Only Human (Goddess of Victory NIKKE SI)

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Chapter 50 - An Uneventful Departure
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With a great, gasping breath, Rapi's eyes snapped open, seeming to struggle to catch her breath as her pupils darted to-and-fro wildly, hands latching upon metal bars and squeezing with terrible force-

"Rapi!"

At once, she was keenly focused, upon hearing his voice despite having witnessed his death mere moments earlier. Joe was stooped over her, hand outstretched, resting on her cheek. Whatever he was to say next was cut off, as Rapi lunged upwards, desperately encircling her arms over his shoulders and drawing him into a clinging hug.

Protect him. Shield him. Hold and cherish him. Never again. Never let him be harmed, never let him suffer, never make him feel unwanted, undesired, despised. You do not deserve him, yet he deserves the best you that you can be. Never again.

Do not fail him again.

All words fell upon deaf ears, and it took a moment for Rapi to register that they were surrounded - and she damn near went feral, keenly remembering the Ark Central Police Unit closing in on them. Yet then she registered that they were faces she also recognized - Anis, Neon, the Pioneers…

The Northern Base. They were at the Northern Base. Not the Central Government Headquarters. Joe was, Joe was-

Holding her, gently whispering into her ear, stroking her cheek- wiping away at-

Rapi blinked, her vision very slightly distorted by moisture. She was crying. Her. She was crying.

She was… "I'm sorry," Rapi's voice immediately broke, the word spilling out unprompted and unheeded. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Agony, crushing guilt, suffering. It was over a century past. Yet the pain felt so raw, so recent, so real. She remembered. Only these, only their first, and last meetings… yet she remembered them. And, moreover… the emotions. The images, the moments, the places, words, all pieces of her past life eluded her still - save for, now, the emotions, those most closely associated with her Commander. Those, those were washing over her like a tsunami.

The adoration. The longing. The fear. The guilt.

It was overwhelming, overbearing - too much, far too much. Everything had been grey, noise, static which had just washed over her for so long. Then, suddenly… it hurt. It hurt so much. It hurt so much that she could barely process what was happening around her. She couldn't focus, she couldn't centre herself. With every breath came an intense risk of a sudden onset panic attack. Every thought snapped to the possibility of Joe's demise, how much danger he'd been in, how she'd failed to protect him, how-

---

It took Rapi a long while to calm down after that episode, and she didn't seem particularly keen on talking or explaining herself afterwards, leaving Joe and everyone else to worry over her until she passed out. The girl was seemingly overwhelmed by her emotions to the point that it left her utterly fatigued on top of the damage she'd inflicted on herself using Exceed.

"Well, at least she seems okay…" Joe quietly mused as he stroked Rapi's forehead, more than a little wary of her state. She was such an unbending little rock, so to see her like this was…

Anis and Neon had gone to make sure all their gear was ready for their inevitable departure. At least, Neon seemed genuine about wanting to be helpful and productive. Anis just seemed deeply uncomfortable with recent developments, and in particular, Rapi being in outright hysterics. Given that Ludmilla was keeping Unlimited, her squad, busy to keep them out of Counters and Pioneer's hair, it was just Joe and a good half of Goddess set aside in the medbay. The room was largely identical to that Joe had woken in himself earlier.

"I did the best I could," Snow White asserted in reply, looming over Rapi from the side opposite the medical bed she was laid out upon. "She's stable and won't suffer any further degradation so long as she doesn't try to use Exceed again, but…" the monochromatic Nikke looked over her fellow Grimms with a heavy grimace. "Her body was already in relatively poor condition before this happened. I had to replace more than I thought I would. It was almost as though she hadn't seen proper maintenance in…" Sighing heavily, she continued. "In nearly a century. As though the Ark hasn't been taking care of her since Operation Ark Guardian."

"The Ark lost knowledge on how to build or properly maintain Grimms upon losing the surface, yes," Joe informed the White Reaper. "I was warned that using Exceed would certainly kill her… you saved her life," he breathed, deeply upset by how Rapi had been suffering.

"I did all I could," Snow White asserted pointedly. "Jury-rigging Rapture parts results in continued functionality, but for a Grimms especially, it's a downgrade."

"To say the least," Scarlet somewhat bitterly noted from the foot of the bed, displeasure clear on her features at the apparent reminder that she and Snow White were operating at a presumed fraction of their true potential on scraped-together parts.

"Now, it's not… as much of a downgrade as would be typical, considering the… state," Snow White spat out the word angrily, "her internals were already in, but she is going to be operating in a weakened state from now on, even relative to previously."

