In the following days, Squad 13 has been assigned to protect an S-Planning excavation site. This meant that you would stand guard around the site for several hours a day to intercept any Klaxosaurs that want to attack and disrupt the project.

"Argentea, on your left!" Valkyrie exclaims as a Conrad-class Klaxosaur tries to sneak past her. "I got it!" Zorome shouts as Argentea sinks her claws into the beast, "Where do you think you're going?" The Klaxosaur explodes into blue liquid moments later.

"That was the last of them," you state, "Good work, team." "Let's head back to base for debriefing," Delphinium adds.

A while later, you return to Plantation 13 and head to the briefing room where Nana and Hachi are already waiting for you.

"We killed 25 in total today," Ichigo speaks up, "The enemies were all the same type of Conrad-class Klaxosaurs, just like on the other days." "Thank you for the report," Nana replies, "Due to your efforts, the S-Planning in this area is proceeding smoothly." "That said, you need to improve your kill count, Codes 326 and 196. Your parasite score is dropping, too," Hachi adds.

"I just wasn't feeling well today," Mitsuru answers nonchalantly. "That isn't enough to explain this," Hachi responds, "Anyway, keep it up and defend the work area from tomorrow onward. That'll be all. You're dismissed."

After Squad 13 left the room, Nana and Hachi turn to the screens behind them and look at a graph that displays Squad 13's kill count in comparison to other squads as well as the kill count of each individual Franxx.

Strelizia is in the lead with 123, followed by Valkyrie with 99 and Delphinium with 85. Next up are Gladiolus, Argentea, and Genista with 84, 77 and 71. Chlorophytum, however, is last with 51.

"Another twenty-five..." Hachi thinks aloud, "That brings their kill count in this area to 90." "Their kills over the past fortnight are 3.7 times greater than in their first. It'd be unthinkable for any other team to achieve such rapid growth. If their simultaneous puberty and competitive spirit, the thing you called 'problems', are drawing out the full potential of these children..." Nana elaborates.

"Impossible. That would be a total refutation of our prior methods," Hachi responds. "But what if it's exactly what Dr. Franxx is after?" Nana asks.

XXXXXX

APE Research Facility at an Undisclosed Location – Hangar Bay

The doors to the hangar open and an APE transport shuttle comes through and touches down. An APE scientist in a white lab coat and black mask along with 5 members of his staff walk up to the shuttle and stop before its entrance.

The doors of the shuttle open and two APE soldiers walk out and take position on either side of the entrance. Shortly after, Baboon walks out and stops in front of the scientist.

"We're honored by your presence, sir," the scientist says as he gestures towards the lab, Baboon now walking beside him. "Yes, let us skip the pleasantries, doctor. I am here to personally inspect the progress you made with the Spectres Project and I am on a tight schedule," Baboon remarks.

They get into an elevator that descends further into the facility, the window giving a view of the massive underground laboratory that is dimly lit by the glow of computer screens or incubator tanks.

"We have made astounding progress lately thanks to the additional resources and funding," the scientist elaborates as the elevator comes to a halt, "We are nearly through with the development stage."

The two of them enter a separate room with 10 incubator tanks, each holds a figure floating in an orange glowing liquid. Each of these individuals has a helmet with cables attached to it. The panels below the tanks show vital signs and other information such as their designation and brain activity.

Baboon looks at them and asks the scientist, "How soon will they be ready?" "We are currently in the process of indoctrination. It took us years to rebuild Spectre 2, 3 and 4 since all we had was their genetic material. However, thanks to the memory of the other seven we were able to reconstruct the necessary assets. Depending on how fast they complete the test runs in their Franxx, they should be combat ready in approximately four to five weeks," the scientist explains.

"Good, very good," Baboon states, "Have you been able to extract the unnecessary portion of their memories?" "I'm afraid that we had only partial success in that regard, sir," the scientist answers, "The research data from Project Lazarus enabled us to properly remove unwanted memories from Spectre 1 and because Spectres 2, 3 and 4 were reconstructed from scratch, they did not possess any unnecessary memories in the first place. However, we were only able to suppress the memory of Spectre 5 through 10, since a complete removal might damage the subjects permanently."

"Unfortunate, but it'll do. What is the status of their Franxx units?" Baboon inquires. "Construction is already complete," the scientist replies. "I see," Baboon says, not averting his gaze from the incubator tanks in front of him.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" Baboon ponders aloud, "Some of the best parasites we ever had, combined with the best implants to further increase their combat capability and added Klaxosaur DNA. But none of the drawbacks from their templates."

