Slice of Life
"So, I whined and fell asleep to a girl like a child…" said Hatake with a sigh as he found himself to be on the bench alone covered with a blanket. It was morning already, birds were chirping on the trees of the garden until he finally screamed, "WHERE WAS MY PRIDE?!"
"Ohio!" said a voice from beside as Hatake turned to it in fear. It was Oniria holding two cups of coffee with a notorious grin on her face.
"What are you looking at?" asked Hatake trying to keep himself hidden with the blanket from showing his embarrassment.
"Nothing," replied Oniria as she sat beside him, "I brought coffee for you!"
"You didn't have to," said Hatake, "I needed to get back inside anyways."
"Take it as a thanks." She said with a deep breathe.
"Thanks?" asked Hatake confused.
"I haven't thanked you properly for bringing my sister back, have I?" she asked.
"Well," said Hatake, "I needed the Klaxosaur army to fight too. So, I guess we are even now?"
"Wasn't your dream to die in the battlefield or something suicidal?" asked Oniria.
"It was, you know?" asked Hatake looking at the sky, "After I was exiled from the plantations, I lost every little hope of finding a purpose, especially now that I reflected about the actions I had done in there. I thought I will never be able to recover from this, everything I had was taken away from me. But your sister," he said as those words brought a smile upon his face, "gave me an opportunity for redemption, and it then turned into one reason to live. It was first to complete a mission to make me at least feel that all of what I did before was for a reason, then it transformed into a task to save your sister and Hiro and Zero Two once I learned they stopped VIRM at the cost of their lives even though they were still there. Then, once I learned that many of our people were still existing in Earth thanks to Orion, I decided to live to make sure they had a future along Sera even if it cost my life, but then the battle at Milstinteinn happened, I got very badly hurt and Sera would had too if it wasn't for my crown. The judgement I faced thanks to that thing made me realize about how foolish I had been believing my life was worthless and easy to throw away; so here we are with me being the new Klaxosapien king after millennia's and protecting everyone, this time making sure I stay alive along Sera."
"You changed a lot, didn't you?" she asked looking at him, a look of pride on her face.
"Yeah," he replied, "but it was a change that I needed." They then heard the door leading to their spot open and saw the red-haired ex-caretaker near it.
"Oniria," said Nana as she came in, "we are waiting at the breakfast table for you and Hatake."
"I was out for this late?" asked Hatake as he got up, "Let us go then-" he said as he saw Nana looking at him with a puff of laughter which she was hardly controlling with the hand over her mouth.
"What is it?" he asked until he finally realized it himself.
"You went ahead and told everyone I was a crybaby, didn't you?" he asked with a sigh.
"What could I have done?" she asked, "I couldn't keep the news to myself. Also, it's the only embarrassing thing we have from you for now..."
"And so," said Hatake with a sigh, "a hell lot of embarrassment is waiting for me I guess? Anyways, let's go." He said as they reached the breakfast hall, where everything was normal until...
"Morning!" said Hatake as they entered and with that everyone stopped their chatter and started to giggle. He went ahead with a sigh of embarrassment and sat beside Seraphime, whom looked proud of her little scheme. Eventually, the giggling died down when Hachi entered with an army envelope, passed it to Nana who read who the sender was and then spoke.
"Attention everyone! We have official mail from Orion." She said as she opened it and read it, "Turns out that because of your efforts in the last battle, you guys are getting R&R for this week!"
"R&R?" asked Zero Two.
"Rest and Recuperation," replied Hachi, "that means we won't need to do any kind of work nor be in any military assignment for a few days, so go ahead and do whatever we want."
"And with that," said Nana as she took out a smaller envelope from inside the bigger envelope, opened it and showed that contents of it: "He has sent us movie tickets for each of you!"
"Finally, a day when I can rest-" said Hiro but soon noticed that he jinxed himself because Zero Two was already looking at him with shining eyes.
"Let's go! Darling!" she said with full excitement.
"Only if I could but, I can't say no to that smile of hers, can I?" he thought with a sigh after which he said with a kind smile, "Sure, let's go!"
"Wait, not to sound like a dummy but what exactly is a movie?" asked Miku.
"Well, remember when you would sometimes read or hear stories back in the Garden?" asked Hatake, "It is basically that but in a very long video, with real people acting or representing the characters of such stories and with a lot of work made behind it. Let's say for example that your adventures as Squad 13 under APE would be transformed into a series..."
"Wait, why would our 'adventures' be an example?" said Ichigo interrupting, "We prefer to keep what happened there in private, thank you."
"I was just saying hypothetically!" said Hatake with a sigh and said, "Fine, fine, I guess the only way explaining you would be by visiting a cinema."
"Uncle Hatake, what's a cinema?" asked Tenki.
"That's the place where they put new movies for the first time." Said Hatake, "Back in the Old World, they used to be quite a business, so they made a special building to show them!"
The children responded with an "Ooooh!" and then went all like, "Can we go?! Can we go?! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!"
"Hang on a moment kids... Hatake, is the cinema a place for them?" asked Goro.