Considering Snow White's statements, Joe inquired: "Would you be able to return her to full functionality with proper, dedicated Nikke parts?"

"...No," Snow White replied warily. "Not to the extent I imagine you're thinking, at least. Having access to factory-new parts would go a long way to restoring her… and the rest of us, for that matter, to a more acceptable state, but Grimms require dedicated Grimms-tier resources to operate at our true potential." She shook her head in frustration. "Given that the Ark doesn't know how to even maintain a Grimms properly anymore by your own admission, then they wouldn't be able to produce the necessary equipment to wholly restore a Grimms either."

"We wouldst need to locate a Grimms production facility from the Initial Rapture Invasion, and hope said facility had gone unplundered in the century the Ark has been sealed," Scarlet added on to Snow White's point, leaning on the edge of Rapi's bed as she was. "We have found such places in days gone, yet, as thy imagination may suggest, what resources we'd scrounged from such places have been long since spent."

That was probably something to look into, once they were back at the Outpost and had access to the Ark's resources. Looking into potential Grimms facilities, in particular. Regardless… "A repair centre is being constructed at the Outpost. I'll be able to get you access to actual Nikke parts once we're back regardless."

"'The Outpost?'" Scarlet inquired, raising a brow.

"A checkpoint between the Ark and the surface," Joe elaborated. "I was put in command of it after we destroyed Blacksmith and Gravedigger. It's being built up into… well, a sort of mini-Ark, I suppose. There isn't any Central Government surveillance there - or rather, I'm supposed to be Central's surveillance there. So, it's about as free of their oversight as a place directly connected to the Ark can be, considering I ain't telling them shit if I don't have to."

Snow White's brow had furrowed with each word spoken, though from apparent consideration, rather than displeasure.

Scarlet, meanwhile, hummed as she pondered Joe's words. "Doth mine ears deceive me, or does it sound as though our Commander's relationship with the Central Government is perhaps a checkered one?"

"To say the least," Joe immediately scoffed, rolling his eyes as he suppressed the immediate urge to go off on the grossly incompetent and corrupt fascist establishment. "But… we should probably get into politics later, when 'everyone' is all back together, yeah?" he asked, recalling how Scarlet had warded off Joe telling her everything that had happened with him, wanting Goddess all together to hear what had happened.

"Yes, let it wait until after we've returned to the Ark's vicinity and we are as one once more," Scarlet nodded, giving Snow White a significant look. "Otherwise… Joe, I did notice something. Anis and Neon, those two were dumbstruck and wowed to learn who we are - who you are. That, I suppose, is why Red Hood has abandoned her Grimms title to sport her given name once more? To enshroud your identities?"

…Oh, so 'Rapi' was actually her real name, even before she was a Nikke? That was… interesting. Maybe Joe should ask her about that once everything had calmed down. "Seems that way," he simply answered, not particularly knowing himself, though it would make sense. "That being said… What's the plan going forward? You two were hunting Chatterbox, yeah? After that…?"

"We were hunting Chatterbox specifically because we know it's a danger to you," Snow White asserted. "Then we were going to focus entirely on reuniting with you and Red- Rapi," she corrected herself somewhat awkwardly. "I'd advise that we momentarily split up before returning to the Ark, so you can report back, and we," she nodded to Scarlet, "can prepare."

That… sounded weirdly ominous-

"Truly, Snow White?" Scarlet dubiously started up, "Of all the times to attempt to sound profound and striking-"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Snow White forcefully, too forcefully, denied attempting to sound cool.

Such little moments, yet they were quite telling in regards to how very goonish Goddess was, despite their legendary status.

At any rate, "Well, it sounds like we have a plan going forth, yeah?" Joe inquired. "We head back for the Ark, split up before getting there, and reunite in whole shortly after?"

"I've no opposition to this proposition," Scarlet declared. "Moreover, I would advise that some time be taken to allow Rapi a moment of respite. She could be emotional in times before, yes, but she has never…" the grey-haired woman's gaze drifted down to the fretfully slumbering blonde. "Broken down in such a manner previously."

"I'm not sure why she freaked out like that," Snow White noted as she gently settled her hand over Rapi's, concern writ large on her face. "But, considering it's obvious that she experienced a Mind Switch as serious as mine too, then we can wait a few more days if it means avoiding pressuring her, Commander."

