It was hot.
No, hot wasn't quite the right word for what she was going through. Hot is when you pull cookies out of the oven and don't have quite the right grip on the pot holder. Hot is when you turn the oven on and the water sputters over the edge. Hot is when you come out of the shower with skin as red as a lobster.
She supposed the correct word for what this was, might have been something along the lines of…. blazing. Or scorching. Maybe even sweltering, if she felt particularly inclined to explain in depth the sensation. But she didn't, so it was hot.
And oh how hot it was. The air swirled tortuously across her talons, it sunk deep into her cogs and gears, and it caused wires to spark and sizzle against each other in ways that they shouldn't have been able to. It pressed down and suffocated her, stirring up her systems and making them spark and splutter as the heat warped the circuits inside. Every second a new appreciation for the word was burned into her memory as it melted her pipes, or chomped at her insides.
It wasn't all that bad really. It was always hot, there was always that suffocating cloud of air teasing with her engine and clogging her cylinders and making every single movement feel like the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. Really what was the worse part was what the heat brought with it.
Every second was different, and every second was the same. Constantly shifting like the ocean in a storm, it attacked her in the ways she least expected every time. She could brace her body for the searing pressure against her sides and instead find a limb being ripped off bit by bit; each fiber straining against invisible teeth; before it was replaced by a wave that would shear her metal skin off layer by layer; revealing the steel bone underneath. She could find herself suffocating in a humid embrace or choking as it pounced and crushed her underneath.
But each time she reached her breaking point, every time that she swore her armor had melted into puddles beneath her talons and her frame ripped to shreds; she found herself wrapped in an embrace. It was cool, like the rush of glacier water that had traveled miles just to soak into your weary body and sooth the aches and bruises on your feet. It floated the bits and pieces that had sheared off of her and wrapped her wounds in a soft bandage. It planted cold lips on her dents and scrapes until she was as good as new. The lingering touch it left was all it took for her to bear the blistering heat and its hungry jaws until it came to greet her again.
It wasn't all that bad, really. Not if someone was there to help.
Marmoset pretended to not look away from the bundle that was curled up at the base of the Doctor's feet. It had to be some sort of sick joke. It just had to be. Children and adults weren't supposed to mingle, so what was she doing here?
Of all places really, here. On Cosmos. Yes, that Cosmos. The giant space station, holding all of the important governmental figures that had pretty much absolute control of everyone at any given time; orbiting the planet at a blistering pace of "I see all".
Papa must've done this. He must've orchestrated this with Werner and done some rather extravagant planning to dress up a lookalike and get it into the council room. He always did like his twisted jokes. His ability to laugh at the dark corners of the world was part of his charm, one of the things that drew her towards him in the first place. She wouldn't put it above him; it wasn't the first time that he had tried to make light of the situation on the surface. The others would put him in his place, she assured herself. He was only trying to raise moral, in his own way; but some lines just shouldn't be crossed.
She dared to tilt her head to the side, peeking through the slits in her mask at her fellow sages. Each of them was staring down at the center of the room, where they normally strategized their plans. The loss of plantation 57 was a shocker to be sure; but nothing they couldn't handle without some good planning. Which is what they should be doing, instead of wasting time with sometwisted attempt at a joke.
The shell coughed, his mustache trembling in the processed air that pressed down on every surface in the room as he looked around the council. She followed his gaze with her own, washing along the seven that were gathered. Her eyes met his own for a moment, pretending not to notice the way his remaining brow raised into the air, before it traveled onward.
Gorilla was slouched in his chair, his head supported with his fist as he peered into the center, deep in thought.
Lemur was pretending not to look away.
Baboon was leaned forward, his hands gripping his chair tightly as he gazed down. The way he looked was similar to a predator. As if the object of attention would drift away. Into nothingness if he dared to lower his guard.
And then their gaze reached Papa. There was nothing off about him. As always he was seated straight in his chair, his mask hiding all as he observed the package that Werner had brought them.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice Werner. I wanted everyone here to see how our plans were progressing. I trust that the others are at ass similar stage in development?"
Her stomach gnawed at her.
The scientist leaned onto his cane and nodded, the motors in his neck whirring smoothly in time with the motion. "Indeed. Although not quite as strong or as impressive as her; they are progressing at a satisfactory pace." He reached behind him, grabbing at the black hood and dragging it in front of him; setting it down harshly on the metal floor. The bundle didn't respond, burying its face in its stomach as it tried to ignore the stares from every corner of the room.
"I understand its had a recent escape attempt Werner?"
The man nodded, pressing a few buttons on his communicator silently, and stepping backwards as the space above him flashed with a screen showing a young boy with teal eyes, and a messy bed of black hair.
"016. The special specimen? Really? I thought we had a tighter leash than that."
She resisted the way her muscles bunched in her neck to flick her head toward Tarsier at the callous statement. Was she the only one that remembered how they were supposed to be treated? How they had all agreed to treat them? They- they weren't animals, they weren't supposed to be leashed!
And yet, there she sat. Shivering and whimpering and curled in on herself was the culmination of all the sins of the parasite program.
There are somethings that she had gotten used too in her long life. Corners had to be cut, sacrifices had to be made. People had to suffer for the survival and progression of their species. But she never could quite squash the feeling that welled in her stomach and pricked at the corner of her eyes at the sight of a mistreated child. It filled her with a mix of disappointment and anger, it clawed at her ribs and threatened to punch a hole through her chest as it fought its way up the confines of her constricting throat.
"The special specimen was given special freedoms. As per your orders."
The rage bubbling on her tongue died with a whimper, sliding deep into her stomach where the pit chomped happily on the substance, filling her with shame. That was right; it was they that had done this. The doctor had warned them of the consequences. He had no qualms with it of course; they hadn't made him a partner due to his moral compass. But he wasn't the leader of humanity, they were. It was their responsibility to set boundaries on what would be allowed and what wouldn't.
And when the man who was willing to violate every moral law there was recognized those boundaries before them…. well- it didn't paint too bright of a picture.
"That might be, but he shouldn't have been allowed to do that." Tarsier shot back at the scientist, grumbling in his seat as he shifted backwards.
"No, he shouldn't have." Papa nodded at the hunched figure and turned his unmoving mask towards the scientist. "But I trust that the situation has been taken care of."
"Indeed. His memories of the past week were wiped."
"And its?"
"Interference. Sustained separation of the two will eventually weaken that interference and she will be susceptible to the process again."
Papa nodded approvingly and leaned forward, looking down through the slits in his mask at the bundle of black and red. "Very well. If you are certain that this is the correct course of action you have my blessing to do whatever you need to gain its compliance."
"When we return to the surface I will take steps to prevent her from escaping again. In two or so weeks she will have no recollection of him."
"I have a better idea."
Every head in the chamber swiveled towards her. The only one she cared for owned two red orbs that had withdrawn themselves from the darkness of her cloak and arms, and had instead begun to peer into her. She felt her throat constrict as she forced the thickening saliva down her throat. It felt like her soul was being pulled out and laid bare for all to see.
She didn't know why she had blurted that out. The words quite literally rushed across her tongue before she recognized that it was her steady voice that broke the silence, and when she did it was too late to take them back. Those words were in direct opposition of Werner. And in his field, in his domain; his authority was only equal to Papa.
