Darling in the FranXX: Insurrection

by CulpableGlint

When Goro is lost in a tragic accident a codeless parasite is sent to Plantation 13 as his replacement. This is just the beginning in a chain of events that stokes the fires of rebellion against the tyranny of APE. When the time comes, how will you fight when your life is at stake and your freedom, the prize? Reader X Ichigo

13. Chapter 12- Twilight

Hello everyone, we are back with another update. We are once again headed into the fire so prepare yourself for lots of things happening quickly. This is also the second longest chapter to date so you may wish to take it in more than one sitting. As always feel free to leave any questions or comments! I love hearing from you guys!

Following the serpent Klaxosaur's escape from the carnage-laden battlefield, the remaining Conrad-class had scattered. It seemed that just as the creature had been responsible for rallying them, its withdrawal had been enough to break them once more. That left no further enemies for you to defeat… which was good, because none of you had the will to continue fighting after witnessing Squad 70's sacrifice.

You all were shaken by their unexpected, unprecedented, and violent end, so much that not a single one of you were able to connect in your FranXX to make your way home. As a result, Plantation 13 had to provide transport for everyone and their FranXX in the form of a small army of trucks. Nana and Hachi had been waiting in the docking bay when you arrived, but no one had a said a word to either of them and they hadn't offered any of their own.

Back in Mistilteinn, a miasma of despair had fallen over the normally upbeat house. No one spoke, no one ate, and no one slept. It was all impossible. You couldn't escape the feeling of dread that had descended upon everyone, and for good reason. It would seem that only sheer dumb luck had kept you from being the executors of Protocol 32, as the archives called it.

In the morning after a sleepless night, you roll out of bed. You are vaguely aware of the pain in your backside after hitting the floor, but pay it no mind. Hiro appears to be up as well, changing by his dresser. You follow suit, slowly changing into a clean uniform. As you glance up to the mirror you can clearly see the heavy lines and rings around your eyes, and the haggard look written across your face. You rub your eyes distractedly, but stop upon finding that it seems to make you look even worse. As you finish, the two of you silently make your way to the dining room like it was any other morning.

Inside, only two members of the squad have already arrived, with the majority yet to show. Mitsuru sits in his usual chair closest to the room's corner, while Ikuno mirrors him on the girl's side. Both you and Hiro take your seats, but neither of you reaches for the food or drink that has been prepared and served for you. Mitsuru's plate is also barren, and Ikuno simply stares at hers blankly, her book nowhere to be seen.

The four of you sit in silence for the five minutes that it takes for the remaining members to slowly file in. Their expressions and dress tell all. Kokoro, for the first time you've ever seen, has put no effort into her appearance. Dark bags fill the area beneath her eyes and she wears no makeup. Even her usually pristine hair has been thrown into a sloppy bun, and several long strands have fallen out. However, the most indicative part must be her eyes. The sparkle that the orbs so often hold has been diminished, leaving them to look bleak and hazy, almost dead. Kokoro had always been, from what you'd experienced, the happiest and most lighthearted member of Squad 13. She was its heart. But today, that girl was nowhere to be found. And if she was broken, it could only be worse for the others.

Eventually everyone arrives and takes their seats, but the atmosphere doesn't change in the slightest. Zorome and Futoshi glance at each other and around the room, although they also remain quiet. Usually Ichigo would have led you in prayer at this point, but she stares down at her plate and gives no sign of an intent to do otherwise.

The sound of a chair scraping across the wooden floor beside you draws your attention. Hiro stands, casting his gaze over the room. When his eyes return to you, he takes a deep breath and utters the first words of the morning.

"...Don't you think we should talk about it?" he asks quietly. Nobody moves. "What even is there to talk about?" Ikuno replies, even quieter than Hiro. "We all knew deep down this was going happen eventually," you reluctantly pick up. "It was laid out for us in the mine. We mean nothing. Our lives are expendable. We are expendable."

"No way," Zorome whimpers, shaking his head. "The adults would never-" "Lie to yourself if you must," Mitsuru hisses, "but you can't hide from it forever. To Papa and the adults, we're just cannon fodder." Ichigo shifts in her seat, before murmuring in a barely audible voice. "This is two different squads now. And every single one of their members was ordered to kill themselves to save resources. Do our lives really mean less than magma fuel and raw materials?"

"I don't want to believe it," Miku wipes a tear from her cheek. "They said they needed us. You remember the ceremony before the kissing, right? The plantation's leader said we protected their way of life." "We do, even if it costs us our own," you reply sharply. It's harsher than you had wished it to be, but from the way Miku's eyes meet yours it's clear she was asking for confirmation of something she already knew.

"We've always meant nothing," Zero Two says from her position leaning in the doorway. "We're nothing but a number. A statistic. I've been to dozens of plantations, ask me how many times I saw the same squad twice."

"Alright, so we mean nothing!" Zorome shouts. "But what are we supposed to do about it? The adults created us, they feed us, and they take care of us! We don't know how to do anything expect pilot the FranXX!"

"That isn't true," Kokoro murmurs to herself. Zorome slowly turns to face the blonde girl. "What did you say?" he growls. Kokoro shrinks into her chair. Her hand moves into her pocket where you can see the outline of a small, rectangular shape. A moment later, her hand clenches into a fist around the object.

