A little over a month, later….

"I can't believe we're here already," Ichigo commented.

The entire squad leaned against the railing of the walkway around the edge of the Plantation, feeling the cold morning air as they stood watching as they got closer to the great seed vault. The morning sun sparkling against a massive metal door inlaid into the mountainside.

So much had happened since they had left the Garden, and the plan to plant seeds inside the plantation fascinated every member of the squad. It hadn't been long after they had made their bid for freedom, that Dr. Franxx had come up to inform them of what was going on and his plan moving forward. And since that time, they could tell that the caretakers of Plantation 13 had been hard at work. They didn't know too much of what was going on, but it hadn't escaped their notice that whole sections of the plantation's armored plating had been removed, and from the constant hum of machinery they knew that something big was going on inside the Plantation.

"I still have a hard time believing that all the seeds in the entire world are inside this vault," Mitsuru said quietly.

Hiro looked over at him. "Well, I hope they are because, If not, we could be kinda screwed."

Mitsuru gave him an awkward smile. "Yeah, let's hope it's all in here."

They both turned and stared back at the vault. Things were still a little tender between them. Hiro had explained what had happened to him and Zero Two to the entire squad, but he and Mitsuru's relationship was still fragile. But at least there was some change, and when Mitsuru was assigned as Kokoro's stamen, his attitude had improved.

"Well, I guess we'll find out when we get in there," Goro said.

"Well, I hope the seeds are in there." Zero Two said happily, "I wanna plant a garden, like the one Dr. Franxx described to us."

"I thought Dr. Franxx called it a farm?" Miku interjected.

Zero Two shrugged. "Whatever it is. It makes food, right?"

Miku smiled. "Fair point."

"You know I wonder what the first food we harvest will be?"

"I heard the cucumbers grow fast, maybe that'll be the first harvest," Ikuno interjected.

Suddenly Zero Two swayed slightly where she stood and covered her mouth, swallowing hard. She backed away from the squad and leaned up against the wall of the plantation, looking like she was going to be sick.

"You alright, Zero Two!?" He cried alarmed, hurrying over to her.

She swallowed hard and gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just feeling a little bit queasy. I'll be okay. Just give me a moment."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Miku asked before he got the chance.

Zero Two smiled and straightened. "Of course. See, I'm already feeling better."

He couldn't help but notice that her hand drifted to her belly, and her fingers were tense as she tried to subtly alleviate her discomfort.

"You got something against cucumbers, then?" Ikuno asked curiously.

Zero Two shook her head. "No. Seriously, guys, it's no big deal. I just felt a little nauseous for a moment."

Just then, Ichigo's communicator beeped, and the squad's attention was momentarily diverted.

"Dr. Franxx says to meet him in the hangar in fifteen minutes," Ichigo said after reading through the message.

Goro nodded. "Well, I guess we better get going."

The rest of the squad started to meander away, but Hiro hadn't taken more than a step when he noticed the Zero Two wasn't moving.

"I'll meet you guys there." Zero Two said doing her best to smile. "Just want a quick moment to myself."

The squad indicated their understanding and began to walk away, but he made his way over to her and stood by her. As the squad rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight, Zero Two's mask fell away, and she looked to be in extreme discomfort.

"How did you read my mind?" Zero Two asked distractedly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"How did you know I wanted you to stay? I told everyone to leave."

He let out a small chuckle. "I'm not going anywhere without you, silly."

Zero two let out a small chuckle that was cut short as she covered her mouth.

"Are you alright…"

Before he' ed even finished his sentence, Zero Two leaned over the railing and wretch, and the putrid smell of vomit assaulted his nose.

"Zero Two!" He cried, in alarm.

Hurriedly he pulled her hair up and out of the way as she continued to wretch over the side of the railing. Gently he rubbed her back, trying to comfort her. He felt her convulse as she continued to empty the contents of her stomach. After another moment, she coughed and spit over the side of the railing, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." She said, breathing heavily.

"Never mind that we need to get you to the medical bay," He countered concern written all over his face. "You're obviously sick, and you shouldn't even be outside right now."

She shook her head, "I'm not sick."

"And how would you know that?"

Zero Two opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again, she appeared to be in deep thought.

She straightened and turned to him. "I'll tell you later, for now, I just need you to trust me on this."

"But."

"Please, Darling, I promise I won't keep you in suspense for long."

He let out a sigh. "Okay. Just make sure you don't push yourself too hard."