Papa wasn't very forgiving.
She kept her eyes and head trained on the little bumps of red on a sakura pink plain. She ignored their stares as her chair lowered itself down to the floor. Her legs moved before her mind told them to, and her back peeled off of the metal; her heels clacking as she glided across to the shivering bundle of red and black. She reached her gloved hands out, and wrapped the child's sides in a gentle and kind embrace. Holding them out at arms length, she took a moment to stare at the eyes this creature possessed. They were bloodshot, the veins within swollen as thick as the tears that bubbled in her lashes.
"You want to see him again don't you?"
The horns on the child's head tilted to the side.
Shaking her head, she folded her arms and drew the horned bundle closer to her chest, holding her in her arm as she used her right arm to guide a red finger to the screen hovering above. She tried to ignore how prominent the bones felt in her gloved hands.
"DA!"
"Yes. Him. Code Zero One Six. Do you want to see him again?"
The horns bobbed up and down. Good, so she could understand her after all. Now came the hard part. She forced herself to swallow, hoping her cloak hid how her limbs shook underneath. "But you can't."
The eyes widened and the tears began to grow thicker and lumpier, threatening to spill over shallow rim. The child shook her head side to side as she bit her lip, shutting her eyelids tight and blocking out the figure holding her.
"You're a monster. A demon. A freak."
Every word cut into her heart, and for once in the past few weeks; Marmoset was happy that she was wearing this infernal mask. Recently it had become stuffy, hard to breathe and see through. She had to strain her eyes to see clearly through it and even then it wrapped around her head in a tight, cold embrace. But now, it provided a much needed barrier to the outside world. No one else could see the way her bottom lip trembled, or how her own eyes glistened.
"You don't belong. You're different"
That was the tipping point it seemed. A hollow scream filled the room as the demon threw her head back and bared her sharp teeth to the heavens above. The sound rang throughout the room and rattled her eardrums, pressing against the tissue and threatening to rip it to shreds. The incessant screaming was followed by a shaky sob as the childs aching muscles fought to keep up with her torment; leaving her gasping as overflowing thick orbs rolled down her cheeks and splattered onto the white tile below. It was an ugly sight, but Marmoset shouldered that burden and looked on; confident that the screaming and twitching mess in her hands couldn't communicate even a fragment of her misery.
She let the child have spill her grief out for all to hear and listen, peeking through the slits in her mask and curling her lips upwards as she saw Baboon squirm in his seat above. When the child had finished her most violent motions, she drew her closer into her chest, forcing down another wad of saliva as her hands rubbed against the soft pink hair in her arms.
"But." She dragged her hand gently through the pink hair with a gloved hand, drawing the appendage against the edge of the sharp horns before gripping them tightly. Her fingers twisted slightly, and then her hand put more force into the motion. And then with more, until her entire arm was pressing against the base of the fractured horn and with a sharp crack, it shattered in her hands. Pulling back slowly, she opened her palms to reveal a brilliant ruby red horn, glinting in the light from above. She held it in front of the girl, waiting until tiny red hands enveloped it and held it close to her watery eyes. "But. If you work for us, if you serve us… we can make you human. You could see him again. Would you like that?"
The remaining horn bobbed quickly, her hair falling up and down as she nodded furiously. Her mouth was peeled open and her wide teary eyes stared up into her eyes with something akin to awe. As if she had just preformed a miracle.
"Then we have a deal." She felt sick to her stomach as she set the child down, walking backwards towards her chair.
Werner's eyes trailed her as she sat down and rose up into the air, having grabbed the hand of the child in his own thickly gloved ones. She could swear his cold eyes had brightened slightly, but he turned away before she could check.
"An interesting idea Marmoset." Papa's gaze never left the child, even as he spoke to his subordinate. "Do not remove its memories Werner. With them, it could become our most fearsome tool."
The doctor's own single horn bobbed down towards Papa before turning on his heel, walking out of the room with his red skinned counterpart in tow. She stumbled along silently, forced to walk quickly to match the pace of the arm dragging her away. Not once did she turn away from the horn in her hand, peering deep into the ruby as light reflected across the scuffed surface.
With the distraction out of the room Marmoset assumed that they would be attending to more important business. Like the aftermath of the destruction of Plantation 57, which had frankly exposed a significant weakness in their line; something that the Klaxosaurs were now rushing to take advantage of. If they weren't able to plug the hole soon, it wouldn't be only 57 that fell.
Instead of the screen flickering to a view of the ruined plantation however, it showed an image of a red skinned girl with pale pink hair that descended down her back., next to code Zero One Six.
"Very clever Marmoset. Using its own wants against it. I didn't think that you had it in you."
She flicked her head towards the voice, meeting the wide lenses of Tarsier. Of course it was Tarsier. The calculative one, the leech, the one figure in the room she hadn't quite figured out. She bit her tongue as she responded. "I was simply taking advantage of a poor situation."
"Perhaps, but its normally not in your nature to lie. After all, we can't turn it into a human; and if we want it to continue to be ah…. useful to us; then it can't see code Zero One Six either."
Her shoulders stiffened. That- that couldn't be true. The Doctor had made her from a concoction of human cells and klaxosapien cells. The only reason it had taken this long was because of set backs with the klax cells overwhelming the human cells. There had to be a way to perform the opposite.
"You knew that didn't you Marmoset, when you made that deal. Very clever." A voice rumbled to her left, muffled by the black mask that the owner was wearing as the broad form shifted in his seat.
"Indeed. Once again Marmoset, you have proven your worth and place among us." She turned away from the praise that Papa began to bestow on her. "I will admit, I was beginning to have my doubts; you've been so withdrawn recently. But that was an excellent performance."
"Then its decided? We will keep the two separated to draw its potential out as much as possible?"
"Indeed."
The mask wasn't so bad, she decided. It hid her face from the world when she needed it most. They couldn't see the way her lips trembled or how her cheeks puffed up against the cold metal. They couldn't see the frantic shift of her eye as she absorbed the details flashing across the screen, or the furrow of her brow as she began to scheme. One day she swore to herself. One day ill uphold my end of the bargain Zero Zero Two.
"These are the Franxx units that you will be assigned to fight for Papa with."
Thats what the mechanical man had said to them when he pulled them deep inside the facility and opened the hanger doors. He seemed oddly excited to show them off; which only put her on edge. Whenever he was excited that meant that bad things would happen to her. If he was particularly jumpy she could expect a new test to be done. She half expected hands to reach out from the shadows of the walls to grab at any exposed limb they could get their hands on before strapping her to that cold metal table.
Thankfully, there was no one else with them. It was just her, the mechanical man, and the group of kids that tormented her. She had been introduced to them a few weeks ago; which was months after that boy in the snow had dared to show her what the outside world was like. They weren't very nice, always ripping at her things and insulting her. The one with the red hair was particularly prone to violence.
The mechanical man had taken them down a rumbling platform and walked them across the floor. His arms swept dramatically to either side, his cane angled towards the ceiling as he presented the large mechanical figures that were nestled into the walls. The sight of the towering figures drew a rapid rush of air from her and the other children, leaning forward with wide eyes and open jaws as they stared.
