Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

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Chapter 81 - The Healing Begins
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Joe allowed the hug to persist for a time. However, eventually, he had to pat the blonde on the back a few times to signpost to her that it was time to pull away. "Alright, alright, we're good, we're good. Come on, we gotta talk about a few other things."

Anis complied, withdrawing her arms with a sigh. "Okay, um, can I start?"

To that, Joe nodded, ceding the metaphorical stage to her.

"Okay, well," she cleared her throat, lightly wringing her hands. "I- I understand, Joe. E-everything you said. About hiding and locking yourself away, I- I do the same. I'm the same way. I've been Rapi's partner for so many years, yet, I know almost nothing about her… Go figure, she turned out to be a wayward member of Goddess."

She scoffed and grimaced.

"Talk about a blind spot."

"Now that's just being unfair to yourself," Joe noted matter-of-factually. "Even Rapi herself didn't know that. How were you supposed to?"

"But I never even tried to find out!" Anis asserted, expression twisting in guilt-ridden distaste. "I never asked about who she was beyond a soldier. Never asked about her hobbies, her interests, family, her friends, where she lived, if she remembered the time before she was a Nikke. I just didn't. Barely even probed at first, then just stopped when she hardly even stonewalled me."

With a heavy grimace, Anis continued.

"It was easier to just be an acquaintance. Fight alongside her, and let her stay aloof, distant and junk once we got back from the surface. Most I actually did was like, make her eat from my plate and drink from my glass whenever we ate together."

Joe remembered seeing that happen a few times. In one way, it was kind of cute. In another, it was sad, given how Rapi would insist on exclusively eating something like plain bread if she wasn't forced to do otherwise.

It was small, but it was telling about how Anis did care for Rapi, and wanted the smaller blonde to let herself enjoy literally anything more than she did. Anis was a good person with a bad tendency to project her misery at everyone around her.

Regardless, the man replied: "Anis, you know enough about Rapi now to know that she didn't have much to tell you. Nor would she have, if she could have. For your own safety, if nothing else."

Anis paused, averting her gaze as she inquired, "And you? Neon? Those iDolls, 'Sunny,' 'Mia,' and the other one I've never even tried to get to know?"

"Cammie," Joe informed the blonde of her new squadmate's newly-granted name.

"Oh great, so it turns out she does have a name and I just didn't know," Anis grumbled. "Really goes a long way to prove me wrong, that sure does boy do it ever," she sarcastically asserted.

Joe took a long, deep breath at that. "Why don't you try to get to know your comrades, then?" He started. Best to start at the source of the issue.

At that, Anis clammed up, clearly not wanting to answer.

Joe gave her a few moments to reconsider. When she didn't, the man let out a shallow sigh as he pressed on. "Anis, we aren't going to make progress on anything if you refuse to open up to anyone about anything."

For as uncomfortable as Anis seemed to be, she did rapidly grow uncertain, and did ultimately reply. "...If I ask about other people, they might ask about me."

Joe blinked owlishly. "Yeah, that's how that tends to work?" He said confusedly.

"I don't want anyone asking about me," the blonde said in a deflated tone.

"Why not?" Joe asked.

Again, Anis clammed up. At that point, Joe felt absolutely gobsmacked, inquiring, "Are you the Rapture Queen?"

Anis recoiled, eyes going wide as though she'd been slapped with a fish. "H-Huh!? What the- No! What is that even supposed to-"

"So you're a Heretic?" Joe pressed.

"-Bwah!?" Anis choked and coughed.

"The secret CEO of Tetra Line?" The man did not relent.

"No!" Anis cried, looking at Joe as though he'd grown a second head and proclaimed himself to be a giant aardvark with absolute conviction and certainty.

Joe stared at the blonde blankly. "Then what do you have to hide about yourself that's more absurd and wild than the fact that I'm the Commander of Goddess, Rapi is Little Red Riding Hood of Goddess, and the Sealing Day Massacre was us?"

A significant pause followed, Anis looking more than a little pensive at Joe's words. "Well, when you put it like that, it makes me sound absolutely ridiculous."

Joe didn't want to be a dick, but, objectively speaking, it would be pretty damned hard to beat his and Rapi's big secret. "I understand if you're reticent to talk about yourself, Anis. But, come on. We're not ever going to be anything more than acquaintances if you keep clammed up like this, even when we're supposed to be letting each other in."

"Yeah, well," Anis grumbled, shooting Joe a sharp look. "What about you? I don't hear you telling anyone about your ancient history."

"Because nobody's asked," the displaced Canuck flatly stated, not impressed by her attempt to deflect.

"-Wait, really?" She inquired. "What, you'd just, spill the beans? About like, even before you were the Legendary Commander?"

"Yes," Joe said with a popped brow and lightly pursed lips. "I'd have been evasive before, since I grew up on the surface before the Raptures, not the Ark. But you know that now, so..." He shrugged.

"What was that like?" Anis leaned forward, eyes suddenly wide and brows raised up onto her forehead. "Did you get to go out and like, wander around and explore forests and junk? Where did you live? You're like, an American since you've got no accent and know a lot about guns, right?"

The man nearly snorted at the blonde's assumption about his nationality on account of his knowledge of firearms, and his perceived lack of an accent. "First off, I'm Canadian. Second-"

"Wait, what? No you're not! I've seen old movies and stuff with Canadians in them! Canadians have that goofy accent where everything's 'a boot' and junk!"

Joe just gave Anis a flat look, putting on a molasses-thick Minnesotan accent as he said: "A moose is loose aboot the hoose?" Clearly mocking Anis' apparent impression of Canadian accents.

In reply, she snapped her fingers and pointed at him excitedly. "Yes! That one! You don't sound anything like that! If anything you sound like one of those like, old-timey American newscaster types that'd report on the weather and stuff!"

Ignoring the fact that by 'old-timey,' Anis meant the 2020's… "First off," Joe started, "the 'stereotypical Canadian accent' Americans in particular like- liked to put on was more 'Minnisotan trying to pass as Canadian while trying to buy cheap Canadian beer across the border' than actual Canadian. Even the 'authentic,' meaning exaggerated Canadian accent is- was more of an Eastern Provinces and especially the Maritimes thing."

Crossing his arms, he continued.

"I'm from Northwest Canada. Accents around there were more typically North American boonies than anything."

Anis blinked, cocking her head at him with narrowing eyes. "So like, the backwoods, country boy hick accent? You don't sound like that either."

Joe's lips went flat, his gaze snapping forward. Well, shite. He kinda walked himself into having to come clean. "I, uh, trained myself to speak in a neutral North American accent so I wouldn't come across as a country bumpkin."

Again, Anis blinked, her expression becoming contemplative before a wicked grin found purchase on her features. "Ah, I getcha. Ain't no problem there, eh, pardner?"

"Oh sweet Jesus not from you too," Joe cried into his hands, grimacing as he flashed back to Goddess all mocking him in unison over his real accent- save for Dorothy and Dorothy alone. Dorothy was Joe's only friend in the entire world in those cruel moments. "What have I done to deserve being surrounded by mean ladies?"

"Hey, I'm not mean! I'm magnimalious and beautiful and gentle and kind!" Anis protested his assessment of her merciless cruelty. "Pardner!"

The man just groaned in reply, both because of Anis doing what she typically did and mangled the English language, and also because she was twisting the knife on his pride.

"Fine, fine, if you're gon' go and start buckin' like a mad bronco," Anis rolled her eyes in an exaggerated, entirely too entertained display. "Northwestern Canada? Like, how 'Northwestern?'"

