I'm happy a lot of people are still enjoying Code 000. So I'm a little late because I decided to move the update date to the first day of the month, but I hope the chapter will make up for the little wait. Anyways most of the chapters from now on are based off from the Darling in the FranXX anime events and timeline, minus some extra parts in between. Hiro's thoughts will be in underlined italics.
Sadly I don't own anything at all.
Chapter 3 Alone and Lonesome
High above the rocky wasteland, multiple aircrafts were heading towards a particular Plantation. A certain pink haired passenger on the main aircraft ponders in her seat. "...I wanna take a bath." she whined as she aimlessly stared out the window.
Dr. Franxx slightly turned his head back, "Not again. Show some self control." he remarks.
The pink haired girl sniffed her hand, then turned towards a man to her right. She removed the lollipop in her mouth and asked "Hey. How do I smell?" He didn't respond, he probably couldn't in his condition. He was restricted by multiple casts, some bandages on his head and forced to breathe with an oxygen mask.
"Let him rest. He's drained after the last battle." said Dr. Franxx, she ignored the doctor and placed her lollipop back in her mouth. Despite the amount of treatment her stamen was given, it looked like he won't be able to survive another battle. He scoffs "Sheesh. What a high maintenance girl."
Nana walked out from the door behind them, her heels clack with every step, then sat down in front of the stamen. She looked out the window and viewed the facility below. "Does Plantation 13 have an ocean?"
An odd and unexpected request, Nana questioned "An ocean?"
"I wanna swim in some clear ocean water." said the girl.
Nana responded "I'm sorry to say there's no ocean there. Won't a shower do?"
"I'm in the mood for a swim."
One of the crew announced, "We'll be descending shortly. Please sit down and buckle your seat belts."
"Understood." replied Nana. She turned back at the pink haired girl, "Let's continue this later."
The pink haired girl pulled her glove and licked her wrist, murmuring "I hate how I taste..."
Hachi announced, "That concludes today's briefing. Code 703, I need you to follow me back to the Admin building." He turned to the rest of the parasites, "I need Code 016 there too. If he shows up, tell him to go there."
"And if not?" asked Goro.
"If not, a search team will be sent out to find him." He walked towards the door, "Code 703, let's go."
"Ok I'm coming." As she slowly approached Hachi, the room quickly became dreary. Everyone in the room knew that tomorrow was the graduation ceremony but it's also Naomi's last day at the Plantation.
Immediately after she left, Ichigo got on her page and texted Hiro. She texted, 'The briefing was over. Contact me. We need to talk.' there was no response.
Asuna whispered to Kirito, "I'm gonna go prepare stuff for our picnic."
Kirito asked, "Do you want some help?"
She smiled, "Thanks but I don't want to get caught on camera sneaking around the pantry together."
He scratched the back of his head, "Oh right, I forgot." He slumped down onto the couch, "Just text me when you're done and I'll sneak out the backyard door."
She walked to the door, "Ok, see you later Kirito-kun~."
"Bye Asuna." He waved to her as she left the room, then laid back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling. He wanted to go out the window instead for some reason but that would have been too odd to be ignored.
Shortly he started dosing off, Zorome and Futoshi made it harder for him to nap. He glanced over at Futoshi who took out some bread and wondered how he obtained some. Thinking maybe he snuck it from breakfast a couple hours ago. Futoshi questioned "Partner Killer?"
Zorome explains, "Apparently, the girl has horns and fangs and any parasite that rides with her will have his blood sucked and will die after the third time without fail!"
Kirito sat up and gained a sudden interest, "She sounds like some kind of demon." He then examined his hand, wondering if a cut would be pixelated blood or actual blood gushing out like in the Underworld.
"Yikes. I don't wanna ride with her." said Futoshi as he munched on his bread.
"Surely that's just a rumor." comments Miku.
Zorome protests, "It's true! Someone actually overheard security talking about it!"
Ikuno decided not to meddle with their conversation, she looked at Ichigo who was still on her page. She typed again, 'Hey, slacker. Where are you right now? Anyway, you'd better show up for the recruit welcoming ceremony tomorrow. Got that? Too bad about Naomi, but you've been told you can stay, so don't act all stubborn.'
Goro walked behind her and asked, "Did you get a hold of Hiro?"
Ichigo sighed as she viewed his profile, "Nope. I tried countless times but not a trace."
Zorome turned to the pair, "Hey...so is he gonna stay after all?"
"But he didn't attend today's briefing. Maybe that means he's gonna turn down the chance?" said Futoshi.
"Hiro's going to leave? That's so sad, he's been our leader since we were little." said Kokoro.
"Well minus me and Asuna, but I kinda feel like us two caused this in a way. From being their replacements." claimed Kirito.
"But if he doesn't, where does that leave Naomi? She got caught up in his mess. I say Hiro is showing real integrity. It must be hard for him to face us after what happened too. Spare a thought for how he feels." stated Mitsuru.
