0Darling in the FranXX: The Reaper Squadron
Chapter 11: Boys VS Girls
"Damn it! Why won't you die?" Zorome shouted as Argentea dug her claws into the Klaxosaur.
"Just keep hitting it, it will die eventually." Delphinium said.
They had been given orders to sortie earlier in the morning to deal with the Klaxosaur. Reaper 1 had not been called in as their FranXX were still undergoing repairs.
Nana was observing from the briefing room. They were having issues with the Klaxosaur but there was still no need to call Reaper 1 yet, they hadn't been overwhelmed. That was, until Reaper 1 burst through the briefing room door.
"Why were we not informed that there was a sortie going on?" Reaper demanded.
"It wasn't necessary for you to know so we didn't call you." Nana replied.
"Irrelevant. We know a lot more about Klaxosaurs then they do, we could give them tips on how to kill them." Crow said.
"Reaper? Is that you?" Reaper heard Hiro say over the comms.
"Hey, Reaper!" Zorome shouted as Argentea dodged a bite from one of the Klaxosaur's heads. "What the hell is this thing and how do we kill it?"
"That we call that thing a…" Snake started to say before Owl interrupted.
"Look out!" Owl shouted.
The Klaxosaur reared up and spun like a sprinkler, spraying a blue goop everywhere.
"…*sigh* acid tank. It's a Moho class that spews acid out its mouth as a defensive maneuver. Snake finished.
"What the hell was that?" Argentea asked looking at the blue goop that was covering them all.
"It…doesn't hurt?" Chlorophytum said, confused.
"It's kinda sticky." Genista said.
"It doesn't do anything?" Delphinium said.
"How dare you spew this disgusting stuff on our FranXX!" Argentea shouted at the Klaxosaur.
"Something's not right. That acid should be melting though the metal of the FranXX like butter." Reaper thought staring at monitors showing the cockpits. Reaper then heard a sizzling sound coming from the speakers. Looking at the monitors, he saw that the blue goop was coming through the ceiling of the cockpits. It began to drip onto the pistil platforms, melting the girl's uniforms.
"Oh shit." Reaper said.
The boys were failing miserably at trying not to stare as the girl's uniforms melted off of them. The only one who managed relatively well was Hiro.
"Zorome why are you spacing out?" Argentea asked.
"Futoshi, is everything alright? I can't move." Genista said.
"It's-it's nothing." Zorome said.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Futoshi said.
"Let's finish this darling." Strelitiza said as she began to rush toward the Klaxosaur again. It began to spew more goop onto her, but it didn't deter her. She ran the Klaxosaur through with her spear, core impaled on the tip.
"Girls, get to the hanger bay. Double time." Reaper said, and they girls ran off.
"This is not going to end well." Crow said.
"No, no its not." Snake replied.
Hiro then chose that moment to tell the others what happened.
"Zero Two, we have a problem." Hiro said.
"Don't!" Zorome and Futoshi shouted.
"You're about to be exposed!" Hiro said.
A live image then appeared showing Zero Two with most of her uniform melted off. The other girls then shrieked realizing that the same thing had happened to them.
"Goro, don't look!" Ichigo shouted.
"My parasite suit!" Miku cried out.
Nana then shut off the feed as Reaper turned to males of his squad.
"*sigh* Squad, damage control." Reaper said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Nana stopped them. "Until they get this problem sorted, you all will be on active status while Squad 13 will be in reserves. I have a feeling that if they were to pilot after this, they would not be able to link up. Dismissed." She walked out.
…
As the male half of Reaper 1 entered the hanger bay they found that Squad 13 was split along gender lines and the girls were glaring at the guys. Reaper walked up behind Owl putting his hands on top of her head. She shoved him off and turned around to face him.
"How bad?" he whispered.
"Furious." Was her reply.
"Lovely." Reaper sighed out.
"You've got it all wrong, we didn't tell you because we did not want you to be distracted from the battle" Goro said, trying to calm down Ichigo.
