[Nikke] | Marian's Birthday

“Stay with me, Commander... I promise I’ll be better next time! Please, wake up Commander!”

Tears were streaming freely down her cheeks as she blamed herself for anything and everything. The Nikke wailed as she cradled your body with the night’s gales howling. The horde of raptures were swarming the kingdom, the air filled with a metallic smell. No matter how many bullets she dumped down range, two new raptures would appear for each one fallen.

“Commander... Y-You’re bleeding out! H-Hold still!”

Bandages. That is what she needed. With a swift motion, her hand grasped a handful of the bandages off her forehead, fastening them around what remained of your leg. Time was running out and she did not want to accept the possibility that you were going to meet your demise sooner rather than later. But as much as she wanted to keep hope, she could not keep lying to herself. The way your face was slowly losing color, the way the eyelids were slowly closing.

She failed to protect you. She failed to protect the kingdom. She failed to keep her promises.

But she was not going to fail to avenge you.

“Commander... Y-You sleep here.... I-I... I’ll...”

The Nikke’s voice trailed off as her vison began to blur with rage. Her new mission was now to make the entire world pay for what it took away from her. To honor your memory. To honor everything she was taught. She was going to give it everything she had until she died trying. So after giving your forehead a final kiss, she laid your limp body flat on the ground before propping her machine gun up against her shoulder. This time, she could not fail. In just a couple of hours, the entire horde had fallen, with just one lone figure standing - Chatterbox.

Flying over towards the laughing rapture, it was not long before the Nikke had her hands pressing the sides of the Rapture’s temple together. It took every ounce of her strength, but she could feel that the head was this close to giving in. This close to vengeance. But as soon as the skull began to cave inwards, a loud knocking split through the sky.

Her eyes fluttered open, taking in the surroundings that lay before her. Her comforters and pillows lay about on the floor, with and the room was intact. Except for the silence, disturbed by the knocking from her bedroom door. It was rare that she would have this nightmare, but each time would end in the same way.

Where she’d wake up in a cold sweat with her heart beating out of her chest.

Sitting up in bed, her gaze landed upon the clock that hung from the wall, with its hands reading an hour before midnight. Once her breathing had steadied itself, reality settled in front of her – Here she was, dressed in your blouse while clinging onto a plushie for dear life. No longer was she the innocent or naive girl that she once was. Not after you had sent her off to live with the Pilgrims.

Another series of knocks rang through her ears followed by her king’s voice. “Marian, come down please. Dinner is ready.”

“J-just a moment, Crown. I’ll be there soon. I need to get dressed.”

The Nikke replied before groggily rubbing her eyes. And with that, she swung her feet over the side of the bed, the delicate soles squishing the fuzzy carpeting below as she wandered towards the ornate wooden wardrobe that stood steadfast against the stone brick walls. In a gentle, deliberate motion, her fingers wrapped around the wooden knobs, pulling them towards her to reveal the contents within: a gray nightgown, an elegantly long, black dress, and a ripped blouse, one that she had “borrowed” from you but had never bothered to return because of how much she enjoyed its scent. Would it be fine if she showed up to the table wearing just a blouse as Crown had in the past?

Probably not.

Off came the white wrinkled shirt and on came the black dress, the buttons coming undone in an agonizingly slow manner, cautious as to not damage such the sacredly pure artifact. It was one of the few remaining connections to you that she had, and unfortunately the connections were dwindling as life threw hordes of problems her way.

She could only hope to reunite with you one day.

Having caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, The Nikke peered closer at the reflective surface. Only a stranger stood in the mirror. She reached up, cupping her cheeks with her fingers grazing her ticklish eyelashes. Was she always destined to be this way? How would her beloved Commander feel if they were to see her now? How would they feel if she took on the duty to protect those that she held dear to her, when at one point, it was the other way around?

It was a stark contrast to what she used to be.

“I feel different... But I like it. I wonder how commander is doing” The Nikke said to herself. She changed, but it settled well with her. She was certain you would be proud.

Even with the changes though, one thing remained consistent: her undying love and devotion towards you, evidenced by the bandages. You were the one who had wrapped them around her head, and she always made sure that they remained steadfast around her temple, for your touch was sacred.

Yet, despite of how proud of she was with herself, uncertainty and doubt leeched at her heart. Would she ever be able to see you again? Would you even be alive? The worry ate at her heart. “I... I hope you are doing well, commander... It has been so long since I’ve last seen you. But that is okay, I’m used to waiting. I have grown since last time... and it broke my heart to see you send me off like that... but I don’t hate you. I understand why you did it. Because you love me. Because they love me.” The unblinking, obsidian beads of the plushy sat before the Nikke , boring straight into her ruby pearls. She was practicing. Practicing for that day that the both of you would reunite. She kept hope, looking forward to the day she would see your face again.

After ensuring the plushie was tucked away underneath the mountain of pillows and blankets, she turned towards the door, the black dress billowing behind her. The air grew colder as she stepped into the hall, her heels clacking against the tiled floor. Hunger was gnawing away at her stomach, and the smell of a sugary cinnamon treat lingered in the air.

