Flight of the Jian

by SoaringHellButterfly

On more than a scientific whim Dr. Franxx kept Hiro together with Zero Two as they grew up into the Parasite Program. While the two grow and become their own person together, they have to learn the truth of what has become of the world as they know it. As well as the meaning of what it is to be Human, as the definition has become corrupted over the last century. M for later chaps.

11. Flock Together

Thank you for your patience, over 20k words... they just keep getting longer somehow. I'm willing to admit, last chapter wasn't my best, felt like a bad filler episode in an anime. I wasn't really feeling it for most of it, and I know it shows, for that I apologize. I'm trying harder this time around though so hopefully it'll be better.

From this point on we will be bouncing back and forth between Squad 13 and Hiro/Two, who gets more screen time is decided by the events taking place in their respective sections. In the next couple chapters the attention is slightly more on Squad 13 as they adapt to life as Parasites, but I had to give some nice balance with our favorite couple too.

We've officially reached the point where we've met with the beginning of the anime/manga, only took us ten chapters and a loooot of emotions... But hey, we made it! This means the first leg of this story is complete and we're moving onto the second one where Squad 13 take the reigns just a bit more.

Now, buckle up for the next part of this ride, cause it's gonna get bumpy... Without further ado, please enjoy.

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Flight of the Jian

Chapter 11

Flock Together

August 23 - 2136

"Mew-Mew? Hehehe."

Giggles and purrs filled the air around the patio of Mistilteinn as the leader of Squad 13 indulged in one of her favorite pleasures; finding a cat and petting them as long as possible.

A bright smile lit up the blunette's face as her fingers were being played with by the black cat lying on their back on the step beneath her. The animal seemed to be really enjoying her affections, as the constant nuzzling and purring were taken as a good sign.

"Might you be a kitty from around these purrr-ts?" Ichigo asked in a baby voice as she rubbed under the feline's chin, before chuckling at her own corny pun. The cat rolled around in response, nudging their head into her hand some more.

A sudden buzzing from her pocket made both Ichigo and the cat jump, the latter rolling over and taking off to go do other things now that the tranquil moment had been disturbed. Ichigo watched them go with a smile before pulling out her communicator and turning on the holographic screen to see what the message she received was.

"Suit up and report to the Briefing Room on the double; It's time for your first combat mission."

"Orders to sortie... It's finally time, huh?"

Their first battle, a chance to see what they were made of as Parasites.

They had all been anticipating this moment for over a week now, ever since they had completed the Graduation Ceremony. To the point that some of them were feeling so wound up from the anxiety of the wait that they were practically begging for a Klaxosaur to show up so they could do something about it.

In the meantime, they tried to use some of that pent up energy by partaking in mock battles with each other. They found themselves feeling more confident as they went through more practice rounds piloting their FRANXX, getting more of an understanding at what they needed to do to connect.

So long as they had that part down, the rest would come with experience and trust.

By the time Ichigo made it to the girl's changing room, the others were already in the midst of undressing and storing their clothes into the lockers. The blunette walked up to locker number three, and began to disrobe herself to get ready like the rest of them. Close by, Ikuno stood at locker number one, and was trying her best to keep her eyes from wandering.

"We're finally heading into real battle." Kokoro murmured aloud as she unhooked her bra. "We've practiced piloting the FRANXX since the Startup Ritual, but the feeling I get when forming a mental connection with Futoshi... I'm just not quite used to it, yet."

Kokoro really did care about her partner, and she knew he really cared for her in return, otherwise their synchronization wouldn't have been satisfactory. During graduation, they had been able to sync up no problem, their trust in each other more than strong enough to raise their para-capacity levels.

Still, she wasn't sure how to feel about the connection once it was established.

Futoshi wasn't a forceful or commanding Stamen - quite the opposite in fact, he was always checking in on her to make sure she was okay and was always putting her comfort before his own. He was the ideal and perfect partner for someone like her, and yet... she couldn't help but feel like something was missing in their bond. What that something could possibly be, she didn't know yet.

Suddenly a pair of delicate and playful hands wrapped around Kokoro's torso and began to slide over her tummy, making the ashen blonde jump and yelp in surprise.

"You mean the feeling when they invade you and stir you up from the inside, leaving you a complete mess?" Miku asked her teasingly as her hands began lightly squeezing and rubbing at the flesh of Kokoro's belly, making the girl squeal.

"Hey! M-Miku!" A fierce blush took over the girl's face as she listened to the words being described, on top of the feeling of being groped.

"Like thiiis, Kokoro? I'm coming insiiide you!" The redhead giggled as she continued her playful torture on her friend.

"Y-You're tickling meee!" Kokoro cried as she wiggled about.

"Can you not? You're going to remind me of it..." Ikuno muttered, closing her locker and heading towards the back to get her suit put on. Ichigo laughed at her friends' antics while she slipped on the tight black underwear.

I understand the feeling... It can be quite intense at times. Just remembering what it was like to meld so deeply into the mind of her partner made a slight shiver wrack through her.

Syncing with Goro over the last week had been a real eye-opening experience, and she considered herself lucky that she had a partner who could give her such a thing. It was like being kids again, when they had to defend themselves against the other children.

He always had her back, just as she had his.

His presence felt so sturdy and firm, and yet there was a pleasant softness about it at the same time... Like a mighty tree that had firmly set roots that could support anything, while providing lush shade and protection from the elements. It was a huge comfort to have at her back, knowing that he would be there to ease her mind when she needed it.

Everyone else is trying their best. So I, too, have to fulfill my role. As their squad leader!

When they were finished, the girls met up with their partners outside the Administration Building, where they headed inside to proceed down the elevator that would take them to where they were instructed to go. Along the way, Zorome filled the silence with his usual bout of ear-grating rambles of how excited he was.

"What kind of Klaxosaur do you think it'll be? Gimme any, I'll take 'em all!" The boy shouted as he threw a few punches into the air.

"Probably not wise to shout that at the enemy..." Goro advised with a chuckle as he pat Zorome on the back.

"Don't worry, whatever kind it is, I won't let it hurt you Kokoro!" Futoshi promised her strongly with a pumped fist, making his partner smile warmly in return at him.

"Thank you, Futoshi. Let's do our best to protect everyone."

As the children entered the Conference Room that sat at the back overlooking the Parking Dock, they took in the expanse and layout of the room. There was one giant screen that extended close to the ceiling with a smaller one underneath, that were currently displaying an outline of a round Klaxosaur and a small image of some kind of construction site outside the plantation, with a large hole and a crane descending into the center.

The floor descended into a well in the middle of the room that was layered by the three curved step platforms that the Parasites could sit on as they listened to the adults inform them on their mission.

Speaking of adults, there were two currently present in the room with them, one they recognized and one they did not.

"Hello children, thank you for coming in a timely manner." Nana told them with her usual kind smile. Her companion, however, held a face almost completely void of all emotion.

The man stood beside Nana in a men's version of the dark gray APE uniform, his posture immaculate as he stood with his back straight and his hands neatly folded behind him. His dark blue hair was shaved in a buzz cut, and he gazed at them all with a stern and stoic face, his mouth set in a firm line.

It was quite something to see the cheerful and smiling Nana standing next to someone who appeared to be the complete opposite...

"Please pay attention now, as we will begin the debriefing for your mission." She gestured for everyone to take a seat on the steps in the well of the floor, and the children did as asked. Each one took a seat on a different level of the steps, spreading around the circle to keep some comfortable space between them.

Nana then nodded to the man at her side once they were settled. The strange man took a step forward at that moment, taking over the lead as he spoke to them for the first time.

"My name is Hachi, and I am the Defense Commander from APE Headquarters." He introduced himself. "I've been ordered to assist Nana oversee Squad 13 and provide information as well as strategic guidance to you throughout your missions."

Hachi then turned toward the large screen that pulled up a blueprint of the round structure that was set in the ground somewhere outside, a small number of red dots illuminated within one of the levels of the site.

"HQ has ordered an immediate strike mission. On the outskirts of Plantation 13, there is a magma extraction facility that operates exactly as it sounds." He proceed to point to the dots lit up within the schematic.

"The target is somewhere here, in what we believe to be the eighth floor of the facility. Klaxosaurs are naturally drawn to magma energy, and we have attracted a handful of these small Conrad Class to this particular location."

The screen then enlarged the image of the Klaxosaur in question, with a rounded body and four insect like legs at the bottom of it. Appearing next to it came the image of something they had seen many times in their combat simulations, a brightly glowing golden sphere.

"A reminder: The only way to eliminate a Klaxosaur is to locate the heart, and destroy it at it's core. By using the exclusive magma energy weapons each of your FRANXX bear, you can crush them with relative ease at the right moment. Ensure you do so at all costs, understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Exercise caution, however, as the same weapons you hold can attract Klaxosaurs just as well as they can kill them. Keep your wits about your surroundings!" Nana added sternly, all traces of a smile gone as she stressed the severity of her orders to them through a firm stare similar to her companion's.

The children sat up a little bit straighter now. "We will!"

"Alright then, children, board your FRANXX." Nana ordered, and then they were on the move. Entering the hangar and each pair going to their respective FRANXX, an aura of .

This was it. Their first time riding as a complete squad on an official mission.

Ichigo could feel her heart racing as she approached the tall feminine mecha, her hands clenching and releasing over and over as she tried to get a hold of her nerves. Taking her out on a trial run is one thing, now it was time for combat. There was no longer the lingering doubt of if she could pilot, but just because she could handle a FRANXX in practice didn't mean she could handle the responsibility as squad leader.

One look at her friends preparing to embark on their mission, however, gave her pause.

She would do whatever it took to make sure they all came back home in one piece. Even if that meant she had to take drastic action herself, so long as she could guarantee the safety of her team and partner, she would be willing to do anything.

"Pilot her well, Goro." Ichigo said as she held out her left hand in a closed fist. Goro lifted his right hand and bumped his fist with hers.

"Roger that, Boss." The blunette snickered and rolled her eyes at her partner, who was grinning humorously at her.

"Idiot..." She muttered with a light shake of her head.

Close by Futoshi and Kokoro were reaching the top of the stair-laden platform that curved in front of the black and green armored FRANXX's face. The face plate lowered with a hiss of released air, and the Stamen courteously held a hand out to help his partner step in safely.

"Let's go hard, Futoshi!" Kokoro said with a beaming smile as she and the larger boy climbed into Genista. She was trying to sound eager, and she hoped it was enough to hide the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest from the anxiety.

"Yeah! I'm counting on you, Kokoro!" While he was agreeing vocally, internally he was telling himself that he needed to keep a firm eye on things when it came time to be serious.

Futoshi couldn't stand to risk putting Kokoro's life in danger, and while he loved their FRANXX for her impressive defenses, he couldn't place too much faith in it at the same time. Seeing Kokoro get hurt would be just as painful for him, and he couldn't bear the thought of it.

No matter what, he would keep her safe from those monsters.

At the same time, Miku and Zorome were climbing inside the cockpit of the candy colored FRANXX, the former gritting her teeth at the vibrating form of the latter.

"ALRIGHT!" Zorome suddenly screamed inside the small space, making Miku flinch from the frequency he was reaching in his excitement. "At last, my first real battle!"

"Hey!" Miku snapped with her hands on her hips as she glared at him. "You better reign it in this time, no more crazy antics!"

