Papa stood on an observation deck looking at Apus in its hangar; his colossal FRANXX finally finished and ready to rain down its divine justice upon the Earth. He stared at its magnificence, the pinnacle of human engineering. No Klaxosaur could beat this. With this, he'd create his world. The world, as it was always meant to be.

"Papa," A tech said, walking up to him. "Apus will be ready in just a few minutes. Should we prep Apus for departure, or do you wish to remain here?"

"Get the weapon systems online first." He commanded. "We're going to clean up the main targets while we're still in orbit."

"Roger that."

Suddenly there was an urgent beeping from his communicator and pulling it out, he answered the call from the command center.

"What is it?" He said cooly.

"Sir, we have an anomaly." The tech said. "Please look at this."

Suddenly a video stream appeared on his communicator, and he saw… His mouth fell open as he saw a large group of Klaxosaurs all gathered on a mountaintop and watched as that stupid Klaxosaur dragon, landed at the summit. He stared transfixed until he saw a glowing blue light building in the dragon's mouth.

"No…" He whispered, horrified.

Transfixed, he watched the light glow brighter his mind screaming at him to wake up. "Raise the shields!" He shouted at the techs. "DO IT NOW!"

The light streaked past the viewfinder. Suddenly, the whole station rocked violently, the Klaxosaur's beam smashing straight into them. He was thrown to the floor as more beams hit the station the Klaxosaurs assault becoming more devastating as more of those accursed beings joined in. Alarms were blaring all around him; the station's integrity had been compromised, and they were venting atmosphere.

"Command!" He shouted at the communicator.

All he got was static. He got up and looked at the window of the observation deck, the station's command center now a blackened hole, debris and people flying out of it as they were sucked out into space. Still, more beams of energy smashed into the station, and he saw part of the station explode and spin off into space. Thinking fast, he looked over at Apus and was forced to grab the railing as the station violently shook again.

Hurrying over to the lift shaft, he forced open the doors looking for the emergence ladder on the wall. Hurriedly he reached for it and clambered on, desperately clinging to it as the station shook yet again. He gritted his teeth as he hurriedly descended the ladder the station shaking all around him. Debris from the top of the shaft cascaded down the shaft, and he took cover to avoid that deadly debris.

Reaching the level that led to the hangar, he reached out and pulled the manual release lever for the door. Leaping for the door, he hauled himself through, groaning as he rolled into the hallway beyond. Gritting his teeth, he stood and began running down the hall the door to Apus's docking hatch just up ahead. He made it, and the door slid open. He dashed down the cocking tube looking down at Apus through the glass windows as he hurried towards the hatch. Behind him, he heard a crash, and the tube violently sagged the support connecting it to the hanger gone. He screamed in a fury and charged at Apus's hatch desperate to escape the abyss that waited for him at the other end of that tube. He hurdled himself at the docking hatch slamming the controls and tumbling into Apus's cockpit, the hatch sealing behind him.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked around. Smiling as he gazed at Apus's cockpit, and standing made his way over to the controls. Sitting down in the command seat, he began the start-up sequence, his fingers dashing over the display. Apus came alive around him as the magma reactor turned on, the screens that made up the cockpit screen activated, showing the world around him.

"Welcome Papa." Said a computerized female voice.

"Bring all systems online." He said to the FRANXX deploying the piloting controls, a set of joysticks deploying exactly where his hands were.

"All systems are go." The FRANXX said back. "Apus is fully loaded and ready for operation."

He nodded and activated the energy shield to ward off any potentially damaging attacks from the Klaxosaurs. Reaching up, he took his mask off and pulled on a helmet Apus's head moving in conjunction with his head movements. Gripping the controls in front of him, Apus came to life its maneuvering thrusters firing in response to his commands.

With a foolish grin, he piloted Apus out the hangar and maneuvered out of the Klaxosaur's line of fire. Suddenly he realized that Apus was slowly losing altitude Earth's gravity pulling him out of orbit. He looked up at the station that had served as his headquarters for so long. Now hopeless damaged as the Klaxosaurs continued the assault. Looking down at Earth's surface, he watched as still more beams of energy streaked up from its surface. He made to aim Apus's magma cannon at the Klaxosaurs, but suddenly a warning alarm triggered, and he looked at his display. Apus was now entering the atmosphere, the heat of reentry battering the shield. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he realized that an orbital assault was out of the picture. His escape had been too late, and he was firmly in Earth's gasp.

