Grape

> *"Grape is a pretty good company"* *- Blue IV*
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Founded by Blue I long ago to "bless the world with great, easy to use and efficient technology for everyone". They have since moved to the New World, but their goal remains the same. Currently, the company is ran by Blue IV, Blue I's great-granddaughter.

## Major History

### Early History

Back in the Old World, Blue I got tired of low-quality companies mistreating their customers with terrible products and service. In that moment, he chose to forge a new company - one that "would treat its customers with the respect they deserve". And so he did, and Grape was born.

Alliances were quickly formed with many different companies - Hellco in particular, with them being stable partners ever since creation (no doubt in thanks to a personal friendship between Blue I and Bomber) - and quickly did Grape ascend to become a "top company" in Escape. A one-sided rivalry on SORA's part was made - for reasons Blue I did not seem to have, SORA stopped at nothing to be better than Grape, despite their being entirely different companies with entirely different businesses.

Early in the company's life, Blue I himself on an expedition discovered the mineral Grapite. Although not an expert in such fields, Blue I quickly identified Grapite as just what Grape needed: a rare mineral with the perfect properties for lightweight, quick devices. With this, he said "he could create technology far better than the competition". It was this that allowed Grape to "become *the* go-to technology company, and create an almost empire of sorts". Indeed, it would be easy for Grape to become a conquerer with all the information they had access to, but Blue I swore to never go this low, as it was what Grape was founded to fight against.

Eventually, Blue I passed on the company to his son, Blue II, thinking his job was done. Blue II was known for being more ruthless in business, but as with his predecessor he swore he would keep things ethical. But that didn't stop him from wanting to grow beyond what Grape already was.

Eventually Grape even controlled the economy itself, with Grapecoin, thanks to Blue II's efforts. This was short lived, as a meeting between Escape's top companies decided a neutral economy was better off. This brief leadership however taught Blue II that the economy *could* be subtly and legally manipulated to Grape's benefit. This led to Grape becoming the richest company the world had ever seen, even without the control they had.

### Citadel and Blue III

The family line continued, and with it did Grape evolve and create better products by slowly unlocking the potential of Grapite and other materials. It was during Blue III - the company's first female managing director, and the granddaughter of Blue I - running the business that Citadel came to be.

Blue III was always more perceptive than her predecessors, and when Citadel's first move was to slowly begin stealing Grapite (enough for a less perceptive one to believe that it was Grapite's natural decay) she quickly caught on and undertook protective measures.

Said protective measures, Blue III would later go on to say, "go against my late grandfather's wishes, however necessary they are." These measures were the creation of three special war machines - the Compact Tank, Windmaker Jet and the Monowings Fighter - using a specially modified form of Grapite.

These measures were however not enough to stop Citadel completely, and ultimately their creation Gohma, powered by Red Cataclysm III (of which Grapite was involved in the creation of) managed to destroy all of the old world. Although ultimately stopped by Blue III herself piloting the Monowings Fighter with the assistance of Hellco and even old rival SORA, Citadel's destruction meant that before long it was time to move on to a new location.

Blue III chose this time to pass the company along to her daughter (you can guess that her name is Blue IV), but wanted to ensure the continued survival of the new world, and insisted on the protection and further development of the war machines.

### A Whole New World

With assistance from FoxCo., Grape's new headquarters were made nearby the Lizzium Woods and its surrounding locations. Since then Grape has been trudging along the same path it once did under Blue I's lead.