"In my case, it was simply because I found you too beautiful for words Kokoro." Futoshi said.
Reaper heard Snake facepalm behind him.
"This is stupid." Mitsuru said and walked off. Reaper sent Crow after him, he was not getting out of this. Reaper began to approach the group as Zorome opened his mouth.
"What's the big deal," Zorome said nonchalantly, Reaper started running. "It's not like us seeing you hurt you at all."
Miku's face filled with fury but before she could say anything, Reaper came in and decked Zorome.
"It's a very big deal, you asshole." Reaper said coldly.
The girls of Squad 13 looked at Reaper in shock.
Zorome glared at Reaper from the ground.
"Count yourself lucky that we are not back in our time. If we were, I would have beaten you half to death for that comment." Reaper said.
Reaper then turned and began to walk away but not before giving orders.
"Cypress, Raven, Owl, get these girls some new clothes and take them back to the Birdcage. Crow, Snake, teach these three idiots about why what they did was wrong. Hiro and Mitsuru are free to go."
"What! Why are they free to go?" Zorome complained.
"Shut. Up. Zorome." Reaper said in a deadly tone glaring at him from the corner of his eye. Zorome shrunk back behind Goro.
"Where are you going Reaper?" Zero Two asked.
"To the Lake, before I actually beat the shit out of Zorome." Reaper said before walking out, slamming the door behind him.
…
When the boys got back from their…discussion with Snake and Crow. They found a line of tape diving the manor in half. The girls were waiting for them.
"Listen up, no boys are allowed to cross this line." Miku said gesturing to the line of tape on the manor.
"Who died and left you in charge?" Zorome asked as he prepared to step across the line.
"Zorome, set one foot across that line and you will regret it." Miku said sending a death glare at him.
Zorome froze and slowly withdrew his foot from nearing the line. The others, with the exception of Crow and Snake, cowered in fear at the look she was giving them. Ichigo then stepped forward.
"Crow, Snake, you and the rest of your squad are exempt to this rule since you sided with us. Please inform Reaper when you see him again." Ichigo said.
"Yes ma'am" Crow said bowing.
The boys glared at the two.
"Glad we got that sorted." Miku said and the girls walked up the stairs.
…
Reaper was still out at the lake at sundown trying to cool off by meditating. It wasn't working. He was still as pissed at Zorome as he was when he got there.
"Screw this." Reaper said as he stood up.
He summoned Harvester and walked over to a nearby patch of forest and went to town. It was in the middle of his rampage that Ichigo found him. She was watching in shock as he sliced trees in half and obliterated rocks, when Zero Two walked up behind her and touched her shoulder.
"I'll get his attention." Zero Two said and started to walk into his line of sight.
When Reaper saw Zero Two his rage subsided, and he looked around at the damage he had caused before spotting Ichigo staring at him, and the damage he caused, in shock. Reaper banished Harvester and walked over to Ichigo.
"Was there something you needed Ichigo?" Reaper said.
"H-How…" she trailed off before gathering herself. "There have been some changes at the manor that you need to be aware of. We have divided the manor in half, one side belongs to the girls and one side belongs to the boys. You and your squad are exception to this rule since you sided with us."
Reaper nodded. "Very well, I only hope that this condition is temporary. Things like this can hinder squad effectiveness."
Ichigo then looked around at the damage again before looking back a Reaper. He looked a bit sheepish.
"I apologize for any damage I do to the forest. I need to get my rage out before I kill someone by accident." Reaper said.
Ichigo nodded and she and Zero Two walked away. Reaper then summoned Harvester back as his vision turned red again and continued to assault the forest. When his vison finally cleared on its own, he found that he had destroyed a 200-yard section of forest.
"Well now that, that is out of my system let's head back." Reaper thought before turning and heading back to the manor.
…
The next morning, when Reaper and his squad exited their wing of the manor they saw the male half of Squad 13 walking down the stairs only wearing swim clothes
"What are you guys doing?" Owl asked.
"We are not allowed in the baths, so we are going to bathe in the lake." Hiro said.