"Of course it is!" said Hatake, "The only things that are not for them are the movies. There are some that are made for adults only, while there are others made for kids, couples, families, you name it!"
"Well," said Ichigo with a smile, "seems that we have a new plan for today! Let's go to the cinema!"
The children cheered while the rest of the group smiled.
"Well, have fun out there!" said Nana.
"Wait, you aren't coming with us?" asked Kokoro.
"No," said Hachi, "Orion has assigned us some extra work today because he said he had something more important today."
"Really?" asked Hatake, "What could it be?"
"Something about his anniversary?" replied Hachi.
SLAP! Everyone was confused when they saw Oniria, Hatake and Sera make a facepalm. Then Hatake said, "You two have been fooled... well, can't say that I wouldn't do the same kind of action if it was my anniversary."
"And when would the wedding be, your majesties?" asked Oniria with a smirk.
Everyone then snickered a little seeing the couple turn red (again) and Hatake saying in a rush, "Alright then! Let's eat breakfast first and then proceed with our day!" then he and Sera went to the dining room followed by the rest. After a while they all embarked towards the fun, they all were waiting for!
Sometime later, near noon...
The group, minus Oniria, was back at the plaza that Hiro and Zero Two had been previously while exploring for the first time. She had been left behind taking care of the house as a little payback from her elder sister. After asking for some directions thanks to a few kind passersby's, they finally reached their destination...
"Woah, it does look bigger than I expected." Said Miku as the group saw that the entrance of the blue building with the big words "CINEMA" in the front resembled a camera lens. They went inside and, as expected, saw a lot of people, posters, advertisements and refreshments all over the place.
"Wow, it makes me remind of my good ol' days when I was a little kid." Thought Hatake, "I still remember always begging my parents to bring me to the movies." Memories about his father and his mother started forming in his mind, making him give a sad smile at the nostalgia: "At least both of them are finally reunited after so long... and I'm pretty sure father is conflicted between cheering me or resenting me for catching the same princess he had a crush on..." His train of thought was interrupted when the group started looking at a board that showed the movies that were on display for now...
"Wow, that's a lot of options!" Said Kokoro, looking at the posters.
"You know, I didn't think about this before but do we all watch one movie together or do it separately? Pretty sure some of us have different tastes than others about this." Said Titus.
"Now that you say it, you're right." Said Ichigo who was holding the tickets in her purse. She then went to everyone in her squad and gave her one ticket each, including the children, then said, "Alright everyone, everyone has one ticket each to see whatever you want so use them wisely."
"Don't forget to ask for some popcorn and sodas for an actual cinema experience!" said Titus
"Alright then, me and Miku are going to see this one!" Zorome was pointing at the poster of a movie called "Mission Impossible" then said, "See ya in a couple of hours!" as he grabbed Miku's hand and both hurried to the snack stall.
"Well, that's two tickets down. Has anybody already decided on another one?" Asked Goro. He was met with silence, since everyone was still checking the roster.
"Damn, I'm actually surprised they have a lot of movies. Does the Federation still shoot?" asked Hatake.
"Nah, not that much." Replied Titus, "The Department of Media Entertainment has been more focused on recovery and restoration of most of the old files and technology that the Old World used. They are probably showing again some of the old ones."
"Darling!" said Zero Two pointing towards one of the posters of the old movies being re-premiered, "Let's watch this one!"
"Titanic…" said Hiro reading the title of the movie.
"Titanic?" asked Hatake, "It's been ages since I saw that movie. And a lot more since it was made."
"Is it good?" asked Hiro.
"It won a prize, and I won't give you any spoilers," replied Hatake, "but I can assure you that it has a love story similar to yours on it."
"Then that will be our movie! Come on, darling!" said Zero Two as she dragged her lover along her, went towards the snack stall and then both went towards to their movie room.
"Alright, two more down, who's next?" asked Goro.
"We're undecisive for now..." said Titus then looked at the rest, "What about you guys?"
"We're like you too, what shall we watch?" asked Kokoro thinking, "Hey, Hatake, you got any ideas?"
"Let's see," replied Hatake looking at the list of the movies, "'The Fault in Our Stars' would be good for you guys, I guess. Although your children won't be able to see it."
"Is it not made for them?" Asked Mitsuru.
"Something like that, it has themes that, in some way are acceptable for them but it's too complex to understand at their age. They need to get a little older. It is also about romance so..." Replied Hatake.
"Well, this seems to be quite a problem..." Said Kokoro but then Titus said, "You know what? I think you just gave me an idea. How about me, Ikuno and Naomi take care of your children while you two see that movie? We can show them another movie that's more fit for them!" Both Naomi and Ikuno nodded at the idea.
"That sounds like a nice idea! But will the children be ok with it?" Thought Mitsuru who then asked them, "What do you say kids, do you want to stay with us, or are you all good with the idea?"
"We are ok with it papa!" Ai responded, and then she and her siblings gave their parents a thumbs up.
"Good to hear! Also, 'The Fault on our Stars?'" asked Mitsuru, "Does it have to involve something stellar?"