"Same general region as where we went during the mission to the Arctic," Joe answered simply. "It was always winter most of the year up there, but back then, there were at least a few months where we had proper, horrible sweltering summers that actively frightened this Mexican guy I knew…"

There was a pause wherein he let himself think on the past, and those he'd left behind and would never see again. Though, that wasn't a new notion to him in the first place, so, rather than falling into a pit of despair, he'd just let it wash over and off of him, shrugging it off and moving on.

Anis however, now looked a little wary. "Meaning, like, you… Grew up around that town?"

Joe scoffed lightly, waving off the mild concern. "No, just in the same general region. I'd never been to that town in my life. It was just similar to my hometown. Nothing more than that."

"Oh," no small amount of relief seemed to find purchase on the blonde's features. "Okay, well, you seem pretty, I suppose, breezy about that?"

"I'm used to having to leave everything behind and pitching a Hail Mary in hopes of living another day," Joe just shrugged. "Being homeless three times before you turn eighteen engraves a certain kind of mindset in you that you never quite manage to move on from. Survival instincts learned the hard way don't tend to go away, even in times of plenty."

He turned to look directly at Anis, who looked more than a little horrified. "You were homeless three times before you turned eighteen?"

To that, Joe just waved it off with a roll of his eyes. "People got it hard all over," he dismissed the topic without an ounce of gravity given to it. "I had it really easy compared to a lot of people regardless."

"...Oh," Anis averted her gaze with uncertainty. "I- That just, doesn't sound like the sort of thing that should be swept under the rug."

Again, Joe shrugged. "Shit happens," he declared. "What, am I supposed to cry and wail over every bad thing that happened in my life and refuse to move on from them? I'm here, not there. There's nowhere to go but forward, not just for myself, but the people that are depending on me." The words hit him as he spoke them. Christ, he'd really been exceptionally pathetic about what had happened with Marian, hadn't he?

All the more reason to buck up and act like the leader he was now.

Anis pursed her lips, not quite liking that explanation, given how it felt like she'd run face-first into a low-hanging wall she'd not seen coming, leaving her splayed out on the ground with a broken nose. That just made her feel weak in comparison. But- maybe, she should take that to heart. He did, after all. And it let him approach her, get her to start opening up, and start opening up to her in turn- But wait.

"It kind of feels like you're stonewalling me to avoid talking about yourself," Anis admitted.

To that, Joe blinked owlishly, then shook his head. "That- No, no, Anis, I legitimately just do not care about that shit that happened back then anymore. It's not important, it doesn't reflect upon who I am now, what I'm doing now, or why I'm doing what I'm doing now. Yeah, bad shit happened. Bad shit happens. It is what it is, and I'm over it. I don't want sympathy or pats on the back, it's just something that happened I'll bring up to contextualize things if it's relevant, but that's all it is to me now."

Anis was really caught off-guard by that. That was a notion she was struggling to even grasp right then and there. Just moving on? Just like that? From something terrible that happened, just leaving it behind? How? How could someone just do that?

Staring at the Commander, another thought occurred. Maybe this was just what she needed. Anis didn't know how to move on. She was still trapped in it. It still haunted her to this day. But Joe was someone that had learned to free himself from past traumas. Maybe this was exactly what she needed. Maybe, if she told him, she could, just-

"Well what about you?" Joe shifted the topic after Anis remained silent for an extended period of time. "What's your background?"

The blonde recoiled as if struck, grimacing heavily and averting her gaze sheepishly. "I, uh," She attempted to swallow a large lump in her throat, a shuddering sigh slipping past her lips. "I guess, if I had to start: my history is pretty closely tied with a certain specific old Ark idol, from the Second Surface Reclamation campaign."

Joe turned to face Anis, brow lightly furrowing as he focused on her.

She continued. "Well, you only just woke up not that long ago, and haven't really been engaged with like, entertainment and stuff, so, I don't suppose you've heard of Pretty, the first Nikke celebrity?" She lightly coughed into her fist. "Goddess being more of a legend at this point, considering."

"No, I haven't," Joe answered matter-of-factually.

"Well," Anis closed her eyes as she continued. "Mustang told me all about her. She was the headliner, the big name pushing against the narrative that Nikkes were to blame for the failure to reclaim the surface. She became a star, an idol, all of that, to show that Nikkes were mankind's friends, companions, guardians, and even lovers. She wanted to make people smile. She wanted to make people happy. She wanted to give people something to look up to."

Bringing her legs up to her chest, Anis curled up, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"She danced, sang, dressed up, appeared in movies and shows, did fan meetings, went out and visited fans in the hospital, went to orphanages, did her best to uplift everyone around her, no matter who they were, how much money they had. She would do everything she could, to show everyone that Nikkes existed to make life better for everyone. To give mankind hope. To be mankind's shining star in a world gone dark."

"Little girls would run up to her, to tell her how much they wanted to become Nikkes like her, despite the anti-Nikke propaganda. It was working. She, along with the other Tetra Line stars working with her, were stopping the hate. Mustang's plan was working. Everything was going well. Then, she held her biggest concert yet. Tens of thousands attended. She was doing it. She was making everyone happy, despite the loss of the surface, everyone was smiling. Everyone was happy."

Anis took a long, shuddering breath, and let out just as heavy of a shuddering breath. "But, the Central Government had already turned enough against Nikkes. Those that agreed with them were so, so hateful, that… They assassinated Pretty. Right there. Up on the stage, in front of everyone, on camera. They used weapons that were capable of killing a Nikke. She was reduced to," she gulped. "A small portion of a torso and a mutilated head."

Joe moved closer to Anis, setting a hand across her shoulders. She was getting noticeably emotional about this, but he wouldn't interrupt her if she was going to tell him about something that was clearly a big deal for her.

Anis continued without acknowledging the contact. "Her brain survived, by the slimmest of margins. Mustang had her head recovered, and brought her back. Quietly, in private, just him, and her, because he loves all of his Nikkes, he'd go out of his way to support each one as best he could. She remembered. She saw the moment the attack happened, and she couldn't react. She had to just watch it play out, the murder attempt on her, by Nikkephobes that wanted to see her dead, for the role she was playing in Tetra Line's plan."

"Mustang grabbed her, held her close, did his best to calm her down, to assure her, as she realized, for all she did, for just wanting to see mankind smile, for just wanting to make people happy, they'd tried to kill her. Mustang had to watch, as he could do nothing, as she completely broke down, experienced a Mind Switch, and fell into a coma. The kind many Nikkes never come out of when they slip into it."

"He didn't scrap her. He kept her there. He personally ensured that she remained well-maintained, he held out hope that one day, Pretty would wake up, and he'd have his star back. They'd go back to the way things were, they'd make people smile, they'd fix the Ark. They'd fix it all, and everyone would love Nikkes again."

"Then a year passed. Then one became five. Then five became a decade..."

Anis went silent. Trembling, practically quaking under Joe's arm. He saw exactly where this was going, and he hoped, he prayed that he was wrong, that it was a red herring, that-

"Then," Anis choked out. "I woke up."

Fuck.

Joe drew Anis into a full hug, chest swelling with intense, protective anger.

"I didn't remember anything. Not clearly," Anis continued, her voice horribly strained. "But, I remembered the emotions. The feelings. They kept hitting me, washing over me, breaking me down. Mustang eventually told me everything that happened, because I had to know, I couldn't deal with those emotions without knowing where they were coming from."

