Beyond Numbers S1E01 – First Blood – by El VIRM Dorado
Another day, another couple of hours to endure the unending flow of stupidity. Such were the first thoughts of Code 016 as he was roused from his sleep by the Garden's caretakers. A teen code, and as such promised to a brilliant fate as an elite parasite. A young man, who would make a fine stamen one day – that was what his handlers were saying about him. He knew he was different from the rest, from the others whose codes were in the hundreds. He was special. He was thinking for himself, he was asking questions, he was making the caretakers uncomfortable. And for that, he was the subject to intense testing – some even said he would be, one day, the Parasite Representative, one of Papa's special allies in his struggle to lead mankind.
That would be the dream of any parasite. Think about it : a way to help directly their Papa, the supreme commander of an united mankind, the god-and-father-figure all of them were supposed to worship and love, the one who created them. But to Code 016, that goal seemed eerie and ill-suited to his own tastes, and for a very simple reason.
He didn't like his fellow parasites.
None of them were interesting. They were nice, and looked up to him with eyes full of stars, as if he was some kind of Messiah born to lead them to the promised land, as if he was, Papa forbid, Papa himself. A small detail, though : he wasn't. None of them seemed able to tie their shoes themselves, let alone think for themselves. They were followers, most of them barely better than useless automatons. To try and alleviate the problem, he once had an idea, which he had tested on a little scared girl, crying and hugging a stuffed cat toy. He had told her about the names, an old pre-APE idea that he had discovered a while ago, calling himself Hiro, from the very numbers of his code. Using her own code – which, as 015, was very close to his own – he had named her Ichigo, hoping to light up, in her soul, the very desire for independance she lacked so much. To his huge regret, she had became one of his first cultists, because that's what they were : soulless cultists. Pushed by the girl, he had named lots and lots of kids from the Garden. And none of them had the spark inside that could make them master their own destiny. Their being was utterly shallow, like characters that had been written hastily by an incompetent writer.
And worse...most of them, most of those kids Hiro had known and named, were total weirdos. Ichigo, his first disciple, was affecting the manners of a housecat, never leaving her cat toy, sometimes purring, sometimes adding cat-like jokes or words in her speech, even, sometimes, calling herself Ichinyan. Had handmade cat-ears been accepted by the APE caretakers, she would have worn them at every moment...when her presence became too much to bear, even for him, he usually used a few scented dried leaves to lure her away. Catnip, as the adults called it. Then, came Mitsuru, Code 326. A rambling kid unable to shut up about his "shallow connection", whatever he meant by this. In his best moments, he was able to spend the day normally, even if, in a display of self-doubt and total lack of will, he spent most of it asking Hiro what he should do next – his most pertinent question being about the possibility of farming cabbages in the future. In comparison, Goro, Code 056, was silent and offish, and was probably the most functional of the group – though he spend a fair bit of time being examined by one of the doctors of the Garden, a sultry lady who seemed to be fairy augmented by machines and implants. Goro himself, probably repeating what she was telling him during his check-ups, was sometimes trying to talk to Hiro about implants and nanomachines...whatever that meant.
There were lots of things that made no sense to Hiro – most of them were the stupid shit his own "friends" were saying. Had he the power to attract weird people, were they drawn to his aura like a moth to the flame? Maybe.
Miku, Code 390, was also some kind of clinic case, but in a gentler and less interesting way, as she seemed to be stalking Goro intensively, keeping notes about his behavior in an obsessive manner. Of course, Hiro didn't care. Then Naomi. And Ikuno. The first one was said to be one day Hiro's partner...with a Code 714, so that seemed like an utter waste. Would she even be able, once her pistil training over, to start the FranXX, the war machines they would one day need to pilot to protect mankind? Codes so high were generally useless beyond the simplest tasks, and lots of them were pruned, or had a short fighting life and a messy death. Yeah, lower codes were supposed to be the best, and Hiro, besides his cat-worshipping disciple, had yet to meet a code lower than his own 016.
Moreover, Naomi was ranting too, this time about a "grandmother" or something...and Ikuno, Code 196, ranted about the nature of time and space. At least Zorome – Code 666 – was keeping to himself, as was the fatass Futoshi (Code 214), who had recently gotten a strange tatoo on his right forearm, shaped like a toilet seat. Oh, and of course, Kokoro. Code 556, who was already more promiscuous than any girl her age should be, promising every young stamen she would ride with them once her pistil training would be over, in a ride they would never forget. She also was mimicking a licking and sucking on the closest thing she could get her hands on, being a pencil, a banana, or, Papa forbid, a sausage.
Truly, a basket of deplorables, where no soul was truly salvageable. And, one day, it would be his job to lead these people to die for the greatest glory of their Papa. Such an horrible joke of a fate disguised as honor... sometimes, the sense of humor of APE could be a strange and wondrous thing. Maybe, if they truly wanted him to appreciate this position, they should start with the pruning of all these useless weird people. At least, today would be, they said, a special day, as Hiro would be introduced to some other tests, far from any meddling parasites. No Ichinyan to follow him around and purr while scratching his back, no Kokoro trying to undress him. A little taste of heaven, right? If only he knew...He followed happily the caretaker tasked to take him to the lab, asking him, as always, a few questions about the tests, his day, his career, and everything. The caretaker started sweating, but didn't answer. Not his job, and he wasn't trained for this shit. One kid in the Garden asked questions. One. This one.
After a dozen or so minutes, and as many questions from Hiro, they arrived to a little room near the main lab, probably destined to the caretakers and scientists' meetings. He opened the door, letting the caretaker going back to babysitting useless drones and teaching about the glory of Papa.
"So, you're the one they call the Future Representative, right?" asked a soft voice coming from behind him.
Hiro should probably have been startled by this sudden interruption, but the tone was so nice, so gentle, that he felt no fear, and just looked at the source of this heavenly voice. A very good idea, as he found, as he could now gaze on the most profoundly beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her light blue hair, tied in a ponytail, looked so soft and silky, her skin porcelain white and without any blemish. And her eyes, oh Papa her eyes. To Hiro, they shone full of light, full of life, full of that soul he had been searching so long in the eyes of the other parasites. Mesmerized by these two teal wonders, he failed to acknowledge, for one second, the two little, alluring sapphire horns peeking through her hair – who only added their own perfection to the transcendant beauty of this delicious lady, a young woman who seemed to have a few years more than him, wearing an uniform he had yet never seen on caretakers and parasites alike. There was no other way to put it : she was profoundly beautiful.
He cleared his throat before answering, trying his best to make a good first impression on this celestial beauty.
"Yes, I am Code 016. You can call me Hiro, if you prefer."
"Ooh, you gave yourself a name. How...interesting. I'm Code 005, by the way. I'm part of a... special parasite program. A bit like yours, but less focused on leadership and charisma, and more on special abilities." she said, coming closer to the young stamen.
"005...A little challenge. But hey, you're litteraly oozing with sweetness. How about 'Honey'?"
She started laughing. A beautiful, oh so beautiful sound, which just made him want to hear more of it. She came closer to him, letting him get a hold of her mouth-watering scent of blueberry...she stooped to his level, her face now only a few centimeters from his, before she started talking again, her voice now more flirty, sultry, even with a seductive edge.
"Looks like you even got a knack for naming other people, right, Hiro? However, let's stay serious for now, shall we?"
"I tried..." he explained, swallowing with difficulty as 005's smile and proximity was stirring something unexpected both in his nethers and in the bottom of his heart. "Anyway, why are you here? And how could I help you?"
"I was just scouting for partners, seeing as my own assigned partner was...not exactly a good one. He was sent away, and for now I'm alone. Seeing as you're supposed to be Papa's right hand to the parasites...You know, I wanted to check on you."
"I would be very pleased to be your...new partner, Hon-I mean 005." answered Hiro, his eyes shining with joy and light. "Of course, I don't know if I can...I mean, I'm supposed to be assigned as a stamen to Naomi, Code 714."