They were looking at four mechs. They were all mostly identical. They were a sheening white that hurt her eyes if she stared at them too long. Their legs were bulky, a metal casing on them that narrowed at the top and bottom of the entire length until they merged with a thin torso, which widened out at the shoulders that had two wrapping plates protecting the joints and arms that had rather bulky guards on them; jutting away from the limb and ending with a colored cap. Attached to the hip were two large fins on either side, but it was hard to get a good glance at anything behind the mech when it was nestled into the wall the way that it was. They all looked like this with their spherical heads and green slits where eyes would have been; except for the colors. One had red highlights, another was blue, the third had brilliant green highlights, and the last one was pink.
She would have been lying if she said she wasn't the slightest bit excited to pilot one of these things. After all, the sooner she worked for them the sooner she could see that boy in the snow. And such a brilliant machine would make that task all the more easier.
"But theres nine of us, and only four Franxx Doctor."
"Indeed. 002 will be piloting that one." The corner of his remaining eye shifted upwards when the blond child had said that; turning away from the four mechs and pointing behind the group at the opposite wall. "Alone."
She felt an ugly twist in her stomach as she whirled around with the rest of the children, looking across the street where his cane had pointed, and her heart plummeted through her chest. There was no beauty in the sight that greeted her; only savagery.
She didn't pay attention when the doctor had been approached by a subordinate and left the children alone in the room to get a closer look at the Franxx they would be piloting. Instead she was focused on reassuring herself that even with the setback; she could still make it work. She might be alone, and she might have a different Franxx than the others, but…. She could still make it work. It was up to her to make it work.
There was no elegance in the device in front of her. Where the other Franxx had stood tall and proud with their gleaming white plates, her mech stood hunched over on all fours. Hers had no weapons, no spear to cut smooth and deep lines into metal flesh; only metal jaws or large blocky talons to rip and tear gaping wounds. Hers had large orange eyes that crossed across the metal helm of the beast and seemed to bore into her soul. Its head had a mane of rectangles protruding from its base and sticking into the air with disproportionate limbs supporting the things midsection,, bending an awkward and unnatural angles.
It was hers, and it was ugly.
"It sticks out like a sore thumb Iota."
Her shoulders stiffned as the voice walked up to her, teeth grinding against each other as Gamma spoke.
"Yeah, its not nearly as pretty as ours." Alpha walked up to her side, pressing a hand down on her head. "Its just as ugly as the klaxosaurs you'll kill with it."
"Makes you wonder who the real monsters is don't you agree Iota?" Epsilon walked up to her other side, his purple hair falling forward as he stared down at the horns on her head.
She bit back the snarl that was building in her chest, looking down at the steel floor. "My name is Zero-two."
The hand on her head shook as Alpha bit his lip. She could feel the way his chest shook as he tried to keep it in, but it was a loosing battle. Peals of laughter began to echo in her ears as the other children mocked her declaration.
When he had calmed down he shook his head and rubbed his fingers through her hair, tearing at the roots as his fingers slipped through. "There you go again. Ignoring the special codename that Papa gave you. You really should be more grateful to him. Afterall…" The pressure on her head increased, she could feel her knees buckle as he drove her into the steel beneath. "Its only because of him that monsters like you are allowed to exist."
Her canines poked into her lip, blue blood staining the white protrusion. "Papa doesn't like me."
"Of course he doesn't." Black shoes walked across her vision as Gamma circled around her. "You're a freak. You and your disgusting horns don't belong anywhere in his eyes. I bet he hates that he has to use you at all."
"Its because of you and your kind that we have to fight at all Iota."
Her fingers dug into her red palms. "But aren't you just clones of me? Wouldn't that make them your kind as well?"
The footsteps echoing around her squeaked to a stop on the smooth floors. Ooh. Seems she struck a nerve with that one.
"We are your clones, that much is true." A fist wrapped around her collar and dragged her up towards Epsilon, her head lolling backwards to meet his narrowed gaze. He had his other fist raised back behind his head, ready to rush forward and crush her nose beneath it. "But we are refined. They took the ugliness out of you and made us. We have no resemblance to the klaxosaurs, no horns or claws or teeth. We are more human than you ever will be."
She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth together, moving her head to the side as she saw the fist descend towards her in an attempt to save her nose from yet another strike.
A growl shot forth from above her and the screech of mechanical gears fighting against metal pressed around her head, pounding away at her skull. The violent sensation ripped through her body and rattled her bones, bursting through her eardrums and leaving her unbalanced. She felt the fist around her collar slacken, before dropping her entirely on the steel floor below.
Her eyelids opened as her legs impacted with the steel, seeing her tormentors take a few shaky steps away from her as the growling reverberated in her ears. She tilted her head back, her teal eyes widening at the sight. Steel creaked underneath as red talons dug into the platform, steel fibers straining against themselves as a red jaw lowered itself beside her. The growling filled the room for minutes, only easing away until a gently purr when her tormentors had bumped into the legs of their own Franxx, far on the other side of the room.
Maybe it wasn't so bad.
Her existence was rather dull, in her opinion. At least compared to what came before. Where before she could run across mountains and touch the wide blue sky, she was now stuck in a large dark room, hunched over and supported with one knee as she slept. She couldn't do anything in the room, even if she was awake. The walls were smooth and there were no devices to tinker with, nothing to learn in the room. It was just her.
She didn't know when she got here, or rather; when it got here. Something told her that she hadn't moved even an inch from that cave she fell asleep in all those years ago, when she had laid herself down to heal from the wounds in her heart and body. But it couldn't be denied that whatever was around her certainly was not the same place she had fallen asleep in. The smooth rock walls were replaced with straight and imposing metal plates towering around her. And beyond them; she could sense that the facility she was in went on and on. Maybe they had hauled her here, or they had built it and then found her within; deciding to make the best of a poor situation.
She didn't particularly care about how she ended up here. It wouldn't change how boring it was. With nothing to do as the days dragged on she had caved in to peering at the cracks in the wall, tallying them up or trying to make shapes with their twisted forms as she waited for the one interesting phenomenon in the world she had awoken too.
The room around her shone a gleaming white whenever they opened the door. The light would dance across the sparkling walls and reflect onto her still form. They would hook up machines and pipes that glowed a bright orange every single time. She never responded to anything that they did; it simply wasn't worth the effort to wake herself up and attempt to communicate. They clearly werent there for any reason other than to get something off of her; and they didn't need her awake to do that.
But it was still the most interesting part. Or rather, he was the most interesting part. She had to peer down at the small figure to get a good view of his details; but he was certainly worth the effort. He had maybe a third of his original face remaining; with pale decrepit white skin and a horn jutting from his forehead on the mechanical side of his face. That horn interested her. He was clearly not of their kind; their species. His skin alone revealed that much. So why did he have the horn?
She never could quite figure it out. He would always leave right as she formulated a new theory based on how he acted around her with the other, less interesting ones. Clacking out of the room with the subordinates hastily following behind him and dragging everything they had brought in out. She had managed to hear a snippet of a conversation as they shut her mechanical door once. Something about how she could potentially hack into the system and free herself if she had decided to wake up. A purely mechanical door, built with the strongest material that they knew of, would stop her from doing that and leaving. Her entire enclosure was built with the substance, her door was no exception. It was amusing when she had heard that the door was what separated her from the outside world, like some sort of cage.