He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. In his moment of clarity, he knew what he needed to do, and using the controls, he angled Apus towards the Garden. It was time to begin his final conquest of Earth, and bring about the genocide of the Klaxosaurs. With this FRANXX and his remaining forces, it was possible. It was time to regroup and finish his divine mission.

Ikuno sat at a holo table across from Dr. Franxx, gazing over a model of a cloning tube that she and Dr. Franxx had designed. Quietly she sat back, examining it, the orange light of the holo alighting the room with a gentle glow.

"I think that this is doable." She said, "It's a little resource heavy, but I think it'll give the children a fair chance to grow."

Dr. Franxx nodded, his mechanical eye examining the model. "Yes, I agree. It'll at least allow us to get serval uses out of it, which is perfect." He paused for a moment in thought. "It'll make sure we don't get to carried away. We can not make the same mistakes again."

She looked at him, puzzled. "What mistakes."

"Getting over eager, with the number of humans we clone." He said reminiscently. "There's a special bond between a parent and their offspring that a cloned child just won't have. It's easy to forget when you artificially create things that they have thoughts and feelings too. We mustn't forget that…"

"Sir, why can't we repopulate with just the squad? As soon as you get a boy and girl, everything would snowball enough that you could have a sizable population after a few generations."

Dr. Franxx nodded. "In theory that would work, but unlike say a Klaxosapien after a few generations, you'd have an incest problem, and genetically humans would fall apart. I planned to carefully do it with just the four couples here, with some very careful genetic planning for future generations, but that's no longer an option. The genetic sample that's available to us now is too small, and we have to resort to this…"

Ikuno looked down at herself, the blue veins of her transformation clearly visible. "I guess even the best-laid plans sometimes fall through…" She said reminiscently.

Dr. Franxx nodded. "We'll figure it out."

Just then, Hachi came into the office. "Sir, everything's ready."

Dr. Franxx nodded. "Thanks, Hachi, you guys take a break. You'll need your strength for the mission."

Hachi nodded. "Thank you, sir."

The door hissed shut as Hachi left the room.

"What's going on?" She asked curiously.

Dr. Franxx gestured at the cloning tube. "Well, we need something to fill them with."

Ikuno's eyes widened. "We're attacking the garden."

Dr. Franxx smiled. "Sneaking in and recovering some essentials is a more accurate description. But yes, we are heading to the Garden."

Ikuno felt her stomach churn. "I'll let the others know." She said.

He nodded, "Please do. Hachi and I will be up shortly with more details."

She stood. "Then I'll see you in a little bit."

He smiled "See you soon."

They were all hanging out in the living room when Dr. Franxx and the administrators walked in Nana and Hachi wheeling in containers as they entered. The hubbub of conversation died, and everyone stared expectantly at them. Ikuno had come up, during breakfast, to inform them of what Dr. Franxx had planned, and since she had, that was all anybody could talk about.

The sight of them sent his heart to racing. Ever since he heard that they'd been going to the Garden his mind had been in overdrive. A mission like that would be diving straight into enemy territory, and he wasn't entirely comfortable putting his six-month pregnant wife in that kind of danger. Zero Two, for her part, wasn't overly concerned and was eager for the opportunity to punish Papa. Still…

Dr. Franxx cleared his throat and straightened. "Well good morning, everyone. I trust that Ikuno told you all what I have in plan for us?"

They all nodded.

"She said we were going to collect samples of human's from Papa's cloning facility." Miku piped up.

Dr. Franxx nodded. "What is correct. As it stands right now, humanity won't be able to repopulate the world, so we were going to need to bolster our starting population a little." Dr. Franxx turned and smiled at the administrators. "Nana and Hachi have both agreed to be the guardians of our new companions, and with Ikuno's help, we've managed to create a way to clone more humans."

They all smiled proudly at Ikuno, proud of her accomplishment and marveling at her ingenious mind.

"Well." Dr. Franxx said after giving them a moment. "Now, all that's left is to retrieve our samples."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Mitsuru chimed in.

