WARNING!: The following is a fanfiction based on the Nikke: Goddess Of Victory universe; as such I do not own these characters & this is not an official story. These parts are SFW.

Caught In Another World: A Nikke Parallel Universe Story

Halo Sixteen: The Aftermath... RIOT MAKERS

Months after that first fateful night in the church, the day came when the Ark's top brass grew suspicious of Andersen's clockwork disappearances. I first became aware of it when I was suddenly called into a conference room with Deputy Chief Burningum and Elysion's CEO, Ingrid. Somehow, I knew exactly what they wanted before they even uttered a word. As they explained the situation to me a dull thrum echoed throughout my head, quietly at first and then steadily growing into a loud roar. He's completely unreachable one night a month on the full moon... reports of him sighted at the Outpost late at night... does not confide in us like he used to... suspicious activity... possibly a Pilgrim... scandal that could rock the Ark... serious offense... a high-ranking official doing so is far worse... he is fond of you, he won't suspect you... spy on Andersen for us, Commander?

I acted surprised, as if all of this was completely new to me. I tried to joke with them about the possibility of him being a werewolf, but they were too resolute to be moved by humor. Apparently there were hushed yet boisterous conversations between the maids who had seen him visiting the Outpost's hotel with an unknown "Mystery Nikke", and then the rumor spread to Privaty, which meant it promptly reached the Central Government's ears. They even showed me pictures taken by the maids of him wearing plainclothes outside the hotel's elevator, luckily sans Rapunzel— only a single tuft of golden hair and one of her glass-like stilettos appeared at the bottom of one of the images. While the maids adoringly referred to it as "the princess shoe", Ingrid and Burningum saw it as the only identifiable evidence in their case to be made against Andersen. I concealed the fact that I just couldn't understand why something like a human-Nikke relationship would be so illegal in a deputy chief's private life.

I had agreed to do the job, of course— how could I not?— yet as soon as I exited the building I pulled out my phone and texted Andersen: They're onto you.

What evidence do they have?, he texted back.

Nothing substantial, but they're watching. Just don't get caught.

Just don't get caught. The words blared out from the phone screen and bored into Andersen's eyeballs like laser beams. He had been meeting Rapunzel at the Outpost's hotel at least once a month for nearly a year, and they were expecting to meet there again the next evening. He had thought they were doing a good job of keeping their relationship a secret, but then again the Central Government was known to have eyes and ears everywhere. Who saw us, when and how?... Well, what's done is done. I need to contact Rapunzel before they tap my communications.

A knock came at the door to his office before he even had the chance to pull up the appropriate message thread. "Come in," Andersen called out as he put his phone away and established his baseline pokerface. To his chagrin Ingrid came sauntering inside with an air of arrogance he knew would not bode well for him.

"Care to make a confession?," she asked smugly, her eye contact unwavering.

"Why on earth would I confess to you?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Andersen. I know all your secrets. And I'll find out about this new one soon enough."

"I haven't the slightest idea of what you're talking about, Ingrid."

"The Mystery Nikke, the one you take to that seedy hotel once a month. Who is she? Is she a Pilgrim?"

"Hmm, doesn't ring a bell. Perhaps your intel is wrong."

"Like hell it is! I've got photographic evidence that puts you at the scene!"

"Why are you being like this? I don't stalk you in your private life."

"Have you forgotten what the punishment is for human-Nikke interrelations on your level? Your behavior is hardly appropriate for a Deputy Chief of the Ark."

"So that's what this is for? You're worried I'll be punished again? I can handle my own affairs, thank you very much."

"Dammit, Andersen! You used to fuck ME! Why do you need to go sneaking off with a Nikke when you have a perfectly good human being standing right in front of you?"

"Because we tried, and things didn't work out between us. It just wasn't meant to be."

"She's a machine! You don't belong with her! She can't love you, and she can't give you children!"

"None of those things are true and you know that."

"Oh, you just don't learn, do you? You're going to end up in the Pit of The Gulag again at this rate."

"I told you never to mention that place to me ever again."

"Well if your ears are closed, then so are mine. Perhaps you would be willing to listen if SHE were to end up there instead of you."

"...You can't be serious."

"Who says I'm joking? You know what I'm capable of."

"To permanently ruin a life because of, what? Jealousy? That's hardly appropriate behavior for a CEO of Elysion."

"Don't you try to turn the tables on me! You're the one breaking the deep law!"

Andersen slammed his hand on his desk with a bang. "I've had enough of this nonsense. I want you to leave. We will discuss this later."

"We will discuss this now. Because if we don't, I may just call Extrinsic, and have them take care of your little mystery mistress for me."

"Ingrid, no..."

"After all, only an Irregular Nikke would eschew her duty to humanity in favor of pursuing her own romantic interests with a human. And not just any human, but a politically powerful one such as yourself. I think the Judges would find such motivations rather suspicious for a Pilgrim, don't you?"

