Narrator:After Nikolai received a total of 10 indirect shots to the chest. He was taken to the hospital, wondering how he's still alive.
*A few hours after he went to sleep, he woke up again. He saw the Counters huddled around him*
Rapi:"Commander Nikolai..."
Anis:"He's not going to...die is he?"
Neon:"Come back, master Nikolai! my fellow lover of firepower!"
Anis:"That's why you care about him?!"
Neon:"Of course, he appreciates the greatness of firepower. I don't want him dead either!"
Nikolai:"Can you two please calm down? I'm not dead, ok?"
*All three of them are shocked by Nikolai's sudden wake, and they all hugged him*
Rapi, Anis, and Neon:"Nikolai!"
Nikolai(mind):Huh...this is new. They've never hugged me before...maybe I should get injured more often.
Rapi:"We were so worried."
Anis:"Don't scare us like that again!"
Neon:"I thought you would leave us forever!"
*Neon cried onto Nikolai's covers, and then gave him so space*
Rapi:"What happened to you?"
Nikolai:"Huh? Well...it's a long story, but in short, it's Syuen's fault."
Anis:"Syuen did this to you?! That nasty little-"
Neon:"Why would she harm a commander?!"
Nikolai:"Well...I was trying to stand up for Yuni and Mihara. They were being abused by her, so I decided to step in. She ended up getting angry at me, and shot me 10 times in the chest."
Rapi:"Wait, 10 times?"
Anis:"Really?! How are you still alive?!"
Neon:"Amazing, master Nikolai. Only a true firepower enthusiast can withstand more shots than the average human!"
Anis:"That's not how that works!"
Rapi:"It's a miracle that you're still alive."
Nikolai:"Yep, Pepper told me that my heart stopped at one point."
Anis:"How are you still alive?!"
Neon:"Not even a heart attack can take you down!"
Rapi:"I think something's strange about you, Nikolai. That's probably why 10 shots to the chest didn't kill you."
Nikolai:"So there was something that saved me? What though?"
Rapi:"I'm not sure."
Anis:"Forget about that, I'm ready to deal a little payback for Syuen."
Nikolai(mind):Ugh...I want to as well, but...
Nikolai:"What do you think is going to happen if we attack her?"
Rapi:"Nikolai will be dismissed from the Ark, and arrested for harming a higher-up. Worst case, he could get executed."
Nikolai(mind):Thanks Rapi, but that's a bit too depressing to think about. I guess I just have to accept Syuen for now.
Nikolai:"I can't just stand back and watch any of you be abused by her though."
Rapi:"Yuni and Mihara are constantly abused by her. They're nothing but punching bags to her."
Nikolai:"Seriously?!"
Nikolai(mind):Damn it, I have to get them out of her grasps somehow? Ugh...even if I ask for them to join my team, that wouldn't stop Syuen from continuing to hurt them. In fact, that'll probably make things worse.
Nikolai:"I..."
Nikolai(mind):What can I do?
Neon:"Master Nikolai?"
Nikolai:"What's up, Neon?"
Neon:"I have an idea!"
Nikolai:"What is it?"
Neon:"How about they give you their contracts?"
Nikolai:"I've already thought about that, but Syuen could still hurt them."
Rapi:"Actually, no she can't. Neon's right, they could hand you their contract. Syuen won't be able to hurt them anymore because they wound be yours."
Nikolai:"Really? It's that easy?"
Rapi:"Yeah, those are the conditions of a contract."
Nikolai:"Huh...I guess it's that easy."
Nikolai(mind):Then the only challenge is to get Mihara's and Yuni's contract. I wonder if I could just ask them.
*Nikolai heard a knock on the hospital door, and Pepper entered the room*
Pepper:"Oh, Nikolai. You're awake."
Nikolai:"Yep, and I'm feeling fine."
Pepper:"That's great! You should still rest for one more day before we release you."
Nikolai:"Huh? Well, ok then."
Anis:"We'll leave you to rest then. See you later, Nikolai."
Neon:"Get better, master Nikolai. We'll talk about more firepower later."
Rapi:"Good luck with Yuni and Mihara, commander Nikolai."
Nikolai:"Haha, bye. See you soon."
*Everyone left the room, and Nikolai laid in his hospital bed. After a while, he fell asleep*
???:"Commander Nikolai?"
*Nikolai woke up to see Pepper and Mary in his room*
Pepper:"Good morning, Nikolai!"
Nikolai:"Morning, Pepper. Good morning, Mary."
Mary:"Good morning, commander Nikolai."
Nikolai:"I guess I'm getting released today, right?"
Pepper:"That's correct!"
Mary:"Please take better care of yourself, ok?"
Nikolai:"Ok, I'll get ready to leave now."
*Nikolai slowly got out of his hospital bed, and left the room. He went to his dorm, changed clothes, and walked back outside*
NIkolai:"What now?"
Nikolai(mind):Hmm...wait, I haven't checked up on Diesel and Soline lately. I'll go check on them.