She smiled. "I promise."

They stood gazing out at the seed vault for serval long moments, but eventually, Zero Two broke the silence.

"We should probably catch up with the others."

He nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

As they began to walk away, he spotted out of the corner of his eye Zero Two gently stroke her belly and give a small smile, before straightening.

Then suddenly, she bounded forward and broke into a little bit of a run.

"Come on, Darling. Let's join the others. I wanna see all these seeds for myself." She said, beaming at him.

Smiling, he ran after her.

They all gathered in the main lobby waiting for Dr. Franxx, excited to see the contents of the seed vault.

A few moments later, Dr. Franxx walked in with a smile on his face. "Hello, everybody. I hope everyone's morning is going well so far."

Everyone agreed, and they all couldn't wait to see the vault that they had heard so much about.

Dr. Franxx smiled. Well, everybody, I have one more surprise before we enter the vault."

A door slid open and in walked.

"Futoshi!" The squad cried.

They ran over to him, their questions and concerns coming at such a rapid rate that they were impossible to answer.

Futoshi smiled and began speaking his own greeting, just letting it cut through the squad shock. "I'm all better now. It took me a while to heal, but now that I have, I feel better than I ever have."

"I'm so glad you made it," Goro said, sounding like a huge weight had been taken off his chest.

"So am I," Futoshi replied, smiling.

The entire squad all took their time greeting their recovered comrade, but Ikuno sharp eyes were the first to spot a problem. She realized that Futoshi was wearing black glasses, and they couldn't see his eyes. "Futoshi. Why are you wearing glasses?" She asked, puzzled.

The entire squad fell silent, waiting for Futoshi.

Futoshi sighed and took off the glasses to reveal dimly glowing eyes. The entire squad recoiled in shock, stunned into complete silence. But slowly like the sound of an engine revving questions started to spill from the squad's mouths, until it was all one giant wall of noise.

The question that finally broke through was. "What happened!?"

Futoshi shook his head and gave a small smile. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know. I can see just as well as I usually can… Better actually, and outside of the obvious, they don't feel any different." Futoshi paused for a moment, and slowly began to roll up he sleeve on his left arm. "And as scary as this is, all I can feel is a dull ache."

"What the heck is that!" Zorome shouted in horror, as Futoshi revealed glowing blue veins running down his arm.

Futoshi shook his head and looked over at Dr. Franxx. "I don't know, but Dr. Franxx says that I'll be okay."

The squad gave the doctor and expectant look.

Dr. Franxx shrugged. "From all the examinations that I've done, he seems to be perfectly fine, and apart from the obvious, he's in better condition than he ever was."

"But what is all that blue stuff?" Kokoro questioned.

"All I can say is that it's from the Klaxosaur, that attacked you two. What it's doing to him, I don't know. The only comfort I can offer on that front is that I have his comm measuring his vitals if something goes wrong, I'll know about it instantly."

Futoshi coughed loudly to break the uncomfortable silence. "To be honest, I'm just glad to be alive. I really thought I wasn't going to make it."

"Oh, Futoshi." Kokoro sobbed, running up to him and hugging him. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was terrified that we were going to lose you."

Futoshi looking surprised but pleased, gently returned the hug.

"Well, if you're truly okay, all I can say is welcome back, my friend," Goro said with a smile.

Futoshi looked up. "Thanks."

Dr. Franxx let the squad bask in their jubilation for their lost comrade, but after a while, he let out a small cough. "I'm sorry to break all this up… We do have limited time today however, so I suggest we make our way towards the vault."

Futoshi was the first to respond. "Yeah good idea, I've wanted to see this thing for a while now."

"Wait Futoshi, you know what we're doing?" Ichigo interjected surprised.

"Yes, of course. Dr. Franxx has kept me very informed about what you guys are doing, and I'm completely on board."

Dr. Franxx turned and began to walk away. "Well, come along. We've got a full day's work ahead of us, so let's begin.

The squad stood before the giant doors of the seed vault staring up in amazement. With a smile, Dr. Franxx stepped up to a control pad and entered the code to open the doors, a few moments later, there was a deafening warning alarm, followed by a loud hiss.

"Did it work?" Zorome asked, startled.

Just then, they heard the sound of metal grinding against metal, and the massive doors to the Great seed vault screeched open, protesting from a hundred years of non-use. They stepped into a staging area, and the doors shut behind them, with a deafening "BOOM," but before they even had time to recover, a second set of door slid open to reveal…

"Somebody pinch me." Goro gapped.

