With her pack intended to be culled with failure in the Library, Nikolai's probably out of work now. What's she (and potentially other members of the team) up to?
More R Corp content! Nikolai has always been a character I especially like in the game, so it’s nice to be able to write for her.
What the Fourth Pack are up to Post-Library:
This is a fairly difficult choice for any of them to make. Being released from the library and subsequently what is the equivalent to being ‘fired’ in R Corp, they’re left free in a way that can induce more panic than anything.
Of course it’s not like they don’t enjoy normal everyday activities outside of work, but with R Corp practically breathing down their necks and ready to deploy the Fourth pack at any moment, there were quite a lot of restrictions. They’re forced into situations that almost guarantee certain death, and as clones not really being able to live their own lives, so what are they even supposed to do when they’re given back their individuality?
Nikolai is someone who I think would go off on a more independent road. I don’t think she’d cut contact or ties with the rest of the Fourth Pack, but she would take the option to start a life away from working in a wing rather than seek to stay together.
They all still have their funds that were left from R Corp, so that should hopefully be enough to stay settled for a while until they find new work. It also depends on where they choose to live though, for nests are extremely expensive in comparison to the backstreets. It might be as though she could straight up retire in the backstreets, the issue is I don’t think many people would want to do that.
After living through the smoke war and having a life that’s almost entirely composed of violence, I think she might want to step back from the mercenary type of work. That being said, she has a lot of experience in that field, and I can’t see her working at an office job, so she might have to go for something slightly similar.
Perhaps a mentor of sorts? She’s already had to adapt to the chaotic combination and habits of the Rhinos, Rhinoceroses, and Reindeers, so she’d make a fairly good mentor to fixers who are just starting out.
It may give her a benefit too with the background of working at R Corp. Not many know just how the soldiers work nor how they grow to be so strong, and the idea of having a previous worker there teach them might turn some heads.
Maybe a bodyguard? While I did state that she would prefer something less violent, as someone who is guarding another you’re not really the one going out and murdering someone. Honestly there’s not really a guarantee you’ll have to fight at all. It’s just accompanying that person to make sure they’re safe in their travels, and should trouble stir then you defend them.
In general I just see her as someone who would like a job that’s primarily physical work, and has pretty clear and concise instructions. Sitting and staring at a monitor for so long is bound to give her a headache, and it’s not ideally how she’d spend the rest of her life.
Truthfully while it might have left her scattered at the start, she has great relief in being released from R Corp. The looming threat of being terminated was one that was constantly tossed over her mind, but now that wasn’t really a risk.
Afterall the corporation officials made it rather clear that the cloning process of the Fourth Pack consumed too much energy, so why would they care about them being left to roam the city? It’s not like they’re going to start cloning them again anytime soon.
As good as it may pay, I think she’d prefer to stay away from working in associations too. The tied down nature of them reminds her far too much of R Corp, and that’s not a mess she’s about to get caught up in.
With that said, she may end up working as a sort of affiliate with certain associations. Something like Zwei where if she reached out, she could possibly gain more attention from the public about her offer to be a bodyguard. Another could be Oufi, where she’d oversee trades and deals and take more of a defending role too.
Speaking of the Zwei Association, I think that Myo would take up a job as a fixer and possibly enlist under them. A reason for coming into R Corp was because she wanted to grow in strength, help others, be a hero like the Red Mist was, but she never really got that option in the corporation.
She recognizes it’s unrealistic to sort of expect herself to be some tale of the backstreets or hero with the strength of a color fixer. This doesn’t deter her though, she wants to make the red mist proud, even if the red mist isn’t around anymore.
While working under the Zwei provides proper pay, equipment, as well as support for her goals it has certain limitations. There are contracts, uniforms, and rules to abide by meaning she may not fully be able to follow what she truly wants to do. Still, it’s helping people so it’s an option.
Being a fixer however may give her a bit more freedom. It’s a bit of a difficult job to get into, especially with how much competition there is, but it would let her do things as she wanted. She’d have to climb the grades, and there would be a lack of funding unless she happened to join an office.
Myo would probably prefer the option to pick an office though, given that she can search for some that really pull her attention or hold certain ideals. She’ll be able to interview and really get to know the people before committing her strength to them. She doesn’t like them? Find a different one.
