Darling in the FranXX: The Reaper Squadron
Chapter 9: Aftermath
Aiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeee! I'm a day late in posting this chapter! Gomenasai!
"Had I really forgotten all this time? How did I forget something so important?" Hiro thought as he sat in the medical ward. After the events of yesterday, he was immediately rushed to the medical ward as he had collapsed shortly after awakening. When he awoke earlier, he realized that the fuzzy images he had been seeing were, in fact, his memories. Memories from the Garden. Memories of Zero Two. Memories of meeting her, a girl with stunning long red horns and beautiful red skin. Memories of escaping the Garden with her. Memories of finding that giant tree. Memories of being captured. Memories of seeing her being tortured. Memories of being told that what he had seen and done should be forgotten and then them making him forget. "How dare they."
Hiro was struggling to remember how his memories came back to him though. He did die, of that he was sure, but he was brought back. For some reason, he was denied death and forced back into his body. Why though he was not sure.
…
"I'm surprised that he is already awake. His YBC has gone far beyond what a body should be able to handle yet, he is wide awake and unaffected, aside from the collapse yesterday." Nana said, looking at the monitor displaying the feed from the camera that was installed in the medical ward. "His mind is clearly hazy, too. Side effect of nearly dying perhaps?"
"Either way, the result was the same despite him being different. It's time to call this off. Papa wants to try connecting her to one of Reaper 1's members, to see what happens." Hachi said.
…
Zero Two was staring at Strelitiza in frustration. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" she thought. "Darling was in the cockpit with me, he wasn't supposed to get hurt!" She sighed. Reaper had been right, he told her not to push too hard and she had anyway. As a result, her Darling had died. But her Darling had come back. While she was crying over his body, he had suddenly jerked back to life, all traces of the tumor, gone. Something had changed though. When she looked into his eyes, she noticed that he saw her in a new light, but before she could ask, that blue-haired girl, Ichigo, pulled her away from Darling and prevented her from asking.
"I need to talk to Darling." she thought as she walked down the hallways to the medical ward. "I need to know what changed."
"Wait." A voice said but she ignored it.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" the voice said again but she still ignored it. That is, until she was suddenly yanked around to face the owner of the voice, Ichigo. She was glaring at her.
"Don't try to stop me, I need to talk to my Darling." Zero Two said.
"You can't be serious! Do you realize that it was you who put him in a hospital bed, right!" Ichigo shouted as the rest of Squad 13 came running.
"You are never going anywhere near Hiro again." Ichigo said.
"C-calm down Ichigo" Goro said. "Zero Two is probably worried about him too, you know."
"Yeah. Why are you getting so worked up over this Ichigo?" Miku asked.
"All this time you have deceived Hiro and exploited him. And you just tried to take his life!" Ichigo shouted.
"'Take his life?'" Futoshi said.
"I heard all about it. You suck your partners life away and you discard them once you are done. And you have killed many people that way!" Ichigo said.
"Who told you that?" Goro asked.
"When your partners ride with you, you forcefully give them more Yellow Blood Cells. You try to turn them into you and it kills them! You can't force people to become like you!" Ichigo shouted.
"Zero Two, is that true?" Ikuno asked.
"It can't be, right?" Kokoro said.
"There must be a misunderstanding." Goro said. "Hiro is still alive after all and completely unaffected by her."
"Shut up." Zero Two said. "What I do with to Darling is none of your god damn business."
"So, you admit it?" Ichigo whispered.
"Happy now? Just let me see my Darling." Zero Two said before turning around and walking away.
Ichigo ran in front of her.
"No." she said.
"Get out of my way." Zero Two said and went to push Ichigo aside, but she caught her hand.
"No, for what you have done, I am never letting you see Hiro again." Ichigo said. "You have done nothing but lie to us and use him the entire time. You have no place here anymore!"
Around the corner, Reaper and his squad were hidden, having overheard the entire conversation.
"That's not your call to make, Ichigo." Reaper muttered, shaking his head.