"I said, that isn't true," Kokoro repeats, this time forcefully. "We can do things. Lots of things! We learned how to cook and stay outside the plantation and fix the FranXX and..." she pauses. "...I…I think there are more things we could do, too. We just have to try."

The room is silent. Kokoro had never acted this way before, but something about what she's saying just seems… right. "I've been thinking about something for a while," Ichigo stands and turns to address you all. "I've put a lot of thought into it, and I believe it's the right thing for us to do. I think we should leave the plantation." Her words hit you like a ton of bricks. "Leave the plantation," Futoshi whispers.

"Yes," Ichigo continues. "I know it might sound crazy, but think of what we've seen. Squad 97 was left to die alone in the magma mine. At the Garden, the parasites in the Replacement Division live like slaves. We just watched Squad 70 kill themselves to save an almost autonomous excavation sight. If this is how we're going to be treated, as tools, then we should go. It might be the only way we survive."

"You think we should reject our duty as defenders of the plantation and leave? Just get up and go, and never return?" you ask her. The determination that had been in her eyes a moment before vanishes. You, who had been her constant companion for the last three months, were doubting her after she risked herself by being honest. You, who had survived terrible battles with her by relying on her and her on you, were doubting her. You, her own partner, were doubting her. "I just want to make sure I understand this correctly," you continue. "You want me to run away from the people who have beaten and mistreated not only me, but hundreds of other parasites? They've done God only knows what to Zero Two, and ordered an untold number more to their deaths?"

"I do," Ichigo replies weakly, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. The collective gaze of everyone in the room is now fixed squarely on you. Time to bring it home. "I think that's exactly what we should do," you state matter-of-factly. "Where do I sign up?"

There is a collective gasp from the group staring after you. Ichigo immediately looks up from the floor and back to you. The tears she had almost shed remain in her eyes, but now the reason for them has changed. You aren't quite sure, but you'd almost swear that the look she now wears is meant to tell you something. However, you don't know what.

"You can't be serious!" Zorome shoots to his feet. "We have a smaller chance of surviving out there than we do here. The adults give us everything!"

"You're embarrassing," Mitsuru scoffs at the boy. "We can take care of ourselves if we have to. We've trained the last two months to be special forces. There were lessons on finding resources outside the plantation, maintaining our FranXX, and living. Or did you doze off during those too?"

"You just think you're so brilliant, don't you?" Zorome shouts as he grabs Mitsuru's collar. "Well, what if we ran into Klaxosaurs out there? What would we do then? Because if the FranXX broke down or we ran out of fuel, that'd be it!"

"That's enough, both of you!" you raise your voice, wrenching both of them apart with contemptuous ease. "No one is required to do this." You walk over to Ichigo, and in front of everyone, take her hand in your own before turning to address them. "But we are."

Before the words have even left your mouth, you become aware of a mess of pink hair moving to stand beside you. "You were right," Zero Two says sternly. "They did terrible things to me… and to someone else I know. I can never forgive them for that."

Hiro leaves his place at the table, positioning himself beside Zero Two. "Darling… " she whispers to him. "I go where you go, no matter what," he answers with a smile.

"I have been concerned by the actions of our 'god' for some time now," Ikuno says from her corner of the room. "Mitsuru has his share of them of them, too." The olive brown-haired boy stands. "I'd prefer you didn't speak for me," Mitsuru says as he straightens his collar, "but yes, I do."

"You were right, Kokoro," Ichigo turns to her. "We can do more than Papa has allowed us to, but so long as we remain here we must follow his rules." Kokoro's hand once again goes to her pocket, and to the object she must be drawing strength from. She smiles and nods. "I'm in too," Futoshi agrees, now that his partner has made her decision.

"Miku?" Zorome asks from the position he alone holds. "Zorome, you promised you wouldn't let anything happen to me," Miku softly replies. "But if we stay here, you might not be able to keep that promise. I'm going with Ichigo. She hasn't led us astray before."

Zorome frowns. "This is crazy, you guys know that right? Anything could go wrong at any time. And when that happens, we die." "Maybe so," you answer. "But it will be on our terms. Not by the order of Papa." Zorome can now see that he is the sole voice of resistance, and returns to his seat with a frustrated huff.

"Thank you, everyone," Ichigo says, finally adopting her squad leader persona that you know so well. "But if we're going to do this, we need to have a plan. Otherwise Zorome is right, we'll die out there on our own." "Let's start with the basics then," Ikuno offers. "What does every living being need to survive?" Immediately, Mitsuru responds. "Food and water," he answers her. "We'll also need shelter from the cold this time of year," you add. "We have some tents, don't we?" Miku asks. "From that time we did the training here in Mistilteinn and stayed outside the house for a few days." "They'd certainly help, but they might not be enough," Mitsuru answers thoughtfully.

"Do you think we could get a map?" you ask. Several members of the squad give you confused looks. You explain a little further. "If we had a map, we might be able to find some ruins from the cities, the old world. If we're lucky, some of their infrastructure might still be functional. If we aren't, at least we would have a solid roof over our heads."

"If we packed all of our winter clothes it might work. Plus, spring is only a few weeks away," Ichigo agrees. "What about food?" Unsurprisingly, Futoshi speaks up. "We could keep back a little from every meal," he offers. "If we stayed here for another week or two, we would have a decent amount saved up if everyone does it." While you're busy being astounded at the fact that Futoshi was talking about willingly eating less, Ikuno draws another valid point. "That would probably be for the best. Building a stockpile would be good, but we should also take from the rations kept within the plantation too. That would likely be the best way to secure water as well."