"God, how forced." comments Miku.
"But he's right though, Hiro lost his purpose in life. Any parasite without their perfect partner become useless for Plantation." said Kirito.
Goro asked, "Are you ok with this, Ichigo?
She huffed, "That idiot."
Kirito's page vibrates, he took it out his pocket and flipped it open. Asuna texted him to come outside. He stood up and suggested, "I could try to find him if you want."
"But Hachi said he'll send guards to find him." said Goro.
"Hiro would just avoid them. We look less threatening so if he sees one of us, he might follow me back here." said Kirito.
"That's true, what do you say, Ichigo?" asked Goro.
She sighed, "I guess you have a better chance. Ok, go try to find him."
Kirito grinned, "Ok, I'll be back soon." He rushed out the room and crept down the stairs. Asuna already left through the front door, so he went around and left through the back doorway. He walked casually into the forest and wandered around to find Asuna. He brought out his page again, she texted him to go to the greenhouse. He started walking towards to greenhouse, as he approached the greenhouse. He saw a guard patrolling around it, luckily Asuna didn't seem like she was inside. He crouched down behind a bush and whispered, "Where is she?"
Suddenly something grabbed his shoulder, he jumped and grabbed their arm. He quickly picked up a nearby stick with his spare hand and turned around. In a hushed tone they said, "Wait Kirito it's me!"
Right as he was about to hit them, he dropped the stick when he saw Asuna's surprised face. "Oops, sorry Asuna. I thought you were a guard." He loosened his grip on her arm and moved his hand down to hold hers.
She apologized, "No, I'm sorry that I surprised you. Anyways where's this picnic spot you found?"
"Oh right, just follow me." The two slowly crept away from the guard and concealed themselves in the thick forest. Hand in hand they trekked through the forest, Kirito noticed the basket Asuna was holding. He asked, "Where did you find a picnic basket?"
"Well after I found where the pantry and kitchen were, I tried to find a container for all this stuff. I couldn't find the perfect one until I went inside the other restricted room. There were a bunch of other stuff inside, including this nice little basket." They soon arrived at their picnic spot, it was a little grass patch near one of the lakes and surrounded by countless vegetation.
"And we're here." announced Kirito. Asuna removed a blanket from the basket and laid it out on the grass. The two sat down a set up their picnic, "This place is somewhat hidden here so I don't think those guards will find us."
Asuna looked around and saw some fallen tree trunks near the water. She remembers something and took out a thermos with two glass cups, "Luckily I found something to hold the tea, but I couldn't find any other glasses."
"You actually made some tea too?" said Kirito who was surprised of how much there was in the kitchen.
"Yeah, it's gonna be great with some cookies and these sandwiches." She opened the bag and took out one of the sandwiches, "Yours is spicy as always."
He grabbed it from her hand and unwrapped it. He took a bite and his face immediately lit up, his eyes looked like they were sparkling too. He gulped and compliments her, "This is fantastic Asuna! Your cooking is great in every VR we enter."
She giggled, "Thanks Kirito-kun~. So what did I miss while I was preparing all this stuff?"
"Well Zorome or someone overheard security talking about this pistil that's arriving today."
"Could she be Hiro's new partner?" she bit down on her own mild sandwich.
"Probably not. Unless if he's permitted to ride with a pistil who has horns and fangs for only 2 times." he took another couple bites.
She choked a bit then quickly sipped some tea. Such features would have been normal in other VRMMOs, but they've never seen anyone or anything like that here. "Horns and fangs? She sounds like some kind of enemy or demon. Also why is there a limit?"
He gulps, "That's what I said about her. Zorome said that when someone rides with her for three times, they're guaranteed to die on the third ride. Which gives her the nickname 'Partner Killer'."
"Meaning she's a potential threat or could be a valuable asset." she took another sip.
He snickers, "Already thinking like a Vice Commander, maybe you should take Hachi's job too."
"Thanks but it wouldn't make any difference. We're still fighting those Klaxosaurs and I'd rather be on the front lines."
He finished his first sandwich and licked his fingers "Oh I forgot to mention that we're supposed to search for Hiro."
"But didn't Hachi say that he'll send out a search party?"
He laid down on the blanket, looking up at Asuna "True but it was my little excuse for Ichigo so I could leave the room."
"You could have just left, but" she moved a bit closer to Kirito, "I'm guessing that you actually wanted to help find him." He sits up and nods, "Ok we could go search around in 15 minutes or so."
"Great but for now, let's just enjoy this time alone." He leaned towards her and kissed her cheek, causing her face to turn a shade of pink, "I've been waiting for awhile to do that."
"Me too" she responded with another kiss on his lips.
13 minutes later
The two were laying down on the blanket, admiring the forest and each other's company. Suddenly a fog started forming around the water, Asuna sat up and nudged Kirito who was slowly about to fall asleep. "Kirito-kun"
He groaned, "What is it? We still have... "he checked his page, "another 2 minutes left."