"Well Hachi and I have been playing with their logs and schedules, and we're going to sneak in as a transport." Dr. Franxx said, opening two containers. "And wearing these, we're all going to pretend to be guards."

They looked and saw guard uniforms, fully equipped with body armor and weapons lining the boxes.

"And this one." Dr. Franxx said, gesturing to it, "Has been specially designed to store up to fifty samples."

"Will this plan really work?" He said nervously, Zero Two's safety forefront on his mind.

"I won't deny that it'll be dangerous." Dr. Franxx said, "We're diving into enemy territory, so there's always a risk. But I think everyone in the squad is perfectly capable of handling it. And so long as nothing goes wrong, we'll be fine."

He stared at Zero Two and took a deep breath. "Zero Two, I want you to stay behind."

"What?" Zero Two said taken aback. "No absolutely not. There's no way I'm just staying behind." Her eyes flashed angrily at him. "I'm not just going to sit here while you go on some dangerous mission."

"It really is for the best Zero Two." Dr. Franxx said gently. "Nana and I tried to find body armor that could accommodate you, but…"

"No! I refuse." Zero Two said, digging her heels in.

"Zero Two, please." He pleaded trying to make her see sense. "I can't lose you, and so many things could go wrong. Please just this once…"

"No, Darling." She said firmly. "Nothing you say is going to convince me. I swore I'd remain by your side, and some dangerous mission isn't going to change that. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

He gave a frustrated sigh. He knew what happened when she dug in her heels, and nothing short of physically restraining her would keep her from coming at this point. And going that far was a possibility that he'd never bring himself to do.

Numbly he listened to the other members of the squad try and convince her, but he knew it was futile.

"Alright!" He shouted, frustrated.

He and Zero Two looked at each other, and he swallowed his urge to try and persuade her again. He knew his wife and knew that he'd get nowhere but make her more upset.

There was an awkward silence as everyone looked around nervously, unsure of what to do.

"Let her do what she wants…" He said with a heavy heart. "I'll… I'll make it work."

Numbly he sat there, and after a moment, Hachi offered to have them try on the guard uniforms, which was enough of a distraction. He sat their numbly watching as Hachi fitted the squad uniforms and equipped them with assault rifles, and spare ammo magazines. Even Zero Two stepped up, and to his dismay, found out that none of the protective gear would fit her, and that her belly got in the way of her using an assault rifle effectively. All they managed to give her was a pistol with a couple magazines of ammo, which she seemed happy enough with. He was the last one to be fitted and was equipped just like the rest except that his horns prevented him from wearing the helmet that the rest of them were given.

While everyone was chatting and admiring their new armor, he quietly slipped away and hid in a hallway his frustration and fear, threatening to overwhelm him. He tried to swallow it, but he couldn't… It was just…

"Darling." Zero Two said quietly, walking over to him.

He tried to say something, but tears started welling up in his eyes, and he looked away. It was too much.

"Darling." She said gently, tilting his head back towards her. "Darling, don't be upset…" She said, coming up and hugging him.

"I'm not." He whispered hoarsely, fighting to keep back tears.

"I know you're scared." She whispered, her swollen belly pressed up against him.

Despite himself, tears started cascading down his face, and Zero Two squeezed him.

"I love you, Darling." She whispered. "And that's why I refuse to let you do this on your own. We're together until the end, and just because something is dangerous isn't going to change that."

He sighed, getting himself under control, "Okay… Just… Stay close to me…"

She hummed softly and leaned against his chest. "I will."

"Alright, everybody!" Hachi said in the other room. "Let's get going. We have a schedule to keep."

"Come on, Darling," She said, gently separating and taking his hand "Let's go."

He nodded, and they set off to rejoin the others.

The transport that contained squad 13 zoomed towards the Garden, Hachi flying just above the surface to keep a low profile, a red trail of dust in the air the only sign that they'd passed.

"There it is," Hachi said.

Immediately the squad crowded up into the cockpit and looked out at…

"I don't ever remember it being this big," Zorome said nervously.

He looked up at the massive tower that made up the Garden, just barely making out the enormous glass dome on the top that held the orphanage. He felt a little queasy as he stared at it. They were about to dive into the belly of the beast and if they were caught….

