A Return to Eden

by Oromoris

Eight years after the passage through the gate, debris from space lands near the new civilization rising from the ashes of the old world. The past haunts the present, but a peaceful future can be found in this new Eden.

As Strelizia quickly evaporated from the force of the explosion, their souls left the disintegrating shell of Star Entity. Hand in hand they flew through space, finally returning home. Hiro laughed with Zero Two as he saw the infinite possibilities, countless reincarnations in which they found each other, always.

However, some people deserve happy endings before the next life.

With all that they went through, perhaps the universe owed them.

With the destruction of the world-killing Virm, life in the universe was secure once again.

So, when Hiro awoke in the cockpit of Star Entity, the universe proved itself to be fair.

They could see their reincarnation in the future.

But for now, they were alive.

Hiro's eyes were slow to open, his eyelids feeling as though they had been sealed shut. His head was heavy, resting against a stiff headrest. The difficulty of moving his head prevented him from quickly surveying his surroundings, forcing him to study what was in his direct line of sight.

He had awoken in a familiar Franxx cockpit, dimly lit by a glow emanating from the wall facing him. Upon closer inspection it appeared to be a hole that had blown through majority of the front of Strelizia's faceplate, now covered by an opaque energy airlock similar to those in Plantation Thirteen.

As he began to move his head, pain started to register throughout his whole body. Every centimeter ached, some places more than others. The spot on his head where he had been resting screamed at him to move, but moving alone brought pain from the sore muscles now being irritated.

But his body was beginning to feel responsive for the first time since his awakening. He could now feel his surrounding environment rather than the pain that racked his body. He felt the stiff pads of the seat he was situated on, the biting cold air against his face, the blood caked on his face. He wiped his hand across his face to make sure that he wasn't bleeding anywhere else he could feel, the flaky dried blood on his gloves confirmed that he was fine.

Hiro stared at his glove for a moment.

"Wait, blue?"

Well, he wasn't sure how far his transformation had progressed in the past few years. He had considerably more to worry about during that time.

Hiro thought to himself. "If I'm here then that means that the Virm were destroyed…I think? If I was at ground zero for the explosion then how…?"

When he thought of the bomb though, he clearly remembered the explosion. There was no mistake the mission was a success, but that created more questions than it answered.

The awful realization hit him a moment later.

He stared at the gaping hole in the faceplate of the cockpit.

The place where Zero Two's face had been.

Hiro lost the hope he subconsciously had ever since he realized he was alive.

He put his head back on the headrest and turned his vision to the wall beside him.

Zero Two lay asleep in a chair against the wall.

Her skin was dark red, contrasting the white of her parasite suit, and her hair had grown considerably longer than when he saw her last. He noticed her horns had grown to about a quarter of a meter.

Hiro's mind was racing too quickly to form a coherent train of thought.

"How? Her body should be gone? Why is her skin dark red? Where did that chair come from? Ooh, it has pillows. Why was I stuck with the chair with no lumbar support? No, wait. None of that matters, what matters is that we're alive, somehow."

Dark blue splatters near the wall by the chair caught his eye. He could hear a slight sloshing from around the area his feet were situated near the ground. Hiro finally saw it near the bottom of Zero Two's chair; dark blue liquid, at least a third of a meter deep.

"That color feels familiar…"

In a panic he looked at his glove, and sure enough the color of the liquid was the same as the blood on his hand. He looked over at Zero Two to make sure that the blood was not coming from her. When he saw that there was no blood on her, he sighed a breath of relief.

As he thought of where the blood could have come from, he moved his feet back and forth in the liquid absentmindedly.

"I can see her breathing, and I'm alive, so where did all of this blood come from? To fill up the cockpit this much has to be more than what's in the body, Klaxosaur or not."

Hiro stopped moving with a jolt when he realized something.

"I can feel the blood with my left foot," thought Hiro, "why can't I feel it with my right? Is it asleep?"

He slowly sat up to look at the ground around his feet. After a moment of staring, Hiro swallowed.

"Ah. So that's why."

---

Goro looked up at the sky, observing the gentle snowfall and steam of his breath fog the bottom of his glasses. There was no blue sky in sight, only a light gray that encompassed the entire space above. The gentle snowfall had lasted for several days now, finally piling up enough to cover the grass in the parks inside and fields surrounding the city. The morning was totally silent, interrupted only by the sounds of people walking past and the children playing further away in the park.

Goro let out a slight sigh of pleasure.

"I'm glad for these kinds of things," said Goro. "A lot of squads drifted apart after they weren't required to be around one another anymore."

The members of the previous Squad Thirteen had decided to bring all of the children to the park and enjoy a day out in the snow together. Goro and Ichigo stood together, overlooking where the children were playing at the bottom of the hill they were settled at.

"Well, we were always close. More so than most of the squads I've seen. It was never really a chore to be around one another," Ichigo said, with a slight smile.

"Well, you and Zero Two didn't get along at first."

"That was because of my crush on Hiro."

Goro chuckled. "You know, eight years ago saying that would've made me jealous."

Ichigo smirked. "Looking back, it seems so trivial compared to you and I now. I'm glad for the learning experience of first love, but now it all seems so obvious how it was going to end."

Goro put his fists on his hips and held his chin up high, with a look of utmost seriousness on his face, "Well, I was a prophet. I knew we would be together ever since we were little."

He looked down to Ichigo looking at him with eyes half-closed and a dry expression on her face. The silence lasted for a moment before Goro couldn't hold back any longer and they both broke down in laughter.

"Ooh, careful, you'll spill my tea." Ichigo stared intently at the drink as she balanced it in her hands.

"You're staring daggers at that mug."

"Well, we are going to be out all day, I would be miserable if my gloves were soaked with cold tea for the rest of the day."

Goro was silent for a moment as he turned his attention to the children playing at the foot of the hill. "You know, I never thought the day would come where we could afford to say something like that in a situation like this."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at us," Goro said as he motioned to the rest of Squad Thirteen sitting at a picnic table conversing and drinking hot drinks. "We're in the snow, all having fun. I'm not…afraid that one of us will just disappear. The setting feels like The Garden, but I'm happy, and not terrified."

"I understand what you mean. I can enjoy all of this now, as an adult, but none of us will never experience what these children are experiencing. Sometimes I worry that we won't be able to help them because our upbringings are polar opposites."

Goro smiled for a moment.

Ichigo leaned forward to get a better look at his face. "What is it?"

"I just had a funny thought is all." Goro stated, then paused for a moment. "Can you imagine our son asking us a basic question to help him in school and all we can do is relate it back to fighting Klaxosaurs?"

"That's horrible," said Ichigo, fighting back a smile. "Even if it does relate back to us, we should help him any way we can."

"Okay then, how about a math lesson with mom?"

Ichigo raised her chin and put on a dignified air. "If there are five Klaxosaurs, and mom and dad are in Delphinium, how many Klaxosaurs are there about to be?"

Goro laughed at his wife's joke. "Zero."

"Better believe it."

"Although, I guess they were the good guys in the end, huh."

"Yeah…it keeps me up at night sometimes. Thinking of how many we killed without knowing. Completely fooled by the adults we worshipped. I feel like we were let off easy by the Klaxosaurs, considering what we did to them. The fact that we live this wonderful life now, and that they allowed us to fight with them in the past confuses me."

"Maybe it should keep us up at night, but there was no way for us to know. I can't say for certain whether that makes us innocent or not, but I think that what we are doing now is a form of atonement. With the ban of magma energy and all, as well as our current expeditions to destroy any automated magma energy mines. If we are doing it correctly, the Klaxosaurs should be able to live in peace."

"Thanks, Goro. That…gives me some peace of mind."

"No problem," said Goro. "Let's go back to the table with the others. I left my drink over there and I don't want it to get cold."

"Alright, let's go then."

Upon arriving at the table, they noticed that everyone had grown considerably quieter. The group was looking at a figure in the distance that was clearly walking towards their table.

Goro and Ichigo looked at the figure shuffling down the sidewalk, every movement that it made was short and quick, as though to keep its limbs as close as possible to its torso. Its head was buried deep inside of a massive hood, and its hands were deep in pockets that covered its arms up to the elbows.

Everyone at the table began to grin, and laugh with one another.

"I only know one person who could be that miserable in something as pretty as this snow," said Mitsuru. "That has to be- "

"HEY HACHI," shouted Zorome. "WANT SOME COFFEE? IT'S STILL HOT!"

The man stopped for a moment before holding a thumbs-up for the group to see.

"ALRIGHT, HURRY UP HERE TO WARM UP!"

Hachi quickly shoved his hand as far into his pocket as it could go. After prepping himself for a moment, he began a sort of run that resembled more of a shuffle. His upper body never moved, and his steps were quick but very short.

After an amusing ascent up the hill, Hachi forced himself between Futoshi and Zorome for warmth, chugging the scalding coffee as soon as it was offered.

"I still don't understand how you feel so cold with all of those layers on," said Miku. "It's not any colder here than at The Garden."

"Maybe I've just gotten soft over the years," retorted Hachi. "And it's not like The Garden was anyone's favorite place to begin with."

Ikuno set down her mug. "Well, if our biggest worry nowadays is that Hachi is uncomfortable, then I am willing to make that sacrifice."

Everyone let out a chuckle while Hachi stared daggers at her from the back of his oversized hood.

Goro finished a sip of his drink before changing the topic. "So, did you come here for a day off?"

Hachi's tense shoulders slumped as much as they could. "As much as I would like to, I'm here for business."

A collective groan emanated from the table.

"Well, it's not anything too serious is it?" Inserted Mitsuru.

"Not really," replied Hachi. "Not that it ever really is. It has to do with some wreckage that landed at approximately five this morning, maybe thirty kilometers from the city."

This didn't shock anyone, wreckage from the battle above Earth eight years ago fell relatively regularly. It was never serious enough to cause any concern, there hadn't been any infrastructure damage or casualties. When wreckage did fall though, it was usually quickly recovered and inspected for anything important.

Ikuno brought out a small tablet stored in the side of her chair and brought up an official report. "I saw the report this morning. It was just some regular Franxx wreckage, right? Maybe some Klaxosaur or Virm blood was on it? It didn't seem any more special than any other day. No casualties have been discovered since this morning, have there?"

Hachi made eye contact with everyone at the table. "An entire transport."

"Wait, really?" Said Zorome.

"No, of course not, don't be stupid."

Ichigo attempted to bring the conversation back to order. "What was so different about today's wreckage?"

Hachi pulled a tablet out from his coat pocket and began to pull up a series of reports, showing coordinates of the wreckage and a topographical map of the surrounding area. "Well, there were a number of strange events for today. Firstly, Klaxosaurs were active at the scene."

"Was there a dead Klaxosaur in the wreckage as well? That could be what knocked the Franxx out of orbit in the first place," Goro stated.

It was common knowledge that when dead Klaxosaurs or Klaxosaur wreckage fell from orbit that Klaxosaurs would come and take the body away, most likely to lay it to rest and allow it to become energy for the earth.

Hachi shook his head. "No, there was no Klaxosaur wreckage or corpses near the scene. The Klaxosaurs there were actually quite helpful, they assisted us in general investigation, showing us to different pieces of wreckage that we otherwise might have missed."

At this, everyone stopped whatever they were doing. This was really weird. The Klaxosaurs were not hostile anymore, but they hadn't actively assisted humanity since the war eight years prior.

"There was also no indication of anything knocking this Franxx out of orbit," Hachi continued. "In fact, there's no indication that this wreckage was ever in orbit."

Futoshi was the first to speak. "Wait, what? How do you know that?"

"Well, all of the wreckage is from a single Franxx. Even if there was a collision, we would've found at least some wreckage from the other mass, so the Franxx fell to Earth by itself. This only leaves the explanation that it fell from a decaying eight-year orbit. The problem with that is, looking at the size of the crater, and the mass of the wreckage, the velocity when it hit the ground is greater than anything possible from a decaying orbit."

"Wait, so you're saying this Franxx hit the Earth head on?" Exclaimed Goro, with a shocked expression. "Where could it have come from?"

Hachi looked down at the reports on his tablet. "Well, one option is that it came from the wreckage closer to Mars. The problem with that explanation is that it is about as likely as the Franxx simply appearing out of thin air."

"This is creeping me out a little," exclaimed Miku. "A mystery Franxx that the Klaxosaurs have an interest in. Everything about this situation says that something is wrong."

"The final irregularity is this." Hachi proceeded to show his tablet to the rest of the table. "This is an image of the wreckage of the Franxx at the site. Note that this wreckage is only part of the Franxx, we've estimated that the rest of the wreckage must have landed much further north."

The image on the tablet immediately grabbed the attention of the table. In the center of a large crater was a Franxx's arm, impaled into the ground at the base of the forearm. The slight backwards angle of the arm had tipped the hand backwards, with its fingers slightly curled back towards its palm. The color of the Franxx's arm was a distinct red color, yet it was partially charred from reentry and had a number of silver scratches from the shrapnel thrown from the impact. The arm was clean of any gore, but the inside of the hand was covered with dried Virm blood, showing that it had been tightly clamped around the object barely hanging in its hand.

A spear. Not like the other Franxx's, but a massive conical spear coated with Virm blood. The only part of the spear that wasn't coated in blood was the broken tip, blackened by what must have been a massive explosion.

"H-hey Hachi," said Goro, between shallow breaths. "I feel like irregularity is an understatement. That has to be- "

Hachi held up his hand to silence him. "It could be any number of things. Maybe solar radiation and Virm blood caused discoloration, maybe the weapon is just mangled, this is still early on in the investigation."

Ikuno quickly retorted. "Radiation doesn't turn black metal to red, Hachi. You know what this is, this has to be it."

"Which is why I want Squad Thirteen to find the rest of the wreckage. If it is what I think it is, you might not want to see what's inside, but considering what I know about all of you I thought you would want to face this head-on. We identified that the wreckage to the north was most likely the cockpit. If you don't want to go, I understand, but maybe…they…would've preferred the people they loved most be the ones to lay them to rest."

Everyone around the table was deep in thought. Maybe Squad Thirteen needed this as much as Hiro and Zero Two did. Their exit from their life was so abrupt it left a hole that wasn't ever really filled, anyone who asked about the two of them could tell.

Goro stood with a start. "I say we go."

Zorome was the first to agree, soon everyone was nodding in agreement.

Hachi nodded. "I figured. But just so you all know; this will not be a short endeavor. Considering the potential significance of the wreckage it will be classified as a Priority Expeditionary Operation. The wreckage itself is approximately sixteen hundred kilometers north of here."

"Well, with a transport that's not too bad," chimed Zorome. "A regular transport should only take about two days maximum, right?"

"I'm afraid not. This having been labeled a PEO means that I've requisitioned a class two research and expeditionary transport. It will take about a week to arrive at the wreckage, but the transport can serve just about any purpose you need it to for however long you are out there."

Ichigo quickly brought up the point at the back of everyone's mind. "We can do whatever we need to get up there, but what about the children? It will at least be two weeks before we get back, and that is assuming best case scenarios. We can't take them with us, it might be dangerous, and not to mention rations and space become an issue."

At that moment Futoshi's wife chimed in. "I'll take care of the kids, alongside some of the caretakers and school teachers. You all won't be doing much during the trip up, so you can keep in contact whenever they miss you guys."

"But Aiko, don't you want to come with us?"

"It's fine, I never knew them, and you all need this. Besides, this way all of you can go without worrying, right?"

Everyone at the table smiled in appreciation at the offer.

Futoshi leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Thanks Aiko."

Hachi stood up and picked up his tablet. "Well then, you should enjoy today and say goodbye to everyone, you leave tomorrow morning at four."

Later that day

Although it was not very late, light had faded from the sky, and the only thing illuminating the sidewalks were the lampposts built throughout the park. Goro watched the snow flurries illuminated by the lampposts as he walked hand in hand with Ichigo, simply enjoying the peace of the moment. Their son Yuuma was dozing in Ichigo's free arm, with his arms loosely wrapped around her neck, and head resting on her shoulder. Ichigo softly hummed a song from the old world to coax the young boy to sleep after a long day of playing in the park.

Goro spoke softly, as to not break the peace of the moment. "What is that song? I'm not entirely sure I've heard it before."

Ichigo gently stopped her humming. "It was a song that they sung this time of year in the old world. Originally it was sung by a large group of people, divided into different parts to make the music more elaborate. But I'm only one person, so I can only hum the main part of the song."

"Regardless, I think you sound beautiful," said Goro, with a smile.

"I would've loved to hear some of these songs sung by a live choir like they had in the old world."

"Well, lately people have been revitalizing some of the aspects of the old world. Maybe we can go and see a choir like that soon?"

Ichigo looked at Goro with a smile. "I would like that."

Goro's face was showing subtle signs of worry, and Ichigo was quick to notice.

"What is it?" Said Ichigo.

"We need to go, but I'm worried about what we'll see."

"What do you mean?"

"He was one of our best friends Ichigo, we all still feel that way even after all these years. They both are a big part of us."

"Yes?"

"What if we open the capsule, and he's still there?"

"Still there?"

"We don't know anything that happened after the gate passage. What if we open the capsule, and there hasn't been any…decomposition? What if we open the capsule, and we see one of the people we love most just as we last saw him. But broken, and bloody. I can't stand the thought of seeing the corpse with open eyes staring back at me knowing that he and Zero Two died alone, and for no other reason than that they loved us."

"I understand. But…this was never going to be easy. I'm scared, to be honest, but I think we have to do it. They sacrificed everything for us, maybe this is just our way of showing our gratitude. After all, because of them, we can have this," she looked at Yuuma, asleep in her arm.

"I wonder what they would be doing now?"

"They would either be the most peaceful and mature, or the most chaotic and immature couple in the city."

"Either way, I think they would be the heart and soul."

"Can you imagine Zero Two's pranks if she had free reign in today's society?"

"I don't have the kind of spontaneity that she had. I can't even conceive of anything funny enough to make as an example."

Ichigo laughed for a moment. "That's lame, I want to know."

Goro returned a smile. "If someone can't come up with a funny example, then maybe they shouldn't write it."

"Write?"

"Sorry, I misspoke."

"Pfft," Ichigo started to laugh at the ridiculous change in tone of their conversation.

Goro smiled and looked at the flurries in the lampposts that illuminated their way home.

He could worry later.

For now, he was with his beloved family.

Enjoying the snow.

---

Hiro shuffled on his hands and knees searching in the cold blood that filled the cockpit.

Well, hands and knee.

After searching for a few minutes, he couldn't find the rest of his right leg.

It was gone, severed just above the knee.

"Crap." He muttered.

Lifting himself back onto the dry pilot's seat he thought about what to do next. As he thought, he idly inspected the rest of his body.

Hiro's parasite suit was full of tiny holes, behind each of which he found a dark scar in his deep blue skin. Looking closer at his gloves, he noticed that his fingernails had grown through the fingertips. His nails were the same color as his horns now, and they were sharp and more durably attached to his fingers. He felt his horns, and noticed that they had grown to about a quarter of a meter in length, similar to Zero Two's.

"Zero Two," he thought. "How are you here?"

Before he could think any more on the subject, he shivered violently.

"It's gotten colder. I'm not sure it's safe in here anymore."

He looked around, and the metal near the energy shield had frost creeping from the hole in the faceplate.

"I guess it's time to head outside."

Hiro spent the next few minutes preparing for whatever was awaiting him outside of the cockpit.

"First, there's Zero Two," he said, as he inspected what few things were inside of the cockpit. "I might be able to cut open those cushions and use the fabric as blankets."

After gathering what he needed he wrapped a blanket around Zero Two's waist, then tied it off around his own in order to secure her to him.

"Sorry for being so rough, Zero Two."

They couldn't leave from the energy shield, there was no way to shut off the emergency protocol from the inside. The next best thing was the hatch on the top of the Franxx's cockpit.

"A ladder…great," said Hiro. "This is going to be difficult."

Hiro slowly pulled himself up rung by rung, having to rely on his arms to climb, rather than his legs. Zero Two doubled over at her waist as he ascended the ladder, letting out an audible snore as she jolted with every one of Hiro's movements.

Hiro couldn't help but notice the sound. "If she's snoring, that mean's its different than when she was stuck inside of Star Entity," he thought. "So, she's going to wake up like me then!"

He could hardly contain his excitement.

His body shook with joy at the thought of his beloved's return.

With renewed strength, Hiro opened the hatch with a smile.

His smile faded when he saw what was awaiting him outside.

The landscape around them was blanketed in snow, with no sun in sight. The crash site was in a large valley, with small mountains occasionally breaking up the flat landscape. A forest of pine trees covered what landscape he could see, but the trees themselves had enough distance between them to allow for snow to cover the ground around them. The cold bit at his face, making him almost wince at the pain.

"This is almost like The Garden," thought Hiro.

A gust of wind almost pushed him over, and pelted his face with thick snowflakes. Every tear in his parasite suit was now brought once again to his attention.

Hiro slowly slid down the side of the Franxx's faceplate to land on the ground, using the snow as a cushion.

Once he had landed on his hands and knee he felt a clump in his throat, making him gag violently. For a few moments he struggled with whatever was in his throat until he vomited out a viscous black liquid, with bright blue tendrils swirling inside. For a moment he looked at the mysterious liquid as it came to rest in the snow, until he looked around at his surroundings.

Around the Franxx were pools of the liquid, inside of each was the same blue color, moving almost independently of the wind blowing across it.

As he looked back down where he had just vomited, the liquid he had expelled was gone, not a trace left.

"So many questions, so little time to care," said Hiro to himself. "first thing is to find shelter and start a fire."

Hiro found a thin piece of metal from the wreckage, and formed a sort of sled that he could tie the blankets he had made to. He untied Zero Two from his back, and made her comfortable on the sled, covering her with one of the blankets.

"There, that should be smoother."

Tying the remaining blankets to the front corners of the sled, he secured them to his waist.

Hiro began to crawl through the snow, with Zero Two in tow.

A trail of dark blue blood stained the snow behind him.

---

Zero Two looked upon the massive gold slab before her.

"A dream?" She thought. "Why am I not in the next life?"

The gold slab was dim, and covered the entirety of her vision when she looked straight forward, the dull glisten of the slab was all that was illuminating the darkness around her.

Suddenly, the gold was stunningly bright, with a mural forming instantaneously on its surface.

Lifelike images of Hiro and herself formed in the center of the mural, both having a hand on a smaller version of Strelizia's spear. A single large halo encompassed their heads and hands, their faces were turned upwards to the sky with a battle cry. As she looked lower, she saw each of the members of Squad Thirteen with similar war cries on their faces. Each member had their own halo, and in their raised fists were smaller versions of the weapons their respective Franxxs wielded.

Zero Two followed their eyes upwards, through a field of dark blue above their halos to purple tendrils far above.

"Virm," she thought, with disgust.

Virm blood flowed upwards from the tendrils, as though forced away from the pilots.

As she inspected the flowing Virm blood moving above the image, the mural began to shift. She and Hiro began to move upwards, pushing the Virm farther up the mural. The other parasites, however, remained below. Their faces began to change, their fists lowered, and they looked down at one another rather than upward at the Virm. She watched as their expressions turned to smiles and they appeared to be speaking with one another.

Zero Two and Hiro continued to push the Virm upwards.

She stared as cuts formed on her and her darling's faces, liquid blood began flowing from the image down the mural. Soon, the blood flowing from the Virm and the blood flowing from their faces was equal. Their halo darkened, and they approached a dark purple halo surrounding a mask.

Zero Two knew that mask. "Papa," she spat.

For a brief moment, her halo flashed brighter than the sun. She heard a loud explosion, and felt all of the blood from the mural wash over her.

Zero Two looked down, and saw that she was covered in dark blue blood. She felt horrified, for a moment, but noticed the faces of Squad Thirteen far below.

She smiled at their joyful faces.

"It was worth it," she said, and closed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt everything at once.

Zero Two awoke already gagging, quickly vomiting out liters of the black and blue liquid. After a minute, she had nothing more to expel, and began to raise her head to observe her surroundings. She was assailed by the cold, but a warmth spread across her back. She heard the crackling of a fire somewhere near her, but her mind was racing with too many questions to bother searching for it. She was inside of a forest on pines, with snow gently falling from the breaks in the trees.

A familiar voice then rang clear.

"Are you ok? That's a lot more than when I threw up."

Zero Two whipped her head around to find the voice. "Da- "

She saw his smiling face across a campfire, teary-eyed, but happy nonetheless.

He looked terrible.

Hiro's face was as pale as his dark blue skin would allow. He had bags under his eyes, and his cheeks were gaunt. He was in pain.