She didn't like to think of herself as being inside a cage. It simply wasn't accurate. Escaping a cage implied some sense of struggle.
"I wanna take a bath."
"Not again. Show some self-control."
Her brows pushed together, sharp canines digging into the candy in her mouth as she turned to the scientist. Raising her wrist up towards her nose, she inhaled once, then twice. Filthy. She turned around, leaning across the arm of her chair and to peer at the man resting across the aisle from her. "Hey. How do I smell?"
"Let him rest. Even if he failed to bring out Strelizia's potential, hes drained after the last battle. Show some respect for your fellow children."
"We both know that isn't true." She moved towards the mechanical voice, peeking her head around the corner and reaching forward with her hands to drive her gloved hands into the man's side. "We both know he can't pilot with me, and why."
"Alright then 002. Hes recovering after you went overboard in the last mission. Hes still drained and needs to recover. Let him rest." The downward tilt of his eyes moved away as he stared forward to a device in his chair, resuming his typing.
"Fine." She ran a tongue across her upper teeth, a shiver running across her spine as she recalled how the man had squirmed in the last battle. It must have been because of his previous position in that special forces squad, no other stamen had made such delightful screams when she had decided to let loose. "Does Plantation 13 have an ocean?"
"An ocean?" A tall woman turned to her right, meeting Zero-two's eyes. "You know that no Plantations have an ocean. They're all the same. Won't a shower do?"
She flipped her hair over her shoulder and brought her cap down, blocking the sun from reaching her eyes. "I want to swim in some clear ocean water."
"We'll be descending shortly. Please sit down and buckle your seatbelts."
"Understood." The woman, her Nana if she remembered correctly; turned around to look at her. "Lets continue this later."
She didn't bother to respond, glancing outside the window at the shining white dome that they were approaching.
"You are the chosen ones."
That was what Papa had said. Back when the orders were given at the garden and they were all taken to this plantation. At the time he had been excited. Another chance to prove his worth, another chance to show that he could be a parasite, that he could pilot a Franxx and defend humanity.
"Positive pulse and P-factor dropping. Timed out."
"Negative pulse standing by."
"3."
"2."
"1."
"Timed out."
He remembered the way Naomi trembled had underneath him, the way the sweat mixed with his tears as he failed to connect to her. His ears still rang as pressurized air hissed and the test cockpit folded open.
"Code 703 and Code 016."
"You fail."
He felt empty, like he was missing something; some other half. Maybe it was just his hopeless desire to prove himself to Papa, but he couldn't help but compare himself to the Jian bird he had read about.
A pitiful creature, needing to rely on something else to do something so basic as flying. But even so, if what he needed was another half, just another wing; he was willing to be that pitiful creature. Anything to fly for Papa.
His communicator buzzed against his leg. It must be Ichigo. She was the only one that would bother to reach out to him this many times. She would have to wait. He was entitled to run away from his problems for a little bit. To pretend that it wouldn't be his last day on the Plantation, and that everything was normal.
A thump startled him out of his thoughts. Peeling himself off of the grass he rose to his feet. There was a smear of red on the glass dome that encircled the entire area. He pressed his fingers against the dripping fluid, bringing them back as the thin consistency ran through his fingertips.
Blood. It was clear by the pattern on the window that something had ran into it. A bird most likely, it wouldn't have been the first time. Tweeting drew his attention to his feet, where a brown and white bird struggled to orientate itself back onto its feet. Its talons scratched and pulled up grass, and before he had a chance to lean down and help it; it had flopped onto its side, getting a shaky start before flapping off.
He could feel his brow furrow and his lips pull down at the birds fleeing form. It was more injured than he had thought. It was uneven, shaky. A clump of air washed across his tongue as he sighed, before setting off after it.
The Doctor was getting lax with her. She knew that much. Even as foolish and by the books all the adults were, it shouldn't have been that easy to slip away and find herself in the forest. So she had to take advantage of their lapse of attention. But how?
She brought an arm up to her nose, inhaling the air that wafted across it. A bath would be a good start, and if she had seen correctly from her view in the transport; then there should be one.. right… here!
She pressed a branch to the side and stepped onto sand crunching it beneath her boots. This would be a good place.
I never knew there was a place like this. He had maybe followed that bird too far, but it wasn't like he had anything that he had to get done today.
He stepped out onto the shoreline, peering as he swiveled his head; drinking in the surroundings. He had explored more of Mistilteinn than any of his friends, mainly due to running off after failing to connect; but the lake he was seeing was still very new to him. Turning to the right, a trunk sticking out of the ground caught his eye. Or rather the flash of pink and red resting on top of it did.
A parasites uniform? The sand crunched underneath his shoes as he walked over to the trunk, picking up the garment and looking over it. But… it isn't like ours.
The sound of splashing water sat on his shoulder, sliding softly into his ear. Craning his neck to the noise, his eyelids narrowed as he attempted to figure out the source of the noise. There were small ripples that he followed across the otherwise still surface of the lake to the source; a figure drifting lazily across the cool water on her back. Her pink hair dragged her head down, weighed down by the water she was swimming in.
These must be her clothes. He lowered the garment, setting it back on the trunk when he realized what exactly he was holding. Blood flushed to his cheeks and he stepped back quickly, turning away from both the trunk and the girl in the water.
The soft splashes from the girl swimming drifted away, and he slowly let the stiffness in his shoulders wash away. She must be finished by now; and would come onto the shore to get dressed. He could talk to her then, without intruding on her dignity. Any moment now there would be the crunch of sand against feet and he would hear clothes ruffling. Any moment now….
He turned towards the branch that her garments were on. Still there, they didn't look any more disturbed than when he had stepped away from them. Which meant… she was still in the water. His heel drove into the soil underneath as he swiveled towards the lake, eyes narrowing as the smooth surface of the lake reflected back at him. Where had she gone? Was she drowning?
He found his legs moving of his their own accord at the thought; pressing into the soil and forcing his lower body into the water. The fluid wrapped tight around his legs and clung to his clothes, the added weight and friction slowing him down. He ground his jaws together and pressed harder to compensate. He had to get to her!
A pink head of hair rose from beneath the surface, moving towards his legs before with a sudden lurch it shot itself upwards, revealing the person underneath. She had a minnow clenched in her powerful jaws, her hair framing her body and clinging to her chest as she flew into the air. It was his first look at naked female body, but he found that it was her two alluring horns that kept him from looking away.
He was familiar. Too familiar. He looked just like that boy in the snow from all those years ago. Those eyes, the color of his hair. He looked like a grown up version of the boy that had taken her out into the outside world all those years ago. And yet-
It didn't feel right. The fish twitched in her mouth. It felt like a thousand flies were crawling across her skin as his eyes slowly took in the sight before him, always being dragged back up the protrusions on her head. The fish she had caught felt rancid as it flopped in her teeth and pushed against her lips. He had never looked at her this way back then. As if she was any different from him, despite how her skin was a brilliant ruby red, or her horns had curved sharply into the air. If this was APE's attempt at rekindling her dwindling trust in them; it was a poor one.