But nobody did, as they stared upon rows and rows of crates stacked floor to ceiling as far as the eye could see.

Dr. Franxx started forward and turned to them. "Well, everybody, I present humanity's great seed vault."

They all walked forward open-mouthed, stunned by the sheer scale of what they were seeing.

"I didn't know that there were this many seeds in the entire world," Goro whispered.

Dr. Franxx chuckled. "The world is a big place my friend, what's in here isn't nearly enough to restore the planet."

The squad looked at him in disbelief.

Dr. Franxx smiled. "It'll be enough for a start, though. We'll cram as much of it as we can onto the plantation and then run as fast as we can."

Hiro stiffened. "Are we in danger here?"

Dr. Franxx shook his head but said, looking grim. "No, not yet. But we just gave away our position, and Papa will now know that we're against him."

"How will he know that?" Zero Two asked.

"Because Papa has ordered us to attack the Gran Crevasse, which is the main headquarters of the Klaxosaurs. I have him thinking we're heading there now, but when we don't show up for the assault, he'll know we're lying and will most defiantly start hunting us down."

"Well, there no point in dallying," Ichigo said abruptly. "We'll worry about Papa later. For now, let see how many of these seeds we can fit on the plantation."

Dr. Franxx nodded. "I like your attitude. He grabbed his communicator. "Nana, Hachi, start harvesting the dirt, and prep it the way we discussed." The Doctor turned to the squad. "You'll find a transport hauler parked just around the corner, I'll help you get it over here. The rest of you, this is relatively simple but tedious. Come with me, and I'll show you."

They followed him over to a row and saw a control pad. The doctor punched in L5, and a machine with to clamps ascended the metal support structure of the storage row and moved over to a crate from around the middle. It grabbed it and made its way back over to them, dropping the crate off on the floor in front of them.

"Relatively simple." The Doctor explained. "I'll send a list of what numbers to type to each of your comms. Now everyone go find your own row, and I'll send them over once you're done. Futoshi you come with me, I want you to be the driver of the transport and grab the crates that your squadmates retrieve."

Futoshi smiled and started off after him.

Serval long minutes later, he stood in the middle of the entrance, ready to get started. Futoshi had understood his instruction well enough, and although watching him drive was like pulling teeth, It was serviceable enough to allow him to do his job.

"Alright, everybody!" He cried, holding up his communicator. "We all ready!?"

"Yes!" The squad called back.

"Alright, sending your instruction in 3, 2, 1!" His communicator beeped, indicating that the messages had been sent, and a few moments later, he heard the hum of the cargo retrievers zooming off towards their specified crates.

He sighed and watched in contentment as the squad went about their task and began to make the first steps towards their new future.

"That's the last crate." Zero Two announced, loading it onto the transport.

He watched as Hiro reached out a hand and helped her up to where the rest of the squad had gathered at the front half of the transport's loading bed.

"Alright, Futoshi, let's get back to the plantation."

"Aye, sir."

The transport swung around and began to drive off towards the entrance to the seed vault. With a sigh of relief, he looked back at the storage rows where all the seeds had been kept. Most of them still containing a vast majority of their crates. It was simply impossible for the plantation to house them all, and they only had the time to take what they needed.

"Sir," Zorome shouted over the hum of the transport. "What's going to happen to the rest of the crates?"

"Hopefully, nothing." He shouted back. "If we all survive this, we'll come back for them if they're still here."

"And if they're not?"

"Then, you better hope you're good gardeners because we have a finite amount of seeds here."

The squad fell silent, looking tense.

"You'll be fine. Humanity has been growing food for thousands of years, and I put as much of that knowledge as I could in the library. I'm sure we'll manage."

The transport zoomed out the main doors of the vault, and they watch with apprehension as the great doors sealed behind them, shimmering gold with the light of the setting sun. A few moments later, the transport arrived in a loading dock of Plantation 13, and everyone hopped off.

Dr. Franxx glanced around, searching for where they could put the rest of the crates. The transport and made serval deliveries already, and he realized that he might have overestimated how many creates this bay could hold.

"Sir," Goro pipped up. "I don't think we can fit all the crates in here."

"I know." He muttered. "Let's see… Hmm. Yeah, we better do that."

He whipped out his communicator, "Hachi, could you lower the transport elevator in bay 4, please."

