Paradise Lost: Nikke

Zero : S.N.A.S

Exhaustion - when was the last time he pushed his limits? Right. When the Fall reached its climax. The resounding noise of his body flopping on to a proper bed was heaven for him. Seeing as the artificial lights dim down, he looked at the furnished clock just above his room's door. It reads 9:00 pm.

The past few hours were of planting Moonlight Carrots, seeing as Counters never actually grew anything, and they didn't know how to make a simple meal. He shuddered at the thought of a certain teal haired girl. The monstrosities she created were out of this world - she did get better with practice - under his watchful eye of course.

He treated them with his culinary skills. That is until he found out the ingredients or rather 'ingredient' he's working with didn't really have any flavor at all. Splendamin - it was nothing special. Just plain.

So he took a different route with it. Out of his endless pockets, he took out vegetables, spices, tempura (it was preserved) and a few madbulls.

He diced the tempura into bite sized bits, making a salad out of the vegetables adding a tad of salt and made sure the madbulls were still cold. He liked them cold.

What was rather amusing to him was that when he gave each member of Counters a plate - they decided to let him have the kitchen. Anis and Neon were crying tears of joy more so when they tasted the energy drink, they begged him to give them more of what he made. Rapi was dutifully polite and praised him. The Commander was just taking his time with the meal.

"Makoto! You have to share those madbulls that you have!" ...Anis was reminding him of Junpei's early days of drinking madbulls just to stay awake during the Dark Hour. He merely stated he had limited reserves but will give her a few in the meantime.

Neon reminded him of Ken, the innocence of a child - yet she was level headed when she needs to be. "Blue! What are these bits of...whatever this is?! It's delicious!" He answered that the fish was finely diced, being fried to enhance the flavor.

Rapi was most certainly a 50/50 of Mitsuru. Powerful - in a sense of leadership of the 3 Nikkes. "Thanks for the meal, Makoto." She proceeded to pick up her plate and place it in the sink. "I look forward to the next meal." She gave a small smile before heading off to her room.

Yet they all reminded him of Aigis. They were different, an Android or a Nikke, he wouldn't discriminate. Death doesn't discriminate. He wondered what Aigis was doing right now.

. . .

A week had passed. He was being instructed by the Commander, answering questions with Rapi, taking care of the garden and receiving praise of his quick learning skills.

Nikkes are mass produced by Elysion, Missiliss, and Tetra-Line. The Central Government produces mass manufactured Nikkes. Which...he felt was wrong.

Then there were Nikkes who wander the surface. They were called Pilgrims - Nikkes who 'abandoned' humanity yet still fight Raptures. That...was also quite not right. There were a few Pilgrims known, yet the hard part was that they were powerful.

Finally, there were Heretics. Nikkes who have been corrupted by Raptures. Powerful in their own right. As such, they were deemed Disaster Classed Enemies, DCE for short.

If he was to be put on the scale of power - he would most certainly win. 99% of the time. Underestimating them would prove fatal though. Nothing short of an almighty spell would hit him, just like how Elizabeth had done to him.

Getting back on track. He was going to be given Nikkes who...were more or less eccentric. The Commander nervously laughed before pushing him into his personal office.

"So, Makoto. I've been told by Deputy Chief Anderson, that a few Nikkes have been selected for you. And he wishes that you'll treat them well." The Commander put his hands on his desk. "These Nikkes, while temporarily, volunteered to see what type of person you are. Mind you, they expect very little of you. But I trust that you will blow their expectations away." Makoto nodded along, fixing his uniform, unsure if it was a bit more tight than he thought. "By the way, what is the name of your group?"

He honestly thought of using S.E.E.S, yet it would be disrespectful to his friends. So he merely spoke slowly. "Specialized Nikke Ace Squad." An awkward name. Yet it fits decently.

"Who are the Nikkes who volunteered?" He sat in the empty chair. "From Elysion, Helm had volunteered, a Nikke who specializes in sea warfare. From Missilis, Pepper had volunteered. And from Tetra-Line, Volume had reluctantly volunteered. They should be here soon. So take a moment to gather your thoughts."

Hopefully, team synergy will be alright. And it has been a while since he had fought alongside others.

"It seems that they have arrived. Let's go meet them shall we?"

. . .

"So this is our new rookie Commander?" A spunky voice resounded in the main hall, a tanned skin girl with red flame hair, her eyes rolling at the sight of him. "Well nice to meet you or whatever. Volume, at your service."

"Likewise." Volume felt like she was talking to a wall. "Not a man of words aye? Actions do speak louder than words, let's see if it holds true to you, Mini Commander."

"Such brazen talk." A blue haired girl wearing a captain sailor outfit, with a white hat to match her style. "Do not mind the Rapper. She's just grouchy, she had lost against her teammates game of wit. Helm is my name, Makoto." All she got in response was a handshake in respect. She figured that he was just not a people person, nonetheless, she did feel that Makoto was the same as the Commander.

"And I'm Pepper! Nice to meet you, Makoto!" The frivolous pink haired girl gave him a small wink, with a smile to boot. "So when do we go up to the surface, Commander?"

"Tomorrow, Andersen has sent me coordinates of a point of interest." Makoto breathed in, "Please do not hesitate to ask me anything."

Pepper raised her left hand. "That garden in the back, are you really growing vegetables here in the Outpost?" He supposed it was extremely rare to see homegrown plants being well maintained in the wastelands. So he answered truthfully. "Yes, would you like to try one?" Makoto brought out a small box with a lid sealed on it. "This is a moonlight carrot. It revitalizes the body and strengthens your mental fortitude."

Pepper tried the carrot, and immediately scarfed the rest of it down. "WOWIEEE! Helm, you have got to eat one!" She grabbed a carrot before shoving it in Helms face - "Wait I-"

Crunch. "A-amazing! This is way better than Splendamin!" Volume seemed to get annoyed, grabbing one, and chewed a piece. "Boy, you better not let Talentum or the Central Government find out about this. They will confiscate this in a heartbeat."

Well...shit.

A/N: A week and half has past I think? Well I write this during my spare time so yipee. Also I pulled Elegg and Volume today what a coincidence? Also spoilers below. Read at your own risk!

Marian noooooooooo! Don't turn to the dark side! Seriously man, why does ShiftUp have to keep messing with my emotions.