"The water is rather cold, make sure to place your clothes in the sun so they stay warm." Was all Reaper said before they entered the baths.
…
Around lunchtime, reaper and his squad heard a commotion in the main hall and went to investigate. When they entered they saw that the boys had moved the tape so that they could enter the dining room and the girls could not.
"…noticed that you hadn't taped this part of the house off, so we decided to move in." Goro said.
"Today's lunch is great!" Zorome said, stuffing his face.
"Don't worry girls, we well go get you some food." Crow said, and Reaper nodded.
As they went to step across the line Zorome spoke up.
"Ah, ah, ah, Reaper. You and your squad sided with the girls, so you're not allowed in here either." Zorome said.
"Zorome that's not a good…" Goro started to say before trailing off witnessing what was happening.
The shadows in the room danced. A black aura surrounded Reaper and his eyes began to glow a bright red. The temperature in the room plummeted and Harvester appeared on Reaper's back.
Reaper let out a loud growl. "You have three seconds to resend that statement and apologize for trying to order me around before I kill you."
The tension in the room continued to build as Zorome remained silent. Reaper's hand began to reach behind him to grab Harvester, when the Klaxosaur alarm went off shattering the tension. Reaper growled as Harvester vanished.
"We are not done with this conversation." Reaper said before him and his squad started to leave.
"Where are you guys going?" Miku asked.
"To sortie. You all are too unstable to pilot a FranXX right now. Since our FranXX are still undergoing repairs, we will be using three of yours." Reaper said as his squad walked out.
…
As they entered the hanger bay and went up to some of the FranXX they ran into an interesting problem. The cockpits of Genista and Argentea refused to open, even after pulling the emergency lever. So, Owl and Reaper, as well as Crow and Raven, had to change FranXX. When Snake and Cypress approached Chlorophytum however, the cockpit opened on its own. Snake and Cypress shrugged before entering. The same thing happened when Crow and Raven approached Delphinium and when Reaper and Owl approached Strelitiza. Even though Snake and Cypress connected first, they were unable to move until Strelitiza walked past them and out the door.
Reaper chuckled. "They won't go without their two leaders. It's almost like they are alive."
The Klaxosaur in question was a Moho class of the larval type. Too many of them must have bunched up in an area and merged to create this beast. The Klaxosaur was easily dealt with, but Reaper noticed something. The FranXX were moving more fluidly than they did during the Kissing operation. Doing twists and turns that previously, weren't possible for the FranXX. Although it was not until the fight had ended that something strange had happened.
After they had killed the Klaxosaur, the other two were heading back to the hanger but Strelitiza refused to move. Reaper tilted his head at the controls, this was new, the FranXX never refused to move unless there was a connection issue. Then, the FranXX moved on its own. "What the hell?" Reaper thought as it walked over to the dead Klaxosaur.
"Reaper, what are you doing?" Owl asked.
"This is not me." Reaper replied.
Reaper found that he could not remove his hands from the controls.
"Owl try to exit the controls." Reaper said to her.
After a minute of struggling she replied, "I can't."
"Oh boy." Reaper thought.
Over the comms, the others seemed to be having the same issue, as their FranXX suddenly turned around to watch what Strelitiza was doing. Owl and Reaper were taken along for the ride as Strelitiza walked up next to the dead Klaxosaur. She knelt down and examined the Klaxosaur, before summoning their scythe and impaling its head. She then stood, banished the scythe, and walked herself back into the hanger, the other two following. All without the Reapers doing anything. It was only after they deactivated could Reaper and the others let go of the controls.
"What the hell was that?" Crow asked as they exited.
"I don't know. Don't mention this to anyone until we figure out what is going on, understood?" Reaper said.
"Yes, sir." Everyone replied, and they headed back to the manor.
…
As they approached the manor they saw an irate Nana standing in the door with her eye twitching. Looking past her, Reaper saw that the girls where standing in the bathroom pelting the guys, who had apparently walked in on them, with anything within reach. The twitch in Nana's eye was getting worse. Just as she was about to say something, Reaper stopped her.