"Of course. You ready."

"One moment." He replied, then turning to Futoshi, he said. "Futoshi line the transport up with that red square on the floor."

"Got it." The transport hummed to life as Futoshi repositioned them in the correct location.

He nodded and said to Hachi. "Ready."

The transport shook slightly as the floor that was the elevator began to sink into the plantation. He smiled as he heard the squads gasps of surprise, and waited as the descended further and further down. A few moments later, they arrived at a staging area on the outskirts of the city.

"Oh my," Ichigo said, stunned.

He smiled as he saw the looks of shock that crossed the squad's faces. He looked up and observed the city, which was unrecognizable from what it had been. Everything was gone, not a trace of the city was left, the golden paneling that had once covered the building was placed strategically all over the dome to reflect the sunlight that the plantation had been modified to let in. Piping that had once brought souls magma energy for the inhabitant's consumption had been reworked to distribute water. The only thing left of the city itself was the black base that the buildings had been built on that were raise to different elevations to create some sort of "landscape" for the now-demolished city. And looking far in the distance, he saw the dirt that the plantation had been harvesting pilling up in the corner, and judging from the rich dark brown color he saw, he was ecstatic to know that his plan to reenergize the Earth's soil was working.

"What the heck have you guys done to this place?" Hiro said awed.

"Stripped it of all obstruction." He replied.

"And what happened to all the adults?" Kokoro asked.

"They're in a better place." He said sadly. "In truth, humanity died long ago, all you saw was their shells." He looked down at all of them. "In fact, this squad is probably the last unaltered batch of humans that still exist. All your peers have been modified in some way.'

"You're saying that we're the only non-modified humans in existence?" Goro said, horrified.

He nodded. "For now. The caretakers and I are hopefully going to find a solution to that problem in the future."

"So, what now?" Zero Two asked.

"For the moment nothing. You guys have accomplished a lot today, and as much as I'd like to start planting, the caretakers and I have a few more things to do. We'll get started soon, I promise. But for now, you guys can relax."

They nodded.

"Call me as soon as you're ready," Ichigo said as everyone began to walk away.

"I will." He said with a nod.

Once the entire squad had left, he sighed and sat down. Pulling out his communicator, he began sketching out plans for how he wanted to set up a city-sized garden.

Later that night, Hiro turned off the water in the shower and began to dry himself. It had been a long day, and he was about ready to turn in for the night, they' ed accomplished so much today, and it felt good to have actually accomplished something meaningful. Still musing, he made his way to their room and found Zero Two lying naked on their bed, her eyes closed and a blissful expression on her face. He felt his cheeks warming, even though they'd shared each other's bodies and had hopefully conceived a child, it didn't change how damn alluring she was. As he made his way over to her, he noticed that something seemed different. Maybe he was just imagining it, but her breasts seemed fuller, and her nipples were darker. He shrugged and sat down next to her and gently ran his finger through her silky pink hair.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at him. "Your back." She said softly.

He nodded. "Yep."

She opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again, squirming slightly with pent up energy.

"What is it?" He asked. "You look like a child who's done something naughty."

Zero Two blushed and opened her mouth serval times, trying to speak.

He gave her an expectant look, and her squirming intensified. But after a moment, she gave a nervous gulp and looked him straight in the eye.

"Darling." She whispered softly. "Let's link our minds again. There's… There's something I want to show you."

"Okay." He agreed, slightly confused.

Laying down next to her, he gently rubbed his horns against hers and felt their consciousness fuse together again. He sat quietly for a moment, feeling her all around him, but as he basked in her presence, he realized that there was something more. Something he couldn't explain.

He heard her gentle heartbeat. THUD, THUD, THUD, t..ud, THUD. He grimaced and listened more closely. "THUD, THUD, thud, THUD, thud, THUD, THUD. He concentrated, focusing with all his might. And then he heard it. "THUD, thud, THUD, thud, THUD, thud, THUD, thud.

His heart leapt into his mouth. "Zero Two.." He said, trembling. "There's a second heartbeat in here."

She hummed and gently nuzzled him. "I know. Darling. I'm pregnant."

He let out a sob of joy and kissed her, imbuing her with as much love and passion as he could. They separated, and he stared into her loving emerald eyes.

"Yes!" He sobbed tears streaming down his face. "I can't believe it. We really did it!?"