"If you're thinking of the phrase literally then nah," said Hatake, "I never watched it but as far as I know, it's about two love birds. It will also give you guys a nice view of about how the older world looked like before the Crisis happened."
"Alright," said Mitsuru, "let's go with that then. Bye kids, please listen to your aunties and uncle and don't make any trouble, ok?" he said as both of them went off to their assigned theater.
"Bye daddy, bye mommy!" The children answered waving at them. Ikuno then asked, "So, what movie do you have in plan for us?"
"It's a movie that will CERTAINLY take you to a galaxy very far, far away..." said Titus.
"No way..." said Hatake shocked, "that saga is still ALIVE?!"
"There's a reason why our spacecraft is called 'starfighter' dude." Said Titus with a smirk.
"Yeah, when you put it like that I think it makes sense..." said Hatake.
"Could we at least get an idea of what movie are you talking about?" Asked Naomi interrupting.
Titus then said, "It's called 'Star Wars' and let me tell you that it is a BIG classic. I saw it as a kid and I still like to see it as an adult now."
"Does that mean it is good for the kids then?" asked Ikuno.
"I think the question would actually be: 'for whom it ISN'T?'" answered Titus.
Sera and Oniria had the same thought: "Wow, it must be that good then..."
"Well, our family are going to be watching 'Shrek' then, see ya later!" said Futoshi as his family left.
"Well, that just leaves us Ichigo." said Goro, "Which movie do you want to see?"
Ichigo was still looking at the movie posters when she felt her daughter tugging on her dress, so she crouched down to her and said: "What's the matter sweetie?"
"Mom, can I go with my friends to see 'Star Wars' too? I wanna have fun with Ai-chan!" She asked timidly but with an expectant look. At this Ichigo smiled a little, looked up and saw the poster of one movie that soon grabbed her attention, that said that wasn't recommended for kids. That sealed her idea and she soon told her: "If you promise me to behave and listen to what your uncle Titus says, then you can go."
Nozumu's face lighted up, she then cheered a 'Yay!' and went towards Titus and grabbed his hand. Her friends also cheered too. Eventually, Titus grabbed the necessary tickets and their little group soon went inside the room of their movie. Now only Ichigo, Goro, Hatake, and Sera were left...
"Soooo..." Said Hatake looking at Ichigo, "What are you planning to see?"
"This one..." Answered Ichigo while pointing towards the poster which Goro took a closer look at and said, "'Greyhound'?"
"Ah! I remember that one! Used to be one of my favorites!" Replied Hatake and then he added, "You know it IS about a war, right?"
"Nah it's fine," said Ichigo, "I want to see what they used to fight with in old times. As the captain of a squadron, I really wanna have an idea of what other leaders like me deal with the ever stressing warfare..."
"Well then, that's the movie for you! Take care guys!" Hatake said as the couple went to get their snacks.
"Thanks!" Said Goro then added: "Also, don't do anything rash out there Hatake!"
"Sure!" said Hatake as they left, the royal couple stood there thinking about what to watch.
"So, what shall we watch then?" asked Hatake.
"I don't know for sure. It has been a long time since I did something like this... although I'm curious what you humans can do for entertainment..." Replied Seraphime.
"Then what about we see a romantic movie?" asked Hatake, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Are you that desperate?" his 'wife' responded with a glare.
"Hey, I'm just asking." He replied, trying to calm her down: "How about some action then?"
"I won't feel any of it after the action we have shown on the battlefields already." She replied coldly.
"Comedy?" he asked with a sigh.
"Our people might die from an attack anytime," said Seraphime, "and you want us to laugh?"
"God damn it!" he said as he pointed his finger to one of the movies, out of desperation: "Let's just watch this then!"
"The Conjuring?" asked Seraphime, now actually sounding interested "What kind of a movie is that?"
"Oh, don't worry." He said with a mischievous grin on his face, "It won't disappoint you."
"Ok let's go." She said with a sigh. They went inside the theater after a few minutes of picking up their snacks, sat down on their assigned chairs in the movie hall, and then the movie started.
"What kind of a movie is it?" she asked quietly to him.
"A scary one." He replied having popcorn.
"What can be scarier than the wars?" she asked with a sigh as the movie continued.
"She isn't wrong," thought Hatake, "I mean this horror movie was for scaring humans, not Klaxo sapiens."
"Or is she?" he though after a while when a jump scare came in. He could clearly see her shivering and trying to "discreetly" grab his hand with hers.
"Heh," he though, "would you look at that." He was about to taunt her as she slowly held his hand which was resting on the handle of the chairs.
"D-Don't you dare try to mock me…" she whispered with embarrassment, Hatake's grin turned in a kind smile.
"Of course not." He replied looking at the movie.
Sometime later...
"That was a really fine movie!" said Kokoro, as everyone sat inside a family restaurant, eating some hamburgers.
"Although the end was very emotional." Said Mitsuru with a sigh.
"Yeah," said Kokoro giggling, "enough to make you cry."
"Hey!" said Mitsuru flustered as everyone laughed, "You said you wouldn't talk about it!"