"Well this fog might make searching around this area a bit more difficult." informed Asuna.
He stood up and looked around the lake, it was difficult to see the other side. "Yeah, let's pack up and start searching." Asuna wipes the cups and grabbed the thermos, placing both of them inside the basket with the remaining cookies. She got off the blanket as Kirito picks up the blanket and starts shaking off the crumbs. He folded it and places it on the basket. As they walked away from the water, there was a big splash sound coming from behind.
Asuna turns around, "What was that?" she walked back to their picnic spot, Kirito quickly followed behind her. The water ripples on one side of the lake, where a lone fallen tree trunk laid with clothing on top of it. "I think someone is swimming here."
Kirito observes the water, "Is it Hiro?"
"I'm not sure, no one popped out the water yet." She tried to get a better look at their clothing, "Their clothes don't look like ours, it's more red than gray." As she looked around, someone's poked their head out the water, the two caught a slight glimpse of red and pink before it submerged back underwater.
Then something started rapidly swimming towards them, Asuna leaned closer to the water. Kirito pulled her hand, "Asuna, get away from the water." A feminine figure swam by, she slowed her paced as she got closer to Asuna. Kirito looked at her, she had long pink hair with small red horns poking out on top. Her eyes locked onto his, he mumbled, "The Partner Killer..."
Asuna faced towards him, loudly whispering "She's the Partner Killer!?"
He shrugged, "She matches the description Zorome said earlier and she's not a parasite or anything like Hachi and Nana."
She backed away from the water and turned to the forest, "Ok then, we shouldn't get involved with her then. Let's go find Hiro."
"But isn't that him right there." He points towards the fallen tree trunk where the Partner Killer's clothes are.
Asuna turned and saw Hiro looking at the Partner Killer as she dived down underwater. "Should we go get him?"
Kirito pulled her behind a tree, "Let's wait, I wanna see what she'll do to him."
"What if she attacks him?"
"Then we'll rush in."
Suddenly Hiro ran into the water, until she jumped up in front of him with a fish in her mouth. Asuna covered Kirito's eyes, "Asuna, why are you covering my eyes?"
"Oh, so I'm not bothered by the fact that you're looking at a naked demon girl."
He turned away from them, "Got it." She removes her hand, "Just tell me what's happening."
"Well it looks like they're just talking. Now she's pointing at him. Hiro quickly turned away from her and is now giving her something which made her laugh."
He sat down against the tree, "Doesn't sound so bad."
"Ok now she getting dressed so you can look in a bit."
He got up and turned back towards Hiro, he was sitting down and throwing a rock at the water as the girl behind him placed something white on her head. Then she grabbed Hiro, her face looked like it touched his cheek. She pushed him down and landed on top of him, "Should we interfere?"
Asuna shook her head, "No, it looks like she just kissed him."
"But I thought none of them knew about kissing and stuff that we do."
The girl stood up and looked down at him with her hand stretched out to grab Hiro's. He sat up and reached out to grab hers but she turned around and was greeted by a bunch of guards with an injured man.
A pair of guards approached the two, "I think we should go now." whispered Kirito.
They quickly ducked down behind the bushes. Luckily both guards walked pass them, Kirito heard one say, "Code 016 spotted."
As they continued pursuing Hiro, Asuna and Kirito swiftly snuck away from them and walked back to the house. Asuna pouts "I wish we had more time for our picnic."
"Maybe we'll be lucky next week." reassured Kirito.
"I hope so. Also when we get back, I'm gonna return the thermos and cups. Could you stow away the basket in the other restricted room?"
"Got it and how about we take a scenic route back." suggested Kirito.
She smiles, "Sounds great." About roughly 13 minutes later they arrived at the boarding house. Asuna walked in through the front door as Kirito looped around and entered through the back door. He walked down the hall to the farthest restricted room and carefully opened the door. He stretched his arm and eased the basket through the tapes, placing it gently on the desk. The door softly creaked as it closed. Kirito ignored the camera and made his way back towards the stairs as Asuna headed up to the stamen living room. She opened the doors, "Sorry Ichigo, we weren't able to find Hiro."
Ichigo closed her page and approached her with a confused look, "We? I thought Kirito was the one looking for him."
Kirito quickly rushes into the room, "I saw Asuna outside and asked her to help me look around, but still no luck."
Ichigo sighs "Oh, that's ok. Thanks for trying though."
A ball was shortly thrown to Kirito, "Hey Kirito! Do you wanna go play outside with Futoshi and I?" said Zorome.
He grinned, "Yeah sure. Race you outside!" Asuna quickly moved from the door as Kirito dashed past her.
Zorome quickly rose from his seat and followed Kirito with Futoshi trying to catch up. "No fair! You got a head start!" shouted Zorome.
"Kirito! Wait for us!" shouted Futoshi.
