Anchor/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Behind the Scenes

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Kim Chae-rin

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Bryn Apprill

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Hiyori Nitta

## Profile

Anchor is one the members of Aegis squad alongside Helm and Mast. She excels in surveillance and has a love for sea creatures, gaining for her notoriety for throwing starfish at someone's face. Unlike many Nikkes act in ways that normal people would, Anchor sees herself as an unfeeling machine with a hard exterior.

### Nikke Backstory

A Nikke from Aegis squad, who is passionate about marine life.
She is equipped with high-performance radar detectors inside her body, so she has made a significant contribution to the Admire's voyage and combat.

## Story

### Background

In her past life as a human, Anchor lived a sheltered life due to being both blind and unable to walk. Despite being confined to a wheelchair most of the time, she had an affinity for the sea. Despite her disabilities, she could swim very well and could sense things around her better than she could on dry land. This lead to her fondness to the organisms that lived underwater. Her dream was to join the navy rescue team and she became a Nikke to fulfill it.

### Event Story

Main articles: Brand New Year; Golden Ship; and Sea, You, Again

### Character Story

#### Episode 1 - I Like Them Because...

The commander receives a visit from Helm who has an issue she needs help dealing with. Though asking him for this favor will embarrass her for highlighting her weaknesses, she is left with no other option. Her request for him is to confiscate Anchor's collection of undersea invertebrates. While he is confused as to why she is asking this of him, she clarifies that she has no particular aversion to them as she wouldn't ask him for help if she did. As for why she's here now, Helm received a warning from the Wildlife Agency that all animals and plants must be overseen by the bureau, including marine organisms. Anchor collects sea creatures during her free time and has amassed a large menagerie. Though they were willing to ignore it for Deputy Chief Burningum's sake, things changed when a high-ranking VIP slipped on one of her starfish and took a bad fall during a recent party.

A complaint was filed as a result so the Agency is now on the Aegis leader's case. She has exhausted all other options including reminding them that the squad already has another animal with them, Mast's parrot Morgan. They are only allowed to keep him since he has the potential for some tactical uses, something Anchor's pets don't have. Helm tried to explain the situation to her subordinate, but she has been avoiding her for the past few days. Since she has a high-performance radar installed inside of her body, catching her by surprise is an arduous feat. The protagonist understands why Helm has now assigned him with dealing with this and though she feels like she's just shirking her responsibilities onto him, he assures her he's glad she came to see him since he is in charge of the both of them through the chain of command, this is his issue as much as it is Helm's. She thanks him for his assistance and admits that while it's rare for her to operate under someone else's orders, she finds it oddly comforting in a way. While not knowing exactly where Anchor is, Helm guesses she's probably at the pool where the Admire is stationed. She would offer to accompany him, but figures she wouldn't be very helpful but will remain on standby just in case. She hopes he will convince her to listen to reason.

At the pool, Anchor was telling a starfish she was caring for she detected Captain's presence about 55 meters out. While she isn't exactly aware as to why he's here, she suspects he and Helm are working together. Not sure what he has planned, she hides her collection for the time being and considers making a swift retreat if they need to. Not long after, the protagonist shows up curious as to what she is doing and she explains she is storing her marine life inside of a box. He offers to help and though she was surprised by this, she allows him to assist. After making some room, she hands him some gloves to protect himself from her more venomous pets (something she doesn't have to worry about as a Nikke) and the two silently organize the aquatic invertebrates into the box. Anchor explains that these creatures were collected from many places. These included from missions she undertook, were gifts from friends, or were given to her by the Scavengers.

She then introduces an innocuous-looking starfish the latter group acquired for her and offers to let him touch it. He notes it feels squishy and slippery and while she mentions that while not all starfish are like this, this one in particular is exceptionally malleable so she has a fondness for it. This is also why she likes sea cucumbers and sea squirts. The commander wants to understand why she likes soft things and while she has never pondered as to why that is, she rationalizes it to her being a machine with a hard exterior.

#### Episode 2 - Starfish and Machine Hearts

After sitting in silence for a bit, Captain still can't understand Anchor's reasoning. For one, he is surprised she would describe herself as "hard" when she is anything but and two, she likens herself as a cold, unfeeling robot but can express human emotions. To demonstrate the latter, he takes one of her starfish and plants it on her face. While she likes to be close up with them, she doesn't want them touching her face, something he feels is a normal response. True as that may be, Anchor feels she still lacks the sensations and emotions that most humans have. She inquires about which part of the human anatomy makes one the most human in which he responds by saying their heart. As a Nikke, her heart has been replaced with a mechanical core connected to cumbersome wires. In contrast to her, her pets are slick and shiny and since she feels that things with those characteristics are alive, that's why she likes them. After reasoning exchanging them for life-sized models wouldn't give her the same joy, he asks what she intends to do now the bureau is breathing down their necks.

For the time being, she's been hiding away but she fears that she's near her limit. To make matters worse, Anchor senses a member of the Wildlife Agency about 580 meters away. She wants to flee while she can, but the protagonist won't let her do that alone and wants to handle the box for her. He wants to convince her that giving her creatures to the bureau is a good idea, but assures her actually doing so will be a last resort. She optimistically takes that to mean he has other alternatives they can try in the meantime and after squeezing her shoulder, he assures her as such.