"Well," thought Hatake with a smirk, "maybe I could contribute something too-"
"Don't even think about it", whispered Seraphime standing beside him with a murderous smile on her face to hide her embarrassment.
"O-Of course not…" said Hatake with a sweat drop expression. Everyone else knew more than enough to indulge into it so they soon went ahead with the rest...
"What about you guys?" asked Ichigo looking at Hiro and Zero Two, "Did you enjoy yours?"
"Yeah." Replied Zero Two, "Although it would have been a bit better if the ending wasn't that sad."
"Yeah..." Continued Hiro, "And the worst part is, that what happened to the ship there actually DID happen in real life... those poor people..."
"You got me curious, is it something that also involves a heartbroken ending?" Asked Mitsuru.
"Woah, woah!" said Titus interrupting, "Hold it there! I actually haven't seen that movie so I would like you avoid spoiling it for us, please!"
"Also," said Naomi joining in, "I wouldn't mind knowing what exactly happened with this 'Titanic' ship you're talking about, so maybe we should learn about it first?"
The rest simply shrugged and then Kokoro said, "Oh, that reminds me, how was your movie kids?"
"We enjoyed our movie a lot, mama!" said Ai with a smile.
"I wanna become a Jedi!" said Nozumu all excited.
"Pew, pew!" the rest of the kids then started making blaster noises while pointing their hands at anyone around them. It filled everyone with satisfaction to see them happy.
"The children loved the movie." Said Ikuno, "And sincerely, we did too. Now I know why it is called a 'classic'."
"Really?" asked Zero Two with a smile, "That's very good!"
"It still isn't her," thought Hiro looking right through her, remembering how her smile was similar to those she would give when both of them met again at Plantation 13, "Why is she acting like this again? Hiding, showing fake smiles and always worried because of something hidden inside her. That does it, I will have to talk to her tonight. No way I'm losing her again like that time in the hospital."
"Well, then" said Futoshi as he stood up after finishing his meal, "where shall we go now? We still got a lot of time left for the day, and we need to do something to keep these little rascals busy."
"You know, we only have a basic knowledge about the Federation thanks to Orion and Elise mainly, but I still want to know the rest of the details. Like, how exactly was the 'First VIRM-Federation War' like..." She then looked at Titus, "Sorry if I touch a sensitive subject Titus." She said
"Nah, it's alright." Responded Titus.
"There is a museum about that nearby according to the map," said Ikuno, "should we check it out?" she asked.
"Oh, I know that place!" Titus said, "Some friends of mine work there as tour guides and are retired veterans of the conflict too so they can cover the subject subtly to the children."
"Sounds like a plan!" said Goro, "Let's go then!"
Everyone went out (after paying for their food) and walked through a few squares before they eventually arrived to the place. They were surprised at what they found...
"Woah..." exclaimed the tourists.
"'Woah' indeed!" said Titus, "Welcome to the 'History Museum of the Earth' people!"
What they were looking at was at a circular underground complex whose entrances were in the surface area that looked like a little park, near where they were, leaving a central hole from which a huge flagpole emerged along with a big flag of the Federation. Not only that, it was also designed so that, even if in the surface level it looked like a small circular structure, it gave a nice view of the lower levels that showed that the floors were very bigger. The children were soon getting all excited while the adults of the group were looking amazed at the building...
"Woah," said Seraphimed amazed at the architecture, "I need to give credit for the architects and engineers who designed this building along the workers who made the construction possible."
"Orion had it built once after the end of the First VIRM-Federation war as a way to commemorate the lives of the fallen and to make sure everyone remembers the reason and lessons behind their sacrifices." Said Titus.
"But if it isn't Titus!" said a voice from behind.
Everyone turned around to see a boy with yellow hair, brown skin and green eyes coming towards them. He was very tall, in fact, he was taller than everyone else present there, he was wearing a white jacket along a dark blue shirt, had a grey hat that had a '?' sign on it and was wearing grey trousers. He also had a badge attached as a necklace with his ID on it. Titus face became one of joy when he saw him...
"ANTONIO! Brother!" said Titus shocked.
He ran towards him and both jumped at each other colliding their sides midair. Then Antonio hugged him and actually LIFT him from the ground and said, "Bro! It has been a while since we last saw each other! I still can't believe you're actually a franxx pilot after all those years!"
Eventually, Ikuno interrupted, "Titus, would you mind introducing your friend to us?"
Titus, after Antonio put him back on the ground and said, "Sure! Guys, this is Antonio, my closest and best friend that we consider ourselves as 'brother' even if we aren't by blood."
Antonio then waved at everyone and said, "Nice to meet you everyone!"
Everyone reciprocated his greeting and then Naomi asked, "Why is him your best friend Titus?"
"We met way back when Orion first formed the 25 CAPSULES couples that would later form the 25 Districts that exist today." Said Antonio, "Let's just say he went into a hard depression period when he realized he couldn't ride a Franxx after many tests. He had helped me a lot of times when studying for tests and bonding with my pistil that we both decided to take him with us to our district. We then assigned him many tasks so that he could feel himself useful, specially because these tasks were crucial to the survival and prosperity of the our district."