…
"016? You have some visitors." A nurse said as Reaper and his squad walked into the room. Hiro looked up.
"Hey guys." Hiro said.
"How are you feeling?" Raven asked pulling up a chair. The others did the same.
"Physically I'm fine but up here," Hiro said tapping his head. "not so much."
"Thoughts fuzzy? Confusion? Bit of a headache?" Snake said, and Hiro nodded.
"Side effects from your brush with death. You experienced something that the mind can't comprehend so it tends to scramble things." Owl said.
Reaper looked at Hiro's eyes.
"You remember now, don't you? That which was suppressed has returned?" Reaper asked.
Hiro nodded. "It was fuzzy before I woke up, but then it felt like I was catching up to myself and everything became clearer."
"You know that they are keeping her from you, right?" Crow said.
"They are?" Hiro asked.
Cypress nodded. "Yeah, they seem to be under the impression that she was simply using you. Trying to turn you into her. They think she was trying to kill you."
"Well they are not entirely wrong on two of those accounts." Hiro said.
"We know, and I rather imagine that, within those previously suppressed memories of yours, something happened which made you mostly immune to the effects of that treatment." Reaper said.
"I need to talk to her. She needs to know it was not her fault." Hiro said.
"We will see what we can do. Right now, you need to rest, and so do you." Owl said as she glared at Reaper.
"I will, I will." Reaper said holding his hands up placatingly.
Hiro laughed at him as Reaper 1 walked out the door.
"Rest now Hiro." Reaper said turning out the lights. "It's easier if you let your mind sort itself out on its own." He then closed the door.
…
"Where were you guys?" Ichigo asked as Reaper and his squad entered the manor.
"Visiting Hiro." Raven said before attempting to walk past Ichigo. Ichigo threw out her arm to stop her.
"Did I give you permission to do so?" Ichigo said.
Reaper narrowed his eyes at her. "Ichigo, you have neither the rank nor the right, to tell me and my squad what we can and cannot do." Reaper said in a commanding tone. "You are making decisions based on your emotions for Hiro and not the betterment of your squad."
"I have every right to…"
"No, you don't" Reaper said in a tone that left no room for argument.
"Where is Zero Two?" Owl asked.
"She is currently isolated in her room. No one is to see or speak with her until command gives us orders." Ichigo said.
Reaper huffed, and they walked past her to their section of the manor.
"We will see about that." Reaper muttered to himself, a plan forming in his head on how to get Zero Two to Hiro.
…
It was late at night when the plan went into action. Zorome and Futoshi were guarding the door leading to Zero Two's room. Her room was completely trashed, claw marks covered the walls and all the furniture in the room had been smashed. Zero Two was sitting up against a wall, chewing on her fingernails, when she heard a light tapping on the window. She looked out to see Owl and Raven hanging outside her window gesturing to her to open it up. When she indicated that she couldn't, Owl motioned her to back up before the window was wrapped in shadow. Owl then summoned Queen and tapped its tip onto the glass causing ice to spread across the window before Raven hit the ice, breaking the window without making a sound. The shards never hit the ground, instead they hovered in the air and moved so that Zero Two could climb out. She looked down to see Reaper's hands wrapped in shadow as he manipulated the glass.
"Come on, we are taking you to see Hiro." Raven whispered, and she jumped down off the manor, Zero Two and Owl followed shortly afterward.
Reaper then manipulated the glass to fit back into the window and bound it with shadow energy.
"Come on, let's go." Reaper said.
They navigated through the plantation, hiding from the guards and avoiding the cameras. As they were progressing down one of the hallways Zero Two asks,
"Why can't you create a shadow portal to my Darling's room instead of doing this?"
"While we could do that, you can't go through the portal. Anyone who doesn't know Umbrakinesis can't go through the Shadow Realm, it will destroy your mind." Snake said.
Zero Two said nothing and continued to follow behind Reaper 1. They reached the end of the hallway adjacent to where Hiro's room lay when they ran into a problem. Miku was standing guard outside Hiro's room. There was no way they could just walk up to Miku with Zero Two in tow and just enter the room.