Zero Two rushed over to hug him, balling all the time. After a few moments she softly spoke, "Darling, how are we here?"

"I don't know. I woke up inside of the cockpit and brought us here, where I could at least start a fire," answered Hiro quickly.

They enjoyed the embrace for a moment longer, until Zero Two noticed a hissing sound from the fire. She looked down to see dark blue blood sizzling around the embers, and following the trail back to what remained of Hiro's leg.

"Darling! What happened? We have to stop the bleeding!"

"I was careless. Starting the fire, I accidentally re-opened the wound."

She looked at the fire and saw a thin piece of red-hot metal near the embers.

"Oh no…" she thought. "So that's his plan."

Hiro broke the silence. "I'm sorry Zero Two, but I'm going to need your help with this. I don't think I can do it alone."

Zero Two swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She hesitantly handed Hiro a piece of kindling to bite down on, and grabbed the cool part of the metal from the fire.

She grabbed his right hand with her left, and began to slowly press the red-hot metal against the open wound.

She watched as his fangs began to press almost entirely through the stick in his mouth, she felt his hand grip hers so tightly it felt like it would break. Tears began to form in his eyes as his face contorted in the pain from the burning.

The blood stopped flowing, and Zero Two quickly pulled the metal away from his leg. Hiro's chest was rapidly rising and falling, sweat rolling down his face. He slowly opened his eyes, and spat out the wood he had been biting down on. It fell down at three separate pieces, as his fangs had cut through it completely.

"See, that wasn't so bad," said Hiro with a tired smile.

Zero Two looked him in the eyes. "Really?"

"I lied, that sucked."

She found a blanket and began to wipe the sweat from his face, then wrapping it around his shoulders to keep the sweat from his back and chest from making him colder. Once he had stopped shaking from the cold and pain, Zero Two renewed the conversation.

"Darling, is this Earth?" Asked Zero Two.

"I'm not entirely sure," replied Hiro. "But I'm pretty confident that it is. Everything around us is typical Earth life, and the atmosphere is definitely Earth's, since we can breathe just fine."

Zero Two thought for a moment, then spoke softly with a wavering voice. "Does this mean…we can finally go home? Are we free?"

"I guess so...maybe we can see them again. Our friends."

"We can live a peaceful life. Like that time in The Birdcage at Plantation Thirteen."

"We can get married, finally."

Zero Two leaned forward to look at Hiro's blushing face. With a smile she responded.

"Of course."

"First off, we should focus on surviving this cold."

"Well, we're not humans. Like the Nines, we don't really need to eat or drink."

"True enough."

"But you do need to heal first. And maybe some food can help with that a little. Besides, we haven't eaten in who knows how long."

"I'm not sure how long it will take for these wounds to heal. It could be a couple of days or a couple of weeks."

"Then let's find some food later, and see if that helps."

"As long as we keep this fire going, we should be safe from the cold. But we can only really take short expeditions for firewood and food though."

"Well, we also don't know how long we can survive in the cold. That's never been tested."

"I'd rather not take that chance. I don't want to have survived a suicide mission only to die of exposure on the way home."

"True." Zero Two tossed some kindling into the fire. "Well, for now, just rest."

"You don't need to tell me twice."

Hiro slumped against Zero Two's shoulder, falling asleep in seconds.

"That tired, huh?" Thought Zero Two. "Well, I should at least find some firewood to keep the fire going."

With that, she gently laid Hiro down so that the fire would keep him warm.

She stood, and disappeared into the snowstorm.

She looked up at the grey sky and smiled.

They were alive. It was almost too good to be true.

But maybe they deserved this.

---

Squad Thirteen looked in awe at the massive transport that would take them to the crash site. It was a massive and angular vehicle, with wheels taller than any of the squad members. The transport was larger than most of the private houses that peppered the city landscape, with large spotlights illuminating the ground in front of it.

"This thing is bigger than our house!" Said Zorome to Miku. "Are we sure this thing can move fast enough to get us there in only a week?"

Hach stepped in front of the group. "This transport runs on a battery that can last up to a few months with a single charge, provided the hyper-sensitive solar panels on the roof remain operational. It will run twenty-four seven until you reach your destination."

Futoshi chimed in. "But, it's massive! There are forests and mountains to the north, can it really push through all of that?"

Hachi showed an uncharacteristically cocky expression. "You won't need to worry about all of that. Trees and terrain mean nothing to this mechanical beast."

Miku gave Hachi a dry look. "Hey, don't jinx us. If something goes wrong, I'm blaming you."

Hachi cleared his throat. "Um…understood." He said softly.

"Anyway," inserted Ichigo. "It's time to go. Are you ready guys?"

Naomi cheerfully nodded, then looked over at Aiko. "Are you sure you're going to be ok with all of the kids?"

Aiko smiled. "I'm going to be ok; I have lots of people to help."

Hachi pulled a tablet out of his oversized coat pocket and pulled up a schematic of the interior of the transport. "The transport has enough rations to last however long you will need. The inside consists of a small laboratory, a bathroom with individual showers, a small recreational area, a series of sleeping alcoves, a kitchen with a countertop to eat at, and of course a cockpit. The transport does have an autopilot with a pathfinding AI, so you won't need to manually drive unless you want to, or there is an issue with the autopilot. I do suggest that at least one person stay up at all times in case of an emergency. Everyone got that?"

Squad Thirteen nodded in unison, and waited for the back of the transport to lower a ramp for entry.

They entered into a large room with two layers of alcoves cut out of the wall, each of which had bedding and a pillow, only large enough for one person.

"So, this is the sleeping area…not bad," said Goro. He leaned over to whisper in Ichigo's ear. "Wanna share one of those alcoves?"

Ichigo smiled and whispered back into Goro's ear. "This isn't one of those stories."

Goro laughed for a moment before pausing. "One of those whats?"

His question went unanswered as the rest of the group walked further down the room. The doors to the restroom were built right next to a corner that led to a room on the right. Rounding the corner, they found themselves in a well-lit kitchen, with a large countertop surrounded by barstools for a dining area.

Naomi's shoulders slumped. "This is nicer than the kitchen in my house."

From the kitchen they could see a living area similar to the one they had in Plantation Thirteen, with couches circling a small table. Further on was a laboratory with a number of monitors and surveying equipment.

"Wow, this is serious," said Futoshi.

Ikuno rolled past to enter the cockpit, and plugged in a tablet with the topographical map of the crash site. Shortly after, the autopilot began to slowly move the wheels of the massive transport.

Their journey had begun.

As the door began close, Zorome shouted out to Hachi. "Enjoy your alone time with Nana!"

Hachi looked back at the moving transport. "Wha- How did you know?"

Laughing erupted from the closing door.

"We didn't!" Shouted Ichigo, just as the door closed.

Everyone was suddenly in very high spirits.

"Well, who wants breakfast?" Asked Futoshi. "I'll cook something special!"

A small cheer erupted from the team, and they all gathered at the dining area. Futoshi's cooking had become somewhat famous in the city, and now they had it all to themselves. Soon the table was alive with conversation as Futoshi began to prepare a feast in the kitchen a few meters away.

"So, what was Zero Two like?" Asked Naomi. "I know Hiro, but I've only heard of her in passing."

Miku was the first to speak. "I don't even know where to start. Originally she was absolutely terrifying."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, how do I describe it…well, she had…you see…"

Zorome interjected. "A complete disregard for human life?"

Miku nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

Naomi was horrified for a moment, with a look of utter confusion at the lack of response from the rest of the team. "She was your friend?"

Ichigo nodded. "She was one of our best friends."

"But- "
Goro interrupted her. "Naomi, you know what it was like back then. None of our lives were valued. And she didn't grow up like we did, she was part of a special forces group called the Nines."

Everyone at the table groaned at the mention of the Nines.

Naomi had a puzzled look on her face for a moment. "What was wrong with the Nines?"

Mitsuru looked over at Naomi with a tired expression. "The Nines were under the direct control of Papa. They were a group of genetically superior humans who spent all of their time killing Klaxosaurs. A bunch of murderous psychopaths who didn't really care about any of us normal parasites."

"Although Zero Two wasn't human at all," said Ikuno. "She was a clone of the last of the Klaxo-sapiens. A humanoid Klaxosaur, in a way."

Naomi was silent for a moment. "But, when did she become your friend?"

"Well, after a series of mishaps, Hiro turned out to be the only partner she could be with," said Miku. "It was at that point that she had a mental breakdown of sorts, and was obsessed with becoming a human, so that she could be with Hiro."

Zorome shivered. "I try to forget that day."

"Why?" Asked Naomi.

"Because she single-handedly beat all of us near-unconscious," interjected Goro.

"Good lord."

"Yeah."

"Admittedly, it was partially my fault," said Ichigo. "I kept her from seeing Hiro after her breakdown."

"But you were the first to accept her afterwards," said Kokoro. "I think you made up for that."

"So, again, when did she become your friend?" Asked Naomi.

"During the assault on the Gran Crevasse," said Futoshi, from the kitchen. "She apologized to us all, although Hiro had to straighten us out a little first. Quite the guilt trip."

"After that, she was friendly and sweet as candy," explained Miku. "She became an integral part of the team. Although, she was quite the prankster."

"She was head over heels for Hiro, as well. They were absolutely crazy for each other," sighed Ikuno.

Miku leaned in and nudged Ikuno with her elbow, speaking with a joking tone. "What's with that. You jealous of what they had?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Breakfast is ready!" Exclaimed Futoshi, holding a series of plates full of food.

Cheers arose from the table as the squad wasted no time in eating and laughing with one another.

Maybe this journey wouldn't be so bad.

---

How did this happen?

Zero Two's heart was pumping. It had been two days since she had woken up, and she wanted to bring food to the camp to help Hiro heal. She had almost caught up to the deer she was stalking when it came out of nowhere.

A large bear had its eyes locked on her, not twenty meters away.

The deer was long gone. She had no weapons, apart from her horns, fangs, and the claws emerging from her gloves. Those would've been plenty if she was going to kill the deer.

She wasn't so sure about a bear.

She had a small part of the sled strapped to her back, in order to bring back the kill, but it wasn't sharp enough to use as a weapon. It was too clunky to use effectively as protection as well.

"Can I run?" She thought. "No, I'm fast but I can't outrun a bear."

The bear didn't give her time to think any more on the matter.

It charged with frightening speed.

She crouched and prepared to dodge. Three years of perpetual combat had improved her fighting abilities to a frightening degree.

"I might be able to pull this off," she thought.

She jumped to the side just as the bear lunged at her, using her sharp claws to gouge the left eye of the bear.

The bear roared in pain, and speedily attempted to find what had just blinded its left side.

"I can do this"

Zero Two attempted to cut underneath the shoulder of the bear, in order to bring it to the ground, but was swiped and thrown onto her back.

The bear was now overtop of her, its mouth desperately snapping at her face. She put her feet against the its chest in order to hold it back, but that wouldn't last for long.

She quickly slashed her sharp claws across the bear's nose, making it step backwards in pain. It stood on its hind legs for a moment, rubbing its snout with its front paws.

While it stood, Zero Two ran past the bear's stomach, and shredded the skin to ribbons with her claws.

"Not deep enough. I can't get cut it open. I'm going for the throat."

Zero Two charged straight into the chest of the bear. She dug her claws into its sides and bit into the throat with her fangs. She pulled and tore, but no matter how much flesh she ripped away, she seemed no closer to tearing out its throat.

Blood flowed into her mouth, making her gag, and giving the bear the opportunity to break free from her bite. It clawed at her back, but the sled strapped to her prevented its claws from cutting her.

"Stalemate," she spat. "The bear will win if this becomes a battle of endurance."

After the bear had released itself from her fangs, its head was situated just above hers as it attempted to tear into her back. This gave Zero Two a thought.

She remembered the battle at Gran Crevasse, and her later interaction with the Klaxosaur princess. She thought about one thing.

How her horns had grown.

At the Gran Crevasse, her horns had grown exponentially. The Klaxosaur princess had shown that she could force her horn to grow on command.

Could she do the same?

She moved her claws upwards, to hold the bear's head in place as it was distracted with attempting to claw her.

"Grow!"

Zero Two's horns didn't react.

"Come on, grow! Sharper, fast!"

A small budge.

"GROW!"

With that, her horns grew with a sudden force, entering the bear's head from the bottom of the jaw, and exiting from the top of the skull.

Blood began to pour down her horns, dying her pink hair a dark red.

She craned her head, and the bear slid off of her horns slowly, hitting the ground like a stone.

She looked up and saw a deer staring at her a few dozen meters away.

"Seems you're off the menu."

With that, the deer bounded into the forest.

Zero Two felt her horns, which had now grown to be nearly two-thirds of a meter long.

"This is too much," she thought. "I should break these off near the base. After all, it seems I can grow them out whenever I want anyway."

She felt her horns with her hands, and with a sudden crack they broke off, leaving jagged and pointy stumps showing themselves a few centimeters from her hair.

Zero Two looked at the bear and pondered about how she should take it back to camp.

"That thing won't fit on the sled."

She looked at the horns in her hands and had an idea.

She placed the horns back into the wounds in the bear's head, and tied the top and bottom of the horns to her waist. With her horns firmly placed in the bear's head, she began to march her way back to camp with the bear in tow.

Arriving at the camp, she found Hiro asleep, and attempted to prepare the bear as quietly as possible.

Zero Two created a spit in which she was cooking a large chunk of meat from the bear. She quickly found it quite boring to sit and watch the food, instead looking at Hiro as he slept.

Wait, what is that?

She leaned in close to his face and noticed a few stray hairs on his chin.

"Not sure how I feel about that…" thought Zero Two. "Well, he's asleep, he won't notice."

She began to pluck the hair off of his face, until finally he began to wake up.

Zero Two quickly moved back to the fire, pretending she had been cooking the meat the entire time.

Hiro groggily opened his eyes and sat up. "Ugh. My face hurts for some reason. Am I bleeding?"

"You must've slept wrong or something," said Zero Two. "It's good that you woke up though. Food is almost ready."

"Food…?"

"Yep, I made it, so be sure to eat it all up."

"Zero Two…"

"Yes?"

"You're covered in blood."

"Mhmm?"

"Not our blood."

"Nope," She said, while flashing a smile.

"Should I be concerned?"

"No, it's just from what I made for lunch."

"You're soaked. Aren't you cold?"

"It's dry now."

"What did it come from?"

"A bear."

"A BEAR!?"

"Yep."

"You're not hurt at all?"

"I'm fine darling, you should worry about yourself until you get better."

"How did you kill it?"

"Horns."

"You didn't have any weapons or anything?"

"Nope."

"Is it strange that I feel incredibly attracted to you right now?"

"I don't know about that," she said with a faint smile.

He scooted closer to Zero Two, and they pulled the meat from the spit and began to eat.

Zero Two let out a sigh of relief after biting down into the first food she'd eaten in years.

"This is by far the best thing I've ever tasted, Zero Two." Exclaimed Hiro.

"Well, I'm glad you like my cooking. I wish I could've glazed it in honey though."

"What did you do to it?"

"Nothing really. I just cooked it. It's probably only good because we haven't eaten in years."

Hiro leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for everything."

"Of course, darling."

She shivered for a moment, and Hiro opened up his blanket and wrapped it around both of their shoulders.

It's weird to think, even under these circumstances, that I'm happy.

---

Three days into their journey.

Ichigo shook Goro awake, holding a finger over his lips as he awoke in order to prevent him from asking questions.

Goro looked out from his alcove in the wall, and noticed that the rest of Squad Thirteen was huddled around the corner of the wall leading to the kitchen.

All except Ikuno.

Goro turned his attention to his wife, and saw her grinning from ear to ear.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"You'll see," she mouthed back.

As he and Ichigo joined the rest of Squad Thirteen, he saw that they all had similar grins on their faces. His friends motioned for him to be quiet and listen to Ikuno's voice coming from the kitchen.

Ikuno was talking with someone over her communicator, he couldn't recognize the voice, but it was clearly someone Ikuno knew quite well.

"How are things on your trip?" Said the woman over the communicator. "You're up awfully late."

"Things are going well right now," replied Ikuno. "And I'm on duty to keep watch over the transport while everyone else sleeps."

"That stinks."

"No, I find it kind of peaceful," Ikuno stated, remaining silent for a while longer. "I'll tell you the same thing…you're up awfully late."

They both chuckled for a moment before becoming silent.

"So, you're all alone in that big transport right now?" Asked the voice.

"Essentially," said Ikuno. "All of the sleeping alcoves have soundproof energy shields that activate after someone begins to sleep in them. It's as though you're in your own home."

"That's really cool! Who came up with that?"

"I did."

The woman on the com chuckled. "Of course you did."

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was awake already, but I was surprised to see you call me this late." Ikuno's voice took a sarcastic tone. "Did you miss me?"

"…You said that everyone else was asleep?"

Ikuno's voice had suddenly gotten more unnerved. "Y-yeah?"

"I really miss you Ikuno."

"You miss…me?"

The members of Squad Thirteen listening in looked at each other with eyes wide, grinning from ear to ear.

"When you said you were going on a trip for half a month, I didn't really think anything of it. After these past few days though, I really miss you being here."

"W-well I'm sure the lab can be quite difficult to handle at ti- "

"That's not what I meant."

"…Then why?"

"This isn't how I wanted to tell you, but I have to say it. I've wanted to for years, but now I can. Ikuno."

"Yes?"

"I'm in love with you. I have been since the moment I met you."

Squad Thirteen listened eagerly for Ikuno's response.

What they heard was a mixture of laughter and tears.

"I've loved you for the longest time," said Ikuno. "More than anything else."

Squad Thirteen celebrated as silently as they could without being noticed. Miku mimed a cheer while Zorome and Goro feigned a high five.

"We're both really dumb, aren't we? Waiting so long, even though we felt the same way."

Ikuno sniffled and wiped her tears before responding. "That doesn't matter anymore. But I have to ask, why would you fall for someone like me?"

"I just love everything about you."

"Wow…that's…intense."

"Well, why did you fall for someone like me?"

"You're just…amazing to me, and everything about you is- oh…I see."

Zorome motioned for Squad Thirteen to head back to the beds, and everyone quickly obeyed, grinning all the while.

Ikuno talked over the com for as long as she wanted.

The next morning, Ikuno was the first to wake up. She was too excited to sleep. She hadn't even thought about whether to tell the others or not. For now, she would keep it a secret.

Ikuno was already at the table when Futoshi walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.

"You're up early," exclaimed Futoshi.

"Well, I couldn't really sleep," replied Ikuno.

"Why's that?"

"…Sleep cycles…I guess."

"Mhmm."

Ikuno spent a moment in quiet panic. "Already my story is shaky at best, come on Ikuno, you can do better than 'sleep cycles I guess,'" she thought to herself.

An hour or two later, Futoshi laid out breakfast and the members of Squad Thirteen began to file in. Most of the squad was seated, and Ikuno was sipping her coffee when Zorome walked in and sat next to Miku.

"Man, I'm glad that this transport has hot food rather than those sketchy MREs," exclaimed Zorome as he sat down. "Before we left, I didn't really think anything of it, but after these past few days I'm sure I would've missed it."

Everyone at the table fought desperately to keep their smiles under control in any way possible. Half of them covered their faces with their hands, the others stuffed their faces with food to keep themselves from showing any hint of smiling.

Ikuno paused for a moment before taking the next sip of her coffee. "No, just my imagination," she thought.

Ichigo came to her seat with a fresh cup of tea and took a sip, before holding her mug at a full arm's length in front of her. "Ahh, tea. I loved you from the moment I met you."

Miku coughed as the milk she had been drinking shot out of her nose.

Ikuno was silently sweating. "There's no way, right? This has to just be a coincidence. Everyone is just excited for Futoshi's cooking," she reasoned to herself.

"Why's that Ichigo?" Said Goro, desperately holding back laughter.

"Well, Goro," stated Ichigo. "I just love everything about it."

Everything was silent for a few moments before Ikuno broke the silence. "Well, hell." She said loudly, while hiding a grin. "You guys are really nosey, you know that?"

Roaring laughter erupted from the table, followed by cheers and an onslaught of questions directed at Ikuno.

"I woke up early to bake for the occasion," shouted Futoshi, proudly displaying his creation.

A second round of cheers broke out, as Squad Thirteen's spirits rose ever higher.

---

Zero Two found herself awake again. She didn't need to sleep, but she wanted to nonetheless. Like the Nines, her body didn't require sleep, but the penalty of that was feeling more and more tired as time went on.

That tiredness only affected her mind though, her body could resist the sleep indefinitely, no matter how exhausted she really felt.

Now she had the opportunity to sleep, but she could never fully calm down.

"Three years of continuous fighting does that to you, I guess," she thought.

Hiro wasn't much better off. He could sleep because his body needed to heal, but only for short bursts, always awoken by the same feeling of being exposed on all sides.

Rather than sleep, she sat and let her mind wander, eventually thinking back to the mural from the first dream she had since they killed the Virm.

"Hey darling," she said to Hiro sitting beside her. "Can I ask you a dumb question?"

"Of course," he said, with a concerned expression on his face.

"Do you think it's alright for us to come back?"

Hiro thought for a moment. "You're right, that is a dumb question."

Zero Two smiled for a moment before continuing. "We aren't human. I learned from you guys that it didn't really matter. What I worry about now, is that we don't belong there anymore."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's been at least three years since we left Earth. Human society will have grown to be a more peaceful place, putting all of the violence behind them. But here we are, products of a war that killed an entire planet. We're not built for peace anymore-we can't even sleep because we're hardwired to be killing machines. At this point what are we? We've racked up a kill count in the billions. Our instincts are still to attack anything that moves because it might be the Virm. The first things we adapted to when we woke up was how to survive," she motioned at Hiro's missing leg. "And how to kill," she said as she motioned towards the corpse of the bear preserved in the snow. "Won't we just interrupt their lives?"

"I understand what you mean, but don't take your friends that lightly."

Zero Two gave him a quizzical look.

"What I mean is," stated Hiro. "Our friends love us more than you think. They're more than friends, really. They're our family, more so than anyone else. We made a promise that we would come home, and they will accept us no matter how different we are. They will stick by us no matter how long it takes for our bloodlust to stop."

"How can we know?"

"I know because I know you. You would give anything for them. You love them just as much as I do, and I know you would wait for any one of them if they were in our same situation. They love you just as much as you love them, and I know that they are all good people. If it's for someone they love, they would do anything."

Zero Two began to laugh, with some tears in her eyes. "That was a good answer to a dumb question."

"Although part of me wants to ignore the morality and just see what chaos our sudden arrival would bring."

"I'm excited to see."

The fire popped for a moment, and obviously needed a new log.

Hiro pushed himself up and crawled on his hands, supported by his foot, towards the firewood stacked nearby.

"Your movement has gotten better," stated Zero Two. "It's begun to look more natural and fluid."

Hiro arrived back at the campfire with a log held by his fangs. Spitting it out, he placed it into the fire, and it roared back to life.

"I've been doing laps around the campsite some," he said. "The wound has closed, so I've been able to push it more and more. Soon, I should be able to outrun some of the deer."

Zero Two looked at him with amazement. "Outrun the deer? How?"

"I saw some animals running the other day, and I thought that if I dug my claws into the ground and pulled myself forwards, I could then pull my leg towards my chest and use it to push myself forwards even faster. In a way, it's like being on all fours, with more focus on balance. Soon, I was at a full sprint through the trees."

"That's really impressive, darling."

"If we ever run out of bear to eat, I'll go on the hunt next time."

"Will you be able to sneak up on prey like that though?"

Hiro put on a cocky smile. "I have my own way of achieving that."

"And what's that?"

Hiro simply pointed to the pine branches far above. "I can climb the trees pretty easily now, and my claws make it easier to support myself and be more sure-footed."

Zero Two rested her head on his shoulder. "You seem pretty happy with all of that."

"Well, now we can face everything together, rather than you having to take care of me like you have been the past six days."

Zero Two closed her eyes and smiled. "We'll always face everything together darling."

Soon after saying that, she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

A rest without worry.

---

The day had arrived.

The transport arrived at the crash site early in the morning, and for the first few hours of the day Squad Thirteen prepared itself mentally and physically. The snow was too deep for Ikuno's wheelchair, so she would remain in the laboratory and observe the crash site via drone feed on the monitors. When the rest of the squad walked in to check in on her, she revealed a series of purple full-body suits with an angular, blocky design. Neon purple bands formed stripes around the main torso of the suits, shining brighter in the light.

"Uh, what are these?" Asked Mitsuru.