"Don't worry about that," she said, smiling and coming even closer, close enough for Hiro to taste her breath on his lip. "I have a few friends in high places, so I may be able to fix your problem. And then we'll be together forever, right?"
Even though she demanded formality from him first first, she herself was now breaking conventions, nearly touching him now, and Hiro couldn't help but blush at the proximity of this splendid young lady. For one second, she appeared to want to join her lips to his own, but after a while, seemed to decide against it, kissing his cheek and ruffling his fluffy black hair instead. Hiro just stood there, petrified, as she was leaving the room, winking and blowing him a kiss on the way out, letting him be sent back with the other parasites of the Garden.
Alright, that was weird. But not weird in the annoying, hard to understand, way that his "friends" managed to keep up most of the time – rather the weird that made him felt immortal and full of butterflies in the heart. It was like she was testing him, no… not testing, rather checking him with some kind of a sixth sense, and decided to not yet proclaim her final judgement about him. Which, he hoped, should be positive.
Still, at long last, he had found someone. Someone that could be his equal, someone with will and intellect and self-awareness. Someone he could like. Because he definitely liked her, at least more than the whole group of cardboard cutouts with strange obsessions orbiting around him. She was nice, she was interesting, she was beautiful, she seemed to like him...and best of all, she was ready to become his partner, allowing him to stop being assigned to a code in the 700s. Code 005, really? That would be beyond all his expectations for his fate. For once in his parasite life, Hiro was looking forward to the future he was supposed to live, especially with her. Happy as he was, he was smiling for the rest of the day, doing his best to not look annoyed when he heard, once again, Naomi trying to explain to him the very concept of tulpas. In his mind, he was already piloting with Code 005, Honey as he named her, whose very thought was enough to keep him focused on the future.
It had been a few days since his meeting with Honey when Hiro was one again summoned by the caretakers. Surely something about her. After all, she promised him, right? And she wasn't a promise-breaker like Kokoro, who was, at the moment, trying to fondle one of the guards' legs, probably to gauge if this man could be a viable partner.
As he left his room in the Garden, the guard seemed surprised by his closed expression and lack of questions, even if Hiro's eyes were beaming with an unusual expression, something which looked like ecstasy. As he entered the lab, the young stamen was nevertheless shocked to see, not one, but two superb ladies, who seemed to be discussing his future. Honey was here, and the smile she gave him as he entered the room had the radiant quality of a sweet spring sunrise ; he couldn't help but smile goofily in return, weak at the knees at her adorable expression.
"Here you are, Hiro!" she said happily, coming near him.
Once again, she seemed ready to hug him, but she managed to stop herself, just squeezing his shoulder. She wasn't such a tall girl, standing around five feet and a half, but she was still towering above him by a few centimeters. Once again, Hiro just stood there, his whole being hijacked by the feelings he had started harboring for the elite pistil, by desires he couldn't even begin to explain or describe. It was like something hidden in his blood had been awakened, drawing him closer and closer to this one horned girl. Even the simple fact that she had remembered his name was enticing to him.
"I was talking about you with Dr. FranXY right there about your very interesting potential and your wish to join me in the program. You...you are still alright with that, isn't it?" she asked, a little smile on her lips.
Of course, Hiro couldn't help but agree, everything in him screaming about staying with her. After gazing upon Honey a few seconds more, he focused his attention upon the second woman present here, that his friend had called Dr. FranXY. The brown-haired woman was herself a very beautiful one, but unlike 005, she seemed to be use her own beauty a lot more liberally, judging by her choice of garments : fishnet stockings, a lab coat lazily covering a deep and opulent open cleavage, and black high heels showcasing the length and shapeliness of her long legs. Her opulent body seemed to be heavily augmented...and then everything clicked into Hiro's mind : she was the one doing Goro's check-ups.
"I'm Dr. FranXY," she confirmed, "and I'm the head of the...program 005 mentioned, Code 016. I checked your data and see no sign that you shouldn't be allowed to join us. Although, as Code 005 may have not told you, I have to inform you that this training program is stricter and more intense than the original parasite program. You may be trained to unusual situations, and have to develop...unusual skills which may be useful on, once again, unusual battlefields."
Her voice was sultry and charming, and with every word she came closer to Hiro, until she was as close as Honey. Her last words were merely a whisper, as she stooped to his level :
"Are you sure you want to join?"
"Yeah, I'm sure of it. Also, Honey needs a partner."
Dr. FranXY giggled when she heard his answer, and extended a hand to caress his cheek, her fingers soft and ice cold upon Hiro's skin. She pinched his cheek, smiling :
"What a brave little stamen...Alright", she added while taking back her file on the table. "Starting from this day, you'll have new quarters with Code 005. You'll live with her, train with her, partner with her...and if your mission ever requires it, you shall die with her on the battlefield. Have I made myself clear?"
"Clear enough, Doctor." he answered, determined to prove his worth.
Another life was starting for him. A life where, he hoped, things could get a little better...
It had been a few weeks since Hiro had joined 005...or, as he liked to call her when they were alone together, Honey. Not that she didn't like it, or that he didn't like it, but he had seen strange expressions on the faces of grunts or caretakers when he started to use too much the names he gave, especially with his new partner. Naomi had taken the news quite well, just ranting about strange numbers and trying to give him a headache with her evil eye, but hey, at least now his problems with the rest of these strange people were over, right?
His new room, which he shared with 005, wasn't one of the usual dorms of the Garden, but a real bedroom, probably the same the important caretakers and lab doctors used. Of course, the fact that he shared it with the most sweet, charming, nice and intelligent girl he'd ever seen counted a lot in his appreciation of his new life.
The old tests he used to have every week to test his abilities were still there, but now his training was...different. It included more things than just piloting sessions in the training bot, as he was also trained to a lot of different weapons. Rifles, pistols...he even got a few introductory courses on the use of mortars and other heavy weapons. And of course, a bit of CQC, for some extreme cases. His master for these close moments, sempai as they said, was 005 herself – and although she seemed still as frail and gentle as ever in the tight skinsuit that covered them in these mock fights, she proved fight after fight she was harder than steel and sharp as a blade. Each of those ended inevitably with his defeat, for a few reasons : he was still smaller and weaker than her, she had years of training behind her belt, and, as stupid as it sounded, he didn't want to hurt her. Every time, she taught him something new, a trick to tip the scale towards his next victory – which would come one day, she was sure of that. Even if it would take a thousand defeats by her hand, he would live and win one day.
And, as strange as it sounded, he did once.
Her body pressed against his own, her chest heaving from the rough training, her face nearly touching his, her forearm against his throat...As they made eye contact, both of them definitely felt the attraction passing through them, like a spark of energy. Hiro, still trying to fight, felt her strength wane against him. Seizing the moment, the opportunity, he leveraged his entire body weight into trying to bring her down. Did she let him do it? He didn't know, but he met surprisingly little resistance in reversing the grapple, taking the advantage and straddling her. It was his first time winning against her, and he was now...confused about the next step. He saw Honey propping herself on her elbows, a hard to read expression on her pretty face. She stared at him, like expecting something of him – before coming closer and whispering in his ear. As always, her voice was sweet, and the words she said were as soft as her :
"Looks like you picked up a few tricks by yourself, Hiro. Now let me teach you something else...something a bit more special."
"More combat-related stuff?" he managed to ask, lost in the immensity of her eyes, as she laughed gently and bumped her little blue horns with his forehead, as to mark him as her property.
"Not really, you little rascal. I really like you, you know. And I think you like me. Drawn together by nature, right? So let me show you something you're supposed to do with the one you like the most..."
Finishing her sentence, she softly joined her mouth with his own.
Hiro had no words yet for this kind of things, APE education was definitely lacking in the department, but something originating from so deep in their hearts needed no name to feel right. For a split second, he stayed unresponsive, until he let her tongue dance with Honey's. They stayed there, united as one, for what felt like an eternity. Just as she let him go, he decided to take the lead, kissing her hard, his unbridled passion making it up for the lack of skill and training in this area of expertise. Ending the kiss, he looked at her again, noticing a strange spark in her eyes.