"How would we carry it all?" Hiro asks. "I can, Darling," Zero Two smiles. "Not like that," Hiro continues. "I know you're strong enough to carry a couple boxes, but I was talking about carrying everything. If we're running away we'll need lots of different things, and we couldn't possibly carry them all ourselves."

"The FranXX," Ichigo answers. "The cockpits have storage compartments and we could just leave the other things on the floor. As long as we aren't fighting, I can't see any reason for them to be thrown around." "Everything else could be carried in their hands" Miku agrees.

"We need to worry about fuel then," you address the issue that bringing the FranXX would pose. "Taking food and water would be one thing, but magma fuel, that could make them angry." "They'll be angry no matter what we do," Zero Two points out. "A valid argument," you concede. "How long do we wait, then?"

"Two weeks?" Ichigo answers. "By then we should have stockpiled enough food and water to get a base camp started. Futoshi, you and Kokoro will be responsible for organizing the gathered food and finding where the plantation's rations are kept. Ikuno and Mitsuru, you two will do the same but for water instead."

"Zero Two and I can look for the maps and any other information that could be useful to us," Hiro announces. "Her S-Class ID should be able to get us into any part of the plantation." "Good call," you agree. "Likewise, Ichigo and I can use our A-Classes to get into almost everywhere else, so we'll handle preparing the FranXX and finding fuel."

"That only leaves the winter shelter preparation," Ichigo murmurs before turning to Zorome. "Zorome, you and Miku need to gather the tents and any other winter survival gear we have. We'll stash everything here in Mistilteinn for the time being. Are there any questions?"

Zorome begins to raise his hand, likely in protest, but an elbow from Miku causes him to give pause. "Good," Ichigo concludes. "It goes without saying that we'll need to act like nothing is going on," you add. "If Nana, Hachi, or the adults catch wind of what we're doing, they'll come down on us hard and fast. And this definitely isn't something we could just pull off as a joke. Everyone must be very careful."

After the conversation, everyone's mood seems to have improved immensely. What had happened to Squad 70 and 97 would not be happening to you. You all had a plan, and you were prepared to execute it. Now, all you had to was slowly work and wait for the day to come.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Immediately following the discussion during breakfast, Ichigo pulls you aside. She quietly leads you through the first floor of the house for several minutes until she seems sure that the two of you hadn't been followed, and are now truly alone.

"You know," Ichigo begins while her emerald eyes stare up at you, "I really thought you were going to tell everyone I was wrong." You raise one of your eyebrows and cock your head in the same motion. "Wrong about what?" you ask quizzically.

"Leaving the plantation," she whispers. "The way you started talking, I thought maybe I was wrong and you didn't want to leave…that you were too scared. And maybe you still are. I know I am, but I don't see any other way out of this."

"Three months ago, I would have been," you quietly reply. "I wouldn't have been able to speak, even. But then I met this girl. Have I ever told you about her? She's incredible, fearlessly leading her squad in battle one moment, then tenderly caring for her injured partner the next. At first she hated my guts, though once I kept after her, eventually she finally accepted me."

You raise your hand to the space between you and Ichigo. The two of you look down and notice that your hands are intertwined, and have been since you went to stand beside Ichigo in the dining room. By now, Ichigo's lips have begun to quiver and she is staring wide-eyed at both of your hands.

"It's because of you that I don't feel scared anymore," you whisper to her. "I know that no matter what, as long as you're beside me, things will work out. We're pa-"

Your statement is cut short as Ichigo grabs the front of your shirt, pulls you down to her face, and smashes her lips onto yours. While your initial reaction is shock, it quickly gives way to a growing core of warmth. Without thinking, your hands slide their way to the sides of Ichigo's face and then back into her silky blue hair. Meanwhile, you can feel her left hand still firmly holding your collar from a moment ago when she had pulled you down. Her right runs through your hair, sending an electrifying feeling down your spine as she uses it to hold you in the kiss. Little does she know that you have no intention of pulling away from her.

What feels like an eternity later, Ichigo's grips loosens and she gently moves back a few inches. "Liar," you breathlessly pant at her. "Huh?" Ichigo asks through a few rapid breaths. "You… said…" you take a deep breath and slowly exhale. "You said you didn't know what kissing was for," you finish accusingly.

Ichigo tenses up and a nervous expression crosses her face. "I…uh…" she fumbles her words and looks at the ground. As with every other time she's been nervous, she begins to fidget with her hands while trying to find the words she wishes to say.

"I may have known…something about it," she meekly begins her explanation. She risks a quick glance up to see your reaction, but you merely wait silently for her to continue. You reveal nothing to her through a deadpan façade. She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then sighs.

"I had done it before I kissed you in the mine," Ichigo admits. "But it was only once, and I wasn't the one who started it!" Her voice jumps several octaves as she waves her hands back and forth in a negative gesture. "After that, I saw Hiro do it with Zero Two. I still didn't know what it meant, but I kept seeing them do it." "Were you spying on them?" you ask.

"What?! No!" Ichigo blushes. "I just … wanted to know what it was. I kinda figured it out over time, or at least I think I did. Every time Hiro and Zero Two would kiss, it was always after they had a nice time together. So it had to be saying that both you and someone else felt similar, and you wanted to spend more time with the other."