If she had to deal with another round of him doing stupid over the top stunts that got them put in a bad spot again - be it with Klaxosaurs or the other FRANXX - she was going to kick his ass so hard the moment they disconnected...

"Well, duh! You're stating the obvious!" His response did not give her any real peace of mind as she cringed over her shoulder.

"... Is it, now?" She muttered as she climbed into the terminal.

Mitsuru and Ikuno were completely silent as per usual as they boarded Chlorophytum, neither saying a word of encouragement or otherwise as they got situated in their positions. Ikuno let out a heavy sigh as she took off her glasses and settled into the terminal to get ready for connection.

Inside the central control room, where several computer layouts were setup with multiple hexagonal monitors to keep tabs on many different status quos at once, Hachi stood waiting for the confirmation to begin the mission. He would be managing communication with the squad from here, while Nana would watch from the briefing room.

"All of the Parasites have boarded their respective FRANXX." One of the masked adults behind the computers announced, drawing the attention of the man at the head of the room.

"Good." Hachi replied before connecting to the comms of all four FRANXX of Squad 13.

"I will be here giving out your overall strategic instructions, but ultimately the decisions on the field must be made by the leader unit; Delphinium." Hachi informed them.

"Roger." The squad replied.

"Why does she get to be leader again...?" Miku mumbled bitterly with a pout as her hood came over her head.

"All pilots... Commence connecting."

"Let's go, Ichigo." Goro said as he grabbed onto the lifted controls at his partner's hips.

"I'm ready for you." Ichigo replied confidently as she braced herself for their inevitable union. Channeling into the terminal beneath her, she began to feel around her his pulse just like in practice.

Just like with every time before, when she grasped him and his pulse with her own, her heart practically skipped a beat at the torrent of tingles that flowed through her whole body.

Their para-capacity reached a perfect one hundred respectively, their colored coils quickly filling as usual, and Delphinium's power levels skyrocketed online. And just like usual as well, they were the first ones to succeed in connecting, Delphinium's single eye opening as she idly waited for her fellow kin to come alive as well.

Inside Argentea, Zorome and Miku were settling into their first try synchronizing. Out of reflex, Miku released a high-pitched moan as her body became overwhelmed by the tingling sensations that went through her, making Zorome jolt from the unexpected sound.

"Q-Quit making weird noises, will ya?!" Zorome sputtered with a fierce blush on his cheeks as he screamed at his partner. He'd never heard a girl make such a noise before, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it.

It was obnoxious, but almost cute at the same time...?

"I-I can't help it! I'm not used to this!" Miku yelled back from under her hood, trying her best to get a firm grip on herself to keep from doing it again.

For all the teasing she gave to Kokoro earlier in the locker room, it didn't mean Miku wasn't susceptible to the same overwhelming feelings that she described. It felt so strange and the tingles rocking all through her body were so crazy that no matter how many times she felt them she couldn't get used to it.

"If two partners are even the slightest bit out of sync, their para-capacity will fluctuate wildly. The key is to trust in your partner and accept them wholeheartedly."

"I know that...!" Zorome hissed under his breath, letting out a heavy snort and tapping his cheeks with both hands to get back into focus.

"Genista. Argentea. Delphinium. All online. Chlorophytum's readings are still unstable."

Hachi let out a small sigh at this, staring at said FRANXX's para-capacity levels on one corner of the screen. All four FRANXX's capacity levels were on display, with Delphinium's in the top left corner having the highest, as to be expected. Argentea's had finally stopped bouncing around and metered out to a satisfactory median level.

Strangely enough, Genista's scoring wasn't as high as it had been in practice. The Stamen's was just fine but the Pistil appeared to be struggling to keep her bar up with his... He hoped it wouldn't drop any more or else the connection would sever. He would have to keep a close eye on them during the mission.

On Chlorophytum's however, the Stamen's bar was struggling to get higher than the satisfactory low area because of the Pistil bar not going up. He radioed in to check on them.

"Status Report: Chlorophytum?"

Heavy breathing filled the cockpit of the white and violet FRANXX, as the Pistil struggled with overcoming the mental wall that had suddenly come down around her. No matter how hard she tried, even attempting to force her way through, she just could not complete the sync.

It was like a heavy blanket was covering her, and no matter how much she struggled with it, she couldn't get out.

"It doesn't seem like Ikuno is up to the task." Mitsuru reported as he sat waiting as patiently as he could for something - anything - to happen. Be it they connect or have to shut down, of which he'd prefer the former. He'd rather not be excluded from the squad because of her lack of conviction.

"P-Please... just give me a moment!" Ikuno gasped out as she settled in to try again. Mitsuru had to give her props for not giving up so easily, for the lot of good it was doing.

"Doubt it'll make a difference, but alright." He said with a slight scowl as he looked off to the side.

Ikuno grit her teeth in response and took several more deep breaths before trying again to sync her pulse with Chlorophytum.

I was able to do it for the ceremony, I've been able to do it all week in practice. Why can't I do it now...?! She wondered in frustration as she timed out again from lack of sufficient connection.

The Pistil bar stopped stuttering and began to fall back to zero.

"Chlorophytum's para-capacity is dropping even further. Startup is unlikely." The masked adult reported as they watched the decline in real time.

"... So be it." Hachi accepted the situation for what it was, hoping that the rest of the squad can manage with only three active units. This was the most concerning he's ever seen a squad be as they launched to sortie, not only were they expected to survive with only four units, they were now down another unit who couldn't sync under pressure.

Sure, there were times when squads could squeak by with so few numbers, but that was after they had gone in with a complete five FRANXX squad and left with a couple casualties...

But for the sake of the children's confidence, he would keep a strong front about his concerns.

"Chlorophytum will remain in the plantation. The three of you, proceed to the eighth level without them."

Ikuno...? Ichigo grew concerned for her friend, wondering what had happened to make her unable to join the rest of them. Was she alright...?

"I'm sure she's fine, Ichigo. We'll check on them when we come back." Goro assured her, trying to get her back into focusing on the task at hand. While he, himself, was concerned for why their friends were unable to join them, he couldn't let them linger on it too long either.

Okay... Ichigo said in acceptance, before being dragged back to reality by her station door sliding up to set her free.

"This minor hiccup shouldn't interfere with your mission; failure to defeat the Klaxosaur would mean you are unfit to defend the plantation. Proceed with caution."

"Roger!"

With a boost to the power in the mobile engines, each FRANXX were gliding across the desert-like soil to their intended destination.

Within the Conference Room, Nana stood before the large monitor watching the live feed from the drones that were tailing the squad. Simultaneously, the footage was being recorded for both Papa and Doctor Franxx to watch at their leisure.

"They're moving... Very good." The adults commented under her breath with a sigh. It almost brought a feeling of anxiety upon her person as she was reminded of her first sortie, but she quelled the feeling quickly.

The first mission was always the scariest for a rookie, all the simulations in the world can't replace good old fashioned experience.

Nana turned away from the screen as the door opened, and watched as a sullen-looking Ikuno came in with a scowling Mitsuru a short ways behind her. The redhead's face took on a look of pity, as she knew the younger woman must be feeling so bent out of shape because of this.

"Ikuno... What was the problem? Are you unwell?" Nana asked her in a soothing tone as she met them at the center of the room. Ikuno just shook her head slowly.

"No, nothing of the sort..." It was true, she was feeling just fine, physically at least.

Emotionally and mentally? That was another story...

"I see. Your readings have been a little unstable though, let's get you checked up tomorrow, okay?" Nana offered with a gentle smile.

"Okay..." Ikuno agreed, with a downtrodden look on her face as she stared at the floor.

"Excuse me." Mitsuru piped up, stepping forward.

"Yes, Mitsuru?" Nana gave him her undivided attention as she looked him in the eye.

"Isn't it possible that we're simply incompatible with one another...?"

"...!" Ikuno looked up at him in surprise, not expecting him to come out in the open with it in front of an adult. While she didn't necessarily disagree with him, she didn't think he would say something this quickly. They had barely been official partners for a week and already he wanted out. Just because she had choked this one time.

"Plenty of Parasites have had similar problems when they first start out, we're not going to break up a pair solely for that reason." Nana responded with a frown as she leveled the boy with an unrelenting stare.

Mitsuru was the first to break their staring contest, glancing off to the side with a sigh. "... I see."

"We'll discuss this later. In the meantime, just sit tight and carefully watch the mission from the safety of this room. You can still get a grasp of your responsibilities that way."

Neither of them answered, and Nana didn't press them on anything further. She would have to work with them more later on, right now she had to be there for the others. As of now they were arriving at the extraction site, which had shut down operations for the time being to allow for the extermination of the vermin trying to steal their magma energy.

Best of luck to all of you. Nana took in a deep breath, waiting in tense silence for the action to begin along with the other two.

The trio of FRANXX had finally made it inside the main chamber of the site and were then lowered down underground down a long shaft by a chain lift, each one standing on their own platform as they slowly descended down. Pipes and panels walled the shaft, in varying patterns of straight and curving along the side like a DNA strand.

When they made it to the bottom, they cautiously stepped off and held their weapons up and close to them, trying prepare for anything that might come at them.

As they traversed through the facility towards the blinking location marked on their maps, they couldn't help but notice that a haze was beginning to fill the air the closer to the marked area they got.

A fog...? Kokoro pointed out curiously, unsure of what could be causing it.

It'll be alright. Let's make our way to the designated point. All units, follow my lead. The single-eyed FRANXX said as she walked forward to keep going further along.

Roger! Genista replied without hesitation, but Ichigo noticed a lack of a second confirmation.

Respond to me, Miku. Delphinium gently commanded, her tone authoritative but still polite in volume.

Yes, ma'aaaam! Argentea answered almost too sarcastically for Ichigo's liking but she brushed it off and tried not to let it get to her. They were so used to adults being in charge, it was probably a lot to adjust to taking orders from someone their own age, as if they were somehow above them.

But Ichigo had no intention of flaunting her status or anything of the sort, she didn't agree to be squad leader because of that. In fact, she didn't even strive to be squad leader in the first place, if she could have turned the position away she most definitely would at the start.

Now though, she couldn't think of passing this burden onto any of the others. It was not a glamorous job that garnered special priviledges, it was a grueling and mentally grating role that could make the wrong person break under the pressure.

Ichigo came out of her thoughts immediately when they rounded a corner and saw a blue and black orb that sent her sensors going off as a target brackett formed over them.

Hold up, target sighted. She informed the others, who stiffened and jerked to a stop behind her.

What, really?! Miku whisper-shouted as she leaned around to try and get a view of it. Ichigo held up a hand to hold her off for just long enough to tap into the communications to base.

We have a visual on the Klaxosaur. FRANXX spreading out. Ichigo's voice came through the speakers of both the Briefing Room where Nana was and the Operations Headquarters where Hachi stood watching.

"Proceed with caution." Hachi replied, bracing himself for the action that was about to occur.

Roger. In position; commencing operation. Delphinium announced as she and the other two FRANXX at her back peeked around the corner to get a better look at their target.

It was just a singular small Klaxosaur, round in body with squishy looking blue flesh that was covered in black plates for added protection. It simply clung to the side of one of the pipes, appearing very nonthreatening with it's odd movements that reminded them of jello or pudding.