"That's what happened. That's what I got. That's what they did. Because I wanted to make them happy. Because I wanted to see them smile. Because I wanted them to see a bright shining star, and see hope in Nikkes again… I just wanted them to be happy," she choked out, hopelessly broken in a way that went far beyond her depressive episodes when bumming about the Outpost.

"I hate them," Anis declared with a sharp, hissing inhale. "All of them, every human being in the Ark. They're monsters, they're evil. We sacrifice everything for them, and they treat us like abominations, like trash. Fuck them. Fuck all of them. Let them all burn, let them all die, they deserve it. They deserve it," she asserted in a scathing, but darkly quiet voice. Never raising an octave above a whisper.

At that point, it became terribly clear that Anis' heart wasn't just broken, it was shattered. And it was so very clear to see why. She was older than she seemed. She was old enough that she should have recognized him and Rapi both.

But, for doing everything she could to spread joy and happiness around the Ark when it was probably needed the most, for pushing back against the notion that Nikkes were mankind's enemy, with kindness, they attempted to murder her. And damn near succeeded.

"I hate them," she reiterated, remaining curled up in a tight little ball.

She wasn't even wrong to.

The Central Government, Joe guessed, put the blame for the failure of the Second Surface Reclamation campaign onto Nikkes, to avoid shouldering it themselves. Othering Nikkes in the process. And far too many wretches jumped on the opportunity to gorge themselves on state-sponsored hate of a state-assigned other.

It reiterated to him that the Central Government had to burn. And anyone that committed hate crimes against Nikkes had to be tracked down, and brought to justice with prejudice.

Joe's response to Anis was very simple. "I understand," he asserted as he gently squeezed her. "I'm here for you, Anis. I'm here."

She didn't need to hear that she was wrong to hate all the people of the Ark. She didn't need to hear that it was a radical minority that had attacked her. She didn't need to hear that it was the Central Government they needed to destroy, to make things better, so she could be the Ark's star again. She just needed support, to know that she had a trustworthy companion to be there for her in a moment of extreme need.

So, Joe just continued to hold Anis, allowed her to whisper her hateful words towards the Ark as a whole, let her release the pressure valve, even if only gradually. He'd talk to her about it when she was good for it, when she was calm, after she'd gotten this built-up anger and resentment off of her chest.

Maybe, with this, the healing could begin.

===
Chapter 82 - To Be Better
===

Joe sat quietly with Anis for a time. He focused on just making sure she understood that she wasn't alone, over talking and trying to impress anything upon her yet. After a long while, she had gathered herself enough to unfurl from her balled-up state, letting out a shuddering breath and staring off at the wall for a bit before speaking up.

"I, um, I'd like to be alone for now," she said quietly, lightly sniffling as she did so. "I need to… Think about stuff."

At that, Joe rose to his feet, retaining his grip on the blonde's shoulder. "You have my number and all that," he noted, squeezing once before withdrawing his hand. "Don't be a stranger, Anis. Someone that gets you is just a few keystrokes away."

A small, strained, but genuine smile found purchase on Anis' features. It sucked seeing her in a miserable state, with bloodshot eyes and flushed cheeks. But the earnesty of the smile she projected up the Commander's way did much to highlight that for as raw as their talk had left her, this was good. She had started down the path to a better place, and that would be enough for now.

Nodding once, Joe set off, leaving Anis with the time alone she'd requested. He was similar—in needing to be allowed to sort his shit out on his own—so he'd be the last person to insist on staying with her.

She was a grown-ass woman, so she'd know what she needed. The man trusted her to figure out the best time to follow up on this talk of theirs. Only then, after everything was on the way to getting better, would Joe address things like the effect Anis' grim pessimism had on team morale.

Otherwise, stepping into the foyer of the Command Centre, the Commander withdrew his phone to open up his contacts, and send a certain red-clad blonde a message.

[Rapi, where are you right now?] He fired off a text to the ruby-eyed woman.

He paused, taking a breath as he readied himself to keep the ball rolling. He'd started fixing things with Anis, now it was time to talk to Rapi. As Cinderella had said, Joe had been mistreating his long-time companion as well. Rather, to be frank, he'd been downright awful to her. Rapi was doing her very best to help him when he was obviously suffering, and in return… Well, they'd already gone over this.

[I'm in the armoury making adjustments to my kit in response to my failure to properly protect you during the last operation,] Rapi answered quickly, immediately making Joe feel awful, given that she was instantly focused on doing what was best for him, and most certainly didn't need to have been shamed into doing so either. [Is something wrong?]

Taking a deep breath, Joe replied as he braced to act like a man and set things right. [Yes. We need to talk.]

[Okay,] she immediately said without missing a beat. [Should I come to your office?]

[Yeah, that'd probably be for the best,] he answered her, given that this was going to probably get intense.

[I'll be right there,] Rapi declared.

Joe was quick to get in the elevator and proceed up to wait for Rapi in his office.

This was probably going to get intense.

---

Joe was staring out the window overlooking the increasingly-lively Outpost when the hallway door slid open. The expression on Rapi's face told a tale of intense, heart wrenching worry. She bee-lined right for the Commander's side, reaching out and taking his hand with an expression twisted in sorrowful concern. "Are you okay, Joe?"

If Joe felt bad before, he felt like an absolute steaming pile of shit now. The absolute, very first thing she did, was rush to his side and make sure he was okay. He didn't deserve Rapi. But, she had seemingly chosen him regardless. So it was his duty to lock in, buckle up, and become deserving of her devotion.

Starting right then and there. "I haven't been okay since I woke up in that hospital bed in the Ark, Rapi," he began, immediately choosing to detonate the charges holding up the emotional walls he'd set up to keep her out. If Rapi wanted in, she'd be allowed in, full-stop.

She took a hold of Joe's hand with both of her own, eyes going wide and seeming to actively sparkle with abject concern. "What's wrong? I'm here for you, forever and always," she impressed upon him with an almost palpable desperation.

That desperation hit all the harder, given that she was wearing her traditional red leather jacket, the iconic coat of the bold, brash, loud and unerringly forthright Red Hood. This wasn't how she should be acting. Rapi was strong, she was reliable, she was utterly indefatigable. Yet, here she was, looking so terribly small and downright scared next to him…

This is the part where you deflect and make it all about her, leaving her feeling unhelpful, useless, and selfish. All so you can wallow in self-pity instead of accepting support from the girls that care about you.

That's exactly what he'd have done before Cinderella smacked him upside the head. He'd left Rapi terrified that she'd try to be there for him, only to be turned away to find that she'd accomplished nothing for him. Like a parasite that had gaslit itself into thinking it was symbiotic.

All so he could focus on being a miserable fuck, to the benefit of nobody at all. Christ, he really had been that self-centred and pathetic.

Time to set it right.

In reply, Joe started off to the couches, drawing her along as she grew all the more visibly worried by his lack of an immediate reply. Pulling her down to sit next to him, the man took a bracing breath before he continued.

"Rapi, I've been holding you at arm's length, and pushing you away any and every time you tried to get close," the man started, "I-"

"What? No!" Rapi immediately countered, eyes widening in horror as she leaned in closer. "You're- Joe, you're wonderful, you're so kind, and considerate. You treat us all so well, you pick us up, make us feel appreciated, make us feel wanted. I- you've given us hope, Joe…!"

Joe was strikingly distressed by the state he'd put Rapi in. Rushing to deny that he'd been mistreating her, as though he'd actually earned that. "And how often have I let you support me, Rapi?" He asked her, intending to get her actually thinking about how things had been between them.

