Murderous Machines dominate planet Earth's surface, forcing most of Humanity to retreat to an underground city. The only glimmer of hope humanity has are the Nikkes, Goddesses of Victory who are super weapons given human form. However after over a hundred years of seemingly unending conflict, the human race has grown to view Nikkes as expendable. Hope is a funny thing, no matter how bleak a situation might be, Hope refuses to disappear. Perhaps there is still a bright future for Humans and Nikkes.

Beneath the war torn surface of planet earth, deep underground was a large city. One that housed the entirety of the Human Race within it.

This city was simply referred to as the Ark, the last safe haven the human race had. The Ark was controlled primarily by the three Manufacturers of Nikkes. Those companies in question being Elysion, Missilis, and Terra Line. The CEOs of these companies work closely with the military to ensure humanity has a chance at fighting against the Raptures. However no human civilization is free of corruption, the Ark is a flawed city that views the very soldiers fighting for survival as expendable tools. Despite this, there are those who still see the Nikkes as the Goddesses of Victory they were always intended to be. One young man in particular wished to help them in a more meaningful way.

Tetra Line HQ
Within the main headquarters of the Tetra Line Company, there was a room tucked away in the basement. Within the room sat multiple computer monitors and other pieces of technology strewn about on tables and desks, papers littering the room as well.

This was the Hiden Technological Development Lab or H.T.D.L for short, a smaller branch of Tetra Line that works primarily in maintaining the only remaining satellite humanity has. That satellite being named "There" it was launched days before the Raptures invaded Earth. The primary goal of this branch was to use the data There has stored over countless decades in hopes of improving the Ark or finding more effective ways in combating Raptures. This Branch however was rather small at the moment, only having two members.

????: For the life of me I still can't figure out where I'm going wrong.....

One such member was a young man sitting at the computer desk within the lab. He had medium length brown hair, gold eyes, and tan skin. He wore a white t-shirt, jeans, a pair of white sneakers, and a red hoodie tied around his waist.

This young man was Apollo Hiden, the son of Mustang, the Tetra Line CEO and Yoshino Hiden, the daughter of the CEO of the now defunct Hiden Intelligence, the largest tech company before the Raptures took over the surface. A frustrated expression was plastered across Apollo's face as he stared at the lines of code on his computer monitor, he had hit another dead end.

Apollo: What piece am I missing here? Did I mess up a line of code? Or is there a strand of data I need to include to get the program fully operational?

Apollo let out a frustrated sigh as he leaned back in his chair, staring at the lines of code, multiple errors in each. It was as if the it were taunting him, months of work and he still hadn't cracked the code on this project.

Apollo: I don't get it, I followed Grandpa's blueprints to the letter, yet something keeps jamming me up!

Apollo then let out a yawn, he hadn't slept in two days at this point. This project of his had been driving him crazy and made it hard for him to sleep at night.

Apollo: What am I missing here.......

????: Are those key things still driving you crazy?

Apollo spun his chair around to face the feminine voice that spoke from behind him. Standing there was a young woman with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. She wore a formfitting orange bodysuit with a white jacket. Strapped to her back with a strap was an assault rifle.

This young woman was Tove, a Tech Mechanic Nikke made by Missilis Industries and the second member of the H.T.D.L. She was assigned to act as Apollo's assistant after the CEO of Missilis had to apologize for an altercation between herself and Apollo.

Apollo: I'm so close, I can feel it. It's just every time I think I make progress, something pops up that sets me back a few steps!

Apollo ran his right hand through his hair as he grit his teeth, clearly annoyed over this entire situation. Tove walked up to Apollo a concerned look on her face as she cupped Apollo's head with her hands.

Tove: You got bags under your eyes again. Maybe we should take a break? I doubt you can think to the best of your abilities in your current condition.

Apollo: We're so close I know it! If we can put our heads together we might finally be able to complete the Progrisekey project my grandfather left behind!

An excited expression spread across Apollo's face, ever since he found his grandfather's blueprints he's been determined to complete them. Tove smiled at Apollo, she appreciated his optimistic and enthusiastic nature, even if it led to him doing some pretty reckless things.