"These," exclaimed Ikuno. "Are EVA suits designed for extended survival in dangerously cold environments. With this, you won't have to worry about thick coats and clothing that will get in the way of your investigation. They are lightweight and will keep you warm, provided you don't take off the helmet. They have built-in comm links, so you won't have to shout to be heard over a storm, and you can report to me directly from the field."

"Why the purple?" inquired Naomi.

"Purple was determined to be the optimal color for my drone to be able to track you all. The high visibility stripes should allow you to see one another in the snow, however thick it gets."

Goro interjected. "Won't this attract wildlife?"

Ikuno smiled and pulled out a small rifle with a thin, tin barrel. "This is a tranquilizer gun. One tranquilizer can take down a fully-grown bear within seconds. And luckily enough, it poses little to no threat to the welfare of the target itself."

The rest of Squad Thirteen nodded with approval and began to put on their EVA suits.

Goro looked at the helmet he was about to seal to his suit. It was an angular, blocky design, like the rest of the suit. The only change in color was a thick strip of high-visibility purple acting as a visor where his eyes would be.

"Once you put on these helmets, they will be sealed until you are in what is deemed a 'safe zone,' namely, the transport," said Ikuno.

"Is everyone ready?" Asked Ichigo.

Squad Thirteen nodded and prepared themselves for the grim task ahead.

As he walked out of the door, Goro once again looked at the sky. This time, he couldn't even see the grey clouds above, the snow was far too thick to see it. The wind was strong, and visibility was limited to one hundred meters at the most.

He looked down and saw it.

The head of Strelizia, with half of its faceplate missing. Surrounding the Franxx were pools of a thick black liquid, with bright blue tendrils swirling independently of the wind blowing across the pool's surface.

The group shuffled through the snow towards the remains of Strelizia, preparing for the worst.

"Hey Goro," said Ikuno over the comms. "What can you tell from the energy field?"

Goro moved towards the energy field covering the hole in Strelizia's faceplate, followed closely by Zorome. Everyone else seemed to be wandering around the small crater, inspecting various bits of wreckage for any clues as to the Franxx's mysterious appearance.

"Well," replied Goro. "From what I can tell it's like the energy fields from Plantation Thirteen. This one seems like an emergency measure considering it's lasted this long without a main battery to run it."

"Do you think you can shut it down?"

"I don't know. Let me look for a command panel."

After a few minutes of searching, Zorome found a panel with a series of input ports for electronics. Goro pulled out a tablet and connected a cable from the tablet to one of the ports in Strelizia. After a minute or two of loading, Goro noticed some strange files stored in Strelizia's memory banks.

"Hey Ikuno, I found some files stored in Strelizia I want to send you. They seem pretty irregular," said Goro. "The dates on some of these files are too recent considering how old this Franxx is."

"That's not the only thing that's bothering me," replied Ikuno. "The crash site doesn't match up with the data from Strelizia's arm crash site further south."

"How so?"

"Remember how Hachi said that the impact velocity was too high for the Franxx to have crashed from orbit?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, this crash site's impact velocity is too low. No matter how you look at it, it didn't have the velocity that it would've had if it had naturally fallen from orbit like most Franxx, nor did it have the velocity that it should've had if it had hit the Earth head-on, like Strelizia's arm."

"So what?" Interjected Zorome.

Ikuno spoke slowly, as though she was trying to think of ways to disprove what she was saying as she said it. "It seems as though it went through rapid deceleration after entering the atmosphere."

"More and more questions," stated Ichigo. "Any clue as to what slowed it down?"

"None at all, actually," said Ikuno. "My first thought would've been that a breach in the faceplate vented atmosphere at the right angle to slow its descent, but according to the files that Goro sent me, that emergency shield has been there for a long time."

"Find anything else on those files, Ikuno?" Asked Goro.

"I found the program that will disable the door. Now you should be able to open the hole if you put in the key and bash the energy shield."

"Alright," said Goro, turning his head towards Zorome. "Hey Zorome, can you get by the shield? Poke it when I tell you to, then it should open."

"Got it," said Zorome, getting into position.

Goro pushed a few buttons on his tablet before nodding at Zorome.

Zorome touched the energy shield with his finger, and the entire panel disappeared at once.

A wave of dark blue liquid knocked Zorome off of his feet, and drenched him from head to toe.

"Ugh, what is this!?" Shouted Zorome over the comms. "Is this fuel?"

"It's not magma fuel," said Goro, rushing to his side.

"Zorome! Is your suit compromised?" Said a concerned Miku.

"No," replied Zorome. "The waterproofing on these suits is no joke."

Soon everyone had calmed down, and while they waited for the capsule to drain of the mysterious liquid, Ichigo called everyone over to one of the pools of black liquid surrounding the Franxx.

"What is that stuff?" Asked Futoshi.

"I don't know," answered Ichigo. "But look at this."

She dipped her cupped hands into the liquid to scoop up a sample, but just as her hands pulled the liquid above the surface, the blue swirls became rigid lines inside of the viscous black background, and the liquid slithered out of her hands back into the pool.

Soon everyone was attempting to grab samples of the mysterious liquid, but every time it would stiffen and slide back into the pool as if it were alive. Miku almost threw it into the air, in order to force it away from the pool quickly. The liquid quickly wrapped itself around her arms and crawled its way down to her feet, returning to the pool.

"How're we supposed to take samples of this?" Asked Naomi.

"I guess I can," said Zorome in a confused voice.

Everyone looked over to see Zorome scooping handfuls of the liquid into sample jars dirtied by the blue liquid coming from the Franxx.

"What?" Said Goro, with an incredulous tone.

"Dummy, stop! You'll contaminate the samples like that!" Exclaimed Miku over the comm.

"Wait! Look," said Zorome as he pointed to the two liquids in the collection jar. "It's like oil and water, they're not mixing at all."

"Hey Zorome, bring those samples to the drone," said Ikuno. "I'm going to do a quick analysis on them in the lab."

Ikuno's drone lowered to Zorome's height, and grabbed the collection bottles from his hand.

"Alright, the cockpit has stopped draining. Let's check it out," exclaimed Naomi.

Upon walking into the cockpit, Goro wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. There was no corpse inside, but he knew what that meant. Most likely, whatever had blown a hole in the faceplate had sucked Hiro into space, which was an equally horrifying thought.

Inside were small pools of the blue liquid, where the angle of the cockpit prevented them from draining out of the faceplate.

He noticed what looked like a photograph stuffed between the cushions of the armrest and the seat of the pilot's chair. Pulling it out, he saw that the top half of the photograph was either burned, or soaked with the blue liquid to the point of it being unrecognizable.

But Goro could guess what the photograph was of by seeing the lower half.

The chairs, the familiar shoes and pants of their old uniforms, as well as Zero Two's Nines uniform.

It was a picture of Squad Thirteen.

Goro choked back tears before he would be noticed over the coms.

"Has this chair always been here?" Asked Mitsuru, pointing at what looked like a padded chair that had been torn to shreds.

"I don't know where that came from," replied Ichigo. "I've never seen something like that inside of a Franxx before."

Kokoro emitted a short and startled shout, before covering the space where her mouth was over her faceplate.

"What is it, Kokoro!?" Shouted Mitsuru, running over to comfort her.

She pointed towards something that was sitting in the corner of the Franxx.

A mangled leg. It was missing the front of its foot, and large chunks of shrapnel were deeply embedded throughout.

Mitsuru desperately clawed at his helmet to take it off.

Ikuno hastily designated Strelizia's cockpit as a safe zone.

His helmet came off with a pop, and a moment later, Mitsuru was retching onto the floor.

"What's wrong?" Shouted the rest of the squad in unison, running over to where the two were situated.

"Oh no…" said Goro in a soft voice.

Ichigo buried her head into his chest and tried not to make a sound.

Everyone was silent for a long time. They all took off their helmets, and a few members of Squad Thirteen began to join Mitsuru's retching. Some of them silently sobbed at the sight.

When everyone had finally stopped, their eyes all seemed dead while in quiet contemplation.

"We should…take it back to the lab." Said Naomi in a near whisper. "There's nothing else to find in here."

Everyone slowly nodded and reluctantly put their helmets back on.

Upon their return to the lab, they took off all of their helmets, and waited for Ikuno to turn around from her monitors.

"What happened?" She said while typing a command to the drone on the computer. "I saw Mitsuru trying to take off his helmet, but without those on I can't use the comms with you guys. Did anythi- "

As she turned, she saw the dead look on everyone's faces.

"Wha-what's wrong?" She asked with a shaky voice.

Naomi placed what was left of Hiro's leg on the examination table between them.

Ikuno covered her mouth with her hands, and tears quickly began to flow from her eyes.

"Oh no…" She said in an inaudible whisper.

For the next hour, no one spoke. Everyone walked from room to room, attempting to sit down or relax, but only getting up to pace around again. Ikuno silently sobbed as she ran an analysis on the two liquids Zorome had gathered. The monitors behind her showed the progress of the computer in analyzing the files Goro had gathered from Strelizia.

Finally, Ikuno broke the silence.

"Guys," she said with a soft voice. "The analysis is complete; you might want to see this."

Everyone shuffled into the room with no sense of urgency. They lined up against the wall facing Ikuno and the observation table, the monitors above her showing that the computer had finished analyzing Strelizia's files.

"First off is this," said Ikuno, placing a vial of the blue liquid from the cockpit onto the observation table, for everyone to see. "This is organic."

"What?" Replied Zorome, who had since changed out of his soaked EVA suit.

"It's an organic liquid. As in it came from something alive. It's full of dead cells, but it doesn't seem to have undergone any decomposition until relatively recently."

"W-what kind of cells?"

"Blood cells."

Zorome's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. "B-but its blue!"

"I can't explain that, but the blood cell count is kind of peculiar. It has an inhuman amount of yellow blood cells. I compared that to what was in Dr. Franxx's old database and only one match was found."

"Don't…" said Zorome in almost a whisper.

"I can't explain why there was so much," said Ikuno softly, in a shaky voice. "But this is all that is left of Hiro."

Zorome slowly slid to the ground and covered his face with his hands. Miku crouched down to comfort him. Everyone knew why it was affecting him so much more.

"I was covered in it." he said quietly.

Everyone sat in silence for a moment before Ichigo attempted to revitalize the room. "What about the other liquid that we couldn't collect without the…blood?"

Ikuno snapped back to reality. "That's a significantly longer story. Do you all remember Star Entity, and how it was formed?"

Everyone in the room had a puzzled look on their face, before Kokoro answered. "The princess made it, right? A mass of Klaxosaurs to be used as a weapon against the Virm?"

"That's right, and what was its shape?"

"Well, it was a giant Franxx, right?"

"But think back to the battle at the Gran Crevasse, and the giant hand that destroyed Plantation Thirteen. That was also Star Entity. The only reason that it took on the shape of a Franxx was because it absorbed Strelizia, right?"

"I guess so," replied Miku.

"So then, that has to mean," continued Ikuno. "That Star Entity doesn't have any one definite shape. It only takes the form of what the pilot wills it to. In that way, Star Entity isn't a Klaxosaur or Franxx, but rather a living non-Newtonian fluid."

"Wait, fluid?" Asked Goro. "But it was definitely metal when we fought with it above Earth. And it had energy fields and weapons that were distinctly human."

"Like I said, it takes the shape of whatever the pilot wills it to. The princess used it as a massive hand in order to collect the cores from the Gran Crevasse, at that point it was just a massive Klaxosaur. When it absorbed Strelizia, it became a giant Franxx. It can take whatever form it needs to, and in that way, its just a massive collection of formless, liquid Klaxosaurs."

"So that thing outside isn't Strelizia, but Star Entity?"

"At this point, they're one and the same. Over the years, the two must have simply synthesized. I assume the puddles are just from where Strelizia is losing its form, since it no longer has any pilot to keep it in that shape."

"Is that why Klaxosaurs were at the crash site further south?" Interjected Naomi. "Since it was a Franxx and a Klaxosaur?"

Ikuno pondered the suggestion. "That seems to be the most likely explanation. After all, Star Entity is the princess' child. The ultimate Klaxosaur, with ties to both humanity and the Klaxo-sapiens."

"Do we know why we couldn't touch it without Hiro's blood?" Asked Miku.

"Perhaps it recognized its pilot," Ikuno answered. "Maybe it was Star Entity identifying his DNA inside of the cockpit that kept it in shape for so long, even after his death."

The gloom that everyone had felt throughout the day hung heavy over their heads as the conversation ended. No one knew what to do now that some of their questions had been answered, and silence filled the room for a moment before someone dared to speak again.

"What about the files Goro retrieved?" Inquired Mitsuru. "Can you tell what they are?"

"Ah, yes," replied Ikuno. "The files appear to be video footage from the inside and outside of the cockpit, as well as a running diagnostic of the AI in Star Entity."

"Star Entity had an AI?"

"It's an advanced AI, but it seems its only functions were to act as an emergency life support program and autopilot. It appears Zero Two overrode the AI when Hiro joined her in the cockpit."

"None of the Franxx had AIs," said Goro. "If Star Entity absorbed Strelizia then why would it have one?"

"This is just my hypothesis," remarked Ikuno. "But perhaps it was the Klaxosaurs that make up Star Entity. When it took the form of a Franxx, it had to become a Franxx, with all of the systems and functions that run it. If the Klaxosaurs could no longer act like animals under the command of the princess, then maybe they used their consciousness as an AI compatible with the Franxx design."

"So since they couldn't remain as a collective Klaxosaur intelligence in the Franxx, they forced themselves into the system as an AI in order to remain inside of Star Entity?"

"That's how it seems to have happened, yes," stated Ikuno. "That would also explain why it didn't go into stampede mode like a normal Franxx would with Zero Two being the only pilot. The AI might've used itself as a stand-in for the other pilot in order to allow it to remain in full functionality while allowing Zero Two full control."

Ikuno turned towards the computer and began to navigate the files.

"Is the AI still in those files?" Asked Futoshi.

Ikuno straightened her glasses before answering. "No, it appears to have perished not all that long ago. The wreckage of Star Entity seems only driven by an animalistic urge to remain together in one piece, even though it seems to be losing the strength to do even that."

Ichigo had been sitting in silence with brows furrowed this entire time, which Goro noticed with some concern. "What's wrong, Ichigo?"

"I think we should watch the footage," she stated sternly. "And I want to see what this AI was doing while they were in space."

Everyone looked surprised for a moment, but seemed to reluctantly agree to watching the footage.

"Is everyone sure they're ready for this?" Asked Goro. "We've seen a lot today, but this could be the worst we'll see."

Kokoro looked at the floor while speaking. "Even so, I think we should watch it. Even if it is just as a method of last respects."

Ikuno hesitantly ran all of the programs at once, so that there would be no delay between the feeds.

The footage began as Hiro and Zero Two entered the gate to the Virm home world. For a few moments, Hiro and Zero Two were silent, knowing that they wouldn't return home.

The computer diagnostic flashed its first text since the program began to run.

ETA for arrival at Virm home world: Approximately three years.

"Three years!?" Exclaimed Naomi.

"That's longer than we thought," said Goro. "But we knew it was around that time frame."

The footage began to speed up, making days go by in seconds; the entire time, Hiro and Zero Two were fighting endless hordes of Virm.

"They haven't slept in months," said Miku, after a few minutes of footage. "How can they fight for months on end with no break?"

"They had to," said Ichigo dryly. "But this is more than we ever thought. We assumed that it would only be a few skirmishes at most, not perpetual fighting for three straight years."

"That's too much for anyone to handle. Are we sure they even reached the planet?" Asked Naomi.

"Look at them," said Zorome, with a faint smile on his face. "They're going through Virm like tissue paper, there's no way they didn't reach them."

Everyone gave a smile as they saw Hiro and Zero Two talking back and forth through the ceaseless violence around them.

"Wait," said Ichigo, pointing at the footage of the inside of the cockpit. "Look at Hiro!"

Everyone's jaws dropped when they saw what she meant.

Dark blue horns prominently protruded from his black hair, and a thick deep blue line was visible just below his eyelid.

"He looks like Zero Two!" Said a shocked Miku. "Was it because he was her co-pilot?"

Ichigo was silent for a moment while they all focused on Hiro's growing horns and new Klaxosaur features. "I don't know, but he seems happy with it."

The rest of the squad smiled as they watched.

"I'm glad the two of them were together like this in the end," said Kokoro. "Maybe Zero Two finally felt at home with someone of the same species."

"I think she felt more at home with us than you think," replied Goro. "But I'm happy that they were the same in the end."

ETA for arrival at Virm home world: Approximately one year.

The smiles faded from Squad Thirteen's faces as they realized what they were about to watch.

While Zero Two and Hiro's fighting skills had increased tenfold since the gate passage, the Virm's numbers couldn't be entirely ignored. Sometimes a ship would get lucky, and would chip some of Star Entity's panels. Squad Thirteen began to worry that their friends had suffered a death of one thousand cuts.

ETA for arrival at Virm home world: Approximately ten days.

The footage began to slow, days now passed in minutes rather than seconds. Until finally, the day arrived.

Arrived Virm home world. Initiating final bomb preparations.

The joy they had felt from watching footage of their friends again was completely dashed with the computer's message.

Squad Thirteen began to break down into tears as they listened to Hiro and Zero Two's last words to each other, until finally they charged into the planet.

Ichigo closed her eyes tight and clasped onto Goro, who held her tightly in his arms as he watched the footage.

The footage slowed to a snail's pace.

The footage showed the cockpit of Strelizia evaporating from the blast. Light tore through the front of the cockpit, and Hiro was thrown backwards.

Even in the slow footage, the shrapnel was nearly too fast to see.

A large panel sliced through Hiro's leg, severing it just above the knee. With every beat of his heart blood shot from the wound.

Smaller pieces of shrapnel began to pepper his body, entering from one side, exiting with a thin trail of dark blue blood.

A larger piece of metal hit him squarely in the forehead, snapping his head backward.

Which kept it from being hit with shrapnel.

Hiro was nearly at the back of the cockpit as the flames from the explosion were about to reach him.

The monitor showing the AI's activity and diagnostics jumped into life.

Life support initiated.

The back of the cockpit melted into tendrils of the black and blue liquid, quickly wrapping Hiro in a cocoon before the explosion could reach him.

As the black capsule was thrown from the explosion, it absorbed what wreckage it could from the surrounding pieces of Star Entity, quickly reforming the cockpit of Strelizia.

Determining essential functions.

Defensive measures recommended.

With that, the main torso of Strelizia reformed. Its right arm quickly grew from the shoulder socket, and Strelizia's spear formed from a nearby piece of wreckage.

Environment deemed safe: proceeding to treatment.

Hiro was once again situated inside of the pilot seat, but blood poured out from all over his body.

Injecting emergency material.

Squad Thirteen watched in shock as a small needle grew from the pilot's seat and quickly stabbed into the side of Hiro's neck.

Determined dosage: Two hundred fifty mL.

A small amount of the black liquid slithered into the needle, and was injected into his bloodstream.

Blood loss at dangerous levels. Fabricating more. Closing wounds.

The shrapnel wounds peppered over Hiro's body suddenly stopped bleeding, and scars quickly formed over the wounds.

But his leg didn't stop bleeding.

Each time a scar started to form over the wound, his heart would beat, forcing the pressurized blood through the new flesh.

Fabricating more blood.

This continued for a while, as the blood continued to be fabricated, then lost. It slowly filled the cockpit until finally the computer showed a new command.

Covering wound with material.

Liquid formed from the seat and made a seal over the bleeding leg.

Cranial pressure dangerously high: commanding emergency material to relive stress.

Squad Thirteen watched in horror as Hiro's horns began to move, then suddenly, with a crack, fall from head completely. Blood poured down his face for a few moments, before becoming a trickle, then ceasing.

Cranial pressure relieved.

Losing vitals. Heartbeat failing. Commanding emergency material to force heartbeat.

Vitals stable.

Running general inquiry on pilots' health.

Pilot one-Designation: Zero Two. Digital lifeform. Originally organic. Forcing digital heartbeat.

Pilot two-Designation: Hiro. Organic lifeform. Forcing heartbeat.

Brain activity gauged at minimal.

Brain death has not occurred in pilot one or two.

Pilots lacking- mind/consciousness/…

…

Soul?

…

Designation unimportant.

Pilot two condition: assisted yet stable.

Pilot one condition: close to death.

Vessel no longer suitable for housing pilot one.

Calculating course of action.

1. Allowing pilot one to die.

Calculating…

-Ninety percent chance of pilot two's survival.

-Arrival at Earth within the year.

2. Creation of biological vessel for pilot one.

Calculating…

-Sixty percent chance of survival for pilots one and two.

-Significant material loss.

-Arrival at Earth at approximately five years from current date.

Running inquiry…

Course 2 deemed necessary for pilot two's continued survival.

At this point Squad Thirteen had ceased crying. Their eyes were glued to the screens, desperately trying to make sense of the information being revealed in front of them.

"What…" said Ichigo softly.

Allocating material for pilot one reconstruction…

Sufficient material found. Initiating cockpit reconstruction.

Black liquid began to melt from the right half of Strelizia's faceplate, until an energy barrier was all that was left. The excess material from the faceplate began to slide to the wall nearest the pilot's seat, where it formed a large black box.

Materials gathered.

Referencing prior physical data of pilot one.

Matching age data with nearest specimen.

Initiating reconstruction.

The screen that showed the AI's diagnostics split into two smaller windows. One was the dialogue explaining what was happening, and the other was a scan of the inside of the black box where Zero Two was being reconstructed.

Estimated time until digital-biological switch: Four years.

"There's no way…" Thought Goro to himself. As he looked around though, it was clearly the thought on everyone's mind.

The footage began to speed up, as the AI dialogue began to repeat itself with each day that went past. It would run a diagnostic every day, and every day the outcome would be the same.

A large screen saying that the pilots were lacking 'mind/consciousness/soul.'

Eventually, the computer simply said 'soul lost.'

Those words began to eat away at the hope that had been forming in Goro's mind.

"Hey, look at his skin!" said Naomi with a start. "It's changing!"

Surely enough, as the days went by in seconds, Hiro's skin began to slowly change from its lighter tone into a deep blue color.

"It's the same color as his horns," commented Ikuno. "I wonder if that's how all Klaxosaurs were."

The film had sped up so quickly that Zero Two's four-year reconstruction period had arrived in a few minutes.

Pilot one vessel ready, injecting emergency material to initiate heartbeat and brain function.

Dosage, three liters.

Digital to biological transfer initiated…success.

Vitals: assisted, but stable.

The black box that had been built against the wall then melted to the ground, revealing Zero Two asleep on a padded chair, with her skin the color of her horns, which were now of similar length to Hiro's.

ETA for arrival at Earth: One year.

Soul Lost.

Squad Thirteen watched with bated breath as Strelizia grew closer and closer to the Earth. As it entered the atmosphere, the cockpit jettisoned the arm and body, slowing the descent of Strelizia's head significantly.

Firing emergency booster.

The camera feed shook violently as black tendrils fastened themselves around Hiro and Zero Two.

With a loud crash, the shaking stopped.

The tendrils retreated, and the computer sprung to life once more.

Arrived at Earth.

Energy reserves failing.

Final patient diagnostic…

Pilot one and pilot two…

Soul found.

Vitals normal, assistance no longer deemed necessary.

Commanding emergency material be expunged as soon as possible.

Pilot one- full biological reconstruction successful. Healthy.

Pilot two- full recovery. Wound on leg covered; never fully healed.

Unable to reconstruct leg with remaining energy reserves.

Initiating wakeup.

Klaxosaur life preserved…

…

Princess...

…

Victory everlasting.

Hiro violently jolted and took a deep breath in the pilot's seat, and the video feed cut off suddenly.

Everyone was too shocked to move, or say a word.

Miku shouted triumphantly. "THEY'RE ALIVE!"

"Q-quick!" said Ikuno in a shaking voice. "The EVAs! Get in the EVAs! We have to find them!"

Everyone stumbled around trying to find their individual EVA, the blood pounding by their ears made it almost impossible to hear anything.

Goro could see his heart beating through his shirt, and he wasn't sure whether he was smiling or not. He felt as though there was more adrenaline in his veins than blood.

Most of Squad Thirteen met at the doors with their EVAs only halfway on. If they could have, most of them would have charged into the snow while still putting on the suit.

"Is everyone ready?" Asked Ichigo, in a voice shaking with excitement.

"Let's hurry up and go!" Shouted Zorome.

Ikuno reported over the comm. "If they aren't in Strelizia then they have to be in the forest. Make sure to take a tranquilizer gun everyone."