He looked over at Zero Two, swallowing hard, his eyes going over her swollen belly. She was so vulnerable right now. He should have insisted more that she stay behind. If she was caught… or if some stray bullet…

Zero Two looked over at him, her eyes sparkling with fiery determination. "Just think of the look on Papa's face when he finds out what we've stolen."

He nodded, his throat painfully tight. "Yeah… I'm sure he'll be furious."

"Are you sure we can manage to get in without getting caught," Ichigo said, tightening a strap on her body armor.

Hachi shrugged. "I did everything I could. We should be able to fool them that we're a scheduled delivery. I managed to grab some high clearance codes, so they shouldn't question them."

Dr. Franxx nodded. "We'll just have to trust that it works." He looked at the squad. "It's time that you guys returned to your seats, this part is going to be delicate, and we need to focus."

"Roger that," Ichigo said.

Quietly they returned to their seats, all of them too nervous to really speak. As he sat there, he tried to relax, but his thoughts were torturing him. And no matter what he did, they wouldn't go away. He realized that this was one of the few times he'd felt truly afraid, and regardless of what he did, it was eating him from the inside. One wrong step on this mission could mean disaster and the cost of losing… He couldn't pay that price. He was leading his wife and child into the jaws of the abyss, and if they came down…

Zero Two gently sneaked her hand into his and gave it a squeeze. Gently she leaned in close. "What's wrong, Darling?" She whispered quietly.

He opened his mouth to say something but bit it off. No… He had to keep his composure, he wouldn't break down like before.

"It's nothing." He whispered, taking a deep breath. "Just promise you'll keep yourself safe… I…. I can't bear to…"

Zero Two sighed and gently kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be careful. I know how to take care of myself, Darling."

"I know it just… I can't help but worry." He said miserably. "So many things could go wrong, and I can't lose you."

Gently she leaned against him. "You won't, I promise. As long as we're together, we can do anything."

He let out a long sigh.

Just then, there was a loud male voice from the cockpit. "Unidentified transport! You have entered into the Garden's airspace. Identify!"

"Here it goes," Hachi said, with a note of apprehension. Hachi coughed and answered. "Garden this is shuttle 1702, we have a scheduled delivery at landing bay 01."

"01?" The voice said suspiciously. "I was not informed that we had any deliveries there today."

"Well we are, I'm looking right at it," Hachi said cooly.

There was a long pause as everyone waited with bated breath. "I guess you're correct…" The voice said, confused. "I require your clearance codes…"

Just then, they heard a commotion through the comms and hurried chatter. Hiro felt his stomach clench. Had they been caught?

Just then, a shadow passed over them, and looking out the transport windows they saw…

"What is that?" Goro said, horrified.

They stared out at a colossal sized FRANXX as it came into land, its four giant legs extended out to absorb the impact of the landing. He stared at it horrified, the FRANXX was absolutely enormous. It looked like a terrifying scorpion. The four legs connected to a large pointed body, centered around a waist that extended up into a torso connected to a head adorned with a glowing orange horn. The FRANXX landed with a crash, dust billowing out from the point of impact.

"This is our chance, Hachi." Dr. Franxx said, "Let's make for the hangar while everyone is distracted."

Suddenly the transport gave a jerk, and it accelerated, the roar of the engines deafening as Hachi made a break for the hanger. He looked out the window and saw the ground rushing past them, Hachi staying low to avoid all unnecessary attention. Suddenly they were all jerked forward as the transport abruptly slowed, and in front of them loomed the hangar bay. Slowly the transport began to descend into the hangar, and Hiro was surprised to see just how empty this hangar was. It looked abandoned.

The transport came to a halt, and Dr. Franxx walked into the crew compartment. He stood before them, and they all waited with bated breath. "Alright, squad." He said, looking them in the eye. "You know the mission. Get in, grab what we need and get out. I've landed us in a test hanger that hasn't been used for some time. It'll be sparsely guarded, but we need to move quickly. I'll guide you to the samples we need, and hopefully, we can get in and out before they caught on. Do you have any questions."

"Yes," Mitsuru interjected. "What was that massive FRANXX we just saw?"

Dr. Franxx sighed. "It's Papa's new superweapon. Last I'd heard it been damaged but now…"

"So, Papa's here." Zero Two said, with a disgusted snarl.