Tove: I wanna know what these key things do just as much as you do. However as your assistant and bodyguard, it is my job to make sure you are taking care of yourself. So can you please take a break? Maybe take a nap?

Apollo sighed as he knew he wasn't going to be able to convince Tove to let him keep working. The young man then grabbed a rectangular object off his desk, it appeared to be made out of metal, but looked rather unassuming.

Apollo: I just have this feeling that grandpa left these blueprints behind to help us take back the surface from the Raptures is all. Maybe with the Progrisekeys, we might actually make some progress finally.

Tove: You really think they can help fight the Raptures? I think Nikkes are the best chance we have at taking those things down.

Apollo looked at Tove, a sympathetic look on his face.

Apollo: I know, but you girls have been risking your lives for way too long. It's about time someone figured out another way to combat those murderous tin cans.

Tove giggled at Apollo's words, truthfully she had been nervous when she obtained her position as his assistant. However she quickly learned the Heir to Tetra Line saw Nikkes as people, rather than tools of war.

Tove: You can't help anyone if you work yourself to exhaustion, now come on, let's get you something to eat and take you back to your room.

Tove gently pulled Apollo out of his chair and began leading him to the door to the lab. The young man simply let himself get pulled along by the Nikke, his mind still mulling over where he went wrong with the programming for the Progrisekey.

Three Days Later
Three days had passed, one of which was spent relaxing due to Tove insisting that Apollo take a day off from work. Now back in the swing of things, Apollo once again found himself staring at his computer monitor, finding himself in the exact same bind that he found himself in a few days prior.

Apollo: I don't get it, I managed to upload the combat data collected from the Operations on the surface to the program, but there are two missing pieces to the code preventing me from moving onto the next step......

Apollo leaned back in his chair, letting out a frustrated sigh as this roadblock in his progress had been driving him crazy for a little over a week at this point.

Tove: You said those two incomplete code strands were labeled as "DNA Sample" and "Ability" right? Do you think you have to pull from There's DNA Database and insert one?

Apollo spun his chair around to see Tove walking up to him a satisfied smile on her face, her left hand behind her back.

Apollo: How did maintenance on the on the Three Dimensional Printing System go?

Tove: Fully operational and operating like a dream. By the way, I was cleaning up some of cabinets. Look at what I found tucked away in our document cabinet~

Tove then pulled her left hand out from behind her back, clutched in it was a book, more specifically a Manga volume. The cover depicted a man in Grasshopper themed armor with a red scarf tied around his neck. The title "Kamen Rider" was written in big bold green letters at the top of the cover. Despite being in prescient condition, it was clearly old.

Apollo's eyes widened in shock as an embarrassed blush spread across his face and he nervously scratched the back of his head.

Apollo: O-Oh how did that get there?

Tove giggled at Apollo's embarrassed reaction. It was no secret to her that the Tetra Line Heir was a huge fan of superhero media.

Tove: Relax, you know I think your love of superheroes is endearing. Although I've never heard of this one. Kamen Rider? What's this guy's story?

Apollo's embarrassed grimace morphed into an excited smile when Tove asked him about the character.

Apollo: Kamen Rider is a Japanese superhero franchise that started in the seventies. The original story was about a young college student who gets captured by an underground organization bent on world domination. Turned into a cyborg against his will, he escapes and vows to fight the organization to prevent them from turning more people into monsters like he was.

Tove giggled as Apollo explained the plot to her, she always liked seeing Apollo get enthusiastic about a give topic.

Tove: I'm guessing you're a fan then?

Apollo: Big time! It's such a cool story, I mean this guy is turned into a monster against his will, but still chooses to fight to protect others! If that doesn't scream hero, I don't know what does.

Tove let out another giggle before looking at the cover a confused look quickly spreading across her face.

Tove: Why does he look like a giant bug? Kind of a creepy design choice for a superhero don't you think?

