A New Life...

Diclonius number 7, otherwise known as Nana, lie helplessly on the operation table, awaiting her fate. The pain from losing all her limbs had only now subsided thanks to the drugs the doctors had administered earlier. Such pain she had not felt, even after enduring countless experiments and tests at the facility in which she had grown in her entire life.

Nana could only stare up at the grey ceiling as she contemplated her future here. What use could Nana possibly be for anyone now that she had no arms or legs? Would she remain like this forever? Would she be used for other types of experiments perhaps? Or would they just...

The door opened and Nana was finally able to offer a weak smile. "Papa...You came back after-all."

The stoic, bespectacled man held a large syringe in his right hand. "Of course Nana." He brushed back some of her pink hair. Unlike the enemy she had been defeated by earlier, her hair was much shorter and a darker tone of pink. Also unlike her enemy, she didn't bear any hatred towards her human incarcerates, no matter how many times they tortured her or mutilated her. Somehow, just by having Papa around kept her heart strong during her short and tragic life.

'Papa' held the syringe close to one of the stumpy regions that was once Nana's arm. "This is going to hurt a little so please stay strong." Nana gave a slight nod as he administered the 'medicine'.

Soon enough Nana began to feel sleepy. As her vision became foggy she turned her head a little so she could see Papa one last time. "Hey Papa..."

"Yes Nana...?"

"Nana will no longer be useful anymore right?" Nana's words stabbed through Kuruma's otherwise impenetrable, emotionless heart. He clenched the mattress of the operating table as he tried to respond, hiding as much of his grief as possible.

"I'm sorry Nana..." He was about to say something like 'please forgive me' when Nana's world came to a close.

…

No...Papa...Nana is sorry, I should have listened to you and obeyed the instructions...But I was too careless and tried to handle Lucy by myself...Because Nana wanted to be praised by Papa...Because I wanted Papa to be happy...Because I didn't want anyone to come between us...

This place...is this where people go after they die? Everything sounds so fluid-y...It's as if I'm floating on top of an ocean...

THWACK. Nana was rudely awoken by a loud thud. She found herself trapped in darkness – a tiny cramped chamber – or coffin. She would have freaked out from the sensation of claustrophobia had the door not opened as soon as the floating feeling stopped.

"Huh?" Nana sat up as jets of steam came out of the capsule she had been placed in. "Is this how heaven works?" She asked herself. If she had arrived in some sort of afterlife, the brochure must have been a bit misleading. In fact her surrounds were very similar to the beach on Kamakura. She could feel the salty sensation of the ocean water spraying around her. She wiped the salt water out of her eyes – she had arms and legs again!

Wait? How can this be possible? I must be...

#Nana...# A crusty voice came from a recording device on the left of the inside of Nana's capsule. #I want you to live a life free from the facility...Those artificial limbs might take some time to get used to...I've also left plenty of money for you to start a fresh life...#

Nana noticed she still wore her tattered black dress from the last battle. But just hearing Papa's voice again confirmed to her that she was still in fact alive. She noticed a simple brown handbag was with her inside the capsule. She decided to take it with her but just as she was about to leave the capsule she heard his voice one last time...

#...And Nana...Please...Forget about Lucy...Don't try and fight her again...#

Nana traversed the cliffs edge, making steady use of her new limbs as she made her way to the main shoreline. She noticed the town ahead of her. She had no ideas about the way life outside the facility worked. She would just need to get by somehow.

CLICK. Before Nana could make her next move she felt a large bullet cut through her hair. "Make one step and I'll blow your fucking head off."

Nana froze in utter fear. She had barely made it out of her last encounter with Lucy, and before she could even look forward to a fresh beginning, she was faced with death's hand yet again. Nana slowly craned her head back and discovered the Grim Reaper in the shape of a burly man with hair in a buzz-cut style. His scythe was substituted for a large hand-gun. "This baby shoots .50 millimetre tungsten rounds, your invisible weapon won't help you now!"

I promised Papa that I wouldn't hurt any humans, but now Nana's faced with danger and cannot fight...How will I..?