Everyone gave a hum of agreement and sprinted out of the doors as soon as they opened.

The storm was thicker now. Goro couldn't see thirty meters ahead of him, much less the color of the sky. Any chance that they would've been able to hear one another over the wind without the comm was completely gone.

"Any clue on which way they went, Ikuno?" Inquired Naomi over the comm.

"I can't tell for sure," answered Ikuno. "But from the position of some of the wreckage, it looks like they went this way. Follow the drone!"

The squad sprinted after Ikuno's drone in the storm, its neon purple bottom guiding them like a star, until the edge of the forest was finally in visible range.

The paused for a moment around twenty meters from the trees when they noticed a spooked deer in the forest.

It stopped for a moment to look at them.

Then from the trees, something pounced quicker than they could see and knocked the deer to the ground.

The predator's head was craned down towards the throat of the prey, and after a sudden jolt, blood began to spray from the deer's neck.

It looked up at the people watching it.

"That's him!" Shouted Ichigo, pointing at what had just killed the deer. "It's Hiro!"

They only saw his face for a moment, but Squad Thirteen clearly recognized him.

Although there were some differences.

His eyes were open wide, and his pupils were bright blue glowing dots in the bleak weather. His skin was dark blue, accentuated by the red blood that covered the lower half of his face. He barred sharp fangs, dripping with what had previously been the deer's throat.

Goro took a step forward, but Hiro quickly disappeared up a tree before he could get any closer.

"Quick!" Shouted Goro. "After Him!"

The rest of Squad Thirteen shouted in approval as they sprinted into the woods.

---

Hiro finally felt ready to go on the hunt. He had been able to climb the trees silently and stalk the deer to the edge of the forest.

He smiled as he lunged down onto it, knocking it over, and proceeded to tear out its throat with his teeth.

"Sorry little guy," thought Hiro. "But we need food."

His pride in his kill was overshadowed by what he saw in front of him.

Six blocky figures in the snow. Their skin was a dark purple hue, and neon bands lined their body.

He noted that they were armed.

It took him a moment to place his thoughts in order.

"How are they here? We're on Earth now!" He thought. "And I haven't seen any this small before!"

That didn't matter to him though. He was more worried about what to do than why they were here.

One of them pointed their finger at him.

When he saw another figure advance, he took the chance to flee up a tree and make his escape in the canopy.

"I have to tell Zero Two that they've found us."

He was going so fast that his body was on near-autopilot as he found the quickest way back to camp, dropping from the canopy after hopping from tree to tree for a while.

"Something's wrong if they're on Earth."

Hiro's body was getting hotter from fear and anxiety, remembering the endless legions of warped purple figures.

"They should all be dead."

He furrowed his brow and scowled.

"Virm."

Upon his arrival back at the camp, Zero Two looked concerned.

"Darling?" She asked. "What's wrong?"

"I think they're here, Zero Two." Stated Hiro, between deep breaths. "I saw half a dozen figures in the storm. They were Virm colors and had the same angular shape that Virm have. They were all armed with what looked like rifles. They tried to chase me"

"Woah, darling, are you sure?" Inquired Zero Two, with the utmost seriousness. "They should all be dead, and the Klaxosaurs should've wiped out any that were left here on Earth."

"I don't know, but they were all pretty small. Maybe they avoided the Klaxosaurs' attention. Maybe they're sleepers that just woke up. Maybe they were stowed away on the wreckage of Strelizia. I don't know."

"That could be true."

"But when they saw me, they pointed and tried to follow me. I feel like we should assume the worst, just to be safe. Do you think that they're human?"

"I haven't seen any human settlements or transports the entire time we've been here." Stated Zero Two. "I've even been to some of these mountaintops and I still never saw any hint of civilization."

"And I can't imagine any humans thinking that we are alive, much less equipped with gear and weaponry."

"So you want to assume that they're Virm?"

"They most likely aren't, but even if they're human they are coming at us with weapons in hand."

"Are you sure that they are after us."

"They saw me, and started to chase me."

"Crap."

"Right now, they should be in the forest. We know the forest, and can navigate in the storm. If we can ambush them, we might be able to take them all out in a single attack."

Zero Two sat still for a moment. "Do you want to run?"

Hiro flashed a grin. "As much as I would like to, I'm not sure we can. Those things are inhuman when it comes to endurance."

Zero Two smiled back. "Alright, I'll draw their attention from the ground while you attack from the tree canopy."

"Got it."

Zero Two covered the campfire with some snow, and took a deep and shaky breath.

She looked into the heart of the forest, from where her darling had arrived with the news.

They could do this, one last time.

---

Squad Thirteen had lost track of Hiro in a small clearing, ten meters across. The snow was so heavy now, that they could only see the first ring of trees around them. All of this white snow in no way made the scenery any brighter, however. The thickness of the storm blotted out most of the light from the clouds above, making everything in the forest disappear in a dark grey haze.

"I see a light!" Exclaimed Zorome over the coms. "I think it's a campfire! I'm going to check it out."

"Alright Zorome," replied Ichigo. "Just stay safe."

Zorome sprinted towards the light he saw in the distance, but when he had arrived, he found only smoldering ashes.

He had begun to walk back to the clearing with a defeated feeling when he felt eyes burrowing into the back of his head.

He whipped around and saw something he hadn't seen since before the Gran Crevasse.

In the dark gray haze, he saw a pair of glowing red horns, with a pair of small glowing dots underneath.

She was watching him.

A shiver ran down his spine, and he was frozen to the spot for a moment. The sudden bobbing of her horns up and down alerted him that she was charging, and his body screamed for him to run away.

In the clearing, Squad Thirteen was discussing which direction they should head next, when Zorome cut abruptly into the comms.

"Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, ru- "

"Zorome?" Inquired Miku, walking towards the place where Zorome had exited the clearing. "What are you running from?"

Zorome sprinted past, followed by Zero Two, with fangs barred and claws at the ready.

As she ran past Miku, Zero Two slashed at her thigh, cutting through her EVA and lacerating the flesh underneath.

Miku uttered a short shout, and suddenly all of Squad Thirteen was alerted.

They all looked towards Miku and saw Zero Two at a full sprint, horns aimed at Naomi's stomach.

"Naomi!" Shouted Futoshi, before pushing her out of the way.

As Futoshi watched Zero Two miss Naomi by centimeters, he felt a pair of fangs bite deeply into his outstretched forearm.

His head whipped around to see Hiro on his hands, teeth sunk into his arm.

Hiro quickly whipped his head to the side, flipping Futoshi onto his back.

"Futoshi!" remarked Goro.

As Goro ran over to help, Hiro fled behind one of the trees circling the clearing. After helping Futoshi back up, Goro looked around to find Hiro and Zero Two.

He couldn't see either of them.

Suddenly, Ichigo let out a scream.

Goro whipped his head around to see Zero Two disappearing into the tree line again. Ichigo had a massive set of cuts across her back.

It continued that way for a couple of minutes. When they focused on Zero Two, Hiro would attack. When they were focused on Hiro, Zero Two would attack. When they tried to focus on them both simultaneously, they were nowhere to be found.

The squad found themselves back-to-back, forming a ring so they could watch all of the tree line at once.

"What do we do now?" Asked a concerned Miku. "It's a stalemate, right?"

As soon as Miku finished, Goro noticed a movement in the tree above him.

Hiro was diving into the middle of the circle.

"Sorry buddy!" Said Goro, as he took aim with his tranquilizer.

Thwap! Thwap!

Goro's shots connected with Hiro's shoulder and chest.

Hiro hit the ground and did a short roll, before sprinting back into the trees.

"Goro!? What was that!?" Spat Zorome.

"We're going to bring those two home," replied Goro. "And if I have to tranquilize them now then that's just what it takes."

As they were distracted with this exchange, Hiro charged at the group again.

This time, he was pelted with shots from Ichigo, Mitsuru, and Miku.

Hiro attempted to sprint back to the tree line again, but quickly collapsed into the snow.

An enraged Zero Two sprinted at the group, dodging shots from her former squad mates.

"Goro!" Shouted Ichigo. "Grab Hiro and bring him into the circle, if she takes him and leaves, who knows how long it will take to find them again!"

Zorome let out a short cry, notifying Goro that she was distracted by the others.

Goro sprinted to where Hiro was laying in the snow, reaching out to grab his shoulders.

But before he could reach him, he was intercepted by Zero Two, and knocked onto his back.

She dug her claws into his sides, and Goro had to use both hands to keep her fangs away from his throat.

She angled her head downward, so that her horns were level with his eyes.

And they started to grow.

The horns began to press against the plastic visor, slowly causing it to bend until finally both horns broke through.

The plastic cracked and bent inwards.

The horns kept growing closer and closer, until he felt them touching his eyelashes.

Thwap! Thwap! Thwap!

Zero Two arched her back in pain, allowing Goro to escape.

She hopped up to her feet, now between Hiro and the group.

Zero Two's eyes darted between Hiro, at her feet, and Squad Thirteen, only a few meters away.

She took a quick step towards the group, only to be pushed backwards by two more shots to the chest.

Her eyes were visibly fighting to stay open as she reached down to pick up Hiro, placing his arm over her shoulders. Zero Two turned and sprinted towards the tree line, only to be hit in the back with four more tranquilizer shots.

Zero Two dropped Hiro, and shuffled to put herself between him and the assailants.

She held her arms up defiantly as though to shield him from them, tears filling her eyes.

And let out a defiant blood-curdling scream louder than the wind from the storm.

Then she collapsed.

Squad Thirteen sat in silence while they looked in horror at the incapacitated bodies of their friends.

"Why did they attack us?" Asked Naomi in a panicked voice.

Goro looked around at his squad mates. Many began to shiver as they lost the adrenaline they had been feeling during the battle. Tears in their suits revealed bloody cuts all over their bodies. Naomi had a deep bite mark only a few centimeters from her throat, and Futoshi was in the process of relocating his shoulder from when Hiro had flipped him by the arm.

Miku had Zorome's arm over his shoulder, as he kept weight off of his left leg, where Zero Two had evidently gored him in the calf with her horns.

"I…don't know," replied Goro.

"Do you think…it's like Zero Two in the hospital?" Asked Ichigo with a shaky tone. "Just guided by instinct?"

"I don't think so," chimed Ikuno over the comms. "Zero Two's last set of attacks seemed desperate, like she was trying to scare you away from Hiro."

"If they are completely conscious then," said Miku. "Then why did they attack us?"

"They did nothing but kill anything that moves for three whole years," replied Goro. "Maybe they saw something that was different and assumed it was dangerous."

Ichigo jolted suddenly as she had a sudden realization. "The suits!" She cried. "Look at the suits!"

Squad Thirteen began to look at one another and slowly began to realize what she meant.

Thinking back to the footage they had been watching earlier that day, they saw that the suits had a remote similarity to the endless Virm their two friends had fought for three straight years.

"But they don't look that similar," interjected Zorome. "It's kind of a stretch to say that they thought we were Virm."

"But think about it," replied Ichigo. "They killed anything that even resembled this for three straight years. We don't even know what that does to someone's psych, they could just be hard-wired to attack anything that can be slightly associated with Virm."

"So you think that they're fine?" Asked Mitsuru. "They're still in there, and this was just a misunderstanding?"

"Well, I think they are going to need some serious therapy," said Ikuno. "But they are most likely fine."

Everyone let out a hesitant sigh of relief, knowing that their friends would be back once they woke up.

Miku shivered before stating over the comms. "Let's get back to the transport, I'm freezing."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Goro walked over and threw Hiro over his shoulder, while Ichigo balanced Zero Two on her back.

"Why'd she have to be so tall," she snapped as she struggled to balance Zero Two.

Mitsuru walked over and took Zero Two from Ichigo, unceremoniously putting Zero Two's stomach over his shoulder.

"You could be a little gentler," laughed Goro.

Mitsuru smiled before answering. "I could say the same to you." And pointed towards Hiro jolting with every step that Goro took.

Everyone in Squad Thirteen let out a short chuckle as they slowly made their way back to the transport.

"So, Naomi," said Kokoro. "How is your first impression of Zero Two?"

Naomi simply pointed at the bite mark that had nearly torn out her throat.

Squad Thirteen laughed, in strangely high spirits despite the recent battle.

As they exited the forest, Futoshi noticed the deer Hiro had killed.

"Does anyone want venison steaks to celebrate?"

The squad cheered at the thought of the feast they would be having.

"You think that they'll be able to join us tonight?" Inquired Futoshi.

"Hell no," said Ikuno strongly through the comms. "They've been filled with enough anesthetic to be out for at least a week."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Oops.

"Well, all's well that ends well," said Zorome with enthusiasm. "The good thing is that they're back."

Upon entering the transport, they quickly changed out of their EVAs and inspected what wounds had been inflicted on them.

"Hey Ikuno," said Naomi. "How handy are you with a needle and thread?"

"The suits need more than needle and thread to be reused," Ikuno replied.

Naomi pulled Ichigo over and pointed to the series of cuts on her back. "I don't mean for the EVAs."

Ichigo turned to face Ikuno, waiting for an answer.

"I'm not sure if I'm the best for that," she said slowly. "We have some painkillers, but I think you guys will have to help each other with that."

Miku walked up beside Ichigo and looked her in the eye. "I can help you." Then patted her on the back.

"Ow, hell," said Ichigo with a start.

"Oops, sorry."

"Goro, Mitsuru," addressed Ikuno. "Bring Hiro and Zero Two to the lab. While we travel back, I'm going to run some tests. I have an idea that could help Hiro walk again."

Mitsuru and Goro carried them through the transport, trying and failing to keep their heads from hitting doorframes and tables.

"Careful, their horns will scratch the paint," Kokoro said with a smile as the two walked through the recreational area.

"Hey, have you noticed how jagged Zero Two's horns are?" Asked Miku. "It's like something snapped them off."

"We need to be careful or she could accidentally cut someone with them," said Ichigo.

"Ooh! I have an idea," said Miku. "Mitsuru, wait for a second."

Miku disappeared into the kitchen for a minute before returning with duct tape. She quickly wrapped the jagged horns just above where they emerged from Zero Two's hair, leaving two long, circular tubes.

Ichigo choked down a laugh. "Does anyone have a camera?"

"Hey, she's getting heavier," snapped Mitsuru.

Ikuno rolled out of the lab in her chair, to see what was keeping them. "Hurry up you guys, I want to do some tests."

Mitsuru carefully laid Zero Two on the padded observation table.

Goro haphazardly dropped Hiro beside her.

"Goro!" Reproached Ichigo.

"Look at him, it's not like he's feeling any of this," stated Goro, pointing at the unconscious Hiro.

Zero Two let out a loud snore.

"Are we going to have to deal with that all week?" Shouted Futoshi from the other side of the transport. "I could hear that all the way inside the bathroom!"

Ichigo looked at Miku beside her. "I think this might be karma for the duct tape."

Miku put on a defiant look. "I have no regrets."

Ikuno rolled over to the table and began to examine the two of them. After a few moments, she reached under the table and pulled out a large glass box, coated on the inside with some of Hiro's dried blood. "Can I have some volunteers?"

"Don't just randomly pull out a fish tank covered with blood and then ask for volunteers."

"I swear it's for science."

Zorome grinned before answering. "What do you need us to do?"

"I want you to go outside and fill this tank with the puddles of what used to be Star Entity."

"Why's that?"

Ikuno pulled what was left of Hiro's mangled leg out from under the table.

"What are you keeping under there?" Asked Zorome with concern in his voice.

Ignoring his question, Ikuno unceremoniously dropped the leg onto the table with an audible thud.

"I think I can regrow his leg," she stated triumphantly. "If I can recreate what Star Entity did to remake Zero Two, maybe I can regrow Hiro's leg, and it'll be like it was never gone in the first place."

Zorome flashed a smile as he threw up a cocky thumbs up. "Consider it done!"

Ikuno looked at Miku as she walked up beside Zorome.

"Miku," said Ikuno. "I think your husband has forgotten something."

"I think he has," responded Miku.

"What's that?" Asked a confused Zorome.

Miku gave him a dry look as she pointed to his bandaged leg, barely supporting any weight after Zero Two had gored it.

"You can help me in here," stated Ikuno. "Miku, can you and Goro go and gather the sample?"

"Got it," said Miku, walking out of the room. "C'mon Goro, let's get this over with."

"Alright Zorome, I need you to find a place to store Hiro's leg. I won't need it until after I've prepared the tank, so put it somewhere it will be preserved."

"And where's that?" Asked Zorome.

"I'll leave that up to you."

Zorome furrowed his brows for a moment as he thought of where to store it. Suddenly, he grabbed the leg and began to hobble towards the kitchen.

Ikuno heard him mutter an almost inaudible whisper. "Sorry in advance Futoshi."

Ikuno rolled back to the observation tables where Zero Two and Hiro were sleeping. "Hey Ichigo, can you get the others and come in here? I need you all to do something."

As the rest of Squad Thirteen arrived in the lab, they gathered around the sleeping couple.

"I'm going to take some blood samples, then I need you all to clean these two up. They have some minor wounds that need to be disinfected, and they're covered in a concerning amount of blood. We have some spare clothes in the bathroom, if you could change them into those that would be nice. Oh, and if you could file down Zero Two's horns that would be helpful."

"File down her horns? Isn't that painful? Won't they bleed or something?" Asked an offput Naomi.

"Apparently not," answered Ikuno. "She used to file them all the time when she lived with us."

"Alright then," interjected Ichigo. "Get those blood samples and we'll take care of the rest."

Ikuno gathered a vial of blood from each of the Klaxosaurs before they were taken out of the room.

She placed the vials into a machine next to the computer, and the screen came alive with a countdown until the fresh blood would be analyzed.

"Tomorrow morning, huh?"

Ikuno looked around to see if there was anything she needed to do. To her surprise, there was nothing left to do. For the first time that day, she could relax.

"Man, what a rollercoaster. What time is it?"

She did a double take when she saw the time on the monitor.

"It's only two-thirty?!"

Her amazement was interrupted by the sound of her stomach growling, and the sudden realization that she was famished.

"Oh yeah, I haven't eaten today."

Ikuno rolled to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to find a small snack, her eyes widened when she saw what was inside.

Zorome had tightly bound Hiro's leg in cling wrap, and left it in the refrigerator.

A devious smile came across Ikuno's face. "Oh, Futoshi will love this."

She grabbed a small package and closed the refrigerator door.

Pretending to see nothing.

---

It had been a few hours since Goro and Miku returned from the crash site of Star Entity, tank in tow. Zero Two and Hiro had been cleaned and laid down on the observation table again.

The boys had clearly followed Miku's example, as Hiro now slept with rolls of toilet paper over his horns.

They fit surprisingly well.

Ikuno had placed IVs into both of their arms, giving them IV drips full of nutrients. Already, their skin tone was beginning to return to what it was before they left Earth.

Futoshi was preparing the venison steaks in the kitchen, as the rest of Squad Thirteen conversed in high spirits in the recreational area.

The transport had begun the long journey back to the city, but everyone was too happy to care how long it took them to get back.

The pleasant conversation was interrupted by Futoshi shouting from the kitchen.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

---

Nana looked around in confusion at the masses of people in the streets, all shambling towards the center of the city, looking with mild concern at whatever tablets or devices kept them informed of important events.

Quickly looking at her own device, Nana noticed that a rare message from the local government was present.

On the message was a seal from Hachi, meaning that he had approved its publication from his relatively high government position.

Nana frowned as she pondered what this meant.

The government hardly ever sent out mass messages. It was normally reserved for emergencies, and it was even rarer for someone like Hachi to approve those messages if they weren't of the utmost importance.

"What could this mean?" Thought Nana.

The contents of the message itself advised for the people of the city to gather near the center of the city if they were able, and that there was important news for humanity.

Although the phrasing was ominous, it was clearly no emergency.

If it wasn't an emergency, then that meant it was good news.

"But what good news is important enough to notify the entire community in such a way?" Pondered Nana.

Raising her head from her device, she began to walk once again with the crowd.

Soon she found a familiar face with Aiko, Futoshi's wife, and navigated a way through the confused crowd.

"Aiko," said Nana. "Where are the kids?"

Aiko whipped her head around at the familiar voice, then raised her voice to a near shout to be heard over the crowd, "I left them with the school teachers and caretakers, they said that it would be better if I went on and saw what the commotion was about. I could just tell them what happened when I get back."

"It seems like it's not bad news."

"Apparently not."

They fell in with the crowd and followed it to the center of town, where a large screen was showing a live feed of Hachi as he stood to address the public from his office.

"Hachi is addressing us himself?" Inquired Aiko. "I haven't seen this in years."

"Attention citizens," said Hachi over the booming speakers. "We have an important report on findings made by a recent expeditionary operation."

The crowd seemed drawn in by the development. Expeditionary operations were fairly frequent, and there had never been any noteworthy incidents.

"Eight days ago, Franxx wreckage crashed approximately thirty kilometers from the city limits. As you know, this is nothing out of the ordinary. The Franxx, however, puzzled many of the people investigating the site. A number of irregularities made this crash site completely different from any crash site we have seen thus far."

Footage of the crash site began to show underneath Hachi on the screen. People gasped as they saw Klaxosaurs assisting humans in moving large wreckage scorched beyond recognition.

"As you can see, Klaxosaurs became active at the site, despite there being no Klaxosaur presence nearby. Secondly, the Franxx was proven to have never been in orbit, rather colliding with the Earth with a head on collision."

The people were becoming visibly more perplexed as Hachi went on.

Nana too, as this was the first she was hearing of any such irregularities in the otherwise regular crash.

"Here is a picture of the most complete wreckage we could find."

The screen was completely covered with the image of Strelizia's arm buried into the deep crater.

Nana's eyes widened as much as they could, and her jaw dropped at the site. Aiko asked her what was wrong, but Nana seemed almost unresponsive at the image.

Looking around the crowd, she noticed that most of the people were sharing confused looks with one another.

A small minority looked as though they were seeing the impossible.

"After seeing this image, and considering the irregularities in the data from the crash," continued Hachi. "The former Squad Thirteen were sent on an Expeditionary Operation far to the north, where the rest of the wreckage was believed to have landed."

The mention of the famous Squad Thirteen brought everyone back out of their confused stupor.

"Their arrival yesterday at the crash site confirmed my theory that the wreckage in fact belongs to Strelizia."

This time, everyone in the crowd was similarly shocked.

"At this time, I would like to show you the video report sent in by Squad Thirteen yesterday at four thirty P.M."

The screen shifted to a video being recorded by an unstable handheld device. Miku's bubbly voice could be heard over the loud speakers.

"Alright," said Miku. "I think it's on. Am I qualified to do this?"

Ichigo could be seen walking towards her, with a smile on her face. "No, you're not."

Ichigo reached for the camera, and the footage immediately became much more stable.

"We have good news to report," said Ichigo in an excited voice. "We found that the wreckage at the northern crash site does in fact belong to Strelizia. The cockpit was partially intact, although it was showing distinct signs of re-entry, as well as significant damage to the faceplate."

"That's not important though, is it?" Shouted Zorome from offscreen. "Show 'em the goods!"

Ichigo giggled as the camera bobbed up and down while she ran through the transport.

"We found footage of Star Entity after the gate passage," said Ichigo as she ran. "We can confirm that the Virm were in fact destroyed, Hiro and Zero Two completed their objective."

A small cheer erupted from the onlooking crowd.

Aiko noticed that Nana looked profoundly sad.

"But that's not the best part," continued Ichigo.

The cheering crowd quieted down into confused murmuring.

The camera whipped around to see the Klaxosaur couple asleep on an observation table. Hiro's skin was dark blue, contrasting the white of the loose clothes he was wearing and the bandages covering the stump where his right leg had been. His black hair fell back against the table, his horns protruding sharply from his forehead. Zero Two's dark red skin similarly contrasted the white clothes she had been given, her horns shaved down to a familiar size.

Tears quickly began to flow from Nana's eyes.

"I present to you two," said Ichigo in a voice shaking with excitement. "Code zero-one-six, Hiro, and code zero-zero-two, Zero Two. The two Klaxosaurs who killed the Virm. Alive and well."

The crowd let out a roaring cheer.

Hachi quickly cut back into the screen.

"Although many may view this as unimportant, we in the government believed it to be for the best if everyone were to be notified of it. We weren't sure how many would be excited to see the two, but this reaction has shown me that we were correct in doing this. If anything, it is important for the morale of the city, and well…"

Hachi showed a rare expression of discomfort.

"It was important to me."

"I thank you for your support, everyone. This is a good day for us."