"Hiro...that was...that was..."
"I'm so sorry, Honey! I'm not...I mean...It's just..." he spluttered, trying to get off her, before she grabbed his arm with a strange light in her eyes.
"You don't have to, Hiro. I liked it, and I guess you did it too."
Not letting go of him, she took him into a gentle embrace, letting his head rest upon her generous chest. She still needed to teach him that, and everything that could come after that. But the fact that he had been the one to start was a good point. A very good point, even. Maybe the future she had in mind could be reached much more quickly than expected. After all, she had been prepared for this moment for a long time... But that was a question for another moment: now her cute little soldier could enjoy the moment before meeting his fate. She did not know yet how he would fare once confronted to the truth, to his final destiny, but she knew he would do his best for her. She trusted him for this.
The training was over for tonight, and the rest of the evening passed without any problems. Honey was allowed to cook and prepare food for herself, as a privilege of her special program, and she was always eager to show Hiro the ways of the cook. So that both of them may feel closer? So that he may learn something new? Who knows? Anyway, he was her little helper as always. Even if the "little" point would most likely be moot anyway in a few months. CQC training and her cooking seemed to work their magic to develop his body into a strongest man. Well, maybe not "man" for the moment, even if Honey knew the time would come for that. For tonight, it was an old recipe predating APE by about a few hundred years, known as a margherita pizza. Tasty, simple, easy to share between two partners.
Everything was going smoothly, until the knife used by Honey slipped on the tomato she was chopping, cutting deep into her index finger instead. Hiro, who was preparing the mozzarella, jumped to her side instantly as he heard her squealing in pain. Without ever thinking about what he was doing, as if an instinct had awakened in him, he put her finger in his mouth and started suckling away at the wound, like a kid with his pacifier. Her blood tasted like iron and copper, but behind the metal there was an aftertaste, something that felt like paradise, an intoxicating flavor which just made him want some more. As he was running his tongue along her nimble finger, he felt her moving gently his head so that he was looking at her. Where there should have been an expression of pain and discomfort, there was only a fire burning inside her blue gaze. A fire that spelled desire and affection, and everything else. Even her horns seemed to glow in the light of their room.
Bound by a kiss. Wrought with blood. All according to plan.
"Look at you, my little hero..." she whispered, slowly taking her finger out of his mouth. "The pain is all gone. What would I do without you?" she asked, flashing him a smile that beamed like the sun and the moon, like the lights of an unreached paradise, filtered only by the pearly gates of her lips.
"I'm pretty sure you would be amazing even alone." he answered, smiling too at his Papa-given partner, who motioned him to come closer. A few seconds later, she was holding him tight against her, using his fluffy black hair as a comfy little cloud where she was safe from the rest of the world. So happy, and yet so sad : because she knew this embrace would end.
"I'm pretty sure we should finish this pizza..." she said, before letting him go.
Now his smell was on her body, and her smell probably on his own. How lovely. His male scent, still bearing a bit of his musk from their earlier training. Had he not restrained herself, she would have licked his cheek when he was still in the soft prison of her arms. Would he have liked it? Maybe, maybe not. She should wait for more appropriate times for this, not jumping at him and taking the risk of scaring him away. Anyway, the pizza was almost over. As it was cooking in the oven, Honey looked at her finger. The wound was already healing, due to her healing powers and her...special nature. One day, she would tell him the truth about that too. Even though he probably understood a bit about it – her horns were already a pretty big tell.
The pizza was delicious. As Hiro was doing the dishes, his assigned pistil was preparing herself for a good night of sleep, taking her little treasure from beneath her bed and starting to read again. This story...ever since she had been gifted it after her arrival at the program, she had read it every night. There was something she couldn't explain about the feelings she had every time she looked at the words, every time she saw that witch picture. The story in itself was not very deep or very long : a beast princess, falling in love with a young human, giving her black wings to a witch to stay human with him, and finally disappearing to avoid hurting her beloved. As she was about to close the book, she saw Hiro's hand darting from behind her shoulder, preventing him from closing it.
"What a sad story. Looks like the writer had no idea how to continue after the first half and just...went with it."
"Hiro! You shouldn't startle me like this, you little devil." she laughed, surprised by his intervention. "Anyway, yeah, I have this book since I started training here. Never knew who gave it to me. I just know one day I'll have to give it away."
"We should rewrite it one day...once my training is over."
He opened his eyes, awaken by the sound of very peculiar utterances by his partner. Was she crying? Still hazy with sleep, he got up, before slowly coming to her bed. Honey seemed to be in the middle of a nightmare, or something. Not that Hiro knew how to react : the only one he knew who had dreams was Mitsuru, and they were, like him, shallow. He extended his right hand to reach her in the darkness of the room, before retracting it instantly when he found under his fingers the warm and curvy softness of a breast. Taking a deep breath, he tried to touch her again in a...more appropriate place, to find, this time, the tender heaven of her flat, toned stomach. Was her whole nightgown discarded during the night, letting her sleep in the nude? That thought haunted him for a whole second before he felt her hand catch his right forearm in an iron grip, her eyes opening and glowing, like her horns, with a blue flame in the dark, as if she had awakened as a feral beast, ready to rip him apart. However, he felt no fear. Something in him made him feel at ease with her, even with her hand holding him hard enough to break his bones. Without a word, as her grip was loosening, he sat on the bed with her, holding her tight against him – helping her adjusting her slipping nightgown beforehand. Never before had he felt her so real, so soft and yet so strong against his chest, her own breath ragged and exhausted, her eyes wet with tears of fear. He didn't want to ask what her dreams were about – he didn't care. He cared about her feeling safe and sure in his arms, just like the way he felt when she embraced him. This time, there wasn't an ounce of carnal desire here. His desire to protect her was overwhelming as he felt her slowly coming back to her senses.
"Are...are you there, Hiro?"
"I'm here, Honey. I'll always be there for you. Don't worry." he answered, pulling her closer.
"Could you...stay with me tonight? Here, with me?" she asked, still in shock but calmer than before, her eyes and horns back to normal as she clutched to him tightly.
Hiro didn't answer, just pulling her lightly towards the bed. Lying here with her, he tried to kiss her cheek as a last goodnight gesture, but ended up kissing her horn as she moved out of the way at the last moment. He heard her trying to muffle an adorable squeal of surprise... but, as he expected her to roll away, she instead decided to cling to him even more, like he had seen Ichigo do with some of her stuffed cat toys. As he was closing his eyes, he heard her, in a gentle and tender whisper :
"I love you, Hiro."
The warm morning sunlight found them still in each other's arms, unable and unwilling to move, to talk, to think about anything else. Together, their world was complete: what else could the outside universe bring them that they needed? Nothing but trouble, nothing but pain. It was on this morning of spring that Hiro, for the first time, thought of a world where he wouldn't have to fight for Papa, a world where he could just...he didn't know, but that probably implied staying in bed all day with Honey. However, the day was long, and there was much to do. As he was about to get out of bed, once again Honey grab his arm. But where last night it had been a threat, now it was a tender gesture, an invitation to stay just a few moments longer. Something had changed inside him, but also between them, and he pondered that fact while intertwining his fingers with her own. How much? Only time would tell. After all, without her he'd probably be already making the field tests, with Naomi as his partner. What a goddamn cruel fate.
Another few months had passed, nearly a year, and Hiro was having the time of his life. Every day with Honey was another blessing of Papa, from the moment he woke up in her bed in a tight embrace, to the one they jumped together back into the same bed. Each day, he felt more and more alert, stronger and tougher – now he was even able to best Honey in close combat about half of the time. His reluctance to hurt her was mellowed by knowing she was much, much harder to hurt than she seemed. Even his strongest blows were often not enough to hurt her...however, she had yet to find a way to counter being grappled, tenderly hugged and roughly kissed. Something that came often enough that they had to agree to count it, not as her defeat, but as shared victories. Hiro loved sharing victories with his Honey...