"You wouldn't dare do something like that..."

"Oh, but I would. I didn't build the Pilgrim Tower for you so you could FUCK them!!" Ingrid yelled contemptuously, upending the desktop until the computer fell with a crash at Andersen's feet. "I made it for you so you could try to find your old squadmates! Well, I won't be made a fool of. If you don't want the situation to get ugly, then I suggest you cut things off with her while you still can. Do it tomorrow, and nothing unfortunate will have to happen. That favorite commander of yours will be watching you like a hawk on my behalf, so don't even try to pull a fast one on me."

Ingrid walked to the door to leave, but stopped within the threshold and turned back. "It would be an awful shame if you had to spend the rest of your limited days rotting in the same hellhole you fought so hard to escape from all those years ago." With those words hanging in the air like a fog of poison, she slammed the door behind her, leaving Andersen alone in his office with his troubled thoughts.

This is quickly spiraling out of my control... I have to contact Rapunzel, even if my lines are tapped. She can't go to the hotel anymore. I can't let them get ahold of her.

"Damn you, Ingrid," he muttered beneath his breath as he drew his phone from his pocket and clicked on Rapunzel's thread. No more hotel rendezvous, it's too dangerous. Meet me instead at dusk where it all began. Be careful.

Are you safe?, she texted in return.

Yes. But we can't talk here. I'll tell you later.

Andersen paused to think for a moment, glancing angrily at the crumpled heap of electronics Ingrid threw in a fit upon the ground. He then pulled up another thread on his phone and began to type. We need to talk about your newest assignment. Come to my office, ASAP.

Halo Seventeen: The Aftermath... CHORALONE

I.

As nighttime crawled across the Dome Of Eternity's cybernetic sky, a velvet-cloaked figure ascended the steps of the Outpost's church and hastily entered through its massive doors. Upon seeing only a scant number of people praying inside, Rapunzel lifted back her hood and made her way into an available confessional booth, where she held her rosary and knelt to pray. "Forgive me, please... forgive me for falling in love with a human instead of remaining chaste. I didn't mean for things to end up like this, but it happened, and... I don't feel any regrets at all. I'm sorry for not being sorry enough. Please forgive me for my impudence..."

She wasn't sure at first, but she thought she could hear a familiar voice begin to pray on the other side of the confessional's latticed opening. "...I've fallen in love with a Nikke who isn't you, and we are building a life together that you and I could only dream of. I'll never forget you or the time that was stolen from us, but please, forgive me for moving forward without you, my dear Lilith..."

"Andy?" Rapunzel whispered cautiously. A small door on the other side of the latticework slid open, revealing Andersen on the other side of the confessional window.

"Yes it's me, darling. You can relax."

"What is happening? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. But we've been compromised. They haven't identified you yet, but things are escalating more quickly than I ever imagined they would."

"Do they know that we're married?"

"Not at all. And I'm certain they don't know we're expecting, either. But they're eager to find out, so we must move very carefully."

"Will we have to stop meeting each other?" Rapunzel asked sadly as she placed her fingertips upon the latticework.

"We will never stop meeting each other." Andersen placed his fingertips upon hers, silently lamenting at the screen keeping them apart. "I made a promise to you, Rapunzel, and I will do everything in my power to keep that promise, no matter what comes our way."

A smile spread across Rapunzel's lips as she gently wiped a tear from her eye. "Where will we go now?," she asked.

"I've prepared accommodations for us in advance just for this occasion. I have a Nikke-friendly vehicle out back, I'll take you there."

"Andy?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Kiss me, please. I can't wait another minute. I don't care if there's a divider between us."

Without any hesitation Andersen leaned forward to kiss the partition just as Rapunzel did the same on her side. As she pulled away she realized she left a slight lipstick print upon the latticework, but she just couldn't bring herself to wipe it off.

"I'll give you a proper kiss once we get there," he whispered lowly, "but we must leave now. Follow me, and keep your face down..."

II.

The two lovers left the confessionals and made their way to the back of the church together, where Rapunzel experienced a sense of déjà vu as Andersen held a door ajar for her. In the parking lot he opened the car door and surveyed their surroundings while she took her seat, then climbed into the driver's side and started the engine. "If we didn't have to keep such a low profile, I would have preferred to chauffeur you in a more zippy automobile. A drive around the Ark in my coupe this time of night is quite the splendid experience."

"It sounds amazing! But you know missing out on such things doesn't bother me. All I want is to remember every last moment spent with you."

"I know my dear, it's just that... you deserve so much more than I can offer you in the midst of all this secrecy. In another world, we could walk down Royal Road together and no one would bat an eye. Our marriage could be legally binding. Our child's existence wouldn't have to remain hidden in a world where Nikkes can enjoy full reproductive rights. But..."

"But we don't live in that world, my love."

"...Does it not bother you?"

Rapunzel shifted in her seat to better face him but did not immediately answer his question. "When we first started talking about marriage, do you remember what I asked of you?"