Having fled to the Ark and having managed to evade the agent, the two are at a loss as to what to do now. Anchor felt he would have had an idea of where to go since he wants to help her and thought the two would discuss how to solve this debacle. He determines his best option is to find something else she can enjoy instead of her marine life. After looking at her collection, she shares that she still has doubts about his plan, but is willing to follow the path ahead of them.

#### Episode 3 - Memories and Dolls

Their journey takes them to the Toy Store to meet with the Carronades Belorta and Mica. Old-Timer introduces the two to Anchor and proceeds to show the two her wildlife collection. Belorta in particular is intrigued by them seeing them as a means to prank people while Mica admits to not liking squishy things and is surprised Anchor is able to touch them. After putting them away to Belorta's dismay, he asks if the two have something that can conceivably replace them. Belorta figures some slime would do the trick and Mica went to get some.

Having brought out ooze in numerous colors, Mica allows Anchor to play with it. Deciding to test the rainbow-colored slime, she dips her hand inside and after playing with if for a bit, she feels indifferent to it. Though the slime feels similar to her pets, it's not nearly as moist nor can it move on its own. Mica had some other toys that can simulate actual locomotion and after some more searching, she brought over a cat toy that can walk on its own. Seeing as how popular it is, she thinks Anchor would probably like it too. She then proceeds to examine it and thoroughly touch it while it moves in her hand. She came to the conclusion that it moves too artificially to be alive and it feels too hard. Belorta was confused as to what the issue was and after the protagonist explains Anchor's situation, the two are still baffled. Belorta felt that despite the three Nikkes being mostly artificial, she herself feels she is a living being. Mica also adds the Carronades' personalities remain unchanged from when the two were human.

Anchor now believes that the way she feels is based on lacking memories from her human life. This catches Belorta and Mica off guard, but Captain assures them that it's rare for Nikkes to retain their former memories after being revived. The two apologize for making assumptions and she admits she felt they did nothing wrong and considers that not knowing about her past may be for the best if she led a horrible life. Belorta figures this obsession with aquatic invertebrates stems from her absent memories, comparing it to how Mica hasn't changed throughout her entire life. This would also mean that this has nothing to do with her having a mechanical core. The commander believes Anchor is feeling some sort of self-alienation because she has no connection to her past and the Carronades have nothing to replace her pets with. Since no progress has been made, the two leave to think of something else.

Captain ponders if their next move should be to help Anchor reclaim her memories as a human. While that may help her feel better, it may result in her unearthing some personal trauma that could cause more harm. He asks how the two should proceed now and she shares that so long as she doesn't separate from her creatures, she's willing to do anything. He then gets a message from Helm sharing that she's not having too much luck on her end trying to ease the worries of the Bureau. When she mentions she went to Elysion directly to get their help only to be lectured about how they can't get involved in her personal affairs, she gives him an idea as to how Anchor can regain some memories.

#### Episode 4 - Towards Deep Water

The two enter Elysion headquarters to seek Ingrid to help them reawaken Anchor's past. After the commander explains their situation to her, she shares that having her remember her origins will result in no definitive outcome. The end result will either help her feel more normal or can damage her mental health. Despite it being up in the air as to what will happen if she does remember something, the possibility of things going wrong suggests to Ingrid that this is something they probably shouldn't attempt. At worst, Anchor may experience a Mind Switch given her unique mental state. Anchor doesn't think that's going to happen despite her circumstances. To prove her point, she shares that the protagonist regularly administers mental health evaluations and if she were to ever fail one, she would've been sent straight to the Repair Center. Since her being here proves she is mentally fit and she's aware the Big Three trust the results of these examinations, Ingrid concedes her point and will help them should they want to proceed, though she reiterates that she doesn't recommend doing so. Despite the danger, the two decide to go through the operation and hopefully have Anchor unlock some of her forgotten memories. Seeing he has made up his mind, Ingrid knows it's futile to stop him.

She then explains that Anchor's conscious memories have been completely erased and in order to uncover those that remain in her subconscious, they need to put her in a situation where she can pull them out from. Having her experience something that has happened to her in her past would be their best option. Anchor feels just telling her about her origins would be a simpler alternative, but Ingrid warns doing so would increase her feelings of self-alienation. Since the two have no idea how to go about this, Ingrid heads to her office to read through Anchor's past records. After scanning through them, she discovers a pleasant one in particular that should be fine for her to restore. In order for her to reclaim it however, they need to change locations.

The three arrive at the pool the Admire is stationed in since Anchor seems to always have had an affinity for water. In order to get what they're after, they need her to reach the deepest part of the pool which is exactly where the ship itself is. Since a lot of water is needed to dock a battleship, it measures 20 meters straight down, a feat the protagonist finds impressive. It's too deep for humans to swim in, but the Aegis Nikkes can traverse these depths just fine. She also has a built in radar that beeps whenever it detects someone drowning so she can rush in to save them if needed. After he gives her a smile, her spirits become lifted.