She smiled, the happiest smile he'd ever seen spread across her face. "Yeah, we did. The book told me what I should be looking out for, and I'm showing all the signs. And while you were in the shower, my horns started to pulsate, and the baby connected with me. I got to feel its little heartbeat inside me."

He sobbed and nuzzled his face against hers. "I can't believe it. Were parents now… It's such an amazing thought to think that our little baby is inside you right now listening to everything we say."

She sobbed and hugged him close, their naked bodies pressed together, as the reveled in each other's affection, rejoicing in the confirmation that their love was growing into their child. Gently he separated from her and began to kiss his way down towards her belly, leaving a trail of kisses in his wake.

As he got to her belly, he gently nuzzled it and began to cover the whole area with kisses, still reveling in the fact that their baby was so close.

"Hi, little one." He whispered.

Zero Two squirmed and hummed affectionately.

"I can't wait to meet you, and I want you to know that mommy and daddy love you so much." He gave her belly another little kiss. "Until then, mommy is going to take good care of you, I promise."

He looked up and gazed at the woman he loved a big dumb smile on his face. Still reveling in the fact that their baby was on the way.

She stared at him with all the love and passion there was in the world and giggled. "Darling, you're, being silly. The baby can't hear you."

He smiled and kissed her belly again. "You'd be surprised. And they're going to hear it a thousand more times before they're born."

She reached down and gently ran her finger through his hair as he rested his head on her belly. She let out a long breath. "Were a family now." She breathed.

"I know." He whispered happily. "I almost feel like I'm dreaming."

She chuckled and said ruefully. "Well, you're not. My symptoms have made that all too clear to me."

He let out I sigh, and gently nuzzled her belly. "Well, I guess I have another reason to keep you safe. Can't have mommy getting hurt, can we."

She sat up and look him straight in the eye, her voice suddenly stern. "Don't you dare do anything stupid for my sake. And you make damn sure that you don't get yourself killed."

He smiled. "I don't plan too." He gently leaned forward and kissed her belly again. "But if I'm honest, I'd rather die a thousand deaths then watch harm come to you or our child."

"No, don't you dare." She said, tears starting to slide down her face. "I can't do this without you."

He sat up startled, Zero Two wasn't usually this emotional, and seeing her like this spooked him. "Shh…" He soothed, pulling her into a hug. "Come on, you know me. What makes you think that I'd willingly want to be separated from you."

"You… You done stupid, overly protective things even when I wasn't pregnant." She sniffed. "And knowing you, you'll do something dumb and throw all reason out the window if you think something will try and hurt me now that I'm pregnant."

He shook his head in amusement and let out a small chuckle. "Oh, Zero Two. That's what you're concerned over?"

"Yes, I am!" She sobbed.

He sighed and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Zero Two, look at me."

She did.

"Zero Two I promise I won't do anything that'll get me killed. And I vow to you that when our baby comes, I'll be right there beside you."

"Really?" She sniffed teary-eyed.

"Of course." Then with an amused shake of his head said, "Happy now."

"Hmm." She nodded and sat up, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "I don't know why I suddenly started crying over this." She said horsily.

He chuckled. "Being pregnant is making you do weird things, isn't it."

She grinned sheepishly. "I guess."

He smiled warmly. "Can't say I blame you. With Papa still around, we'll always be in danger. We should be prepared for anything."

Zero Two looked down at her belly. "Do you think there's any chance of us being free of him before it's time?"

He sighed. "I really hope so… But bringing down the man who dominated the world, in eight months. I really hope Dr. Franxx knows somebody who'd lend us a hand." He stared at Zero Two, the mother of their child and the woman he loved. "Because damn it, the moment you bring our baby into the world, I feel that it's of the utmost importance that at least one of us is always with it, and I am not bringing a newborn to a FRANXX, that's for damn sure."

Zero Two shook herself. "Come on, I don't want to think about that. We'll…. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

He nodded. "Your right... Dwelling on what I can't control won't help." He smiled. "Besides, I have much better things to think about now."

"Don't get too carried away." She said sweetly.

He smiled. "No promises. I've got nine months to spoil you, and think up lots of different ideas."

"Darling." She said, "Before you start doing anything too ridiculous, I want to try something. I wanna see how long it takes the squad to notice I'm pregnant. So I want this to be our little secret for as long as possible. So don't over spoil me more than you already do, You'll give the game up to fast."

He squirmed. "Oh… That's going to be so hard. Because damn it every time I look at you the knowledge that your caring makes me all warm and fuzzy."