"It appears so." Dr. Franxx said with a sigh. "But maybe thats a good thing. His arrival is causing quite a commotion, so we should take advantage of this and move quickly."

Zero Two sighed and stood. "Well, then let's stop wasting time."

Dr. Franxx nodded. "Agreed. Squad, are you ready?"

They all stood. "Yes, Sir!"

Everyone slipped on their helmets, and a few of them loaded magazines into their guns. He sighed and disabled the safety on his assault rifle, making it ready for use at a moment's notice. Zero Two smiling broadly did the same with her pistol, satisfied to at least have something. His eyes glanced over her nervously, still uncomfortably aware of her lack of body armor. They all stood and descended a ladder down to the cargo bay, waiting for Hachi to join them.

"Stay close to me." He whispered to Zero Two.

Zero Two sighed. "Okay."

Hachi descended the ladder, his features almost unrecognizable with his armor on. "Alright." He said. "I'll handle any guard that might be in the hanger. All of you just try and remain as inconspicuous as possible." He shot meaningful glances at Dr. Franxx and Zero Two. "Goro, Zorome, could you carry the storage container. "I want to move quickly."

They nodded.

"Alright then," Hachi said. Silently he walked up to a control panel on the wall, and then suddenly, the loading ramp was descending, revealing the test hanger before them.

To his dismay, he saw a guard walking towards them. Instinctively he fingered the trigger of his gun, but controlling himself resisted the urge to shot the guard.

Hachi descended down the ramp and saluted, waiting as the guard came to a halt in front of him.

"State your business." The guard said.

"We have a delivery to make," Hachi said, respectfully.

"I was not informed of this." The guard said.

Hachi pulled out a datapad and handed it to the guard. "It's in the schedule."

The guard looked at it for a moment. "I need to check in with HQ, wait one moment please."

The guard made to pull out a communicator, but while he was distracted, Hachi whipped out his gun and shot the man in the face. The sound of the gunshot echoed deafeningly around the hanger, and they watched as the man fell to the floor, his body making a loud thud as it hit the floor.

Hiro gulped, taken aback at what had just happened.

Hachi turned and beckoned to them, and quietly they all descend the ramp looking around nervously for any sign of more guards.

"Follow me," Hachi said, turning and making towards a door on the far wall.

They all followed close behind him Goro and Zorome in the middle carrying the container that would store the genetic samples and the rest of the squad, creating a protective circle around them. Hiro took up the rear position, making sure that nobody snuck upon them. He made sure that Zero Two was in front of him and slightly inside the circle, making sure that she was protected as much as possible.

Quietly they made their way through the door and down a darkened corridor the sound of their boots echoing off the walls. As they walked with only the faintest orange light coming from light strips in the floors and ceiling. They made their way through and exited into a broader, more substantially lit hallway. Quietly they pressed forward, hoping to not run into anybody. For a while, they managed to press on without being spotted, turning down hallway after hallway. Hiro hoped that their luck would hold because he noticed at every junction there seemed to be some sort of retracted door that could be sealed if intruders were detected. Every time they saw a guard, he felt his stomach clench, but fortunately, nobody bothered them. When he saw serval other groups carrying other containers, he guessed that they didn't look too out of place. However, the fear that Dr. Franxx and Zero Two might be recognized was still a prevalent danger that he couldn't ignore.

Ahead they saw a guard standing in front of a door, and quietly they heard Hachi curse. Quietly he turned to them and pointed at Dr. Franxx and Zero Two, "Stand in the back and try to be inconspicuous."

They nodded, and the squad rearranged itself to hide the two of them.

Hachi walked up to the guard, and Hiro watched as Hachi loosened the knife in his belt. "We have orders, to move some of the samples to lab 3."

The guard look at him and one of them held out a hand. "Transport clearance."

Hachi nodded and handed over the datapad, the guard checking it for legitimacy. This time Hachi didn't wait instead, burying his knife, in the guard's neck, and slitting his throat. The guard let out a strangled cry, that Hachi silenced as quickly as it began. Hachi grabbed the guard's access card, and held it up to the control panel on the wall. It gave a loud beep, and the door slid open. Hachi dragged the body inside and beckoned to them.