At the docking station of the Admire, Anchor's next step is to jump right into the deep end. Ingrid figures diving from a higher altitude may yield better results. Captain realizes that the pool is much deeper than he thought and while Ingrid is giving the two one last chance to bow out, Anchor herself has no worries. Theoretically, she can remain underwater indefinitely unless something happens to her brain which in these depths, would occur after ten minutes. He still worries for her safety, but with her trusty radar, she can find her way back with no issues. Sensing her confidence, he decides to trust her. Before she takes the plunge, she gives him her aquatic invertebrates to look after while she's gone and orders him not to lose a single one, something he promises to do.

Anchor ascends to the top of the Admire. After taking five quick steps forward, she jumps off the ship and after some brief silence, a splash can be heard as she makes contact with the water below.

#### Episode 5 - Existence Defined

Having not returned to the surface yet, all the commander and Ingrid can do is wait and hope Anchor is okay. The former is nervous as to her current condition, but she figures that her not returning is not necessarily a bad thing since there is probably a reason for it since she would've risen to the surface after a few seconds under normal circumstances. He took this to mean Anchor was able to remember something and she also assumes that's what's happening. The outcome of what she uncovered is still unknown, but Ingrid feels that she may be feeling a major mental shock about now that she has to overcome on her own. Captain is willing to wait three more minutes for her, but Ingrid tells him to not dive in after her. She was created to function underwater while he would risk being sent to a watery grave.

Fully submerged, Anchor shakes off the impact of her dive and attempts to head back up for some air. Before she can however, a dark vision pops into her head. A concerned mother worries for her daughter who is both unable to walk nor can she see. She doesn't feel her daughter can swim in her condition, but she feels being blind grants her special sensory abilities few others possess, like using echolocation or radar. Anchor has no idea how to interpret this since she has never experienced either impairment and initially considers this a hallucination. As the scene continues, the daughter admits to feeling comfortable being in water to the point she can forget she has disabilities. She feels more alive swimming than bound to her wheelchair on land. The mother becomes shocked when results from the doctor came in. This memory proves to Anchor she always loved water and she also remembers her dream was to be part of a navy rescue team. In spite of her limitations, she was enamored with the world underwater, where she could swim. She grew jealous of the creatures that called this domain home for they were free while she was not and this led to her fascination with them, especially starfish.

Back on the ship, the protagonist is willing to wait one more minute until he dives in after Anchor. Ingrid has called in Helm and Mast should their squad mate need to be rescued but the two have yet to arrive. He fears they will fail to make it before she runs out of oxygen so Ingrid allows him to dive in, but reminds him he may end up drowning himself. Remembering Anchor can sense him with her radar, he heads to the shallow end of the pool and proceeds to jump with 30 seconds until her brain becomes compromised, confident she will rescue him in that time.

While still in her thoughts, Anchor's radar starts beeping upon Captain diving underwater to find her. While the beeping noise and her memories make her question how she lost her humanity, she realizes that her desire to save people makes her more human than her mechanical body made her believe. The protagonist manages to find her not long after and she extends her hand determined to save his life. In her care, the two return to the surface and they both take a big gasp of air. Ingrid was shocked to see them emerge from the pool and is frustrated since neither Helm nor Mast are here yet. As if on cue, the two appear and jump right in to save their friends. Once out of the water, Anchor asks to know if the protagonist is okay but he's more concerned about her. In place of an answer, she proceeds to envelope him in a tight embrace. She shares that while her heart might not beat, she still adores starfish and though she may be mostly made of metal, she still wishes to save people. It's because of this that she must continue to live. He's glad she seems to have discovered herself, but Ingrid takes this to mean she has no use for her sea creatures. Anchor feels that can't be further from the truth since they help to define her so she refuses to part with them. Ingrid reminds her that even as the head of Elysion, she is unable to help her deal with the Wildlife Agency as they are a part of the Central Government. Fortunately, Helm has some good news to share.

While the two of them were busy trying to shift the focus of Anchor's obsession, Helm has been speaking with members of different parts of the government hoping at least one will allow Anchor to keep her pets. While most were indifferent to her plight, the Merchant Union saw some benefit from this incident so they agreed to lobby the bureau on their behalf. They are interested in buying the rights to Anchor's character license, the Admire, all of her invertebrates, as well as anything else related to her. Everyone was surprised by this but Helm assured Anchor she no longer needed to hide and her creatures could stay with her.

Anchor is very happy to hear this and after she and Captain take another glance at the box with the marine organisms inside of it, he can tell that they are no longer diversions that she's attached to, but serve as a reminder of her resurrection and a testament to her being alive. She promises that whenever she has doubts about herself or her being, these creatures will help remind her of today. She now views life not in terms of what one is made of, but as the things that one does and who they surround themselves with. She assures the commander she considers him a very important person to her since he tried to save her. Though her heart doesn't beat, it will do so loud and clear for him in her mind. He then gives her a smile as a sign of gratitude.

## References

Notes

References
1. ↑ Anchor's character story."