XXXXXX

The next day

Squad 13 is back at the excavation site. It's rather silent today and most seem pretty bored until Zorome speaks up.

"So, what exactly is this 'S-Planning' anyway?" he inquires. "They're obviously digging for something with that giant excavator there," you reply. "It's probably nothing good," Strelizia remarks.

"I'm about to choke from the stench of Klaxosaurs..." Strelizia says to herself.

Silence takes over the comms once again as you wait for the next wave of Klaxosaurs to show up. They seem to be coming every few hours in small groups, nothing you can't handle.

The silence is once again broken when you hear Futoshi speak over the comms.

"The fact that we're on this special mission proves that we've grown stronger," he says. "It's all thanks to you," Kokoro replies, "You always try so hard to help carry my burden." "O-Of course I do!" Futoshi exclaims proudly, "If anything happened to you, it'd be my responsibility!" "Thank you, Futoshi," Kokoro says sweetly.

"So... uhm, Kokoro," Futoshi begins, the nervousness in his voice saying it all, "I'll keep working to be the best partner you could have."

Meanwhile, you give Ryoken, Hiro, and Goro a questioning look over the monitors to your right in Strelizia's cockpit.

"So..." Futoshi continues, "could you promise to be my partner forever?!" There is a brief moment of silence, before Kokoro responds, "Sure. I promise." "R-Really?" Futoshi gasps, "It's a promise, okay? I'll protect you always and forever!"

"Could you give it a rest? You're starting to gross me out," Argentea chimes in over the monitors. Zorome is next to chime into the conversation, "Just cut the comms. I can feel my ears rotting off."

"You overheard all that? That's dirty!" Futoshi retorts.

Before this conversation could continue however, the proximity alert goes off.

"Seven enemies closing in from nine o'clock," Delphinium states, "Conrad-class Klaxosaurs." "Again? Do they have a nest nearby or something?" Goro asks no one in particular.

"All units, prepare for comba-" Ryoken begins but stops when he hears a loud thud from beside him. Chlorophytum has fallen to her knees and her faceplate is dark.

"What's wrong, Ikuno?" Valkyrie asks. "I don't know," Ikuno responds, "Mitsuru just collapsed and is breathing heavily." "We'll cover you," Valkyrie replies, "See what you can do for him."

XXXXXX

Following that battle, everyone returns to Plantation 13 and Mitsuru is taken to the infirmary. As it turns out, Mitsuru has contracted Child Fever and would need a good day's rest to recover. The remainder of Squad 13 gathers in the lounge.

"Mitsuru's always had a frail body," Goro says. "But Mitsuru was the only one who received that injection and came back," Ichigo remarks.

"What are you talking about?" Miku inquires. "The Elixir Injection," Ikuno explains, "a highly concentrated drug that induces more yellow blood cell production. It greatly increases one's parasite aptitude."

You wince at the mention of that and add, "If you survive the procedure..." causing everyone to look at you. "What do you mean?" Naomi asks. "The Elixir Injection has a survival rate of 15%," you state, "I had some as well."

"Some? Are you saying you had more than one?" Goro asks. "Yes," you reply, "They feel like your body is being burned from the inside." "Why did you take them though?" Ichigo inquires. "Oh, you misunderstand. It wasn't my choice to take the injections, I was forced to," you answer coldly, "I was a 'special subject' in the Lab after I was removed from the Garden and went through hell basically. Though the injections were tailored to my DNA from what I have been told, so my survival chance was higher as a result."

The room is silent for a moment as everyone looks at you with various degrees of shock on their faces.

"I didn't know you and Mitsuru had taken such a risky injection..." Kokoro says meekly.

"Enough about that though, that's in the past," you state.

XXXXXX

The next morning you are gathered bright and early in the briefing room. You notice that Mitsuru and Ikuno are wearing their parasite suit.

"Good morning, children," Nana begins, "We've called you here to discuss something. We're aware of minor problems among some of you and want to propose a partner shuffle."

"Partner shuffle?" everyone asks. "This isn't an order. It's simply an option available to you," Nana replies reassuringly, "Take this chance to talk it out with your partners, and if anyone wants to try the shuffle, ask."

Everyone splits into pairs and scatters around the room.