She spat the fish out and walked towards the fake, letting the water crawl along her skin as she peered into the boys eyes. It dripped down her nose and cheeks, filling her nose with that of the lake she had just emerged from. He never moved as she got closer to him, but it was hard to ignore the way his eyes followed the bumps on her head.
"N-n-naked!?" He shifted backwards and turned his head away, pink dusting the tissue. Cute.
"Oh. And here I thought you were dead." She ran a hand through her hair, flicking the wet fibers over her shoulder as she walked around him towards the branch she had stripped down at.
"Are you a parasite?"
"Something like that." She turned her gaze towards the boy. "Are you going to swim?"
"Huh? Me?"
Man he was thick. "Yes. You."
"Nah, im good."
"Oh really? You were staring so hard I thought you wanted to swim too."
He turned his head to the side and she felt her heart begin to beat slightly at the pink blush on his cheek. Her darling had that same expression, all those years ago in the snow.
"Thats because I thought that you were drowning! I jumped in to save you and-" Hes eyes seemed hesitant to land anywhere on her. The blush on his cheeks grew stronger. "c-could you put your clothes on?"
Ah, so that was it. Her lips pulled towards her ear as she slammed her fist into her palm. "I get it! You're a pervert!"
"W-where did that come from?!"
"The way you keep looking at me is a pretty good hint.~"
His eyes scrunched up and he turned his head to the side. "I-it isn't what it looks like!" His shout was followed by a sniffle, her ears straining as they just barely picked it up.
Her canines pressed into her lips as she did her best to prevent the rush of air her lungs were pressing out; but she couldn't help it. Her shoulders began to shake and her jaws opened as unconstrained air rushed through her throat and into the air in high pitched bursts. She was sure it was exactly what it looked like; but the way he denied it was too funny, too adorable. It made her laugh. She found her knees buckling underneath herself and her arms gripping her sides as she fell forward; struggling to breath as air rushed out into the air in joyful bursts.
It took a few moments of what she was sure was sheer embarrassment for the lookalike before she managed to drag in air down her throat and breathe normally, but she couldn't keep the corners of her mouth from rising up her cheeks. "You jumped in to save me huh? I appreciate that. Thank you."
"Are you a parasite as well?"
"No." He had turned around as she dressed herself, not wanting to invade on her privacy anymore than he had already done. He hadn't expected those to be the first words she had spoken to him upon getting dressed, and it stabbed a bit deeper into his chest than he would care to admit.
"So you don't pilot?"
"I can't pilot. I no longer have the ability." He tossed a rock a few times in his hands, testing the heft behind it before chucking it into the lake. Its descent broke the surface with a small splash of water droplets splattering onto his shoes. "I don't have a place here anymore."
"Huh. So you are just like me."
"Huh?" He turned around to stare upwards at the strange girl. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm always alone too, thanks to these horns." She raised her arms, setting the white band in between them across her hair and lowering them to reveal they had latched onto said protrusions. "If you don't belong here, just build a place where you do. If you don't have a partner, just find another. And if you can't-"
She was walking towards him now, her feet crunching the ground as her eyes narrowed and a playful grin began to stretch the corners of her mouth. He shifted backwards, bringing his knees underneath him as he prepared for the worst. Too little, too late.
"Take one by force!"
Her lunge met his chest, the weight driving him onto his back, her firm hands pressing him down into the lakebed before lowering and allowing her arms to find a resting spot on either side of his face. He would have felt a faint stinging in his shoulders at the impact if she didn't follow up with a lick to his cheek, the sensation of the rough appendage calling of his focus too it.
"Wow, your taste makes my heart race."
Hers wasn't the only one. He could feel his own heart thumping away in his chest as he breathed in her scent. It felt heavier than the air around him, heavier than her weight on his chest. With every inhale his heart constricted painfully.
"It bites and lingers…. The taste of danger~"
"Wh-what are you-"
"Would you have preferred a kiss?"
"A kiss?"
"Oh, you guys don't know huh?" She leaned her face back down, her lips briefly moving across where her tongue had been just moments ago to reach down to his ear, her breath sending ripples into the water as she spoke. "Its a very special thing."
The weight on his chest disappeared as she stood up, holding her hand out towards him. "I think I've taken a liking to you. Won't you be my darling?"
"D-darling? Don't you mean partner?"
For a moment he could have sworn he said something wrong. The smile on her face was replaced with a imperceptible frown, the shine in her eyes had dulled, and her fingers curled just slightly.
"Your ability's probably just still dormant. I can awaken it for you. And you weren't frightened by my horns."
And then it was back. Her fingers spread open, waiting for him to take it. He couldn't stop his own arm from reaching towards it in kind, his hand opening to take hers in it.
The treeline behind her shifted, leaves rustling as broad shoulders stepped through, announcing an interrupting; unwanted presence. Her hand pulled away.
"Too bad." Her eyes were dull now, he was sure of it. "Times up."
"We've been looking for you." The boy with broad shoulders stepped forward, putting himself between Hiro and the girl. He took Hiro's outstretched arm with his uninjured one and pulled him up onto his feet in one quick movement. "Why do you keep running off alone?"
"Its not like there's anything else to do." She obviously wasn't pleased about this interruption, her soft lips only pulling down further as a cap landed on her head, covering the horns that had capitalized on his attention.
"Well, as your partner, I'm the one who suffers for it."
"Partner?" He pulled his hand to his chest, laying his palm flat against his beating heart in a vain attempt to slow it down.
Broad shoulders shifted as the boy turned to him, revealing a scarred face, bandages wrapped around it and a respirator strapped over his mouth and nose. "Are you a parasite cadet? Your welcoming ceremony's later today right? I'm sorry that she bothered you."
"Um…. what did you mean by 'partner'?"
"Let me give you some advice." His rasping voice answered him. "Stay far away from her. Shes not the kind of pistil that just any stamen can handle."
For some reason his heart refused to stop. It felt tight, it felt powerful. It beat against his hand and threatened to burst through his ribcage if he didn't say something, anything to the girl that was being led away. He leaned around the large blue frame blocking his view, throat constricting as he shouted at her retreating form. "Your code number, whats your code number!?"
Her shoulders stiffened in response to the question, but she didn't make any other acknowledgement that she had heard him. It felt like the lake had grown far colder after he uttered those words. He had said something wrong without knowing, something that he couldn't take back.
He didn't offer any resistance when the guards found him, hauling him back off to the boarding house. Getting mocked for his lack of a partner was one thing. But the way that she had walked away from him left an icy scar in his heart. Maybe he was just desperate, clinging on to the promise she had just tossed out without a care in the world. But he truly did feel that maybe she was right, and that all he was missing was just that other half to fly…
But he had messed up, and that other half had turned away from him, walking off into the forest with an injured stamen telling him to stay away. He was just one half of a solution. And his missing part had forsaken him.
The sky seemed further away than ever.
"Partner killer?" Crumbs spewed across the table, as the large boy spoke with his mouth full of a bread roll for the fifth time that morning.
