Narrator:This story follows a boy named Nikolai Rolan. He recently turned 18, and was about to decide what career to go into. He said his goodbyes to his family before he headed off into the world.

Nikolai:"Alright, let's see what the city has for me."

*Nikolai wonders through the city looking for any employment signs, entertainment shows, or anything that piques his interest.*

Nikolai:"This city really has it all. Everything except a job for me."

*He bumped into a man in a military uniform, and apologized*

Nikolai:"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you there."

Man:"Ugh...it's fine, but you should be more careful, got it? Especially with all that luggage you have."

Nikolai:"Y-Yes sir."

Man:"Now get out of my way."

*Nikolai then noticed a girl at the man's side. She looked back at Nikolai, and bowed to him*

???:"I'm very sorry for bothering you."

Nikolai:"Oh, it's fine."

Man:"Hey! Don't try and make me look bad."

*The man ordered the girl, and she immediately backed away from Nikolai*

Nikolai:"Wait...is this girl a-"

Man:"A Nikke, you must've seen them before. Men in the military get access to these weapons all the time. However, a commander like myself can keep a Nikke for himself. Kind of like a trophy or something."

Nikolai:"I-I see."

Man:"Now leave me be, I'm wasting enough time already."

*The man and the girl walk along, leaving Nikolai alone*

Nikolai(mind):That girl seemed nice, but she's a weapon? Why did the man call her a trophy? That's no way to treat a human, even if they are a weapon.

*Nikolai continued along, and entered a part of the city where he saw more military men with Nikke. He noticed that none of the Nikke were smiling, which made him feel sad*

Nikolai(mind):These girls are with someone that they've probably known for a while, but they aren't enjoying their time with them? Did something happen to these girls?

*Nikolai continued, then saw a military propaganda poster on a billboard. He was stopped and asked multiple times to join the army, but he rejected every time*

Nikolai(mind):I never wanted to join the army. The whole point of the military is to fight off the enemy for our freedom, yet nobody in the military has the freedom to do what they want.

*Nikolai stayed hidden, then saw an elevator labeled 'off-limits'. However, it looked functional. He saw a group of Nikke walk into the elevator, and it took them up into the sky*

Nikolai:"Where does that elevator go?"

Nikolai(mind):Did the elevator just disappear into the sky?! What happened to the girls in it?! Are they ok?

*The elevator came back down, with nobody inside it. Nikolai looked around to see if anyone was going to enter it, then he sneaked into the elevator, and closed to doors. The elevator then took Nikolai into the sky. Once Nikolai was past the clouds, everything went dark*

Nikolai(mind):Wait, is this thing even safe? I just went in to see if the girls were safe. Where is this taking me?

*The elevator continued, and Nikolai saw a whole other world outside. The sky was cloudy, everything was in ruins, and robotic creatures inhabited every corner of the environment. The entire place was breathtaking to Nikolai*

Nikolai(mind):What is this?! This is like something out of a game! This was above the sky?!

*The elevator stopped and Nikolai exited. The elevator immediately closed, and went back. Nikolai saw the elevator leave into a hole in the ground*

Nikolai(mind):This whole place is above the world. Where the hell am I?!

*Nikolai wondered around the area, and noticed all the ruins were covered in moss*

Nikolai(mind):This stuff kind of looks like grass, but it's sticking to the surface.

*Nikolai snapped back to reality when he heard a gunshot that scared him*

Nikolai:"What was that?"

Nikolai(mind):That sounded like gunfire, is there a fight happening? I should probably call the elevator back.

*As Nikolai pushed the button for the elevator to come back, he suddenly saw something heading towards him. It was a robot creature, going full speed at him*

Nikolai(mind):Uh...this elevator needs to go faster!

*Nikolai spammed the elevator button as the robot creature came closer and closer*

???:"Civilan detected, don't let it get to him!"

*Nikolai heard gunfire, then an explosion. The robot creature that was running towards him had turned into pile of metal parts*

Nikolai(mind):Phew, now who the heck was that?

???:"Hey, you! You're not allowed to be on the surface!"

Nikolai:"Huh?"

*Nikolai looked up, and saw a girl heading towards him. She stopped a few yards away and aimed her assault rifle at him*

???:"State your name!"

Nikolai:"Ah! N-Nikolai, Nikolai Rolan. What is happening?! I just went into this elevator, and now I'm here!"