She chuckled softly and grinned evilly. "Well, then daddy will just have to exercise some self-control, huh." She said, looking down at her belly.

They sat in companionable silence for serval long minutes, just taking a moment to be with each other. But eventually, Zero Two yawned and stretched, and he realized just how tired he actually was.

With another yawn, Zero Two relaxed unto the bed and stared up at him. "You staying up?" She asked.

He shook his head and made his way over to her. "Nah. It's been a long day. I was just thinking about turning in myself."

Laying down, he gently pulled the blankets up around them and cuddled close to her as they prepared to fall asleep. Unable to resist the urge, he slipped an arm around her and gently held her belly. She hummed affectionately and yawned as she relaxed into his arms.

Gently he kissed the back of her head and said. "Well, tonight's the first night we'll officially be a family." He said sweetly.

"Oh, Darling…" She said with a sigh. "You're even more excited for this than I am."

He chuckled. "Fine. Fine, I'll stop."

Gently she stroked the hand holding her belly. "Just take it easy until I have something to show for it. I don't want you to tire yourself out before major changes start happening."

He held her close. "Don't worry, I'll never run out of enthusiasm. But I guess I'll keep it on the down-low, I'm already at risk of spoiling our surprise."

"At least you recognize that much." She said, yawning. Then relaxing into his arms, she mumbled. "Night, Darling."

He smiled. "Good night."

The Nines came to a halt outside the entrance to nest 66. It had taken the squad far longer than it should've to get here. Their new bodies required feeding every few hours, and out of pure desperation, they spent enormous amounts of time just hunting Klaxosaurs to feed off of.

But now they were finally here, and ready to destroy this nest. Nine Alpha stared at the nest the thought of a Klaxosaur brimming with life energy, making him salivate. He was so hungry. He needed to be fed. He needed to devour that Klaxosaur. He felt his own saliva pooling in the mask, which fed him the Klaxosaur's life energy. A small voice in the back of his head made clear its disgust. He felt like a rabid animal, his thoughts focused solely on finding his next meal, wallowing in his own filth, as he obeyed his master's commands. As he stared at the entrance to the cave, he felt a twinge of pain stab through him as his nerves jabbed at him, urging him to feed. It burned and stung, and he knew that if he didn't obey soon, his own body would torture him until he succumbed like a broken animal.

Beta and Gamma's angry faces flashed up on his cockpit's screen. "What are you waiting for?" They both growled.

He stared back at them, the people that had once been his squadmates, now nothing more than wild animals. The injections had changed them, but instead of being disgusted, they seemed to be relishing in it. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they stared at everything with an urge to consume it.

He saw Delta open a private comm to him. "Alpha…" She whispered. "Please…"

Her plea was his call to action, as he stared at her shadowed eyes barely visible above the feeding mask that muzzled her. She had to be in pain, she'd been struggling ever since Papa's injections, and he knew that prolonged sessions without feeding were especially painful for her.

"Alright squad attack formation." He commanded. "Delta stay close to me, Beta, Gamma support us."

"As you wish." Beta said dryly.

"Okay, let's go." He order.

They started forward spears at the ready, descending deep into the Earth, as they delved deeper into the depths of nest 66. The walked in darkness for what seemed like an eternity, but finally, just ahead, they saw a faint glowing light, and as they got closer, the realized that the Klaxosaur was in its nest. They tried to be as quiet as possible, but when they heard a scream of rage and hatred, they realized that they'd been discovered.

"Charge!" He yelled.

They charged forward, abandoning stealth, making for the entrance to the sanctum of the Klaxosaur's nest. Barely a second later, a beam of energy whizzed by them and just missed Delta's head. A second beam wasn't far behind, and Beta had to dodge out of the way to avoid being hit. Alpha dashed forward his spear raised, and lunged at the Klaxosaur, it dashed out of the way, and he hit the wall and was forced to dive forward unto the floor to avoid the tail of a second Klaxosaur.

"Shit." He hissed as he rolled unto cover behind the cluster of pods that are always in Klaxosaur nests. "There wasn't supposed to be two in here."

The rest of the Nines burst into the clearing, and the Klaxosaurs were momentarily distracted, and taking a quick moment, he studied his opponents, notice that the larger one took a protective stance over the one behind it, and was bigger and bulkier compared to the second.

"Attack!' He shouted over the comm.