Aiko helped the shocked Nana out of the bustling crowd, and let her cry into her shoulder for a moment, before she left to notify the children.

She was grinning ear to ear as she walked through the city streets.

As she walked further and further away from the center of the city, she could faintly hear Hachi's voice over the bustling crowd.

"Squad Thirteen will return with the two in six days."

Aiko ran back to tell the others.

---

Hiro awoke in a soft bed, wearing a soft white t-shirt and pants that he didn't remember putting on.

He didn't remember finding any bed to wake up in either.

He sat up with a start and inspected his surroundings.

He was in a brightly lit room without any windows. It was small, but there was a sink and mirror built into the wall across from him, beside a set of cabinets. The only way in or out of the room was a thin sliding door, with a thick steel doorframe jutting out of the wall a couple of centimeters. In a way, it reminded him of the medical facilities from The Garden.

Zero Two was in the process of getting out of a bed identical to his across the room.

She was wearing similar clothes to him, and her skin was back to the color it had been when they had left Earth. Her horns were shorter, and smoothed over, as though she had filed them down to the size she usually kept them.

Hiro looked at his hands and noticed that his skin was no longer the deep blue color he had gotten used to.

"Zero Two," started Hiro. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

"I don't know," she replied. "But I don't intend to be kept here by whoever captured us."

"It looks like a hospital."

"Maybe whoever abducted us is based out of an old-world hospital."

"Yeah, it isn't totally like The Garden, but it looks kind of similar."

"When I traveled the world fighting with the Nines, we would sometimes have to fight street-to-street in the ruins of bigger cities. Every once in a while, we would come across a hospital, most of them having a design kind of like this."

Zero Two began to inspect the series of cabinets next to the sink across the room. After searching for a moment, she pulled out a fire extinguisher and map of the hospital. "Aha!"

"What're those?" Asked Hiro.

"Big buildings in the old world usually had to be careful about fire. So something as big as a hospital was full of fire extinguishers and evacuation maps of the building."

"I understand the floor plans, but why the extinguisher?"

"I can spray the gas to create a distraction or a smokescreen. And if it comes to it…" she went silent as she smacked the heavy metal bottom of the extinguisher with the palm of her hand.

"Got it."

"Alright, you can take the map and give me directions while I get us out of here."

Zero Two pulled the sheets off of her bed and tied them around her waist, leaving a spot for Hiro to sit on so she could pull him across the smooth tile floor.

As Hiro began to pull himself out of the bed, he winced in pain as he felt a stinging where his right calf would have been.

"Darling, are you alright?" Asked a concerned Zero Two.

"It's alright," answered Hiro. "Just phantom pains."

"I don't think they can be called phantom pains anymore," she said while pointing to his legs.

He looked down and saw the shape of his right leg, completely bound in bandages.

The hell?

"Do you think they did this?" Inquired Hiro.

"I can't imagine anyone else having done this," said Zero Two.

"Why haven't they just killed us?"

"We're the last two Klaxo-sapiens, maybe they thought we could be useful in some way."

"Well, let's not stick around to find out."

Zero Two nodded her head and helped Hiro onto the bedsheets hanging from her waist. He held the map of the hospital in one hand, and grabbed the sheet so he could position himself to face the same direction as Zero Two. In a way it was similar to the sled they had been using in the forest.

"Are you ready darling?" Said Zero Two.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

She nodded and walked up to the door, lifting her leg to kick it open as hard as she could.

---

Ichigo looked out of the line of glass windows in the hallway outside of Zero Two and Hiro's hospital room.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun shined directly into the first-floor windows, indicating that it was still early in the morning. Ichigo enjoyed the warmth of the sun in the hallway, but knew that outside was the same cold they had been feeling ever since they returned at noon the day before. None of the snow had melted from the flurries of the previous night.

She closed her eyes to enjoy the relative quiet and comfortable warmth of the moment, leaning against the wall opposite of the windows.

Ikuno was speaking to a doctor a few meters away, talking in soft voices as to not disturb the peace of the moment. The rest of Squad Thirteen were in the waiting room a hallway away waiting for their friends to wake up. Apart from them, the hospital was totally empty.

Well, aside from the crowd in the front entrance far from Hiro and Zero Two's room, decorating the large foyer in celebration of the return of Earth's saviors.

Ichigo opened her eyes again and listened to the conversation between Ikuno and the doctor.

"It appears," said the doctor. "That the accelerated aging was cured by Star Entity during their time fighting the Virm."

"So they should've aged at about the same rate as the rest of us?" Inquired Ikuno. "That's convenient. I'm not sure how we would cure it in Klaxosaurs."

"Well, I'm going in to check how they're doing," said the doctor with a warm and inviting smile, reaching for the door handle. "They should be waking up soon, and I- "

Ichigo's eyes widened as she saw the door fly off of its hinges, carrying the doctor with it as it broke the glass and flew out of the window across the hallway.

"LEFT!" Shouted Hiro.

Zero Two ran out of the room in the opposite direction of Ichigo and Ikuno, shouting, spraying a fire extinguisher to create a smokescreen.

After a few moments of confusion, Ichigo hurried behind Ikuno's chair and began to sprint after them while pushing Ikuno. "They're heading towards the foyer!"

---

Goro and Mitsuru talked while sipping coffee in their chairs in the waiting area.

"I don't know," said Goro. "The author just seemed inexperienced; their work wasn't very polished."

"I know," replied Mitsuru. "But that was their first work. If they continue writing, it can only get better."

"Yeah, but the pacing was all over the place, and it was meant to be a funnier story but ended up with heavier scenes. Plus, there was an excessive amount of blood and violence for something meant to be a wholesome read."

"Well, the ending was wholesome."

"Yeah, I guess so. The humor was kind of dumb though."

"Yeah, the humor kind of disregarded the personality of the characters. It felt like they created unnecessary scenes just for a punchline."

"Plus, the meta humor. It just felt out of place."

They heard a distant screaming coming from the hallway.

All of Squad Thirteen looked up from whatever they were doing in confusion.

Zero Two sprinted past the waiting area, wildly spraying a fire extinguisher in the air while shouting loud enough to drown out anything else in the hospital. Hiro slid on a blanket behind her, shouting a war cry of similar intensity.

Squad Thirteen sat deadly still for a few moments, registering what they had just seen. Seeing Ichigo pushing Ikuno at a full sprint was enough to break them from their stupor.

"Wait," shouted Ichigo. "Hiro! Zero Two! You're okay!"

The collective clamor of the two Klaxosaurs was far too loud for Ichigo to get their attention.

Soon, all of Squad Thirteen was running in a group beside of Ichigo and Ikuno, panting for breath.

The distance between the Klaxo-sapiens and their human friends wasn't closing at all, no matter how hard Squad Thirteen tried.

The strange situation he found himself in, and the sudden shock at his friends' ridiculous behavior began to run through Goro's mind.

He was happy.

The only thing he considered family outside of Ichigo and his son Yuuma, Squad Thirteen, had been incomplete for so long. He had almost forgotten how it felt for it to be completed again.

Goro had long since accepted the deaths in his family, even though the acceptance made it in no way less painful.

But his friends, his dead friends, were in front of him. They were exuding such a chaotic life that a pit in his stomach he had forgotten was there just disappeared.

As they ran together, a smile formed on his face, and he began to laugh between panting breaths.

It was clear that everyone felt the same, as soon the entirety of Squad Thirteen was laughing.

Both out of joy, and out of amusement.

---

"Alright Zero Two," shouted Hiro. "We're going to have to go through the main entrance to escape. It's a large foyer, and there will most likely be hostiles there."

"Got it," replied Zero Two in a considerably louder shout. "A final push!"

As they approached the door, Zero Two readied the fire extinguisher above her knee.

As they broke through the heavy wooden doors to the main entrance, she placed the extinguisher between her knee and the point of impact against the door.

When the doors opened, all of the remaining contents of the fire extinguisher exploded out at once, creating a large smokescreen for a few short seconds.

Zero Two and Hiro charged, screaming, into a massive room with a high ceiling, lit entirely by the early morning sun through a glass front entrance.

They slowed to a stop, and their screams quickly lost volume as they noticed the room was packed full of-

"H-humans?!" Started Zero Two. "W-wha…?"

Every head in the room was turned to stare at the two Klaxosaurs who had just destroyed the doors leading from the north wing of the hospital. Everyone's hands were full, be it with streamers, plates, confetti, balloons, even tables. On the wall across from them was a large banner reading 'Welcome Home.'

"Hiro! Zero Two!" Shouted a familiar voice from the hall they had just come from.

The two runaways' heads whipped around faster than they could blink.

Squad Thirteen stood in the broken doorway, panting for breath.

Her family.

Zero Two's eyes widened, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Her shaking hands began to reach towards her squad mates, and she began to shuffle towards them with her knees looking as though they would give out from under her.

Although tears were now pouring out of her eyes, she didn't dare to blink.

Zero Two's breaking voice tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. Whenever she opened her mouth, the only noise she could hear was her own voice breaking.

Her slow shuffle was stopped by Ichigo's sudden embrace, and she dropped down to her knees. Her tears had turned into violent sobbing, and soon the wails were the only sound in the room.

Hiro's now wide eyes were still focused on the team in the doorway, the expression on his face revealing that he was still processing whether he was really seeing them.

The multitude of people in the lobby silently began to set down what they were doing, and slowly file outside.

After a few speechless minutes, Zero Two's sobbing died down, but any attempts to speak were met with the same broken voice. Hiro sat silently staring at the floor, with tears flowing down his face.

"It's alright," reassured Ichigo in a soft voice, patting Zero Two on the back. "We're all here, you're alright."

Zero Two's response was to simply bury her head deeper into Ichigo's shoulder.

"You were scared, weren't you?"

"Mmhmm," replied Zero Two with a wavering voice.

"I'm sorry. You'll never have to leave us again."

"Mmhmm."

The men of Squad Thirteen were now surrounding Hiro, comforting him similarly. Hiro still didn't look up from the ground, but Goro sat beside him with his hand on his back, giving him the time he needed.

Ichigo tightened her embrace when Zero Two began to sniffle, and her tears began to stop. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that for us."

Zero Two took a moment to respond, but slowly spoke to her for the first time. "W-w-we'd do it a-again."

"Great," exclaimed Miku, wiping her eyes. "Now I'm crying."

A teary-eyed Ichigo had a wavering smile on her face as she responded. "We won't let you do that. We're never letting go of you two again."

For the first time in eight years, she felt human warmth again.

---

An hour after Hiro and Zero Two's sudden awakening, Squad Thirteen had taken them back to the waiting area where they had been sitting.

Everyone had rearranged the chairs in a semicircle in front of Hiro and Zero Two. Naomi gave the two blankets and mugs of coffee to keep them warm.

"Sorry you have to wait here before you two can eat," said Goro. "Your surprise party in there has what was supposed to be your first meal. They need to finish setting up first though."

"Well," interjected Miku. "It's not much of a surprise party anymore."

"Sorry about that," said Zero Two.

"Don't apologize to us," said Ikuno. "Apologize to that doctor that was thrown out of the window."

"I will, I will."

Hiro took a sip of coffee, and his eyes widened shortly before he downed the entire mug.

"Good grief Hiro," said Goro. "You're going to burn your tongue."

"Cut me some slack," replied Hiro. "It's the first drink I've had in at least three years."

"Eight years."

Hiro's eyes widened for a moment as he registered what Goro had said. After a moment, his expression conveyed that he no longer cared about how long he was gone. "I said at least."

Goro chuckled.

"We saw what happened up there, after you all left," said Kokoro. "We found footage at the crash site of what happened until you returned to Earth."

"You have?" Exclaimed Zero Two. "Even we don't know how we got here. I don't even know how I'm here. I shouldn't have a physical body anymore."

"It's a long story," said Ichigo. "We'll show you the footage later."

"…Wait, did you say at the crash site?"

"Yes?" Said Kokoro with uncertainty.

"What were you all doing at the crash site?"

"Well, we were just there to investigate," said Ichigo. "There was evidence that it was debris from Star Entity, so Hachi asked us to go and see what was up."

"How did you find us?"

"Well, we saw that you two were alive and hunted you down in the forest."

The two Klaxosaurs' eyes widened at Ichigo's revelation.

"We are so, so sorry," said Hiro.

"It's fine," said Goro with a smile.

"Yeah," interjected Zorome. "You know what's not fine? My leg."

He pointed to where Zero Two's horn had pierced all the way through his calf. When he noticed the concerned expression on her face, he flashed a smile to indicate he was joking.

Now that Zero Two was looking, she saw the bandages all over her squad mates. Some were more serious than others, and she could tell where many of her friends were injured under their clothes by the way they sat or moved. Futoshi was favoring one arm over the other, moving his shoulder only slightly. Zorome moved his injured leg comfortably, but clearly favored his other. Ichigo leaned forward in every chair that she sat down in, careful not to let her back grate against anything.

Naomi, the girl she had just become acquainted with, was covered in bandages from her collarbones to the bottom of her jaw.

Zero Two clearly remembered trying to tear out her throat.

"How are they so okay with this?" Thought Zero Two.

Kokoro grabbed Zero Two's hand and spoke to her as though she could read Zero Two's mind. "It's fine, we're all ok. Like you said, we'd do it again."

Zero Two flashed an appreciative smile as the conversation returned to a more lighthearted tone.

"Anyway, enough about that, what's been happening down here?" Inquired Hiro.

"Well," started Goro. "Life is far more peaceful, and I would say enjoyable now that we don't have to kill anymore."

"That must be nice."

"You two will be able to see that soon enough," replied Ichigo with a smile.

"A lot of us got married, too," said Miku. "Even people outside of Squad Thirteen took up the tradition you two taught us."

"Wait," said Zero Two. "How many of you are married? And to whom?"

"Well, Zorome and I got married."

"Naturally."

Miku blushed for a moment before continuing. "Goro and Ichigo got married."

Hiro made direct eye contact with Goro and subtly winked so that only he would notice.

"You were there for Mitsuru and Kokoro's first wedding," continued Miku. "And Futoshi married a woman named Aiko."

Hiro and Zero Two smiled at their friends, who were all slightly embarrassed to show how the relationships between them had changed in the past eight years.

Miku had a mischievous look on her face as she looked at Ikuno. "And as we all learned the other day; Ikuno has a date with a special someone sometime soon."

Zero Two looked at a blushing Ikuno and flashed a similarly mischievous smile.

Naomi looked at the two Klaxosaurs and grinned. "What about you two?"

Squad Thirteen looked at the now blushing pair.

"Well," began Hiro. "We want to get married."

Zero Two looked at Hiro continued in her partner's place. "We promised that we would a long time ago, when we were kids. And again when we were in the forest."

As she looked back at Squad Thirteen, she noticed that they all had quizzical looks on their faces.

"Oh," said Hiro with a start. "We never told them about The Garden."

Crap. How had they forgotten that?

"What do you mean about The Garden?" Inquired Ichigo.

"Do you remember when I had that slight breakdown when we were hunting Klaxosaurs?" Responded Zero Two.

"That one where you beat us all up afterwards?" Said Zorome with sarcasm.

"Yeah, that one."

Zorome looked slightly offput at the blunt answer.

"When our consciousnesses merged for a moment in Strelizia," continued Hiro. "I had discovered that Papa had used the memory-erasing indoctrination procedure on me when I was small."

"They attempted to do the same to me, but it never seemed to work," interjected Zero Two.

"The reason I was able to retrieve those memories was because they were with Zero Two."

"We had met, years before becoming official parasites. While we were still tiny children."

"But we weren't supposed to meet."

"So they erased darling's memories, and used him as a bargaining chip to keep me killing Klaxosaurs."

"It's also the reason I could never effectively pilot with anyone other than Zero Two."

"But," started a now flustered Naomi. "What does this have to do with your inability to pilot? If the memories were gone then it should've just been a reset."

"There is a lot more to it than the simple mind-wipe," answered Hiro.

"I was kept away from the other children," said Zero Two. "They didn't teach me how to speak or read, I never met anyone other than adults, and they kept me in a room without anything other than windows looking out over the snow."

Everyone's eyes were now wide, taking in every detail of their friend's radically different experience of The Garden.

"I looked like how you found me, with the red skin and eyes," said Zero Two. "My blood was blue, and I could heal shockingly quickly. It appears that I was the only success in a long line of failures to clone the Klaxosaur princess. Because of this, I was strapped to a table and tested on every single day. They would burn me, they would electrocute me, sometimes they would blow holes through my hands, just to watch as I healed. As I got older, if I began to resist, they would shoot me. The bullets hurt enough to stop me in my tracks, but they couldn't kill me."

Squad Thirteen wore expressions of a mixture of shock, horror, and concern.

"This," inserted Hiro. "Is when I met her. I saw her by chance as she struggled against adults taking her to a transport. Once, I walked by the testing chamber by chance and saw what kind of tests they were running. After that, I tried everything I could to find her."

"One day, while I was in my cell, I saw darling on the tree branch outside of my window."

"I had taken a heavy pale, and threw it through the glass to break her out."

"After that we ran into the forest near The Garden. I had taken an old-world book with me, and we read it together while APE was looking for us."

"Although she couldn't understand what I was saying, she understood that I had given her the name Zero Two. As we read the book together, she began to learn some other words as well."

"Such as?" Asked Mitsuru.

"I learned the words 'I,' 'marry,' and 'darling,'" answered Zero Two.

"After a few hours of wandering in the snow," continued Hiro. "Zero Two injured her knee, and I didn't know what to do apart from what I had read in the books about animals in The Garden."

"So he licked the wound clean, and ingested my blood."

"Ever since we were small at The Garden, I've had a bit of Klaxosaur blood in my veins as well."

Squad Thirteen looked awestruck at the series of revelations that had just been revealed to them. After a few moments of silence, Goro was the first to break from the collective stupor. "Is that why you're a full Klaxosaur now?"

Hiro looked relieved that the silence had ended. "We think that it was a combination of the blood, and our piloting together that completed the process."

"You said that they used Hiro as a bargaining chip," recalled Miku. "What did you mean by that, Zero Two?"

Zero Two looked slightly uncomfortable as she answered. "While every day was torture of one form or another, darling saved me. Although we couldn't escape together, he gave me something to hope for. But I thought of myself as a beast, unfit to be with the humans I worshipped and adored. APE couldn't entirely erase my memories, but they knew what I wanted. I thought that if I became human, I would be able to be with darling again, forever. So they took advantage of that, and convinced me that through killing Klaxosaurs I could become human and be with him."

"That's incredibly cruel," remarked Ikuno.

Hiro looked over at Zero Two with a smile. "Well, they were half-right. Neither of us are human, but we are together because of it."

"So you two have had it rough from the start," stated Naomi. "I think you two have earned a peaceful life at this point."

"If we're going to be living here for the rest of our lives," inserted Hiro. "Then we're going to have to get acquainted with the customs and people."

Ichigo's eyes lit up as a thought came into her head. "Speaking of getting acquainted to people, we have quite a few people we want you two to meet."

"Who would that be?" Inquired Zero Two.

"The kids."

"Kids?"

"Some of us have had children."

The pair of Klaxosaurs looked shocked for a moment before leaning forward in their chairs and assaulting the team with questions.

"Who has?" Inquired Hiro.

"How many?" Followed Zero Two.

"How old are they?"

"Are they healthy?"

"Do they get child fever?"

"How did you take care of them?"

"What did they look like when they were first born?"

"Yeah, we only ever saw children our own age in The Garden."

Squad Thirteen smiled at the now wide-eyed pair sitting across from them.

"Ichigo and I have a son," started Goro. "Mitsuru and Kokoro have four children, and Futoshi and Aiko have three."

"Wow," said Zero Two. "That's a lot of kids. That's an entire squad's worth of children."

"Maybe you should take a new attitude towards children. Stop thinking of them in terms of squads."

"When can we meet them?" Asked an enthusiastic Hiro.

"You'll meet them soon enough. Hopefully at the party in a few minutes."

"Although," interjected Miku with a dry expression. "Mitsuru has a million pictures he shows at every opportunity."

"I only brag as much as any other parent," responded Mitsuru with a proud expression.

After a few more minutes of talking, a tall man with a party hat walked into the waiting room.

"Sorry to interrupt, everyone," he said with a smile. "But the party is finally ready."

A collective cheer rang out from the group, and they made their way towards the crowd waiting for them.

"Hey," said Miku. "How soon do you two want to get married?"

Hiro looked up from his wheelchair at Zero Two.

"As soon as possible," said Zero Two with a smile.

After all, they had been waiting a long time.

---

A deafening cheer broke out as the two saviors walked through the doorway they had broken an hour before.

They were surrounded by humans they had never met before, and received tearful thanks that they never thought they would see.

Children broke through the crowd and gathered around the two Klaxo-sapiens with eyes full of wonder. They assaulted the two with questions and began to take turns touching the horns on their heads, giggling together at the fun new people they had just met.

After a few minutes of idle talking and mingling, a series of tables were brought together and filled with enough food to feed everyone in the foyer. Hiro and Zero Two were given seats at the head of the table, where everyone could see them enjoy their first properly prepared meal in eight years.

Zero Two almost squealed when they brought out a ham that had been glazed in honey. Hiro was on the verge of tears as he bit into a mixture of grilled vegetables and meat.

The food was gone almost as soon as it had been given to them, and many of those around them had not even received their share when the two were finished.

The children were sent outside to play while the adults remained in the lobby. With the approval of the two Klaxosaurs, Squad Thirteen had decided to show the footage from Star Entity on a large projector for the party goers to see.

This way, Zero Two and Hiro would know how they were alive as well.

They decided to skip the drone footage from their retrieval in the forest.

After the footage was done, Miku stood up in her chair, hitting her glass with her spoon to get the attention of everyone in the room. "Alright everyone, if I could have your attention."

When the talking had died down, she began again. "If you haven't gathered from the corny lines in the footage, these two want to get married."

A loud whistle at one end of the table elicited a low chuckle from the crowd as the two Klaxosaurs blushed.

"I propose that we have the big wedding they deserve in two weeks' time, is everybody willing to help?"

A loud cheer of approval confirmed her proposition. Zero Two and Hiro couldn't hide their smiles as they looked around at the compassionate partygoers who treated them like new family.

"They're so quick to accept us," thought Zero Two. "I never thought I'd see the day where I was able to live with such amazing and loving people."

Hiro grabbed Zero Two's hand underneath the table. "We made it, Zero Two."

"We made it, darling."

---

Zero Two slowly opened her eyes after a night of sporadic and fitful sleep. Throughout eight hours of trying, she couldn't have slept more than a single hour in total. Her entire body screamed at her to not close her eyes, and every time that she did, she felt exposed on all sides.

She sat up and looked around the dimly lit space that would soon become her new bedroom. The mattress that she 'slept' on sat on the floor, around it the walls were bare and the carpeted floor empty.

Our soon to be home.

It had been a week since Hiro and Zero Two's awakening at the hospital, and in that time Squad Thirteen had found a place where the two of them could live.

Squad Thirteen's different families lived in houses across and beside of one another, so that the children could easily go and play with each other without any of the parents having to worry.

That being said, it was nice for the adults as well.

So, Hiro and Zero Two were elated when they learned that they had been given a home across from Ichigo and Goro, and beside Futoshi and Aiko. With the rest of Squad Thirteen not much further away, they would have quick access to them if they ever needed anything or wanted to come over.

When the pair had seen their new home, they were shocked at how nice it was as well. It had a decent living space as well as a nice kitchen and dining area. It had exceeded every expectation that they had.

But they didn't know what to put in it.

"Such a stupid worry," she thought to herself. "But I'm excited for today."

Zero Two looked at the space beside her in the bed.

Empty.

Hiro hadn't left the hospital since they arrived. Ikuno had a special plan to have Hiro back to the point where he could walk comfortably within two weeks of his awakening, but it required that he be there full time.

Miku hadn't picked the two-week countdown randomly.

Hiro's first day of unassisted walking would be on the day of the wedding.

She had been to the hospital every day to visit him, although she couldn't stay the night there. Half of the time she was there she was having tests done on herself as well.

But today was different.

Today Hiro was able to leave the hospital for the day and roam around the new city. They had decided that today would be the day that they prepared for their life together. Of course they wouldn't be alone, Ichigo, Goro, and Naomi would be there to help them as the newly arrived pair had no idea how the new society worked.

Zero Two rolled out of the bed in a twisted mess of blankets and hair. As she slowly rose to her feet, she shambled over to the curtains covering the window into the bedroom, and throwing them open, saw the light grey skies above.

"No snow, eh?" She thought to herself.