*The girl lowered her gun*

???:"You must have accidentally wondered on up to the surface, but how...doesn't matter. The elevator shall take you back underground,"

Nikolai:"U-Underground?! Wait, the world where I grew up in is underground?!"

???:"Indeed, you need to go back underground, you are safe there. Ah!"

*Suddenly, the ground started shaking as a giant robot creature landed in front of the elevator. The girl took Nikolai, and put him behind some fallen debris*

???:"Enemy detecting...engaging!"

*The girl aimed and fired her assault rifle at the giant robot*

Nikolai:"W-What is that thing?!"

???:"It's called a Rapture. They are robotic monsters that kill humans and Nikke. Humanity is at war with these, the raptures stole the surface from humanity, so we fight to take it back."

Nikolai:"I see. What are the chances of surviving?"

???:"It depends on the type of Rapture it is, but our probability of surviving this are low."

Nikolai:"Y-You're kidding, right?! Oh god, I don't wanna die here!"

*The rapture rushed towards them. The girl grabbed Nikolai, and ran towards another area for cover*

???:"Listen, I'm going to distract it. You take the elevator and leave."

Nikolai:"O-Ok...Huh? W-Wait, what about you?"

???:"What about me? You need to focus on yourself right now."

Nikolai:"Wait, hold on a minute."

???:"There's no time, I'm going now!"

*The girl ran towards the rapture*

Nikolai(mind):Is she...planning to sacrifice herself for me?! Heading towards death, she's not gonna survive a single attack from that thing.

*The girl continued running and shooting the rapture, and she stood right below its feet. She shot from below until she ran out of bullets, then opened her arms. The rapture felt the bullets underneath, and jumped up to crush the girl*

Nikolai:"No! I'm not letting you die!"

*Nikolai threw his backpack, and ran behind the girl. He grabbed her, and rushed behind some debris before the rapture landed*

???:"What are you doing?! I told you to leave me!"

Nikolai:"No! I refuse! I'm not gonna let you throw your life away like that."

???:"What life? I'm a Nikke, we are replaceable. My whole team is replaceable."

Nikolai:"Team? More Nikke went with you?!"

???:"Yes, 5 of us were sent with our commander, but after he died, everyone kind of started dropping like flies. They had all the reason to, they are replaceable, there can always be another one of them."

Nikolai(mind):Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I've seen multiple of her with some of the commanders in the city.

Nikolai:"Still, what good would it do to get killed like that?!"

???:"..."

*Nikolai looked over at the rapture, as it dug itself out of the ground, and searched for them*

Nikolai(mind):Ok, think...the elevator hasn't come since the first rapture ran at me. I think the elevator trip was about a couple minutes long, which means...

Nikolai:"Listen to me now, we are already hidden from the rapture. The elevator should be here any second now, so we just need to rush towards it.

???:"Alright, as you order."

Nikolai:"Ok, three, two, one, go."

*Both of them ran towards the elevator, and the rapture quickly ran towards them*

Nikolai:"Almost there!"

*The elevator arrived just a few yards away. Nikolai and the girl jumped into the elevator, as it closed just before the rapture got to it*

Nikolai(mind):I made it out, at the expense of all my luggage. It's fine though, all that was just extra clothes anyway.

???:"Hey, are you alright?"

Nikolai:"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

???:"That's good. Thanks again...for saving me."

Nikolai:"Of course, just don't risk your life like that again."

???:"..."

Nikolai:"By the way, I never got your name."

???:"...Rapi. My name is Rapi."

Nikolai:"Well, nice to meet you, Rapi."

Rapi:"Likewise, Nikolai."

*Rapi smiled, and held out her hand. Nikolai grabbed it and they shook hands*

Narrator:At the time, Nikolai was just a normal civilian, but a life of war and Nikke was awaiting him. Stay tuned until the next one.

Hey bros, it me, the author! Finally, I have a creativity to make something for my new favorite mobile game! I still love Azur Lane, but Nikke has given me a lot of reasons to love it...A lot of reasons...anyway, I tried to look up memes to make this as similar to my Azur Lane book as possible, and this is what I got:

Uh...Spoilers for the Chainsaw man and Nikke collar event story, I guess. Makima became tuxedo mask while all the other characters were on the battlefield.