"I got this." He said.
Reaper wrapped his foot in shadow and slammed it into the ground, sending out a shockwave of shadow which knocked everyone off their feet. When they got to their feet they turned to see an annoyed Reaper and an irate Nana standing in the doorway. Reaper's shadow twitched and the basket of clothes, which Zero Two had stolen, appeared between the two groups.
"Boys, go to your rooms and get dressed, then report to the lounge. You too girls." Nana seethed.
"But," Zorome started to say.
"NOW!" Nana shouted, and everyone scurried off.
Several minutes later everyone was gathered at the base of the stairs where Nana was scolding them.
"What the hell is wrong with all of you. I would have thought that Reaper and his squad replacing you to sortie would have been enough motivation for you to get your acts together but apparently not." Nana seethed.
"You are all Parasites now, don't forget what comes first and foremost in your lives. Reaper 1 stay here, the rest of you, go back to your rooms, dismissed." Hachi said.
Hachi then turned to Reaper and his squad.
"First I would like to thank you for covering for Squad 13 today."
"Of course, sir." Reaper said.
"Secondly, would you have actually killed Code 666 this morning had you not been interrupted?"
"If he had not responded, yes I would have attempted to. My squad would have stopped me from killing him entirely, but he would have been severely injured after I was done with him. That boy has neither the rank nor the respect from me to order us around and I was not going to stand for it." Reaper replied.
"Very well." Hachi said, making a mental note to keep an eye out in case a repeat of this morning occurs again.
"Reaper 1 I have a mission for you, help the squad patch things up. I do not want a repeat of today." Nana said, causing Hachi to look at her.
"Yes, ma'am" Reaper replied, and he and his squad bowed to her before splitting off to talk to each group.
Hachi looked at Nana. "This needs to be solved now." Nana said, watching Reaper 1 go off. "Reaper 1 has a mission with the 9's when they get their FranXX back and we need 13 operational when that happens."
…
Meanwhile with Dr. FranXX
"Where is it, where is it? I only have a few more days until I have to return these damn FranXX." Dr. FranXX said as he was fighting with Black Rose to find out how the Reapers were capable of Umbrakinesis.
"Damn it I made you, quit being so stubborn!" the doctor said.
He was then backhanded by Black Rose and flew into the wall falling unconscious. He would not remember what happened to him when he awoke. Black Rose and the others were glaring at him before Black Rose huffed and she and the others deactivated.
…
Back with Reaper and Squad 13
"Man, I'm pissed." Zorome said from his bunk. The guys had gathered in their room to discuss what happened. "Since when do the girls get off treating us like that?"
"They treat us like that because they do not think highly of us." Mitsuru said.
"No one asked for your opinion." Zorome said glaring at Mitsuru before looking at Reaper and his group. "You guys didn't help either, you sided with them so why are you here?"
"We are here because you refuse to admit you are wrong. Mitsuru does have the right of it, they treat you like that because you treat them so poorly." Crow said.
"I do sorta feel bad but looking back it was fun." Hiro said from the chair he was sitting on.
"What?" Futoshi said.
"I think Zero Two was having fun as well." Hiro continued as if he had not heard. "She was laughing the entire time. You know, now that I think about it, we should consider our partners feelings more."
"Why would we do that? They are nothing but a bunch of crazy weirdos." Zorome said.
"Zorome, when someone smarter than you is talking, shut up." Snake said, having had enough of the boy's attitude. "You might learn something."
Mitsuru snorted and Hiro and Futoshi chuckled.
"Your right," Hiro says, "I don't completely understand Zero Two either, but that is why I want to learn more about her. That way I can help her and support her."
Reaper smiled behind his cloak. "There is hope for you yet Hiro."
"If you're talking about Zero Two, you are wasting your breath. She is the ultimate pistil, she doesn't, and never will, need anyone's help." Mitsuru said.