Apollo: That was intentional, the creator wanted to make a hero that looked monstrous, you know play into the theme of his humanity being stripped away from him. So he chose to base the design on a grasshopper.

Tove looked the cover over once again before an idea popped into her head.

Tove: Why don't you try entering grasshopper on the line of code labeled DNA Sample?

Apollo cocked his head to the side, surprised that Tove would suggest such a thing.

Apollo: You think that will work?

Tove shot Apollo a smile, giving a quick nod of her head.

Tove: Why not? Can't hurt to try right? Worst case scenario, it doesn't work.

Apollo thought it over for a moment before simply shrugging, the Nikke did have a point, there was no harm in giving it a go. Apollo spun his chair back around, once again facing the computer monitor. The young man clicked on the DNA Sample Code strand before typing in the word grasshopper before clicking enter. Suddenly the code strand lit up green, indicating it was complete. Apollo and Tove stared at the computer monitor, absolutely stunned that it had worked.

Tove: How about that, it actually worked......

Apollo: So the DNA Sample code is referring to animal DNA then. That means theoretically speaking any animal should work.

Tove however then focused her attention on the last line of red code in the program.

Tove: Then what could be the Ability? You think it's related to the animal in question?

Apollo remained silent for a moment, contemplating Tove's words as she might have a point. Apollo then began thinking of what ability a grasshopper could possibly have. It didn't take him long to reach a conclusion as he quickly typed the word "Jump" in the code strand labeled "Ability" causing it to light up green, the Progrisekey code was officially complete.

Apollo: How about that, the answer I was looking for this entire time was an animal and an ability it has.

Tove: So what happens now?

Apollo spun his chair around again, facing Tove with a smirk on his face as he held up the Blank Progrisekey.

Apollo: Now? We find out what a completed Progrisekey looks like.

Apollo quickly got up from his chair as Tove followed after him. The duo walked up to a large machine that appeared to be some kind of chamber.

This was the Three Dimensional Printing System, one of the last surviving pieces of technology from Hiden Intelligence. Apollo opened the door, walking into the Printing System before setting the Blank Progrisekey down on a platform in the center of it. The young man exited the machine, closing the door behind him before walking up to the device's control panel.

Apollo: Now if I upload the code we just completed and hit print, we should be good to go.

Apollo punched in the appropriate instructions before hitting the print button. Mechanical arms ejected from the walls within the Printing System, all of them extending towards the Progrisekey on the platform. Lasers were fired out of the arms as they began printing something onto the blank Progrisekey. After five minutes a loud ding was heard, indicating the process was completed.

Apollo: Alright, let's see if we actually pulled this off.

Apollo opened the door to the Printing System as he walked in and picked up the Progrisekey. It was now a yellow color with black and clear parts. It depicted a grasshopper on the side with "Rising Hopper" and "Ability: Jump" printed above the image of the grasshopper.

Apollo smiled to himself before walking out of the Printing System before holding up the Rising Hopper Progrisekey for Tove to see.

Apollo: We have a success!

Tove: Thank goodness! I was starting to get worried you'd tear all your hair out if we didn't figure out how to complete these things!

Apollo smirked at Tove's joke, after months of work, it felt good to finally have a genuine success.

Apollo: Phase One is complete, now we can start developing that other blueprint grandpa left behind.

Tove: Hopefully it won't take us three months how to properly program that design.

Apollo simply chuckled at Tove's words, honestly he didn't care if the next blueprint gave them trouble. To get this success already felt great to the young man.

One Week Later
A week had passed since the success of completing the code for the first Progrisekey and Apollo and Tove were more motivated then ever to complete the next project. Tove was currently typing away on the computer as she looked over the blueprint of a device that could utilize the Progrisekey's power.

Tove: Is everything running smoothly with the Three Dimensional Printing System?

Apollo was standing by the Printing System, peering through the window into the machine. A mechanical arm held a half formed device within it. It was made primarily of metal and seemed to vaguely resemble a belt buckle.

Apollo: So far so good, should be complete and fully operational in a few hours.

Tove: What exactly is this thing supposed to do? I know the Progrisekeys have functionality with it, but what does that entail?

