd definitely be getting a lot of visitors tonight.
So, I decided to freshen up a bit to get ready.
A quick shower, making sure to prep clean sheets, the usual essentials like snacks and lubrication...
But when I went to the bathroom and started taking off my shirt to get ready, I saw some black mud dripping from the faucet.
"...I swear to god, if this is some freaky scary movie shit-"
A head suddenly popped out from the sink. A pale-skinned girl with silver hair and ominous glowing green eyes.
Out of reflex, I immediately stepped forward to punch it. But reason caught up before I finished the strike.
The mysterious girl froze, staring at me. Then she let out a nervous laugh. "U-Um... Is this... a bad time? You're the one they call the King, right? Those usually haughty Offsprings."
"...Who?"
At that time, I got a buzz from my phone.
I checked it to see a text from Liberalio.
===
[Libby (nickname pending)]
> Father. You might get a strange visitor soon. She is odd, but she is harmless. In fact, you should be able to easily dispatch her if she proves troublesome. But even so, you should hear her out since she is Miss Siren's friend. Her name is Levi.
===
"Ah." I nodded and looked at the girl. "...For confirmation, what is your name?"
The mystery girl nodded and said, "U-Um. My name is Leviathan, but friends call me Levi. I... heard that you want to defeat the Queen. And that you treat both Raptures and Nikkes like humans too? Is... Is that true?"
"...Okay, we definitely should talk about this, but I'm in the middle of many things-"
A knock echoed on the door, followed by Anis's slurred voice. "Hubby~! You'd betta be in there. Imma drain you drrry~"
Leviathan immediately turned a bright red and said, "I'll visit some other time!" After that, she plunged back into the dark muddy water and vanished.
And immediately after that, the door to my room slammed open, followed by Anis stumbling in. "Your seeexy succubus is here~ She's drunk toooo. Are you gonna take advantage of me? I don't mind~"
I immediately abandoned the shower plan. Instead, I grabbed the lube from under the sink, a few fun toys, and walked out. "Oh, babe. You definitely should NOT have said that..."
Anis giggled, already fumbling for the hook of her flimsy leather bra. "Bite me~"
"Oh I will~"