"Back in the mine, when I kissed you, I was so scared you were dead… and that I was alone again. When you opened your eyes, I was so happy that I just did it. I didn't think about it, it just sort of happened. Then when you asked me about it later, I panicked and told you I didn't know what it meant. We kissed again, and it felt so good that I just wanted to keep doing it. You came up with the idea of it being for piloting, so I went along with it because it meant we could."

"How much longer did you plan to take advantage of me?" you ask. Ichigo freezes. Her eyes grow wide in terror and the hand that reaches out for you trembles. "I didn't mean to," Ichigo barely whispers. "I just... " she trails off, before looking to her feet.

Using your index finger, you pull on her chin and force her to look up at you once more. Slowly and gently, you place your lips on hers. You wrap her in the largest embrace you can while you do so, and squeeze her tightly. Her hands make their way up to your face and cup the sides of your cheeks. Eventually, you break the kiss and softly whisper to the girl still in your arms. "From now on, if you want a kiss from me… just ask." She breaks into a wide smile as tears begin to well from both of your eyes.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Over the next several days, the mood in Mistilteinn shifts dramatically. While no one returns to being especially excited, most everyone seems to be doing much better than the morning after the battle. Preparations for your eventual departure had finally begun, and it seemed that having a goal seemed to massively improve the squad's morale as a whole.

What's taking her so long? you wonder from your position hunched against one of the corridor walls. Ichigo had gone into the briefing room ahead of you to speak with Nana and Hachi nearly twenty-five minutes ago, and it was beginning to make you nervous. It was only for the weekly report, but you still hadn't expected it to be this lengthy. Perhaps they're trying to make sure we parasites are all okay after what happened. Neither of them came to Mistilteinn until today, so I find it odd that they suddenly wanted to speak with Ichigo.

As you continue to fret, the door to the briefing room slides open and Ichigo exits. She glances to either side down the passageways before beginning to make her way down the hall toward you. Her expression is somewhat distant and she doesn't seem to notice you as she walks right by.

Before she can get too far you grab her wrist, causing Ichigo to spin on her heels and face you. "(Y/N)?" she asks with a confused look. "What are you doing here?"

"I said I would be here," you reply. "Remember?" Ichigo takes a moment to ponder your question before something clicks. "Yeah," she whispers. "We were going to look for magma fuel for the trip." "Uh huh," you nod, smiling. "Now come on."

You begin to lead Ichigo through the plantation's maze of hallways. Before long, you realize that you have no idea where you're going and Ichigo has settled back into the distracted mood she was in after leaving Nana and Hachi. Stopping at an intersection, you turn and look down at your partner. "Ichigo, is something wrong?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," she quickly replies. "That's a lie and I know it," you shoot back. Ichigo frowns, before reluctantly continuing. "Nana and Hachi just tried to explain what happened on the mission, that's all." Your heart sinks. "They said that the decision was made to use Protocol 32 because that snake Klaxosaur had appeared near other plantations and destroyed every one. Nana promised we would never be asked to sacrifice ourselves, but I could see in her eyes that she wasn't sure either."

Before Ichigo can continue, you take her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "That's why we're leaving," you comfort her. "We're going to make our own lives somewhere else. Somewhere Papa and the plantations will never find us. Besides, I doubt they care if a single squad runs away. To them it'll probably be no different than if we died, so they won't come looking for us."

"You're right," Ichigo nods. "But you shouldn't do this where we could be seen." You give her a slight frown and a questioning look. "Do what?" Ichigo raises her right arm to show your firm grip on her hand. "We aren't supposed to know about this, remember?" You jump a little at the careless display of affection, more so surprised at how natural it was for you than where you were doing it. "Right," you release her and give an awkward smile. "Now, let's actually go find that fuel."

This time, you set off with Ichigo at the helm. You make it to the plantation's fuel reserves without any issue, too. It turns out that Ichigo had memorized the layout of the plantation at some point after becoming squad leader, and thus had the ability to take you both anywhere you needed to go.

It was early evening when Ichigo had gone to speak with Nana and Hachi, with the meeting starting just after dinner had be served. As a result, you don't see a soul on your walk. "Doesn't look like anyone is around," you muse quietly to her. "Good," your blue-haired companion murmurs, "they won't suspect us if they never see us."

Ichigo walks to the small panel to the right of the door, and holds her hand up vertically. An orange hologram materializes before her palm with a large "A" in the middle. A clicking sound emanates from the walls on either side of the door, before the large sheets of metal begin to slowly part.

Both of you quickly slink into the dark room and the door slides shut behind you. The door hisses before you hear the locking mechanism reengage with a sharp click, and you turn around towards the rest of the room. It's truly massive, easily rivaling the size of the docking bay. Rows of the large orb-like containers that reach from floor to ceiling line the room's walls, each holding several weeks worth of the plantation's orange lifeblood. Magma energy. At the base of each reservoir is a small console that reads out data about the cell's contents, most importantly the amount contained. Unfortunately, they also serve as a grim reminder of recent events. These containers are exactly the same as those Squad 70 had carried with them to amplify the effectiveness of Protocol 32.

"They must have enough for a full year in here," you whisper in awe. "I agree," is Ichigo's hushed reply. "But they still won't be happy when we take any of it, no matter how little it is." "How much do you think we need?" you ask. "Well..." Ichigo thinks for a moment. "We ran through most of our fuel during the hive mission before we refilled in that cavern with the honeycombs. That was close to six hours. However, we spent a lot of that time fighting Klaxosaurs. So maybe a full tank would last for about twelve?"