"You let me protect you in the field all the time!" The little blonde asserted, leaning in with a pained grimace. "You let me stand by your side and protect you from anything that would hurt you-!"

Joe cut her off, already seeing the self-recriminatory slope she'd started sliding down. "How often have I let you support me, Rapi? Not protect me, support me. Talk to me, hold me, let me know that I'm not alone, that I can lean on you as much as you lean on me?"

That gave her no small amount of pause, eyes going wide and staring, clearly struggling to put together a counter.

"I haven't, Rapi," the Commander continued. "Every time you've tried, I've taken control of the situation from you, to make it all about you instead, to avoid letting you be there for me. Because I'd have rather felt bad for myself than accept help from anybody. Even you, despite the fact that you're probably the one I should have been letting in the entire time."

The little blonde was gobsmacked, clearly struggling to process Joe's admission and assertions.

Sighing heavily, the man continued. "I've still been better than the wretched excuses for Commanders before me. I get it, but that's not a very fucking high bar to clear. I get that comparatively, I've been an angel to deal with. But I have been falling woefully short of even myself from back during our time on the Avenger."

He fixed his gaze on Rapi as he continued.

"You've been remembering more about our past together too. Am I wrong?"

The Nikke did not like the topic of this discussion in the least. It almost felt as though Joe was attempting to lead her into being cruel to him, harsh to him. Like she used to be. Like she swore she'd never be again.

She would not. She refused. She had been that way to him before, and where had it led them? To his 'death,' to her mind switch. To the loss of an entire century between them. He did not deserve that, she categorically refused to be forced to be that person again. Joe didn't need to be beaten down by the women that should be there for him.

Be there for him.

Be there for him.

Rapi released Joe's hand, practically tearing her digits away from his before he could react, to forcefully draw him down into her chest. Hugging him, she held him tight and squeezed him. With a heavy frown, she rejected the notion that she had to be hard on him. He needed support, he needed to know that he had people that were there to help him.

She would be there for him, forever and always, even if he believed he didn't deserve it.

For Joe's part, he was caught off-guard by Rapi's overt… Affection. How firmly she'd latched onto him, and was now holding him, so protectively. A reminder, a sharp reminder of how close they were, back then. Before everything between them had gone wrong.

He idly remembered how as Red Hood, Rapi had never been good with words. So when she was overwhelmed, but wanted him to know how much she cared, how much he meant to her, she'd just latch onto him, pull him down into her chest, and hold him, sometimes awkwardly stroking the back of his head, flat-out refusing to let him worm his way out of the display of protective affection.

Even after everything, even after all the ways in which he'd fucked up, here she was. Just being bullish and forcing the matter to get her way, because 'no, fuck you, you deserve my support, stupid asshole.' That went unsaid, now, at least, given her personality change compared to her time as Red Hood, but the message and intent were there and obvious.

He could try to fight it, but he knew that he'd already lost. Rapi had dug her heels in, and she was a Goddess of Victory, while he was just a man. Besides…

Letting himself melt into Rapi's chest with a long exhale, Joe closed his eyes and encircled his arms around her slight waist. He allowed himself to partake in her affection, to enjoy it, even as it uncomfortably squeezed his heart to have her insist upon being there for him, despite how bad he'd been to her.

So, he opted to just make her a promise, over insisting upon flagellating himself before her, demanding a harsh sentence and accompanying punishment when she was only interested in offering forgiveness and support. "I'll be better," he swore quietly. "I'll do better. I'll become everything you deserve. I'll never let you down again, I promise."

Letting out a shuddering sigh of her own, Rapi pressed her cheek into the man's crown, clenching her eyes shut as she hated hearing him talk this way, but, she'd caught on, and knew that if she tried to fight him on it, it'd just cause immediate and long-term problems. So, instead of fighting him on his words… "And I'll be here, every step of the way, holding you, picking you up, carrying you if I have to. I'll be there. I'll be there for you. I am here for you. I'll always be here for you. I promise."

This was what she would do. She would be his rock, his anchor, his lighthouse cutting through the dark and keeping him sailing straight and true. She would make sure he kept going, she would ensure that he would stay strong and make it through the tempest. They'd face this storm together, brave it, and come out on the other side, stronger, closer for the trials they'd overcome together.

Joe, for his part, knew for certain that much like with Cinderella, he didn't deserve Rapi. Which meant that he had to buckle in, and force himself to become worthy of her. Sitting there with her, having this strong little woman cling to him so dearly, reinforced this simple fact. He had to become worthy of her. He had to become worthy of them.

Simple as.

===
Chapter 83 - Back To It
===

"Joe," Snow White started as she stepped into the Commander's office, the rest of Pioneer and Rapi following shortly behind her. "We're all here, as instructed."

It had been a few days since Joe's talks with Cinderella, Anis, and Rapi. A few days in which the Commander's shift in demeanour had been immediately apparent to everyone in the Outpost.

Where he'd been distant, if caring and competent before, he was now spending time with the Nikkes outside of missions and planning for missions. His shit actually seemed to be somewhat together, and his attitude was miles better than it had been—which caught the girls more off guard than they'd previously been.

Joe was, after all, previously exponentially better than any previous Commander they'd had before. Now? Now they were getting a taste of the actual Legendary Commander. The man he was back when he was the face of Goddess.

Pioneer, needless to say, were thrilled to see their Commander beginning to act like himself again. Especially Cinderella. She was giving Joe some serious moon eyes after seeing that he was putting his money where his mouth was, and actually nutting up after he said he would. That was doing some things to him, he had to admit.

Rapi didn't seem so keen on the pleased attention Joe was receiving from Cinderella, but that was neither here nor there; entirely beside the point of why the remnants of Goddess had been called to his office on that day.

"Good," the Commander started as he set down the documentation relating to the Outpost's new name he had been going over, rising to his feet as he motioned towards the couches. "You girls have been here for about a week now—your new rooms are serving you well, yes?"

Joe, when taking the stairs the morning after his opening up to Rapi, realized he'd never actually bothered to check the other floors between those housing the penthouse suite that was his personal apartment/office, and the barracks. He felt remarkably stupid, given that he immediately found a whole suite of smaller, but still private officer's quarters which were immediately assigned to Pioneer, Rapi included.

Rapi had protested initially, but gave up on that notion quickly when both Snow White and Rapunzel physically picked her up to carry her to scout out their new rooms together. God bless those two for not letting the little blonde grump insist upon living like an ascetic monk.

Though Joe asked the rest of Counters, the Carronades, and Wardress if they'd like to take officer's quarters too, they all admitted that they'd prefer personal housing in the dedicated residential district that was set to open soon anyways. He wasn't about to hold that against them. Something resembling a degree of separation between their personal lives and military careers between missions would likely go a long way to helping with morale.

The girls were thoroughly pleased with their new rooms, at any rate. Snow White asked for literally nothing, just having pilfered a cot from storage and several old boxes and crates to furnish hers; Scarlet had put in requests for Korean-themed furnishings if possible, which Mustang assured Joe would be very easily fulfilled; Rapunzel just asked for a functional bed and a crucifix to hang on the wall, so of course Joe instructed Mustang to provide the highest-quality furniture for the team sweetheart.

Meanwhile, Cinderella insisted that she, like Rapi, only needed a cot and—rather unlike Rapi—a full-body mirror to accompany the wardrobe that all the rooms came with. That seemed very out of character for the twintailed platinumette, given what Joe could remember of her room aboard the Avenger, which had been furnished like a princess's might be.