However, as skilled and sharp as she was during their official meetings and training sessions, which were not all centered on sweaty, grapply, rough close combat, she turned back into the sultry, mischievous bundle of love and happiness Hiro knew and loved as soon as she was alone with him. After all this time, there was so much of her he knew about, little things and secrets he had discovered : how he could literally put her in a trance-like state by kissing her horns and patting her head ; how her kneecaps were both deathly ticklish and extremely erogenous (her own words)– a little fact he had once exploited ruthlessly during a meeting withsome higher-ups, innocently letting one of his fingernails lightly dance on her knee until Honey was a mess ready to explode. Even weirder weakness, coming from a trained killer, she was...a bit clumsy with knives. She was an expert with her trusty pistol, but she seemed to let her guard down in the kitchen, not expecting, even after all this time, to be in danger from this kind of weapons. After all, her healing factor was pretty amazing, compared to Hiro's human nature. Luckily, her Hiro always was at her side, easing the pain and bandaging her with kisses and bandaids on the wound. It was a sign of caring rather than logic, but Honey loved Hiro and Hiro loved Honey – and through little gestures like these, they managed to deepen their bonds every day.
Today, however, was not any normal day. Dr. FranXY had contacted them a few days ago, telling them their first field sortie together had been scheduled. Honey was a lot more stressed than usual, and Hiro had to stay at her side at every second of these days to help her with that. They had not really talked about the event, but she had told him her last field sortie with her former partner had been a complete and utter disaster. He really hoped to be good enough for her – in a FranXX, as he already knew they were made for each other – if he failed, he could not fathom going back to his previous life. However, a mere glance to her, and every fear, every doubt in his mind melted under the warmth of her smile.
With her at his side, how could he even think about failing?
His hand on the doorhandle, he stopped suddenly, before taking her face into his hands and kissing her one last time, as if their very life was about to end abruptly. Both of them came back to reality red-faced and panting, but at the very least, a bit happier about their fate.
The hangar where their warmachine was sleeping was huge, obviously devised so that metal beasts a hundred meters tall could walk at ease. Keeping Hiro's hand into her own, the pistil walked up to Dr. FranXY, who was standing near a pervy-looking old man who was, if that was possible, even more heavily augmented than she was.
"Good morning, my dear...I've heard your training is going, well, according to plan?" asked the sultry doctor with a big smile.
"Don't worry, Doctor, everything is alright. Hiro right here has been the best partner I could ever dream of..." she answered.
"Code 016, right?" said the old man in his lab coat, squinting his eyes at Hiro before turning back to his colleague with a sigh : "Let's hope your little experiment was worth ruining mine...alright, kids, Gladiolus is waiting for you."
"Gladiolus? Weren't we supposed to use...you know...the Nettle?" asked Honey, with a mix of surprise and relief on her cute face.
"The Nettle has been taken by...You know who, when he was assigned to the southern front. We had to start from scratch to build another one adapted to your abilities, 005." he explained, his hands tightening upon the pommel of his chiseled cane. "Now get in the damn robot, son. Make us all proud of you.", he added, showing them their marvelous weapon.
With these words, both Honey and Hiro turned towards the metal giant : sturdy, powerful, dangerous, the thing towered over them like the giants of old, covered in teal scales that looked like the skin of a snake or the mail of a medieval knight...and like a knight's sword, a huge blade extended from Gladiolus' right arm, a few cables of steel protruding from it to fuel this sword during battle. In comparison, its left arm seemed huge and unwieldy...due to the fact the entire forearm was apparently a cannon, whose mouth sported six claws of metal for...well, probably undefinite battle purposes. But the robot had been designed like this for a reason, and that was not their role to question them, just to use it in battle against the klaxosaur threat. As they were seating themselves into their designated places, Hiro's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked to his partner, just before starting the test :
"Honey? Who was that guy with Dr. FranXY?"
"You know, you could have asked me directly..." answered the cranky voice of the pervy fossile, coming from the comms. "I'm Dr. FranXX, head of the parasite program, and Amanda's partner in this adventure to protect mankind."
"Partners as in...piloting, right?" he asked, startled by such an unexpected answer.
"Partners as in 'shut your little pie hole and kickstart that goddamn robot, kiddo'."
The order was clear, the discussion over, and the test could start. Hiro closed his eyes, letting his mind wander to find the way to Honey's soul. A second passed, before he heard her squeal. Then it hit him, like a crashing wave trying to drown him. Her spirit was everywhere around him, covering him like a comfy blanket of ecstasy, her depth unfathomable and her love for him indescribable. In that fleeting moment, they were one. Hiro felt himself coming back to his body, feeling a flow of energy react to his every thought. His fear crumbled in ashes as he allowed himself to smile. Of course they had managed to connect inside the robot. Together, they were one. Him, and his lovely horned girlfriend, his wonderful partner. The massive frame of the Gladiolus around them started moving, as he piloted it towards the field, which from here looked like the usual desolation around the Garden, covered in thick winter snow. At the south of the facility was a forest, but they were now heading east, where another FranXX – a mass-produced, standard one – was already waiting for them, a standard-issue spear at hand.
"Good morning, Code 016. I'm Code 093, and I shall be your field instructor for today." The voice that came from the comms was deep and raspy, like expected of the field veterans of this caliber.
"Good morning, sir." he answered, focusing his attention upon the voice of this man, and of course, on the controls.
"Alright, young stamen, I know you've not yet been briefed about your tactical load, so listen, and listen well..."
What you got on your right arm is a state-of-the-art magma blade. Once powered, it's supposed to cut through...just about anything you wish to cut through. It also use a lot of power, so, when running, part of this power has to come from unnecessary shit. Like air conditioning, the cooling systems of the cockpit...so use it when you need it, and when you don't use it, turn it off ASAP. Also, important point, 016 : this is not a fucking toy. This is a weapon meant to crack the shell of the thoughest monsters on this goddamn planet : swipe it at your battle-buddy and you're probably going to disable his FranXX, at best. At worst, you're going to destroy it, kill the pistil, kill the stamen and leave nothing but a smell of charred meat behind.
Now take a look at your left arm : looks like a good old bludgeon, right? You're probably right, but that thing is your ranged weapon. Each shot sould be enough to send a Conrad-class back to his Mama, and probably maim or slow a Mohorovic-class one. It's condensed magma energy, so it of course relies on your fuel, and if you ever strain it too much, you may get unable to come back without any assistance. You probably saw the little claws at the end : they're here for the Lock and Load maneuvers you will probably love during your numerous battles. In short, grab with the claws and, once inside, shoot your whole load at your prey. Even without destroying the core, that should be enough to incapacitate him for a while...
As the man was droning on about his weapons, Hiro let go of the handles protruding from her behind, covered like the rest of her by her red skintight suit. He didn't know who managed to create a piloting system which needed ass handles, but the person was probably an old decrepit pervert. However, Papa bless this person for creating a piloting system that allowed his gaze to long over his girlfriend's back without being judged for it. From her light blue hair, that she sometimes allowed him to groom...to her toned and curvy backside, full of strong muscles and yet so impossibly soft...a slight smile grew on his lips as he wondered if a suit which seemed so totally designed to accentuate her beautiful curves was a good idea for a pilot who was supposed to be focused on the battlefield. Right now, he just wanted to tell her to get up and come sit on his knees with her arms around his neck.
A siren. Red lights. What the hell.
"Well, Code 016, looks like the time has come for a little training session on the battlefield...A group of klaxosaurs is coming from the southern front, according to the scans. Probably Conrads...and maybe a Moho." explained his instructor.
"Alright..." whispered the young pilot, maneuvering the Gladiolus once again. The unseemingly beast was reacting like a second skin, his piloting skills and connection with Honey being deeper and better than...just about any pilot's. A perfect fit for a perfect girl.