A smile spread across Apollo's face as he watched the Printing System continue to construct the still unnamed device.

Apollo: It constructs combat armor onto the user, if I programmed it correctly, it should allow a human to combat Raptures with relative safety.

Tove stopped typing on the keyboard before spinning her chair around to look at Apollo in surprise.

Tove: Combat armor? I don't see how armor gives a human anymore of a chance against the Raptures even if it does protect them from their weaponry.

Apollo: It doesn't just offer protection you know, the armor is designed to enhance a human's physical abilities far beyond what should be possible. That should theoretically let a human go toe to toe with a Rapture. The file should still be on my laptop, give it a look.

Tove spun her chair back around and looked through the files on Apollo's computer, only to find one labeled "Project Kamen Rider" that was updated a few days ago.

Tove: You named the project after that superhero?

Apollo: I figured it was a good idea, I mean whether it was a stroke of luck or not, we would potentially still be beating our heads against the wall trying to figure out those two incomplete lines of code.

Tove rolled her eyes before opening the file, a blueprint for a suit of armor themed after a grasshopper was shown.

Tove: Trying to turn yourself into that hero you like so much?

Tove shot Apollo a quick teasing wink over her shoulder, earning a chuckle from the young man, who scratched the back of his head bashfully.

Apollo: Oh come on, everyone loves a good superhero! They are created to give people hope right? I'd say the people of the Ark are in need of some hope.

Tove: Only you would want to give the Ark a superhero. I bet you and the Leader of Matis would become best friends instantly!

Tove shot Apollo a teasing smile, which causes the young man to blush in embarrassment once again.

Apollo: Okay how about you stop teasing me for like five minutes and actually look at the statistics of the armor.

Tove let out a giggle before turning back towards the monitor, looking at the statistics of the armor. The Nikke's eyes widened immediately in absolute shock at what she was seeing.

Tove: Apollo, are these stats accurate? Or did you make this stat sheet to mess with me?

Apollo let a proud smirk spread across his face as he crossed his arms in front of his torso.

Apollo: Oh they're accurate alright, I spent three days optimizing the armor's capabilities. I didn't stop until I got the maximum power output in every field.

Tove leaned back in her chair, a stunned expression on her face.

Tove: Nikkes have superior physical abilities to humans, but you managed to create armor that lets a human possibly surpass a Nikke.

Apollo: If we want people to take this technology seriously, we need to show it can compete with the ladies that are the pinnacle of technological advancement.

Tove smiled at Apollo, an embarrassed blush spreading across her face.

Tove: Y-You and the sweet talking again! Honestly how have you not swept a lady off her feet yet?

Apollo: To busy trying to develop the Progrisekey system. That and I'm pretty sure my love of nerd culture would scare most girls off.

Tove rolled her eyes at Apollo's claim before she continued to type away on the keyboard.

Tove: One of these days I'm gonna set you up on a date with a girl.

Apollo: I'd prefer it if you stayed out of my love life.....

Tove giggled before sticking her tongue out at Apollo in a taunting manner.

Tove: Sorry, as your assistant and bodyguard it's my job to stick my nose in your business~

Apollo groaned in frustration, he should be used to that response at this point, it didn't make it any less annoying however. The young man turned his attention back towards the Printing System, watching it construct the device that would let him utilize the technology of the Progrisekeys.

Two Weeks Later
Apollo and Tove both walked through the door to the H.T.D.L, Apollo looked exhausted while Tove carried a briefcase with her, an unamused expression on her face.

Tove: You just had to push your luck didn't you?

Apollo: Alright, you've made your point. I'll have to tweak the power circulation of the armor to prevent fatigue.

Tove shot Apollo an annoyed glare

Tove: What do you can wear it for twenty minutes instead of ten?

Apollo shot Tove an annoyed glare, he understood where she was coming from, but at the same time he didn't need to be nagged about the fine tuning of his invention.

Apollo: Look the Ark wasn't built in a day, all scientific advancements take time. We'll crack the code, I'm certain of it.