"Wrong. Aside from her looks, she is as human as the rest of us. She makes her mistakes and has her flaws just like everyone else." Hiro said glaring at Mitsuru. "Ultimate pistil? Seriously?" Hiro mentally scoffed. Sure, she was strong, but she had her flaws. She was not perfect and that is why Hiro loved her.
"The girls jobs as pistils, means that every time we go onto the battlefield, they have to be able to trust us. We may control the FranXX, but it is their frail bodies that suffer when we screw up." Hiro said.
"Whoa, I never thought about it like that." Futoshi said and the others looked shocked too.
"Seriously, they just now thought about this? It was the first thing we thought of." Reaper thought.
"That is why I want to get stronger. That way she won't get hurt because of me." Hiro said. "She has suffered enough at the hands of APE, she doesn't need any more pain." He mentally added and saw that Reaper silently nodded at him.
"Your right, with the trust that they place in us, it is wrong for us to be back there ogling them and not giving our all." Goro said.
"No wonder they want nothing to do with us." Futoshi said, hanging his head.
"I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong." Zorome said. "I worry about Miku too, I don't want to get her hurt."
"Well then, gentlemen. There is only one thing left to do." Reaper said, and the boys filed out.
"I'm just saying, I'm not going to beg for forgiveness." Zorome said.
Reaper just shook his head. "Of course, you won't."
…
As they entered the foyer, Owl came running up to Reaper, worry in her blue eyes.
"Owl, what's wrong?" Reaper asked.
"We can't find Miku." Ichigo said coming up behind her.
Reaper's priorities immediately shifted. "Cypress, Raven and Crow, take the forest. Search every inch. Owl, Snake, and I will search with 13 in here. There are several hallways we have never been down, she might be there. Go." He said, and Cypress, Raven and Crow immediately headed for the forest. The rest began to scour the manor, searching everywhere for Miku. After an hour, everyone had gathered in the foyer, no one had seen Miku. As the clock struck 10 Reaper became worried, he went out himself to search the forest but came back empty handed. As the clock struck 11, the house was filled with silence, it was then shattered by the sound of glass breaking and Miku screaming.
"MIKU!" Zorome shouted and raced to where they had heard the scream, one of the abandoned wings on the first floor. They came across a hallway with rooms that had crime scene tape across them, only one of the tape was torn off.
"I'm coming Miku!" Zorome shouted as he tried to ram down the door but failed.
"Move." Reaper said shoving him aside.
Reaper created a ball of shadow in his hand before releasing it toward the door. The shadow ball went flying toward the door, blowing it inward and nearly knocking it off its hinges. Zorome raced into the room Reaper right behind him, Harvester at the ready. As Zorome checked over Miku Reaper scanned the room, everything was covered in dust, an inch thick at least. Only one set of footprints, and those were Miku's, so he deemed the room safe and banished Harvester.
Looking around again Reaper saw that there were personal effects on the walls and the layout was similar to Goro and Hiro's room, so he assumed that it was a parasite's room.
"What is this place?" Hiro asked.
"The room of a former squad 13 parasite I'd say." Zero Two said from the door.
"Former?" Mitsuru whispered.
"Squad 13?" Ikuno whimpered in horror.
"Makes sense, there was a squad here before we came." Goro said, looking at a picture, the glass was broken so it must have been what shattered earlier which sent them all running.
"Well, where are they now?" Zorome asked.
Zero Two gave the obvious answer but Reaper and his squad were not paying attention. They could sense the souls of the former Squad 13 lingering within the room.
"You should not be lingering here." Reaper muttered, and the souls stirred.
Squad 13 had already started to walk out of the room when Ichigo turned around and asked,
"Reaper, are you guys coming?"
"We will be along after a while," Cypress said. "we want to poke about for a bit."
Ichigo nodded her head and left.
Reaper then walked into the center of the room.
"Why are you all still here? Your task is done." Owl said, and Reaper felt fear.