"And I'm glad they did that." Said Titus, "It helped me get over my depression once I realized most of the District actually depended on me and my talents. As such, it made me focus on my talents rather than in my failures, and felt satisfied enough to live since then."
"But what sealed the deal of him and me becoming bros was when he saved my life and that of Sara too, my pistil partner now turned wife." Antonio added.
"Really, what happened?" asked Hatake curious.
Antonio then said in a more serious tone: "In one of our sorties during the First VIRM-Federation War, Sara and I got into big trouble and ended up heavily injured. We could have died if it wasn't for Titus. He was the only medic near the area and did the impossible. I'm now in a big debt with him and still trying to pay it..."
"I told you there is no need!" said Titus, "As long as you and Sara live happy, I'm satisfied by it!"
"Come on!" said Antonio, "Can you at least become the godfather of our new bundle of joy?"
"YOU TWO ARE NOW EXPECTING A CHILD?! AND WANT ME AS ITS GODFATHER?!" asked Titus as his expression changed into one of shock followed by pure joy.
When Antonio nodded in response, Titus jumped at him and hugged him very hard, "DUDE! I'm happy for you and Sara and also honored for the position!" he said filled of joy, "I think this solves our debt then!"
Everyone smiled at they're anthics before Zorome asked, "Wait a minute... Titus, you said Antonio is a Franxx pilot too?"
"Was..." said Antonio, "Me and Sara retired after the end of the war. Even though Titus saved our lives back there, we received a crippling injury that disabled our ability to ride again."
"Oh, sorry to hear that man." Said Zorome.
"Don't worry about that compañero!" Antonio replied happily, "We ended up gaining a few medals, some nice recommendations and nice jobs in the end!"
While Zorome was scratching his head wondering what 'compañero' meant, Seraphine then said,"Excuse me if I'm wrong but does your new job happens to be a tour guide for this museum?"
"You nailed that well, your majesty." Said Antonio nodding respectfully at the Queen, "Would it happen to be you wish for one?"
"Yes," Replied Seraphime, "one for our group which includes children please."
Antonio responded by bowing and said, "Then I will be honored to guide your group in your first tour through our most treasured jewel of history."
After this, everyone followed him towards the entrance booths, where he talked with the guards in turn whom, after looking at the group, gave them their tickets along with a few booklets and then allowed them inside.
"Now, before we start," said Antonio, "I need to ask What kind of history you want to know about?"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Hiro.
"Well, you will see," Antonio explained, "the museum is divided in three main sectors: there's one dedicated to the history of humanity, another one dedicated to the history of klaxoity and both of them converge on the last one which we call as the Diceon period."
"Diceon?" asked Hatake.
"That's the name we gave to the artificial Magma energy we created." Responded Titus, "In some way, it marks the moment when we started seeing the klaxosaurs not as threats but as companions. And it is also closely related to that of the Federation."
"Speaking of Klaxo," said Sera, "how is it that you actually know something of our history? I thought everything about them was lost..."
"Anything but the memories of their people..." answered Titus, "it may be an unprecise and ineffective method but it was the only way we could learn of their history."
"Not exactly," Hatake said, "there are still many of them in Prismertine, remember? After this war is over, we can send to you a few historians to complement your discoveries."
"Thanks!" said Titus, "That would be very appreciated!"
Antonio then cleared his throat, which made everyone look at him then said, "Still haven't answered my question though..."
"You know," said Naomi, "I think that I'm speaking for everyone in here when I say that I'm very curious about our history. All we know about it is what they taught us in the Garden and considering what happened to APE, I think they left us with more questions than answers..."
"Yeah, that's very much the truth about it..." Said Hiro then asked: "Anyone on favor of Naomi's proposal?"
All hands were up, and Antonio smiled then said, "Well, in that case, please follow me." And as such the tour started.
Many hours passed, along with some bathroom and lunch breaks, but everyone in the group had a great time. It was clear that Antonio was more than experienced enough to make the very long tour into a great teaching experience for children and families. They saw everything from the prehistoric ages all the way towards the 21st century, the period where Magma energy was discovered and, eventually, the main cause of everything that happened to Squad 13...