"It's clear now, let's move."

Hurriedly they dashed forward, Hiro making sure Zero Two was safely inside before entering himself. They all gasped as they stared at row upon row of glass columns, dozens of little cylinders inserted inside them.

Dr. Franxx sighed as they all gazed in wonderment. "I wish we could take them all…"

"How are we going to choose?" Ichigo said, her voice filled with wonder.

Dr. Franxx stared at the tubes. "I want serval, pairs of boys and girls from each of the four major races for a start. After that, we'll have to grab as many of the least genetically deteriorated samples we can."

Dr. Franxx walked over to a columns and tapped on a computer screen. Quietly he gazed at a list of the labels that each of the tubes was classified under. Finding one he tapped on it and an arm descended from the ceiling and grabbing the sample delivered it to Dr. Franxx. Dr. Franxx stared at it for a moment and handed it to Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes went wide, and she stared at it reverently.

"This one is a girl from Africa," Dr. Franxx said. "The sample has minimal degradation, and the records show it's only been sampled a few times." He gestured to the storage container, "We'll put it in, they need to be kept cool and powered; otherwise, the sample will fall apart.

Quickly Ichigo carried it to the container and placed it in one of the fifty slots they had available to them. Quietly Dr. Franxx began grabbing samples from each of the columns everyone taking turns putting the precious samples in the storage container.

"Sir, when the war is over, will we return for the rest of them?" Kokoro asked as Dr. Franxx handed her a sample.

Dr. Franxx sighed. "I don't know. If Papa doesn't destroy them and they survive whatever assault the Klaxosaur throw against this place, than maybe. But even still… I.. I don't what to clone too many humans. It's a bad way to restart a race, and I was trying to avoid it."

For a while, there was silence as everyone pondered what Dr. Franxx had said, and quietly they all resumed their task of transporting the samples. Hiro gazed up at all the samples they weren't taking, feeling a tightness in his chest. Every one of these samples had a story behind it, dreams that the provider had once held. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the ones that they were leaving behind. They'd never get a chance to express themselves to live out their full potential.

"Hey guys, let's hurry this up." Hachi said nervously, standing by the door.

Hiro looked around one of the columns and saw Hachi holding the dead guard's communicator.

"I'm not liking the chatter thats coming from the other end of this."

Dr. Franxx stiffened, "What are they saying?"

Hachi grimmest. "They know two guards have failed to report in on schedule, and our airspace friend from the beginning says that he lost track of a transport.

Dr. Franxx swore, "I was hoping that Papa's arrival would buy us more time than this." He looked at Hachi. "We should have probably sent our clearance codes just in case."

Hachi nodded. "That was my bad."

Hiro felt his heart rate accelerating, and he glanced over at Zero Two, his fear mounting. This wasn't good.

Dr. Franxx turned and looked at the container filled with samples. "We're almost there. Let's just get this done."

Hurriedly the process of grabbing samples resumed, everyone a little more frantic with this added cloud hanging over them.

"Shit!" Zorome swore, a sample tumbling out of his hand and smashing on the floor.

Dr. Franxx sighed. "It's okay, just everyone lets be more careful."

They all nodded.

Hiro fingered absentmindedly one of the spare clips he had in his belt and made his way over to Zero Two, who stood off to one side, a hand gently resting on her belly. "Stay close to me." He whispered, gently tucking a strand of lose hair behind her ear.

She smiled, "Of course,"

"Guys we need to move!" Hachi shouted suddenly. "They just discovered the transport in the hangar and are sending people here to investigate!"

He felt his breath catch in his throat, and he and Zero Two stared at each other.

"One more!" Dr. Franxx shouted back, hurriedly scrolling through the samples.

"Quickly!" Hachi shouted, reloading his gun.

Hiro stared at Zero Two and kissed her. "I love you."

"Got it!" Dr. Franxx said.

Goro grabbed it and skidding to a halt shoved it into the container, slamming the lid shut a moment later. "Zorome help me carry this!"

Hurriedly the two of them hoisted it into the air, and the squad rushed over to Hachi, he stood by the door gun at the ready. "Shit, I can hear footsteps," Hachi said, his voice sharp. "Are we ready?"