At that, Joe reared back somewhat, visibly taken aback by Snow White's casual admission of what really should have been a horror…

"Didst thou believe we would not notice, Joe?" Scarlet asked him, popping a brow as she did so. "Red Hood was a raucous boor; loud, overbearing, disruptive and cheerful in equal measure, to say nothing of how she was casual to a fault. As she is now? Stern, quiet, dependable, almost brooding, downright militaristic in all aspects of her life as according to Anis… Rapi clearly experienced a Mind Switch and accompanying personality shift as extreme as Snow White's had been." Her focus settled on Snow White again. "You used to be such a shy, uncertain young girl, so easily rendered anxious… how times have changed."

"I retained my memories, regardless, which is as important as anything can be," Snow White asserted, refocusing on Rapi, lips drawn into a heavy, mournful grimace. "She did not, though, did she, Commander?"

The uncomfortable silence that followed was palpable. Yeah, they'd have to address this sooner or later, but still, Jesus fucking Christ…

"At first, it was easy to simply assume that Red Hood would not meet our eyes out of some sense of shame," Scarlet began. "Her quiet too, if guilt wracked her terribly enough."

"That was never what Red Hood was like, though," Snow White added on. "The moment she felt as though she'd genuinely wronged someone, she would get on her knees and beg for forgiveness. She would be just as boisterous as she ever was, just… in a remorseful way. Never, never would she avoid someone's gaze - let alone ours."

"And yet further, in retrospect, she was so terribly uncomfortable in our presence because she did not recognize us," Scarlet noted, evenly and almost serenely, as seemed common with her. "Tis' heartbreaking, yet… she is here. And though she may not remember us, we may yet simply create more memories with her to replace those lost."

"It's unfortunate, but, at least she's still here," Snow White asserted with a nod. "I'll… handle her with more reservation going forth, Commander. I can't imagine it's doing her any favours, being crowded by people that are treating her with such familiarity."

Joe shallowly nodded in acknowledgement, "that would probably be for the best. She's… been having a bit of a rough go of it lately."

"All the more reason to give her a chance to relax," Snow White nodded. "Give her the chance to process everything happening, and we'll prepare Pioneer for your return and our reunion."

With a nod, Joe refocused on Rapi, continuing to gently stroke her forehead. He didn't enjoy seeing the little blonde so overwhelmed and worn down. But, this was a necessary step forward, and difficulties were always to be expected when trudging through knee-deep snow.

But, she wasn't alone anymore - she was about as far from alone as anyone could be at this point, even. They'd get there, all together.

"...You take it easy as well, Commander," Snow White directed him quietly, gently interrupting his train of thought. "Rapi isn't the only one that's had terrible experiences on this mission."

…Yeah. Joe was avoiding thinking about it, but… Marian…

This may have been an oncoming storm they were facing down, but, surrounded by returning friends and allies he knew they could depend upon, it'd be a lot easier to weather this particular storm now, at any rate.

---

There wasn't all that much to say to Ludmilla or Unlimited in general, after Rapi eventually woke up and was good to get dressed, geared up, and move out back for the Ark. She had made it clear that she'd rather not talk about everything that had happened, being unusually reticent to speak even by her standards. Though, she was insistent on remaining right by his side. To a degree that far outstripped the norm.

The reason was obvious enough, given that she was obviously guilt-ridden over how Chatterbox had managed to grab and run off with him, if even briefly. Then, when Marian- Modernia had gotten her hands on him too… Rapi prided herself on being reliable and trustworthy. She likely felt like she'd let him down or otherwise failed him.

Joe firmly didn't believe that, but he'd talk to her about that later, when they weren't in the field anymore.

Until then, Counters and Pioneer gathered their shit up, kitted themselves out again, and departed from the Northern Base to return to the exfil zone. Of course, Joe had expressed his gratitude to Ludmilla for sheltering them, and her only request was to ask that Joe bring up the notion of having Snow White look over Alice with Mustang. Ludmilla wasn't about to allow that to occur without clearing it from the top-level, obviously. Otherwise, she thanked Scarlet and Snow White, for everything, and allowed everyone to head off without making a big show of it.

Somehow, Joe got the impression that this wasn't the last time they'd meet Unlimited. Though he was hardly a seer, so fuck if he knew how that would manifest, but Alice's Exceed alone marked her a person of interest, to say the absolute least.

At any rate, mercifully, the crew met no resistance on their way to the exfil. That struck Joe as weird, but Snow White affirmed to him that this wasn't wholly unusual. Even after all this time, Raptures tended to flock to cities, rather than the absolute wilderness. Those that did pop up in remote places tended to be more dangerous than the average Rapture, but that was more to do with the weaker Raptures just being more common around cities and other formerly large population centres in the first place.