"Damn it, I was hoping it wasn't going to come to this." Reaper whispered before turning to Zero Two and his squad. "We are going to have to knock her out."
Reaper looked back down the hallway and saw that there was a vent just behind Miku, looking up, Reaper saw that there was another vent in the wall just above them. Reaper pointed at the vent and then at Miku, his squad nodded. Crow and Cypress lifted Raven up to the vent where she used a shadow portal to hop inside. Reaper looked down the hallway at Miku and saw, a few moments later, another portal opening and Raven silently dropping down behind Miku. She crept up behind her and put her in a choke hold, covering her mouth and nose with her hand. Miku struggled for a minute, before collapsing due to lack of oxygen. Raven then looked left and right before giving the all clear for them to continue.
As Reaper approached he said,
"Tie her up and bring her in with us. We don't need her alerting security or the others that we are here."
Raven then produced a length of rope from her cloak before tying Miku up.
"Why do you always have rope in your cloak?" Zero Two asked.
"You never know when you need rope." Was all that Raven said as she finished tying Miku up.
Reaper then entered Hiro's room.
"Hiro, wake up. You have a visitor." Reaper said turning on the lights.
Hiro blearily opened his eyes before widening them with shock.
"Zero Two?!" Hiro said.
"Hello, Darling." Zero Two said, eyes looking at the ground in shame.
"Zero Two, come here." Hiro sighed out.
Zero Two stepped up next to the bed her eyes still looking down. Hiro sighed again before putting a finger under her chin to lift her gaze. As her eyes met Hiro's he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, Zero Two's eyes widened in shock.
Reaper's squad chuckled at the scene while Reaper himself just leaned against a wall with a satisfied smile on his face.
When they broke apart Zero Two's face was flush.
"It's not your fault Zero Two. I do not blame you and neither should you." Hiro said.
"But I killed you!" She cried.
"No, you didn't, I'm still here, I'm still alive. I'm not going anywhere, not again." Hiro said.
Zero Two looked at him in shock. "What are you…"
He placed his forehead against her horns and looked into her eyes. "I remember. I remember everything. I will not let them separate us again."
Zero Two's eyes widened before filling with tears. She lunged at him pulling him into a hug and kissing him again. Reaper could she her body shaking with relief. About that time, Reaper heard a sound coming from Miku. He looked down to see her staring at the two with confusion written all over her face.
"What are they doing? And why did you bring her here?" she asked, glaring at Reaper.
Glancing down at her he said, "What they are doing is called kissing, it's a very special thing that you only do to those you care for the most in your life. As for why we brought her here, like I told Ichigo earlier, she had no right to keep the two separated. There were things that needed to be said, and her keeping the two apart was only going to make things worse."
Zero Two was now sobbing into Hiro's chest, he was kissing her head and muttering things like "I'm here, I'm here." And "I'll never let them take you away from me again."
As Zero Two was sobbing into his chest, Hiro looked at Reaper and his squad gratefully. He mouthed a "Thank you" to them and Reaper nodded.
Reaper then cleared his throat to get Zero Two's attention, she looked up and realized who was in the room before blushing and wiping the tears away before standing.
"With the rate at which you are recovering, I should be able to spring you from medical tomorrow. Then we can sort out this mess with Ichigo." Reaper said and both Hiro and Zero Two nodded.
"Come on Zero Two, we need to get you back to your quarters before they realize you are gone." Owl said as they approached the door. Zero Two nodded before giving Hiro one last kiss before joining them. Reaper then turned a glare on Miku.
"Miku, not a word to anyone about this, until we get it sorted out." She nodded, shaking a bit in fear at the look he was giving her.
As they turned off the lights and closed the door behind them, Reaper turned and pressed a shadow wrapped hand against the door. The door was covered in shadow before the shadow dissipated. Reaper nodded, and they began to head back, leaving Miku to again guard the door.
"What did you do?" Zero Two asked.