"So that's a Klaxosaur...?" Goro said in fascination as he studied the creature. It was not nearly as intimidating as some of the visuals they had seen in simulations, it was almost laughable. But he had to remember that the minute you start to take your enemy less seriously, that was the moment you lost.

Huh, it's smaller than I thought it would be. Argentea pointed out as they all watched the small round blue and black mass steadily undulating against the surface of the pipe.

What a relief. Genista said with a soft sigh.

Stay alert, we'll do this as planned. Delphinium ordered, and with that she initiated the start of the operation by charging forward, Genista and Argentea following close behind her.

The Klaxosaur did not move, even when hearing the pounding footsteps of the giant feminine mechs quickly approaching it. Delphinium seized this opportunity, as she was the first to reach it, by stabbing her right spear into the massive orb of blue and black flesh. She yanked it out and stabbed at it again with the left, only for the Klaxosaur to bounce several times like a toy ball against the pipes and walls.

All the movement finally seemed to get the Klaxosaur irritated enough to pay attention, as like a flower opening it's petals the creature spread open the tightly wound point on it's underbelly to reveal four spindly legs. Exactly like the x-ray they had seen in debriefing.

Before it could even find solace from all the bouncing, however, it was suddenly pierced through the side by the bayonet tip of Genista's Rook Sparrow. The black and green FRANXX let out a grunt of effort as she hoisted both the cannon and the Klaxosaur upright, leaving it wide open for the oncoming attack from Argentea.

The pig-tailed mecha leapt high into the air with her claws at the ready, a loud battle screech leaving her that echoed both Pistil and Stamen's voice as she came down with all she had.

"Gotcha!" Zorome screamed as both sets of claws went and pierced into the Klaxosaur, sending them both crashing to the floor with a loud clatter, the Klaxosaur pinned underneath the pink and white FRANXX. The creature let out a pained screech as she ripped her claws out of it, blue blood spraying all around them.

"Way to go, Zorome!" Futoshi cheered for them, a big grin on his face. This wasn't so bad after all, the Klaxosaur didn't even put up much of a fight, they really could do this!

"Did they do it...?" Ikuno asked as she watched Argentea deliver a critical blow to the Klaxosaur on the screen, but Nana shook her head.

"Not yet." The redhead replied with slight disappointment. "It wasn't lethal enough."

"Hehe! Didja see my prowess?! That's what I'm capable of!" Zorome gloated as Argentea lifted her clawed hands in an almighty pose, completely ignorant of the continued spastic twitching of the creature that lay at their feet.

H-Hey, cut it out! You're embarrassing me. Miku complained, as this was the exact thing she had told him not to do before starting this. His brash and egotistical antics were going to get them into a bad spot once again!

It's not over while it's still alive, destroy the core at once! Delphinium ordered as she stepped closer, having noticed the Klaxosaur's erratic movements. If he didn't stop messing around it was going to get back up again.

"I-I know, I know!" Zorome griped as he turned back to the enemy beneath him, rotating his arm around as if he was working out a kink in his shoulder muscles.

"Tch! For a Klaxosaur, this thing wasn't that big of a deal." Then Argentea raised her arm and made to stab into it one more time to find the core.

Before she could, however, the center of the creature opened fully and released a far louder high-pitched screech than any they'd heard it make before, revealing the many sharp teeth inside.

It leapt up into Argentea's face in her moment of shock, the insect-like legs grabbing hold of her head and arms as it clung to and brought her screaming form down onto her back. Both Zorome and Miku were letting out panic-filled shouts as the glowing blue teeth began chomping down at her chest and face, Miku screaming the loudest as she felt everything resonating through her physical body.

"Miku!" Zorome exclaimed as he watched her slump over to the side, still connected to the terminal yet completely unresponsive. "Oi, Miku!"

"Damn you!" Futoshi roared as Genista released a blast from her cannon, the force thrusting the Klaxosaur off their companion with a pained scream as it flew several feet away. The shot had left a fairly large hole in the creature's flesh, unveiling the glowing heart that lay underneath.

Before it could get up or even attempt to defend itself, two orange-tipped blades stabbed into the exposed core, and the Klaxosaur squealed and writhed in agony until it inevitably went still in death. Delphinium yanked out the Envy Shop spears before turning to the prone FRANXX whose face plate had gone offline.

Are you okay, Miku? Ichigo asked urgently, but Goro watched as another round and fleshy orb fell from above, making him veer the FRANXX in it's direction.

"There was another one?" The bespectacled Stamen gasped out.

"Ummm... guys, w-wait a second..." Futoshi said fearfully as he stared up into the dark expanse over them.

One by one, more and more of the blue and black spherical Klaxosaurs came falling in, until there was over a half a dozen of them rolling around. They all stood up on their little legs, and turned themselves to face the tall robots that stood high over them. Unafraid of their size, for they could sense their fear.

"Not good... The Klaxosaurs are converging around the magma energy emissions." Hachi said as he watched the action through the FRANXX's active live feed.

H-How many of them are there...? Genista asked in horror as several Klaxosaurs came rolling by her feet. One had been bad enough with what they did to Argentea, now they were multiplying and soon they were going to try and do the same to the rest of them.

Let's get away from here for now, we can't deal with them all head on like this! Delphinium commanded as she lifted Argentea up to support her with an arm over her shoulder. Genista looked at her over her shoulder, before nodding in agreement.

Though Genista moved a bit slower because of her heavy defenses, she managed to keep pace with Delphinium as she dragged an unresponsive Argentea back down the hall they had come through. They weren't going to make it back to the lift at this pace, they were going to have to take an alternate route to safety.

Out of the corner of her one eye, Delphinium spotted a slight opening in the walls big enough for them to fit through. It was a gamble, as it could lead to nothing but a dead end, but with how fast the Klaxosaurs were scurrying to catch up, it was a risk she was going to have to take.

Through there! She pointed as she guided them to the gap that would hopefully lead to shelter.

They managed to squeeze into a narrow alcove that held just enough space for all of them to catch their breath and get their bearings. Thankfully, the stature of the Klaxosaurs worked in their favor, as their bouncy roundness was working against them particularly in this moment.

They wriggled and writhed against each other as they tried to push through the narrow opening, only to be shoved back and replaced by another to attempt the same thing. Their little legs scraped against the walls as they tried to drag themselves out of the mass but to no avail.

The two active FRANXX stared in panic at the sight, unsure of what to do as they waited for any sign of their friend regaining consciousness. Inside Argentea, the Stamen was urgently shaking the shoulders of the unconscious Pistil trying to get her to awaken.

"Miku! C'mon, Miku, wake up!" Zorome begged his partner, only to get no response. He felt the FRANXX shifting around them from being carried, and he grit his teeth in anger from letting this happen in the first place. If he had just killed that stupid Klaxosaur like he was supposed to instead of showing off, Miku wouldn't be like this!

"Please Miku... I'm sorry I got you like this, you can hit me to make it even if you want! Just wake up!" He begged her, only to receive silence in reply.

Nana watched the scene through the eyes of the FRANXX as they became trapped by the enemy, frantically searching for an alternate route but to no success. With one of their only three units out of commission there on the field, things had quickly become dire, and she was ashamed to admit that she had seen this coming.

She hoped her warning earlier would keep them from entering this exact situation, but all the warnings in the world couldn't prevent the inevitable it seemed...

"Send us in!" A voice behind her cried out. Nana's eyes widened at the sudden exclamation, turning to face the girl responsible.

Ikuno stood rigidly with her hand clenched to her chest as her frantic eyes darted back and forth between the giant screen and the redhead before her. Even her partner beside her was looking at her with a raised eyebrow at her sudden outburst.

"... Ikuno-?"

"Let me try again, please! They need us!" Ikuno begged her, a look of sheer desperation on her face.

Seeing Delphinium's strained expression on screen as she struggled to hold out for her team was maddening, she couldn't just sit here and keep watching! Not when it was her fault they were like this to begin with. She just needed another chance to try, and she would get it this time.

"Now you're wanting to take this seriously...?" Mitsuru scoffed with a roll of his eyes, but he wasn't arguing against her point either. In reality she was correct, without some assistance they were going to get overwhelmed. Possibly die, even.

Ikuno's fists were clenched so tightly, only the barrier of her suit prevented her nails from piercing her skin. "I beg of you... let me try again!"

"Permission granted." Hachi spoke from the smaller monitor, and Nana whirled around to face him now in surprise.

"What? Hachi-!"

"Perhaps this is the jolt they need to properly synchronize. Hurry and board your FRANXX, coordinates will be sent once you successfully come online." He instructed them, and the purple-haired girl's countenance instantly brightened.

"Thank you, sir!" Ikuno said before immediately turning and practically sprinting out of the room, Mitsuru following not too far behind. Nana watched them go for a moment, before turning back to her male associate in this operation.

"I hope you know what you're doing..." She said sternly as she gave him a hard stare. His expression didn't change from the usual, and he replied back as smooth as butter.

"If they fail then I have no choice but to report this to the council. This is their last chance." Hachi told her seriously, and it was then that Nana grasped what he was talking about.

After a couple moments of tense silence, Nana acknowledged his words. "... I understand."

This was a special experimental squad, if they weren't giving satisfactory results then it had to be made known to the heads. If this was reported and the council decided to remove them and replace them with two new children... she couldn't guarantee to know where or how they'd end up.

They could be re-assigned to a new plantation with different partners or... Well, she didn't even want to imagine the alternative...

Please... let them succeed! Nana silently begged whatever otherworldly force that could hear her.

It was fortunate that Chlorophytum was still at the ready in the hangar where they had left her, as it was just a simple climb up to the head in the form of a quick lift ride. The face plate was still lowered from their earlier attempt, all systems still at the ready as they went inside.

Any other time Ikuno looked at that terminal in displeasure, but not this time. She had made a terrible mistake in not trying harder earlier to make sure she connected, it was because of her that they were in danger.

Practically ripping off her glasses in her haste, Ikuno climbed into position. There was no sense of unease like there usually was, in it's place was just a desperate desire to help those close to her.

"Alright, I'm ready for you..." She informed her partner as the hood slipped over her head, and the controls at her hips lifted towards him. He didn't reply, merely grabbed onto the handles and waited for the synchronization to begin. After a couple deep breaths, both began to attempt synchronization for the second time.

Once again, the heavy blanket came over her as she tried her absolute best to reach out her pulse to her partner. It was like a bird trapped under a thick cloth, and no matter how hard they flapped their wings it couldn't get our from under it.

No... No! Not again, come on! Ikuno begged herself internally. The panic began to return with a vengeance as the capacity meter timed out, just as it had earlier when she failed to connect.

"All that posturing, and here we are again." Mitsuru sighed. His partner had been so heated about something for once that even he had started to believe that they could do it this time, but now he was realizing he was foolish for even entertaining it.

Ikuno took a few deep breaths to steady herself, trying to calm down from her frustrated mindset. She had to remember what they taught her all these years, that being even the slightest bit resistant could throw off the whole sync... she needed to be willing to give her all to it.

Closing her eyes, she began to try again, trying her best to stay calm even as the heavy blanket began to smother her again.

No, I won't let this stop me... Please... Work!

She just had to remember why she was doing this in the first place. Not for Papa, not for any recognition of the adults, not for anything... but her friends safety. For Ichigo's safety.