"A reasonable assumption," you answer. "Do we know how much the fuel tanks in the FranXX hold?" Ichigo looks off to the side and squints for a few seconds, thinking deeply. "I know each of these containers is supposed to have enough fuel that a FranXX could operate for a week," she states. "But we have to have enough for five!" you exclaim. "Keep your voice down!" Ichigo hisses. You quickly make an apologetic gesture with your hands.

"We need to have enough for five FranXX?" you repeat, though this time much quieter. "Yes," Ichigo looks around the dark room. "Well, we could carry them," she offers. "We saw Squad 70 do it." "True," you scratch your chin, "but we'd need several of them. Maybe have three of our five carrying two each? That would be..." you do some quick mental math. "Enough that we would have fuel for six FranXX for a week."

"That isn't very long," Ichigo frowns. "No," you agree, "It isn't. But…if we were to borrow some more from another plantation or any APE facilities, we should be alright. Everything runs on the stuff, after all."

As the two of you converse, there is a loud clanking sound behind you and light floods into the room from the hallway. Two shadows and the accompanying sound of footsteps cause the two of you to fall silent and duck behind one of the nearby containers.

"Anyone in here?" a gruff voice shouts. It echoes a few times, before falling silent. "Probably just one of the city dwellers that lost their way," a softer voice grumbles. "I still don't know why we give them A-Class IDs. All they ever seem to use them for is to get lost." Damn it! It was stupid to think they wouldn't be keeping an eye on the fuel bay.

Risking a glance, you peek out from behind your container and see two of the plantation's guards, one male and one female, standing near the door to the fuel storage chamber. One shines a light into the vast darkness shrouding the room and the other taps their foot anxiously.

"There isn't anyone here," the man states. "Whoever opened the door probably saw it was dark and just walked the other way." The woman hesitates for a moment, before replying. "Yeah, you're probably right. Let's get out of-"

As the woman is about to finish speaking, Ichigo begins to sniffle. Her eyes go wide with fear and you can see the panic in her as she turns to you. "Shh, hold it in," you coax her and cover her mouth. Your hand makes its way to the side of her hand as you try to calm her. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply for a moment, before opening them and nodding to you.

"Achooo!"

"What was that?" the woman with the light asks, snapping the beam to the container next to the one you're hiding behind. "Probably just a rat," says the man in reply. "No, I definitely heard something," the woman says, now walking in your direction. "Celeste, can we not dig through this large, dark, musky room for an hour because you think you heard something?" the man asks. "Roman," the woman turns to face him, shining the light directly in his eyes which he then shades. "I am telling you that I heard something."

While this happens, Ichigo regains control of herself and you do your best to come up with a distraction. Something else that could be making sound in an otherwise silent room. Glancing around, your eyes land on the console for your container. Specifically, your gaze lands on the pressure values. The pressure for the container is well within acceptable limits based on what you can tell, but more importantly, there's a large button underneath them that says 'VENT'. You press it without hesitation.

A high-pitched squealing fills your corner of the cavernous room. Both guards jump and look for the source. At the same time, Ichigo, who appears to have been frightened by the unexpected noise, grabs you and buries her head in your chest. Does her hair smell like...strawberries?

"What was that?!" the female guard demands, though she's more surprised than anything. The male guard, however, seems to have calmed himself. "Just one of the tanks letting off some steam. You know, to keep the pressure down," the man says knowingly. "It was just a little noise." The woman growls as she storms past him and back into the hall. The man seems to silently laugh to himself a little and follows his partner out.

The door slides shut with another click and you slump to the floor while breathing a sigh of relief. "That was close." "Sorry," Ichigo frowns, tucking her legs close to her chest. "Don't worry about it," you flash her a smile.

You offer her a hand and pull her back to her feet. "Back on topic," you return to the conversation the guards had interrupted. "How do we get the fuel out of here?" "The other side of this wall is the exterior of the plantation," Ichigo taps it twice. "We'll cut our way in with Delphinium's blades and Argentea's claws, then take what we can carry." Hmm. "Crude," you state while looking at the wall. This causes Ichigo to puff her cheeks and cross her arms in response. "Well I didn't hear you offering any solutions."

"You didn't let me finish," you wink, causing her to drop the defensive stance. "I was going to say 'crude, but effective.' I think it'll work just fine for what we need. Breaking is significantly easier than building, after all." Ichigo nods, clearly pleased that you like her idea. "Now," you finish, "let's get out of here before more of those guards come back."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The midnight hours in Mistilteinn were quiet, even more so than during the few days following your "break in" of the plantation's fuel plant. Preparations for the coming days had gone smoothly since then, and tonight was to be no different.

The shuffling in the bed next to yours is the first thing you wake to against the gentle sounds of the night. Figuring it to be Hiro stirring while still asleep, you roll over to your side and try to go back to bed. The prolonged shuffling doesn't stop however, that is, until it is replaced by the small creaking of floorboards. You slowly groan to yourself before sitting upright to see what Hiro's doing.

The first thing you notice is that Hiro isn't moving. He's stock-still, with one hand on the door and the other behind him. The second is that his other hand leads Zero Two, who stares at you curiously.