They all nodded.

"Alright, I'll take anyone on the left, Hiro take anyone who approaches from the right."

He nodded, stepping up and bringing his gun to the ready. The two of them stood by the door, breathing deeply.

"On three." Hachi said calmly. "One, two, three!"

The door slid open, and they poked their guns around the corner, Hachi's gun roaring to life, a group of guards dropping in an instant. For a moment, nobody appeared on his side, but a second later, two guards came around the corner, and he dropped them before they even had a chance.

"Let's go!" Hachi shouted.

They began charging down the hall, making their way back towards the exit, the sound of rambling feet echoing in the distance. Suddenly an alarm went off, a shrieking wail rending the air around them.

"INTRUDER ALERT!"

"Come one, move, move, move!" Hachi shouted back to them.

They made to around the corner down another passage, but Hachi was forced to duck back as bullets showered against were he'd just been. Ichigo stepped up and peeked her gun around the corner, just spraying bullets.

"Keep up the suppressive fire!" Hachi shouted, reloading.

Miku was bold enough to stick her head around the corner and take a few carefully aimed shots, a few guards screaming in pain and falling to the floor. Suddenly bullets hit the wall next to Zero Two and horrified, he turned to find that they'd been outflanked. Leaping in front of her, he unloaded his magazine in a blaze of hatred, Zero Two's pistol echoing in his ear as she did what she could.

"Are you okay?…AH!" He screamed a stray bullet hitting him in the lower back, just under the body armor.

"Darling!" Zero Two cried, shooting the guard in the throat.

He gritted his teeth tears welling up in his eyes, the searing pain of the bullet wound, like fire in his body. He'd heard a clink and saw a bullet covered in blue blood fall to the floor. His body had healed, but the pain was still there.

"Darling are you okay?" Zero Two said, crouching down, fear covering every line of her face.

"I'm fine." He said. "Lets keep going."

The last guard blocking their way fell as Hachi's bullet hit him in the face, and with a shout, he urged the group onwards. They charged down hallway after hallway, winding their way back to the hangar. Suddenly they heard a slamming sound from behind them, and whipping around, he saw to big metal doors slid shut behind them.

"There sealing the doors!" He shouted.

"Shit!" Hachi shouted, "Come on, everybody, faster."

They found whatever burst of speed they could the squad in a headlong rush back towards the hangar. Ahead, they saw the corridor back to the hangar, the doors from either side of the hall sealing as they got closer.

"Come on!" Hachi said as they dashed.

Disastrously, the door to the hangar sealed and the skidded to a halt in front of it. Hachi slamming his fists against it in a fury.

"Damn it!" Hachi said. "Dr Franxx, can you hotwire the door."

Dr. Franxx looked at him, panting, looking as if he was on the verge of passing out. "Give… Give me a minute."

Dr. Franxx hobbled over to the access panel, Hachi tearing away the control surface to expose the wires underneath. Hurriedly Dr. Franxx began fiddling with the wires trying to find the ones he needed. Suddenly the door behind them unsealed, and guards ran through. Everyone exposed bullets went flying serval members of the squad getting hit in the body armor, while others took hits to their exposed limbs. Almost as if in slow motion, he saw bullets leave a guard's gun and turning saw that they were heading right towards Zero Two's belly. Everything seemed to freeze as he raced to outrun the bullets that were about to tear all that he loved away from him.

He leaped in front of her, the bullets slamming against him, winding him as they slammed against his protective armor. Blinded with pain he leaped for her and pulled her close, more bullets slamming into him as he protected his family.

The squad retaliated against the guards, pure luck, and determination allowing them to survive as they fought for their freedom. The last guard collapsed, and just then, Dr. Franxx managed to get the door open. Hachi didn't even wait. His gun already blazing, eliminating the guard sent to block their escape. They all charged off making a break for the hangar, desperately trying to regain their freedom as Papa wraith descended down upon them. They ran, listening to the sound of doors unsealing as more guards purposed them. He ran along, keeping Zero Two in front of him the pain from his bullet wounds agonizing as the ran.

They saw the transport at the other end of the corridor, but suddenly the door to the hangar sealed, and they all slammed against it, a desperate fury overtaking them. Again Hachi ripped away the access panel, and Dr. Franxx went to work on trying to open the door, the thundering sounds of footsteps getting closer every second. He turned his gun raised, ready to hold the last line of defense.