All she could see was Ichigo's sweet smiling face as she sat on the bed across from her, or how cute she looked when she found her playing with a stuffed toy...

Herself looking into Naomi's mirror... remembering Naomi's face... Hearing Naomi's voice!

"I know you're a strong Pistil, and you'll be just fine out there."

Naomi... Ichigo! If they both believed in her abilities as a Pistil, she needed to prove them right! She couldn't let them down!

Come on...! I have to help them! I have to help Ichigo!

B-Bump!

Then, as if in response to her desperate plea, the blue coil on the capacity meter began to quickly fill up, reaching the satisfactory level as the FRANXX began to power up. Mitsuru took advantage of the sudden rise in capacity and added his own to the mix, reaching out and was honestly shocked when a firm force reached out and took him in, sealing the bond.

Ikuno gasped as she felt the torrent of emotional and mental waves wash over her, bracing herself as she held herself steady. She would not let it scare her away this time!

The blanket was cast off to the side, leaving nothing but a fiercely determined Pistil to rise up and fly.

Mitsuru watched with stoic surprise as the cockpit came alive around them, the window in front of him clearing and revealing the world outside the FRANXX.

"Well well... You had it in you, after all." He commented aloofly, settling in to get moving as the metal prongs holding them in place began releasing.

If only they could have done this earlier... was what he wanted to add, but he held his tongue and kept his mouth sealed.

[ CHLOROPHYTUM CONNECTED ]

The winged FRANXX wasted no time, as soon as the station door was opened enough she was darting out into the open air. As the power levels in her feet and heat sinks went up to begin faster travel, Hachi's face appeared on the HUD.

"Chlorophytum, proceed to the coordinates provided, posthaste."

"Roger." Mitsuru responded, and then they were moving at incredible speeds across the desert-like floor beneath them. Striding towards the site that housed their friends in danger.

I'm coming, Ichigo!

Inside the facility, the others were still unsure of what to do. Miku was still unresponsive, even with Zorome physically at her side trying to rouse her awake. With only the two other FRANXX still active, they were sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered at this rate.

This was exactly the kind of thing that Ichigo had been afraid of, being backed into a literal corner with no clear sign of what to do! What could she do, how could she get them out of this mess...?!

"Ichigo, calm down...! We have to think this through quickly but calmly." Goro stressed to his partner. He could feel her panic through the link, and while he was afraid himself, he knew he had to be clear-minded for her. If they both panicked, they were doomed.

Thankfully it was at this moment that Miku regained consciousness, a whimpering groan escaping her as she opened her eyes to see her partner hovering close above her. His face was just inches from her, an emotional expression (what emotion she couldn't decipher) on his face that made her eyes widen.

"Aah!" Taken aback by how close he was, her hand went out of it's own accord to smack him away to give her space. Zorome let out a pained grunt as he was thrust back from the slap.

"What the hell, Miku?!" He barked at her indignantly as he held a hand to his cheek.

"Sorry... you startled me!" The pig-tailed girl told him honestly with flush cheeks as she scooted back a ways to put some breathable distance between them. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she did so, looking off to the side to avoid direct eye contact with her partner.

Instead of getting madder like she thought he would, he lurched forward and hugged her, startling her more and completely ruining her attempts to create space.

"H-Hey, Zorome!" Miku whined, unsure of what to do or what caused his sudden weird behavior.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Zorome's voice whispered into her ear, and her flush deepened from the softness in his voice. Miku sputtered as she didn't know how to respond to that other than awkwardly patting him on the back to ease his distress.

"W-What's happening with the others?" She asked instead to distract both him and herself from the weird moment just now.

"They dragged us somewhere safe, but it's not going to stay that way for long. We gotta get back up and out there!" He assisted in helping her stand up with one hand, and made sure she was safely tucked into the terminal before he climbed back into the Stamen seat.

This time I'll do a better job of paying attention... The violet-eyed boy told himself fiercely as he gripped the handles once more, a hard scowl on his face as he started the connection back up.

Delphinium and Genista were pleasantly surprised when Argentea's face plate suddenly came back online, her big blue-green eyes blinking a couple times before she began to move. Large smiles came over their respective faces as they realized that Miku must be okay if she was back at it.

"Hey guys! Look who's back from the dead!" Zorome's voice shouted from within.

Who's dead?! Miku screeched in annoyance as she sat up in Argentea's body.

Thank goodness, are you okay Miku? Kokoro asked in relief as she knelt the best she could beside her friend. Before Miku could reply, several loud squeals from the Klaxosaurs drew all their attention back onto them. They were growing more restless and determined to reach them, their legs moving erratically faster as a couple actually began to inch their way through the cluster.

They were running out of time, almost any second now one was going to break through, and then the rest would come trickling in soon after.

Little buggers. Hey... What's the plan here, squad leader? Miku asked, her and Genista looking to their commander unit for instruction. Said mecha stood with her back to them as she stared at the enemies blocking their path out of here.

Now that all three of them were back in the fight, they had to seriously consider what they could do next. They had to complete the mission at all costs, even if that phrase meant an awful and terrifying alternate course they were to take. They had always been taught that sacrifice was an honorable part of the job, one that Papa respected more than anything.

Be it the Pistil's Stampede Mode, or the Stamen's Self-Destruct switch... there were ways of taking the enemies out right along with themselves. If that was what it took, then that was what they were meant to do.

This was what Papa meant by sparking their lives into a blaze of glory, they were to lay down their lives if that was the cost of victory...

... But Ichigo wasn't willing to do that to her squad. Especially not on the first mission! She had lead them all into this alive, no matter what she was going to make sure they got out of here alive!

"Ichigo..." Goro's voice called out gently to her, making her rampant thoughts briefly cease. "I'm here with you, we can get out of this. Let's think this through, together."

Through their link Ichigo felt a wave of peace flow through her as his words settled over her mind, bringing with them a sense of ease and support that she desperately needed right now. The giant tree that he was, he shielded her with a comforting shade from the brutal anxiety.

Breathing out a slow sigh that relaxed her body, Ichigo quickly began to think of a plan. Taking in what she knew of each FRANXX's strengths and weaknesses, she began to formulate a strategy that they could use.

They're all grouped together like that, we can take advantage of it! Ichigo pointed out suddenly, making the other two FRANXX blink in confusion.

H-How?! Genista cried, watching as the massive cluster of Klaxosaurs struggled and fought over each other to squeeze through not just the opening but each other as well.

Genista your Rook Sparrow can charge and release a concentrated magma blast, you're the only one strong enough to breach their thick hides to reach the core. I want you to focus all your fire power on that!

Y-Yes! Understood! The armored FRANXX then lifted up her weapon and aimed it directly at the wall of Klaxosaurs.

Argentea, you and I will attack head on and cut through the exposed cores we find!

"I'll show them for making a fool outta me!" Zorome huffed as the candy-colored mecha lifted up her Night Claw threateningly.

For the next few tense moments they waited as the giant cannon began to charge with power, a bright orange glow slowly forming within the chamber as the magma energy built up. Kokoro did her best to make the process as fast as possible without sacrificing any of the needed strength.

After about thirty seconds of waiting, the chamber was ready. Armed with a powerful shot that would surely cause immense damage to the enemy.

"Now!" Futoshi shouted as he released the blast, the bright orange energy colliding with the makeshift wall of Klaxosaurs, all of whom screeached in agony at the heat and pain of such a hit. They were all eradicated from the opening of their alcove, sent flying and trouncing off to various directions.

Now! Hurry, get as many as you can! Ichigo ordered as she lead them through the now clear gap and back into the open space. The other two followed at her command, all of them looking around at the wildly bouncing Klaxosaurs.

Genista tried to hold up her cannon to release another small shot but she couldn't keep a firm aim on the constantly moving targets. Even the others who had melee type weapons struggled to get a hit on them as they kept moving out of the way of their more deadly blows.

They're bouncing around too much! Kokoro cried out.

"I can't land a hit on them!" Zorome added before a Klaxosaur bounced into Argentea's back, sending them off balance and falling forward. "Aahhh!"

Argentea! Delphinium called out as she ran to try and assist the other FRANXX. If the Klaxosaurs swarmed her when she was down, she was going to get hurt again!

Several that weren't bouncing around leapt towards the storming FRANXX, legs spread apart and mouths revving full of teeth. One latched onto Delphinium, legs grabbing onto her shoulders and arms as it attempted to make a replication of what happened to Argentea earlier.

With her arms and shoulders held partially restrained, she was unable to move her Envy Shop blades up to try and pry it off from her, instead she was stuck leaning her head back as far as possible to avoid the creature's snaps at their face.

Suddenly though, several quick succession shots rang out and the Klaxosaur burst apart, spraying blue blood all across Delphinium's face as the creature screeched it's last breath. A bright glowing sphere began to fall to the ground, only to be shattered before it could touch it.

Looking up, a huge smile came over the blue and white FRANXX's face at the sight before her of Chlorophytum, her right arm raised and aimed at where the Klaxosaur used to be.

Ikuno! Ichigo exclaimed in happiness, overjoyed to see her friend had come to help them. You made it!

I'm so glad I did... The purple-haired girl replied with nothing short of relief as she lowered her gun arm. Internally, Ikuno was beyond grateful that she had made it on time. Seeing Ichigo being attacked like that... she'd acted on instinct without any input from Mitsuru.

Maybe Naomi had been right...

"Mitsuru! You were able to connect, after all!" Futoshi cheered for his fellow Stamen, who rolled his eyes at the almost back-handed comment.

"Better late than never, I suppose." Mitsuru scoffed, brushing off their concerns as coolly as possible.

Enough chit-chat, let's finish this quickly before we attract more of them! Delphinium ordered, feeling so much more at ease now that they were a full squad as they were always meant to be. With the extra body here to help even the odds, they stood a far better chance of making it out alive now.

"What are we supposed to do exactly?! They keep bouncing around like balls whenever we hit them!" Zorome hissed in frustration.

"Like balls, huh...?" The statement had Goro thinking, these Klaxosaurs were a lot like the bouncing balls they used to play with as children...

Which suddenly gave him an idea that was so ridiculous that it just might work.

"Oi, Zorome! Remember when we used to play ball as kids?" Goro called out, making the pink FRANXX look at them in utter baffled confusion.

"Huh?!"

"Heads up!" Like an actual game of kickball, Goro made his mecha rear back her foot before thrusting it forward to collide with the black and blue orb with legs. The Klaxosaur was sent flying with a squeal in Argentea's direction, and the pink robot reached up in a panic at the improvised projectile. They crossed their arms in front of them to block the brunt of it's impact, and it was sent off to the side only to hit the wall.

It bounced around several more times before coming to a rolling halt by their feet, the creature's legs flailing about as it struggled to right itself from all the dizzying movement. Since it had been struck by Genista's powerful blast a minute before, there was a chunk missing from their hide that didn't expose the core but made it easier for their own weapon to penetrate through to reach it.

Seeing the opportunity in front of them, Argentea quickly lifted up her right claw and brought it down with all her might, piercing through the core just like they had practiced. This time, the blow they inflicted was lethal enough, and the Klaxosaur perished beneath their towering form.

Argentea paused for a moment, before a look of understanding dawned on them as they straightened up.

The bouncing keeps them disoriented, I understand! Miku pointed out in comprehension, getting why Goro had brought up playing ball as kids.

