NIKKE: Goddess of Victory. Code KAIN.

Kain Veyron cracked his eyes open, fighting through the haze like clawing out of a drugged sleep. The world still spun, ears ringing with distant explosions and the sizzle of burning Raptures. His vision swam in black smoke, gray sky, and crimson flashes.

He blinked once, twice… and there she was.

A silhouette leaned over him, blocking the dim, almost holy glow of the battlefield.

Marian.

The pale-skinned Nikke with jet-black hair falling in perfect strands despite the chaos. Her brown eyes—cold and sharp as fresh rounds—watched him with an impossible mix of real concern and maternal warmth. Her blue-and-white Elysion uniform, tight and torn from combat, revealed silver lines of her mechanical frame beneath synthetic skin.

Her delicate yet steel-crushing hands cradled his head gently. Still, he could hear her voice calling for help through an internal comms link. In that moment, Kain knew this might be the end. Funny—his very first mission, and everything already going to hell. Maybe that was for the best.

After all, only about 30% of commanders survived their first battle, and he clearly wasn’t joining that elite club.

But then…

“Can you hear me? Commander! Please… smile if you can hear me…”

Her voice yanked him from a deep, black pit. His split lips—probably from the blast—curved into a weak grin.

“He’s okay… he’s okay…”

His eyes fluttered open fully.

“Yes! Thank god. Can you tell me your name and section?”

“Kain Veyron. Central Government. Nikke Coordination Department.”

“Good. Can you raise your arms?”

Marian ran a full check through her integrated HUD, feeding the data straight to Kain via comms. The android woman had just saved his life.

He’d suffered cardiac arrest—if not for her…

“Commander, the transport was hit before we reached our destination. That explosion likely drew a swarm of Raptures. I know you need time to recover and process… but we don’t have any.”

“Yeah, alright,” Kain replied.

Marian smiled, helping the brown-haired rookie to his feet and out of the transport wreckage.

“From this moment on, I’m at your command. Can you keep going?”

Kain nodded, lips twisting into a bitter half-smile.

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you—even if it’s the last thing I do.”

His heart skipped. Sure, Nikkes—female cyborgs with human brains in fully artificial bodies—were weapons built solely to fight Raptures and loyally shield their commander, but…

“Commander—take cover!”

The air split with a blood-chilling metallic screech.

From the smoking ruins of a destroyed Lord-class, four spider-like Raptures—oil-black, segmented legs gleaming—launched at them.

The first leaped from ten meters, front legs speared wide, aiming for Marian’s throat. She spun, still clutching Kain to her chest, and swung her left arm—submachine gun ready—smashing the metal spider aside. The second and third skittered low, sinking acid-dripping fangs into her legs; the corrosive sizzle ate smoking grooves into her synthetic skin.

The fourth landed on her back, jointed legs punching through broken armor toward her spine. Marian roared, twisting violently—the Rapture flew off, but not before ripping away a strip of fake flesh, exposing blackened endoskeleton.

The battlefield roared back to life. For a second, death seemed ready to claim them both. Kain huddled behind his Nikke, too stunned to react.

He snapped up his SMG. The barrel glowed electric blue as the four beasts charged again, claws scraping scorched metal. One fluid motion: aim, exhale, burst. Rounds punched through their shells at point-blank, detonating cores in sprays of black shards and acid. In under six seconds, only four burning husks remained.

He lowered the weapon, breathing hard, and rushed back to Kain.

“Enemies neutralized. Switching to non-combat mode,” she said—then dropped to one knee. “Agh… my leg…!”

“You hurt, Marian?”

“I suppose… damaged, more like. But I can still move—the attack didn’t cripple mobility.”

Kain knelt, pulled out bandages, and wrapped the bleeding wound. Their fluid wasn’t quite blood, yet still red. The simple act stunned Marian—her brown eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“C-Commander… this won’t help a Nikke much…” she stammered, but her expression softened, cheeks faintly pink. “Still… I appreciate the gesture.”

“It’s nothing.”

Kain looked up and smiled—truly smiled—for the first time. Not the distant commander-to-weapon smile, but something warm, fragile, human. Their eyes met, and in that instant, no hierarchy or programming existed—just two lost souls in hell, recognizing each other as equals.

---NIKKE: code KAIN---

They’d walked for hours through shattered streets, ruins of a forgotten city where humans once ruled the surface—before the First Rapture War, when the world was still theirs.

The war had dragged on so long Kain almost forgot the origins of those robotic aliens: half-mutated flesh, half-relentless metal. Academy lessons reminded him they started as pure machines, then adapted, as if craving Earth for themselves.

Now, amid rubble and distant gunfire echoes, Marian walked beside him, rifle ready, eyes scanning shadows. Toxic clouds filtered the sun into gray, reminding them the surface was a graveyard—a faded memory of a brighter past.

Suddenly, Marian stopped and turned.

“You okay? Still a ways to the rendezvous.”

“Just a little dizzy, that’s all.” He regretted the words instantly—Marian’s face grew even more worried.

“Don’t push yourself, Commander. Your heart stopped—I had to perform CPR… If walking’s too much, I can carry you.”

Pride answered: “No, thanks. I can walk.”

That didn’t stop her from closing in and supporting his arm. Kain flushed, feeling her body—unlike service bots, warm, skin soft and human.