"Geez. Does everything have to be a competition to them?" said Miku.
Asuna mumbled "I'm glad he's having fun with some guy friends." She then left the room and headed back to her shared room.
Ichigo carefully watched her as she left. She walked back to Goro and whispered, "Do you notice it too?"
"How long it took for them to get back or often they spend time alone?"
"Both actually." She opened her page to an alert Hachi sent over 15 minutes ago, 'Hiro found'. "What do you think they're doing?"
"Kirito did mention something called a date before. Maybe it's something more than what he said."
"A date? Hmm...I wonder..."
August 17th
"Geez Kirito. How long are you gonna nap?"
The voice was faint but sounded familiar. Kirito barely opened his eyes and saw a glimpse of blond hair, then he turned away, "Give me a couple more minutes, Eugeo."
"Eugeo? Anyways we have to get ready, it's our graduation ceremony today."
"But we already graduated and became elites at the Academy."
Another voice spoke, "What academy? Goro is talking about the one for the new FranXX pilots. Also who's Eugeo?"
Kirito's eyes widen, he turned around to face Goro in his formal uniform and Hiro who sat casually on Goro's bed instead of changing his uniform. "Oh it's nothing, just some weird dream."
"Ok? I guess." said Goro. He walked into the hallway and faced the room, "Go get dressed, we're leaving in less than 40 minutes. You too, Hiro. It would be great if you would attend the ceremony with the rest of us." Goro took a quick glance at Kirito before closing the door and headed towards their living room.
Kirito climbed out of his bed and opened the cabinet. "Hey Hiro, are you gonna skip the ceremony?"
"Naomi isn't going, so I'm gonna be with her when she leaves."
Kirito unzipped his uniform and put on the formal uniform, "So you can leave us too?"
"I'm pretty much dead without a partner."
Kirito grabs his hat and closes the cabinet, "So you would rather die alone and be forgotten." He puts on his hat, "Almost sounds like something I would have done before, but I didn't. I wasn't selfish, I had to stay alive for the people that cared about me." He remembers the leader of his first guild and how he plummet into the abyssal sky until he became shards of data. He turned away from Hiro, "You weren't ready yet. Soon you'll find a new partner that's like you. Alone and lonesome, like that pink haired girl at the lake. No offense."
Hiro was utterly shocked and stared wide eyed at Kirito, "You were there?"
"Asuna and I were trying to find you yesterday after the briefing. We searched because we care about you, all of us do. You can't abandon your friends just because you think that you're useless."
Kirito opened the door, Hiro asked "What's a kiss?"
Kirito turned around and faced him with a confused look "How do you what that is and why ask me?"
"That girl from before briefly mentioned it to me after she licked my cheek. Also you mumbled something about it in your sleep, so I thought you would know more about it."
He crossed his arms "Hmm...well it's something special that you do with someone you love. However they have to love you the same way too."
"Like to your darling?"
"Yeah, only them, no one else." Kirito left the room, leaving Hiro lost in his thoughts.
Has Kirito experienced a kiss before?
Graduation Ceremony
Squad 13, minus Hiro and Naomi, walked across the huge metal platform and spread out side by side on a red strip down the middle. Each pair wore a small red and white striped band, stamen had their left pinkie tied with their partner's right pinkie. Slowly a big section of the colossal dome split open, revealing an amphitheater packed with a mass amount of uniform adult spectators. From what they can see, there was a group of 7 in the center with one in a higher position than the others. Kirito looked up at the one on top, assuming that's who the parasites call 'Papa'. To his left, he heard Zorome whispering to Futoshi.
"Look at all those adults."
Futoshi was barely loud enough to hear, "Yeah, they're all here to see us."
Kirito's hat started slipping off, he tilts his head down to prevent it from falling. He sighs and mumbles, "Why do we have to wear these hats? These cloaks are just fine by themselves "
Asuna rolled her eyes and whispered, "There's just a little speech first and after the ceremony you can remove it. " She held his hand, "You survived and cleared the floating castle, I'm sure you can endure a falling hat."
Papa announces "My children, you have had the great fortune to be chosen as parasites. Your great predecessors defended our cities and our people, and they splendidly took flight as our representatives. Turn your life into a blaze of glory and shed every last drop of blood you have. I pray that you will become a shining ray of hope for humanity." The adults cheered and clapped for their new protectors.
Ichigo stared at the sky, thinking about Hiro. "Ichigo." said Goro. She immediately looked up at his stern face, "Focus on the ceremony. Papa is watching, and so is everyone else."
She turned back towards Papa, "Right."
Admin Building
"That's all the official instructions for your return to the orphanage." stated Hachi. He asked Hiro, "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"
With a solemn expression, the refined stamen replied "Nothing, really."
"Code 016, HQ has given you special permission to remain here. Are you certain you don't want to stay?"
Without hesitation, he replies "I am."