"Ahh... I getcha now!" Zorome grinned, a new rush of excitement flowing through him and his partner now that they had succeeded in getting a proper kill.

"Great, keep it up!" Goro told them with a thumbs up before turning to find the next Klaxosaur.

Nice one, Goro! You've given us the perfect strategy. Ichigo praised her partner with a grin. Admittedly, she never would have thought of that kind of comparison at a time like this, his input was a fortunate blessing on her now more than ever.

"Betcha I'll get more kills than all of you!" Zorome challenged as he waited for another Klaxosaur to come bounding his way.

"That's what I was looking for..." Goro confessed with a chuckle, making his partner laugh in response. Now, she knew just what they needed to do to get out of this.

Everyone spread out! Delphinium ordered with a resolved grin. It's time to play ball.

To keep the Klaxosaurs from going back on the offensive, they were going to have to get creative. The FRANXX moved away from one another and positioned like they would in their childhood... and the game began.

One of the Klaxosaurs leapt towards Argentea, but instead of getting a repeat of earlier, they raised their arms to catch the beast in their claws. The Klaxosaur was impaled on both sets, and Argentea quickly assessed who was closest.

Kokoro, coming your way! With the momentum of the catch, Miku quickly spun the FRANXX around and served the squealing creature towards the green and black FRANXX, tearing off a good chunk of flesh in the process as it flew off their claws.

Genista raised her cannon towards the oncoming target, and unleashed a powerful blast that obliterated the Klaxosaur in a burst of blue blood, the core destroyed right along with it.

Great job, Futoshi! Kokoro praised him with a beaming smile.

"I told you I'd protect you, Kokoro!" The larger boy grinned, feeling proud that he was actually doing a good job of killing the Klaxosaurs like he was meant to. So long as he had the purpose of keeping Kokoro safe, he would do his absolute best!

"Mitsuru, you're up!" Goro challenged as he sent another Klaxosaur bounding towards the lilac-accented FRANXX. Mitsuru smirked within his cockpit as he clutched at the controls harder, a surge of child-like excitement going through him from the thrill of competition.

"Easy." He chuckled as he raised both arms of his FRANXX up, and sent a barrage of laser shots at the moving target. This was child's play, almost like a simple target practice session as each shot riddled through the creature, spraying more blue blood onto the floor.

One by one they managed to whittle their numbers down until there was only one blue and black orb still bouncing around.

"There's still one more! Let's finish this!" Goro called to the others.

The Klaxosaur, knowing it was the last survivor among it's brethren, refused to go down the same as the fallen ones. Instead of allowing them to send it ricocheting around the space like the others, it used it's little legs to dash to the sides of their attacks, somehow able to sense their movements despite having no eyes.

As a last ditch effort, the creature went at the person who had frightened it the most; which in this case, was Genista.

The bio-mechanical orb leapt onto the black and green frame of her shoulder, their razor sharp teeth chomping down on the collar of her coat-like exterior. The Pistil let out a shriek in reaction from the attack, only to quickly realize she did not feel any lingering pain.

"Kokoro!" Futoshi cried out in panic as he tried lifting their arms up to shove the enemy off of them.

I'm fine! The armor is keeping it at bay! His partner reassured him, and while her voice was shaky there was no indication that she was in any pain.

Still, it didn't stop the increasing fire that was burning in Futoshi's gut as he looked towards the thing that had tried to do the very thing he strived to prevent.

"Damn you!" He roared as he pushed hard on the controls, and Kokoro was taken aback as they suddenly side-stepped towards the nearest wall closest to them. With a hard lurch, he made Genista shoulder tap the wall, with the grappling beast directly between them.

The impact against the wall made the Klaxosaur release them with an agonized screech, and Futoshi took the opportunity to shove it off them to the ground. It's legs scrambled around similar to a cockroach on it's back before the magma-powered tip of the Rook Sparrow jabbed itself into it's hide.

Like a piece of meat on a shishkabob, Gensita lifted up the final Klaxosaur into the air, a high-pitched sound emitting from the weapon as it charged another final blow.

"Futoshi! This way, I'm open!" Zorome shouted through his comms as Argentea hopped up and down with their arms waving in the air.

"Hrraagh!" Genista's Stamen grunted as he hurled the Klaxosaur in Argentea's direction, setting off the building blast as the creature slid off the bladed tip. It screeched in agony as it flew across the air with a wide gaping hole in it's body, core exposed for all to see.

Before Zorome could deal the final blow on it, however, several loud shots rang out and the core was struck multiple times before shattering. Argentea stared at it in disbelief before jerking her head to look over at the white and lilac colored FRANXX who's open wrist was releasing a small plume of smoke.

"Kill steal!" Zorome yelled into the comms as he stuck his face up close to the camera.

"Heh... you were too slow." Mitsuru said smugly at the other boy's reaction. Then to add insult to injury, he made Chlorophytum raise her wrist to her face where he made a show of blowing the smoke out of the chamber away.

With all the Klaxosaurs defeated, they all slowly lowered their weapons and took in their surroundings, just to be safe.

Did we do it...? Kokoro asked in a hesitant voice

I think so... Delphinium answered, though she did not drop her guard until she received the confirmation from HQ.

"Status report?" Hachi requested, seeing that all attacks had ceased on the live feed.

"Sensors no longer picking up Klaxosaur signals. Targets eliminated." Another adult replied, the trackers they were monitoring displaying zero traces of more Klaxosaur activity in the area.

"Very good." Hachi said as his shoulders relaxed just the slightest bit from the news that they had accomplished the victory they had set out for. They were free to come back to base now.

"Mission success; return to the plantation."

"Roger."

"WE WON!" Zorome screamed in triumph as Argentea hopped in the air with a pumped up clawed fist. Miku didn't argue over the action as she was just as thrilled with their achievement as he was. They just successfully completed their first mission ever, everyone deserved to be hyped.

Thank goodness... we made it through! Kokoro said as she held a hand to her chest, a heavy sigh slowly relaxing her body from it's tense state. It had been so scary to have a monster in her face trying to hurt her, but she counted herself lucky she didn't have it as bad as Miku did.

Come on, let's head back to the elevator to take us out of here. Ichigo began to lead the quartet of FRANXX down the maze of halls, using her internal mapping system to help guide them, keeping her one eye open for any potential threats that may suddenly impede their path.

That was some great thinking back there, Goro! Kokoro complimented with a bright smile on her face as they approached the chain lift that had brought them down the shaft in the beginning.

"Yeah, really!" Futoshi agreed full heartily. "The idea of looking at them as bouncing toys made me feel so much more confident."

It was almost like when we used to play as kids, it was kinda fun. Miku added with a grin, an added skip in her step as they walked along.

"I'm glad, you guys. We all did a great job back there." Goro responded with a serene smile, just overall happy that everyone made it out okay after what could have been a harrowing experience.

He saw how much Ichigo was panicking from the pressure, the stress of having to come up with some kind of a plan to get them out of there. It was not something he enjoyed, and it really opened his eyes to just how much strain his partner was trying to take on all by herself as the squad leader.

But he was her partner... it was his job to keep her steady and be there to balance her. She was just as Human as the rest of them, even she couldn't have the answers to everything. So he would absolutely do his best, to not only go along with and support Ichigo in her decisions, but also give his all in providing a helping hand here and there.

They all shouldn't be afraid to give their suggestions to a strategy if they feel that strongly it would work, because everyone's opinion mattered.

"I still think I got the most kills!" Zorome claimed as they each stepped on a platform that was attached to the chain lift. They each grabbed onto it with one hand to keep steady, giving the go ahead to raise it once they were situated.

Sure, Zorome, whatever you say. Delphinium said with a soft smile as the platforms began ascending back up to the surface.

"They did it... Thank goodness." Nana said as she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. From the giant screen she watched as they dashed across the desert grounds to return to base, all of them whole and looking no worse for wear.

Hachi's face appeared on the smaller screen then. "It would appear there's no need to worry about Chlorophytum for now."

Nana frowned as she pulled up Chlorophytum's capacity readings on the smaller screen beside Hachi's comms. Their graph was all over the place, and while they had managed to reach a stable level through the original sync they have not maintained a satisfactory balance between both Stamen and Pistil.

"... Are we sure about that?" Nana questioned as she gestured to the results that spoke for themselves.

"I should ammend my statement, then. I don't think we need to worry about the Pistil of Chlorophytum." Hachi corrected himself, making Nana's brow raise at him. He was saying that they needed to watch closer at Mitsuru?

"It's too soon to say what will happen, however we must keep a firm eye on their yellow blood cell count from this point on." He added, seeing the skeptical look on her face. She looked away from his profile on the screen, staring at the corner of the room with what she hoped was an expresisonless look on her face.

Were they... hiding things from her? She knew the doctor had his secrets... but did Hachi, too?

"Alright..."

The FRANXX were tucked back into the Docking Bay for after-sortie maintenance and care, having fulfilled their duty for the time being. All Parasites proceeded to disembark after disconnecting from their respective syncs.

Ikuno let out a weary sigh as she was released from the terminal, rising into an upright sitting position as she took a moment to get her bearings. Putting back on her glasses, she reflected on the last couple hours of her life.

She had done it... Even though she had struggled and failed with the first attempt, she had somehow managed to achieve synchronization when she needed it the most. The others were safe and had come back alongside her... that was all she wanted.

Getting up and moving her stiff muscles, she was eager to go find and talk to the other girls now that they had come back home safely.

Her partner stepped in front of her, however, blocking her path to leave with a tense frown. Ikuno paused, unsure what he could possibly want to say.

"Let's get one thing straight, here and now." Mitsuru said firmly as he leveled her with a hard stare. "What happened today was because of you, not me. Frankly, I don't think we're suited for one another, connecting with you has been cumbersome even during practices."

Ikuno didn't know how to respond, too caught off guard by the biting tone he was speaking to her with to try and come up with anything to say.

"If they insist on us staying together as partners for now, then you're going to have to work a lot harder at figuring out whatever mental block it is you have that's dragging us down. This time we managed, but the next time the others may not be so lucky."

Having said that, Mitsuru turned his back on her and walked at a brisk pace to leave the FRANXX - and her by extension - behind. He stopped at the chin of the face plate, and turned his head slightly to tell her one last thing over his shoulder.

"I will not be pruned..."

With that, he left Ikuno standing there in silence. Staring at the floor of the cockpit for several long minutes well after he'd left her alone there.

... Do you think I want to be pruned? Do you think I enjoy being like this...?

She gripped her arm tightly, a slight trembling wracking through her whole body as she tried to get a hold of her emotions. Usually, she'd be able to bite back with some kind of retort when he got like that, but not this time.

I don't even know what this is...

All she knew was that it was not normal. She was not normal.

In the girl's changing room, Kokoro and Miku were already undressing from their suits by the time Ikuno had gotten there. She had taken her time walking back after taking a few minutes to get her bearings, and if she was honest she had hoped they would have been done by now to leave her alone for longer.

While she had originally wanted to be a part of their eager chatting of everything, all of that went away at her partner's harsh reminder of her responsibility in everything. She had no right to be happy or excited about it, not when it was her fault they suffered to begin with.

What did she expect... to be treated as some kind of hero for showing up at the last minute? Foolish!