She insisted that she only needed the bare minimum for such 'temporary' accommodations, then gave Joe a very anticipatory look that gave him stirrings.

Then, with a heavy huff, Rapi had said that she too, only needed a cot for 'temporary' accommodations. The stare she gave Joe was far and away more intense—borderline possessive—than that he'd received from Cinderella.

As Snow White rolled her eyes and made a comment under her breath about "the more things change," Rapunzel and Scarlet just sighed in defeat and didn't acknowledge the exchange. The Commander, meanwhile, felt intensely like a cornered rabbit. Joe was in danger again, needless to say.

"There is nothing to complain about," Snow White asserted. "We've been sleeping in tents and under trees for a century. Personal bedrooms and running water is luxury in of itself."

"A mini fridge in which to chill mine spirits would be most delectable," Scarlet, meanwhile, mused with a pleased little grin, slightly undercutting Snow White's point.

"T-the Ark of the Covenant and Papal throne replicas are a bit much, I must admit. I only needed a simple bed, Joe…" Rapunzel noted somewhat reproachfully, guilt lacing her tone.

Okay, that actually was a bit much. Was he going to step into the nun's room to find a small-scale replica of a museum of Christian relics? Joe had only meant to suggest to Mustang to make Rapunzel as comfortable as possible. That man really had no sense of subtlety or restraint.

"Aside from being lonely at night," Cinderella began with a playful grin. "I've little to complain about, my Prince."

"I don't like spending my nights alone," Rapi forcefully asserted, staring at Joe without blinking as she did so. "I'm perfectly content otherwise."

Rapi was worrying Joe. Kind of spooking him, but also eliciting some stirrings in the same way Cinderella had been.

It had been a week, and already, Joe was rapidly finding himself pinned between two hungry lionesses again. Yet, they had to talk about some very important and real shit, so it was time to refocus on getting the ball rolling.

"Pleasantries aside," the Commander began, indicating that they were moving on to serious topics now. "Dorothy," he declared, instantly shifting the previously pleasant vibe of the room. "We need to discuss her, and how we're going to handle Eden."

Snow White closed her eyes, taking a deep breath through her nose. Scarlet hummed, allowing her gaze to drift aside thoughtfully. Rapunzel gently interlocked her fingers and let out a slight, shuddering whine. Cinderella contemplated her navel, while Rapi just stiffened as she shifted to a more professional temperament.

"Now that I've got my head out of my ass," Joe continued, crossing his arms as he gave the girls a once-over. "We need to focus on the path forward. That means no more beating around the bush. We need to settle on how we're going to approach Dorothy. Figure out if we can acquire Eden as an ally against the Central Government, which I'm sure would go a long way towards getting Enikk to back a rebellion."

"If I may?" Scarlet began, pausing to wait for Joe's approval. "I have been pondering such since our initial discourse on the matter. Methinks simply marching you into Eden's halls would be altogether foolish, regardless of our trust in Dorothy, or lack thereof."

Snow White scoffed. "It'd be idiotic is what it'd be. As soon as Dorothy knows that Joe is alive, she'll never let him set foot outside of Eden again. Doubly so if talks sour and go badly. He shouldn't set foot near the Shroud until we have confirmation that Dorothy isn't going to behave like a lunatic."

"You don't know that she'll go that far-!" Rapunzel started, only to be cut off by Joe harshly clapping his hands.

"We are not here to argue about what Dorothy may or may not do, we are here to formulate a plan of action. Meaning no taking shots at anyone, and no bickering," the Commander declared pointedly. "Scarlet, you have more to suggest?"

"Indeed," Scarlet continued, giving Joe an appreciative smile given his ability to corral the cats that might otherwise have started yowling and generally unproductively caterwauling. "To cut to the quick? I believe it would be most wise to establish a gathering location on the surface, a place apart from Eden, and send Cinderella to collect Dorothy to escort her to meet us all on her lonesome."

"Why send Cinderella alone?" Joe inquired.

"She and Dorothy can fly," Scarlet noted matter-of-factually. "We cannot."

Joe blinked particularly owlishly at that, then remembered the mention of the fact that Cinderella had allowed Eden to poke and prod the technology that went into her creation, and that they'd reverse-engineered it right before Pioneer left. "Right. Anything else?"

"Only that we remain on-guard with her around thee," Scarlet continued, which Snow White seemed to approve of, if nothing else. "I do not believe that Dorothy, even empowered as she is, could overpower us all as we are. Doubly so given that Rapi can use Exceed again, if only briefly. Yet Dorothy is far and away more powerful than she was during Operation Ark Guardian. We'd best be wary."

Of course, Joe didn't want to have to think of Dorothy as a possible threat, but she was. So-

"I'll stay right next to Joe the entire time," Rapi interjected intensely. "I won't let her try anything."

Like Snow White, Rapi was uncomfortably quick to treat Dorothy as a threat. Joe supposed that wasn't terribly surprising, given how protective the blonde was, but, still. Yet, that was fully reasonable given the circumstances. They couldn't make assumptions about this situation going forward.

"Mine idea wouldst actually run contrary to thy plan, in favour of acquiring Dorothy's measure safely, then," Scarlet noted.

Rapi's eyes went wide, her nostrils flaring at the suggestion. "What!? No! Absolutely not! I won't leave Joe-"

Again, the Commander harshly clapped his hands to cut Rapi off when she started getting worked up. He let the resulting silence hang for a moment before he shifted his attention back to Scarlet. "You said that you were going to cut to the quick."

"I would have thyself and Rapi hidden away within a tent, to have Rapi emerge and reveal herself to Dorothy ahead of thee," Scarlet elaborated without missing a beat. "That might allow us to gauge Dorothy's response to learning that one of thee has lived all this time, unaware that they were not alone whilst working for the Central Government."

Joe, along with the rest of the girls, stopped and pondered that suggestion. It made sense to him, and Rapi, of all people, would be safe from Dorothy trying anything. Especially since she'd have Exceed available-

Ah.

Joe nodded in understanding. "Exceed would be very valuable to Eden."

"Indeed," Scarlet affirmed his assertion. "Were Dorothy to attempt abducting Rapi to deliver the secrets of Exceed to Eden…"

"That would go very poorly for her in short order," Snow White asserted, nodding shallowly as she rubbed her chin.

"Even despite my being the most powerful Grimms ever produced," Cinderella injected her own thoughts on the matter. "There was little contest if she ever closed distance with me and could punish me with Exceed in close-quarters battle."

Snow White hummed. "Like getting into a boxing match with a gorilla," the golden-eyed platinumette mused.

At being compared to a gorilla, Rapi's brow furrowed as she glowered Snow White's way, though she didn't speak up in response.

It was, in fact, Rapunzel that spoke up next. "You all believe that if Dorothy can be trusted with Rapi, then she can be trusted with Joe?"

Scarlet shifted in place, shifting her weight onto her opposite leg, cocking her shapely hips in so doing. "We had been bereft of the Crimson Fool's absurdity for even longer than Joe."

Cinderella started floating just off the tip of her toes, crossing her feet in a way that wouldn't have been possible had she remained locked on the ground. She crossed her arms beneath her chest as well.

Hover-thinking, a small tendency she'd developed after gaining the ability to fly. "With both believed dead for so long? I can see Rapi being revealed first unveiling at least something of what to expect of her reaction to such a reunion with Joe. If we could trust her to remain reasonable in the midst of such a thing."