So, mercifully, they simply… had faced no combat, aside from the fucking Tyrant and Heretic. And were returning with two additional Grimms models, and had suffered no major lasting injuries or losses. And they had attained intelligence on the identity of a Heretic…

Rapi may have hurt herself, but he had been assured that it was relatively minor as far as lasting injuries went given Snow White's intervention. The entire operation couldn't be considered as anything less than an obscene success objectively. Another mark on Joe's tally, as it was. And a fucking absurd one, as seemed usual at this point.

The pilot that had arrived was, as expected, an Elysion Black Ops asset that damn well knew better than to ask questions when Ingrid's favourite returned with two new Nikkes in tow.

Leaving the Yukon behind felt somewhat… strange, to Joe. Though it was hardly a trip through memory lane, a revisiting of his old pre-Rapture life, to be specific, it had been a journey through places that at least looked and felt like those he'd known growing up. Just, dead. Frozen over in time, abandoned… He'd avoided thinking about it, but it had felt like walking through a ghostly apparition of his past life. What remained of something he'd never experience or know again.

Ghastly, dreadful in some ways, yet, still… in some distant way, it felt appropriate. Like he'd been afforded a degree of closure - allowed to see off what he'd once had with one last, positive memory, in comforting Rapi in a woodfire-lit home's living room, after having watched a friend's cheap-ass comfort food anime, assuring her that she wasn't the monster she'd thought she was, then spending the night together in a display that spoke volumes to how much she trusted and cared for him...

So, ultimately, it felt like an acceptable, even worthy sendoff for what he used to know. Thus, he'd do his best to leave that past where it belonged now - in the past, another world away. This was where he lived now, and that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Thus, Joe didn't look back when the Arctic snow and ice faded away to reveal the lush greens of British Columbia once more.

The Commander's personal musing aside, the aircraft's pilot didn't ask questions when Snow White and Scarlet were dropped off about a day's travel by foot from the Ark either. Ingrid was smart about assigning assets to Counters, as it turned out. Good for them, and yet more evidence that Ingrid was one of the more intelligent people in power in the Ark.

Snow White had passed Joe a piece of paper which indicated where to find Pioneer once they were all prepared, with it going unspoken that they weren't going anywhere after this. She and Scarlet had the presence of mind to otherwise not tip their hand, regardless of how professional and likely trustworthy the pilot was. They simply departed into an open freeway, watched the VTOL lift off, and leave.

It had felt a bit strange to set off without them so unceremoniously after all that effort they'd gone through to find them in the first place. Though they weren't being stupid about this, it was best to split up here and make sure they had everything in order to ensure that the girls weren't detected as being Pilgrims near the Ark or in the Outpost, given the Ark's unfriendly policy towards Pilgrims.

At any rate, it didn't take long for the aircraft to land at the exterior entrance to the Outpost, letting them out and returning with little aplomb. The squad hadn't even made it all the way back through the entrance tunnel, passing through the multiple blast doors and unremarkable stone and concrete halls before Joe's work phone buzzed from his pocket.

Ingrid was already gathering Andersen to meet Joe at his office for debriefing. She made a point to inform himself, Rapi, Anis and Neon were all expected to join them, which wasn't all that surprising, all things considered. The pilot had probably informed her of their approach.

"Ingrid and Andersen are going to meet us at my office for the debriefing," Joe declared. "You three are all expected to be there too."

"Of course…" Anis just cried, deflating as she slumped forward while walking.

Neon whined quietly as well, though didn't say anything herself.

"...Understood, Commander," Rapi, meanwhile, tried to reply with her typical militaristic cadence, though the effort mostly failed, given how heavily everything seemed to weigh on her.

Joe could hardly hold that against her, and while his bones were sure as shit feeling everything they'd just gone through just the same, a soldier had little choice but to answer to their superiors before they would be granted leave.

Such was life on this bitch of an Earth.

===
Chapter 51 - Ruminations and Remembrance
===

"So, Snow White and Scarlet are alive…" Andersen's expression was one of mild consternation, given that… "But you didn't think to confirm specifically which other members of Goddess are too, only that they aren't the only two remaining…"

Joe, in turn, wore a very sheepish grimace as Ingrid gave him a heavily lidded stare of aggravation. The Commander, despite how generally well the entire operation had gone, somehow still managed to emerge looking like a fool. "There was a lot going on up there," he weakly defended himself.