It had snowed almost every day for the past week, she hadn't seen the sun since her first day with the humans. She didn't mind though. The snow had a more special meaning to her now, as a symbol of life. Hiro and her rebirth was during the winter, and because of that it would always hold a place in her heart.

With light now pouring into the empty room, she walked over to the closet to find something for the day.

Everyone had chipped in to get the pair new clothes, considering that APE-era pajamas and blood-soaked parasite suits were not the most comfortable nor the most appropriate of clothing.

After a few minutes, she put on a grey sweater with blue jeans, as well as a white overcoat that reached down to her knees, throwing a bright red scarf around her neck. She found some dark leather boots and warm socks that would keep the snow from getting her feet wet, and quickly laced them to warm her now cold feet.

After brushing her teeth and preparing for the day, she went into their new kitchen to brew some coffee. Upon finishing she noticed some movement in the window next to her front door.

Zero Two opened the door to see the smiling faces of her friends' children. Ai, Mitsuru and Kokoro's daughter, was the first to speak. "Good morning aunt Zero Two!"

With a beaming smile Zero Two responded. "Good morning kids."

"Can we come in?"

"Of course."

All of the giggling children jogged through the front door and filed into the empty living room, sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor.

"Auntie," asked Yuuma. "Do you have any sweets?"

"Sorry," replied Zero Two. "I ran out of sweets last night."

All of the children looked a little disheartened at the news.

"Did you eat them all yourself?" Inquired Ai.

"I was up late last night, so I had some as a midnight snack."

Renzo, Futoshi and Aiko's youngest, held his head up in a dignified way and spoke with a slight lisp. "Mommy and daddy say that you shouldn't stay up late, and not to eat sweets past dinner."

All of the children looked at Zero Two with serious faces and nodded in agreement.

Zero Two smiled as she responded. "Well, I'm not human like the rest of you. Uncle Hiro and I don't need to sleep like you all do."

That wasn't a lie.

"Woooaaah," said all of the children in unison.

"Don't you get tired?" Inquired Okimi, Ai's youngest sibling. "I get sleepy after being outside all day."

"Uncle Hiro and I do get tired, and that's when we sleep- "

That became a lie relatively recently. They've been tired but still haven't slept.

"-so we feel better after sleeping for a little bit. Our bodies don't force us to sleep, but we get really tired if we don't."

"That's so cool," said Yuuma. "Are there any humans that can do that?"

"There used to be."

"Can I meet them?"

"No, not anymore."

"If they were like us," interjected Ai. "Then how come they were able to do what uncle Hiro and aunt Zero Two could do?"

"They were soldiers, like your parents, but they were made special so they could fight for as long as possible."

"Coooool!" Said the children.

Not as cool as you think.

Changing the subject before she had to talk about the Nines any longer, Zero Two looked at all of the children and asked, "What are you all going to do today?"

Ai had a smile with a few missing teeth stretching from ear to ear as she answered. "We're helping with aunt Zero Two and uncle Hiro's wedding."

Zero Two couldn't help but smile as she responded. "Thank you all, now I have to go. You all go and play until you go and help."

The children all giggled and sprinted out the front door into the snow outside.

Taking her coffee in hand she walked out into the snow to head for Goro and Ichigo's house. The cold bit at her face as she walked, and she pulled her scarf up to her nose in an attempt to keep warm.

The snow crunched beneath her boots as she made her way across the frozen road. She craned her neck to look at the grey sky above, noticing that the clouds had gotten darker, and that flurries would probably start just as they made their way into the city.

Zero Two rang the doorbell outside of the couple's home, answered immediately by Ichigo's voice shouting, "I'll be there in a moment!"

Goro answered the door, apparently forgetting his glasses and with his hair a mess.

"Pfft," laughed Zero Two. "What happened?"

"Slept in," he said. "Yuuma couldn't sleep well last night, so we stayed up with him until he fell asleep."

"He seemed fine this morning."

"Well, he's young and spry."

"I don't think we're halfway to the age where we can say that yet."

Goro smiled before he responded. "Well, we made breakfast for you and Naomi for when you came over. Would you like to come in?"

"Sure! You have honey, right?"

"Yes, yes."

As Goro went to comb his hair and find his glasses, Zero Two walked into the kitchen where Ichigo was sitting, eyes half-closed.

"Are you two sure you can come with us today?" Asked a concerned Zero Two. "You both look awfully tired."

"I could say the same of you," returned Ichigo with a smile.

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

"Don't lie, Zero Two. Goro and I saw your lights turning off and on all throughout the night last night. You're not sleeping. From what I understand, Hiro isn't either."

Zero Two let out a deep breath before responding. "You guys don't need to worry. Darling and I don't need to sleep like you all do."

"Zero Two," said Ichigo with a more serious expression. "We ARE worried. We all are. You two are acting like you're fine when we all know that you aren't. Even if you don't need to sleep, we can see it affect you. What is keeping you awake? Why are you two acting like you're fine?"

After a few moments of silence, Zero Two sipped her coffee and responded. "Every fiber of my being doesn't want me to sleep. I feel exposed. Like Virm are going to attack whenever I close my eyes and let my guard down. And the dreams, Ichigo. I've only slept enough to get a little respite, because the dreams disturb me."

"What are the dreams like?"

"They're violent. Absurdly violent. I'm in the woods again, fighting near endless waves of Virm. After what feels like an eternity of killing, I'm soaked in blood and surrounded by corpses. I tear at them with my fangs and claws, I gore them with my horns. And they are unbelievable vivid, I feel the flesh tear and the blood flow down my body. Sometimes It makes its way down my throat and I choke on it. Every time I'm in that dream I have this awful feeling like I'm going to die again. Worst of all is after the Virm are gone. No matter how many I kill throughout the night, I always find darling mangled beyond recognition. It's always different, but sometimes he'll have been ripped limb from limb, I'll find his head far from his body, he'll be cut in half at the waist, with his insides spilling out into the snow. Sometimes he'll be screaming in agony as I try to help him, but I can only watch the life fade from his eyes. It's enough to make me vomit when I wake up. I have, once or twice."

"And you thought it was okay to go on like this?" Asked Goro with a stern look as he walked into the kitchen to join them. "You two really need to rely on us more. We're your family, and if you two are suffering that much, then you need to learn that we are here to help you with that. There's no need for you to pointlessly suffer when you have us to help."

Zero Two looked guilty for a moment before responding. "You all saved us from the wilderness. You gave us a home, clothes, even the wedding we've always dreamed about. After a certain point we feel like we are just taking advantage of you guys. And besides, it's kind of…difficult…to talk about these things to people sometimes."

"I understand that," said Ichigo. "But it's not some kind of repayment or favor situation, Zero Two. We help because we want to and love you two. You're worth helping simply because you are, not because of anything we would get out of it."

"And besides," interjected Goro. "Even if we were doing it for favors, it's not like we could. You two almost died for all of humanity, we would be repaying you two for the rest of our lives."

"As for it being difficult to talk about, perhaps I should make it clear now," said Ichigo, grabbing Zero Two's hand. "Any member of Squad Thirteen is willing to talk about these things with you."

Zero Two smiled, thinking back to Hiro's comforting words in the forest over two weeks before. 'Don't take your friends that lightly,' he had said.

He was right.

This is the human warmth I wanted for so long.

"You guys are right," said Zero Two. "I'm sorry."

"We're coming over tomorrow morning," said Ichigo sternly. "And we're going to talk through things."

"This feels very assertive."

"It is. It's for your own mental health."

"I'll make sure to grab more sweets for Yuuma then."

Goro's eyebrows raised slightly. "Is that where he's been getting them?"

Before the parents could interrogate Zero Two about the sweets she had been freely giving out, Naomi walked through the door.

"Morning everyone!" She exclaimed in a gleeful tone.

"Good morning!" Replied the three in the kitchen.

Ichigo stood up and walked to their oven. "Alright, we'll have some breakfast and then go to pick up Hiro."

After a few minutes of eating, Naomi piped up. "Did you see Ikuno this morning? She was not dressed for the lab when I saw her leave."

"I thought she said she was working today."

"What I think is that she is finally going on a date."

Zero Two nearly choked on her food. "Woah, the one from the transport you all told me about?"

"Yeah," said Naomi. "That one."

"Should we follow her around all day? It sounds more interesting than buying stuff for our house."

Goro let out a quick laugh before responding. "I think if we spy on her love life any more than we already have, she might get really mad."

"We should prank her at some point though."

Naomi's face lit up for a second at Zero Two's mention of pranks. "On the way to pick you two up, everyone told me that you used to play pranks all the time. Is that true?"

Zero Two had a mischievous smile on her face as she responded. "I have the best pranks. Some of my finest work has gone unrecognized even until today."

Ichigo paused as she lifted her tea to her lips. "Now I'm concerned. What pranks haven't been found yet?"

"Don't worry, they are all long gone by now. There are still some you guys never figured out though, apparently."

"Like what?"

"For about a week, back in the birdcage, I would add a bunch of salt to your food while you weren't looking so that you would be super dehydrated all the time and have to drink a lot more water."

Ichigo stood up with a start before shouting. "I KNEW IT!"

Everyone at the table laughed at the now blushing Ichigo.

Naomi wiped a tear from her eye as she spoke again. "Was that the worst one?"

"Not even close," said Zero Two in response.

The conversation continued for a while longer before they finally stood up to leave.

Zero Two looked at a clock on the wall near the front door.

8:30

She had been up for far longer than she thought.

'You're not sleeping. From what I understand, Hiro isn't either.'

Zero Two smiled at the thought of them coming over the next morning.

Maybe I'll get some sleep tonight.

---

Hiro looked at the stale toast and powdered eggs he was about to eat for breakfast the fifth day in a row. Thinking back to the phenomenal meal he had on the day of his arrival made his mouth water.

"You know," he thought to himself. "I technically don't need to eat."

A doctor opened the door to his hospital room and walked in with a beaming smile on his face. It was the same doctor that had been checking up on Hiro and Zero Two while they were still under anesthetic, and was thrown out of the window.

"I trust that you're eating well?" Inquired the doctor, as though reading Hiro's mind.

"Of…of course!" Said Hiro, while forcing a smile.

"I'm just joking. I know that toast is harder than the plate it's served on."

Hiro let out a quick laugh. "Thanks for understanding."

"But you do need to eat for this process to work. Even if you Klaxosaurs don't need to for day-to-day life."

"That won't be a problem, I'm going to eat my fill at Futoshi's restaurant today."

Hiro's mouth watered as he closed his eyes and anticipated the famous food he had been hearing about since his arrival.

The doctor gave out a hearty laugh before speaking. "What are you going to get?"

"Everything. I'm eating every single thing on the menu."

"Really?"

"No, but I wish that I could. From what I hear everything on the menu is delicious in its own way."

"I can tell you from experience that what you're hearing is true."

"Is it true that it started out as a bakery?"

"Yes. The demand for his cooking increased after a catering event he did though, so now it's a full-fledged restaurant."

Hiro's stomach growled loudly enough to be heard from the hallway outside.

The conversation halted in its tracks for a moment before the doctor grinned and spoke. "So, are you sure you want to wait until later? The toast is always an option."

Hiro shakily began to raise the brittle toast to his mouth; stopping right before his first bite when Zero Two pulled open the door. "Morning Darling!"

The doctor's eyes widened as fear visibly passed over his face.

He attempted to hide it just as quickly as it had arrived.

"Good morning, Miss Zero Two," said the doctor in a friendly tone.

"Good morning doctor!" Replied Zero Two with a smile.

Ichigo stuck her head past the doorframe before addressing Hiro. "We had some leftovers from breakfast, do you want some before we head out?"

"YES!" Replied Hiro, a little too loudly. "I mean, yes please. That would be nice."

Ichigo slowly handed him the bag of food with a quizzical expression on her face.

After a few minutes of Hiro's slightly overemotional eating, they went on their way.

---

Zero Two looked over at Hiro walking beside her, amazed at how quickly his recovery had progressed.

He wore a black peacoat, with a light-grey t-shirt underneath. The heavy black leather boots matched his dark blue-jeans, and a scarf the color of his horns blew behind him in the wind.

Hiro walked slowly, supporting the weight of his right leg with a simple black cane as they walked on the tan concrete sidewalk.

"Are you sure you can handle this, darling?" Asked Zero Two with some concern.

Hiro flashed a smile before answering. "I'm fine Zero Two. This is just part of the process. Besides, I'm happy to be out here with you guys. This snow is beautiful, too. I wouldn't have been able to see it if I had been stuck in that hospital room any longer."

Zero Two looked up at the sky to see what he meant. The blanketed clouds above were dark, with gentle flurries of snow blowing through the windy city streets in which they were walking.

Tall brick buildings lined the streets, decorated with signs and windows peering inside. The red brick pattern was broken at times for narrow alleyways and intersections in the dark asphalt roads. People frequently walked past, warming hands and showing polite smiles to the group. In the distance Zero Two could see clusters of taller buildings, some made of dark concrete, and others made almost entirely out of glass.

What really caught her eye was the spire in the distance, dwarfing even the taller buildings around it.

"Hey," said Zero Two. "What is that tower in the distance?"

"That's the government building," said Naomi. "It's also a popular community center as well as the home of the immortal caretakers."

"Wow," said Hiro. "That's a lot for one building."

"It's massive inside, even bigger than you would assume from here."

"Who's in charge?" Inquired Zero Two.

"We have elected officials," replied Ichigo. "But mainly the caretakers. Although we are being very careful to not allow another APE to take over."

With the mention of APE everyone let out an exhausted groan.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Goro spoke. "So what did you two need for your house?"

"Well," said Hiro. "From what I've been told, we'll need a bedframe, some chairs, a table, some lamps, and kitchenware."

"That all seems really unnecessary," said Zero Two. "I feel like it's too much. We don't need it."

"Yeah, I get the bedframe, and maybe some pots and pans, but don't you think all of the other stuff is a little much?"

"What, you mean chairs?" Said Goro with exasperation. "At some point you are going to want to sit down. Think of it like you are outfitting the house in the birdcage."

"Oh no," said Zero Two. "There's only two of us."

"Yeah, but at some point, others will come over. You've had quite a few visitors these past few mornings, right?"

Zero Two smiled, remembering the children visiting her that very morning. "They just come over for the sweets, I'm sure."

"That's not the case. And besides, it doesn't seem like that bothers you all that much anyway."

Zero Two laughed for a moment before continuing. "No, it really doesn't."

"No fair," said Hiro with a smile. "I never get to see them."

"You'll be able to see them every morning soon enough, darling."

They continued talking and laughing as they went through the city, forgetting the cold as they looked at the bright future ahead of them.

---

Zero Two helped Hiro into the booth where they were seated in Futoshi's restaurant, as their human friends filed into the seats across from them.

"I've been looking forward to this all week," said Hiro. "Everyone says it's amazing."

"Yeah," said Goro. "We had lots while we were on the transport back from the forest. You know, while you were unconscious."

Hiro gave him a dry look. "And who's fault was that?"

Zero Two quickly changed the topic back to business. "So, we've grabbed everything that we needed on the list. Next is just to…figure out what we're going to do after the wedding?"

Ichigo nodded her head. "Yeah, I guess so. You two will need to find some employment of some sort."

Zero Two's brow furrowed as she attempted for the first time to think of a career for herself. She never even thought that such a thing would be possible, so the concept seemed nebulous and difficult.

"What are we even suited for?" Asked Zero Two. "I can't think of anything we're good at that would be used in the current age."

"Maybe self-defense classes?" Said Hiro in a half-joking tone.

"I don't think anyone else can fight like you two," said Naomi. "Nor do I think I want anyone else to."

Goro's eyebrows raised for a moment as a thought crossed his mind. "You two made that picture book we found in the birdcage, right?"

Ichigo looked towards her husband and nodded in agreement at the idea. "The pages were beautiful, apart from a shoddy drawing of a person that was mixed in their for some reason."

Hiro looked slightly uncomfortable as Zero Two held back a laugh.

"Yeah," said Zero Two. "We made that picture book."

"So you drew that whole thing?"

"From memory mostly, but yes."

"You are amazing at art then, Zero Two," said Naomi. "I don't know any other people who are that good at art."

"There wasn't really any purpose to it when we were parasites, though," said Zero Two. "It was mainly so I could remake the picture book."

"But recently," interjected Goro. "A lot of old-world traditions have been revitalized. You've heard music, right? We didn't have that when you two left. Art has also been making a comeback, even though there isn't anyone who has a firm enough grasp on it to make it more mainstream."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Those in charge of the education system even want to make it a curriculum for the young children. The problem is that the adults have just as much experience as the children with these things."

"I propose," said Ichigo. "That you work as an artist. Shops could ask you to decorate their walls, make murals, the like. Maybe you could come in and teach the art classes for the children as well. The city could become such a pretty place if we had art to break up the monotony."

Hiro looked over at Zero Two, who was trying desperately not to smile at the thought. He grabbed her hand under the table and spoke. "Does it sound good to you, Zero Two? You could teach new artists and beautify the town. I think that's a great thing."

Zero Two had a beaming smile as she responded. "This sounds great to me!"

"Alright," said Goro. "What are you good at Hiro? What do you enjoy doing?"

Everyone was deep in thought for a few moments as they attempted to think of something.

"Hey," said Hiro. "Is it that hard to think of something I'm good at?"

"You used to read a lot in The Garden, right?" Asked Goro.

"Yeah, but I don't see how reading can be a career."

"Well, what about working at the library?"

Naomi's eyes lit up at the mention. "The library would be great! It's really popular with the adults, and you would be able to help teach some of the children as well!"

"You could come over to the school and teach sometimes as well," said Ichigo.

"But what would I be doing?" Asked Hiro. "I used to read books. I've never even been to a library. I hadn't even heard about libraries until I got here."

"You'll be there to help people in the library, as well as maintaining the books and shelves. You'd also be teaching the children how to read, if you want to help with that."

"I'd love to do that!" Exclaimed Hiro.

The pair were new grinning from ear to ear at the thought of their new careers.

Goro smiled and addressed the two Klaxosaurs. "What're you two smiling about? I know you're happy, but you'll still be working, remember that. It's good that you enjoy your job, but you still will be working hard."

"I just never thought that we could choose to do what we wanted to do," said Hiro. "After fighting all of these years, it just seems too good to be true."

"I think you two have deserved this," said Naomi. "And trust me, although you two won't be teaching all the time, it can be difficult to teach."

"Is it that hard?" Inquired Zero Two.

"It can be. I teach mathematics to the children, and it can be very trying at times. Although I have to say that I love all of my students, and it's very rewarding work."

"Who teaches with you?" Asked Hiro.

"Zorome teaches language, Mitsuru teaches history, Kokoro teaches science classes, as well as a number of others who you wouldn't know."

"There are so many from Squad Thirteen," interjected Zero Two.

"Well, Squad Thirteen was kind of the first in all of this. The first to have children, the first to learn how to live without Papa, etcetera. It kind of made sense that Squad Thirteen would be the ones to usher in the next generation."

"Well," said Zero Two. "Even if it is difficult, I'm very excited for our new jobs. I think it's good that darling and I can help teach alongside our normal jobs as well."

"I agree," said Hiro. "I can't wait to get started. I should start reading books again sometime soon. I haven't actually read a book in over eight years."

Zero Two's eyes lit up as she remembered something. "Speaking of books, did you guys ever show our picture book to the children?"

"Sorry, no," said Goro. "That book depresses me as an adult, there's no way I'm reading something that sad to my kid."

"Well," said a pouting Zero Two. "It's not finished. You could've given it a happy ending."

Everyone laughed before their attention was turned towards the food being served to them.

---

After a few more hours of exploring the city, Zero Two and Hiro parted with a kiss at the hospital's entrance.

As the day shifted into night Zero Two and Ichigo talked on the sidewalk outside of their home.

"I think I'll try and sleep tonight," said Zero Two. "After a fun day like today, maybe I can finally get some rest."

"I'm sure you'll be able to," replied Ichigo. "Remember, we'll be coming over in the morning, so be prepared for an interrogation."

Zero Two laughed before waving goodbye. "See you two in the morning!"

Maybe she could finally sleep some.

She was hopeful.

But hope didn't matter.

---

Ai woke up to the sound of a spoon hitting a cup repeatedly.

"That must be aunt Ichigo stirring her tea," she thought.

Ai had stayed over with Yuuma the night before to play, but had fallen asleep relatively early.

So she woke up far earlier too.

She looked at the clock on the wall nearby and saw that it was still only five-thirty.

"What is aunt Ichigo doing up so early?" Thought Ai.

She silently crept out of the room she was sleeping in, and snuck her way down the stairs to make for the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, she noticed that Ichigo was fully dressed and prepared for the day despite it being so early.

"Ai?" Exclaimed Ichigo. "What are you doing up so early?"

Ai rubbed her eyes as she responded. "I heard a spoon hitting something, so I woke up."

"I'm sorry, that was me."

"It's alright, aunt Ichigo. Yuuma and I went to sleep really early last night."

"Oh, that's alright then."

"Why are you down here so early?"

"Uncle Goro and I are about to head over to aunt Zero Two's house in an hour or so. We decided to go ahead and get prepared and eat breakfast since we might be over there for a while."

"Why're you going to aunt Zero Two's house?"

"Well…you know what happened with aunt Zero Two and uncle Hiro, right?"

Ai slowly nodded. "Mommy and daddy told me that they were in space a long time, and that they had died. When they came back they seemed really happy."

"Well…this might be a little hard to hear, Ai. But uncle Hiro and aunt Zero Two went to space thinking they were going to die."

"Huh?"

"When they were in space they fought giant monsters called Virm. For three straight years they fought without eating or drinking, only able to rest in short bursts."

Ai's eyes widened. She had never heard this part of the story before, it had always been kept a little vague. She just knew that they went to space and died.

"At the end of three years," continued Ichigo. "They destroyed the planet with all of the monsters, so that we could live like we do now. They were just as surprised as us when they woke up on Earth."

"Woah."

"Ai, remember how yesterday aunt Zero Two told you that she and uncle Hiro don't need to sleep?"

"Yeah! It's really cool!"

"Well, they still want to, but they can't."

"Why not?"

"Well, Ai…they did something we can't even conceive of. They aren't sure if they belong some times because of what they did. You know how mommy and daddy and all of your aunts and uncles were soldiers, right? Well, uncle Hiro and aunt Zero Two fought for more than anyone in history that we know of. We don't even know what that does to their minds. What we see though, Ai, is that they have really bad dreams."

"So aunt Zero Two lied?"

"She wanted to make sure you didn't worry."

"Why do the dreams keep her awake?"

"She's afraid, Ai. In the same way you might be afraid of a monster, she is afraid of closing her eyes to sleep. She sees herself fighting the same monsters again every night."

"Can I go with you two to see her?"

Ichigo thought for a moment before caving in. "Sure, but I might have to send you out of the room at times. I'm not sure if I want you to hear everything from the dreams."

"Ok, I promise. I want to help aunt Zero Two too."

Suddenly, they could hear Goro stomping down the stairs as though he was running.

"Ichigo," he said, as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. "I just saw all of her lights turn on really fast, and it looked like she was running."

Ichigo's brow furrowed for a moment. "She should still be asleep…unless…"

Her eyes widened for a moment before she stood up with a start. "We have to go over there, now."

Goro simply nodded as he put on his coat beside the front door.

"Alright, Ai," said Ichigo. "Grab my hand, we're heading over there now."

"What's wrong?" Asked a concerned Ai.

"I think that aunt Zero Two just had a very bad dream."

The trio walked as quickly across the dimly lit street as they could without slipping before hurriedly throwing open the front door.

Ai was shocked to hear the normally bubbly voice of Zero Two sobbing in a room further back in the house.

Ichigo and Goro sprinted towards the crying sound before stopping just outside of the open restroom door.

Ai quickly caught up to them, and covered her mouth after seeing Zero Two through the doorframe.

Zero Two was on her knees sobbing above the toilet, occasionally violently retching into it. Her hair fell across her back, allowing Ai to see the profile of her face.

It scared her.

Her horns had grown to triple the length that Ai had always seen them at. Her eyes gave off a faint red glow, and her fingernails had grown into sharp claws. Blood was dripping from cuts in the palms of her hands, presumably where the claws had dug into.

The blood was dark red with a purple tint, distinguishing it from any human blood.

"Zero Two!" Shouted Ichigo as she ran in to comfort the Klaxosaur.

Zero Two started and barred long, sharp fangs that Ai had never noticed before as she whipped around to face whatever had scared her.

Upon seeing Ichigo's face she softened and began to cry again.