*Nikolai headed over to the train station, but he couldn't find anyone there*
Nikolai:"Huh...I guess I'll just wait until the train arrives."
*Nikolai sat down on the bench, and waited for the train to arrive at the station. When the train arrived, Nikolai saw a few commanders walking out of the train, but no Diesel or Soline*
NIkolai(mind):Huh? Are they not inside?
*Nikolai went inside the train, and looked through each cart, but still couldn't find them. He also noticed that nobody was on the train with him*
Nikolai:"Where the heck are they? Well, I should get off before the train start-"
*Nikolai suddenly falls over, and noticed the train in-motion*
Nikolai:"Huh?! It's already moving?!"
Nikolai(mind):Shoot, what do I do now?!
*Nikolai pushed himself to the front cart, and noticed someone in the conductor cart*
Nikolai:"Wait, is that a conductor? Is someone driving this?"
Nikolai(mind):I didn't know that this train was piloted, I thought it was all automatic.
*Nikolai knocked on the door to the cart, and the woman inside went to open the door*
???:"For the last time, Diesel. I'm not taking a break-"
*Nikolai saw a woman with short white hair, and blue eyes on the other side of the door*
Nikolai:"Uh...hello."
???:"Sorry, no one except staff is allowed past this point."
Nikolai:"Huh? W-Wait, what if I know some of the staff?"
???:"That's still a no."
*The woman closed the door, and continued driving the train*
Nikolai:"Huh..."
*Nikolai sat at a nearby chair. After a while, he knocked on the conductor's door again*
???:"What do you want?"
Nikolai:"I'm no asking to go in. I want to know where Diesel and Soline are."
???:"Ugh...they went on their break. Look, they aren't here, so you can get off on the next stop at Royal Road."
Nikolai:"Ok then..."
*Nikolai sat down at the same chair*
Nikolai(mind):I guess coming here was a mistake. Had to deal with a rude conductor.
Nikolai:"Ugh...Royal Road, huh?"
Nikolai(mind):The biggest mall in all of the Ark. so many different shops with so many different items for sale. Maybe spending time there won't be too bad.
*Nikolai heard a knock from the conductor's door, and saw the woman waiting there*
???:"I apologize if I was being rude to you earlier, I've been working nonstop and with no coffee for two days.
Nikolai(mind):Dang right you were rude!
Nikolai:"It's fine, I'm used to mean people."
???:"I know that a cold tone should never be shown to a commander by any Nikke, so please forgive my rudeness."
Nikolai:"It doesn't matter to me. It's fine, seriously."
???:"...I'm Brid, I'm the conductor of this train. If you know Diesel and Soline, that must mean you're their commander, right?"
Nikolai:"Yep, name's Nikolai. Nice to meet you."
Brid:"Likewise, now I must get back to work. My apologies."
Nikolai:"It's fine. Wait, you've been working two days straight with no coffee?!"
Brid:"That's right."
Nikolai:"What if I get you a coffee?"
Brid:"You don't have to, I can survive until my morning break."
Nikolai(mind):Morning break? It's only noon. She's not going to last that long.
Nikolai:"How about this, if I get you a coffee at Royal Road, and come back in time, I'll get to hang out in the conductor room."
Brid:"That's impossible. The time-frame at stops is a minute."
Nikolai:"You never know, I could find a convenience store coffee machine and pay for it very easily."
Brid:"..."
Nikolai:"Oh, I almost forgot. Would you like any sugar or milk in it?"
Brid:"Ugh...just black coffee, please."
Nikolai:"Ok then."
Nikolai(mind):Ew, but I guess it makes things easier.
*Nikolai readied himself, and saw a huge crowd of people on the other side of train doors*
Nikolai(mind):Oh boy, here we go!
*Nikolai started a mental timer, sprinted off the train, and managed to squeeze through the crowds of people getting on the train. He went to the closest convenience store in the Royal Road, and got a plain coffee. With thirty seconds left, he paid for the cup, and sprinted back towards the train station*
Nikolai(mind):5...4...3...2...1!
*Nikolai managed to squeeze through the closing doors with the coffee still in his hands*
Nikolai:"Phew...hah...hah..."
*Nikolai carefully moved to the front of the train, while trying not to bump into people and spill the coffee. He knocked on the door, and Brid's eyes widened when she saw him*
Nikolai:"Hah...hah...here you go. 1 black coffee, in 1 minute, and it costed 1 dollar."
Brid:"..."
Nikolai:"Um...hello? Brid?"
Brid:"I'm sorry, you can come in now."
Nikolai:"Sweet!"
*Nikolai smiled as he walked into the conductor's room*
Narrator:I'm surprised that Nikolai was able to do all that within a single minute. Find out what he will do in the conductor's room...next time!
Hey bros, it's me, the author! Get ready for a couple more chapters of Nikolai just hanging out with new characters, because I don't know where to take this story for now. In-game wise, I'm waiting for Helm's Swimsuit variant to be released so I can roll for her, and I'm still slowly progressing in the main story. Other than that, I have nothing else to report, here's the meme of the week:
After all this time, finally...I'll see you guys next time!