"And just like that," said Antonio, "the Magma drillings across the whole world eventually made the planet's fertility extremely low which caused many forests and green fields to become very arid deserts uncapable of sustaining life. As such, in a way to cover their own failure, APE designed the Plantations as a last solution to guarantee that a portion of humanity survived. However, the most humanitarian people of the United Nations could see clearly that only the privileged and those who worked for APE would be the only "humanity" to save, since the Plantations could only hold at best 1 million of souls out of a population of hundreds of billions. As such, the organization used every last bit of their power to launch and develop Project ARC: a program similar to that of the Plantations but under the leadership of various leading scientists of that time and with the ultimate purpose of developing alternative fuel sources that would help with the restoration of the Earth, while also keeping alive the moral and ethical values of the Old World along its diversity. Papa tried to cancel the project in any way possible, knowing well that it would contest its dominance over the remnants of humanity but the will of the United Nations persevered, specially thanks to Mama, a female scientist that was under Dr. Franxx own research team, which allowed her to knew every plan APE had for Project ARC that allowed her to put it many steps ahead of them. As such, she and the UN concentrated all of their last resources and survivors across the territory that the Federation covers today and one of her lasts acts before her disappearance was giving the green light to create the Districts. During the next 100 years, the Districts stood hidden and with minimal contact, in order to avoid calling the attention of both APE and hostile Klaxosaurs; this period is often referred as the "the Balancing" since it was during this period that the demand and production of resources focused into a mindset of sustainable development. The new economics, politics and teachings that came from this mindset would later become the main factor that would allow the political foundation of the Federation and its consolidation." Just as they were walking towards the start of the "Diceon" period section, he asked, "Does anybody has any question or need a break before we enter?"
At this, the youngest children raise their hands and so, a new bathroom break happened. While everyone waited, Hiro went towards Antonio and asked, "Hey, Antonio, mind if I ask you something personal about you?"
"Depends on what you ask. Shoot..." said Antonio. When he saw Hiro giving him a horrified look, he suddenly realized he needed to explain himself: "It's a form of expression dude, it means to ask the question now... Wow, Orion was not lying about APE literally changing everything ordinary."
"Sorry," said Hiro, "you know how it is. So, you said that you were one of the original Capsules, right?"
"Yes." Answered Antonio.
"Does that mean that you're also a survivor of the Old World too?" asked Hiro.
Antonio denied with his head and said, "Unfortunately, no. All of the original Capsules were created and raised in the Garden. However, once we were of Parasite training age, Dr. Franxx selected us because of some 'defects' we had, which in the end were the abilities Orion and Mama were searching for. It was him and her the ones who taught us everything they could about the Old World."
Hiro then said, "Oh well. Glad to hear that then... but, is there anyone else that is a survivor of the Old World?"
"You will be surprised that there are barely a hundred of them spread out in the whole Federation." Said Antonio, "If you don't mind me asking, why would you ask?"
"Well..." Hiro said while looking at Zero Two, who was looking interested at a big painting in the wall: it showed a big group of humans and Klapiens in a dancing, dressed in striking ancient Greek styled robes, being surrounded by Klaxosaurs, green fields, and other creatures of nature, while in the background it showed a portion of the planet Earth with 3 silhouettes of the Space Elevator covering the center and far left and right side. And at the back of it all, the silhouette of a Golden Franxx that looked very mysterious but powerful, facing the vacuum of space standing like the guardian of it. (Search for "ace combat 7 space elevator painting") Zero Two's expression indicated that she was amazed by it. Hiro found that relaxing for some reason...
"Beautiful, isn't it?" asked Antonio, "Orion himself along with some friends made the general sketch while Elise supervised and participated in the coloring herself. They both created it as a token of how far our people can go when we're united in harmony and understanding."
"Yeah it is" Hiro responded before he focused back on his earlier question: "About the question of before, I made a promise to her a long time ago that I still consider to complete, even if it has been so long."
"Which is?" Asked Antonio.
"I promised Zero Two that I would explore the world with her once we were free of APE." Hiro said, remembering the determination and excitement he had when he promised that to her as children, "But if there's something I learned, is that something like this is going to be dangerous and we need to prepare for it. So I need to know what's outside there, even if the world has changed after many years."
Antonio reflected on this and said, "You're well to assume that it is, indeed, dangerous to travel around the world in this time. But it isn't impossible so, don't worry! I know some guys who can help with your plan and make that trip the most wonderful experience of your life. Just do me ONE favor."
"What is it?" asked Hiro.
Antonio then grabbed him and made him look at Zero Two, "Don't. Ever. Let. Go. Of. Her. I can recognize how much love can run in a couple and I can tell that you two are in a whole different level of passion. That is good, but too much passion can lead to overestimating expectations which can later cause the couple to lose its spark. So don't lose her and talk very deeply about what you two want, got it?"
"He clearly knows about my dilemma." Hiro thought, "But he also knows I can fix it." Then he responded, "Got it crystal clear... and thanks."
Antonio smiled then saw that the children had returned from their bathroom break and soon the tour continued towards the Diceon period. In the section they saw pictures, paintings, documents and a scale map of the Federation. Antonio spoke the whole time, "Alright, near the end of the year of 2136, president Orion and commander Elise were forced to wake up from their cryo-sleep because of a raid done by the Nines under the order of Papa. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us, they failed and both managed to escape safely towards the Federation. It was there and then that finally the Federation started what we call the "Restoration". Even if APE had violated the most important article of the treaty, Orion decided to avoid war and focus entirely on developing alternative energy sources and defenses for the Federation when the time to fight them came. Obviously, such thing didn't happened which allowed us to finally obtain the one source of energy that would replace most of the Magma energy: Diceon energy."
"What exactly is this Diceon energy composed of exactly?" Asked Sera, who was genuinely curious.