"Is that so? Understood." Hiro stood up from his chair and left the room. As he walked out, he heard a particular pistil sobbing nearby. He glanced at her, she sat on a lone bench, bent over with her hands covering her pale face. The longer he stared at her, the more he recalls the reason why they're in this situation
*Flashback Starts*
An automated voice spoke, "Positive pulse and P-Factor dropping. Timed out. Commencing stage six linking." He remembers the pain and frustration within that metal pod.
"Measuring ability score. Negative pulse detected. Positive pulse on standby." Heavily breathing as they attempt to connect countless times...
"Three, two, one..."
but all failed...
"Timed out." The pod slowly opened, their squadron froze, especially Ichigo. Wide eyed and devastated, tears started forming in her eyes.
Another voice spoke, "Code 703 and Code 016..."
As for himself and Naomi, salty tears have already started streaming down their faces.
"You failed."
*Flashback Ends*
In the Pistil's changing room
When Asuna entered the locker room, she looked around, it was smaller than the one in the Garden. There were only numbered 10 lockers, plus 12 smaller ones on the wall separating them from the barrier. Ikuno claimed locker 1, Kokoro claimed locker 10, Miku claimed locker 8, and Ichigo claimed locker 6. Asuna decided to use locker 3. Inside the locker were the same special garments and immediately she started to undress. Miku and Kokoro have already finished and passed through the barrier.
"What do you think our FranXX will look like?" questions Miku as she entered the machine. It whirred up, the laser moved from her feet to her neck as a white and pink pilot suit appears on her skin. Kokoro follows in the machine next to her.
"From what I know, they're not like the FranXX other squads have. Ours have different colors and different equipment." said Ikuno as she entered one the machines.
Asuna closed her locker and passed through the force field, "So that means our squad is unique and our superiors have already assigned our roles for combat."
Miku walked out the machine, facing Asuna in slight awe "You sound like you've already done something like this before."
Ichigo walked up in front of her and crossed her arms, "Are you sure you haven't already operated a FranXX?"
Asuna nervously waved her hand, "I don't think so. Besides I've never seen one in person."
Ichigo backed away and entered the machine, "Or maybe your memory was altered instead."
Asuna followed her and entered a different machine. She raised her hand onto her head, rubbing it before she moved her hand back to her side. "Maybe."
Her memories have been tampered before, months ago during the Ordinal Scale incident, the only time she had to enter the same medicuboid that Yuuki died in. Being struck by that same fatal slash again was traumatic enough but the memories within Aincrad slowly fading away was agonizing. Especially the moments with Kirito. Being aware that Dr. Franxx could do the same here was insanely unnerving. Once the machine finished, Asuna stepped out and faced Ichigo. Her pilot suit was white like hers but with a blue secondary color that matched her hair. She looked down at herself, kinda surprised that her suit has changed colors. Ichigo looked at Asuna, the primary color of her suit was the same as hers and the secondary color was black.
"The black and white looks nice." commented Ichigo.
Asuna smiled, "Thanks." She walked towards the door, "Come on, let's go. The boys are probably waiting for us." All the girls headed out the locker room and headed down the hall where the boys awaits them. The walk was surprisingly short, the boys were lounging around a station where a monorail was waiting for them. The stamen suits were identical, except for the different colors on their chest plates, each color corresponds to their partner. The group entered the monorail in silence, the doors immediately shut and began heading towards the FranXX hangars.
"You should've stayed, Hiro."
Outside the Plantation, waiting for a transport pod was Hiro with a guard behind him. A few meters away stood Naomi and her suitcase in hand. The distant rumbling of the transport pods slowly felt closer.
She asked, "Did you refuse because of me?"
"No. It's not like I'd be any use even if I stayed." He's all too aware that a flightless bird has nowhere to go.
"You've always been like that. You're just running away." She tightened her grip on her suitcase "From your partner, and from yourself." He stayed silent.
"You remember how many of our friends disappeared from the orphanage, right?" He turned his head towards her. "There's no telling when we could end up just like them. She dropped her suitcase, causing a loud thud "So don't try to play the hero!"
Hiro turns his whole body towards her, "Who cares if it's favoritism? You're lucky you have a chance to stay here at all!" She covers her face, sobbing as she speaks "We've made it so far!" Her voice slowly cracks, "I would definitely stayed even if it killed me!"
The guard tried to interfere "Quit your chatter."
Hiro looked at her, slightly shocked "Naomi..."
"Why..." She couldn't bear with it anymore, "Why did you have to be my partner?" She knelt on the metal floor as tears overflow in her hands.
Asuna and Kirito sat down, excluding themselves from the rest of the group. Kirito leans back against the seat and examines the monorail. Although the monorail's system technology was upgraded, it looks older compared to everything else in the Plantation, like something from their reality. He then gazes at Asuna, she was trying to lean back but the monitor on her shoulders made it more difficult. She noticed him staring and he quietly giggled. She quietly asked, "What's so funny?"