For his part, the Commander rubbed his bearded chin, considering the suggestion. "I can follow the logic. If she reacts well to Rapi revealing herself to still be alive, it follows that there's at least a chance that she'd remain reasonable with me."

Cupping his mouth, Joe closed his eyes and pondered the topic furthermore.

"Would you attempt to discuss the matter of Eden ahead of pulling back the tent flap to reveal that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was back there, pulling the strings all along? Or simply have me step out into the open as soon as we've gathered her measure?"

After a moment of silence, it was Rapunzel that interjected. "What if… What if we told her, if she doesn't react poorly to Rapi's presence, what if we tell her that you're alive, and we know exactly where you are, without mentioning that you're just out of sight?"

Everyone turned to give Rapunzel a surprised look. While the nun wilted slightly at having all eyes on her, if only momentarily, Cinderella let out a wary sigh before she replied. "That would be rather dirty. But, what is any of this if not dirty? We cannot wholly trust Dorothy. We need to ensure that we will not be forced to come to blows with her in Joe's defence on minute one."

"Indeed," Scarlet started. "Such would be rather underhanded. Cruel, even. Yet, such would allow us to measure her response in a manner most controlled. Allow us to probe and gauge her reaction to Joe's being alive, determine if she might be trusted beyond Rapi's return. Should she remain calm, collected, not immediately run amok, as it were… We might yet trust her enough to have Joe reveal himself."

"I don't care if it's cruel," Snow White harshly declared with a gruff frown. "Joe's protection matters above all else. I'm all for this plan. It's the least insane suggestion so far relating to Eden, though I'd take it a step beyond, and have him remain here at the Outpost in the first place, and only have Pioneer and Rapi deploy to meet Dorothy at all."

To that, Rapunzel forcefully interjected: "Dorothy would rightfully never forgive us if we kept Joe from meeting her at the first opportunity."

Snow White sharply started, "She is-!"

But Rapunzel wasn't having it. "She would feel rightfully betrayed to learn that we trusted her so little that we actively kept Joe away from her, with the implication that Joe agreed with us and had come to distrust her as well!"

The tallest of Pioneer suddenly loomed, eyes going wide and brows furrowing heavily as she rounded on Snow White, shouting the snow-haired engineer down.

"You would do well to remember that Dorothy is our sister, just the same as you, and she loves Joe just as much as, if not more so than all of us to be driven to such hatred in his name! I only stand by and hold my tongue for fear of splintering this group even more so than it already has been, but I will not tolerate for a solitary minute your childish tantrums thrown with absolute abandon to get your selfish, spiteful way in the face of discussions to bring Dorothy back into our fold when it matters the most!"

Snow White had retreated, wide-eyed as Rapunzel advanced upon her, until the shorter woman's back was to the wall. Eyes averted for just a moment, the nun didn't suffer it as she harshly grabbed Snow White's chin and ratcheted her visage to face her directly again, wordlessly demanding the smaller Nikke's undivided attention as she continued.

"You will not sabotage this attempt to reunite our family, regardless of your misgivings towards Dorothy. Am I understood, young lady!?"

A firm reminder that for as gentle as Rapunzel was, for as endlessly harmless and sweet as she seemed, this woman was once next in line to become the Pope, and could damn well demand respect and deference if she needed to. There was a reason Joe had quietly wondered if she should have been the fourth in line to command Goddess should both he and Dorothy fall after Liliweiss.

Though, Rapunzel had to get mad to let her commanding side come out. And even then, she was more suited for applying social pressure to her peers, over barking orders and giving directives on the battlefield. Good for figuratively (usually) slapping down the assorted members of Goddess if they ever really stepped out of line, and neither himself nor Liliweiss had been around to correct their behaviour ahead of her; not so much at being a military Commander.

At any rate, hardly being privy to Joe's internal thoughts, Snow White simply shallowly nodded once after attempting to swallow the budding lump in her throat-

"You will speak when you are spoken to, young lady!" Rapunzel jerked Snow White's chin further up, leaning in even closer, doubtlessly projecting raw, pissed off Catholic nun energy backed not only by the power of God, but nanomachines directly into the younger, more temperamental Nikkes eyes.

"U-understood, ma'am…!" Snow White forced out a strained reply, lightly quaking in her heavy metal boots.

Everyone short of Joe had gone wide-eyed, on account of how rare it was for Rapunzel to flip her shit and go full-on pissed-off Mother Superior on someone. Joe just appreciated Rapunzel stepping up to lay down the law, showing that he didn't need to handle matters of admonishment entirely on his own.

That being said, the man stepped forward, clapping his hands—not so forcefully this time, but still to catch everyone's attention—declaring: "Alright girls, gentle reminder that we are here to find a way to bring Dorothy back to our side. She is not to be treated as our enemy unless she demonstrates herself to be one, and assumptions will not be made to the contrary when she's made no hostile moves towards any of us. Understood?"

"Yes, Commander," the girls all responded in unison, Rapunzel immediately stepping down so as to not undercut Joe's authority. They were all ultimately soldiers, after all.

"Then we will continue to focus on ways to bring Dorothy back, to make Goddess whole again," Joe continued matter-of-factually. "Starting with our current plan to ease her into Rapi and I's survival. This will be for my protection as a secondary concern, and to not overwhelm her first and foremost. We are going to do everything we can to bring Dorothy, and by extension, Eden into our ranks. The Central Government must fall, so that the Ark, and by extension, humanity may survive."

He looked between all the gathered remnants of Goddess with a hardened expression.

"Are we perfectly clear on the path ahead?"

The girls all gave an affirming: "Yes, Commander," in reply.

Nodding, Joe smirked ever-so-slightly. "Let's get back to it, then."

The first step to reuniting Goddess and Eden against the Central Government for the sake of the Ark, one could only hope.

===
Chapter 84 - At the Borderline of Paradise
===

Wind whipped the Commander as he watched the Elysion black ops vertical take-off and landing vehicle lift off and start moving to return to the Ark. With that, Joe took a deep breath as he turned to regard the supplies they'd had brought along to facilitate the plan.

About two-thirds of the way to Eden, the remnants of Goddess were already setting up camp, having agreed upon the plan to bring Dorothy to them. Reunite, then open communications with Eden proper. They would set up a standing tent, then Joe and Rapi would play it safe, mill about within while waiting for Cinderella to return with Dorothy in tow after she'd left.

"My Prince," Cinderella—once more clad in her incredibly revealing skin-tight, half-transparent bodysuit as her field uniform, owing to its sheer durability—floated towards the Commander, her toes just brushing against the tips of the blades of grass all others strode upon. "The plan remains as is?"

"Yes," the brunet nodded as he crossed his arms, the other girls going about the process of quickly setting up the tent with considerable speed, their weapons set aside, propped up against a tree for the time being. "You go and convince Dorothy to accompany you back here, and we either buckle down and do our best to get her to see things from our perspective… Or, if she refuses to meet us outside of Eden, we call back the VTOL and just return to the Outpost."

"No risking setting foot in Eden before we know you will be safe," Cinderella let out a shallow breath, glancing in the direction they knew Eden was in. "If Dorothy refuses to come…"

Joe interjected. "Entice her by informing her that Pioneer has discovered what happened to Red Hood, and that it was agreed that they wouldn't discuss it beyond that unless she came to meet with the rest of the squad," he instructed the platinumette. "Just get her here, whatever you need to say or do short of revealing that I'm still alive. We really don't want to have to approach Eden if we don't have to yet."