"Yeah, apparently the girl has horns and fangs. I even heard that any parasite that rides with her will have his blood sucked dry! They always die after the third ride with her; but some don't even survive the second!" Zorome shook his head, his leg swaying as he spoke.
"Surely thats just a rumor." Two pigtails shifted in the corner of her eyes, Miku.
"It's true! I overheard it from a security guard myself!" Her partner rebutted.
"You seem way too excited about this for it to be true Zorome!"
"Ichigo." Her gaze was drawn from the two bickering partners to the door way the voice had spoken from. Goro was standing in it, brushing the hair out of his glasses as he looked down at a blue haired girl leaning against the wall. "Did you get a hold of Hiro?"
Blue hair swayed from side to side. "Nope. Not a trace."
"Hey…." Zorome leaned over the couch towards him. "Lets not bring him up. Its our special day, we don't need to bring him into it and drag us down."
"I'm fine Zorome." She leaned forward, resting a hand on the boys knee. Honestly; he had the strangest way of trying to keep the mood up. Antagonizing wouldn't do anyone any favors here. "I don't think its hurting anyone to feel sorry for Hiro."
"But he wasn't at the briefings earlier today. I don't think that hes going to be at the startup ritual." Futoshi was already stuffing another roll into his mouth as he spoke, spewing crumbs across the carpet.
"I think Hiro's showing real integrity."
Her nose scrunched up. For a boy that acted aloof and above them all, Mitsuru sure was the one that never missed out an opportunity to rib on her partner. Or former partner. Whatever.
"It must be hard for him to face us after what happened. Spare a thought for how he feels."
"You're one to talk Mitsuru, if your scores were any lower youd be in the same position as him." Miku spoke up from her left. "Maybe don't force it."
She moved her arm, resting a hand on Miku's legs. "Shut it, the both of you. Don't let his departure ruin the day."
The soft thud of a book shutting reached her ears, giving her just enough warning to strain them so that she could hear Ikuno's soft voice following. "Are you glad that hes leaving Naomi?"
The hand in her lap curled slightly. She was trying to end the topic of him leaving, not drag it into the sole conversation. But… they were owed a answer regardless. "No. But, a small part of me is glad that it wasn't me that was being forced out."
Ikuno hummed in response, dragging her eye across the her figure as she confessed, before opening the book to the page she had left off on.
"I'm sad that hes leaving." Kokoro's soft voice spoke up.
She offered a bitter smile in return, leaning across Miku to gently pat the blond's knee. "I think that in some way… we all are. No one wants to see a fellow child leave. So many disappeared from the Garden…. I hoped that maybe it would stop once we left."
"Are you going to be there Naomi?"
"Huh?" She turned towards the blue hair girl, who was now leaning over the couch, crossing her arms underneath her stomach as a support. "What do you mean Ichigo?"
"To tell him goodbye. Are you going to be there for him when he leaves."
"I… wasn't planning on it… I wanted to attend the startup ritual with you guys."
"That isn't really fair Naomi. We'll have each other there already. But hes going to be alone." Kokoro's hands wrapped around her own as she spoke.
"Yeah, I think you should be there. At least to let him leave with some happier memories."
"…I don't really want to do that Futoshi."
"Why not. You're his partner Naomi. You should be there for him." The blue hair shook slightly as her leader put on a more commanding voice. So thats how it was going to be?
"Former partner Ichigo." She drew her hands behind her back, digging her fingernails into the fabric and looking down as her shoes pressed into the carpet. Her heart was thumping against her ribs and she could feel her face begin to heat up.
"That isn't what Ichigo meant." Their partner put his hands on Ichigo's shoulder's, squeezing them gently. "Current or former partner, Hiro's still family. We should be there for him"
"Which begs the question; why won't you at least go and make his departure easier? You might not have succeeded together but you still relied on each other."
A bitter rush of air scratched against her throat before coming out into the world as a short bark of laughter. "Hiro never did anything of the sort, and never gave me any opportunity to do so Ichigo."
"I'm sure that isn't true Naomi. Hiro's a bit different from us sure... But he wouldn't just leave you to dry, try to understand-"
"Understand what Ichigo! Thats exactly what he did to me!" Her legs extended and she found the distance between her shoes and her eyes much greater as she turned away from her leader. "Hes never spared a thought for how we feel! Hes always running away from his failures and leaving us, leaving me to pick up the pieces!"
"Hey.."
She felt Miku's hand wrap around her own, a soft pressure prying against her fingers as they tried to drag her back down onto the couch. Her hand slipped out of the grasp and slapped it away. The floor shook before she craned her head towards Ichigo, her lips trembling. "Maybe you don't know because you've never piloted with him, but I have! Its not nice! Hes warped Ichigo! It feels disgusting being connected to him, to feel so much sadness and frustration suddenly become your own! I didn't ask for him to share it with me; he forced it on me and then left before he had to deal with the consequences!"
"T-that might be.. but hes still your partner-"
"Oh fuck. Off! Ichigo!" Her breath hitched, vision narrowing as her eyelids began to narrow and a wetness slid down her cheek. She turned away from the blue haired girl, stumbling towards the opposite exit of the room. "He runs off and makes his own decisions. He never stops to think about us, about how I feel when he abandons us! Even when there are people like you; doing all they can to support him, he never reciprocates! He never let me lean on him!"
Her hand gripped the doorway, fingernails digging into the wood as her blurry gaze drug across the carpet till she could just barely make out figures leaning on the couches. "I don't see any of you going out of your way to help someone like that! Why don't you go and say goodbye if you care so damn much!"
Steam drifted into the air in lazy currents as she sat on the metal hull of her Franxx. And yet the warmth that surrounded her body wouldn't, couldn't force its way through the seams of her uniform.
Her code number. If she needed anything to prove that he wasn't the boy in the snow, that was probably it. He had asked for her name, and when she didn't have one he had given it to her. This lookalike had instead asked for her code number. She could still recall the crawling sensation on her skin as he had stared at her horns.
But then why did he look so much like him. Why did her heart flutter whenever she looked into those cerulean eyes, why did she feel like she was going to be swept into the ocean by a gentle wave, even as that filth drug her away from it?
A rank stench carried on the wind flew underneath her nose. It smelt dangerous, causing all the hairs on her skin to prick up into the pistil suit she had donned earlier that morning. Turning the way the stench had come from; a normal eye might've found nothing unusual. She peered harder however, a small smile forming on her lips as a glint of sapphire blue swam through the rock towards the plantation.
"I smell a Klaxosaur~"
It had all happened so fast. With no one there to send him off he had once more withdrawn into the confines of his own mind; content to watch the clouds and his time until his expulsion tick away into nothingness.
And then the klaxosaur had appeared, ripping apart the earth as it swam towards them. The cannons still thundered in his ears even after the beast had destroyed them, spinning its tail across the side of the plantation and detonating a chain of explosions as the metal crumpled beneath is might. His knuckles were still white from the force that he had gripped the catwalk he was on with as it was smacked into the air before crashing onto the plantation.
The debris from the collision was thick in the air, caking the insides of his cheeks with a moist film of metal shavings when he tried to bring a breath to sooth his aching lungs. His heart was pressing against his chest, pumping adrenaline through the legs that were now driving him after the Klaxosaur's shrinking frame. N-no, thats where the startup ritual is!