The former High Commander of Goddess just set his hand over his eyes, letting out a deep, displeased sigh as he muttered, "Dumb ass…"

Ingrid and Andersen were being debriefed on everything that had happened in the Yukon, while everyone else had at least been allowed to change into more casual attire than their cold suits. The CEO and Deputy Chief… Were more than a little frustrated with Joe's inattentiveness on certain matters.

Not that Joe could blame them, they very much had a point. But still, Jesus fucking Christ, he felt like he deserved something resembling a break, considering all the bullshit that had happened-

"Okay, well, you know where to meet back up with them," Andersen continued, somewhat anxiously rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. "We'll arrange to give you the means to head out as soon as you're ready, so, moving on. You found Snow White, and she was accompanied by Scarlet. What happened next?"

"We- well, it actually happened first, but, we encountered Chatterbox again," Joe noted from his sofa seat across from Andersen and Ingrid - the Counters girls that had accompanied him to the Arctic seated on either side of him on the sofa. And on the floor with her legs crossed beneath her like a kid watching TV, in Neon's case.

"Given that you all seem intact," Ingrid began, arms crossed beneath her chest as she looked the squad over critically, "I assume the upgrades and additional gear we provided you went a ways towards besting the Tyrant?"

"We sent the big doofus running with its tail tucked between its legs!" Neon immediately proclaimed with a broad, toothy smile as she pumped both of her tiny little fists. "Our firepower has achieved such a state that the mightiest of Raptures are but a speed bump to us!"

"She says," Anis began in a dour tone, "as though we didn't have the help of literally half of Goddess when he fought the prick."

"Less than half!" Neon pointedly declared as she twisted around to shoot a displeased glower at Anis. "Rapi took off to make sure the Commander was okay after he got picked up by Chatterbox and tossed like a baseball!"

"Wait, what!?" Ingrid leaned forward, and Andersen's eyes widened no small amount as well. "Picked- Chatterbox actually grabbed you!?"

Spinning back in place to reply, Neon continued excitedly: "Then the Commander stabbed it in the eye with his knife!" the little stark white Nikke proclaimed, pantomiming a stabbing motion with a phantom blade, her emerald eyes seeming to sparkle as she did so. "Then Chatterbox screamed like 'Oh no, a knife, my only weakness, how did you know!?' and threw the Commander and-"

"That is not what happened!" Anis pointedly cut her off, leaning forward as she interjected, "We didn't even see that happen! Scarlet only told us about it after we got to the Northern Base!"

Neon petulantly retorted, "It could have happened like that-"

"Pholus," Ingrid, however, cut her off with all the authority she was capable of projecting. "Explain," she outright commanded him.

"Chatterbox grabbed me, booked it, literally ran into Scarlet and Snow White, and when it stopped, I stabbed it in the eye in a blind panic," Joe immediately elucidated upon what he remembered happening. "Frankly, I'm shocked it even worked… But, I'm pretty sure its grip on me slipped when it flailed in response to the attack. I went flying… Then I think Rapi jumped on the Tyrant, right before Snow White lunged in, picked me up, and moved me somewhere safer. Rapi stayed with me to make sure I was safe while Scarlet, Snow White, Anis, and Neon fought Chatterbox off."

"...You hurt a Tyrant!?" Ingrid's eyes had gone as wide as dinner plates, staring at Joe as though he'd just transmogrified into a giant marmoset before her very eyes. "With a knife!?"

"Y-yeah…?" Joe was more than a little taken aback by the woman's intensity. "I-"

"That makes you the only living, unaugmented human being in the Ark to have ever actually harmed a Tyrant directly, Joe," Andersen noted to the man dryly. "No Commander before you has ever survived being attacked by a Tyrant, in the Ark's history." He adjusted his cuffs with a small grin. "Of course, the Ark has lost almost all knowledge of the events of the Initial Rapture Invasion anyways, so, they of course don't know about that time you personally destroyed a Tyrant anyways-"

"He what!?" Ingrid, Anis, and Neon all cried out in shock, first looking at Andersen, then squarely at Joe.

As though he didn't have fucking amnesia. Meaning he just shrugged, assuming that Andersen was bullshitting for effect regardless.

"Ask Snow White and Scarlet the next time you see them," Andersen just suggested with a wry grin. "That being said: what happened next?" He inquired, giving Joe an inquisitive look.