If she does pick Zwei though, and so does Nikolai, it would be a bit of an entertaining surprise to see the two run into each other once again. As easily irritated as Nikolai is by the Rabbit Team Leader, I don’t think she’d miss the chance for a brief reunion.
Rudolph is someone who I think wouldn’t entirely mind doing work outside of combat. Maybe something like the Seven Association where they collect information?
He’s someone who works well when he can take part in putting things together, or coming to conclusions. This is why work dealing with information would be pretty well suited for him. He’s an observant person, and a quick thinker, so situations where he has to rely on his mind are ideal.
Though he’s good at sorting info, he’s equally good at collecting it. While certainly not defenseless, I don’t think the Seven association would have as much of an advantage in terms of combat as the other associations do, mainly because that’s not their focus. Having someone like Rudolph who is well equipped to deal with potentially violent situations while gathering intel would be wonderful.
Maxim specializes in physical work, but while that could easily lead to the assumption of taking on a fighting-like occupation, I actually think he’d be interested in workshops?
It could totally just be because of his big armor suit, but I think learning to put together weapons and equipment would be especially interesting to him. Maybe it was a job option he was considering before R corp, or maybe after joining the corporation he developed some interest in how the equipment was made.
He’s a strong person so he has no issue with putting things together, or lifting certain heavy objects for an extended period of time as someone looks at it. The only thing he’d probably have to work on is a steady hand and having nimble fingers.
I think that this would be something he’s passionate about learning though, so he’d totally be committed to learning and will quickly pick up on these traits. He finds it really fulfilling to go from the raw materials to the finished result, and he makes progress pretty fast!
Another reason he picked a job in a workshop is because it pays pretty well, but he’s also just tired of the violence in R Corp. He doesn’t want to deal with that anymore, and he will seize the opportunity to do anything else. He’s much happier this way too.
All four of them will have meet ups! Myo and Maxim are the main ones who propose the idea, and Rudolph and Nikolai agree. It only happens monthly or so because they all have their own individual duties, and it has to be scheduled, but it’s really great to catch up again.
What’s nice too is they can actually share new experiences. After some time of being cloned and restored with the same memories, only to be promptly killed in combat can lead to repetitive stories. However, with their individuality finally back, they’re able to share new and interesting things.
They’ll keep up the tradition of making bets, and it keeps a friendly air of competition and motivation in all of them. It also decides who pays for the drinks, which is an added bonus.
You can tell though just by the atmosphere there’s a lifted weight between all of them. They may have their own things to stress about, but there’s no more fear of termination. It’s just them being able to live their lives once more, at last.
May I have some headcanons of male!reader comforting Maxim after they had to go through the repeated horrors of R Corp?
Sure thing, R Corp sure is something else. The whole concept of hatcheries is interesting, and I hope to get expanded on more in the future. Also these came out a bit on the angstier side just cause R Corp is (in my opinion) one of the more disturbing corporations. The reader is intended to be male but for anyone else reading you should still be able to enjoy it anyways.
Male!Reader Comforting Maxim Through R Corp Trauma:
On the surface it’s easy to interpret that Maxim is the type of guy who’s not impacted at all by the violent cycles of cloning in R Corp. I mean, he seems to be pretty unbothered by it, even making lighthearted comments and betting on who will be victorious coming out of his colleague’s cloning sessions.
But it does affect him greatly, whether he really acknowledges it or not. It might come in brief sessions where he’s going about his day as he usually would, and the reality of this vicious process hits him. Death may not be a fear anymore, that is until the hatcheries run out of energy, but is that truly something to be glad about?
An eternal life seems like an incredibly powerful feature, but could you even begin to consider this ‘eternal’ life? You die, and a clone fulfills your spot. Does that really seem like a single lifetime?
While he seems to keep quiet about these moments where things seem to settle in, that’s not always a choice for him. You can tell something is off when he doesn’t seem as lively as before, instead a sort of dazed look overtaking his face.
He might be a bit unresponsive, stuck inside his mind, though if you ask he’ll often say he’s alright. It will take a bit of insisting to get him to talk to you, because chances are he doesn’t really feel ready to dredge up the truth yet.