"I-I shouldn't have t-tried to sleep," said Zero Two in a shaky voice. "I-It was the worst one so f-far."

"It's ok," said Ichigo, as she hugged the Klaxosaur. "It's ok. We are here now."

Ai looked around the room and noticed that scratches and blood were streaked against the light switch, presumably where Zero Two had quickly tried to throw on the lights while sprinting to the toilet. There was a file on the bathroom counter, upon closer inspection the grooves were filled with a dark red dust, and a bin nearby was full of chunks of horn and dust.

Ai clasped to Goro's leg, and quietly whispered to him as though to not disturb Zero Two. "What's wrong with aunt Zero Two? Why does she look like that?"

Goro crouched down to be level with Ai before answering in a quiet and soft voice. "Aunt Zero Two is a Klaxosaur. When she was in danger or fighting for her life, her horns and claws grew. Her eyes flash that red color for the very same reason."

"But she's safe right now."

"She is, but when she sleeps, she feels in danger, so her body reacts accordingly."

"It's kinda scary."

"Don't be scared, it's the same aunt Zero Two as before, alright?"

"…Ok. I won't be scared."

"Good."

"What is all of this?" Inquired Ai, pointing at the bins and file, full of filings and chunks from Zero Two's horns.

"Oh…Zero Two…" said Goro softly.

He walked over to inspect the bin that was full of horns that had been snapped off. "Zero Two, have you been breaking off your horns so we wouldn't worry?"

Zero Two gave a hesitant nod, burying her head deep into Ichigo's shoulder as they hugged.

Goro looked angry for a moment, but his expression quickly changed to profound sadness.

"I swear, you are just like Hiro sometimes," he muttered to himself.

"Goro," said Ichigo. "Can you call the hospital and tell someone to check in on Hiro. He's probably going through the same thing right about now. Futoshi should be awake soon, maybe he can go over there while we're here."

"Got it."

"Ai, I'm going to need you to leave the room for a moment, alright?"

"…Alright," replied Ai, as she slowly shuffled out of the room, throwing back her head to get one last look at the distraught Zero Two in the restroom.

Ichigo turned back to Zero Two, rubbing her back as though to calm her down. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Zero Two took a moment before responding. "I slept for too long. I fought for so long, Ichigo, and I finally got to darling. This time he was fine, and he had just finished fighting against Virm as well. Suddenly, we were surrounded, and they grabbed hold of us."

"You don't have to share if you don't want to."

"Ichigo, they started to pull him apart in front of me. They made me watch. I watched his insides fall out, his blood sprayed in my eyes and mouth. He was screaming so desperately for my help, but they tore out his tongue."

Ichigo looked as though she was about to be sick.

"I was covered, Ichigo. I could feel organs against my feet from where they had been thrown from the disemboweled body, the warmth of his blood slowly fading from the cold. Once he had been nearly totally destroyed, they turned their attention to me. I woke up just after they had torn me in half at the waist."

Ichigo barely held back a gag before tightening the hug. "We are going to see Hiro, alright? He's ok. We're going to show you that your darling is ok."

"I don't want to lose him again."

"You won't have to. You'll never have to again."

"Is there something I'm doing wrong?"

"Zero Two, you're tired, you haven't done anything to make this happen."

"But why?"

"I don't know, Zero Two. You're afraid of losing him, just like he's afraid of losing you. And you fought for so long, of course it's going to take a while for you to feel back to normal."

"I hate this so much."

"I know."

---

Zero Two opened up Hiro's hospital room door to see him trying desperately to hide drying tears.

"M-morning, Zero Two!" He exclaimed in a clearly faltering voice.

She ran over to pull him into a tight hug.

They cried together in the room for a long time.

Goro and Ichigo stood in the hallway outside with Yuuma and Ai, absentmindedly staring at the closed sliding door.

Zorome and Miku sprinted down the hallway towards the small group.

"We heard what happened," panted Zorome. "Are they alright?"

Goro broke from his stupor to answer. "It's worse than we thought."

"What do you mean?" Asked Miku.

Goro showed a picture of the cracked horns and blood from Zero Two's restroom.

"Oh…" said Zorome. "She's been- "

"They both have, apparently," said Goro. "The nurse found chunks of Hiro's horns in the garbage this morning when we asked him to check."

"What can we do?" Inquired Miku, with a shaky voice. "There has to be something!"

"I don't know if there is," said Ichigo. "We can be there for them, but in the end, we don't know how to help with something like this. We need a therapist or psychologist, but the problem is that there isn't any prior knowledge of how to deal with something like this. No one has ever done what they have done before, and the training for psychology and therapy is primarily a combination of some of the questionable APE techniques and the tatters of rare old-world textbooks."

"So we just sit…and let them talk about it?" Said Zorome.

"We will still try psychology and therapy," said Ichigo. "But our understanding of things isn't great. So…pretty much, yeah."

"This sucks," said Zorome, fist clenched in frustration. "They practically come back from the dead to come home, just to be miserable when they get here. They deserve better than this."

Soon after, the rest of Squad Thirteen began to file into the hallway, Ichigo and Goro having to relay the story with each new member.

After an hour, Mitsuru and Kokoro were the last to arrive.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Said Ai as she clasped to Mitsuru's leg.

"We came as soon as we could," said Mitsuru. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," replied Goro. "Really bad."

Mitsuru's eyes turned downwards for a second, and his jaw clenched in frustration.

"Daddy, will aunt Zero Two and uncle Hiro be alright?" Inquired Ai.

He wanted to say yes.

But he couldn't.

---

The next hour was spent trying to decide their next course of action.

Eventually, Squad Thirteen decided to slowly open the door to check on the pair.

When they opened the door, they saw Zero Two in a chair beside of Hiro's bed, clasping his hand tightly.

She was leaning against the frame, asleep. Hiro sat in the bed clasping her hand just as tightly, fast asleep against the bedframe Zero Two was resting her head on.

The Squad was silent as they filed into the room, taking in what they were seeing.

The tears had not completely dried on their cheeks, and their eyes were still watery.

Hiro's face contorted for a moment, and he bared his fangs while letting of a deep growl, as though to ward off enemies.

"Should we wake him?" Whispered Ikuno. "It looks like he's having another dream."

He moved his hands as though to show his claws, but Zero Two's hand squeezed tight in response, and his face softened.

Squad Thirteen watched with surprise as both Klaxosaurs repeated this cycle multiple times. Almost as though taking turns, whenever one would descend into a dream, the hand of the other would pull them back out.

"Hey," whispered Goro. "Pull that other bed over here."

Squad Thirteen quietly moved the empty hospital bed across the room to be beside of Hiro's, and lifting Zero Two, placed her comfortably inside.

Although the bedframes separated the two, Naomi positioned the pair's hands so they could grasp the other.

"Is this the right thing to do?" Asked Mitsuru. "This won't solve the underlying problem."

"It won't," answered Ichigo. "But it looks like they might be able to sleep, if only for a little longer."

The group stood in silence for a few minutes, wanting to smile at the sweet scene before them, but knowing too much to be able to.

"Only a few more days and Hiro will be out of the hospital," said Kokoro. "Then they can finally go home."

"For now," whispered Miku. "Do you think Zero Two could sleep here?"

"I think that they should be able to spare this bed," replied Ikuno. "She was coming here for tests sometimes as well, so maybe we can use that as an excuse if the staff questions it. Although I doubt anyone would object considering the situation."

"Should we stay here with them?"

"We'll stay with them," said Aiko. "Futoshi and I didn't need to be at the restaurant today, the staff can handle it."

Futoshi nodded in agreement. "Everyone, you have your own jobs to do, let us handle this. We'll send you updates if anything happens."

Everyone nodded in appreciation, then looked back on the sleeping pair in front of them.

"Hey," said Miku in a soft tone. "Is this a win?"

"I don't know," replied Goro. "If it is, it still doesn't feel like one."

Aiko and Futoshi sat in chairs in the corner, as the rest of Squad Thirteen slowly left the melancholic scene behind.

---

Zero Two's request to take Hiro out for the day was reluctantly granted by the doctors in the hospital.

They insisted that she stay there as well, but they knew it was a losing battle.

After their daily tests, they slowly made their way out of the hospital to walk around the park and city again.

It became apparent to her that the news of what had happened that morning had traveled fast. Concerned glances were thrown their way whenever onlookers thought the pair was distracted.

Stepping out into the light snow, and taking in a deep breath of the crisp cold air improved their somber moods.

They had been able to sleep for once, but the effect that the morning's events had on their friends kept them in a melancholic atmosphere as long as they were stifled in the hospital.

Neither of them had spoken, and the silence brought about by the snow became even more pronounced as they followed the damp sidewalk to the park inside the city.

A smile came across Zero Two's lips, and she spoke softly, as though to preserve the peace from the silence around them. "We finally get a date with just the two of us again."

Hiro flashed a bright smile before responding in an equally quiet tone. "Thanks for getting me out of there, Zero Two."

"It's good to know after eight years of being alone together you still enjoy these moments."

"Eight years alone together isn't nearly enough time."

"You're a really corny guy."

"You fell in love with this corny guy."

Zero Two kissed him on the cheek before answering. "That I did."

She locked her right arm in his free arm, supporting him slightly as he leaned on his cane with every step. "You're already at the point where you can almost walk without a cane."

"For now, I still need to use it though…I'm sorry if I have to during the wedding."

"I'm not worried about that."

Silence descended again for a few moments.

"It's strange," remarked Hiro. "We're finally getting married. It feels like I'm dreaming."

"I know what you mean. I've never been more excited for anything else though."

"Me neither."

"Also a little nervous."

"You? Nervous?"

"I can get nervous too sometimes."

"Well, we'll be fine. I've heard the girls talking, they said you were getting the dress tomorrow?"

"That I am."

"I can't wait to see it."

"You'll have to wait a little longer than everyone else."

"Another thing to look forward to."

Zero Two blushed, but couldn't help but smile at the thought of the wedding, only six days away.

"Apparently," said Hiro. "They've decided that some sort of formal military attire is what I'll be wearing."

Zero Two pondered for a moment. "I guess you could say we are only recently ex-military."

"Guess so."

A thought crossed Zero Two's mind, and she immediately brightened up. "Hey, darling, want to go to that community center after the park? It's a long walk but I think we can make it."

Hiro smiled at her before responding. "That sounds great, Zero Two. I hope we can see the children today, though. I haven't seen them since the day I got here."

"They might be at the park, so let's hurry there."

"I can't walk that fast, Zero Two."

"Well then, I have no choice," said Zero Two with a mischievous grin.

She whipped around in front of Hiro, and with one swift motion lifted him up onto her back.

"Wha- what are you doing?" Exclaimed Hiro.

"I'm going to take you to the park!" She said with a smirk. "Here we go!"

The pair began to laugh as Zero Two jogged down the sidewalk, passing the occasional confused pedestrian and transport.

Zero Two arrived at the top of a hill entering the park, with a snow-blanked open area stretching out before them.

She hastily let Hiro down from her back, but as she did, he slipped on the sidewalk and rolled down the snow-covered hill face.

"Darling!" Said Zero Two with concern, looking at Hiro, face first in the snow at the bottom of the hill.

Hiro was still before sluggishly moving his arms and legs back and forth.

Zero Two was overcome with a warm smile.

Snow Angels.

She quickly rolled down the hill after him.

---

Hiro didn't feel the cold snow on his back as he laid on the hillside with Zero Two.

The warmth of her hand and the sound of her voice was all that he was focused on.

When there came a break in the conversation, they simply sat in the snow and stared up at the vast grey sky above.

Suddenly, a pair of tiny hands covered his eyes, and a group of childish voices giggled together.

"Guess who?" Said Renzo.

"Hmmm," said Hiro, feigning ignorance. "Is that Ai?"

The rest of the children giggled while Renzo pouted. "No, it's Renzo!"

"Really? Let me check!"

Hiro quickly reached back with his arms and grabbed Renzo, lifting him high above his head.

"Wah!" Exclaimed a startled Renzo, before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

"I guess I was wrong!"

The rest of the children tackled Hiro in a massive group hug, tickling him until he let Renzo down.

After a few moments of relentlessly tickling Hiro, the children sat in a group around the two Klaxosaurs.

"Hey, uncle Hiro, how's the hospital? We haven't seen you since the day you got here," said Rei, Futoshi and Aiko's daughter and second child.

"It's boring without you guys there," said Hiro. "I was excited to come out here to see you all."

"Well," said Yuuma. "We're helping out with the wedding."

"Are you guys having fun?" Asked Zero Two.

The children smiled and nodded their heads.

"How's it going?" Inquired Zero Two. "Your parents won't tell us the details."

Yuuma motioned his fingers across his lips as though he were using a zipper.

"I'll give you sweets," said Zero Two with a mischievous smile.

"You're out of sweets," said Okimi. "And the sweets from the hospital taste bad."

The children nodded in agreement.

Zero Two was slightly annoyed that she had been outwitted by a child, but the emotion quickly passed.

"Well then," she said. "I guess I'll just have to get it out of you another way!"

She quickly grabbed Okimi by the sides and began to tickle her, until the other children quickly came to Okimi's rescue.

Ai stood farther away, laughing and playing, but not getting close to the two Klaxosaurs.

Hiro noticed, but kept silent.

---

The pair of Klaxosaurs played with the children for a while longer before they went back to help with the wedding.

After walking through the rest of the park, the pair made their way towards the spire near the center of the city, excited to see what awaited within.

"I'm starting to get hungry," said Hiro. "Do you want to stop and get some food on the way there?"

"Sure," said Zero Two. "I think Futoshi's restaurant is close by if you want that."

"Do you even need to ask?"

"I think there's a candy store on the way to the government building I'd like to stop by."

"For yourself or the kids?"

"Both, preferably."

After eating and shopping for a while longer, Hiro recalled what he had seen earlier that day.

"Hey, Zero Two," Hiro said. "Did Ai seem…distant? She looked as though she was keeping some distance from us while the children were playing."

Zero Two thought in silence for a moment. "I think she saw me this morning, I probably scared her a little since she hasn't seen us like that before."

"At the same time, it seemed as though she was trying to act normally."

"She probably doesn't want to treat us any differently, but I can imagine how seeing me like that would change her perception of us."

Hiro and Zero Two let out a deep sigh.

"Well, I'm sure she'll come around eventually," said Hiro. "It's not like she doesn't like us or anything, she just got a little scared this morning."

"I'll bribe her with candy," joked Zero Two.

The two walked in silence for a while longer as they approached the bottom of the massive spire.

The amount of pedestrians grew larger and larger as they approached the massive tower in the city. The government building seemed to be the heart of the city, attracting people from all over to use as an area for meetings or events.

The pair looked up at the massive glass structure in front of them. It was hundreds of feet high, completely transparent at points, revealing the common areas that were full of lively people.

Near the upper floors she could see more office rooms, and near the very top she saw small and tidy apartments.

"I guess that's where Nana and Hachi live," said Zero Two. "It must be strange being so separate from society, figuratively and literally."

"I forgot that they're going to live forever," remarked Hiro. "Sounds kind of depressing, honestly."

"It means we'll meet them in the next life though."

Hiro thought back to the visions of reincarnation he saw in Strelizia and smiled. "I guess so."

They opened the glass doors and stepped into a massive room, light from outside spilling through the transparent walls. The floor was made up of large white tiles, broken up only by the occasional sitting areas and booths.

Information desks and restaurants lined the walls, and a large map was displayed only a few meters from the front entrance.

"Wow, this goes underground too," remarked Hiro. "It seems to be just as deep as it is tall."

"How did they make a superstructure this big in eight years?" Inquired an incredulous Zero Two. "When we left they had just started basic farming without any automation."

A familiar female voice called out behind them. "We figured things out pretty quickly."

The pair whipped their heads around to find the nostalgic voice.

Nana smiled at them from the front entrance.

The two ran up and gave her a quick group hug.

"It's been forever!" Exclaimed Zero Two.

"Yeah," interjected Hiro. "Sorry it took so long for us to come over, we know you were too busy to come and see us."

Nana flashed a tired smile as she rubbed her temple. "Yes, well, I took some time off when Squad Thirteen went off to the crash site for…actually, what I was doing doesn't matter. After they notified us about you two everything was so chaotic, I forgot to catch up on work, so I've been having to do double the work over the past week. I'll be done after tomorrow though."

"Does that mean you can make it to the wedding?" Asked Zero Two.

Nana let out a short laugh before answering. "Trust me, I will. Everyone will."

"…Everyone?"

Nana looked shocked for a moment before an amused expression came across her face. "Haven't you heard? You left Miku in charge of your wedding, so don't be surprised. Everyone in the city received an invitation, it's practically a holiday."

The color drained from Hiro's face, and Zero Two stiffened and chuckled nervously.

"Y-you're joking right?" Said Zero Two, shaking a shellshocked Hiro beside her. "She said it was going to be big, but not entire-city big!"

"Yep, every single person. What's wrong? Is the famous Klaxosaur couple nervous?"

"How could we not be!?"

"Well, I just thought that considering how famous you two were in the past that you wouldn't be nervous. The infamous Klaxosaur-girl and the genius Code Zero-One-Six have always had quite a bit of attention."

The pair looked as though they were about to fall over from shock.

"Should we sit down, you two?" Asked Nana with a mischievous smile.

As the three sat down at an empty sitting area, Zero Two began to calm down a little more. "I mean, it's not like everyone is going to come, right? I mean, life goes on."

"Yeah!" Agreed a jittery Hiro. "Business, government, teachers, all sorts of people won't be able to attend that day."

Nana smiled as she responded. "Well, I'm sure some people won't come, but I wouldn't be surprised if about ninety percent of people attend."

"Wha- why?" Said Hiro, in almost a shout.

"Well, you two are Earth's saviors, after all. You're held in higher regard here than I think you've realized. Many of those businesses are going to be closed for the day, it's become a big deal for the people of the city. Many will come just to be there for you two, some may come for the food, some may come just to have a nice day outside. No matter how you look at it, your wedding has become a major event for the city."

Hiro slumped in his chair, clearly distressed at the thought. "I'm going to kill Miku the next time I see her."

"By the way, have you two gone over any rehearsal or anything yet?"

The two looked surprised at the proposition and shook their heads.

"Did anyone even tell you what the customs are here!?"

"Well," interjected Zero Two. "We were the ones who introduced the concept in the first place."

"That may be true, but you two have been gone for a very long time, some things might've changed," said a distressed-looking Nana. "Even if you are acquainted, you should still be going over how everything will play out. After all, thousands will be watching."

"That last part was uncalled for," said Hiro.

As though to put an end to the conversation, Hachi suddenly sat in the chair beside of Nana, making her start suddenly.

"Hachi!" She nearly shouted. "You could've told me you were here."

"Hey, you two," exclaimed Hachi. "How are you holding up?"

Hiro smiled at the caretaker before answering. "We're doing better, thanks."

Hachi nodded before proceeding. "I see Nana's been catching you up on everything."

"Yeah. So how famous are we exactly?"

"Well, really famous, but I don't think it should be a problem. You may get the occasional autograph, but people are going to treat you with relative normalcy. Be glad you're in the twenty-second century, from some of the research we've been doing, being famous in the past few centuries was quite the pain."

As though on que, a former parasite nervously approached the two to introduce himself. After signing an inconspicuous piece of paper for him, he promptly left.

"See? That's about it," said Hachi.

Zero Two pondered for a moment before speaking her mind. "You know, I think I killed someone from his squad."

Hiro looked at Hachi with some concern. "About that, is our past going to be a problem for us?"

Hachi shook his head. "No, almost all APE-era grievances have died out. No matter how well it was disguised, that world was survival of the fittest. And besides, you two were…special circumstances. We know how Papa singled out the Nines and Squad Thirteen for a good portion of their shadier work, so most people have just come to forgive and forget."

Hiro and Zero Two both let out deep sighs of relief. Zero Two had been too afraid to even approach the topic of her 'Partner Killer' days. Hiro didn't really care about how many stamens she had killed, and hadn't considered it much of a problem for anyone else either. Hearing her bring up the topic showed him how it was in the back of her mind.

He felt terrible for not noticing sooner.

"Well," said Hiro. "He seemed fine with us, so I guess that means everything will be fine.

Hiro leaned over to Zero Two and whispered so only she could hear. "I'm sorry for not noticing."

Zero Two whispered back in an equally quiet tone. "Don't worry about it, we were focused on staying alive. It wasn't a worry we could afford to have."

Returning to the normal conversation, Hiro quickly changed the topic. "A lot of children have been approaching us. Ones outside of Squad Thirteen, I think they're intrigued by the horns and everything."

"There are stories about you two," said Nana. "The kids know very well about the two of you. It's only natural that they approach you."

The conversation continued on for another half-hour before Nana and Hachi had to leave, and the Klaxosaurs were left once again to their own devices.

"Darling," said an enthusiastic Zero Two. "Do you want to check out the school and library? We need to find out where we're going to be working soon enough, so we might as well now."

Hiro jumped to his feet and grabbed his cane. "Sure! Maybe we can find some places that you could paint at as well."

The pair spent the rest of the day walking about the city, investigating every side street and corner. The city looked far inferior to the ones the two were used to. It was cold, most buildings were made of concrete or rough bricks, weeds sprouted from tiny cracks in the less-traveled sidewalks. It was far removed from the climate controlled, streamlined, unnaturally tidy city from the Plantations.

They enjoyed this city so much more.

It exuded a life like they had never seen before, and it captivated them entirely.

---

Before the couple went back to the hospital for the night, they decided that it would be best if they went to speak to Ai directly, in order that they might calm her fears.

Mitsuru and Kokoro quickly consented to allowing the pair to talk to her privately.

They didn't approve of the number of sweets Zero Two gave Ai behind their backs.

Just as the parents noticed the bag of sweets in Ai's room, Zero Two put Hiro on her back, and they sprinted out the front door.

"Back to the hospital," said Hiro. "You get to eat hospital food tonight."

"Is it good?" Inquired a now curious Zero Two.

"You'll see."

"If I only eat honey and sweets, I'll be fine."

"I don't think the doctors will approve of that."

"We can just say that our metabolism is different. It's more efficient."

"Yeah, that means it's even worse to just eat honey and sweets, right?"

Zero Two puffed her cheeks and pouted as they walked. "Darling, I thought you would be on my side for this."

"Sorry, Zero Two. You can eat all the candy you want. Make sure to hide the bag from the doctors though. One of them might swipe it."

"Do you think we can say we need it because our biology is different?"

"I don't think they'll buy that."

"Hmmm."

As they entered the hospital, many of the incredulous staff watched as Hiro walked through, hardly relying on his cane.

The difference from that very morning was shocking, it was inhuman how quickly he had almost completely recovered.

They lay in their separate beds and talked for a while before finally deciding to attempt sleeping.

"Only a few more days," said Hiro.

"Only a few more days, darling," said Zero Two.

With that, they fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

---

The next morning, Miku and Ikuno went to pick up Zero Two for the long day ahead.

They silently entered the hospital room to find the pair fast asleep.

Zero Two let out a loud snore, and Hiro seemed to respond with one of equal volume.

She was tangled in blankets, with her hair in her mouth. Her horns had caught her blankets, and they were nearly knotted around the side of her face.

Hiro's face was completely covered, his two horns poking out of holes he had accidentally punched through the thin hospital blankets during the night.

Although they slept awkwardly, their hands had remained together across the separate bedframes.

"You know," said Miku in a whisper. "At first I thought the whole 'holding hands is the only thing that lets them sleep' thing was romantic, but this is kind of unsightly."

"I don't care how unsightly it is; as long as they're sleeping, I'm happy," said Ikuno.

Miku smiled as she responded. "I guess you're right."

Ikuno looked towards the two sleeping Klaxosaurs and raised her voice. "Time to wake up, you two. You're going to get prepared for the wedding today."

Hiro and Zero Two let out aggravated groans, before slowly attempting to untangle themselves from the knot of blankets they had created.

"Did you two sleep well last night?" Inquired an enthusiastic Miku.

Hiro struggled to guide the blanket off of his horns without tearing it any further. "Is it not obvious?"

After a few amusing minutes of two groggy Klaxosaurs clumsily preparing for the day, Miku and Ikuno took Zero Two.

Hiro waited another hour for Goro and Mitsuru to come pick him up.

He sat in silence in his room and looked at his cane against the wall.

"Do I need it?" He thought. "I might be able to get by without it today."

Pushing off of his knees, Hiro proceeded to walk laps around the room to gauge how his leg was doing.

His pace was slow; a significant limp kept him from walking as quickly as he would be able to with the cane.