…Which was where this was about to get incredibly unpleasant. Taking a deep, bracing breath, the Commander did his level best to shift to pure professionalism mode, to just deliver the information he had as it had happened. "Once it was clear that I didn't have any actual injuries, we decided to head straight back for the exfil point. Pioneer's intent was to hunt down and destroy Chatterbox, but they prioritized getting me out of its immediate crosshairs."

Joe continued as Ingrid and Andersen keenly listened.

"Not long after we departed, Chatterbox announced its presence to us again. Annoyed by the Tyrant's persistence, and emboldened by how it had been forced to retreat earlier, we launched an all-out attack against the beast… Which, on account of that having been a distraction, opened us up to the ambush the bastard had set up."

"Ambush…?" Ingrid's brow furrowed heavily at the idea of Raptures using complicated tactics against them. "By what?"

Joe had to take several, very strained breaths to centre and focus himself. He had to just say it, to just get it out, don't get hung up on it, he was a soldier, soldiers were supposed to stay calm and professional, not-

Grimacing, he grit his teeth and forced it out. "The Heretic Modernia."

That got Andersen and Ingrid to damn near jump out of their seats, eyes going wide and their faces pale as sheets. Ingrid was the first to speak up at that, directly addressing the Nikkes. "All of you recorded this encounter, right?" She immediately pressed the girls forcefully.

"Yes, ma'am," Rapi quickly and factually replied.

"Good…" Ingrid looked about the closest to a panic attack Joe had ever seen her right then, breathing unevenly and with no small amount of labour. Given what Heretics were, and the intense feelings of terror that had been instilled in them at the sight of her… Yeah, he got it. "I'll be reviewing that data personally when we're done here, but Pholus: tell us everything that happened. Leave out no details. Any and every piece of information you provide will be invaluable. Doubly so considering you all came out of that alive, and seemingly without injuries of any kind."

While Anis and Neon had averted their gaze, looking off to the sides uncomfortably, Joe focused as much as he could. "...Modernia was there for me, specifically," he noted, eliciting a pair of heavy grimaces from Ingrid and Andersen both. "She was piloting a Titan-class Rapture mech. It was flight-capable, hovered freely, could teleport, had a pair of laser cannons, a railgun, and an energy sword."

"...That's new," Andersen noted grimly. "Doesn't match any known descriptions of known Titans we have on record…"

"Neither does the Heretic itself," Ingrid asserted. "Keep going, Pholus. Anything else?"

Joe repressed the immediate reaction he had to Ingrid calling her 'it,' but… "...With Snow White's help, we were able to actually seriously damage the Titan, seemingly forcing both the Heretic and Chatterbox to retreat, after Scarlet severely injured Chatterbox as well."

"...You fought off and forced a Heretic to retreat…" Ingrid let out a shaky breath. "Good lord… Counters qualifies for Commando status after this," she asserted with no small amount of awe in her voice. "So, that was it? The Heretic Modernia and Chatterbox fled, and…?"

"...We tried to chase them down, thinking we could finish the job," Joe admitted, in retrospect, taken aback by the sheer audacity and arrogance they'd displayed in that moment, in retrospect. Even if Modernia apparently planned to hunt them down regardless… Which Andersen and Ingrid seemed to agree with, given the sheer, dumbstruck shock on their faces. "Chatterbox fled entirely as soon as Modernia engaged us on foot… There was no fight. Modernia took Scarlet and Snow White out both, back-to-back, with a single bare-handed strike each. She barely even bothered pushing Anis and Neon aside to get to me, and…"

"...I initiated Exceed to engage her," Rapi declared.

At that, Ingrid and Andersen actually leaped to their feet. "You WHAT!?" Ingrid cried out, eyes bulging from their sockets.

"How are you not…" Andersen started, looking ready to bolt right at Rapi before catching himself, brow furrowing before he shook his head. "Snow White was there. She was Goddess Squad's engineer. She probably prevented Rapi from expiring," he noted as he stepped back and warily returned to his seat. "Ingrid, sit back down, and let them finish. If Rapi was in immediate danger, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Though Ingrid had gone red in the face, she dropped back into her seat with a heavy, aggravated huff, crossing her arms beneath her chest again and staring Rapi down with flaring nostrils.

With Andersen motioning over to Joe to continue, the Commander did so, though with great reticence, all things considered. "Rapi was able to hurt Modernia, hit her back as hard as she'd hit Scarlet and Snow White. The effect was so strong, that Modernia was actually driven to stop playing around with us… And… And… Her mask was shattered. It broke, fell off, revealing her face."