He could see them now. Around five Conrad-class. Or, at the very least, he could see the trails of dirt their race was producing. Something big was coming too...Probably the Mohorovic. With only a thought and a flick of the wrist, the left arm of Gladiolus was armed and ready, until Hiro was ready to shoot. The recoil was weirdly manageable, compared to other personal guns he had used, and the precision of the shot was something out of this world, the bolt of magma power darting like lightning to strike down one of the beasts, making it explode mid-jump in a rain of blue blood upon the white ground. Hiro smiled, before firing two more shots. Both of them hit, both of them destroyed their intended targets. His smile grew wider. There was something intoxicating – and yet profoundly beautiful – in destroying these monsters with his FranXX. Three dead, still three to kill.
"Time to get close, Honey. Hope you don't mind a bit of close combat..." he told her, getting only a encouraging grunt as an answer.
The engines of Gladiolus started roaring like a dragon as he jumped into the fray, the beasts now less than a few hundreds meters...a dozen meters away...with a swift sweeping move, the closest monster had been dispatched by the searing blade, letting only two burning halves behind. So simple, so beautiful. Another strike, another dead thing on the ground, its core destroyed by the sheer violence of the impact. As he turned around, he saw for the first time the Mohorovic. The beast wasn't that big, but it was at least two or three times bigger than his robot. Activating once again his big knife, Hiro jumped at it...
Now that he was out of the robot, he could process what happened. Was that really one of the dreaded Mohorovic-class Klaxosaurs? This thing could have destroyed the Garden...well, maybe not destroyed, there was always one or two squads here and ready to intervene. It had happened so fast. He had jumped on it, blade in hand and...and he had blacked out for a second, or at least what felt like a second. When he had come back to his senses, the thing was dead, and Gladiolus was back in the Garden's barracks.
"Is everything alright, Honey? I feel like I..lost consciousness for a while."
"Don't worry," she shushed him with a dreamy smile. "you were amazing."
"Feels good to hear that, especially from you." He commented, proud of the little red blush his remark triggered on the cheeks of his beloved parter.
He wouldn't lie to her and tell her everything was alright, as he still felt a bit dizzy after their field test. They quickly got out of the robot, meeting once again with FranXY and FranXX, who both had concerned looks on their face.
"Code 005, do you have a moment? We need to talk about the program. Hakase will bring 016 back home." said the seductive woman, taking her with her.
"Of course. Wait for me to come back, Hiro." answered Honey, just before following her to another meeting room, letting her stamen and the old pervy-looking man alone in front of the war machine.
"So, how was your first ride?" asked said Hakase, hunched over his cane. "I guess you're not the kind with 'getting it up' problems, right? Especially not with this sexy dinosaur..."
"What are you talking about, Dr?" said Hiro, legitimely started. "I don't quite understand what you're meaning..."
"Well, I was doing one very good double entendre, boy. First, you may not be aware of that, but your partner is part klaxosaur herself. Didn't the horns tip you off?" He paused just long enough to squint his eyes at Hiro : "You remarked she got horns, right?"
"Yes, I did...so the horns are because she's part dinosaur?"
"Nice, you're not totally stupid. The second point I was making while talking of a sexy dinosaur, is Gladiolus itself. One of my masterpieces, I must say. Quite a wonder. As FranXX – the robots, not me – are themselves built from klaxosaurs, it's a sexy dinosaur too. So, yeah, no problems getting it up?"
"Not at all, sir. It was...actually a very pleasant ride. I look forward to doing it again."
"Cool. We need parasites willing to risk life and limb to kill those beautiful creatures, who may or may not be horribly mutated remnants from an ancient empire protecting the magma energy which is maybe (and maybe not) some sort of life energy of the planet." That long explanation threw Hiro's mind off balance, as he struggled to find a way to answer to...this.
"Was...that a quick rundown, sir?"
"No, lad, just a shallow infodump. Follow me to my room, I may have a few candies for you. You must need sugar after that. Most of them do, even those with very good codes."
Humming what sounded like an upbeat melody whose title was probably about a birdcage, the old man in a lab coat led him to a heavily-guarded zone in the Garden. Apparently, he was among the head honchos of the place, if not the head honcho – even if, old and decrepit, he definitely didn't look like it. The guards and grunts serving as sentinels in the labs of the place, and the engineers and scientists carrying files and experiment results, all seemed to look at him like some kind of mad god, an omnipotent overlord ruling his scientific realm with an iron (but fair) fist. All of them bowed to him, this ancient fossil with a robot arm. How the mighty had fallen. And now, Hiro was following him to his own office for candy, fully oblivious to the risks that could come from such an act. After all, he was able to win in close combat against Honey, what could a frail old man do?
Well, it turned out the frail old man did nothing of such nature, as they were getting to his lab. Maybe his pervyness was just an act, pondered Hiro as Hakase grabbed the twelfth ass of his journey. As they reached his place, a faint cry made him stop in his tracks.
"Sir, what was that sound ?" he asked, once again a bit startled.
"None of your fricking business, kiddo. Now stay there, I have a little monster to conduct unholy experiences upon in the name of SCIENCE." answered the old man, before jumping into the next room.
As the old man did not close the door instantly behind him, Hiro managed to see what was inside it, the source of the previous noise : a little naked red gremlin was strapped to a table by straps and other bondages, producing unarticulate and animal-like sounds. This creature was clearly not human. Her hair were a light shade of pink, her eyes two green orbs of pain and her mouth sported big fangs – oh, and her skin was deep red. Truly a profoundly weird creature, a whimpering broken soul attached on a torture rack. And yet, in its inhumanity, the thing on the table still managed to be cute, like an abused puppy kicked in the ribs by its owner one more time. Well, to be fair it wasn't so much a kick in the ribs by an alcoholic but a weird scientist man using what looked like a cattle rod to prod her belly, delivering what was, according to her screams, the smell and the buzzing sound, high-voltage electric current. Without ever removing the electric stick, the doctor looked once again at Hiro, who was (metaphorically) shocked by the violence of the scene.
"What are you looking at, lad?"
"Is...what...that...why?" Hiro only managed to utter a few words before the old man cut him again.
"That? Nothing for her, lads. She's a dinosaur. Barely tickles her."
Hiro knew a bit about tickling, but where it could probably explain the little red monster's loud screams and writhing, there was no way in hell it would cause the sizzling burn marks and the heavy smell of burning flesh and ozone. He stood there a few seconds, looking with dismay at the doctor's smile growing larger and larger, still torturing the helpless thing on his rack. He weighed his options, and decided for the most rational and less soul-scarring path, turning 360 degrees and walking away to go back to his room. Right now, he needed his partner and a hug. A hug by his partner being the ideal.
What the hell was that?
Who was that little demon?
Why was the doctor tormenting it (besides IN THE GLORY OF SCIENCE OF COURSE)?
As he opened the door to his room, Hiro saw Honey reading on her bed. Well, on their bed. Apparently, judging by her being already in a nightgown and by her sly smile, she probably had other projects for the evening than just reading her little story over and over again. Projects that, once again, included him in her arms, as she was, after all, supposed to be a good little team player with her beloved stamen. However, seeing the blank stare and the mechanic behavior of Hiro, she instantly understood something was amiss. She only had the time to put her book back before she was rushed by her fluffy little hero, who embraced her as if his life was depending on it. Heh, even if that clearly wasn't what she had in mind, she didn't mind him having his face buried in her generous breasts. Also, she could bury her own face into his generous fluff. More than ok by her books, as far as such trades were concerned. As he emerged from this comfy pillow of tender flesh, he managed to produce a slight, warm smile for his beautiful Honey.
"Thank you, I really, REALLY needed that."
"I didn't knew piloting with me would put you in such a state..." she muttered, kissing his brow lightly. "You looks like you have seen a ghost or something."