"We don't need this shuffle," Futoshi says to Kokoro, "After all, I've already promised to protect you forever. Right, Kokoro?" "Yeah..." she replies, looking a little uncomfortable as he is gushing over her.

"Is something bothering you, Zero Two?" you ask worriedly as you lean against the rails, "Remember when I asked you to speak your mind with me because I wanted to get to know you better?" "Did you?" she responds nonchalantly.

"Yes, so if anything's weighing on your mind, please tell me-" you begin but are interrupted when she puts her hand on your mouth, "That's a pain, honestly. We can understand each other just fine by piloting Strelizia," she says coldly as she shoves you aside and exits the room.

What is this sadness pounding in my chest?

"That was cold," Misaki says to Ryoken as they were watching you and Zero Two from the side of the room. "And here I thought I had her figured out," Ryoken adds as he watches Zero Two exit the room, then averts his gaze towards you, standing all alone now, "I hate seeing him like this."

"Give it a rest already," Ikuno says calmly to Mitsuru in the back of the room, "You know what caused this mess, don't you?" "What are you trying to say?" Mitsuru asks nonchalantly. "Drop the act, would you?" she retorts. "Stop it," he huffs. "It takes courage to face up to others and yourself, huh?" she presses further. "Seriously, what's your point?" he asks in an annoyed tone. "Your inability to trust or open up to anyone after you got talked into taking the Elixir Injection by some kids from the Garden," she utters. "Shut up! I told you to drop it!" Mitsuru shouts, getting everyone's attention now.

"That suits you much better than acting all cool and aloof," Ikuno states dryly before walking back to the front of the room, Mitsuru following shortly after.

After everyone grouped up again, Nana speaks up, "So, is there anyone who wants to try riding with a different partner?" Ikuno raises her hand and says, "Let me try a pistil-to-pistil connection, please. I want to try it out as a backup plan for emergencies when we've lost a stamen."

She turns towards Ichigo and asks, "Would you help me, Ichigo?" "What? Me?" Ichigo asks, a little startled. "Please," Ikuno replies. "Sure, I guess," Ichigo responds.

"Very well. Let's try it," Nana announces, "Anyone else?"

Surprisingly enough, Kokoro out of all people raises her hand and says, "Let me try riding with Mitsuru." Suffice to say that everyone is a little dumbstruck hearing that.

"W-What? But Kokoro... Y-You promised," Futoshi mutters, on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Futoshi," Kokoro says meekly as she turns away.

"Alright then," Hachi declares, "The four of you proceed to the docking bay."

The rest of you watch the connections from the briefing room through the monitors. While Ikuno's connection doesn't register, Mitsuru's climbs slightly above the required minimum and remains stable for several minutes before Hachi ends the trial.

XXXXXX

After this whole ordeal, you and the other boys, minus Mitsuru, gather in Zorome's room. Futoshi, who is completely devastated after Kokoro broke their promise, clings to a pillow, sobbing. "W-Why? Did I do something wrong? I tried my hardest for Kokoro's sake!" he sobs.

"Maybe that got on her nerves," Zorome says nonchalantly, "Also, lose some weight." Ryoken shoots Zorome a deadly glance, signaling him that that comment was completely unnecessary. "But I wonder what Kokoro was thinking..." Goro contemplates. "She's really nice, maybe she felt that she had to do something for Mitsuru," Hiro remarks.

"Especially since he's so miserable," Zorome comments. Suddenly, Futoshi jumps up and grabs Zorome by his collar, "I'm clearly the most miserable one here!" he screams. "Hey, calm down Futoshi," you interject as you and Hiro try to get him away from Zorome.

Then, the door opens, revealing Mitsuru but as he sees everyone else there, he turns around to walk away. "Wait! Do you think I'm pathetic?" Futoshi shouts after him. "What does it matter who our partners are?" Mitsuru replies in his usual cold tone.

Futoshi lets go of Zorome and charges at Mitsuru, yelling, "Like you'd have any idea how I feel!" Mitsuru steps to the side, making Futoshi crash into the wall where he collapses and begins to sob again. "This is a pain," Mitsuru sighs as he walks away.

"Mitsuru, try to understand how Futoshi feels," Hiro says after him. "Pff, what do you know? You've never lost anything," Mitsuru retorts. "Come on, Mitsuru. You're being a jerk for no good reason," you interject. "How quaint, someone who failed to protect his own squad and plantation is trying to lecture me now, give me a break," Mitsuru scoffs.