For close to fifteen seconds nobody moves. "Ugh," you ask groggily, rubbing your eyes with the back of your hands, "what are you doing?" Hiro sighs quietly before letting go of the door and having his arms fall to his sides. "Sorry, (Y/N)," he begins, "we didn't mean to wake you. Tonight's the night we're going to find the maps and navigation charts for the trip."

"Oh," you yawn to him, swinging your legs over the side of your mattress. "It's alright, I thought you'd probably go at night for this anyway. That data has to be somewhere decently protected, and it's one of the more important components for our plan."

Hiro places one of his hands behind his head before continuing. "Well, we're pretty sure we know where it is. The two of us were going to go search the general area, and if we're correct, grab what we need."

"Well," you sigh to yourself, "I guess I'll be coming with you both, then." Hiro takes a moment to act surprised, before he throws his arms forward towards you and shakes his hands. "No, (Y/N), it's fine!" he begins. "It's my assignment with Zero Two. You have enough on your hands organizing things. We've got this."

"Obviously not," you dryly reply in the most deadpan fashion you can call forth, just barely hiding your teasing and totally friendly intent. "I mean, you couldn't get out of our bedroom without being caught. And I was sleeping." Hiro stutters in response, and you can tell the other boy is blushing heavily under the blanket of shadow covering his upper half. You hold up a hand and he falls silent. "Relax, Hiro, I'm just joking with you. Regardless, I'm up now, and there's no way I can go back to bed if I know you're both out there doing this. So I'll just tag along. Couldn't hurt to have someone else watching your back, right?"

Hiro offers only token resistance before he concedes, leading Zero Two out of the room. "We'll give you a second to change," he says. "Mhmm!" nods Zero Two enthusiastically, and you can tell she's giving you a smile. You can't see the defining features of her face because it's also shrouded in darkness, but you plainly notice the two cyan orbs looking directly at you. Her eyes glow. No, she can see in the dark. You smile back to her as she exits with Hiro.

Her reaction would've been surprising to you up until a few days ago, but many things have changed dramatically since then. Your defiance against APE had endeared yourself to Zero Two, who, as it turns out, had already thought strongly of you thanks to your performance in the sparring match. Add in the interaction you'd had after she'd been caught in Hiro's bed the first time, her innocent and childlike nature had truly caught you off-guard. Now, your initial expectations of a stone-cold killer had been pleasantly transformed into a friend who you could depend on in tough situations. All this and more flows through your mind as you change out of your bedwear and into your uniform, slipping your silenced communicator into your pocket.

I really should wear something else, you think to yourself as you finish up. It's going to be pretty obvious who we are if someone sees us like this. Thankfully, however, your concerns are addressed by Hiro when you enter the adjoining hallway. He holds a small, dark bundle in his hands, and you surmise that it's a copy of the dark cloak that both himself and Zero Two have now donned.

"Here," Hiro says, offering the cloak. "Zero Two made these with Kokoro's help." The girl beside him beams with pride as he speaks. "We've got enough for the entire squad, in case we needed them for anything like this. I grabbed this one from where the rest are stashed behind the staircase while you were changing."

You unfurl the cloak in front of you, sizing it up and staring deep into the dark fabric, before swinging the furled garment around yourself. It feels good to be cloaked in shadow. You look back to Hiro and Zero Two before replying. "Nice work, Zero Two," you compliment her. "It fits perfectly. I have to ask, is this part of the drapes that went missing from the lounge two days ago?" "Mhmm," she nods. "Brilliant," you chuckle to yourself. "Now, shall we get going?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With great care, the three of you swiftly and silently make your way outside of the house and into Mistilteinn. The forest at night is so peaceful, and you have no problems getting to the elevator. As you wait for it to arrive, you turn to Hiro and Zero Two. "So," you ask, "we have a plan, right?"

The elevator doors open with a light ding. "A few days ago, we snuck into the briefing room while Hachi and Nana were out," Hiro begins as you move into the elevator. Zero Two approaches the panel and presses the button labeled 'B1'. "The terminal there was unprotected, and so we had almost unrestricted access to it. Unfortunately, the holographic maps saved there are purely visuals and only pertain to the immediate area around the plantation as it moves. However, I was able to find out that the changing holograms were pulled from a directory titled 'B1 Archive'."

"Yep!" Zero Two chimes in. "Darling and I thought then that it must be on sublevel B1. There's probably a room parasites aren't allowed in, so nobody's seen it before." The elevator slows to a stop before the doors slide open. The three of you peek out into the hallway stretching in either direction, and then step out upon seeing the coast is clear.

"The current plan is to split up," Hiro says, turning to face you and his pink-haired partner. "Everyone has their communicators, so we'll fan out over this floor and search for anything that looks or feels like the archive room. We'll tell one another if we've found something, then use the locator to get there. Sound good?"

