Enlightenment

"**Enlightenment**" is the third Story chapter of *Goddess of Victory: Nikke*.

This chapter focuses on the Counters squad and Wardress who are assigned in a black ops mission to apprehend a unique Rapture.

## Synopsis

Having been "commissioned" by Syuen to capture the Rapture known as Chatterbox, Counter undergoes an illegal mission on the surface, accompanied by Syuen's capture squad Wardress. The...unique dynamic of Wardress' members is somewhat off-putting, but they seem pleasant enough to get the mission done.

### Secret Operation

Counters and Wardress reach the surface. They try to contact Shifty but Mihara reveals that Syuen is jamming communications. As it turns out, this "Black Op", as Mihara calls it, is a mission that Syuen has not run through proper channels. Anis snarks about cliches while Neon voices concern about their ability to actually capture a Rapture alive. Mihara asserts she and Yuni were quite literally made for this sort of work, and takes point in guiding the squad.

### Favorite

On the way to their destination, Counters and Wardress idly chatter. The protagonist notices a wound on Mihara and applies a bandage to it, only to be rebuffed by the Nikke in question. Yuni reveals that her leader has...a proclivity towards pain, and actually *likes* it when her wounds scar over, much to Anis' disbelief.

### Codename Chatterbox

Upon dealing with some more Raptures, Yuni pleads for Mihara to reward her, though the Wardress leader puts it off for later. Yuni apparently found some footprints that belong to Chatterbox, the unique Rapture they're tasked with capturing. Anis is skeptical about such a primitive tracking method, but according to Wardress, Chatterbox is a slippery one they've been chasing for months now.

As to *why* they're trying to hunt down Chatterbox and take it alive, well, Mihara neither knows nor cares. In fact, for all the time spent chasing Chatterbox, Wardress hasn't even *seen* their quarry in person before. With Rapi grilling Mihara on the what and why of this operation, the Wardress leader becomes intrigued and asks a seemingly unrelated question; "What's the average fatality rate for commanders on their first battle?"

Rapi answers that 70% of all commanders become KIA, with Mihara revealing the numbers only rise with the second. That's why Syuen came tramping into the Outpost to "enlist" the protagonist's squad; he beat the odds, so she saw an asset that could at least be mildly competent. While Anis and Neon joke about starting their own company after hearing over 40 "one-and-done" commanders there are, Rapi feels much less lighthearted. She warns the protagonist that this mission *cannot* be aborted, else there's no telling what a Big Three CEO like Syuen would do to them. With the warning received, the protagonist orders the operation to continue.

### Reward

Chatterbox's trace briefly goes cold, but then Yuni notices footprints on the wall of a building. From this, they can extrapolate that Chatterbox is capable of scaling walls. Neon posits that perhaps Chatterbox is intelligent enough to know it's being tracked, but Mihara laughs it off. It's more likely their quarry has an algorithm working to try and shake them off. Yuni starts pleading again for a "reward", so Mihara finally decides to give it to her. Yuni sits in Mihara's lap and...starts pinching her leader's thigh?

The display is certainly...something to behold, with one deriving pleasure from hurting and the other from being hurt, but the protagonist simply takes it in stride. Eventually Mihara declares an end to the reward, and the squads carry on.

### Ambush

Losing Chatterbox's trail again, the squads find themselves in a open field. While discussing where their target may be hiding, Raptures suddenly ambush them.

### Ruler of Senses

The ambush is dealt with, but one Rapture suddenly appears behind Rapi, ready to blast her into pieces. At Mihara's command, Yuni does *something* that causes the Rapture to miss, allowing Neon to blast it back. With the area secure, Rapi asks what just happened. With the Rapture aiming straight for her head, it's odd that it'd miss like that...

Mihara explains that Yuni has the ability to remotely affect a target's senses. This, combined with Mihara's ability to swap senses, is the key to their success in live captures. It doesn't do Rapi's suspicions any favors. How could an ability meant to target Raptures *also* affect Nikkes and humans? The fact that Mihara and Yuni have such powers when a Nikke's body is made to the host's specifications is...ominous, to say the least.

Mihara concedes that it *is* suspicious, but there is a reason for their abilities. Syuen *personally* crafted their bodies and the technology that went into them. Given the CEO's...*character*, it would be no surprise if she were to install functions without any input or consent from the recipient. With Anis conceding the point, Mihara asserts that Wardress has no agency over their powers or what they do with them. Syuen made them to capture Raptures, and that's what they'll do. Nothing more, nothing less.

Accepting the argument, Rapi readjusts the squad formations. Wardress will take point from now on, she refuses to entrust her back to a Nikke who doesn't even know herself. Mihara simply accepts the arrangement, continuing to follow Chatterbox's footprints

### Broken Traces

With the trail broken again, the protagonist is considering aborting the operation. They're going deeper and deeper into Rapture territory, and the Alva particle concentration is only getting higher. Just as he's about to call off the mission, his phone suddenly goes off, even though Syuen is *supposed* to be jamming communications...

The message is from Syuen herself, who demands he continue the operation. If not, she will submit documents that she *conveniently* found entailing the protagonist's plans to commit a terrorist attack. With the CEO's blackmail looming over his head, the protagonist has no choice but to proceed anyway...

## Character appearances

* Protagonist
* Rapi
* Anis
* Neon
* Mihara
* Yuni
* Chatterbox (***Debut; Mentioned***)
* Syuen