"I warded the room so that only us, the doctors, the nurses, and Hachi and Nana can enter the room. I don't want Ichigo or the others going in there until we get this straightened out." Reaper said.
They snuck back through the plantation to the manor. Reaper removed the glass again so Zero Two could reenter her room, but before she did, she turned and hugged Reaper.
"Thank you, for letting me speak to my Darling." she said.
"No problem." Reaper said with a smile.
Zero Two then jumped back up and climbed into her room. Reaper put the window back together and Snake tapped it with his scythe causing the window to repair itself. Reaper knew that he was going to be in for one hell of an argument in the morning but was happy with the result none the less.
…
"Reaper! What the hell!" Ichigo shouted as she stormed back into the manor the next morning.
She had gone to see Hiro and found Miku asleep outside his room and a wall of shadow preventing her from entering. Reaper and his squad came down from upstairs with Zero Two in tow.
"What, is she doing, outside her room?" Ichigo asked darkly.
"Command asked to see her and I in the briefing room, so we are escorting her there. Also, since it seems that you cannot see reason, and listen to Zero Two's side of the story, I have barred you from talking to Hiro until he is released from medical, which will be once I get done with this meeting." Reaper said.
"You have no right!" she shouted.
"I do have the right, as you are being unreasonable to the point of blindness. You fail to think about your squad and are solely focusing on yourself and your emotions. I can understand that you are upset that he nearly died, but you are taking this too far. You have left me no choice but to pull rank until you calm down." Reaper said. "Now then if you will excuse me I have a briefing to get to."
They walked out the door leaving behind a fuming Ichigo.
…
"We asked both of you to come here because Papa would like to run a test." Hachi said. "Since you R-01, are the strongest of your squad, Papa would like to see what would happen if you were to pilot with 002."
"Since Code 016 is currently incapacitated, this is what Papa came up with in order to keep Strelitiza here as requested." Nana said.
"Hiro is not incapacitated." Reaper said calmly.
"Oh? And how do you know that?" Hachi asked.
"Because I spoke to him this morning. He is in a calm and sound state of mind with no lingering effects from the ride. The doctors have cleared him to leave medical as soon as I return from this briefing."
"Be that as it may. Papa would still like to run the test." Nana said.
"Alright, but I already know the results." Reaper said.
"And what would they be?" Hachi said with a raised eyebrow.
"Nothing would happen. Our thought processes and lines of thinking are too…different. We can't link because we don't work in the same way. I know you were hoping that the fact that we overpower our respective partners would help us link by negating the surge, but it won't work that way." Reaper said.
"We still wish to try." Hachi said.
"Very well."
As Reaper had expected, nothing had happened. No matter how hard they tried, they simply could not find each other's minds.
"Very well. Enough." Hachi said with a sigh.
Zero Two and Reaper climbed out of the mockup cockpit and approached.
"It seems you were right R-01." Hachi said. "And your absolutely sure that Code 016 is ready to deploy?"
"Yes, given another night's rest, he will be ready to deploy tomorrow." Reaper said.
"Well you won't be deploying tomorrow, but that is good to know none the less." Nana said.
"Do we not have to defend the plantation tomorrow?" Zero Two asked.
"No. As a reward for successfully completing the kissing operation, Reaper 1 as well as Squad 13 are being given a special vacation. We are currently headed to a location called a beach. You will be given a day's leave to go and enjoy yourselves on the beach." Nana said.
Zero Two's face lit up in excitement as she began to jump in place. Reaper however, gave a small smile to cover the hurt he was feeling. While Nana and Hachi fell for it, Zero Two noticed the pain behind the smile and resolved to find out why later.
Hachi cleared his throat trying to cover his smile at Zero Two's antics. "That is all. Dismissed."
The two left the briefing room and met up with the rest of Reaper 1 before heading to retrieve Hiro.