You pause for a moment, deep in thought for a few seconds. Seems a solid enough plan to me. "Great idea. Zero Two, you can take the entire area to the south. You're faster than we are and can hear guards coming from much farther away. Hiro, you take the northeast, and I'll take the northwest." They both nod to you, determination set on their faces, before you turn to the northern hallway and begin to make your way down. You glance back to find Hiro speaking softly to Zero Two, holding her hands in his, before kissing her briefly. He sets off after you, cheeks a little rosy and the smile still plain on his face. It makes you think of Ichigo, and you warm up envisioning your beautiful partner while you run off down the twisting hallways of Plantation 13.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I hate running. It's been over half an hour since the three of you split up and there still was no sign of the archive room. You had chanced upon a few random guards in the hallways along the way, but your newer shoes from the house helped to muffle your footfalls as you stayed far behind them. Stopping to check yet another of the countless unmarked doors, you feel a small vibration in your pocket. You fish out your communicator and answer the incoming call from Hiro. Zero Two picks up the line a moment later, and asks, "Darling, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's...wrong, Zero Two," he pants breathlessly, "I'm fine. But I've, I've found a room with a nametag. It says, 'ARCH Containment'. You guys should...probably come check it out." You enter a few inputs to the physical panel on the communicator and pull up its mapping functions. "Be over in a few minutes, I'm close," you say and switch off the channel.

Hiro's near the northeastern edge of the plantation, and much closer to the walls of the fortress than you would've thought. Luckily, a single hallway runs most of the distance between you two, and you run down it at a brisk pace. You don't feel too fatigued as your arms pump up and down and your soft footfalls seem to glide over the tiled floors. The hallway stretches out before you and you can see all the way to its end, approaching much more rapidly than you'd expected. Eventually the communicator shows you a left followed by a right and you take them, and Hiro comes into view as you turn the corner. His face is flushed, and he leans against one of the walls while breathing heavily.

"Hiro, you good?" you ask as you slow down in front of him. "Speaking of okay, where's Zero Two? I thought she was closer than me." Hiro takes a moment to collect himself before answering. "I'm just…a little tired from the, the running. And Zero Two was closer than you." On cue, a mess of pink hair rounds the corner ahead of you, and after a few seconds stops beside the doubled-over boy. Now it is her turn to ask him, "Darling, are you alright?"

Hiro groans loudly. "Maybe I would be if some people would stop asking that every couple of seconds." He turns back to the door. "Now, if we could stay on task for a moment… this is it," he says as he shifts in place. Your own nerves have begun to flutter a little bit, but it's nothing too bad. "Zero Two," you ask, "can you listen in to see if there's anyone there?"

She nods and presses her ear against the door, closing her eyes in the same motion. Both yourself and Hiro stay silent, and after about thirty seconds, she finally speaks. "It's empty. If there was anyone in the room, they would've made noise by now." She moves her hand to the panel besides the door, flashing her S-Class ID, and it quickly opens in response. You peek into the dark room before you feel a heavy impact between your shoulder blades, and you fall to the floor. The door shuts behind you, and you hear Zero Two speak quietly. "Sorry. Someone was coming."

You hear her moving about, and then the lights slowly flicker to life above you. You let out a small gasp in surprise as you notice the defining features in the room, massive floor-to-ceiling tanks. Standing up to take a closer look, you edge closer to the nearest containment unit, filled with a bright blue liquid that wildly swirls about. An array of color lies in the remainder of the tanks, faintly glowing. Turning to see the rest of the almost square room, you notice that a few tables and computer interfaces make up the majority of its center. The far wall has cabinets of varying size, from cubbyholes to closets.

"What…is this place?" asks Hiro incredulously. He stops in front of one of the tanks and taps the glass softly. The liquid inside moves around a bit, and then settles. "I…" you begin, "I…don't know. I've never seen anything like it before. Maybe try checking the cabinets?"

Hiro beckons Zero Two over to the nearby doors, and they start pulling journals and files from them seemingly without end. You take a seat at one of the computer terminals and wait as the machine powers on. Once it does, you quickly skim over the many directories listed under "Files". You see words like Samples, Tests, Collection, Brief, Data, and oddly enough, Parasites. You click on the last folder, only to find that the files are password protected. "Of course they are," you mumble to yourself. Navigating into the "Data" folder, the amount of information that pops up on screen is overwhelming. You move both of your hands in front of you, then outwards in a motion resembling that of an explosion. Mimicking your hands, the many subfolders and files expand outwards from the screen and onto the holographic projectors you had noticed lining the tables. The amount of space they take up is dizzying.

"Find anything?" you call over to Hiro and Zero Two as you continue to read over your mountain of intelligence. Hiro glances up from an official-looking document he had been reading. "Not really," he says. "At least, nothing that we need. There's information about some 'other parasites' in this one, and that's the most interesting thing out them all. It seems like the ones in this report are also victims of APE." At his words, Zero Two seems to stiffen slightly and she fumbles while moving papers. The two of you glance quizzically at her, and it's Hiro who asks her, "Zero Two, is everything alright?"

She quickly glances up and sighs. "I'm…okay, Darling. This just makes me think about a long time ago. It reminds me of someone I used to know. My one and only friend. But...they took him away." Her shoulders slump a little more and she goes back to looking through the information, albeit slower now.

"Well, what happened to him?" you ask, your interest piqued. Plus, you don't think Hiro would be able to ask it anyways, talking about someone else she was close to. "That person doesn't exist anymore," she continues sadly with a fleeting glance in Hiro's direction, "thanks to those monsters. I'll never forgive them for that."

Unsurprisingly, Hiro has quietly stopped working. He moves closer to Zero Two, places one of her hands in his own, and gives her a small half smile. She returns one to him and they continue to work, just as you catch something on the wide array of windows around you. You swipe over to it and select it, just as the word "MAPS" appears in large block lettering in front of you. Excitedly, you glance at the ever-increasing amount of not only visual data, but composition, terrain, weather, and much more information stored in the archive's banks. You call one of the smaller segments up, and nod to yourself upon seeing how extensive it is. "Guys, I've got it. Come check this out."