"It's nothing." He sighed then asked, "Are codes are kind of ironic, don't you think so?"
"In what way?"
"It's another play on numbers. Mine is 096, 9 can be ku, 6 can be ro. Meaning I'm Code Kuro."
She giggles, "Perfect for the Black Swordsman."
"Then there's yours, 046. 4 is shi, 6 can be ro. So you're Code Shiro."
She attempts to lay her head on his shoulder, "Well I guess I'm Shiro then, Kuro-kun~."
"Hiro never showed, huh?" said Futoshi.
"Forget the crybaby." said Zorome. Kirito sat up and tuned into their conversation.
"Right to the very end we could never tell what was going through his head." said Miku.
"I hope they both get back safe and sound." said Kokoro.
"Their ship probably isn't headed back to the Garden. I've never even heard of any parasites coming back home." informed Ikuno.
Kirito sighs and mumbled, "So you don't care about us then, Hiro." Ichigo slightly turned away until suddenly the monorail stopped, the door slid open with Hachi standing behind it.
He asked the group, "Are you ready?"
Everyone replies, "Yes, sir!"
Naomi managed to stopped crying before transport pod arrived. The doors slid open, revealing an elevator that's waiting for Naomi to enter. She slowly walked over to the pod, then turned around to face Hiro one last time.
"Well, take care, Hiro. I don't think we'll ever see each other again." Hiro staggered in response. "I'm done now, but you still have a chance." A red light shined as a the pod rings. "You don't have to factor me into your decisions."
Suddenly Hiro attempts to run towards Naomi, "Wait a second, Naomi!" She swing around her bag and threw it at Hiro, causing him to fall back. He looks up at her and questioned her action, "What are you doing?"
She responds, "I don't need those things anymore. Share them with everyone."
"Wait!"
"You know, I really like this name you gave me." She starts to tear up again, "Hiro, I hope you find a good partner." The metal doors shut, immediately Hiro gets up and tries to get to the pod.
"Naomi..."
The guard restrained him, "Don't! You can take the next plant and still make it!" He struggles but quickly gives up.
The pod released a huge amount of gas as a siren blared, "Naomi..."
Papa announced, "We will hereby begin the startup ritual." Everyone eagerly starts getting in position. "With this you kids will finally become official parasites." Kirito casually sat down on his seat while Asuna hesitates before slowly crawling into her platform. As her limbs lock in place, a slight chill went down her spine and her face started to turn a shade of pink.
"Hey Asuna?"
She slightly jumped from hearing his voice, she tried to turn her head back, "What is it Kirito-kun?"
He reassures her "It's just us here, ok? You have nothing to be worried about, just breathe and relax, ok?"
She listened and took a deep breath and suddenly felt at ease. "Yeah, piloting a FranXX is simple. Klaxosaurs could be easier than floor bosses." Her helmet extends and partially covers her eyes. The metal door starts rising up but suddenly stops.
Goro looked around his pod, he mumbles "What's going on?"
"This is bad. The fog is rolling in." said Dr. Franxx.
Asuna asked, "Could there be a glitch in the system."
Kirito got up from his seat and manually opened the door. The door stopped right below the pod, he looked down as dust clouds entered the garage, "Or it's some kind of dusty fog."
"Something like this doesn't just happen though."
"Unless if a Klaxosaur is coming."
Naomi's transfer pod rolls away from the Plantation as another transport pod soon replaced it. Hiro grasps Naomi's suitcase in his right hand and walked towards the entrance while the guard closely followed him. An identical pair of metal doors slid open, waiting for Hiro to enter. He paused the moment they opened, looking down at the catwalk before him.
"What's the matter? Get in already." ordered the guard. Hiro lifts his foot but hesitates to take a step forward.
He made his mind and turn towards the guard, "Uh, I think I'll-" He was cut off by a sudden rumbling near the transport pods, especially the one containing Naomi. "Those things weren't there before." Something black and blue emerged from the ground in front of Naomi's transport pod. Massive chunks of earth along with the transport pod were scooped up from the ground until gravity pulled them back down. The pod tumbled to the surface as the rocks piles on top, leaving the debris concealed by dust and dirt. Hiro rushes towards the railing and shouted out at the destruction "Naomi!" The creature stepped out of the dust cloud and released a piercing screech. It started to approach the Plantation, Hiro could only watch in fear and confusion as it got closer.
The guard yelled out a command, "It's a Klaxosaur! Ready intercepting fire!"
Hiro gasps, "So that's a Klaxosaur?" Cannons popped out from the dome and quickly fired at the Klaxosaur. Luckily they managed hit its leg, causing it to stumble and slide underneath Hiro until making contact with the dome. Its tail swung up, taking out all the cannons and flipped over the platform. Hiro desperately held onto the rails as the platform fell against the dome and flung him onto the metal floor. The suitcase flew out his hand as he slid across the floor. Shots were still being fired at the Klaxosaur, angering it as it fled towards the amphitheater.