All she wanted right now was to change and just leave. Leave to go wallow in her own self-scolding isolation. However, that hope went out the window as before she could open her locker, Ikuno felt a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened today, Ikuno?" Ichigo asked her softly. It didn't need to be asked what she was referring to, and Ikuno sincerely didn't want to have this conversation now, not even with Ichigo... Yet, despite that, her mouth was opening of it's own accord.

"I just... couldn't sync up first time around." She found herself answering, glancing away at the wall.

"But you did wonderfully during the graduation ceremony and practices... What went wrong this time?" The blunette asked in genuine confusion.

"If I knew the answer to that I would have been able to pilot the first time and not drag the squad down." Ikuno snapped in a slightly raised voice, a deep scowl on her face that was barely hidden by her glasses.

Mitsuru had pretty much spelled it out for her; it was her fault they had gotten overwhelmed and almost killed. All because she couldn't properly synchronize when she was supposed to. It was just as she had always suspected would happen, she would be the one to drag the squad down because of her inability to accept and bend to the system that reigned supreme over their way of life.

All because she was abnormal, incapable of being like the rest.

Ichigo's face - full of sorrow, but not quite pity - made her realize that she had been too harsh with her reply, and she looked away in shame and remorse.

"... I'm sorry." Ikuno murmured in a shaky voice, her emotions beginning to get the better of her. It had been an emotional day for all of them, some more so than others obviously.

"Don't apologize. You have every right to be frustrated. I would be too if I struggled with what you're going through." Ichigo murmured gingerly, a small smile on her lips as she tried to ease her friend however she could.

She couldn't begin to understand the struggle she must be undergoing deep down inside, but she wouldn't let it stop her from being there for her to help her through it however she could. Whether it be an ear that would listen to her problems, or a shoulder she needed to lean and cry on when it all became too much, Ichigo wanted to be there for her.

Not just as a squad leader, but as a friend. A dear friend like they had been since childhood.

"I told you I didn't deserve to be here..." Ikuno said bitterly as she scowled down at the floor, gripping at her elbow in sorrow and anger. "I'm already bringing the squad down."

"That's not true at all, Ikuno. You just had a minor setback, we all have them." Ichigo shook her head, her bangs waving to and fro across her forehead.

"A 'minor setback' can get everyone killed because I'm too useless to do the one thing I was born to do." The purple-haired girl pointed out heatedly as her hand grasped at her arm tighter, threatening to stop the blood flow in the area if she kept at it a little longer.

Then, a small but tender hand reached out and grabbed at hers, gently easing her fingers off from the death grip it held on her arm. Ikuno's eyes slowly widened as Ichigo took her hand into hers, bringing it close to her and clasping her other hand over them.

"That's not true at all, you're not useless. You're just struggling, it happens to the best of us. You only need to find the right trigger to help ease you into the sync... think of something that makes you happy. That's what I do."

Something that makes me happy...

The only thing that came to mind during that moment was two specific people's faces; Ichigo's and Naomi's.

Now that she thought about it, it had been Ichigo she was thinking of during the Startup Ritual... It had been her and Naomi that she had seen in her mind's eye when she was at her most desperate to pilot earlier today.

Perhaps... maybe that was the key to her problem?

If she could just pretend, even for a few moments... perhaps then she could connect and fly...?

After changing out of his suit, Mitsuru didn't bother to linger and indulge in the excited babbling of his fellow Stamen in the locker room.

"Didja see how I slashed that one Klaxosaur right outta the air?!" Zorome asked with a puffed up chest as he mimicked the slashing of Argentea's claws.

"I think I must have caught a half a dozen of them in one blast!" Futoshi gushed with pride.

"You both did pretty great... but I'm sure I did better." Goro told them with a playful smirk on his face. His comment succeeded in getting an outraged reply from the other two who loudly protested with their own recollections of what all had happened.

Mitsuru slammed his locker closed, shaking his head as he left the room fully clothed back in his uniform.

"Ridiculous..." He muttered under his breath.

While the other three were incredibly jazzed and psyched about their first successful victory on the field, the brunette couldn't help but feel incredibly let down. Wandering through the halls of the inner plantation, Mitsuru made his way back topside to the birdcage above in need for some fresh air.

His first time piloting... and it turned out like that.

Granted, he supposed he should feel grateful that in the end they were able to go out there at all, getting a taste of the action and victory for themselves.

But still... to feel like that at the start. To not be able to fulfill your role just because someone else dragged their feet, to miss out on one of the most monumental moments of their lives... and have it feel less impactful when it finally does happen.

If she had been able to do it right the first time... things would have been so much different. He would feel so much different, he was sure of it.

"Tch..." Mitsuru grit his teeth and let out a slow sigh. Disappointment was all he ever got in life, it seemed.

At least, when it came to other people...

Shaking himself out of such stupid emotional musings, he kept moving to his chosen destination. Soon, after a few minutes of wandering through the trees around the house's perimeter, he found what he was looking for.

Two days after their first arrival here at the plantation, Mitsuru noticed that the door to the greenhouse had become unlocked and allowed for entrance. He had no intentions of flower gazing or anything, he just wanted a quiet place to be alone and think.

It suited his needs just fine at the time, the sun filtering through the slightly tinted glass made for an actually relaxing environment. The silence of nature apart from the birds chirping from outside, it was so much more preferable to the sounds of the others yelling or creating a ruckus via other means.

Which was the reason he was presently there now, he needed to take some time to himself after that mission earlier.

If she held them back from being able to sortie, surely they would allow for them to become unshackled from each other and take a different partner...

But what would that mean for either of them if they went that route...? The others seemed perfectly happy and satisfied with their partners, he doubted any of them would understand his plight.

Looking around the place, Mitsuru suddenly noticed there had been quite a few changes made since he had last come there. There was a distinct smell of something in the air that made his nose wrinkle in slight disgust, and upon further inspection it turned out to be fertilizer.

The pots were filled with mulch and soil, the seedlings within lovingly settled and arranged around the place to get the most optimal sunlight. Gardening tools were clean and hanging up on the tool rack against the back wall, as well as newly hung plant care posters with tips for caring and nurturing.

Who was taking care of the plants in here? Another invisible caretaker like the ones who took care of their food and laundry?

"Oh, Mitsuru... I wasn't expecting to find you here." A feminine voice spoke from the entrance, making the young man turn around to face them.

Kokoro stood there holding a watering can in one hand, and a bag of something else in the other. Perhaps more plant care supplies, not that he had any interest or care.

"What're you doing here?" Mitsuru asked her, his tone coming off somewhat rude but the girl didn't seem to pay it any mind.

"I started coming to take care and water the seedlings we had stored in here. I come every day." Kokoro started shuffling back and forth on her feet, a faint blush on her cheeks as she hesitated to add more.

"I... had to practically beg Nana to let me take part in the gardening." She admitted bashfully with a soft giggle.

Mitsuru just stared at her silently, not sure why she felt the need to share such insignificant information. At the very least though, she answered his question of who was doing the work in here. Not some other mysterious adult who never presented themselves, just Kokoro.

She had potted and cared for all these plants by herself...?

"So... do you like gardening, too?" Kokoro asked, breaking the awkward silence that had begun stretching between them.

"Nothing of the sort, I just thought it was a good place to be alone." He brushed her off, hoping she would understand the hint he was trying to convey.

"I see." The blonde said, shuffling around some more as she tried to build up the courage to ask him what she really wanted to.

Clearing her throat, she began shyly. "You know, Mitsuru... If you want someone to talk to, I-"

"I don't need nor want to discuss my business with you." Mitsuru cut her off harshly, before walking out of the greenhouse altogether. There was no point in lingering here if she was going to be staying to work on the plants and trying to initiate conversation, he would just have to live with some privacy in the woods.

"O-Okay..." Kokoro said dejectedly to the open air, looking down with a deep frown set on her face.

After a couple moments of sadly staring at the ground, Kokoro picked herself up and began her daily tending of the plants. While not every plant needed water every day, they still deserved to have their beds nurtured a little.

"Hello, everyone." She greeted the seedlings with a smile. "I hope you're all doing alright today."

As she went about her tasks, checking with the notes every now and again, she thought about the boy with slicked back hair.

Of all the people in their group, Mitsuru had always been the most withdrawn and closed off, ever since Hiro left them. For some reason, he had taken his leaving the hardest out of all of them...

While Kokoro didn't argue that Goro and Ichigo were extremely close to him and had been deeply affected by Hiro's absence, they didn't let it get as bad as what happened to Mitsuru... they hadn't been changed by his leaving. At least, not a whole personality change, she would never disregard their own pain but she always felt that Mitsuru's went further in some way.

Before, Mitsuru was a more happy and easy-going boy, albeit incredibly shy. He hid behind toys a lot when he talked to people, always holding one and acting like he was playing with it when it was more of a shield for his words. But he became part of the group and opened up a little more after Hiro had named them all.

Then one day... Hiro was gone. And Mitsuru changed.

He went from having those warm eyes and that sweet smile on his face to a cold stare with a deep frown, speaking with indifference and almost malice to the rest of them... and it always bothered her inside that he had grown into this. Kokoro had been hoping that being away from Garden and being part of a squad would help open him up more, but clearly that wasn't coming to fruition yet.

She wouldn't give up on him, though. She would keep trying to reach through to him... even if he refused to reach back for himself.

---

September 9 - 2136

"Mmm!" Zero Two groaned lightly as she raised her arms over her head in a stretch, enjoying the light breeze of the outdoors.

"This plantation looks exactly the same as the last one we were at... I wonder if they're all just the same design?" Hiro wondered aloud as he glanced around the woods they were currently strolling through. From where they stood he could make out a greenhouse, albeit structured differently than the last one but still close enough.

"Most likely, the old man told us not to expect anything different here other than the people." Zero Two replied as she pulled out a lollipop, removing the wrapper before shoving it in her pocket to throw away later. Darling didn't like it when she littered.

"And even then... they don't seem much different to me." She added with the slightest narrowing of her eyes, then shoved the candy into her mouth.

"Still, I didn't expect this place to be almost an exact copy as the last one... It almost feels like we never left the other plantation." With the obvious exception of the layout of the trees and lakes, as nature was a lot harder to duplicate, the plantations were mostly the same in terms of exploration.

The doctor told them to keep their wandering to a minimum, but even Hiro couldn't contain his boredom and growing curiosity about the different plantations, which were starting to not be as different as he imagined. The boarding houses were the same, the types of trees were the same, the routines were the same...

The only things that seemed to change were the animals, and the children. And like Zero Two pointed out, even those were starting to become predictable...

On her trips across the plantations with the old man during her solo days without Darling, she didn't really wander around too much in exploration. Mainly because she would isolate herself to avoid all the hateful or fearful stares everyone threw her way. So admittedly, she was also a little curious about their sights.

"Kinda unsettling, isn't it, Darling?" Zero Two murmured around her lollipop, stepping closer to his side.

"Yeah, a little." It was almost like they never left the last plantation at all, they just switched the people and animals in the night while they slept. Knowing how twisted APE can be, they wouldn't put it passed them to conduct such an experiment...

"What did they say the name of this plantation was called?" His partner asked, and Hiro instantly recalled the detail from when they had arrived.

"Gladiolus, I believe. The last one was Tulipa." It seemed all the plantations were named after flowers or plants of some kind, if he recalled correctly from his reading.