That's it! you think to yourself as you form a fist.

Just as you are about to go over to him to teach him a lesson, Ryoken suddenly marches past you and beats you to the punch.

Ryoken grabs Mitsuru by his collar and lifts him a few centimeters above the ground. "Listen here, you little shit," Ryoken says in a harsh tone as he stares him dead in the eyes, "Don't think, even for a second, that you are the only one here who has ever lost something."

You notice a display of emotion on Mitsuru's face that you haven't seen in a long time: fear.

"So, I'd suggest you stop behaving so hostile towards us, otherwise you and I are going to have a problem," Ryoken says as he releases him, "Now, get out of my sight." Mitsuru regains his composure after a moment and slowly walks away.

"Whenever I think about Kokoro," Futoshi says as Goro and Hiro try to help him up, "I feel this tightness in my chest. But now that tightness hurts... What is this?"

"I hear you..." you mutter to yourself.

XXXXXX

About an hour later, the alarm goes off and Squad 13 is called to action again at the S-Planning site.

"We've detected a Gutenberg-class Klaxosaur," Hachi announces over the comms, "Set up a defensive line of 500 meters from the S-Planning site and neutralize the target. Genista, Gladiolus, and Chlorophytum will act as rear support."

After taking your position in the front along with the other melee Franxx, you can see the Klaxosaur lumbering towards you in the distance. It appears to be a gigantic version of the Conrad-class Klaxosaurs that you have been fighting for the past couple of days.

"That thing is huge!" Argentea exclaims. "Finally, one worth fighting!" Strelizia exclaims as she begins to charge at it. "Hold it!" Delphinium shouts after her but to no avail.

Strelizia creates a long cut from the beast's right front leg up to its back, but the Klaxosaur seems unfazed as if nothing happened and starts to regenerate.

"No good. The core's too deep inside," you state as Strelizia runs up the back of the beast. "Sounds fun!" she shouts as she jumps into the fresh cut, trying to dig deeper into it with her lance. "No, wait!" you respond but it's too late as the wound begins to close, trapping Strelizia.

Thankfully, Valkyrie, Argentea, and Delphinium come to the rescue and pull you out before landing back on the ground.

"You okay?" Argentea asks to which Strelizia just replies with "Mind your own business!" and begins to run at the Klaxosaur again. "That girl..." Ryoken mutters.

Suddenly, the pieces that were cut off from the Klaxosaur's body begin to move and shape into the small Conrad-class Klaxosaurs you fought before.

"Where did these come from?" Argentea says surprised. "It's a collective mass," Goro exclaims, "Even when attacked, they recombine and close the opening."

While Argentea and Delphinium try to dodge its hind leg, Valkyrie deals with the smaller ones.

"You damn monster!" Strelizia shouts as she charges once more at it, not realizing that at the current course she is going to be crushed by the Klaxosaurs front leg. You pull at the controls with all your might to stop her and ultimately succeed in reversing the thrusters, thus saving her.

"Don't stop me, Darling!" Strelizia shrieks as she tries to resist your control. "Don't rush it! Calm down!" you respond, "We need to come up with a plan. We're not getting anywhere like this."

"We need to shoot at it," Genista answers over the comms, "I could separate it with close-range fire." "Good idea! That'll expose the core!" Valkyrie replies. "Go ahead and fire a round into it," Argentea adds. "But that plan's too risky for Genista right now," Delphinium remarks. "All our lives are at risk. We're a team, aren't we?" Genista responds. "Fine, but don't get reckless," Delphinium adds.

"We'll carve a path through the small ones for you," you declare as you form up with the melee Franxx and begin to dispatch the Conrad-class Klaxosaurs that were released by the Gutenberg-class.

"A few got through!" Ryoken exclaims as three rush past the frontline and head for Genista.

Genista follows up fast and tries to eliminate them along the way but seems to be faltering. "No need to rush, Mitsuru," Genista says reassuringly. "I know!" he retorts.

Just as one of the small ones was about to flank Genista, Gladiolus swoops in to protect her. Genista then charges blindly towards the Klaxosaur and collides with its leg, sending her tumbling backward, her faceplate going dark.