The squad launched at the Klaxosaurs spears jabbing forward with deadly precision, the larger one leaped and managed to force Beta and Gamma to leap for cover. Delta took her chance at the second one and lunged forward. He followed her lead and came in from the side his spear raised for a deadly thrust. The second Klaxosaur intercepted Delta and threw her against the wall, but realized to late the trap he had set.

All of a sudden, he was sent flying and smashed into the cave wall, groaning he picked himself up and saw that the first Klaxosaur and managed to ram him a second before it was too late. It was a brave final act, Beta and Gamma flew at the Klaxosaur and buried their spears in the Klaxosaur disabling it, and seeing the opening he needed, launched forward and drove his spear into the Klaxosaur's chest shattering the core. Strangely, however, instead of the Klaxosaur exploding like they usually did, this one just seemed to die. He stood baffled. What made this Klaxosaur different? Sure it had a wholly unique design that didn't seem to match anything he had encountered so far. But weren't Klaxosaurs all the same? There couldn't be more than one type could there?

The second Klaxosaur screamed in rage and lunged at him. Abandoning his spear and rolled out of the way, the Klaxosaur's jaws missing him by an inch. It lunged again as he tried to recover, and he was pinned against the cave wall, the Klaxosaur reared and began to charge up to fire a beam of energy, helpless he struggled to be free, trying to avoid that deadly blast.

Over the comms, he heard Delta scream, and the Klaxosaur leaped to avoid Delta as she attacked. And He quickly jerked his head out of the way to avoid Delta's spear that slammed into the rock where his head had been. Delta didn't even seem to notice and yanked her spear from the wall, and he watched transfixed as Delta, Beta, and Gamma all lunged at the Klaxosaur from three different directions. The Klaxosaur managed to dodge Gamma and got a glancing blow against Beta, but it was Delta's spear that pierced the Klaxosaur and drove itself straight through the core. It let out a cry of pain and collapsed, slumping to the floor as Delta removed her spear.

He stood and walked over to the first Klaxosaur and retrieved his spear, docking it on the back of his FRANXX, leaving his hands free.

"Good work, team." He said to the other Nines.

Nobody paid any attention to him; instead, they all dove their fangs into the dying Klaxosaur harvesting the life essence they needed to satiate their hunger. He felt a stabbing pain in his stomach and knew that he too needed to feed. Hurriedly he joined his squad and drove his fangs into the Klaxosaur's neck, feeding off the Klaxosaur's life energy. As his FRANXX harvested the energy for him, he felt it being poured down his throat, forcing him to eat the meal that his body needed to survive.

He was the first to finish and standing he observed his squad-mates, as they continued to gorge themselves. As he stood, observing the aftermath of their flight, staring mesmerized at the broken and mutated bodies of the Klaxosaurs. The larger one had died shortly after they had begun feeding, but the second one was still clinging to life as it lay dying next to the eggs that they had been protecting. He sighed, this had been a tough mission. The two Klaxosaurs had fought hard to protect their nest, but ultimately he and his squad had triumphed. The only thing left was to destroy the eggs and mark this nest as cleared.

He glanced back at his squad as they continued to feed like animals. He felt a tightening in his stomach, and although he' ed seen this behavior at every feeding, he felt disgusted at what they had become. He knew that he didn't look much better when he was feeding, but at least he tried to show restraint. The only one he felt pity for was Delta. She was his favorite and was in a lot of pain, so she was the exception. But the others. What was their excuse?

He walked over to the eggs and took a moment to stare at them, he' ed never really bothered, but since he had the time, it wouldn't hurt to take a look. As he studied them, he began to question what he' ed always been told. They were supposed to be food storage, but as he investigated, this seemed like an incredibly poor way to store food, not to mention why would the Klaxosaur go to such lengths to protect it. Dying for storage seemed like a stupid idea. Maybe there was something more to this.

"Hmmm. What is this thing?" He muttered.

As he continued to stare, he noticed an odd thing in the center of the eggs. It vaguely looked like a tiny Klaxosaur but, that didn't make a whole lotta sense so…. His eyes went wide as he saw something moved inside the egg. Something was alive in there!

"Alpha," Beta called.

He whipped around distracted. "What?"

"What did the eggs taste like?"

"What? How would I know?"

"I thought you were eating them." Beta stated, "They look quite appetizing from over here."

The rest of the Nines moved over to beside the eggs eyeing them with what he could only imagine to be a hungry expression.

"Do you think it tastes better than a Klaxosaur?" Gamma asked.