"Different name, same vibes..." Zero Two dismissed it with a shrug, lifting her arms to cross her fingers behind her head.

"On the bright side, at least we will know what to expect at all of them, like the forest and lakes. From what I understand they're built to keep the Parasites' numerical readings in check." They continued walking around the grounds on their improvised tour.

"That thing covering the sky, too?" The pinkette asked as she tilted her head back to look up towards the dome in question. She didn't understand why they needed such a thing, she'd rather feel the direct sunlight and fresh air from outside.

"I think so. I believe it manages the temperature in here, and is the source for rain." Zero Two's face quickly snapped back to his at the sound of the new word.

"... Rain?" That was a word she had never heard before, but it sounded nice.

"Yes, it's when drops of water fall from the sky. Kind of like a big shower for nature." Hiro explained with a smile.

Zero Two's eyes widened and lit up at the idea, her hand with the lollipop pausing right outside her mouth.

"Really?! I wanna see that! Make it rain, Darling!" She demanded as she grabbed onto his arm and shook him insistently.

"I-I can't! That's up to Papa and the Sages." Hiro sputtered as he laughed at how outrageous her request was. Even if he wanted to he couldn't suddenly command rain to come pouring from the sky. Not even Papa should technically have that privilege as it was something that should be decided by nature alone...

But that wasn't exactly possible now, was it...?

His other half pouted, looking at him in disappointment. "Nuh-uh! I wanna see it now!"

"You're putting me on the spot here, Honey..."

Honey...! The pinkette internally squealed at the sound of such a heavenly word.

It was something he started calling her only recently, and each time he said it her heart would flutter and her cheeks would warm in delight. It came out of nowhere honestly, Darling had been in a particularly affectionate mood one morning after breakfast. She had some honey smeared near the corner of her mouth that she somehow missed in her self-grooming that reminded him of a cat whenever she cleaned herself of honey.

Out of nowhere Darling leaned over and proceeded to lick it off, making his beloved gasp and her cheeks heat up adorably. He'd been displaying more and more behavior like her ever since they reunited, now he was even starting to taste things like she did.

"Mmm... Your taste is quite nice, like my own special brand of Honey." He'd whispered almost seductively to her, making her already pounding heart practically explode out of her chest.

"S-Say it again..." She begged as she stared at him with hooded eyes.

His smile widened the slightest bit. "My Honey..."

She'd tackled him in her desperation to hear him say that word again, something about the way it rolled off his tongue as he said it in reference to her... it was all too much! It made her heart do all kinds of flips like nothing else, and she could feel herself melting every time he called her that.

"Hmph, fine! I better get to see it soon." Zero Two finally relented, looking off to the side with a stern look on her face.

"The minute I see or hear it, you'll know it." Her beloved promised her with a chuckle. He knew if he used the special word that she would ease up on him.

A distant snap of a branch made Hiro look off to the side, catching sight of two of the Pistils for the squad spying on them from a few yards away. The girls stared at them for a few seconds, their lips moving but their voices far too quiet for even their good hearing to make out from this distance, before quickly turning and scurrying off once they were caught.

Hiro let out a sigh, watching the girls go while sneaking glances back at them, only to see him watching them and quicken their pace.

He was steadily getting used to this kind of thing, and he couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing...

The two of them usually kept their distance from the Parasites who live in the plantation they were visiting, not so much because they were told to but because the children themselves seemed to prefer it that way. The pair had tried to be cordial and forthcoming at first, since they were guests in their home, but not everyone was as equally polite in return.

The 9's jokingly suggested maybe the other children would be less intimidated if they covered their horns with their military hats, but Hiro vehemently refused to do that. He refused to hide a part of who they were as if they were ashamed of them, which Hiro was not.

As it was, Zero Two still struggled to fully accept them as part of who she was, hiding them would just be a detrimental step back.

While they didn't mingle and interact much with the Parasites, they were just as much an anomaly to them. Just like with the two girls moments ago, they have seen several children who couldn't contain their curiosity and tried to catch glances of them and their other-worldly features up close.

Some were more blatant about it than others, staring at them as if they were were some kind of animal in a cage...

Those were the kinds of stares that Hiro could do without, yet at the same time he felt like he was understanding Zero Two and her struggles more and more. In that case, anything that made him feel closer to his beloved was worth going through.

In the main courtyard of the boarding house, the boys were currently playing a game with a ball, kicking it back and forth to each other with smiles on their faces. Watching from a distance, it reminded Hiro of the kind of games he used to play with his friends in the Nursery.

Where are you guys...?

Zero Two noticed her Darling had gone quiet with a melancholic look in his eyes, and she wondered what suddenly caused his mind to wander. Even as she stepped closer to him, and rest her head on his shoulder, he hardly seemed fazed.

"You're far away from me... Come back to me, Darling." She murmured into his ear, drawing a slight shiver from him at feeling her breath on the sensitive skin there. It seemed to work in drawing him out of his thoughts, as he blinked once.

"Huh? Oh... Sorry, Zero Two." Hiro muttered as he wrapped the arm as she was leaning against around her to pull her closer. He let out a heavy sigh that tickled the top of her head, and Zero Two could feel the slight tension in his body through their touch.

"What's on your mind...? Talk to me." Her arms came up around his waist as she looked up at him through her lashes.

"It's just... I know it's not something I should be doing, but I can't help it. I miss them..."

She didn't have to think for more than a moment to realize who he was referring to, as there were very few people in this world that Darling knew personally enough to miss. Since she was currently standing right here in his arms, obviously it wasn't her he was talking about.

"Your friends from Garden?" She waged a guess, receiving a slow nod of his head in response.

"Yeah... They would surely be in a plantation for themselves by now, I've been hoping on one of these trips I'll find one or some of them. So far, no luck." Hiro let out another heavy sigh.

"That's not to say we won't, though. You said yourself you saw they were still active, and there's two hundred plantations all over the world, Darling. Don't lose hope after a couple tries." Zero Two said encouragingly, though if she was being realistic she wouldn't expect to find them so easily any time soon. Darling had to know that, as well.

"You're right, I just can't help but be a little disappointed is all. The old man won't tell me where they ended up so I have to live with trying to find them for myself. And like you said, there's hundreds of plantations, it could be years before I find even one of them..."

Zero Two wanted so badly to give him some kind of comfort, but she couldn't find the words. She wasn't nearly as good at this as her Darling was, especially when it came to comforting him on behalf of other people, let alone people she didn't know.

What were these people like? What was it about them that made Darling get such a sad look on his face every time he started to think about them? She was only just now realizing he never really talked about them, either. Not in depth, that is.

Admittedly, Zero Two had never expressed interest in these people because she was perfectly content in having Darling all to herself, which seemed so incredibly selfish and awful now when she considered his feelings.

These were the people that he had given up to stay by her side, people he thought of often enough to leave a lingering gap in his heart that she couldn't fill.

Darling was a very sharp judge of character, if he looked at these Humans so fondly, then surely they were worth her intrigue. She found herself wanting to know about them, wanting to hear from his own words why they were so special as opposed to the many other children he's met in his life.

"You know, Darling... You've mentioned your friends to me several times, but you've never told me about them. What are they like?" Zero Two asked, watching with amusement as her Darling stiffened in slight shock from the question.

"I haven't...?" Hiro said incredulously, more so at the surprising truth in her words than the words themselves. Had he really never told her about his friends in detail before...?

Zero Two shook her head in the negative. "Just in passing, mostly."

Perhaps it was because he had accepted that he may never see them again that he just kept them buried close to his heart, where he could reminisce on them in the privacy of his own mind. But surely Zero Two had seen some of them while they piloted, so maybe it wasn't all that surprising she'd be curious about them.

"Huh. It never occurred to me before that I haven't... Well, let me rectify that right now. Umm, who to talk about first...?" Hiro wondered as he scratched at his cheek.

"That's easy. Start with who you met first." Zero Two told him with a smile, which he easily returned at the simple request.

And so he did. They wandered away from the house and through the woods alone, with Zero Two clinging and leaning against his arm and shoulder as she listened to him talk about his old friends from the Nursery. The smile never left his face as he described some of his favorite memories with them.

His beloved didn't say a word to interrupt or ask any questions, saving them until he got all he wanted to say out of his system, which wouldn't be for quite a while. It was like a filter had been removed, as Hiro couldn't stop once he had started.

Hiro described how the first person he met was Ichigo, right after he had decided to give himself a name. He explained how she had been crying by herself because she felt unusual for displaying such emotional responses while the other children had stopped, and had cried to him about wanting to be like everyone else.

"It was the first time I realized in practice that being different was actually a good thing despite the adults telling us otherwise, and I wanted the other children to believe in that, too. That's why I was so happy when, after I gave Ichigo her name, she started to blossom into her own person, and the other children started coming up to me wanting a name as well."

Zero Two continued to remain silent, but inside she could completely understand and relate to those children. Darling may not see the true reason why they were drawn to him, but she certainly could, after spending almost an equal amount of time with him like they had she could clearly see it.

Darling had been the one to give her everything... perhaps it had been similar for some of those other children as well.

Hiro then explained how he met Mitsuru around the same time, naming him among the many other children that came forward. Then soon after that, Ichigo got the confidence to seek out others for herself, and she was the one to help Hiro meet Ikuno and Goro, the latter of which became one of his closest friends.

"We were practically inseparable... me, Ichigo and Goro. Though I could never understand why the two of them would get into so many fights with the other children... the only thing that made me worry less was the fact that Ichigo was always there for him during those brawls when I couldn't be."

At some point while he was talking, they had settled down by a tree overlooking a large lake, Zero Two sitting with her back against it while her Darling lay his head in her lap. They simply sat basking in the shade, Hiro going on about another memory he treasured as Zero Two quietly ran her fingers through his soft black hair.

"The first thing Zorome ever said to me was "I challenge you to a catch competition!" and then he threw the ball at my head." Hiro laughed heartily, and Zero Two chuckled quietly from behind as she listened.

He talked a little about everyone that mattered to him; Kokoro, who was a sweet-mannered girl who loved plants. Futoshi, who was always sneaking extra snacks for himself and the other children. Miku, who would get jealous of the cute things other children had until she got over it and found something of her own that she liked more.

Eventually, Darling finally ran out of things to say, and by that point a good couple hours had passed them by. The sun was beginning to reach the time when it was going on the descend beneath the horizon for the evening, yet neither felt inclined to move from their comfortable position, too engrossed in each other to pay anything else any mind.

"Out of all of them, I feel like I owe the biggest apology to Mitsuru." Hiro admitted after a while of comfortable silence, the smile on his face slowly fading.

"Why is that?" Zero Two asked simply as she played with his bangs.

"He was really scared of the injection, and in truth I was scared for him too because it had such a low success chance... We made a promise before he went in that we would pilot together if he survived." Hiro explained as he held up his right hand, pinky held up in a way Zero Two was familiar with.

"That sounds sweet..." She commented with a smile.

"I feel awful now, though... I can't fulfill that promise even if I wanted to." Be it because two Stamens could never synchronize together the way they did with Pistils, or because he was incapable of piloting without Zero Two, either way it didn't matter. It just meant he couldn't keep his word to his friend.