…
Hiro and Zero Two were quietly talking to each other as Reaper and his squad escorted them back to the manor. Zero Two was holding on to Hiro as if he would suddenly fade away. As they entered the manor, Reaper saw a pissed off Ichigo storming toward the two. Reaper sighed and stopped walking, his squad and the two love birds kept going for a few steps before realizing that Reaper had stopped. They looked at him questioningly.
"Go on." He told his squad. "Ichigo and I need to have a conversation. Come on." He grabbed Ichigo's arm and pulled her out of the house and into the surrounding forest where no one could hear them.
"SHE IS THE REASON HE ALMOST DIED!" She screamed at him. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU LET HER NEAR HIM!"
"ENOUGH!" he shouted, causing her to falter.
"It is quite obvious that you have yet to learn to control your emotions. You have spent the last 24 hours acting on your emotions instead of pausing to think about what you are doing. Did you even think to ask how she felt about all this? For god's sake, Ichigo put yourself in her shoes for once!"
"How many times must I say this! That monster," Ichigo said pointing back at the manor where Zero Two was, "is the reason that Hiro nearly died! She is called the partner killer for a reason!"
"Did you ever think that it wasn't intentional?! Did you ever once stop and think that it might not be her doing, that it just happens because that is the way she is? Because let me tell you something, if command had, had their way we would have been the same way! When we went through testing, we overpowered all the pistil's and stamen they gave us. Had they just chosen a partner for us we would have had the same reputation!" Reaper said.
"Irrelevant!" she shouted. "You took steps to stop it, she didn't! She did not care if she killed her partners! She did not care if she killed Hiro!"
"Don't you dare say she did not care. Ichigo, I doubt you were paying attention to the comms while fighting that thing, but when we forced her out of the cockpit after her rampage, she immediately began to cry over Hiro's body. Think about it Ichigo, what would you have done, if the person you care most about in this world, died right in front of you, and you couldn't do a thing about it. That monster, as you call her, has been beating herself up about what happened, and you have not been helping. She blames herself more than you do, for almost causing Hiro to die. She is a member of your squad, whether you like it or not, so get over yourself, and apologize for the pain you have put that girl through." Reaper said before he walked off.
Later that day Reaper saw Ichigo apologizing to Zero Two for acting out of turn. While Zero Two accepted the apology, Reaper knew it might take a while for her to truly forgive her for separating the two.
…
That evening, Reaper was out by the lake staring at his ring, thinking about where they were going. The beach. How many times had he taken Havana to the beach when they had leave? It was her favorite place to go. She liked it because it was a calm, relaxing, fun place to be. They usually they went as a group, with Owl dragging a reluctant James along. They would play volleyball, go swimming, barbeque, and have a big bonfire toward the end of the day. He and Havana would eventually sneak away while everyone else was occupied and enjoy some alone time, just the two of them. Until the rest of the squad found them anyway.
Reaper was so deep within his thoughts that he did not hear Zero Two approach.
"Who was she, to you?" Reaper's head jerked up, "And what happened to her?" Zero Two asked.
Reaper sighed. "I already figured out your story, you have the right to know mine."
Zero Two tilted her head.
"Tell me Zero Two, have you ever heard of the word marry?" Reaper asked.
"Yes, Darling promised that he would marry me some day when we were younger." She said.
Reaper chuckled. "May I live to see the day. Well that makes things easier then." Reaper tapped on his communicator a few times before an image came up. It was a woman with long brunette hair and royal purple eyes. She was wearing a deep blue dress and she had a slim build.
"This is Havana, and she was my wife. We were married for a little over 5 years on the day she died." Reaper said.
"Wait. How old are you?" She asked.
"28." He replied. "Our squad used to be a team of 8. Us six, plus my wife, Havana, and Owl's fiancé, James."
"Fiancé?" she asked.