"I wanna find out. That last Klaxosaur tasted like shit. But these… They look wonderful."

"Why do you think they glow?" Delta asked, in a hungry voice that made him sick.

"I think we should leave them alone." He said suddenly, watching as the thing in one of the eggs moved again. "These'll die or whatever without the Klaxosaurs around. Let's leave."

"I don't know Alpha," Delta said. "It couldn't hurt to try one, could it?"

"I don't think…"

"Good idea, Delta." Beta agreed. "Maybe these'll finally satiate my hunger. That'll stop the pain, right?"

"No more pain…." Delta moaned.

He felt his stomach clench, something was about to give, and he was losing control.

"Nines!" He shouted. "Retreat…."

Too late. Delta launched forward, in a mad frenzy, and scooped up one of the eggs, ripping it from its protective nest. Before he could even blink, she drove her fangs into it and began to devour it, with an animalistic fervor. He watched as the thing inside it twitched feebly, but before he'd even had time to process what he'd seen, the egg collapsed, and he watched as it hit the ground.

The dying Klaxosaur gave a feeble wail, unable to move, the last visages of its life slipping away.

Beta and Gamma launched at the eggs as well and began to devour them as well, but unlike Delta, whatever was inside those eggs never fell to the floor.

Gently he picked up the thing that had fallen out of Delta's egg and stared at it. It twitched feebly, trying to survive. It looked so raw, vulnerable, and helpless; it seemed so underdeveloped. He saw it struggling, trying desperately to hold on to life. It wanted to live, and they'd ripped it from its protective egg, and consumed it. He stared at it, and he felt tears running down his face as he stared at this helpless little thing. Why!? Why was this happening? Why did he feel this way? This was a Klaxosaur. The creatures that existed to destroy humanity, why was he sitting here crying over, this tiny Klaxosaur?

He looked over at the Klaxosaur that lay dying on the cave floor. It stared at him, a desperate pleading look in its eyes. Not even thinking about what he was doing, he walked over to the Klaxosaur, and gently set down the thing from the egg, just in front of it. He watched as the Klaxosaur gently nuzzled, the tiny, helpless Klaxosaur, using every ounce of strength it had left, to be with its… its… He watched glued to the spot as the little Klaxosaur reached out a tiny little limb and made contact with its guardian. The Klaxosaur closed its eyes, and he saw what looked like a tear leak from its eye before they both collapsed dead to the cave floor. He stared at them, trembling, unable to explain what was going on. Why was this happening? Why did he feel this way!? He collapsed to the cave floor, unable to understand what was going on. He looked up at his squad and watched as they devour the eggs, consuming everything. He stared in horror at what had happened to his squad.

Just then, he became aware of somebody sobbing, their voice filled with anguish and desperation. As he listened, he realized that his private comm call with Delta was still open, and he could hear her. Sobbing hysterically, and screaming in pain as she fought to stop what she was doing but unable to. He watched as she grabbed another egg and watched as she dove her fangs into it feeding. But if that wasn't enough, he watched her through the call choking and retching as the substance was forced down her throat. He watched as she screamed in pain and desperation as she was violated; all vestiges of her self control, stripped from her, as Papa used her for his own sick purposes.

"PLEASE JUST MAKE IT STOP!" She wailed as she began reaching for another of the eggs. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE, I'LL DO ANYTHING! PAPA! HELP ME PLEASE!"

He watched as she brought another egg up to her fangs again, sobbing and begging for it to stop. He sat glued to the spot. Surely Papa would come! He had to come. He always looked out for them. Right!? Surely he wouldn't let Delta keep suffering like this. Time seemed to slow, as he watched Delta bring the egg to her fangs. Papa had to come. Surely in her hour of greatest need, Papa would come to save her. He may of had his doubts before, but he had to come, this time. He just had too, he'd come and fix all this. This was all just a bad dream!

"PAPA PLEASE!" He begged. "HELP HER!"

Delta bit into the egg, and his whole world, shattered, and the only sound he heard was Delta screaming in pain. Papa wasn't coming. He didn't care about them, he used them. They were just his puppets. And all this. All this suffering. It was Papa's fault.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading Chapter 19 of The Jian Bird.

Sorry about the delay, life just been hectic lately, but don't worry I do plan on finishing this story, so there will always be an update... Eventually. Lol.

Stay tuned for chapter 20 of The Jian Bird: The Drums of War.