"You said 'a bird and a fish may fall in love, but where will they make their home?' You were concerned about how our worlds would collide, and whether matrimony would interfere with our separate duties. I remember like it was yesterday."

"And we've found our home, against all odds, in the spaces where water and air exist together! I would be lying if I said that I don't want to live in the world you've described. Such a world would be a wonderful place to live in. But we're together, here, now, in this world, not that one... so long as we continue making new memories together, that's all that matters to me."

Andersen took his eyes off the road for a moment in order to glance sympathetically at his wife. "You're still concerned about our one-year anniversary coming up, aren't you?"

"Of course I am. I'll have to delete every bit of our first night in the church. I won't be able to remember how we met each other again. And as time goes on, I'll remember even less of our time with each other. So... we have to keep making new memories together."

"And we will. I'll remember everything for you, and I'll tell you about it whenever you wish. But I don't think that's all you're worried about... is it?"

Rapunzel fell silent and stared despondently out the window. "I'm afraid there will come a day when you won't be around to tell me anymore. And then eventually, I won't be able to remember our time together at all." Hot tears welled up in her eyes, but she did her damnedest not to let him see them.

Still, he knew they were there.

"Now Zel, what makes you think such things? You talk as though there isn't any fight left in me."

"I know you're dying, Andy!" Rapunzel practically exploded with emotion, despite her best efforts to remain calm. "I've seen you getting sick. You try to shield me from the truth, but you can't hide it from me forever. What they did to you in that prison is killing you, and you don't have any idea how much time you actually have left."

Andersen sighed, but said nothing as she looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks in rivers. Hers were the saddest blue eyes he had ever seen since the last day he saw Liliweiss.

"Well? Am I wrong?" Rapunzel cried with urgency.

"No, you're not wrong. But you're not entirely right, either. None of us know how much time we have left, Rapunzel. I've surpassed more expiration dates than I can remember, and I'm still here."

Andersen tightened his grip upon the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "I simply cannot allow the bastards to get me down. I promised you I would be with you until the very end, and I will. Together we will find a way to raise a child that will carry both our memories forward into the future, a child that could end up seeing humanity's return to the surface one day. Like you said, we are living in this world, not a perfect one, so we have to make the best with what we've got. If the day comes when I can't remind you of our time together, then our child will be the one to remind you of it instead. So you see, darling... you will always have a part of me with you, no matter what happens."

With that said, Andersen laced his fingers into her own, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze as if to silently say please don't worry anymore my love, for everything will be just fine, because we are together right now.

Rapunzel wiped away her tears with a sniffle and smiled gratefully. "We really are lucky to be able to create new life together, aren't we?"

"Yes, we really are. Since this technology is so malfeasant, it is utterly clandestine, meaning most Nikkes will never know it even exists and will therefore never have a shot at motherhood. I do not understand why so many people are threatened by the very concept of Nikke reproduction via stem cells, considering the dire straits ensnaring humanity..."

"I know why."

"Do you? Then please, enlighten me."

"It's because we're not considered human. We're killing machines, not birthing machines."

Andersen's pokerface contorted into a grimace. "Grr, like nails on a chalkboard... I hate hearing you say things like that."

"But you know that's how most people see us. And besides, humans want babies that are made the natural way, from other humans."

"Except when they can't do it the natural way, in which case the wealthy are more than happy to consider Nikkes as secret birthing machines..."

"Yes, but even in those circumstances, the genetic material comes from two human beings, and the Nikke involved is simply an incubator."

"That's not right, though. Every Nikke has a human brain. That fact alone should be enough to consider Nikkes human beings as well."

"It should be enough, but it often isn't. There's too many differences between humans and Nikkes for the two to be considered the same. We're made of metal, not flesh. We can thrive in harsh environments and run for miles without tiring. We can live for centuries on very little food. Some Nikkes even have the memory capacity to remember everything. And there's something else, too."

"What is it?"

"Humans believe they were made in the image of God. And Nikkes were created in the image of humans. Because of that power imbalance, we will never be considered as existing on the same level... But you knew all of this already, didn't you, darling? There was no need for me to enlighten you at all."

"I knew," Andersen replied dryly, "I was hoping you didn't, though."

"You prefer me to remain ignorant?"

"I prefer you to remain happy."

"And I AM happy, more so than I've ever been in my entire life. I have you to thank for that!" Rapunzel smiled broadly and gave his hand a gentle squeeze as if to silently say please don't worry anymore my love, for everything will be just fine, because we are together right now.

Upon looking at her face, Andersen couldn't help but sport a smile himself. "We're almost there," he declared, "and fortunately for us, I don't think we were followed. Still, though, we should both remain vigilant until we are safely inside."

"An ounce of prevention..." Rapunzel began, slipping the hood of her domino over her head.

"...Is worth a pound of cure," Andersen finished, narrowing his eyes as he stared intently into the rear-view mirror.