"Someone whom you are engaged to. When you see Owl next, ask her to show you her left hand. The gold ring on her ring finger is her engagement ring. Anyway, we were deployed in one of the larger of two cities in an area, I forget its name now. Havana had come down with pneumonia and was hospitalized but was on the mend. I was sitting with her in the hospital when we received orders to sortie at the Breach. The two cities were surrounded by a large canyon that made it near impossible for Klaxosaurs to get over. There was one gap in the canyon that was our access to the cities, but it was also their way in called the Breach. The Breach was a two-mile gap that we used to funnel supplies and people in and out of the cities. Radar had detected a horde of about 30,000 Klaxosaurs approaching. It was too much for a single Reaper team to handle so they had called in Reaper Beta and Reaper Iota."
Reaper saw Zero Two flinch when he said iota. He wanted to ask but thought better of it.
"Our designations were given based on our establishment date. When we first came online we were given the designation of Delta but were promoted to Alpha but to our strength in shadow manipulation and number of flawless missions completed. Beta and Iota were strong squads, nowhere near what we were but they were the strongest of the others. Havana had not been cleared from medical, so she could not join us in the operation. I wanted to say behind and be with her, but she insisted that I go." Reaper paused.
"I should have ignored her. I should have stayed. If I had, I might have been able to get her out in time. She might still be alive. But I listened to her and asked James to sit with her until we returned, and he agreed. That decision, is my single, greatest, regret. The mission started off well enough, but after we killed about half the Klaxosaurs things started to go wrong. The ground began to shake and all the Klaxosaurs began to flee. Then that giant son of a bitch from yesterday burst out of the ground. It swung a hand and backhanded Beta and Iota squads into the canyon wall knocking them out and paralyzing a few of them. We then started to attack it, but it raised one of its massive feet and stomped sending us slamming into the ground. We were all knocked out, but before I fell unconscious I could hear the victory screeches of the Klaxosaurs as they raced past us. I heard the screams of those in the city as the Klaxosaurs ran in, running toward the magma energy reactor which powered the entire city. And just before I fell unconscious I heard that thing laughing. It is the only Klaxosaur I've heard before or since, have a physical voice. That damn thing was fucking laughing at us, at our failure. When we awoke half an hour later, we immediately ran to the city to see if we could prevent disaster from occurring. But we were too late. The Klaxosaurs had already detonated the reactor. The resulting blast had leveled the entire city. I remember running to the hospital and seeing its ruined state and falling to my knees." Tear were now running down Reaper's face.
"After digging through the rubble for nearly two days without rest, we found their bodies. James was covering Havana's body with his own, protecting her to his last breath. They both died to a steel beam. When it fell, it pierced through both their chests." Reaper was doing his best to keep it together but was failing. "I went to our master praying for a miracle, a miracle he could not deliver. Our master could sense souls, so I went to him to see if he could maybe bring them back. He-He couldn't find their souls. They were just, g-gone. My Havana, my one true love, the only reason I had to live, was just gone."
Reaper could no longer speak due to the tears streaming down his face. Zero Two walked up next to him and pulled him into a hug. Reaper was doing his best not to cry all over her. Neither of them heard Owl approach until she tapped Zero Two on her shoulder. Zero Two looked at her and she motioned her to move so she could take her place. She did so and Owl pressed Reaper's head into her chest.
"It's ok Reaper, it's me. You can cry now." Owl said gently.
Once Reaper realized it was Owl whose chest he was pressed into, he started bawling. Owl began rubbing his head as he cried. Owl turned to Zero Two.
"He still has a hard time with this part, so I'll finish for him. After our master stated that he couldn't find them, we had a burial ceremony. As per the two's request, they were cremated, and their ashes scattered in their favorite places. James's were scattered in one of the forests nearby. That man always loved nature, his scythe was named Terra and with it he could summon creatures from the earth or nearby plant life to help us fight. Havana's ashes were scattered at the nearby beach. Her scythe, Light, was always strongest in direct sunlight and was capable of summoning beams of shadow infused light from the heavens to annihilate enemies. After we scattered her ashes, Reaper lost it. While I was devastated from James's death, nothing could compare to Reaper's reaction. James meant everything to me, but Havana was Reaper's whole world. Without her, Reaper collapsed. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't sleep, and he blindly did what he was told for missions. Command never gave us time to grieve, so we were forced to suppress our pain and keep fighting. He was like that for two weeks. What followed after is not something I want to remember." She shuddered. "That is why Reaper tells you not to be careless with Hiro. He doesn't want anyone to go through what he did."