"Please stop!" The voice of a young child interrupted the stand-off. Nana was shocked to discover the petite young girl before her was the same one she encountered in her last battle with Lucy.

"W-What are you doing here stay-" Nana was cut off by a bullet grazing her head. She shuddered as she pat her hand against her wet forehead, discovering the crimson mess before her. "B-B_Blood?"

The other girl rushed over and blocked the crazed gunman's progress. With her arms stretched wide she pleaded with the giant man. "Please Mr. Bando I beg you to stop, she just an innocent girl!"

The man named Bando hacked a mouthful of spit as he pushed his way past the tiny girl. "Don't you get it? She's one of them horned freaks! She'll kill you too if you don't buzz off."

"But Mr. Bando I-"

"Can it ya' frikkin' moron!" Bando slapped the girl with his gun, sending her plummeting into the sand.

Nana couldn't stand the violence something dark in her had awoken – spurred on by this madman's torment. "You people don't deserve any protection...You humans...are the real monsters..."

Suddenly as Nana's vectors were about to reach Bando the young girl rose back to her feet. Nana's more human affectionate side quickly revived itself just before she could turn the innocent bystander into Swiss cheese. The girl stared at Nana defiantly with a stubborn look on her battered face.

Something about this girl caused Nana to become overcome with sadness. "What was I...About to do? What could I have become if I hadn't stopped myself."

Meanwhile Bando became fed up with the childish antics. "Tch, get out of the-" Without facing away from Nana the girl lifted a tiny piece of paper out of her pocket and pressed it against Bando's face. "What the hell are you doing?"

The girl spoke much more assertively this time even when stuck between a former SAT hardcore hit-man and a demon with deadly telekinetic powers. "I'm in a pinch right now. Can you help me like you promised?"

Bando cursed as he remembered the debt he had made to repay to the young girl, who by an ironic twist of fate had saved her from the very same enemy which Nana had fought and tragically lost to earlier. "God damn it...If you wanna die then go right ahead Missy, I'm outta here." and with that the deadly force that was Bando had briefly retreated, gathering his thoughts in preparation for the real battle – the second round with Lucy.

Nana was speechless. She had not expected someone to be so kind, let alone try and save a horned human such as herself. She had grown up believing she was a danger and that other humans would come to fear and bemoan her presence. That was why papa always told her it was for her own good to stay in the facility. For she would only cause trouble if she or any of her kind were to set foot in the realm of normal humans.

But seeing this young girl allowed Nana to see this brave world with some hope that she may be able to live a life of peace, away from Lucy and the men in white coats at the facility.

The young girl offered a hand out to Nana. "My name's Mayu, would you like to be friends?"

Friends? Nana had never truly had a friend in her life. Though she loved Papa, she had never had anyone else in her life she could truly console with. But Mayu seemed to be a kind-hearted girl who had no problem with her horns.

Nana offered her hand and grabbed hold, forming a new union of companionship between human and Diclonii. "Let's be friends then."

The moment of friendship formation was somewhat spoiled when Nana's fake arm was pulled away from her body. Mayu's smile had faded as she ogled the limb still strongly gripping her hand. After a few rapid blinks she suddenly drifted to the right and collapsed on the soft sand.

"Oh my God did I just kill her?" Nana shrieked as she tried shaking Mayu back to life. She carried the unconscious young girl back into the forests of Kamakura. She knew this new concept of 'friendship' would take some time to adjust.

You'll notice this one-shot didn't quite follow the storyline 100%. I wanted to keep it short and sweet whilst at the same time reflecting on all the main emotions and angst of Nana between episodes 5 and 7. I'm sure there are other fics which dedicate more time to Nana's story, but I still wish to do a few more of these. I think the next one will either be for Bando - the Gun-ho Diclonii hunter or (my personal favourite!) Miss Arakawa - the tragic science aid who 'hasn't had a shower for days' and curses the fact that she'll die a virgin when she's shot by Director Kakuzawa". Eitherway I'm aiming to write a little piece for all of the main characters eventually so stay tuned for the next one!