Hiro had even asked Doctor Franxx if it was possible, only to be told no it would not. Without both the positive and negative factors from the X and Y chromosomes, the system wouldn't balance well enough for it to work. Meaning no two Pistils or two Stamen could ever pilot together.

"He probably hates me for it now... and I wouldn't blame him for it." Hiro sighed, and Zero Two caught the sadness in his voice.

"That's not all that's troubling you, is it?" She inquired bluntly, making Hiro look up at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Darling... You told me that you want me to always speak my mind with you when I have something heavy weighing on me. It's not fair if you don't do the same with me." Zero Two scolded lightly as she poked the tip of his nose with her finger, making him wrinkle it cutely in reaction.

"Throwing my own words back at me, now?" Hiro asked with a small smirk.

"I sure am." Zero Two said as a smug grin spread on her face. "So...?"

"I know it's a stupid thing to lose any sleep over, but..."

"But...?" His beloved pressed, gently urging him to finish that thought as her fingers lightly flitted up the side of his horns. It was becoming increasingly hard to focus on answering, though, when she was doing such things.

"But I can't help but wonder if... if maybe they all would resent me for leaving them?" He finally managed, and Zero Two's hands paused in their ministrations on his person, bringing a feeling of slight disappointment for him.

"What if one day they somehow found out I chose to leave instead of just being taken out of the Nursery? They wouldn't know why and all they would understand is I willingly let them all go..."

Hiro felt his breath still in his throat as Zero Two placed both her hands on his cheeks and tilted his face up to look her in the eye better. She hovered her face over his so he could stare up at her, her expression so soft and considerate. He could even clearly see the red tint of her pupil from how close they were, a lovely contrast to the teal surrounding it.

"Have better faith in them than that." She told him, mimicking the words he used when they went on their third ride together.

"All of us children know what it's like to go through the system and have our fates held at the whim of the adults. The things we know as reality can be shifted and altered at the drop of a hat, and there's nothing we can do to change them. You and I both know that despite your choosing to stay with me, there was probably never a choice for you to begin with."

"But that's not your fault, Darling. It's not anyone's fault but the beings who made the system like this in the first place. We've only ever had to bend to the wills of those who reign above us, and I'm sure your friends know that."

"Zero Two..." He murmured, awed at her ability to comfort him.

"If they miss you as much I would in their place... surely you mean so much to them as well." If it had been her left without him, there was no doubt she'd be trying her damndest to find him again, just like they had promised each other...

Hiro couldn't find it in him to argue with her, with the combination of the look on her beautiful face as well as the gentle caresses of her fingers on his face all thoughts of denial fled from him.

This... This is what he would be missing if he wasn't here with her...

At one point, though, Zero Two couldn't contain her curiosity.

"What did you think of the other girls?" She asked, somewhat randomly.

The question made Hiro confused, unsure of what exactly she was asking. "I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Did you ever..." She paused, looking for the right phrasing of words. "Like any of them before me?"

Like any of them? Of course he liked them, you kinda have to have a general liking for someone to become friends with th-

Wait... She was specifically asking about the girls. Did she mean...?

"Oh... OH!" Hiro gasped when his brain finally caught on to what she was truly asking.

Did he like any of them the way he likes her? Well, 'like' was an extremely weak word to describe the way he felt for Zero Two, but he understood what she meant.

Despite the loaded question Zero Two let out a small giggle at the look on his face, he was so adorable with his expressions.

"No no, I never saw any of them like that at all. I didn't even know anything about feelings like that before I met you." He assured her.

Now that he thought about it, the feelings he had for Zero Two came so naturally, they came without him even realizing. From the moment he saw her through the window of that lab, saw the awful things they were doing to her... a torrent of strong emotions he'd never felt before suddenly overcame him and he just had to do something.

Zero Two had changed him with one look at her that day, and since then he has never looked at another girl. Never even considered it.

"Back then I was feeling more frustrated and isolated from the other children because I was the only one who questioned anything, even my close friends were hesitant to side with me. I remember times when I'd ask a question to the adults and the others would look at me like I was crazy."

"That's terrible." Zero Two murmured, her hand briefly pausing in his hair before slowly continuing on moments later.

"I can't blame them, following the rules was all they knew, it still is." It was true for all children, they couldn't expect them to know what they have had to learn the hard way through years of being closely tied to APE.

"All I wanted was to learn about the outside world, I wanted to set foot outside of Garden. I was always fighting alone it seemed... Nobody took a stand with me, and that often scared me. I knew what I was asking was valid but the fact that no one else thought so made me frightened by my own boldness."

Times he had asked a question while standing tall and proud, only to look around him and see every single child's eyes on him with different variations of judgement. All of them keeping silent as they waited with bated breath what the adults would say or do in response to him. It was maddening at times, if he was honest.

"But then I saw you..." He smiled up at her, and Zero Two felt her heart skip a beat.

A red-skinned girl with long horns, yanking with all her might against the hold of an adult who was trying to take away her precious picture book. She growled and grunted with effort as she wrestled the book out of the bigger person's hands, holding it protectively to her chest.

The adult frowned deeply and simply gave up, muttering to themselves about what a handful she was. When they left she didn't let the book go, holding it up to her face as a pleased smile lit up her face and a couple giggles escaped her at being able to keep her precious pretty thing.

Oh, wow! She won...! His younger self thought with utter glee and astonishment as he watched. It was the first time he'd ever seen a child win anything against an adult.

And it was all because she fought for it! She didn't just roll over and accept it being taken, she claimed what was hers and protected it from being confiscated.

"I saw you, and that's when I realized there really were others fighting this world like me, and it made me so happy! I knew then I wanted to be close to you... and the rest is history."

Zero Two listened in stunned silence. While she had always known from Darling himself that it was his choice to stay with her, she never understood what all had contributed to said choice. The things he was revealing to her right now were all very enlightening, and yet heartbreaking at the same time.

This was the first time Darling had ever truly opened up about his past in the Nursery, and it made Zero Two slightly ashamed that it had taken her this long to care about the question enough to ask. He spoke of them all with so much love that she felt more awful than ever before for being the reason he wasn't with them anymore.

To try and distract herself from her guilt, she asked another question. "And what about the girls? Did any of them like you like that?"

He looked so confused by that one but Zero Two thought it was a perfectly fair inquiry. Darling was a very handsome and alluring boy, surely there had been other girls who had sought for his attention.

Not that they had a chance with him anymore, but still...! She wanted to know...

"I don't think so? I mean the only girl who I really spent a lot of time with before I was taken out was Ichigo. Her and Goro, both... they were my best friends, practically my brother and sister."

"Hmmm..."

Based on the way he described this Ichigo girl, Zero Two couldn't be sure, but she was willing to let it go for now. Instead she moved on to a bigger question that began to eat at her on the inside all throughout this conversation.

"Do you... Do you think they would... like me if they met me?" She'd never cared about what others thought about her - to a point, that is - but for some reason the thought of Darling's precious people not liking her... It made her nervous about the prospect of meeting them.

It certainly wouldn't be a pleasant situation to have a group of strangers adoring her Darling while openly ignoring her if they ever met...

"How could they not love you if I do?" Hiro asked incredulously as he opened his eyes to look up at her. She was looking off to the side with a slightly desolate look on her face, as if she was already assuming they would despise her without even meeting her. It suddenly occurred to him that with her experience, that was exactly what she was presuming.

She finally looked at him with a side eye that screamed "Are you serious?" at him, but he was being serious. He lifted his arm to bring a hand to her cheek to turn her face to fully look his way.

"I mean it, Zero Two... I love you. And I want you to know that even if my friends met you and decided they didn't like you, I'd still choose to stay with you. Of course I'd try to convince them to give you a proper chance, but I'd never let you go. Not for anything..."

"Darling..."

She was the one to blame if they wanted someone to be mad at... not Darling. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't have made the choice that put him in Franxx's crosshairs. It was her who had been the one to drastically alter his destiny, separating him from the rest of the world to be isolated alongside her.

It was a lonely life, only made better by the comfort in sharing the company of their other half, but sometimes they wished they could have more...

Watching the other children interact and talk with each other, playing games and even when they seem to argue... they genuinely wished they could be a part of it.

Zero Two knew she couldn't alter the past, but she could still try her best for their future.

I promise you... I promise I'll help you find your friends.

Even if they didn't like her in the end, she still wanted Darling to be happy, and would do anything to make that a reality.

"Well... what about you?" Hiro suddenly asked her, yanking her out of her thoughts and back into the conversation that she didn't know was still going.

"What about me?" Zero Two reflected the question with a tilt of her head. The ends of her hair tickled at his neck and chin as she did so, caressing his skin so light as a feather.

"Would..." He was a little hesitant to ask this, but his desire to know was too much. "Would you have felt the same if it had been some other boy that came for you that day?"

Hiro didn't want to make it sound like he was doubtful of his beloved or anything, in fact he'd like to believe that what they feel for each other is far more special than anything else in the world. So special and rare that they couldn't possibly feel it for anyone else.

Hiro hadn't, so he wanted to believe she wouldn't either. It could have been anyone other than him who saw her that day... It was just his good luck that it happened to be him.

But... would she have grown attached to and loved another boy like she did him, if he had treated her similarly to him? The thought of such an alternate reality left a bitter taste in his mouth that made him want to gag, as well as a heavy pit in his gut that left him feeling additionally nauseous.

"No." The tender way she said that one word made him look back up at her and he let out a soft gasp at the sight of her.

Her brows were gently drawn up in sadness, but a small peaceful smile lit up her beautiful face. His heart ached at seeing the tears that welled in her shimmering eyes as she stared down at him, neither in judgement nor offense at the question. It was a few quiet moments of just staring at each other before she finished her response.

"Because I'm convinced there's no one else on this planet that would have come for me the way you did that day..."

That sentence was left hanging in the air for a solid minute, with only the sound of the breeze on the grass and among the trees to fill the void of silence that stretched between them.

It was only broken when Hiro whispered a single sentence that only her ears could pick up.

"I will always come for you, my Princess... Always."

A single tear landed on his cheek before her lips fell on his, her hair creating a luscious pink curtain that shielded them from the rest of the world.

Oh, my Prince...

A small part of Zero Two almost regretted asking him to talk about them, as it was more apparent than ever just how much he missed his friends based on the way he described them. Once again she had to live with the reminder that it was because of her that his life had been altered so greatly and he was no longer among them...

But at the end of the day it was Darling's life, and Darling's choice. And for some miraculous reason, in the end he had chosen her...

The Prince had chosen the Beast...

---

I'm sure at the start you were wondering where that first mission was going to go, I can only hope I subverted expectations as well as made it feel fresh and entertaining. I've said before I like to pay homage to the original, while still adding something new to the table. I'm not the greatest at action scenes, more of a romance writer, but I'm trying really I am.

I wanted to give the other characters some chances to get a little spotlight, as well as set up some building blocks for development later for them. Hiro and Zero Two are a lot easier to write for, I'll admit, but I do like the opportunity to write for the others.

As you can see, there's already major changes since Strelizia isn't there to bail them out of tougher situations, they have to do it for themselves. That's my one problem with the way the show handled these characters, they can be strong and capable when they actually have to be. It annoyed me how they kinda alluded to them not having to worry so long as they had Strelizia. That's not going to be a thing here.

Thank you for reading, hope to see you in the next one.