His legs couldn't keep up, the Moho class was too fast for him, each step of its metal legs widening the gap between them and kicking up red earth that flew into his eyes and got stuck in his hair. His arm stung as rocks ripped through the flimsy fabric and embedded themselves in the soft skin, stopping them from pelting his eyes as he gave pursuit; focusing on the metal thuds of the Klaxosaur moving to where his friends where.
His hand found the railing, gliding along it as he pushed his muscles harder than he ever had before to keep up with the monster heading towards his friends. The dust that clung to his skin and obscured his vision was blown away by a gust of fierce wind that picked him up, tossing him back first into the opposite wall, his head slamming into the unmoving surface soon after. White spots danced across his vision; ears ringing as the foundations he was on shook and the panels he had landed on tossed him into the air once more, pushed out of their place by the impact of something much sturdier than they were. The dust that had just been blown away was replaced with a thicker clump billowing around him, pressing down and sticking to the sweat forming underneath his clothing. A shrill whine was pressing into his skull, preventing him from making sense of his surroundings. "W-what was that?"
A wet cough answered him, the sound of a body smacking into the panelling below dragging his attention to a vaguely familiar broad shouldered boy that had dropped before him. His arms trembled as he dug his fingers into the metal, dragging himself over the boy. "H-hey, are you alright?"
"Forget about him. He's done for. Couldn't even make it through our second ride together."
She looked different, blood caking the right side of her face and congealing in her lashes as it poured in thick rivulets down her skin. Or maybe it was the way that she slouched against the frame she had tossed his body so unceremoniously out of, looking down at his stuttering chest with an icy glare, her tongue running across her lips. But the sight of her horns made it clear that this was the same girl from the lake.
"What are you doing in there?
"What?" Her tone was sweet like honey as she smiled at him. As if there wasn't a several thousand ton beast that had just slapped her into the plantation without a care in the world. "I'm going monster hunting of course."
"You're going to pilot this Franxx alone?"
She turned away from him, her teal eyes dragging down towards the boy she had kicked out of the cockpit. "I gotta go."
"W-wait a second! You can't! You're hurt!" He leaned across the entrance to the cockpit, reaching out with a shaky hand to wrap around her arm and drag her back. The arm slipped through his grip like water moving around a stone, and he felt a stinging sensation as sharp claws ran across his cheek, digging into the skin and ripping it open.
"Out of my way!" She fell onto her arms, stumbling towards the pistil's seat, her chest heaving as she brought in thick gulps of air.
"This is insanity!" He leaned over the edge again. He couldn't let her go, not like this. It would kill her, even as strong as she appeared to be, no one could pilot a Franxx alone! His fingers gripped the metal, flesh sizzling as he tried to pull himself up after her. "You're by yourself! Franxx can't be piloted alone!"
"I'm always alone!" Her hands found the bulge of the pistils seat, gloved hands straining as she pulled her weight up the slope. "Thats how its always been. Im used to it."
"You'll die!"
"I'm not afraid of death." There was that icy tone again. He could just barely make her nose out through the bloody hair stuck to her face. But her words echoed throughout the cockpit with a chilling ferocity. "That thing's going to start moving again, and when it does; we'll all be dead. I'm not afraid of death. I have a job to do."
He was powerless. Powerless to help his friends. Powerless to fight a klaxosaur. He couldn't even stop this girl from marching towards her own death. But he couldn't just take it lying down. "Wait. Ill pilot that Franxx with you. I'm not about to leave you alone."
"Oh? Are you prepared to die?"
"I don't have a choice. I don't belong here, I don't belong anywhere." His lip trembled as he fought to keep it from bursting forth like a flood breaking a damn. He couldn't help but let a few droplets run down his cheeks, mixing with the blood that was bubbling forth. "But I'm not leaving you alone here."
"Huh… You really are just like me."
"Its been a long time since I've seen a human cry…" A finger rubbed across his cheek, peeling open the thin slashes that just moments ago it had left behind, blood and tears glistening on the red gloves as they mixed. "The look in your eyes makes my heart race."
"Now come to me." Her palm opened, her fingers stretching out towards him as the command was made. The spell she put him under at the lake returned and his own arm shot forward, hand clasping tight against hers. "Let me get a taste of you-"
"After all…" She was pulling him in, the thin limbs hiding the strength they possessed as they gripped his hand and tore him from the chains shackling him to the ground. She fell into the Stamen seat, her nails digging into his back as she brought him closer to her. "You are now my darling!"
He saw her tongue roll across her lips, getting a glimpse of the canines through the gap between her jaws. Her lips crashed into his own, lightning shot through his nerves, and the world burned white.
A hoarse whine crawled out as her pilot disconnected, her embrace no longer holding the heat at bay; letting it all wash over her again. The familiar torrent of fire and agony raced through her systems as the boy she was piloting with plummeted to the metal below. By why wasn't she connecting again? Why? It hurtsomuch, she needed her there, to help burden the agony racing through her systems.
She tried to peer past her snout, to where the girl had dropped the man. But the white metal of her own helm shone mockingly as it blocked her view. She could hear voices, but it was hard to make out.
WhY woUldn'T she just COmEbackIN. It was torturous when she was by herself, toO much to bear. And that klaxosaur would be back soon to finish the job. They needed to pilot nOw, now before the hEAt melted her systems and she was a molten mEss. WhywHyWoUldn'tshejUstCONneCtandembraceHeraGain?
She felt her pilot step back into her maw again. Yes, yes thats right. SOoON. SOontheheatwouldbeGONE and it would be the TWO of them. Sowhywasn'tsheconnecting.
She felt another pair of hands on her cockpit, pressing down as they tried to enter. NonoononoO. Not thrEe, twO. TWO. Three was toO much, too HOT. Allsheneededwasforherpilottoconnect!
The seconds ticked on in an agonizing march as her metal steamed into the air. She was forced to wait as the voices spoke to each other, debating amongst themselves. But if they didn't move soon then they would all die!
ConnectcoNNecTConneCtCONecTjustCONNECTALREADYithURts!
The steam rising from her metal shell ceased as she felt the jagged embrace of her pilot. The heat was still there, smoldering underneath the surface; but she could deal with that. And she could deal with her pilot's struggles as well, deal with the jagged and sharp outcrops stabbing into her own. Yessss yes yes yes, thankyouthankyou, no more. But what was that? Who was this other person in there with her? Why was there a THIRD person, ThrEe was too mUch they had AGreEd on thAT.
Red talons drove into the molten metal as she forced herself onto her feet. Molten metal strings snapping and falling back to the metal below as her talons reached towards her head.
Getoutgetoutgetout! WHy did they bring in a ThiRd they had aGreED that thReE was too HoT!
Her claws froze inside of her maw, talons scraping against the cockpit. They were driving into the the thorn that her pilot had lodged in there hell bent on tearing it out before a new embrace wrapped tight around her. It was familiar, brushing off the embers that clung to the cracks in her armor. It was soft and feathery, refreshing like a lemonade on a sweltering summers day. It took all the pain away, flushing her anguish and hate out of her engines and muting her pilots mind, easing her suffering and dulling the jagged ends of their connection..