"Marian. Modernia is Marian. She's Marian. I shot her in the head, I killed her to protect her from the Corruption, I was told that it had to be me, that it was necessary, that it would be cruel to not do it, that it was for her own good so I shot her, I killed Marian, but it didn't work, it didn't help her, she was still turned it was her and she recognized me and she fought off the Corruption long enough to tell Rapi to protect me but it wasn't enough and I watched it take back over I watched her go again and I couldn't do anything to help her again I'm useless I can't help her Anis is right everybody is just going to die if they try to rely on me I couldn't I couldn't I couldn't-"

With a harsh jostle, Andersen was suddenly up in Joe's face. Hands set firmly on his shoulders, the Deputy Chief's piercing ice blue eyes were boring into Joe's own, and- "Unclench your hands, Joe." He commanded the longer-haired brunet.

Joe blinked in confusion, suddenly processing how blurry everything was, how tense every muscle in his body had become, how his lungs burned, how his hands hurt like absolute Hell-

"Joe," Andersen repeated himself. "Unclench. Your. Hands."

Blinking blearily once more, with no small amount of confusion, Joe looked down to see that while Andersen had taken hold of his shoulders, Rapi had grabbed his hands, looking like she was ready to force her digits under his own… And he recognized the blood rapidly dripping onto and seeping into the material of his pants.

With a gasp as full awareness returned to him, the Commander let out a wince and grimaced as the sensation of his own nails being practically ripped from the flesh of his palms hit him like a truck. At once, Rapi took his hands and laid them out flat, palm-side up, declaring, "Neon! Get the first aid kit from the washroom, now!"

Neon, who had already risen to her feet, was quick to comply. All the while Anis had shrunk away from Joe, a look of intense, overwhelming guilt and shame worn clear on her features.

Ingrid, overlooking the display, wore an intense expression as she didn't move to interject herself into what was happening, instead quietly watching as Rapi went about cleaning and bandaging Joe's hands with mechanical precision. She capped it off with practically forcing him to take painkillers - by giving him just about the most pained and pitiful pleading expression he'd ever seen when he initially tried to refuse the medication. Rapi, clearly, didn't like to see him hurt and in pain.

A small comfort, given everything else that was happening, he supposed.

Once that seemed to be done, and everyone was calm, it was Ingrid that broke the silence. "Rapi, Anis, Neon," she started forcefully, making a number of motions over a physical device held in her hands as she did so. "All of you, upload all of your black box data on the encounters with the Tyrant and Heretic directly to my tablet, then scramble and delete your local copies with the Blackout Protocol authorization I'm giving all three of you, at once," she directed the three Nikkes.

"Wha- but that's in violation of-" Rapi started, only for Andersen to interject.

"That is an order," he declared. "I would strongly advise against refusing to comply."

There was a tense beat before all three girls affirmed that it was done.

"I will have Elysion Intelligence go through and scrub any and all proof of your encounter with Modernia and Pioneer from these recordings," Elysion's CEO started, "what is left will be curated and edited to present the image that you three had fought off and forced Chatterbox to flee on your own. We have the technology and means to fake Alva Particle interference to explain away corrupted recorded data, so the Central Government won't see any proof, video or audio, that Counters had done anything beyond battle Chatterbox and recuperate at the Northern Base."

She lifted the tablet in her hand and lightly jostled it for emphasis.

"If the Central Government demands evidence that Counters has what it takes, I'll be using this to push to have your squad promoted to Commando status; which will give you the autonomy to operate on the surface as you see fit without the need to request permission from anyone, and without the need to report your activities or findings either. You'll be a proper Black Ops unit, from there on out."

"We don't need to explain the benefits of this," Andersen declared from his seat, having returned to it once it was obvious that Joe had been calmed down.

"I shouldn't even need this much, however. The fact that it's me directly making the request should be more than enough for Central to authorize it," Ingrid continued. "Regardless, none of you will so much as breathe a word of your encounter with Modernia or Pioneer to anyone not in this room, understood?"

"Even Mustang?" Joe asked simply doing his best to ignore the shooting agony in his hands while waiting for the painkillers to kick in.

"I'll inform him myself," Andersen answered. "And he'll have the presence of mind to not ever mention it outside of a secure area himself either. We know what we're doing here. All you four need to do is listen to and trust us. Understood?"