"Well, it's not piloting, it's just...I stumbled upon one of Dr. FranXX's wretched experiments...and it wasn't exactly a happy sight."
Honey's face contorted into an angry scowl. She knew exactly what he was talking about.
"I know exactly what you're talking about. You saw Code 002, right?"
"Code 002?" Hiro was confused. This creature, this pitiful wretch, had a parasite code?
"Yeah. A little red thing, broken by years of abuse at the end of the good doctor. Does that ring a bell for you?"
"Of course. That was...utterly disturbing. I mean, how can Papa let something like that happen? Isn't there rules against this or something?"
"Who do you think asked the doctor to conduct this kind of experiments? He's one of Papa's favorite lackeys, after all, and it is by his order that he's working on these projects."
Hiro suddenly looked at Honey in the eyes, his own gaze feverishly burning with a new emotion. It wasn't love, it wasn't affection either – both of them were frequent when he was with his partner. It looked like determination and righteous indignation, the look of a man ready to ask for justice, and to right the wrongs of the world himself if he was denied. Vertuous anger, world-shaking fluffiness, unfathomable affection : Hiro was all of that, maybe more, and for this adorable combination Honey was starting to feel her ovaries flooding with unquenched desire for one who today, really looked like her little hero.
"You were like that too, once, right?"
"How did...he did tell you? This monster told you about the program?" That wasn't anger, only surprise and maybe fear. Fear of what? To be rejected? To be abandoned by Hiro?
"He told me you were part klaxosaur, and he also told me the red...Code 002 was one too. I know how to put two and two together." he explained, as she seemed to be on the verge of breaking down in tears. "Listen, Honey. If your past is so...painful that you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. If you want to share it with me, I'll be happy and honored to learn about it. I won't love you less because you once, too, were a little scared thing strapped to a torture rack..." he added, stroking his cheek.
"Th..thank you Hiro." she sobbed, once again hugging him tight. "One day, I'll...I promise you I'll tell you everything. About me, about 002, about everything, I promise."
The floodgates of her tears were now open, and this time Hiro was the one holding her against his male and virile chest. Was there anything more beautiful than a relationship where both were able to heal each other's fears and wounds through the old art of hugging? Well, they could have been having a wedding on the beach just like in her picture book, and then spend their days frolicking in bed, frolicking in the sea, in the woods and just about everywhere, then tending to their newly-formed family...but knowing Papa (and APE in general), none of these were acceptable goals for him and his autocracy. Parasites were supposed to fight against the klaxosaurs, shed their last drop of blood for Papa and die a warrior's death on the battlefield. Not marry and have a peaceful life far away from battle. That was forbidden, both of them knew it. As special specimens, both of them had a little more freedom than most of the parasites...a freedom that may prove more than enough for something, a plan that had hatched in 005's mind.
Hiro would know soon enough, but right now she needed more time. Well, that wasn't the only thing she needed right now, but her partner would probably be more than happy to provide her with everything else. Be it hugs, headpats, kisses, backrubs, nights of cuddling together – and, truth be told, he was becoming exceedingly efficient at every single one of them.
She loved him so much.
Time to show him how much.
She took the lead abruptly, taking him by surprise and pushing him back into the bed, a strange light into her eyes. He deserved much, much more than this life as a little soldier for Papa. He deserved everything she could give him, maybe more. Probably more. She kissed him again and again, her lips burning with an untold passion against his own, his head between her little hands. Honey broke the kiss for a few seconds, looking at his eyes : there was no fear in his gaze, only a burning desire he didn't know how to express. Bumping her horns against his forehead, she started removing his stamen uniform and whispered, directly against his mouth, her voice low and husky – nearly a moan :
"I think it's time to...teach you what comes after kissing."
[Now is the moment where everything fades to black because POSSIBLE AGE RESTRICTIONS and I don't want no FBI on my sorry ass]
"So, are you sure you want to do it, Hiro?"
"Honey, we already talked about it." he answered, once again verifying his package. "This...Code 002, whoever she is, is suffering like a dog in this lab. And not a pampered puppy. We can't abandon her." He paused, before lightly grabbing her shoulders, watching her beautiful face. "Also...she's like you. And I may not have been able to save you from your dreadful past, but I can try and save her."
"Alright. If you're so hellbent on going, then let me show you a few...things."
This discussion had started a few minutes earlier, as Hiro, after a long, steamy and memorable cuddling session, had decided to go and save the little wretched thing. What a Hiro. And Honey, like a gear of some thousand-years plan, had tried to stop him from this new goal of him. Of course, such behavior would be totally unexpected from her. Unless, wait for it, it was linked to a fricking plot point. And a real plot. Like, the in-story kind of plot, just like a nefarious plot to control the world or a plot to kill the president of the United States of APEistan. And now, as this meta paragraph is about to end, she was about to tell him about this plot, while showing her partner a plan of the aisles of the Garden.
"One day, you would have been told everything about this." she told him with a smile. "But Code 002's freedom is one of the goals I had for you for a while. Or at least, if not her freedom, at least her meeting with you."
"OK, now I don't understand..."
"There's nothing to understand for now, Hiro. Just a plan to follow...
And so she had explained to him what he needed to do. Go outside, reach the window to her prison with the nearest tree, break the glass of the window, save the little girl (?) and fuck off in the forest. Honey would have to reach Gladiolus, kickstart it and go in stampede mode to break out. Outside, she had promised they would tell him everything, once the three of them would have been reunited.
"Also, there's a little thing I need you to do, a little thing but...very important." she had told him, during their last embrace before the apocalypse.
"Everything for you, my love."
"Should Code 002 bleed, for whatever reason, find a way to ingest her blood."
"...Alright, that was totally unexpected. I mean, I can understand your own plan to save her but that's taking it at a whole new level." he answered, frankly disturbed, before feeling her grip on his arm tighten and an unusual spark dance in her gaze.
"It goes deeper and beyond me and you, Hiro. It's about fate and destiny. Once again, I'll tell you everything once we can reach...somewhere safe."
Ingest her blood. Once again, what was this fixation of hers? Was it about biology, to awaken something in his body? Maybe. Since the day he had licked her blood, he was feeling better and better every day : smarter, stronger, quicker, more precise, more endurant...the list went on. Hell, he even was nearly as tall as her. That also may have been the product of training sessions with his partner. Maybe. Anyway, she seemed to have already a well-developped plan for Code 002's evasion, so that...blood part may have been part of her master plan. Also, Hiro wasn't really one to refuse her something, even something as strange as this. That thought and the memory of the red creature's torment were enough to sustain him as he was sneaking outside in the snow and climbing with his weapon one of the nearest trees, whose branchs were nearly hitting 002's window. He managed to do it, seeing through the window the poor thing sleeping on the ground, a brown ragged coat around her frail body.
Whispering a prayer to whatever could listen to him, he grabbed the gun that he had stolen, a few minutes earlier, to one of the grunts – now lying inconscious and maybe dead on the ground of the facility, and started shooting at the window, which exploded in a cloud of glass needles. He heard 002 grunting and growling upon seeing the window disappear and feeling the cold wind blowing in the room, and extended a hand to the red thing. Her big inhuman green eyes, glowing with curiosity and hope, opened wide when Hiro grabbed her gently, helping her to leave the room and holding her tight against him. A few minutes later, they were back down to the snowy ground, Hiro's new friend startled by...well, just about everything. She didn't seem to know anything beyond the boundaries of her little room and the cold and unpleasant labs of the Garden, and as such clinged to him like a frightened child – that she was, in a way. She was small, four feet and a half at most, even if her long red smooth horns, longer than Honey's had ever been, added a few dozen centimeters to her height. Her long pink hair was soft and silky, and even if she had a coat to cover herself in the icy weather, she was now barefoot in the snow. Hiro fixed that little problem with a pair of thick extra socks he had prepared in case of emergency, before goading the little one with him, thinking of what he would have done had he been a child trying to rescue her instead of a trained special specimen who could have been the PARASITE REPRESENTATIVE. Probably use a heavy object to break the window and carry her around. Preposterous. As he holded 002's hand, he tried to talk to her, as she had yet to say a word to the stamen who had freed her from a life of pain and loneliness.