It felt like glacier water.
Oh.
So that's why her pilot had brought him in.
A black wall rushed towards her, slamming between her jaws and into the plantation once more. Walls crumpled underneath her back like paper as she was driven deeper inside.
Her jaws clenched tight around the metal flesh in her maw, and she pushed back, digging her talons into metal and pressing forward against the massive Klaxosaur. Her neck strained as she tilted her jaw towards the heavens, raising the beast off of the ground as she suspended herself on two legs. It looked awkward, uncanny. But her as her legs shifted up to help her jaw hold the klaxosaur in the air; it felt so natural.
She heaved the two legged behemoth away from her with a single flowing movement through her arms. She staggered forward, her arms held in the air behind her as she struggled to balance herself on her new legs, the ground much further away than it was mere moments ago. She could feel a pole rotating along her head before slamming into place on her on helm, jutting forward proudly into the air. Her fingers spread apart as a pole slid through them before wrapping around a grip.
The ground shook as she got a better grip on her spear. The klaxosaur must've gotten back up, the humm of energy filling her receptors only solidifying that hunch. Turning on a heel, she found her body lurching forward, her hand flying forward as it tossed the spear, propelling it forward into the jaws of the klaxosaur, burying itself within its gaping maw.
Her hips trembled before an explosive force shot her forward towards the monster, slamming into the spear and driving it ever deeper into the klaxosaur. It was humming in her hands, filling with energy as it dragged across the beasts innards. Her knuckled tightened around the shaft to get a better grip as she drove forward, her thumb pressing down on a piece of metal that gave way as she unconsciously pressed down harder on it. "Game over monster."
The beast exploded in front of her eyes, the black skin burning to a crisp as her spear cooked it alive and its innards sprang into the air; blood raining from the sky and coating her in thick cool droplets that clung to her metal shell. She brought her hand forward, resting it on the handle of the spear as she balanced herself, air rushing through her filters and blowing across her reactor as she regained the energy she had just expelled.
Maybe three wasn't too much. She rather liked this new presence in her head.
Stupid humans.
It had been rather easy to escape the containment he had woken to find himself in. The metal there was cracked and dull; nothing like the plantation that he and his brothers had attacked a few days before. It was all to easy to fake being inactive, asleep as tiny figures moved around and prodded at his flesh.
It was hard to make out their words as they performed tests on him. Both due to how tiny they were compared to him, as well as the difference in their languages. Or rather, his lack of a language. But he had the time to spare to try and figure it out. When he had learned that he was to serve as a demonstration to boost effectiveness of their soldiers on the field, it wasn't all that difficult of a choose to make. He decided that he needed to escape.
It was incredibly easy. Maybe they were relying on location to prevent him from being able to move; it was much colder here than he would care for, cold enough to make the ground too hard for a conrad like him to dig through. But it wasn't cold enough to stop him from bursting through his cage door and into the dull hallways that stretched onward on either direction. He decided to go left. Thats where he had felt the energy come from whenever the humans would visit, so thats where he scuttled off, hoping to find an exit.
Instead, the further he went down the hallway, the more he felt a prodding sensation at his mind. It was soft, caressing his skin and smoothing the bumps and dents that had formed with a gentle tune streaming from the start of its embrace.
It had to be another Klaxosaur. If he was lucky it might even be his queen! Oh how lovely it would be to see her in person, to know that she rescued him. The singing grew stronger as his talons dragged him across the metal ceiling and to the source of the noise, the sensation of being enveloped in a gentle hug growing stronger and stronger before fading away as he came face to face with a large white door.
He tried to restrain his disappointment. He thought he was being rescued. Not the other way around.
There was a lever on the floor. Scuttling towards it, he pressed it forward, shoving his body weight until it shot forward, slamming into the other side. For a moment, nothing happened. And then the ground shook as gears beneath him churned, air hissing as the door began to slide open.
The singing was clearer now that the door was opened. Not as muffled as it was before when it had caressed his black shell, but still softer than when he had been following it here. There must be a Moho-class, or some other large Klaxosaur in there. That was what had been drawing him towards this door. A swell of pride stirred up inside of him at the realization that he had managed to escape before them.
So you had to be saved by a lowly Conrad class hmm? He skittered forward, the sole eye on his blobby form narrowing. Guess that goes to show just how useful we are. Maybe you're bigger than me, but you aren't better!
The singing continued to caress him as he moved forward, encouraging him to enter the room, to cross the threshold.
Its quite pathetic that you couldn't get yourself out. After all- I managed, and I'm just a weak little conrad, so easily crushed underfoot by your kind. He stopped on the edge of the door way, peering into the darkness , the blue lines on his flesh offering little illumination into the room, which was devoid of any light. You must be particularly pathetic.
The song hitched slightly, no longer caressing his skin but stuck; tiny pinpricks digging underneath his flesh.
His eye narrowed. Don't stop singing. Its the least you can do to repay me for saving you, you should be grateful.
The singing resumed when he said that. But it was off. Hollow and empty, no longer full of the joy and happiness that it had been soothing him with earlier. The pinpricks quickly turned into knives, stabbing into him and scratching against the side of his core as the pace of the song slowed into something more dangerous and foreboding.
W-what are you doing? His talons scraped along the floor as he skittered backwards. The song was pressing down around him now; crushing the surface of his skin into metal splinters that fell to the floor below. He could feel it reaching out from him and he stumbled backwards, staying just outside of its reach.
The lever pressed into his back, his metal flesh giving way as he pressed into it. Harder and harder, his talons now just out of its reach. Turning around, he wrapped his front talons around the lever, scrabbling for purchase as he drove to turn the level back against itself. It hadn't been this hard to push before!
The fibers underneath his shell heaved with a herculean effort as he drove up and against the lever, slowly gaining ground before it shot back into its resting place. Dust rumbled from the ceiling as the gears began to turn once more, and he could hear the metal screeching as the door began to close back into place. The singing stopped and his form slumped against the lever, the knives tearing into his skin pulling out as the music left his mind.
Something closed tight around his leg, and his form stiffened. And then he was being pulled back, rocketing through the air as he felt the door squeeze shut around his skin, upper layers of his armors being shaved off as he entered the darkness.
…that was strange.
She hadn't sent any klaxosaurs to attack anything recently, especially not any so small. So why did it feel like something tiny had just been severed from her?
…whatever. She had more important things to think about. The destruction of plantation 57 had given her a wondrous opportunity she had taken advantage of to its fullest, but that time was coming to an end. She had bigger plans at the moment; more important strategies with several moving parts to focus on and make sure everything went accordingly. It was unfortunate that the klaxosaur had perished, but it was only a Conrad. It was small, easily replaced. She didn't relish its severing from her control, but bigger things demanded her attention.
It wasn't important.
Authors note:
Hi, thanks for reading. Im pretty new to all of this, if you couldn't tell. I've never written a proper fanfiction before and this is my first real attempt at it. So I just want to say thanks to all of you that picked it up, even if I started a few years after the original run of the show.
I would really appreciate reviews on the story. I'm trying my best to make it good and presentable for everyone; but I'm not perfect by any means.
Anyways, ill keep chipping away at this as time goes on. Have a good one.