"Wait, that's where..." He realized where it's heading, "Damn it!" Hiro quickly got up and started running where the rest of his squad was. The klaxosaur easily surpassed him and left a thick trail of dust but within the dust was another creature. A glimpse of white and red with neon orange eyes quickly followed behind. "Another klaxosaur?!"
There was a commotion back at the amphitheater. Guards were dispatched around the area, trying to figure out what caused the sudden fog until a familiar black and blue entity walked towards them. One guard alerted, "Klaxosaur!" The garage doors started to close.
Another shouted, "Run away! Take shelter!"
Nana and Dr. Franxx watched it come into view. Nana slowly backed away as Dr. Franxx casually observed the specimen, "A moho-class, huh? It's big, strong, and has a fine look."
Nana glares at him, "This is no time for casual commentary! Prepare to evacuate!" She turned the Plantation and ordered, "Hurry up and retrieve the parasites!"
Asuna got up from her platform and stood next to Kirito as the garage door moved down. They saw a flash of black and blue appear and passed by them but stopped in front of the garage to their left, the one that contains Ichigo and Goro's FranXX. Asuna raises her hands over her mouth "Oh no..."
Ichigo removes her hands from the platform and looks through the pod door. Goro questions, "What's happening?" Suddenly something huge rammed against their garage door and pried the door open.
An automated voice alerts, "Garage 2 damaged. Unfit for housing Delphinium." A neon blue, hexagonal mouth opened, charging up while releasing a bright light. Ichigo quickly moved back, she was terrified, tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. The light quickly disappeared, the Klaxosaur was tackled aside by an unexpected white and red creature. Both flew and fell on the ground, forming another dust cloud and within, the two creatures clashed. The smaller white one bit it's head and ripped out some parts as the colossal back one attempts to shake it off.
"A stampede, now?" said Nana.
"What an ugly sight. Did she devour her stamen again?" asked Papa.
One member behind him comments, "It's hard to tell which is the real monster here."
The white creature tears off another chunk of the Klaxosaur, it responds by charging up an attack in its mouth as its tail splits open and parts of it began rotating. The white creature leaps off the Klaxosaur's back and lands in front of the garages. Hiro finally arrived at the scene, "Guys!" He looked around and stared in shock as the two assumed Klaxosaurs were ready to attack each other, "What the hell?" A blinding light shines from the dark Klaxosaur and it released a ball of energy at the white one. The white one lifted its tail and attempted to prevent the attack from hitting the dome. The blue energy disappeared and caused multiple explosions across the dome's surface. The white creature was knocked off its feet and flew through the air, headed towards Hiro's direction. Hiro screams as he tries to get out of the way. The creature collided with the dome and the Klaxosaur powers down. The dust clears, Hiro somehow managed to avoid the fallen debris with the white creature. He rubbed his head, "Ow...What was that?" Suddenly the man from before collapsed onto the metal floor, in a Stamen pilot suit and covered with his own blood. "Huh? H-Hey..." Hiro stutters as he crawls towards him and tries to sit him up.
"Forget about him. He's done for." said a voice coming out of the cockpit.
Hiro looks up at her, it was the pink haired girl from the lake but she was wearing a Pistil pilot suit. "You're..." She leaned against the side of the door as he gently laid the deceased stamen down. Then he stood and asked, "What are you doing in there?"
"What, you ask? I'm going monster hunting, of course."
"You're going to pilot this robot alone?"
"I gotta go." She got up and struggled to move down.
"W-Wait a second!" Hiro quickly grabbed her "You can't! You're hurt!"
"Out of my way!" She smacked him away, leaving a blood mark on his cheek and continued to crawl towards the pistil platform. He stumbled back but managed to keep standing, he kept trying to reason with her. "This is insanity. Besides you're by yourself now. FranXX can't be piloted alone."
"I'm always alone. That's how it's always been. I'm used to it." she stated.
He pleaded, "No! You'll die!" He was genuinely concerned about her, he didn't want to see another person leave to die again.
She paused then slightly turned her head and informed him, "I'm not afraid of death. That thing's going to start moving again eventually and when it does, everyone here is going to die either way." She repeated herself again in the same tone, "I'm not afraid of death. I have a job to do. I'm going." She limped away from him. He blankly stared at her, he knew he can't do anything to stop her.
I'm powerless. Right now, I can't help my friends or fight a klaxosaur. He recalls the failed paracapacity test.
That's what I thought.
Then he remembers how he felt back when he first met her.
But as I stared at the girl in front of me, the words that escaped my lips were, for some reason...
He clenched his fist and told her "Wait. I'll pilot that robot with you. I'm not about to let you go alone."
She paused in place and asked him, "Oh? Are you prepared to die?"