“Fine, if you insist… but at least let me help. And if you need rest, just say it,” she said with a dazzling smile, cheeks lightly flushed. Kain avoided her gaze, stunned by the closeness of the stunning woman.

“I’ll… keep that in mind…”

They pressed on until Marian halted again. Raptures attacked; Kain stayed back, arm cradled, hiding behind a vine-choked aluminum fence. Pain, dizziness, headache—he couldn’t direct the defense, forced to trust Marian’s instincts completely.

“Useless… useless… you’re worthless…” echoed in his head.

After the skirmish, they reached the rendezvous. Empty—no one, no rescue chopper, no Central Government squad… nothing.

“Did plans change after the transport went down?”

“No idea. I haven’t received any—”

Marian cut him off—nearby gunfire and explosions. A grenade launcher?

“Commander… shots fired!”

They exchanged a glance and bolted through rubble, leaping twisted beams, dodging steaming craters. Echoes bounced off skyscraper skeletons.

Rounding a split avenue, they saw them: amid crushed cars, two Nikkes unleashed hell. One, face twisted in annoyance and bitterness, emptied grenade after grenade, blasting swarms of small Raptures pouring from subway tunnels—each explosion painting the air black. Beside her, a long-haired Nikke with cold, distant eyes fired perfect bursts, dropping elongated flying Raptures whose worm-like tails writhed in the sky. Golden casings rained like deadly confetti.

“How long we holding this?”

“Until backup arrives,” came the icy reply.

“But you saw that explosion! No way anyone survived!”

“No confirmed KIA.”

“What? So we wait here till we get wiped…?”

“This is the rendezvous. Abandoning it fails the mission.”

“Ridiculous.”

Marian dashed forward: “Comrades!”

Her shout startled the blonde, who jumped and whipped around—surprise turning to a scowl.

“Kyah…! You scared me!”

“I’m Marian. The Commander’s with me.”

“Yeah, you’re definitely a Nikke—but that guy with you… human, right?”

Kain approached. A two-Nikke squad. Rapi turned, eyes still on the battlefield. The avenue smoked amid fresh alien corpses.

“That’s right. Human.”

“Something’s off. You really is the commander?”

“Yes.”

The red-and-black uniformed Nikke with the crimson-star beret stepped closer. Beneath sulfur and gunpowder, Kain caught a pleasant scent. Her eyes flashed blue.

“Identity confirmed. Squad 04-F leadership transferred.”

Her partner protested instantly.

“Rapi…! We don’t even know him…! What are you doing?”

“No time, Anis. More Raptures incoming.”

“Fair point.”

“If our squad commander can’t issue orders, no further formalities needed for transfer. Situation critical. Details later—after the fight.”

“Understood.”

Just like that, three Nikkes under his command. Rapi turned to his protector:

“You said Marian, right?”

“Yes. Silver Gun squad. Assault unit.”

Anis faced Kain. Their eyes met—hers pure amber.

“Well, Commander. Your orders?”

“Awaiting orders, sir,” Rapi added.

Kain gestured toward the wide avenue. Beyond the corpses, a horde of spiders advanced, backed by buzzing drone swarms like hellish horseflies.

“Destroy the Raptures.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Let’s party!” Anis yelled.

---NIKKE: code KAIN---

The battlefield smoked with piled alien corpses; the war goddesses didn’t stop firing until the last beast’s eye-light faded. Kain shouted pointers, directing fire where hordes pressed, ensuring not an inch of ground lost.

Rapi was flawless—methodical, pure destruction machine. Anis rebelled but obeyed grudgingly, like when he told her to lob grenades farther for better swarm clears. Marian brought raw firepower and stayed closest, shielding his life.

Finally, Rapi confirmed no contacts for miles.

“We’re Rapi and Anis. Thanks for the assist.”

Anis, the blonde, wore a revealing outfit even for a soldier: short jacket with yellow-black stripes, tight blouse overshadowed by explosive harnesses—still failing to hide full, voluptuous breasts spilling from a deep V-neck. Tiny hotpants hugged wide hips and thick, toned thighs.

Rapi was sleeker—flashy uniform, harness, red tie dangling over medium breasts wrapped in black like secret treats.

Marian’s blue-white uniform featured a short skirt, straining blouse sensually cupping perfect melon-shaped breasts, dark stockings tracing flawless legs. A thigh holster rode her right leg.

“They’re just weapons…” Kain repeated to himself. “Weapons… tools… means to reclaim the surface…”

“Then why…?”

“How’d you end up requesting a surface commander so suddenly?”

“Our last one’s dead, I’m afraid.”

Marian let out a soft whimper.

“Tried taking a spider with his pistol while screaming curses,” Anis grumbled.

“You failed your duty. You let him die.”

“No—no, you’re wrong! We swear to protect the commander, even at the cost of our lives. But swearing it doesn’t guarantee safety.”

The answer didn’t satisfy Marian, who glared at the blonde with equal parts anger and sorrow. Rapi stepped in:

“Your name?”

“Kain. Kain Veyron.”

Rapi glanced at Anis. The grenadier approached; eyes flashed like before—digging into his background.

“This commander… is a total rookie!” she scoffed.

“Uh…” Kain rasped in protest. “You could just ask… But yeah—graduated yesterday.”

Anis and Rapi’s faces tightened. Kain was used to condescension, being looked down on—but from these two women, it stung like a needle to the chest.