Zero Two nodded. "Thank you, Reaper. You did not have to share that with me, but you did."
Owl nodded for Reaper who was still crying into her chest. "The only thing I ask is that you do not repeat this to anyone. This is Reaper's secret to carry. There are many questions buried in that story that, while you understand them, the others do not. Plus, things like love and marriage are banned subjects under Papa's orders. It would be best if you did not repeat it."
Zero Two nodded before walking away. Owl then looked back at Reaper, whose cries were quieting.
"It will be alright Reaper." Owl said.
After getting himself together, Reaper stood up. "Thank you, Owl."
"Anytime, Reaper. Let's try to enjoy ourselves tomorrow. It's not often that we get a break."
"Alright."
"Come on, let's get you to your room before you collapse. You're exhausted from that, you need to sleep." Owl said as they began to walk back to the manor.
…
At APE HQ
"Nine Alpha, I need you to clear sub-base 37. It is preventing us from reaching the Gran Crevasse." Papa said.
"At once Papa." Alpha said and began to walk out.
"And take Reaper 1 with you." Papa added.
"Papa?" Beta asked confused.
"I would like to see how they do with a squad that is on par with them. Sub-base 37 is also a densely populated base, you would be overwhelmed. I cannot lose you." Papa said.
"Very well, Papa." Alpha said, they then bowed to him and walked off.
…
Klaxosaur territory
Location: Unknown
The admiral-haired girl was sitting in her room staring at an image of Reaper on a monitor with longing.
"How are you alive? You went missing on a mission. I sent out several of my children to find you only to come up empty handed. So how are you alive and well now?" She wondered aloud.
The door to her room opened and two people walked in closing the door behind them. The first was a male about 5'8''. He was wearing a black and blue cloak like she was and had forest green hair and brown eyes. The second figure was a girl. She was a blue skinned humanoid Klaxosaur with long flowing sky blue-white hair and prominent blue eyes with glowing blue pupils. She has dark lines under her eyes and all around her body. She also has eight spider-like appendages coming from her back and what seems to be a crown on her head, with two blue horns protruding from the center: one from her forehead and another from the back of the head.
"Your moping is disturbing the children, daughter. What is wrong?" The blue girl asks.
"Reaper and his squad are alive, Princess." She replied.
"What?!" the male askes looking shocked. "Are you sure H?"
"Easy, my son." The Princess says holding up a hand to calm him. "Do you have evidence?"
H nods and hands them a picture. "This was taken from the drone we sent to observe the battle yesterday. There is only one group that wears that uniform. It can't be any of the others, they are recorded KIA. They were the only ones marked missing. It has to be him, J."
J was staring at the short girl standing next to Reaper. "Owl." He muttered in shock.
The Princess looked over the image before handing it back to H. "I will send some of my children to make sure, daughter. For now, watch but do not try to contact them. This needs to be handled delicately or else it will, how do you say it? 'Blow up in our faces."' The Princess said before walking away.
She needed to be sure. If it indeed was Reaper and his squad, then this was going to throw a serious wrench in her plans. She knew what he and his squad could do, and to have them as the enemy is a serious issue. If it was them, they needed to be fed information slowly. They will need time to digest each piece of information. Time was something that they did not have though! The humans were rapidly progressing toward the Gran Crevasse, and they would be back soon. She needed a united front when they returned or else they would fail. Humanity needed to either give it up or die! She could not afford to lose!
A/N: Welp, that happened. Who are H and J and how do they know Reaper and his squad? What will happen when Reaper 1 meets the 9s? Who is the mysterious they, the Princess is referring to? Will Reaper ever get a decent night's sleep?! You will have to wait until the next chapter to find out. As always, reviews and criticism are greatly appreciated, and flames will be used to roast marshmallows. Ciao!