With a round of affirmations from Counters, Ingrid nodded as she proceeded. "Pholus, we have been continually investigating the matter of how Marian was corrupted from within the Ark before you two were even deployed to support Rapi and Anis," she started, ignoring the dumbstruck look on Anis and Rapi's faces at the casual bomb drop that was. "The fact that she's been converted into a fucking Heretic on top of that, even after what happened… We'll keep you informed going forth, but don't expect a miracle. It hasn't been easy scraping together much of anything on the matter as it is."

"And more than anything, Joe," Andersen started rather pointedly. "Know that we are keeping in mind the fact that Marian was able to temporarily overcome the Corruption. That has not happened before, but… we aren't going to let Central find out about this and blindly mark her as a priority elimination target, as we know they will the moment they find out about another Heretic being active." He learned forward, firmly staring at Joe as he did so. "If there's a chance to save Marian, we're taking it."

That alone filled Joe with no small amount of intense relief. Marian… There was a chance. A chance, however small, that she might be saved, and Andersen and Ingrid were already all-in on taking it.

Thank God. Thank God.

It was all Joe could do to just nod, hopelessly overwhelmed as he was. Rapi, at least, reached over and gently took a hold of his wrist, a simple show of affection and camaraderie in a moment of intense emotional vulnerability.

"...So," Andersen leaned back with a heavy sigh. "Because I know you well, Joe, I know that leaving it at that, or going into more details on this matter right now would be catastrophic for your current mental state, so, instead, I'm going to shift the topic to something you can grab onto to keep your mind occupied while you ground yourself."

That… yeah, that sounded about right. If left to just stew in his own head after something bad happened, Joe had always handled it poorly. He needed to keep distracted if possible, at least at first. Once he'd processed everything, then he'd be ready to think about what was getting to him. Any earlier would only lead to disaster.

So, he just nodded once, keenly focusing on Andersen above all else, eager to receive whatever it was Andersen had to offer.

"I think it's best to catch you back up on the matter of Goddess, of your service during the Initial Rapture Invasion," Andersen declared. "In hopes of stirring more of your forgotten past, I think it's time to tell you all about how, exactly, you managed to become the Legendary Commander of Goddess."

---

After the debriefing with Andersen and Ingrid was done, everyone was allowed to take the rest of the day off. Neon told Joe that she'd do her best to bring as much firepower to bear as she could for the trials to come. Anis… drifted off, not being able to look Joe in the eye and clearly avoiding talking to anyone. Rapi, meanwhile, had to be convinced by Joe to leave him be, because he just wanted to be allowed to lay the fuck down and sleep for the next forty or so goddamned hours after everything that had happened.

He understood her intense concern, but Ingrid had made it clear that she was to damn well report to Elysion's HQ for a thorough check-up and special maintenance the moment she was able to, and Joe didn't want to keep her from that either. So, quickly enough, after Andersen's lore dump, Joe found himself sitting on the edge of his bed, blankly staring at the floor at his feet as he struggled to process everything.

It, notably, had begun to stir something in him, much like how being told about him and Red Hood's attack on the Central Government HQ had brought old memories to the fore previously, but it hadn't quite caused him to fully remember anything right then. It was more… Impressions. Echoes. Distant memories, stirring on the edge of awareness.

It was better than nothing, and yeah, was going a long way to helping Joe keep his mind off of everything that had happened, but, still…

Leaning back until he was laying down, staring at the ceiling, a wave of exhaustion washed over the Commander, and he allowed his eyes to flutter shut for just a moment…

---

"Commander, it's time to wake up," Joe was lightly jostled by a sugary-sweet voice, so familiar, so comforting. Eyes creaking open, he was greeted by the sight of what could only be described as an angel pushing on his shoulder to get him out of bed.

Yet still, he protested, grumbling and attempting to retreat under the covers to sneak in just a few more minutes of rapturous slumber... Only to have said covers cruelly drawn down from his face, a look of utterly, contented amusement on the face of the Goddess that smiled cheerily upon him.

"Joe," she almost, but didn't quite sing-song. "Come on now, we have to report for a briefing. You don't want to give the High Commander an excuse to chew you out again, do you?"

Oh God, of all fates, Joe couldn't imagine a worse one than that dumb ass Andersen actually having one over on him... So, he fought the urge to stay in bed, sitting up with a heavy groan, and began rubbing at his eyes, grumbling out a meagre complaint of, "Mornings go 'slode forever..."

With a light giggle, Dorothy reached out and happily tussled Joe's long hair with a declaration of: "Good morning to you too, Commander."

A typical start to his days as the so-called Commander of Goddess Squad.