Nodding shallowly, Cinderella took a deep breath, bracing herself to approach Eden for the first time in years. She didn't know what to expect out of this, but she did know that she rued the fact that it was only her that could fly.

There was a beat as she pondered that point.

Rather, she rued the fact that Rapunzel couldn't also fly. It was for the best that it was neither Snow White nor Scarlet that were accompanying her to Eden. Scarlet made a concerted effort to remain civil regarding Dorothy, be the voice of reason now; but, Scarlet and Dorothy had to be regularly severely reprimanded for destroying entire rooms with their full-on fist fights, back during their time as soldiers of the United Forces of Humanity.

At any rate, the white-clad woman turned to Joe, inquiring: "Shall I depart, then?"

"Unless there's something you'd like to do first, may as well," the Commander replied as he uncrossed his arms to idly crack his knuckles, meeting Cinderella's gaze with a small shrug as a light breeze caused their locks to gently sway in the wind. "No point in dragging this out unnecessarily."

At that, Cinderella nodded once, gaining height as she rose into the air, the Glass Slippers forming around her like wings. Then, she started off, first slowly, gradually picking up speed until she rapidly rocketed off into the distance, fading into a small speck before passing over the horizon towards the Okanagan desert.

Though he wasn't letting it show, Joe was anxious beyond words. He adored Dorothy, and hoped against hope that Goddess was about to become whole again, rather than having the fracture turn into a clean break. He wanted that woman standing by his side again, as indomitable as she'd ever been.

Hoping was all he could do, for now.

---

"Co-mman-der!"

A weary sigh filled the otherwise quiet room, little other than the light sounds of tapping on tablet surfaces to break the silence-

"Co-mman-der!"

A particular, diminutive pinkette aside.

"Co-mman-!"

"What, Noah?" Johan finally acknowledged the miniscule Nikke, lowering the tablet with which he'd been writing the debriefing of their last mission.

"I'm bored," Noah whined, frowning heavily as she openly grumbled at the grey-haired veteran Commander. The teenaged Nikke with pale pink bobbed hair adorned with vertical white, pink, and gold horns was short and unremarkable in her build. She wore white armour accented with gold and pink layered over an opaque black bodysuit, a pink-lined white half-skirt trailing from her midsection.

"And I'm busy," the deceptively old man noted as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Go find something productive to do if you're getting restless."

"But-" Noah began to whine again, only to be cut off again.

"Why are you even dwelling here?" Johan started. "The operation is over, and I already dismissed Inherit until further notice."

"But I-" the young Nikke's gaze started to drift aside to the room's other occupant.

Only to, again, be interrupted.

"Noah," Dorothy interjected with an even tone, continuing to focus on her own tablet as she helped with the report on the most recent investigation. "Johan and I are working."

Noah's frown deepened, the teenaged girl looking more than a little put-off by the dismissive tone of her many times over elder. "...You promised that we'd go flying after we got back from work."

"I said that I would go on a recreational flight with you once I was finished with my work," Dorothy corrected the needy girl. "As the second-in-command of Inherit, it is my responsibility to do a portion of the paperwork between missions. I am preoccupied until we have turned in this after-action report."

In truth, Dorothy didn't really have to help Johan with such menial tasks, but she had to build up a degree of goodwill to be spent on taking Inherit on personal operations without Johan's oversight, or even leave to do something on her own. It was wise to have a degree of credit to cash out for such things.

At her reasoning, Noah quietly whined in protest, looking the part of the displeased teen that she was.

"Noah," Dorothy took on a chastising tone, causing the girl's back to straighten out and her eyes go wide in concern. "Go find Pinne and fly with her. I'm busy right now and will find you later."

At that, Noah's expression fell into despondency, and she started off looking the part of a kicked puppy.

"Noah," Dorothy began again. "I said that I will find you later, meaning I will join you when I am done here. Do you understand?"

"...Yes," the far younger girl acknowledged the question, still sounding very put-down regardless.

Johan remained quiet, having shifted his attention entirely to his work again, paying Noah and Dorothy little, if any mind.

Feeling her ever-present resentment towards Johan flaring up again, Dorothy couldn't help but muse upon how Joe would have commented on how much Noah looked up to her, and made a remark about how she was handling having such a dogged fan.

"Then-" Intending to address Noah more softly, Dorothy was cut off by her communications going off, to which she held up a finger and answered the call. "I am preoccupied with my duties as the second-in-command of Inherit, is this important?"

"Cinderella has just breached the west-most section of the Shroud and settled down at the edge of Eden, seemingly waiting for something, ma'am," the comms officer started, cutting straight to the point and bluntly informing Dorothy of what was going on, as she preferred. "Do you-"

They were cut off by Dorothy very forcefully rising to her feet, practically flinging her tablet to the table as she rounded on the nearest window. She stopped just short of dead-sprinting for it outright.

"Dorothy!" Johan, however, too jumped to his full height with no small measure of alarm. "Wait, what is it? Has there been an incursion-"

"Cinderella," was all Dorothy said as she moved to rip the window open with more force than was necessary-

"D-Dorothy!" Noah started, her voice dripping with no small amount of eager anticipation at the realization of what was happening. "C-can I come with you? I want to meet Cinderella!"

Dorothy stopped, turning around to face the smaller pinkette, taking a deep breath as her heart pounded in her chest. The second-in-command of Inherit's first instinct was to tear her limb free and leap out of the window to rush to Cinderella, but she instead took a breath, considering how very much little Noah looked up to and idolized her, and Goddess in general.

Noah was a teenager, and the rest of Goddess had left Eden before her time. She'd never had the chance to meet them, and had learned of them and their legend in much the same way the young of the old world would have in the midst of the Initial Rapture Invasion.

To say nothing of the fact that Noah was effectively Cinderella in miniature. Her weapon, Metal Cocoon, was a pair of great shields with embedded energy cannons, constructed with the technology which had gone into the Glass Slippers to produce a far and away lesser version of Cinderella's signature weapon. Noah knew that she was an attempt to recreate Cinderella, and had been understandably particularly fixated on the legend she was backwards-engineered from.

But, this was no time to be entertaining Noah's more immature urges, doubly so when it had been many years since Dorothy had last interacted with any of her sisters. Yet, she didn't need to be cruel to the young Nikke.

So, she set her free hand on Noah's crown between her horns, and said gently, but with no small amount of urgency: "We will see if such can be arranged after I've met with her and ascertained the reason she's returned to Eden, and waits at its edge so expectantly."

"B-but-!" Noah began to protest, her large pink eyes glimmering with moisture, only to be cut off.

"Noah," Johan interjected with a deep sigh. "Stand down, allow Dorothy to depart and do what she must."

Noah was not pleased by the order from her Commander, but, given that neither of the two adults seemed interested in granting her request, she released Dorothy's arm and stepped back.

Dorothy's response was to immediately spin on her heel, all but throw the window open, and leap out into the open sky without hesitation or another moment of consideration spent on either Noah or Johan.

With a flash, her Valkyric armour manifested around her body along with her wings—encompassing Joe's cloak-like jacket as it did so—and she redirected her terminal momentum to rocket towards the west-most section of the Shroud, rapidly zooming over the rich greenery and hyper-tech structures of the arcology. Little heed was paid to the people going about their daily duties on the ground as the spurned Goddess soared overhead.

With her cybernetic eyes which far and away outstripped the capability of any baseline human's, Dorothy spotted the shard of platinum hovering in mid-air, indeed, having come to a floating rest just within Eden's border.