The Klaxosaur continues is march towards the excavation site and Genista is still lying in its path. Just as the Klaxosaur lifts its foot, Genista still not moving, Chlorophytum arrives in the nick of time and stops the foot from coming down though she is visibly struggling with it. Gladiolus and Valkyrie join her as well and hold the foot of the beast up together.

"Are you okay?" Chlorophytums asks. "Yes, thanks to you guys," Kokoro replies.

At the same time, Delphinium and Argentea cut the tendons of the Klaxosaur's hind legs, making it fall on its knees but this only adds more weight to the front legs. The three Franxx holding the front left leg grunt in pain due to the added stress.

Then, the Klaxosaur lifts its front right leg towards the S-Planning site and begins to reform it, making it grow towards the site and stabilizing it with roots that come out of it below.

"Change of plans! Miku and I will stop this thing!" Delphinium announces as they go for the growing leg. "Take care of Genista!" Argentea adds.

"I'll protect Kokoro, no matter what!" Futoshi yells as Chlorophytum fires into the Klaxosaur's foot. "Damn it, Mitsuru. Pull yourself together!" Ryoken exclaims while you are trying to divert the beast's attention towards you to buy them time.

"Hurry...up, Mitsuru!" Chlorophytum grunts in pain after a few minutes pass.

Suddenly, Genista begins to move but contorts and writhes as she is reforming herself. Her hat suddenly opens to reveal a maw with sharp teeth and orange glowing eyes above it. She lets out a roar as the transformation into stampede mode is nearly complete. "Stop! Kokoro!" Futoshi screams.

Just as quickly as it began, the transformation grinds to a halt. Genista then reverts back to her normal form and her faceplate once again goes dark.

After nearly another minute passes, the three Franxx holding the leg are starting to give in under its weight, Genista rises up again, "Sorry we're late, everyone!"

Gladiolus and Chlorophytum fire their weapons, pushing the Klaxosaur back before they fall back with Valkyrie. Genista then dashes past them and rams her canon into the belly of the beast before firing a shot into it with a massive 'bang'.

"Now!" Genista exclaims as the core comes into view. You waste no time and rocket right past her and impale the core on Strelizia's lance. The body draws itself together into a ball before exploding into blue liquid.

XXXXXX

Back at the docking bay, just as you exit you can hear Futoshi yelling angrily as he approaches Mitsuru who just exited Genista's cockpit. "Hey, Mitsuru! That was so dangerous! Why?" he exclaims as he comes closer, "Why'd you make Kokoro do that?!" He then punches Mitsuru right in the jaw, who didn't even try to dodge. He falls to the ground and Kokoro immediately rushes to his aid.

"Why didn't you dodge it?!" Futoshi says annoyed. "Do you realize how unreasonable you're being?" Mitsuru replies. "Aren't you a man?" Futoshi shouts at him, "Hurting a girl is the worst thing a man can do! If you make Kokoro cry, I'll make you pay, got that?!"

"I promise..." Mitsuru answers meekly. Futoshi is taken aback by his response before Mitsuru continues, "I promise to protect Kokoro from now on. Happy now?"

Futoshi falls to his knees and begins to cry as he mutters, "I loved... I loved Kokoro!"

You lean against the rails of the platform outside Strelizia's cockpit as you watched that confrontation unfold. Suddenly, a pair of arms wraps around you from behind. You turn your head to see that it's none other than Zero Two, resting her head on your shoulder now as she whispers, "Don't worry Darling. We'll always be together... until the day we die."

While you think the meaning of the words was supposed to be sweet, something about the way she delivers them sends a chill down your spine. The day... we die?

XXXXXX

Later that night

Ryoken is sitting in the lounge by himself, looking at a photo with a dried bloodstain in the top right corner. A tear forms in the corner of his eye as he mutters to himself, "Why..."

When he hears steps coming closer, he folds the photo back into his inner pocket and wipes the tear from his eye. As Mitsuru enters the lounge and sees Ryoken, he quickly turns around. "Wait," Ryoken calls after him as he gets up and walks towards him.

Mitsuru turns around to face him, though looking a little uneasy. "I wanted to apologize," Ryoken begins as he extends his hand towards him, "I overreacted in that situation earlier and lost it."

Mitsuru hesitates for a moment, but shakes his hand nonetheless, "I apologize as well. It wasn't right of me to lash out at the others like that." "Glad that we have that settled then," Ryoken responds as he walks away, "Good night."

Next time he insults (Y/N) like that, I won't be so merciful, Ryoken thinks to himself.