Hiro clenched his fangs in frustration. The wedding was only a few days away, and he was losing hope that he would be able to walk without assistance.

The scenario ran through his mind. He imagined being supported by Zero Two the entire way through the wedding, having to lean on her arm, having to be helped everywhere he went. The thought of the entire wedding being slowed down because of him began to eat away at him as the pace of his walking picked up.

Hiro wanted to do this for her. He wanted to be the best he could be for her. He wanted to give her the wedding she deserved.

She made him feel like he could move mountains.

So why was this so hard?

Goro's sudden opening of the door broke Hiro from his absentminded pacing, as the early morning sun shone through the windows behind him.

The stood and looked at each other for a moment.

"Uh," said a confused Goro. "What're you doing?"

"I'm trying to walk without my cane," replied Hiro.

"I see what's happening here."

"Am I that transparent?"

"You'll be fine at the wedding," said Goro. "Cane or not. Don't think of a disability like that as some sort of burden on everyone else."

"I know, but wouldn't you want to be able to walk for Ichigo?"

"Ichigo would accept me whether I could walk or not."

Hiro silently looked at the floor.

"Zero Two will too," continued Goro. "Do you think any less of Ikuno for not being able to walk?"

"Of course not."

"Then stop worrying about stupid things. I swear, you two need to stop thinking so poorly of yourselves."

Hiro flashed a toothy smile and grabbed his cane, before continuing the conversation with renewed enthusiasm. "So is Mitsuru here?"

"He's almost here, but he had to help Kokoro with something before she left to help Zero Two."

"So what're we going to be doing today?"

"Well, there's your clothes, the rings, and just generally getting you up and moving."

"Won't the rings just be wire, like Kokoro and Mitsuru's?"

"That went out of style when the wire kept breaking, and Miku had an interesting idea."

"What's that?"

"Well, when you two were being stubborn and kept breaking off your horns, Miku thought that your rings could be inlaid with what was left."

"That's a cool idea. Very cheesy though."

"Yeah, but it's sweet."

"Well, I'm a corny guy anyway so I guess it fits."

Mitsuru walked through the doorway without any introduction, holding a tired Ai in his arms.

"Good morning," said Hiro. "Is Ai coming with us today?"

"Yeah," replied Mitsuru. "Although it's still a little early for her. We let her stay up with us last night."

"What about the others?"

"They're helping with the wedding. Nana's supervising, of course."

"Don't they need Ai's help?"

"Kokoro assigned her to help us, 'so we don't make the wrong choice' she said. She said that since all of the girls would be with Zero Two, they needed a sensible young woman with us."

Hiro raised his eyebrow before responding. "A seven-year-old girl?"

Goro facepalmed before muttering under his breath. "Here we go."

Mitsuru put on a dignified air as he responded. "I'll have you know that my Ai is a capable young woman. She has all of my best traits, and, well, all of Kokoro's traits. She is a great older sister and daughter, she works hard and gives everything her all, no matter what it is. She is kind and supportive and intelligent-just like all of my children. I'll have you know that she- "

Mitsuru noticed that Hiro looked as though he were about to laugh.

"Alright, I get it, I get it," said Hiro with a smile. "I'm sure she's more than qualified."

Mitsuru cleared his throat before responding. "Well, as long as you understand."

Goro stood up with a start in order to stop the conversation in its tracks. "Alright, let's go and get started, we'll meet the others there."

---

Zero Two, Ikuno, and Miku had met up with Kokoro, Ichigo, Naomi, and Aiko as they stopped for breakfast.

They walked through the frigid city streets and took in the bright sunrise that broke between the buildings.

Zero Two was elated for the day, and quickly ran to the front of the group as they walked.

Spinning around to face them, she paced backwards so she could talk to them while walking.

"So," she said. "What do you want to do?"

Ichigo had a confused look on her face as she responded. "What do you mean? We're going to get the dress."

"Yeah, but it's been a while since we all just hung out. I wanna have some fun with you all."

"What," interjected Ikuno. "Like a girls' day out?"

"Yeah!" Exclaimed Zero Two, with a beaming smile. "I've never had one like this before, we could only hang out in the Birdcage before."

Aiko smiled before speaking. "Well, now that I think about it, we haven't hung out in a long time either."

"Then it's decided! Just one problem."

"What is it?" Inquired Miku.

"I don't know what you do for fun around here."

Everyone pondered for a moment before Ikuno responded. "Have you heard of alcohol Zero Two?"

Zero Two's smile changed to a curious expression. "What, like the medical supplies?"

"Sort of," said Ikuno. "It's used in certain drinks now, and a lot of people really enjoy it."

"Why?"

"It relaxes them."

"Do you all drink?"

"None of us really drink all that much," interjected Kokoro. "I don't really care for it all that much."

"Me neither," added Naomi.

"Neither do I," said Ikuno. "Aiko has a condition where she can't."

"And Ichigo is a total lightweight," said Miku with a smile. "It's not like we don't enjoy one or two every once in a while, though."

"Every once in a while?" Retorted a flustered Ichigo. "You and Zorome got blackout drunk every time we would go as a group."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Exactly, because you can't remember it."

"Well, what I do remember is how we learned you were a lightweight."

"Let's not talk about that."

Miku looked over at Zero Two with a mischievous smile as she responded. "She began to systematically go through each member of Squad Thirteen and went through all the nostalgic memories with each of us, stumbling and slurring the entire time."

"Pfft," laughed Zero Two. "I say we drink with Ichigo then."

"No!" Responded Ichigo. "And besides, if we're going with blackout drunk stories, let's talk about one of yours, Miku."

"Mine can't be any more embarrassing than yours," retorted a smug Miku.

"Well," continued Ichigo. "You and Zorome were both drunk, and started arguing over something trivial, eventually arguing so loud that the entire establishment was looking."

Miku began to silently sweat.

"Then, you both suddenly stopped and started flirting, in front of at least a hundred people."

Miku hid her face in her hands.

"Well, it got more intense than that, before long you two- "

"STOP! STOP! I GET IT!"

Everyone laughed for a minute before Ikuno pulled out a tablet from a pouch on the side of her chair.

"I just got a response from the doctor at the hospital," said Ikuno. "Your body won't let you ingest alcohol, Zero Two."

"Why's that?" Inquired a slightly disappointed Zero Two.

"Apparently Klaxosaur blood and alcohol don't mix particularly well. Technically speaking, alcohol is treated as poison by the body, but that effect is much more potent with your Klaxosaur biology. You're in the same boat as Aiko now."

Zero Two shrugged her shoulders as she responded. "Oh well."

"You're not missing much," said Ikuno.

"I agree," added Kokoro.

Aiko and Ichigo simply nodded.

"It's not like I can drink right now anyway," sighed Miku.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and whipped their heads around to look at her.

Miku's eyes widened and she began to blush as she realized what she had just said.

A confused Zero Two looked at the shocked expressions on her friends' faces.

"W-What is it?" Asked Zero Two.

"Miku," said Ichigo in a serious tone. "Are you pregnant?"

"What!?" Exclaimed a now startled Zero Two.

Miku sheepishly nodded her head.

"Congratulations!" Shouted the surprised group.

"How far along are you?" Inquired Kokoro.

"Nearly four weeks now," replied Miku.

The others continued to talk among themselves in excited voices, but Ichigo looked at Miku with a horrified expression on her face.

Ichigo leaned in and whispered in Miku's ear. "Did you say nearly four weeks?"

Miku whispered back. "Don't judge me, you heard Ikuno, they were completely soundproof."

Zero Two realized something before frantically questioning Miku. "Are you sure it's healthy? Did darling and I…hurt it? I mean, when we attacked you?"

"It's fine," insisted Miku. "Zorome and I didn't even know until we got back. The doctor said that I am on track towards a healthy pregnancy."

Zero Two let out a sigh of relief before continuing. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Well, your wedding is coming up, so I've been planning that. I just have been busy, I guess."

"Yeah," interjected Naomi. "That may be true but this is still a pretty big deal."

Miku looked at the ground and smiled.

"Well," interjected Zero Two. "Congratulations, and thanks for planning the wedding."

Miku nodded in response.

"However," said Zero Two, with a more sinister tone. "I met with Nana the other day and you know what she told me?"

"What's that?"

"That you sent an invitation to everyone in the city. Is that true?"

Miku responded with a mischievous smile. "Why of course. I said that it would be a big wedding, didn't I?"

"How many people live in this city?"

"Six thousand, including children and caretakers," inserted Ikuno.

Zero Two looked shellshocked for a moment. "Six thousand? I didn't know there were than many humans left."

"When we took a census last year, we realized that those we had found," said Ikuno as she pointed at Naomi. "padded our numbers quite a bit."

"This city is a little large for six thousand people though, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Kokoro.

"Well," replied Zero Two. "There are so many buildings, only some of which either house or employ multiple people. The size of the city seems disproportionate to the population."

Ichigo looked slightly uncomfortable as she answered. "Well, Zero Two, we expect that…we think that soon, there will be a sort of…population boom. The city was constructed in a way that massive population growth wouldn't have much of an effect on the efficiency of the city."

Zero Two pondered for a moment. "I guess that makes sense."

"Speaking of the population boom," said Aiko in an amused voice. "Are you and Hiro considering children?"

Zero Two stopped dead in her tracks.

"Children?" She thought to herself.

In the past, she had never even given the matter any thought. No one would be having children while APE was in control. Besides, she was the only Klaxo-sapiens. It was not a matter of deciding whether to have children or not. As far as she knew, she was the last of her species. Biologically, there was no option.

Zero Two's death would be the extinction of the Klaxosaurs.

She had accepted this. Although she wasn't necessarily happy with it, she had realized the reality.

But now there were two.

The question shook her to the core. She hadn't expected it, and it made her mind race faster than she thought possible.

"Would the children have to go through the same things I did?" She thought. "The isolation, the hatred, the de-humanizing attitude everyone around them would take. Even if I did have children, they would be the last of the Klaxosaurs, there's no way they could have children. If they found out a way to have kids, would there eventually be strife between the human and Klaxosaur communities? Why am I even thinking of this? Hiro and I haven't even thought of having children yet. For the moment…no?"

Everyone looked at the silent Zero Two as she stopped, the started as she spun around to address them again.

"I don't know!" Said Zero Two in a slightly artificial bubbly voice. "But enough of all that, we're almost to the shop, aren't we?"

The group hesitantly dropped the topic, realizing that the subject was off-limits for the near future.

"Y-yeah," said Ichigo. "We're almost there."

Aiko leaned over to whisper in Ichigo's ear. "I might've struck a nerve. I say we think of something to do after this to raise her spirits a little."

Ichigo nodded.

---

Hiro, Goro, and Mitsuru met the other men of Squad Thirteen for breakfast at Futoshi's restaurant, a more energetic Ai in tow.

"So," said Zorome, while stuffing his face with food. "We have three things on the agenda for today, right?"

Hiro held up his fingers and counted as he explained the objectives. "Firstly, I'm told I need some clothes for the wedding. Some of the higher-ups want to give Zero Two and I some awards for service in the military, so they're pressuring us to wear something more akin to formal military attire."

"So they want you to plan part of your wedding around showing off some medals they've given you?" Inquired a confused Futoshi. "What's the point in that?"

"Some kind of political stunt, maybe?" Said Mitsuru.

"I don't think so," replied Goro. "When medals are given for service they are normally anonymously given. Even if it was a political stunt it wouldn't benefit anyone."

A thought popped into Hiro's head. "I think I heard Nana say something about Hachi's partiality towards military attire."

The entire table looked surprised for a moment before Zorome broke the stupor. "Hachi used his position for something like that?"

"Seems like Hachi has his own opinion on what your wedding should look like," said Mitsuru with a smirk.

"We should tell Nana," interjected Futoshi. "That'll hit him where it hurts."

"I don't think we should be that cruel," said Goro with a chuckle.

"Why would that be cruel?" Asked Hiro.

"You haven't picked up on it?" Replied Zorome. "You were with the both of them just the other day, weren't you?"

"I was."

"They're together. You know, an item."

"Wait what!?"

"Hiro," said Goro. "Come on. We figured out without him even telling us."

"Now that I think about it, Nana wouldn't tell us what she was doing on her time off."

"So," said Mitsuru. "Should we go to Nana or should we go with the uniforms?"

"I don't mind the uniforms," answered Hiro.

"Well," said Goro. "I don't want to let Hachi just have his way like this though."

The attentive Ai finally spoke up. "I wanna see aunt Zero Two and uncle Hiro in their army clothes."

Everyone at the table smiled in response.

"The lady has spoken," said Goro.

"Then that leads to the rings," said Hiro. "I think Miku already made arrangements for them to be made and we just have to pick them up, right?"

"I'd hope so," said Mitsuru. "The wedding's only a few days away."

"Then the only thing left to do is just walk around."

"Want to go to the park?" Inquired Goro.

Hiro smiled and looked out the window, shutting his eyes for a moment to enjoy the warmth from the sun. "That sounds nice."

Futoshi took a short break between bites of food to interject. "Although, you're not allowed in a certain area."

"What?"

"Luckily," said Goro. "You two haven't gone to the area yet, but we've been keeping you two away from a place in the park where we were planning on having the ceremony."

"What is it like?"

"It's at the base of a tree that grew from Zero Two's…corpse?"

Hiro gave a look of grim confusion. "From whatever was left behind on earth?"

"Her body petrified, then shattered once the Klaxosaurs returned. From where her body laid a tree began to sprout."

"What kind of tree?"

"Sakura buds!" Said an enthusiastic Ai.

Hiro could not help but smile to himself as he spoke in an inaudible whisper. "Of course, how fitting."

"We should also take care of that," said Zorome, while pointing at Hiro's face.

Looking at his reflection in the window, Hiro noticed how his face had changed in the past weeks.

His face looked normal, but upon closer inspection he had patches of short hair growing from his cheeks and chin, and his ears were almost covered by his unexpectedly long hair.

"I almost didn't recognize him," said Hiro in a joking manner. "I didn't have to deal with this in the Birdcage."

"Yeah, and what about those," said Mitsuru, motioning his finger to the two horns protruding from Hiro's black hair.

"What do you mean?" Asked Goro.

"Do we file them down, or what?" Replied Mitsuru. "They're longer than Zero Two's, and I'm not sure if there's some sort of uniformity or style you want."

"Style?" Joked Zorome. "We're talking about horns here, not hairstyles."

"Well," said Hiro. "I don't particularly care, but if I need to kill any more deer, they can be pretty useful."

"Let's not do that."

"Ask Zero Two," suggested Mitsuru. "See what she prefers."

Goro quickly retrieved a tablet from his pocket and began to type a message to Ichigo.

Hey, can you ask Zero Two something?

Sure, what is it?

We don't know how long Hiro's horns should be…does she have some sort of…preference?

Umm…I'll ask her.

Thanks.

…

So.

She said that his horns looked...handsome…as they are now.

Handsome?

I know, I know.

Different species, different attraction. I guess.

Feels weird.

Really weird.

…

…

…Would you find me handsome if I had horns?

Shut up.

I love you.

I love you too, idiot.

"Goro," said Zorome. "You're grinning like an idiot. What did she say?"

"Oh," said Goro, snapping back into reality. "She said that your horns looked good as they are. Handsome, she said."

Zorome looked over at Hiro with a mixture of confusion and disgust on his face.

"I feel silently judged," said Hiro, with a smile. "If she finds them handsome then I'm happy."

"Yeah," responded Zorome. "I'm trying to find out why she finds them handsome."

"You humans wouldn't understand," said Hiro with a smug expression.

"You used to be human," interjected Goro. "I don't want to hear any of that crap."

Mitsuru finished wiping Ai's mouth with a napkin as he attempted to change the topic. "Alright, so the horns are fine, what about the fangs, or the claws?"

"Firstly, I'm not filing down my teeth," replied Hiro. "That sounds unpleasant. But I would like to file down the claws a little bit. I keep tearing the bedsheets."

"You sound like a hazard sometimes," said Zorome.

"They were really useful in the forest."

"Stop talking like you're going to kill more animals."

Ai had a concerned expression as she looked at Hiro. "What do you mean kill more animals? You said something about deer earlier too, right? What happened in the forest?"

Zorome and Hiro laughed nervously.

"Listen, Ai," said Hiro. "Aunt Zero Two and I have a bag of candy at the hospital, and if you happen to forget what you just heard- "

"No!" Exclaimed Mitsuru. "You two have a problem. I've never met anyone who bribes children as much as you two."

Ai looked at her father with disappointment.

The next few minutes of breakfast were spent in awkward silence.

---

After sending a photo to Goro, Ichigo sighed as she put her tablet back in her pocket, smiling at his silly remarks.

"You looked beautiful in the dress," remarked Kokoro as they left the tailor's shop.

"Why thank you," said Zero Two with a smile. "I can hardly wait for the day."

"So what now," said Miku. "I assume we go and buy candy."

"No, darling said that the doctors would get angry if I bought any more candy."

"How much did you buy?" Asked Ikuno.

"And you need to know that why?"

The group chuckled at the response.

"How about the spire?" Suggested Naomi. "We could show you around."

"I've been in there once," responded Zero Two. "Darling and I went in there and met with Nana and Hachi. We never went above or below the first floor, though."

"Well then let's go," said Ichigo. "So much to see, so much to do."

The group picked up their pace.

"Looks like mission accomplished," whispered Aiko into Ichigo's ear.

"I'm not so sure," responded Ichigo. "She's the type of person who hides what they're going through."

"Hence the breakdown at the Gran Crevasse?"

"Yep. Hiro will probably notice and bring it up when they're alone together."

"They really are a perfect match, aren't they?"

Ichigo smiled. "Yeah, they really are."

---

Goro looked up from his tablet as Hiro walked out of changing room.

Hiro's hair had been tidied up, and trimmed to be only slightly shorter than it was before, reaching midway down to the collar of his shirt.

The patchy hair on his face had been shaved off, and his horns had been filed to even size.

Hiro's hands fidgeted as his sudden lack of claws made his fingers feel strange.

He was wearing the outfit that was suggested to him by Hachi, a military style uniform.

It was white, with a stiff collar folded straight to the base of his hairline. The shoulders were padded and gold, with dark blue shoulder marks (look it up) that stretched from the base of his collar to the tip of his shoulder. The white sleeves ended a few centimeters above his wrists, revealing the cuffs of the shirt underneath.

His hands were hidden by snug white gloves that disappeared underneath his shirt's cuffs.

The gold buttons followed the dark blue lining that began to the right of his collar before forming a straight line from the middle of his right shoulder to the base of his right leg.

His pants were plain, reaching halfway to the sole of his shoes, with only thin blue lines on the outer seam breaking up the white fabric.

His black leather shoes showed no laces, being covered by the contrasting white pants.

On the left side of his chest was a large medal.

Hanging at the bottom of a small white ribbon was a gold outline of a Franxx's head, with two horns, one colored blue, and one red.

"So," commented Hiro. "How do I look?"

"That's one hell of an outfit," replied Goro. "I can see why Hachi suggested it."

Hiro made an exaggerated bow towards Ai as he spoke. "And the lady of the house?"

Ai giggled and gave Hiro a thumbs up.

"Perfect," he said with a smile.

"I'm sure Zero Two will like it as well," stated Futoshi. "Although I am getting flashbacks to a certain unpleasant award ceremony."

Zorome shivered at the recollection of the day he was lost in Plantation 13's sprawling cityscape.

Goro's tablet chimed with a message.

He quickly pulled out the device to see the message from his wife.

Goro couldn't help but grin as he got the others to walk behind him to see the photo.

It was Zero Two in her dress.

"Pretty!" Proclaimed Ai.

"Hey Hiro," said Goro. "Look at me for a second."

"What is it?" Asked Hiro as he turned around.

A flash from Goro's tablet blinded Hiro for a moment. When he could see again, Goro was sending a message on his device.

"What did you just do?" Inquired Hiro.

"Well," answered Goro. "The girls just sent us a picture of Zero Two's wedding dress, so I figured I could at least return the favor."

"Wait, really?" Said Hiro as he took a step towards the group.

Ai was quick to block Hiro's path. "No peeking!"

To say Hiro was conflicted would be an understatement.

"Hey," said Mitsuru. "Go change, we need to pick up the rings and get you walking."

Hiro reluctantly nodded as he walked back towards the changing rooms.

---

They had just walked out of the door when Hiro stopped on the street and thought to himself for a moment.

Hiro looked down at the cane in his hand.

He wasn't fully recovered just yet.

But he was recovered enough.

And this was going to feel really good.

He picked up his cane with both hands, shoulder length apart.

Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath.

He strained for a moment, and the cane shattered in the middle.

The rest of the group simply stared as he limped over to a bin, and deposited what was left of his cane inside.

---

It was the day.

In the two short weeks of the Klaxosaurs' residence, through the menial daily interactions, the city had become attached to their personalities.

Almost every person in the city was attending.

The sky was overcast, with a light snow falling from the gray clouds above.

The park was blanketed in white, the only grass or earth to be seen was huddled underneath the trunks of tall trees.

The trees themselves were devoid of vegetation, harboring only the occasional bird's nest.

Apart from the tree atop of the hill.

The gentle slope allowed for the thousands of people attending to sit comfortably in personal seats or blankets and observe the ceremony.

A large pathway split the crowd, leading to the base of the massive tree.

Its limbs were adorned with colors.

There were no leaves, or flowers.

There were thousands of ribbons tied to the limbs of the tree, either dark blue or red in color.

On each was a personal message of thanks and congratulations to the couple, with a small glass ornament weighing it down.

The children were very proud of what they had been setting up over the past few weeks.

Hiro stood nervously under the adorned branches, observing the crowds there to see their wedding.

Goro poked him in the shoulder and motioned for him to breathe.

Thanks.

He looked over at his friends' children, flashing a nervous smile.

They all giggled in response.

Futoshi stood at the base of the tree, preparing to officiate the wedding.

He had officiated every wedding for Squad Thirteen since that day in the birdcage, when Mitsuru and Kokoro were taken and their memories erased.

Hiro closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, listening to the low murmur of the crowd and the occasional clink of one piece of glass hitting another in the tree limbs above him.

After a few moments he opened his eyes and slowly exhaled, watching the steam from his breath slowly dissipate into the air.

When he looked past the steam, he noticed people beginning to turn their heads to face away from the tree, staring far down the pathway.

Everyone around him began to quickly shamble to their feet, whipping around to look at what was coming.

She silently walked the long path to the base of the tree.

Even from that distance Hiro could make out every detail as she walked.

Her plain white dress fell down to her ankles, white shoes occasionally protruding with each step. It flowed naturally up to her arms, where the thick white fabric transitioned into a translucent patterned lace.

The lace fit snugly as it flowed up her neck to the base of her jaw, ending just where her hair was pulled into a complex braided bun.

Sleeves fit the form of her arms as the translucent lace ran across her forearm and tied around her middle finger.

He noticed a small golden glint, where a medal identical to his had been pinned to her dress.

He could not see her face clearly because of the veil, but he saw golden embroidery surrounding the spot where her red horns protruded through, allowing the veil to lay against her face.

With a breeze in the snow the veil was pushed against one side of her face, and he could finally see her through the thin mesh.

The thick red color around her calm eye matched her lips as the sudden flash of color seemed to glow in the background of white around her.

By the time Hiro realized he had been staring, she was already at the base of the tree.

"Hello there," said Zero Two from behind the veil. "My darling."

Hiro smiled and replied, "Hello there, my dear Zero Two."

"You look very handsome in that"

"And you look more beautiful than anything I have seen before."

Zero Two held back a chuckle at the corny line, and Hiro had to fight back a smile after seeing her reaction.

The ceremony continued smoothly, with all in attendance watching intently.

Goro put his arm around Ichigo's shoulder, Zorome and Miku teared up while listening to vows, and Aiko watched as Futoshi led the couple through the ceremony. Squad Thirteen felt once again that they were seeing the impossible.

Zero Two placed a simple ring inlaid with what looked to be a dark red stone, actually a piece of her horn, onto Hiro's finger, and Hiro placed an identical ring inlaid with his own horn on her finger.

He lifted her veil, and the ceremony was sealed.

They received innumerable congratulations and well-wishes, as they danced, and ate, and laughed with the others of the city.

Soon it was time for the two to depart, and as he lifted Zero Two and walked away from the cheering crowd into the now heavy falling snow, he said to her.

"Zero Two, I love you, in this life, and the innumerable others we will share in the future. Thank you for being with me, please, always be my love."

"Of course," she replied in earnest. "I will be with you in this life, and the next, and the next. From now until forever…Hiro, you will always be…"

My beloved Darling.