"So, you're Code 002, right?"
[unintelligible grunt of approval]
"I'm Code 016, but you can call me Hiro. That's the name I choose for myself."
[unintelligible grunt of curiosity at the idea of a name]
"You would like me to give you a name?"
[unintelligible grunt of approval, again]
"Okay, what about...Oni, nah, you're already a little red demon, no need for you to have such a name. What about Zero Two?" Hiro was clearly not in the right mood to give a name to the klaxosaur hybrid, and yet he thought this could be the easiest way to break the ice. Well, metaphorically.
"Eo To?"
"Yeah, I know, not exactly my best work here."
"Eo To? Eo To! EO TO!" The red goblin was seemingly extatic at the new name she had been given, showing Hiro a big wide smile with a lot of big teeth and fangs inside. She was now jumping in the snow, producing sounds akin to those of a very happy retarded child. Eo To was probably the only way her toothy mouth could pronounce her name. Probably.
"I'm happy you like it. Let's go, Eo...err..Zero Two."
Honestly, seeing the little monster prancing around in the snow, now eager to discover more about the world around, was heartwarming for the young stamen. Himself never had a very free childhood, but it still had been better than Eo To's life, who was discovering for the first time the world around. Hiro showed her the trees and the bushes, and the little rodents who were still roaming the snow – some of them attracted the little red one's attentions, as she started stalking two of them when he wasn't looking. He still managed to find her before she choked on them, forcing her to spit out the (still living) creature.
"What am I going to do with you..." he pondered, looking at her trying to catch a fish in a small pond. The water was not frozen yet, but it still was cold enough for her to hiss and retract her hand.
"Eo To!" she squealed once again, looking at him smiling like he was the biggest piece of candy she'd ever seen.
"Yeah, come here you little thing. We need to find Honey." he told her, a slight smile coming easily to him as he motioned her to come closer.
"Oonii?" asked the gremlin, tilting her head with curiosity. After a few seconds, she ran and jumped towards Hiro...before slipping on the snow and falling on the ground.
As Hiro, always the nice guy, helped her get back to her feet, he saw her knee had been bruised by the fall, leaking blue blood. He remembered the words his partner had told him. Should Code 002 bleed, for whatever reason, find a way to ingest her blood. She didn't even pay attention to it, seemingly much more resistant to pain than expected. Well, except from Hiro, who had saw her survive electric shocks which would have killed a cow. A cow like Kokoro, heh. He smiled once again thinking of the other losers, from Mitsuru to Goro, to Ichigo and Futoshi, and, yeah, even Ikuno and Naomi. He had traded a future as their leaders against a girlfriend, an escape from Papa's clutches and a tiny red toothy kobold. One of the best ideas of my life, he thought while stooping to examine her wound. It was a tiny flesh wound, with only a few drops of blood showing, and Eo To's inhuman resilience was already closing it. Kneeling before her, he scooped a bit of blood with his finger before licking it, obeying to his partner's grand design. His face contorted with disgurst – the blue blood was bitter and tasting of metal, iron or copper maybe. A weird and clearly not human blood, for a weird and not human girl. However, seeing Hiro in this position before her, Eo To squealed with delight, before taking his hand and taking him to the biggest tree around. As they were sitting under its branches, she got from under her coat what seemed to be a...book.
Holy hell.
This picture book was Honey's...well, at least it looked like Honey's book. Probably another copy. Anyway, for having read it with his girlfriend a few times, he knew exactly how the story was going...but he still was surprised to see Eo To, opening the book to the page showing the prince of the story kneeling in front of the princess during their marriage, point to the royal character as if his importance was crucial right now. Well...besides being married. Clearing his throat, Hiro took his best reading voice and started to read for the little red monstergirl.
"And then, the prince kneeled before the princess and asked her to marry him..."
"Awwi?" asked Eo To, cutting him in his reading. She seemingly didn't knew the word, and he had to explain :
"Marriage is what happens when two people promise to stay forever together. Like the prince and the princess, in the book." Or like me and my partner, he thought to himself, but he decided to stay silent on the subject with Eo To.
"Awwi? Awwi!" she answered, trying to cuddle with him. He couldn't help but laugh as the red goblin hugged him, smitten with love for the only human being to show her a bit of compassion and affection.
"Yeah, maybe, once we get out of here." he answered, patting her head.
After all, there would be time to think about it, right?
Right?
"Yeah, that could be a good time to intervene..." commented a shadowy and mysterious figure looking at the screen from his comfy seat. Nothing could be known of this anonymous creature, who could be just about anything as long as it creates a sense of dread and unease to the reader.
"Just a few seconds more. Such a sight is so rare nowadays. Besides, he deserved it for evading us for so long..." answered an undisclosed acolyte, probably subservient to the first one.
"Hmm. Alright, full assault in 30 seconds."
And, just like that, hell spilled on earth.
A few seconds earlier, Hiro was comforting the little red gremlin. Now, he was trying to survive under a rain of bullets as Papa's grunts were just about everywhere. It was only by pure luck that he had survived the first onslaught...well, luck and skill honed by months of training. He fired back a few shots, managing to take down a couple of soldiers before having to cower back to cover, where Eo To was already shivering, her face torn into a mix of rage and fear. He checked quickly the time on his watch – Honey should have already joined him. Her part in the plan was to steal Gladiolus and, activating the stampede, join them so that they could get the hell out of Papa's reach. Did she manage to do it? Did she at least survive this mission of hers? Too early to tell but Hiro already knew what would happen if that was the case. Well...no, he didn't. He refused to even imagine this possibility.
A few shots more, a few more down. How many of the grunts were now bleeding on the ground? He didn't know. How many of them had been fondled by Kokoro during guard duty? Probably all of them.
However, a gigantic roar was heard a few seconds later. Hiro smiled, as he knew what that would entail. Gladiolus was coming...or at least, the draconic beast of metal and hatred that Gladiolus had became. The mythic stampede mode was famed during the parasite education as an example of what not to do. Most FranXX were unable to activate without both a stamen and a pistil acting as pilots for the robots...but in some emergency cases, a pistil alone could override this need and act alone, burning through her life force to awaken the FranXX and provoke the stampede : during these occasions, the robot...mutated generally into some kind of quadrupedal beast, whose true potential was greatly hindered. That state could prove fatal to the pistil and as such was only supposed to happen in some extreme cases. However, Honey was among the lowest tier of Codes, and her piloting potential was supposed to be one of the greatest ever seen – as such, she was trained to be able to stampede without lasting damages. Probably a side effect of her dinosaur origins.
Nevertheless, even if she could reliably enter stampede without dying a horrible death, Honey still seemed to be in a bad situation. A few mass-produced FranXX were following Gladiolus, probably a rapid response team or just a squad of parasites on the field who managed to follow her. And though his partner's piloting skills were quite sharp, it didn't seem to be enough to escape some of their shots, her FranXX already showing quite a few bruisings and marks. Hiro swore quite a bit, before reloading his stolen gun and shooting another volley, sending another couple of grunts to the ground. Luckily, his shoot-out seemed to have drawn the attention of Honey and her mech, who landed with difficulty a few dozen meters away from him, knocking a few trees in the process.
A few dozen meters of open ground. A perfect way to get killed or maimed by a shot from one of the grunts. As he pondered his options, he saw the hatch of the FranXX open, and Honey got out. His heart jumped into his chest as he saw her, in her skintight uniform, grab a pair of pistols and gun down the nearest opponents with deadly precision. Using the cover she provided him as he could, Hiro started running...and, after a few meters, fell to the ground as his leg was grabbed by an unknown player on this deadly – well, especially for the nameless NPCs who composed most of Papa's forces – battlefield. As he turned back, he understood instantly what happened : Eo To, the little gremlin, had grabbed his leg with the intention to hold him back, as if she didn't want him to leave. He heard her screaming :
"Awwi! AWWI!"