Tove let out a frustrated groan at Apollo's words but nodded her head in agreement.

Tove: At least we completely fine tuned that briefcase weapon you designed. Seriously why did you insist it fold up into a briefcase?

Apollo: Conceal carrying obviously? You act like carrying a sword around in public wouldn't cause people to panic.

Tove shot the young man an annoyed glare, not appreciating his snarky tone. Before the duo could continue bickering however the door to the lab opened.

?????: Eeenntertainment!!!!!

Apollo groaned as he knew all too well who had just entered his lab. Tove let out a nervous giggle as she recognized that voice as well. The duo turned to see a tan skinned man with a stylish hair cut entered the room. He wore aviator sunglasses over his eyes, a bodysuit with a Diamond pattern, and a light fixture was attached to his back.

This man was Mustang, the CEO of Tetra Line and Apollo's father.

Apollo: Hey dad.....

Mustang immediately walked up to his son before quickly pulling him into a hug.

Mustang: Oh Mon Soleil, I apologize for not coming to visit in such a long time! The entertainment industry has been abuzz as of late! What with Volume and Noise having a joint concert approaching, I have been unfathomably busy!

Apollo: It's fine Dad, really. Tove and I have been plenty busy with developing the Progrisekey system.

Mustang looked at his son, a curious look in his eyes.

Mustang: So you've finally had a percée? What have you come up with Mon Soleil?

Apollo walked over to his computer before pulling up the schematic of the combat armor, along with the statistics. Mustang studied the computer screen closely, looking over the armor along with its combat parameters.

Mustang: How fantastique! Choosing a grasshopper for the aesthetic is a bold choice, but it looks merveilleux! Furthermore the combat capabilities it grants are nothing to scoff at. Have you tested it yet?

Tove: We just returned from the third test run of it. We're trying to fix the fatigue it causes Apollo when he uses it.

A contemplative look spreads across Mustang's face as he thinks over this information.

Mustang: Have you given it a proper combat test yet?

Apollo: No, only diagnostic tests. Kind of want to get the fatigue issue solved before doing any kind of combat training.

Once again a thoughtful look spreads across Mustang's face before he clapped his hands together, a confident smile spreading across his face.

Mustang: Very well, then once you find a solution to this issue. I expect you to contact me immediately. I will set up an exercise in the Simulation Room to fully test this armor's capabilities!

Apollo looked at his father, surprised that he was already on board with him using a still experimental suit of combat armor.

Apollo: You're surprisingly on board with this.

Mustang simply chuckled at his son's words before giving him a supportive pat on the back.

Mustang: Why would I not? You have your mother's fire Apollo and your grandfather's intelligence. It would be a sin to try and cage that! Now, I want you to finish tweaking this armor of yours. I expect a fantastique performance in the simulation room!

Mustang then quickly took his leave from the lab as Apollo and Tove looked at each other, both slightly taken aback by the Tetra Line CEO's words.

Tove: So what do we do moving forward?

Apollo: We fix the fatigue issue then we perform a proper combat test in the simulation room like dad suggested.

Tove nodded as she immediately got to work, Apollo walked over to the computer and sitting down. Truthfully part of him was excited to get his dad's approval, another part of him however was worried that the armor could potentially be a failure. The young man let out a sigh before shaking his head, he couldn't dwell on stuff like that right now. This armor could give the Ark new hope, he wasn't about to get cold feet right before taking the final leap.

So Apollo with the help of Tove has developed a new technology that could help in the battle against the Raptures. Now the reason I picked Tove despite not being a Tetra Line Nikke is due to her talent with technology. Plus she will be joining a Tetra Line Squad later on.

Now do you think Mustang should have a Nikke Squad come to the Simulation Room to support Apollo during the simulation?

As always leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments! What awaits Apollo in the Simulation Room? Will his combat armor prove to be a resounding success? Will the armor crash and burn terribly? Will the Ark be given hope in the form of a new hero? Find out in the first Key of Goddess of Victory Nikke: Progrise To Victory!