She could see that Cinderella had spotted her as well, tracking Dorothy's rapid approach with her large sapphire irises. With intense rapidity, the pinkette came to a graceful stop a few metres away from her fellow Grimms. The pair remained silent as they hung in the air above the arid earth below, seeming to regard each other with a deep-seated wariness.

The sun glinted off of the two, silvery and gleaming as they were. Holding in the sky with instinctive ease, presenting as the Goddesses they were once labelled as by humanity as a whole.

For as desperate as she was to rush to Cinderella the moment she was present, Dorothy didn't actually know what to say or do once they were face-to-face. So many emotions rushed through her heart. Feelings of relief to see that her sister was alive. Anger and resentment to see her just waltz into Eden as though nothing had happened, as though what remained of Goddess hadn't abandoned her and their paradise. Concern to note how visibly rough the condition of the Glass Slippers were. Hope that maybe Cinderella was here to stay.

"You seem well, Dorothy," the twintailled platinumette noted as she regarded her former squadmate.

Dorothy replied with a shuddering breath, struggling to maintain her composure. "...You're unharmed," she observed, allowing her relief to see that Cinderella herself wasn't in any noticeable disrepair. Relief, and a degree of annoyance. Part of the reason she pushed to locate secret Grimms facilities and strip them of all usable resources was, after all, to drive her former squadmates to need to return to Eden for maintenance.

If they were periodically returning to Eden, that would mean that Dorothy would have more opportunities to convince them to stay again. Together, they were stronger. Together, they could conquer anything that may stand against them. Together, just like they used to be.

Cinderella, rather than immediately replying to that, allowed her gaze to drift to Eden proper behind Dorothy. Her eyes trailed up the length of the main tower, and she remarked: "The primary arcology is larger than I remember it being. You've all been productive, haven't you?"

At Cinderella's calling attention to their shared home, Dorothy couldn't but blurt out with a tinge of desperation: "Your rooms are just as you left them."

Cinderella closed her eyes, recentering herself at the reminder of how Dorothy had tried so intensely to stop them from leaving, to convince them of the righteousness of her cause, of the need to avenge their loved ones that had been betrayed after everything they'd sacrificed for humanity.

She earnestly sympathized with Dorothy. She understood. She even, to an extent, agreed with her. But Cinderella could never have actually gone along with it. For so many reasons. She knew that Joe would never have approved of turning on the Ark. She knew that turning on the Ark would in of itself be a betrayal of everything Goddess had fought and bled for. And, ultimately, at the end of the day, turning on humanity ran contrary to her beliefs, those same beliefs she shared with Rapunzel.

Cinderella's truest wish was to be a beacon of hope for mankind. She wanted to be loved, adored, trusted to be the bulwark against which all the forces of evil would falter. To oppose the Ark would mean betraying everything that she wished to be.

She put her faith in Joe's plan, because Joe had made it so very clear that their enemy was the Central Government, and that the Central Government had to be dismantled and cast down for the sake of the Ark and the people within it. To oppose the Central Government was to be heroic. But Dorothy didn't advocate for that. She sought to go to war with the Ark, period, and had deliberately fomented that notion within Eden.

But things were different now. Joe was back. If anyone could convince her to stop, and change her goals, shift them to align with Pioneer's again, it would be him.

With a surge of renewed purpose, Cinderella refocused on Dorothy with pointed intensity. "Dorothy, please accompany me back to Pioneer's camp. We have something important we need to discuss with you there." The wind seemed to punctuate Cinderella's proclamation, her twintails and the hem of her transparent miniskirt billowing dramatically.

Dorothy blinked owlishly, caught off-guard, yet making an effort to not let her quickening heartbeat show on her face. "Everyone is gathered and waiting to speak to me?"

"Yes," Cinderella bluntly answered her question with little aplomb.

Dorothy's brow furrowed lightly as she considered the stark white Nikke's assertion. "Why have they not all simply accompanied you here to meet in Eden?"

"Because you and I can fly," Cinderella noted matter-of-factually. "It would be far and away faster for you to come back with me, than to make the others walk all the way here."

Dorothy cocked her head slightly, lips parting marginally as the gears in her head began to turn. "Is this a pressing matter-?"

"Yes," Cinderella declared. "Please, accompany me back to our camp to meet with the rest of the squad, Dorothy."

Strange. Odd. Almost suspicious. "After all these years, suddenly, you emerge from the aether to declare that I must accompany you out of Eden on short notice, over a matter so terribly pressing that the rest of our squad had to have you rush ahead of them to bring me back, over simply coming to Eden as a whole? That is very strange. What could be so incredibly important?"

"Something that we agreed would be best discussed away from Eden," the diminutive Goddess declared matter-of-factually, not elucidating beyond that.

"...Why are you trying to draw me away from Eden?" Dorothy asked, brow furrowing noticeably. "Is Snow White's irrational hatred for what we've built truly so overwhelming? This place is our home. Anything that can be said elsewhere, can be said here." It would be easier to keep them in Eden once they entered it again, convince them to see the error of their ways and return to the fold. Even Snow White could be made to see reason, Dorothy was sure of it.

Cinderella closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she otherwise kept her features as neutral as possible. Once more, she focused on Dorothy, declaring: "We found Red Hood."

With a harsh inhale, Dorothy's heart rate spiked, and she could do nothing to stop the way every muscle in her body stiffened like steel cables. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and hands clenching in a manner that would have drawn blood out of a baseline human's.

She stared at Cinderella, even her pupils trembling at the assertion. It took Dorothy several long moments to begin processing what was just said. Her lips parting without the carefully-calculated grace otherwise typical of her.

After a significant beat, Dorothy managed a reply. "...Where is she? Is she alive? Is she safe? Is she-"

"You will hear not another word of Red Hood's fate unless you accompany me back to our camp," Cinderella pointedly cut her off. "We will discuss this as a group—alongside the matter of the possibility of Pioneer returning to Eden—or not at all."

It felt like Dorothy had been shoved down a flight of stairs, the pinkette actually going light-headed and needing to put effort into remaining upright. She was breathing heavily, taken aback by the double-whammy of revelations. This was downright cruel, and showed just how serious Cinderella was about making Dorothy accompany her out of the city.

If Dorothy wasn't so terribly winded by the notion of finally, finally knowing what had happened to Red Hood, she'd be furious. Perhaps somewhat impressed, even. But, as it was… "Fine," Dorothy capitulated. "I'll go with you then."

"Inform Inherit that they are not to follow you," Cinderella instructed her fellow. "This is a matter to be discussed between the former members of Goddess, and us alone."

Dorothy might've opposed such an order normally, but, given the stakes at hand she instead immediately opened her comms. "Johan, I am departing from Eden with Cinderella for a time. We are not to be followed. That is all."

"Wait, Dorothy," Johan started in reply, caught off-guard by the suddenness of the declaration. "What's happen-"

She closed communications, and as she typically did, blocked the Commander so that he could not contact her unless she contacted him first. Expectantly, she levelled a stare Cinderella's way, nostrils lightly flaring as she said nothing else.

"Very well," the blue-eyed beauty said as she began to drift backwards. "Let's be off, then."

Dorothy was quick to follow, and the pair took off back the way Cinderella had come, rapidly building up speed that rivalled the fastest of the old world's jet aircrafts. Once again, the horizon rose to meet them, and the two Goddesses left Eden in their wake.

Cinderella was doing a better job of masking her anxiety than Dorothy was, but she too felt her heart pounding in her chest like a jackhammer.

She could only hope that this reunion would be a positive one.