The both of them quickly come to stand behind you as they fix their gaze on the small three-dimensional render in front of you. Zero Two stares in awe at the little map, while Hiro shakes his head with a smile on his face. "I guess we really did need you here, (Y/N). Though, I think this might be of some help." He offers a small rectangular box to you, and you almost immediately know what it is. "How'd you get a storage drive like this, Hiro?" you ask incredulously. He shrugs before saying, "Found it in the corner covered in dust. Seems like it won't be missed." You're inclined to agree with him, and you swivel the chair towards the body of the computer.

Placing the drive on the pad near the base of the physical terminal, you navigate back to the entire "MAPS" folder and start copying it to the drive. "There are several terabytes of information in here so it's going to take a little while to download. We might as well take another look around while we wait."

You stand up and look around the room again, this time noticing something along one of the sides that you hadn't initially. Hidden between two of the tanks is a small corridor. You make your way over to it and trail your fingers against the cold glass as you walk by. You wander into the smaller hall, past a few doors that have disinteresting, bland names. Most are for storage, but "Hybridization" catches your eye as you walk past it. Another storage room follows, and the hallway makes a turn to the right. You slowly make your way to the end, past a few more doors until it terminates in an unmarked door. You try to open it, but it resolutely refuses.

Sighing quietly, you make your way back the direction you came as your hope to find anything else interesting dwindles. Approaching the bend in the hallway, however, you can hear the pained voice of Hiro talking quietly. Wait, what? What's going on? His words are indiscernible, but they're obviously delivered so that you can't hear them. You edge your way closer to the end of the wall to try and make out their conversation, intently focused on figuring out whatever they're talking about.

Peeking out slightly from the bend, you notice both of them in the hallway. The nearby label on the wall reads "Hybridization", and now you think you know what's wrong. "Zero Two," says Hiro, "we shouldn't go in there. We're already copying all the data we need. We've got what we came for. We didn't come in here to investigate more about APE." His tone is only partly firm, and the rest pleads with her.

Zero Two stands facing the door, her hands clenched into fists. Her hands are so tightly balled together that her nails cut into her palms, drawing blood. "Darling, I have to go in. You don't understand. I need to know what else they've done." Her voice rises and breaks, willfully discarding the hushed tone they had kept to remain quiet. She looks over her shoulder at him, eyes a crimson red, and shouts at him. "I need to know what I am!"

Hiro takes only a moment to look shocked, before rushing up behind her and throwing his arms around her. "I don't care, Zero Two," he says, tears welling from his eyes as he does so. "I don't care! Whether you're a Klaxosaur or a human or a hybrid or something else entirely, it doesn't matter. Zero Two, I like you no matter what you are."

Her eyes dim as she starts to tear up. Her hand makes its way into one of Hiro's on her shoulder, but she presses on. "But, Darling, I need to-"

"No! I won't let you!" he shouts. His words rip from his throat and tear into the air, just as he rests his head on the nape of her neck in front of him. At the same time, the two of them sink to the ground together. He cries softly into her back, shaking slightly as he does so. "You can't…you can't go in there. Whatever you find, it's going to destroy you. And it's going to destroy all of us too. They won't just let us go if they find out we've been in there. It's just, it's not…"

Hiro takes a moment to collect himself a little before continuing in a hushed whisper. "Please, don't do it. I am so scared, Zero Two. Scared of what's going to happen. Thanks to this plan, thanks to APE, thanks to the world, all of it. I can't lose you."

Without warning, Zero Two whips around and wraps her arms around Hiro's shoulders. In the same motion, she smashes her lips onto his and ropes him into a very passionate kiss. She holds him there for a few seconds before pulling away. "Darling…" she begins quietly, "do you mean that? You really don't care what I am...even if it is a monster?"

Hiro seems instantly taken aback, and has trouble speaking for a few moments. Finally, he manages to speak. "Zero Two…I, I love everything about you. Everything. Especially your horns." Zero Two freezes before letting out an even louder sob and burying her head in his chest. "I'm so sorry. I didn't, I didn't mean to make you feel like that. But I'm not going anywhere." She looks up and gives him a half smile. "I won't let them keep us apart. Darling, I…I love you!"

Hiro blushes profusely as he tells her the same without hesitation. "I love you too, Zero Two! I love you so much. And I am never going to let you go."

Comically, as you lean further out from the wall to see them, you start to lose your balance. Your arms instinctively pinwheel around you, totally ineffective at stopping your fall. You crash to the floor with a loud thud, as the two on the ground turn to face you. Hiro is as surprised as ever, and Zero Two just gives you a wide smile. "Uhh," you begin, wide-eyed, "I'm ready…to, go now?"

Hiro looks ready to say something, before Zero Two interrupts him. With laughter. She holds her sides as she breaks out into almost uncontrollable wave of laughter. Your own embarrassment is quickly wiped off your face by a reluctant grin, and Hiro follows suit shortly after.

You all stand up together as Zero Two manages to stop. You walk out of the smaller hallway, over to the computer you had been using, and pick up the storage from the pad. "Well then," you ask, "everyone ready to go?" Both Zero Two and Hiro glance at one another, before nodding together and answering you with smiles. The two of them set off back towards Mistilteinn, hand-in-hand, and you fall in step behind them with the drive in the palm of your own.