Antonio soon responded, "Egg shells."
Everyone stared at him dumbfounded and Sera asked, "What?"
"Let me explain myself." Antonio then explained, "Orion once had the benefit of going on a patrol and witnessing the miracle of life inside a klaxosaur nest. Once the babies were carried to another place of the cave by their mother, he stood behind and took some of their egg shells for analysis. Turns out that the material of those shells, when assembled in the form of a capsule, exponentially augments a signal that the babies emit while they are inside their shells. Apparently, the klaxosaurs developed this as a way to know when one of their eggs was in danger. Even though the signal ceases to exist once the baby is out, the shells still have that amplifier property. So one day we had this thought: 'if it augments exponentially a resonance signal, could it also exponentially the energy emitted by Magma energy?' Fast forward some months of R&D and we had just resolved our energy crisis. Turns out that one cube of a diceon cube with a magma core has enough energy to power up at least 10 APE plantations for a whole year."
The whole squad, except Titus, Ikuno and Naomi, had faces of surprise all over them, which ended up with Zorome commenting, "Dude! Where were you and those cubes when we needed them?!"
"Unfortunately," Antonio then said in a less enthusiastic tone, "protecting all our fruits of hard work from the same enemies we're facing now."
That's when everyone realized they were onto the next section: the "First Federation-VIRM war" section. Needless to say, they just expected that the children wouldn't ask for too much details. That went out the window when Nozumu asked, "Why is it called the first one? The one my parents fought in was before this one..." Ichigo and Goro realized at that moment that their kid was way more curious than they gave her credit for...
Fortunately, Antonio's response made them relax, "Because this was the first war for the Federation, little learner." He said and patted her head, to which she chuckled. He then said the history to the rest: "At the beginning of the year 2150, approximately almost 5 years ago, we detected high movement readings through our satellite rings. It was them, a vanguard expedition led by the Vice-chairman in an attempt to make a front for the main army once they arrived. The war started with us suffering some initial losses without being able to retaliate due to the element of surprise." At this, he showed a map of the Federation with the upper territory being marked with a purple color while the rest was green and continued: "Some of the Northern Districts were evacuated along the capital, that was just finished of being constructed at the time and soon taken over by enemy forces." The purple highlight soon moved more south and a new one appeared in the spot were the capital was. "Even if it sounds like it was a bad period for our army, it was all actually planned. Prior to the evacuation, Orion set many key strongholds in the Northern Districts manned by the best soldiers of the time so that they could act as links and checkpoints once the counterattack started." At this, golden highlights appeared in the VIRM territory, indicating pockets of resistance. "Also, it was in the Southern Districts where the most essential goods for war were located so we weren't knocked out of the war yet. It wouldn't be until March that the counter-attack finally happened. Orion and Elise knew that the most important thing to do in order to win was to link again with the Northern Districts so they developed a "Plantation-hopping" strategy. Using some of APE's forgotten equipment along their own military versions of Plantations, the Federation army made advances by, basically, deploying whole teams of Franxx Squads along other special squads as vanguards in enemy territory on key places to link with the isolated fortresses before making way along the rest of the main army. Once they secured a safe supply line, they would then restock and resupply the fortresses to prepare for attacks that would progressively drive VIRM out of the conquered territories. Even though this method was very efficient and we had a lot of advantages over our enemies, it was still a costly war. VIRM was a tougher opponent than we expected, making our advances slow. It wouldn't be until the final days of autumn that we would recover all of the Northern Districts." At this point, the map had changed constantly, showing that the previous golden highlights were expanding in size and pushing back slowly the purple territory. During this, it also showed small clips and pictures about the war, both in the front and in the civilian base. All of them were safe to watch for children, but even then, the parents could tell it was something they were uncomfortable of learning.
"It was there when we finally discovered the key to finish the war." Antonio continued, "During a scouting of the capital of Aztlán, which was still under enemy hands, our forces saw that the enemy was constructing a peculiar structure in the bay. I'm pretty sure you know what building I'm talking about."
"The Space Tower!" answered little Izune.
"Correct!" said Antonio with a smile, "Although it is called 'Space Elevator', but you guessed right! So their plan was to use it as an energy source for their main command ship, the 'Arsenal Bird'. That ship was the main producer and supplier of VIRM units. It was also the HQ of the Vice-chairman. He was planning to fix the big mothership in that place so that it would act as their jumping point for their main army. If the 'Space Elevator' was activated and synchronized with her, then her production capabilities and defenses would be overpowered and it would be game over for us. So, Orion and Elise decided to risk it all..." He then put another clip which showed the battle for the Space Elevator. Again, it was safe for the children to watch, but the adults of the group could tell that it was way more violent than the battles they fought, comparable to even that in the Gran Crevasse. Then in one part of the clip, they saw a big purple mothership that looked like a vulture: it was nearly as big as Strelizia Apus! The clip showed how, even with her superior firepower, it was getting slowly destroyed by the joint efforts of klaxosaurs, starfighters, battle cruiser and Franxx. Then, they saw a pair of such Franxx fly towards her head-on. The mothership reacted by opening its "mouth" and eating both of them. To everyone's surprise, they suddenly saw flashes inside her that teared her apart little by little until she exploded! Out of her came out the two same Franxx that went inside them, the clip zoomed into them and it turns out it was Huitzilopochtli and Guan Yin! Orion and Elise's respective Franxx!