"I don't know." He lifts his right hand and grabbed the symbol on his heart. "But as I am now, I don't belong anywhere. That's no different from being dead." He lifted his head to look her in the eyes and pleaded, "So take me with you!" Tears starting forming in his eyes.
The girl was leaning towards him with her head hanging down to look at him. She grins as she spoke "Huh...You really are just like me. You and I are very similar." She looked deep into his eyes, "It's been a long time since I last saw a human cry." She moves her hand to remove a tear from his face, "I like the look in your eyes. It makes my heart race." She rubs the tear and extends her hand to him. "Now come to me." He reached out his hand and finally grabbed hers. She pulled him into the pod, it felt like time slowed down as he flew in. "Let me get a taste of you. You are now..." She lit up with excitement with a big grin on her face.
"My darling!" She pulled his face closer to hers and tilted her head as her lips touched his. Hiro was speechless, he felt a spark as his body froze but also melted in her arms. Suddenly the pod filled with a bright white lights with red alerts saying "Connected"
"Strelizia Activated"
Everyone gathered outside and watched the motionless klaxosaur, but suddenly it returned back to its normal state. It got on its hind legs and slammed its entire body back on the ground, ready to strike once more. "It's back!" shouted Futoshi.
"It's moving again!" said Zorome. The klaxosaur began charging towards the dome, aiming for the FranXX. The bottom of its jaw collided with the FranXX as its face penetrated the dome. The rubble fell down near the group, everyone except Dr. Franxx and Hachi tried to block any rubble falling around them. Zorome fell on the ground while trying to back away.
Goro raised his arm to block anything from hitting Ichigo. He asked "W-Was it eaten?"
Dr. Franxx responded, "No." A bright orange light shone from the FranXX, "That's..." The klaxosaur was lifted off the ground from some powerful force. It looked like the FranXX simply bit it until the robot transformed, its limbs changed from a lion's to a person's. The FranXX's new metallic hands grabbed the klaxosaur's head and threw it's entire body away from the plantation. "When the negative and positive or male and female factors combine..." everyone faced him as he spoke, "and their hearts become one, the iron maiden will reveal her true form." The FranXX completed its full transformation, a face appeared along with a lance attached to the FranXX's back. Dr. Franxx approached the glorious machinery and raised his hands in the air, "Now this is a FranXX! How truly beautiful! You're the best, Strelizia!"
Nana couldn't help but wonder, "But who's piloting it?"
Kirito crossed his arms and smirked at the sight, "Nice job, Hiro."
In the distance, the klaxosaur began charging up the same attack from before. The FranXX made her move and threw her lance directly at its mouth and prevented the attack. At the end of the metal skirt, rockets activated and the Franxx rapidly flew towards the klaxosaur and jammed the lance farther into its mouth. Some magma flowed through to the lance. "Game over." The FranXX pressed down on a button, releasing the liquid inside the klaxosaur and caused an explosion from within. As a result, a whole cloud of blue goo spout out the slain klaxosaur and rained all over. The group could only watch the event conclude in awe.
The FranXX stood still, fully drenched with the blue goo. "That's a FranXX, the kind of robot we'll pilot." said Kokoro.
A clean up crew quickly arrived and dealt with the remains of the klaxosaur, the FranXX headed back to the Plantation and powered down before the group.
I don't know why, but the warm touch of her lips made my heart race.
Other than that, I remember nothing about what happened in the cockpit back then.
Everyone looked up to see the pilots exit the cockpit. There was a pink haired girl with the stamen leaning unconsciously on her. As they got into view, everyone easily recognized the stamen with her. Practically everyone's jaws dropped when they saw him.
Ichigo gasped, "Hiro?!"
Zorome questions, "What's he doing there?"
"Wait, there's someone else. Are those..." said Goro
Miku finished his sentence, "...horns?" The pistil dropped Hiro on the FranXX's metal face and stood up tall while looking down at them.
Futoshi asked, "You mean that pistil is the one?"
"The Partner Killer." said Ichigo.
Nana steps forward, " Let me introduce you." The squad looks over at her. " This is Code number 002, a pistil with the special forces unit APE directly controls. She's a girl that carries klaxosaur blood."
Asuna mumbles, "So she's literally a demon." Zero Two licks the blood on her hand and looked down at Hiro.
But having taken this step of my own free will, I felt like I might be able to fly again.
She hasn't felt like this in a while, with a smile she proudly says "Found you, my darling."
FINALLY DONE WITH AN EPISODE CHAPTER! I'm so happy and relieved that was over, now I can finally enjoy my birthday weekend. But I'll do more for everyone that has read and supported this fanfic. I hope this chapter was worth the wait (I'm not sure if Ichigo was the one who said The Partner Killer). Apparently when I had to watch this episode over 10 times and look through the other important episodes, I realized that I have to fix Chapter 2 now. Also about a week from now (or later on), Chapter 2 will be fixed so future episodes/chapters actually follow the anime story line.