Pushing open a door, she met the quaint little kitchen, where the self-proclaimed king Crown sat with her Right Hand Woman: Chime. “Oh? You made porridge for me, Chime? I’m grateful for it. And I see that you added a lot of brown sugar and cinnamon, like how I usually like it.” Pulling up a seat beside the pair, the Nikke began to dig into sugary soup that sat before her, occasionally looking up to converse with Chime and Crown about trivial matters.

Until a strange series of knocks came upon the door, causing the group of girls to gaze in its direction. They were not expecting any visitors, but whatever the case was, this could either be a siege on the kingdom, or this meant having new inhabitants. The armaments were drawn. “I’ll answer the door, you two stay put and eat.” The self-proclaimed king said.

And as soon as Crown opened the door, the tension in the air suddenly dissipated. Crown had a smile on her face when she returned to the table, piquing the Nikke’s interest. “Modernia, I think you a visitation... visor... err... someone who wants to see you.”

No further explanation regarding the identities was needed: the distinct smell of her former squad mate’s detergents wafted into her nostrils. It looked like home came to her.

Before her stood the Commander’s Right hand, the Soda enthusiast, and a gunpowder guru. Her knees suddenly grew weak as her lips quivered, emotions and memories violently flooding her head. She had not seen or heard from them since her last visit, outside of the occasional updates. “Rapi? Anis? F-Firepower... Neon! I’m so glad,” The Nikke said as she stepped forward, her arms outstretched. It caught her completely off guard as she thought that she would never see them again, given the status of the Ark and with how secretive her location had been. “Of course, Marian. We are here to celebrate your birthday.” Rapi quipped, her gaze cast to the floor below.

“Last time you crushed the entire minifridge! Do you know how long it took for Commander to clean it up? But besides that, Marian, I know how much you like to shake them up... But I’m only giving you three cans of soda... they’re with Commander though.” Anis said with her arm over her eyes.

Meanwhile Neon held her arm out, revealing some custom-made bullets that she had engraved herself. Packed to the brim with gunpowder.

She was elated with their presence, however the only present that could make her feel complete again was her beloved Commander. “Rapi... Where is the Commander?” The Nikke whimpered with her ruby misty eyes searching for the answer, her arms constricting around Rapi’s chest. She was worried, worried about the possibility of her beloved being harmed, or even killed. The surface was a dangerous environment to traverse, especially without the help of the Ark. She was not ready to accept the possibility of her beloved dying.

Rapi, seeing how bothered the Nikke was, soothingly rubbed the shoulders. “Marian... Don’t worry, the commander is safe, I can promise you that. The commander needs to sleep though, the encounters with the raptures completely wore them out.”

Even with how much she wanted to see you, she figured it was not the best of ideas. She was different since last time. No longer was she impatient or impulsive: She could wait, especially for you.

“Marian, I think we should sit down and talk so I can tell you as to why we are here.”

With that, The Nikke agreed, leading her former squad mates inside towards the living room, closing the door behind her. The living room was decorated with the smell of cinnamon, the fireplace emitting a caressingly warm glow next to the chairs. Rapi sat before the fireplace with her legs crossed while the other two sat on the couch, exhausted from the journey. In the air stood the faint smell of black raspberry vanilla mixed with the remnant scent of cinnamon porridge. “So Marian, how have you been since the last time I saw you? You look different.” “I’ve been doing okay, just waiting for the day that Commander would return... It was hard at first, and I thought that you all hated me... because you sent me off but now, I understand why. Day in and out, I wanted to visit you all in the Ark, but I knew that wasn’t an option... not if I wanted to keep you all safe. I promised to protect Commander, you, Anis, Neon, and the kingdom, since you all taught me everything, I know... And it was hard, but I’ve grown since then...”

There. Everything was off her chest, at least the parts that she wanted to say towards her beloved’s Right hand woman. “Believe me when I say this Marian, it was a hard decision for the commander to do so, but they did it because they want the best for you. Now, as for why I showed up onto your doorstep... I hope you do not have any plans for tomorrow because it is your birthday. None of us forgot about you.”

With that, Rapi reached into the box beside her, and pulled out an elegant black and white dress.

“Now, I want you to put this on, and it should be your size. When the clock strikes midnight, I want you to walk over towards the house behind the shop and knock on the door. The commander is in there.”

The Nikke was again on the verge of tears, such a simple act brought a profound joy to her heart. She had been so busy defending the kingdom from raptures that she had forgotten about her birthday. So after giving Rapi another hug, tight enough to force a soft exhale out of the former squad mate, Marian got up and walked towards her bedroom.

When the midnight chime rung throughout the castle, Marian stood in front of a wooden door with a black and silver dress cinching her waist. The air chilled her shoulders - It was now her birthday and she wanted to unwrap the present.

Behind her stood the rest of her former Squad mates, with three extra Nikkes: Viper, Soda, and Helm. All clad in their respective dresses, chattering away amongst themselves. When Marian lifted her arm up to knock on the door, her knuckles quickly rapped against the wooden surface.