Seraphine and Hatake were really impressed. "Wow," she said, "even I can't deny that this is something extraordinary."
"Yeah," said Antonio"even us already knew him and Elise were that powerful. But this? This easily takes the cake. And this wasn't the end of it!" He then showed another clip of Huitzilopochtli dogfighting against a VIRM unit that looked way too similar to a Franxx and explained: "In one last attempt to destroy our city, the Vice-chairman armed an old nuke of the Old World he found and planned to use it on the nuclear complex were most of the city's energy is supplied. The explosion would have destroyed without doubt the whole city along with us who were there. But Orion didn't gave up and proceeded to chase him and duel him..." The clip then showed Orion hitting the Franxx with his sword, punched his face, took the nuke from his grip, then inserted it on the frame, then forcefully throwed the VIRM unit underwater and scrambled just as a huge explosion happened behind him. At this point, Antonio continued: "And he won. The Vice-chairman perished along with the last VIRM units and the war officially came to an end." They then proceeded towards the next room where there was pictures, newspaper articles, some medals and some souvenirs from the celebration. "In the end, the losses we suffered from the war was a total of 10%; half of it was from civilians."
"My condolences for those lost." Said Ichigo, "But let's face it, you had it better than us."
"Yeah, we heard about APE's methods." Antonio replied, "Who in their right minds sends children to fight?"
They then continued the tour looking at other achievements done in the 5 years of peace that followed until it was time to return home...
A few hours later, everyone was getting ready for sleep after dinner and bathtime...
"That was a wonderful tour wasn't it?" asked Kokoro smiling as all the adults were walking towards their rooms after putting the children to sleep.
"Indeed!" said Zero Two with the same fake smile that was bothering Hiro.
"There is no time," thought Hiro, he was walking behind everyone thinking a way to get her someplace to talk alone. He soon found that his room was near their group and open so, without wasting a moment, he pulled Zero Two into the room and locked the door.
"Huh?" asked Kokoro as she realized a little late that Zero Two had disappeared from her sight.
"Don't worry," said Mitsuru whispering into her ears since he witnessed them and got the wrong idea of what they were going to do: "I saw them, they probably need some time alone."
"D-Darling?" asked Zero Two shocked, she was slammed by Hiro onto the bed even before she could realize what happened. Her eyes looked straight into his worried eyes, with her crimson hair spread on the bed.
"Let's make a kid! Zero Two!" said Hiro after gathering all of his strength.
"W-What's gotten into you?" she asked still shocked.
"The same I would ask to you, damn it!" sad Hiro with tears in his eyes, "You're acting again like that time when I lost you in the hospital! I don't know what I did wrong this time but I just can't see you like this… if having a child will make you even the slightest happy, I'll do it! Just don't," he said sobbing, "don't put on that fake smile and act like you are happy when it is clear you're suffering because of something! Last time it was because of me so please...!"
"You were so worried, weren't you?" she asked with a kind smile as she put her right hand on his cheek, "It's alright, all of this can wait. It's just that... I had a big talk with Elise when she caught us both in the ship and she opened my eyes about how selfish my desire was. Don't worry, I won't leave you or anything." She then pulled his face near hers and connected his lips with hers. This kiss was a long one, as if she was expressing all of her condolences to him with it. They then separated them for breath.
"It makes me happy, you know?" she asked with tears in her eyes but still smiling, "That this time, maybe out of being worried but at least for once, you were the one who insisted about it. It shows me that you're still willing to do anything for me, Darling..."
"This feeling," though Hiro as he looked into her eyes, "this is the Zero Two that I know… Yes, there is no doubt about it..." He then rubbed his horns into hers and then he said: "Remember the promise we made all those years ago when I rescued you as a child? I'm still determined to do so, even if I have to carry you through this new war this time just so that your dreams can be true."
Zero Two was in tears of happiness already and when she heard this, she couldn't resist the urge to hug him again: "Oh Darling!"
And so, both laid there in the bed, hugging themselves in a peace they had desired for a long time which was briefly interrupted when Hiro said: "You know, even if we cannot still have a child together, I think we can do a different step right now..." Zero Two was curious at this and was about to ask when Hiro beat her to it: "Zero Two, do you want to move in with me for the rest of our life?"
Zero Two smiled warmly at this, kissed him again and answered: "Yes... and nothing will tear us apart from now on..."
And as such, that night, our two hybrids had one of the most peaceful nights they ever had in a long time...
-End of Chapter-
Hey! Hope you guys are doing fine over there in this pandemic, well, you see we have been running quiet low on reviews nowadays, so it would be very helpful if you all could write a short review. It's fine it doesn't just have to positive things, even the smallest mistake to rectify would work. I'm just quite not sure you people are liking the story so far or not.