If you can find yourself in a quiet area away from people though, he’ll drop the act and tell you his thoughts and experiences on really everything. He doesn’t break down or get overly emotional, but you can tell there’s a bit of a struggle to his words and hesitation to speak.
He’ll talk about how he came to this job, not understanding fully what he’d be getting himself into. Now, working in a nest is a dream for many, especially when it has to do with a wing, but you truly aren’t aware of what you’re getting yourself in until it’s too late. It’s not as simple as just quitting. You’ve already been hired for the job, exposed to the secrets and horrors, and it’s not like you can just walk out.
Perhaps it was just being blindly optimistic, but he hadn’t expected it to be too bad. It never really was revealed to the public just how R Corp maintains a steady force of expendable soldiers, but some did suspect cloning. Only issue is that cloning was directly against the head’s law, so it left many stumped.
Maybe he had an idea that it might be like cloning, maybe not. Point is, he had no clue that he’d have to be competing with so many other versions of himself. Forced to survive for however long the process of hatchery was able to go, feasting on copies of himself for food, and being forced to kill until you come out on top.
It’s honestly a terrifying experience. You stare into the eyes of a clone who’s dying as they lose consciousness, and it goes black. That could have been him. The other versions of him are still sentient, they don’t share memories, they don’t share consciousness, which means when he dies he may truly die.
Of course, he’ll come back out of a hatchery a bit later, remembering the past events and moving on as though it’s just like waking up. But is that really him? Is that version of him the same person, the same consciousness as the one who’s sitting next to you right now?
It’s honestly a disturbing concept to think about, one that he doesn’t want to know the answer to. Even though it’s most likely he won’t, some form of hope deep inside hopes that it’s just like waking up in a dream to a new life. A reincarnation of sorts, maybe.
There’s not really much you can do aside from offer your support and listening for this subject. It’s not like you could change something, aside from giving your full attention and maybe holding onto his hand or similar.
…Depending if he’s in the suit or not, if he is offering physical affection is probably going to be a bit more difficult to do. Especially when his hands in the armor are like twice the size of your head.
Don’t diminish his hope though. Even if it might be feeding into a false reality, it’s not as though it’s harming anyone but rather letting someone live a more peaceful life, even if slightly.
He’s honestly a bit frustrated too, but he doesn’t react in an angry way, you can just hear the strain in his voice. It feels a bit demeaning to be treated like livestock, I mean the places they come from are literally called hatcheries. Doesn’t it seem quite animalistic? You’d think perhaps it would be a bit more refined if it was part of a wing.
But it’s not even like he can complain about it, no one would listen. While not super common of an event given the lack of energy since the fall of L corp, if his complaints caused too much trouble he may even be deemed as defective and replaced by a different clone.
It doesn’t really help that there’s the looming warning of R Corp essentially pulling the plug to Fourth Pack, resulting in permanent death. Perhaps it was a bit pretentious to be scared of the possibility of a true end when so many citizens of the city face that risk every day, but that didn’t lessen the terror.
It’s a long rant of emotions, one that you usually sit through pretty silently. It’s hard to comment on advice when there isn’t really a solution, but at the very least you can try to make things better at the moment.
Perhaps you can relate to his turmoil if you’re one of the members of the Fourth Pack, or some other pack yourself. It might be good to empathize and let him know that he isn’t the only person to think about it, honestly at some point any employee likely has.
Let him know once he’s calmed down a bit more that you’re here right now, and it’s better to focus on the present than linger and worry about the unchangeable future.
When cloning gives you a sort of loophole to life, everything can sort of blend together and you start to lack an appreciation for the casual pleasantries of life. However moments like these might help you gain those back.
What matters is that you’re here with him now, right? Why not enjoy things while you can. Maybe it’s naive, maybe it’s carefree, but what else can you do? Have fun, go out to places, try things you haven’t before.
Take him out to go eat some place, drag him around the nest, have competitions, make bets. Even if they’re fleeting moments, they add some form of normality back into your lives. And truthfully if he’s having fun with you, it’s a lot easier to be optimistic, and the moments feel like they last a lot longer.
Before he even realizes it he’ll be feeling better, mind no longer focusing on the anxieties he had earlier. It may not be the most healthy method of comforting, but it’s the best you got and you’re going to take it.