A shot. Two shots. Two probably destined for his skin, as – Hiro hoped – the guards wouldn't try to shot the red goblin down. Well, tough luck : Eo To fell to the ground without a sound, as Hiro himself felt a bullet graze the skin of his neck, like the red-hot burning brand of a master slaver, and managed to swallow back a scream of pain. Was the little thing dead? His gut, his mind, and his total ignorance of the rules of the plot such as Chekov's gun told him Yes, she's dead, now go save Honey or something.
But, at last, he was free to rush towards Gladiolus, his heart pounding to his ears. Fourty meters. Thirty. Twenty. Honey was reloading her weapons. A shot. A lucky, precise shot. She fell through the robot's opened hatch as Hiro was reaching her, nearly falling on top of her.
"I'm back, Honey..." he managed to whisper as they both got up, him exhausted and her seemingly wounded.
"Don't worry, I'm alright." she ensured him, before assuming the pistil position on the piloting station, a groan of pain betraying her little lie as Hiro took his rightful place.
He was gone. Her savior. Her prince. The one who rescued her from her little cell. He was riding away in this metal beast now. She knew this damned thing. The one with the coat, the torturer, he would speak about it sometimes. He would tell of her "kindred spirit" and of "gigantic masterpieces" while trying to test the limits of her mind and body through pain and agony. Now her prince was gone. Running away from her. Just like in her book. She had nothing left from him, nothing but his name and his face, burning forever in her mind. She would find him. Whatever it took. Her...stupid...knightly...Hiro.
Hiro only had one piloting session with the gigantic robot – but his skill in the training bot was downright without equal, even in the old times when he still was supposed to be partnered with a 700+ code with psychic delusions. Gladiolus roared once again as he adopted his usual shape of a knight, his magma blade burning red in the cold air of the morning...just in time to destroy one of the mass-produced FranXX diving on him, driving the blade through his thick armor like an axe through papier mâché. Code 093 had been right : this let nothing behind but waste and desolation, the screams of agony of the pilots resonating through the comms of their camarades. However, that didn't seem to deter one of them from attacking from behind, trying to hit Gladiolus in the back – and, underestimating the speed of the metal beast, he got grabbed by Hiro, who plunged his robot's claws into the chest of his new prey. His feral grin widened as the arm cannon roared into a mighty volley, piercing its prey through and through and ejecting most of the captive robot like a broken ragdoll. However, the barrage of barrage shots from the others was enough to shake Gladiolus, each one of them taking its toll on Honey. Connected as she was to the mighty FranXX, its pain was her own, and even him, focused on the battlefield, couldn't help but understand she was a lot more grievously wounded than she would let him know. He decided to flee – killing more people here, as satisfying as it would be, would only increase the risks of Honey getting hurt even more.
He didn't notice anything but a sudden drop in connection strength. Where previously he was nearly one with his partner, he felt her mind disappearing – and not in the good way of their loving connection, more in the bad way of her soul drifting to whatever happened after one shuffled off this mortal coil and joined the choir invisible, so to say. Closing his eyes, Hiro focused on the ever-shallowing connection, trying desesperately to get a hold of her consciousness. He just knew he couldn't let her go. He wouldn't allow it. As he breathed deeply, he suddenly felt a sharp pain inside his brain as he made contact with another consciousness. Something alien, inhuman, connected to the mind of Honey.
She's going to die. I can save her. Accept my gift.
Could it be linked to the cryptic comments of the Doctor about FranXX being built from klaxosaurs, themselved being horribly mutated remnants from an ancient empire? Could it be that this robot had a embryonary consciousness, something that Honey – and every pistil, for that matter – had to connect during the piloting sessions? Blissfully ignorant of the "the robots were alive all along!" trope in mecha animes, this came as a goddamn surprise to Hiro. Also, no-one ever taught him stamens could connect to this consciousness, let alone communicate with it. No that it mattered to him at the moment : saving her was all what mattered.
Take her place. Seal the pact. Join us.
Giving himself fully to this mysterious voice, Hiro felt a flow of liquid fire...or was that ice?...running through his veins. Numb to everything, and yet omniscient. His connection, his senses, everything around him shifted in a cold and calculated rage. The hatred, the fury, the supreme rancor, the bitter madness the spirit inside the robot had bottled for so long, everything was channeled through him in this moment. He was Gladiolus, and Gladiolus was him. The chorus of annihilated souls inside the thing, remnant of every klaxosaur that had been broken by the creation and use of the special FranXX, nearly overpowered him. He didn't see his own eyes change color to blue orbs of hate and anger, and only the specialized tests of the APE labs could have understood his change in piloting potential.
Tit for tat, human. She will live. We will do wonders together.
Now, kill them all.
Hiro didn't know who roared, between him or the FranXX, who had been repurposed into a mighty winged dragon, his tail a deadly burning blade and his mouth bearing a flaming, screaming death. In this second, he didn't care about anything but blind slaughter, a want, a need born from Gladiolus that he had been happy, to save Honey, to make his own. So let the rampage begin, and let the blood flow, as this day was made for vengeance and devastation. One last time this day, Hiro grinned widely, reveling in this new existence.
Kill them all, indeed.
By most accounts, the Cosmos flying fortress was one of the jewels of the APE reign. Shaped as a ring and flying around low orbit, it was supposed to be able to destroy any klaxosaur trying to reach it. The technology used to power it was weird and ancient, coming from times before their rise to power, before the time APE discovered the secrets of Magma Energy. In its center, the supreme leaders of the united humanity were now meeting in their room, each of them on comfy chairs, using comfly blankets over their ceremony uniforms.
At the end of their room, sitting upon a higher, raised throne, sat Papa, the leader of these seven masters of mankind. He was the one who, centuries ago, had united them, to lead mankind to their final goal of ultimate freedom. Under his mask, his face was one of annoyance and spite, as all of them, gathered, were looking at the footage and analysis made of Gladiolus and his... oh so special stamen during his escape.
"So, what is actually happening here?" asked one of them. "I mean, I can understand the battle, but the shapeshifting?"
"Apparently, he managed to stampede his FranXX...as a stamen." explained his colleague at his left. "So clearly...unless Werner's research is wrong, he became a negative code."
A cold silence welcomed this sinister fact.
"Is that even possible?" asked a third one, who was clearly a woman under her mask.
"According to Werner's theoretical work, it is. Also...the report here informs us that he managed to break Code 002 out of captivity. This project should probably be monitored more closely...I mean, Werner's a genius, but I'm not sure he should be fully trusted for his experiments."
"Agreed. We should also see about the project 004...now that 005 has deserted with Gladiolus." agreed the one who had been the first one to talk.
"Talking about sensitive shit..." began Papa, his hand raised to get a bit of attention from everyone. "If 016...well, Minus 016 is now missing in action, we need to take every measure to deal with him. We can't bring back the roman numerals, and we don't have any other negative numbers."
"So, big trouble, right?" asked another commander, this one with a gorilla mask and a strangely metallic voice.
"We don't have any other choice, gentlemen. We need to bring the Nettle back from the frontlines."
Another silence took place, even colder and more sinister than the previous one.
"Are you sure? I mean, that's Code 003 we're talking about. Can't we just rope in the Nines and call it a day?"
"No way fag, this shit is Mondai Nai, yo." told the closest one to Papa, who sported a massive pair of sunglasses above his monkey mask. "We need a Parasite Representative and shit, my nibba." That was his last sentence before he started freestyling, rapping upon the sound of Papa beatboxing besides him.
"Alright folks, then we call the Nettle and we just hope he didn't start cutting himself again or something..." tried to conclude one of the members of the council as Papa's advisor was still droning musically about being "Straight outta VIRMton" and "Fucking the meatbags", whatever that meant.