Submerging his vision into the Shadow Realm, Reaper could see the souls of the former Squad 13 huddling in the corner of the room. They all appeared as floating balls of white light that hovered at about chest height. Reaper could feel the souls fear rolling off of them. while they did not know who their master was, but they know what he did, and they were afraid. Raven then stepped forward.
"Why do you wish to stay?" Raven said in her most gentle voice. "Staying here only causes you more pain. Do you not wish to be free?"
Owl stepped forward and held out a hand. Reaper watched as a soul floated forward and rested in her hand.
"Do not be afraid children." Owl said in a soft voice. "our master may appear to be scary, but he will grant you the rest that you deserve. Do you not wish to see the other children? They are waiting for you, they miss you."
Crow and Cypress then stepped forward.
"Our master will free you from the pain you are experiencing." Crow said.
"Do not worry, you are bound for a better place, we can assure you." Cypress said.
Finally, Snake stepped forward.
"No more pain, no more suffering, no more having to fight." Snake said.
"All you have to do is take our hands." Reaper said, and held out a hand, the others doing so as well. One by one the children left the corner and floated forward. They each landed in a Reaper's hand, as they did, they glowed a bright white before vanishing. Now only two remained huddled in the corner, they were very afraid of what came next. Reaper got down on his knees.
"Come 235, 126, your Nana is waiting for you. She would like to speak with you again." He said holding out his hand. The two children then came out of the corner and took his hand they too glowed a bright white before vanishing. Reaper and his squad heard the joyful sound of children laughing and a whispered "Thank you." From a young female voice before all fell silent.
Reaper then shook his head.
"So many children sacrificed, and for what end?" he said, his voice filled with sorrow.
Owl tugged on his arm. "Come on Reaper, our job is done here. From the sound of it the children have already settled things and gone to bed."
"I will go in a minute, you go ahead." Reaper replied.
Owl looked at him concerned before giving him a kiss on the cheek, which shocked him, and walking off.
After she was gone Reaper put a hand to where she kissed him before dropping it and saying,
"You can come out now, Zero Two."
He heard her footsteps enter the room and he turned around to see her shocked expression.
"You saw?" Reaper said.
She nodded. "What-what was that?" she asked.
He decided to give it to her straight, there was a lot she knew about them so straight answers would be less confusing.
"The souls of the children refused to move on, they were scared of what comes after, so we had to convince them that hanging around here was causing them more pain and that was lies beyond was a better place for them."
She nodded but still looked a bit confused. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, answers will come in time. I only ask that you tell no one what you saw, it would only confuse them." Reaper said.
She nodded again, and they walked out of the room. Reaper the closed the door and turned to Zero Two.
"Good night, Zero Two." He said.
"Good night, Reaper." She replied.
As Reaper walked away he called over his shoulder,
"Hey Zero Two! I know you set her up to do that." Reaper said.
She said nothing but gave him a coy smile before walking away leaving Reaper to wonder what else she had planned for him.
…
Death sat in the Shadow Realm on his throne. He had just sent the group of children that Reaper Alpha had sent him on their merry way. The poor children were so afraid of him that he had to call in another soul to keep them calm. They were swiftly sent to paradise for giving their lives to protect others. The soul that he called in, which they oddly called Nana even though there was no relation, was extremely happy to guide them to paradise. Perhaps it was someone who they knew before they died. As he sat back in his throne he felt two unusual souls. Focusing on them, Death recoiled in shock.
"This cannot be!"
But it was, both Havana and James's were located but they were alive. Death tried to contact them but to his fury, he was unable to. He needed a physical connection in order to reestablish a link to them.
"Who dares to take what is mine." Death growled and looked to see who had revived them. His rage grew when he saw that they were somehow now part Klaxosaur.
"That bitch, took them from me." Death seethed in fury.
"What am I going to tell Reaper if he finds out, no, not if, when." Death thought.
There was no doubt in his mind that they were going to encounter each other. Fate had a way of doing that which Death did not want it to.
Not much to say here other than the usual. As always, reviews and criticism are greatly appreciated, and flames will be used to roast marshmallows. Ciao!