"How much ammo do you guys got?" He said, aiming his gun at the light at the end of the corridor.

"I'm out." Over half of them called back,

"What's in my gun." The rest echoed, fear entering their voices

"Here, Hiro." Goro said, giving him his last spare magazine. "This is all I got."

He nodded and took it.

"Darling, what are you doing?" Zero Two said fear entering her voice.

"Making sure we stay alive." He said, not taking his eyes off the end of the corridor.

"We're all getting out of here." Ichigo said firmly.

And just then, the light at the end of the tunnel was obscured guards pouring down the corridor in pursuit.

His gun roared to life, taking out the guards that pursued them. He watched, a tightness in his throat as he burned through his bullets the gun hungrily consuming them, in defense of the ones he loved. Those who had bullets left joined him, but that only lasted a precious few seconds.

Then finally, his gun sputtered to a halt. They were now completely out. Emboldened the guards charged down the hallway, their demands of surrender and the sound of their boots deafening, all of it here to rip away their freedom. He watched them get closer, raising his fists. He was going to fight to the very last. They would not capture him. They would not take his family away from him.

"Got it!" Dr. Franxx shouted, the door to the hangar sliding open.

"GO!" Ichigo shouted.

They all scrambled for the exit, the bullets from the guards echoing all around them, slamming into the floor and taking others in their exposed limbs. He wrapped himself around Zero Two, taking all the bullets that were meant for her, and absorbing them in defense of all he loved. The squad struggled through the door, making their bid for the transport. He and Zero Two were the last ones left, and he heard the guards right behind them.

"I love you!" He said, and shoved Zero Two through the door, making sure that she'd make it. He made to go after her but felt a guard grab him, pulling him back.

His eyes went to the exposed wire, seeing the connection that held the door open. His eyes meet Zero Two's, and for a moment, they stared into each other's eyes.

"DARLING NO!" She screamed, her horrified cry breaking his heart.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Grabbing the wires, he ripped them out of the access panel, the door sealing shut, cutting him off from all that he loved.

The weight of the guards shoved him against the door, one of his horns snapping off from the impact.

"You bastard!" One of the guards screamed, unloading his gun into him.

He screamed and collapsed against the door, his world nothing but a haze of pain. He slumped and fell to the floor.

He heard a bang from the other said of the door, and Zero Two's voice as she called out to him. Her pain tearing his heart out as he lay there. Tears started cascading down his cheeks as he heard desperate pleas and Zero Two fighting to get back to him.

"Please." He prayed, silently to Ichigo and all the others. "Take her. Get her out of here. Save her."

He heard what sounded like a struggle, and he heard Zero Two's voice becoming more distant; her desperate cry's becoming fainter, as the squad hauled her to safety.

"Thank you." He whispered,

A moment later, he heard the roar of the transport taking off, and as the sound disappeared, he let out a sigh of relief. She was safe. Tears cascaded down his cheeks. "I love you, Zero Two. Stay safe. I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise."

The guards reached down and tore off what remained of his ragged body armor, and pointed a gun at him.

"Who are they?" The guard shouted.

When he failed to answer, they put a bullet through his leg.

"Where are they going?"

BAM.

"Why are you here?"

BAM.

"What did you take?"

BAM.

"Are you working with the Klaxosaurs?"

BAM.

Beaten and bloody, he looked up at the guard through heavily lidded eyes, his body nothing but a haze of pain surrounded by spent bullets.

Suddenly the lights fulling came on in the hallway, and the guards stiffened to attention. He tried to see what was coming, but everything seemed to. Be getting dark. He seemed to be staring down a long corridor. In the distance, he saw a white-robed figure walking towards him, the mask the figure wore wearing a strangely dominant expression.

Everything was getting dark, and the more he tried to focus on the figure, the more it drifted away.

"Well. Well. Well." The figure said, in a strangely mechanical voice. "What do we have here?"

Author's Note: Thank you for reading Chapter 28 of The Jian Bird

Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get the next one out as soon as I can.

Stay tuned for Chapter 29 of The Jian Bird: To Reclaim what is Lost.