If you're still here after that whopper of a last chapter, thank you! It was a very huge relief to see the positive responses in reviews, it tells me you guys are in with me for the long haul and I'm super psyched! This chapter we finally get some much-needed answers from Dr. Franxx!
Not much to ramble about this time, enjoy the chapter!
Flight of the Jian
Chapter 14
The City of Eternity : Part II
June 18 - 2124
There were very few things that brought anything remotely close to "happiness" in this long and drawn-out life of his anymore, and even now this old man would probably not even acknowledge what he felt as such.
However, whether he recognized it as such or not, he felt just a twinge of it every time he caught sight of Code 002 and her lovely red skin.
There was hardly a day Franxx went without seeing her and how she was taking to life in the Garden walls. Of course he would want to be present for most of her early development, eager to witness her progress for himself rather than through the monitors of old recordings.
He, of all people, had more than earned the right to see the fruits of all of his labor. What he had worked tirelessly for decades to witness.
It also helped to establish a good rapport with his creation, as the more she saw him the more she seemed to be accepting his presence. Better than the others, at least.
She behaved nothing like the other children as she learned to crawl and walk, and it was actually a difficult stretch getting her to stop the former to learn the latter. Even though she had the muscles for walking perfectly fine upright, she retained the natural desire to walk around on all fours like some kind of animal for some reason.
Perhaps it didn't help that in trying to teach her, she didn't seem to grasp a firm understanding of speech. As it was, Nana struggled a great deal when trying to coax the child to stand up on her two feet because of the language barrier. However, it would be her to discover that also similar to an animal, 002 responded positively to certain stimuli such as food.
Of course she frowned upon such "despicable" treatment of a child, so he tried to avoid having her around for moments like these to keep from hearing her nagging. Honestly, he was probably going to have to monitor her emotional attachments to some of these children.
Now that 002 was walking and running around more, though, he felt it the perfect time to start getting to the more extensive tests that he wanted to conduct on her person. With her being older and passed the more vulnerable stage they could run some more extensive tests on her person without risk of any negative side effects, such as death.
However, it also meant that with physical maturity came mental as well, and that just meant a slightly smarter test subject...
When she was younger she was more easily manipulated into performing simple actions, but in recent months she had begun showing a very rebellious streak that was beginning to grate on his patience. The same tricks that used to fool her into submission no longer gave the same results as she had grown wise to them.
Once again Werner found himself cursing her perfection... He could already feel she was going to be too smart for her own good.
Even now, as he watched the younger scientist try to lure her with a slab of meat into the next wing for her monitored physical exercises, he was not sure whether to be annoyed or amused. Before today, the allure of some choice cuts of meat would always be enough to entice her to follow without a second thought.
Now, however, Code 002 merely stared at him with a slight scowl, refusing to move from her spot at the center of her room. Based on the look she was giving, she knew just what they were trying to do.
"Enough wasting my time already!" The adult man huffed before stomping forward and grabbing at the back of her black cloak, as well as some of her long pale hair in the process. A slight ripping sound was heard from the fabric as it was roughly yanked about from the adult's tugging.
The red-skinned little girl hissed and snarled at him before beginning to struggle viciously, screeching bloody murder as the attendant calling for assistance from one of the armed guards posted nearby.
"Come on, you little beast! Stop being difficult!" The guard snapped at her as he made to grab at her, only to snatch his hand back when her own swatted at him with sharp claws. 002 growled at him with narrowed eyes and her fangs bared, promising to use them on him if he tried that again.
"Sir, permission to use more lethal force?" The guard requested as he turned to Franxx watching in the doorway.
Before he could answer, 002 looked over at him with wide eyes that were clearly pleading, begging for him to make them stop. Gibberish poured out of her lips in a whining tone as she reached out for him.
Franxx remained where he stood, neither saying nor doing anything to comfort or help her. She was going to have to learn now - either through the easy way or the hard way - that disobedience would not be tolerated.
"If she continues to resist, you have permission to use the chains on her." The old man said with indifference, waving them away with his hand.
"Thank you, Dr. Franxx."
The other guard came forward then, pulling out a coiled chain that was attached to a thick metal collar. The other guard managed to grab a strong hold of the child then in her moment of weakness, and despite her hard-fought efforts she could not free herself as they pushed her long hair aside and opened the collar.
Then the heavy metal circlet was placed over her neck, and clamped down firmly to lock in place. Like a dog on a leash, she was now bound to them by the weighted chains.
Her little hands clawed at the uncomfortable thing that hung heavily on her neck and shoulders, yanking against the chains to try and break them off of her but her strength did nothing to budge them. More whimpers and whines escaped her as she struggled feebly.
Code 002 looked up at the old man that had been a constant familiar sight to her since she was born. The look of confusion that lay upon her face quickly shifted to a look that the old man honestly hadn't been quite expecting to see... betrayal.
She was lead away then, the assistant dragging her through the use of the chain. The red-skinned child was quick to learn that if she didn't move along with it, the pain that came afterwards was far more unbearable than the pulling on her arms had been.
The red child remained silent other than small whimpers of pain when the adult leading her pulled too hard, forced to accept her fate.
She never came to him for help again after that. She learned quickly that it was pointless. It was only years later that he realized that had been the moment when he had originally lost her trust. Something he had yet to earn back even all these years later...
002 was fast to discover that the adults around her had no interest in caring for her more than was needed for her own survival. Something that they would come to test in the near future to see just how much she could withstand.
The ruby-horned girl grew to depend on no one but herself, viewing all adults as the same and never once coming into contact with any other children...
... Until one fateful day, when an innocent little boy chose to take a different path on his way back from his checkup.
October 21 - 2136
"Fascinating... Absolutely fascinating." Franxx murmured to himself as he stroked his beard with his living fingers.
His robotic fingers continuously tapped on the keyboard, furiously documenting his observations as the second monitor beside him displayed numerous pictures of multiple biological analysis results from his two prime subjects.
Originally in the very beginning of this experiment, their DNA were two vastly different strands that had very little in common, apart from the Human part of 002's system. Yet somehow, after one ingestion of her blood, the data read that they would bond together well enough to suit his purposes.
Now, he could see with his very own eyes the glorious fruits of all their labor.
Looking through the slides Werner was able to track every single little change that occurred over the course of time with each ride. Both subjects had undergone brief and seemingly minuscule changes but in reality they were building towards the incredible mutations that made them what they are today.
Despite 002's body absorbing more Human DNA, her genetic makeup still remained unchanged in the slightest, the Klaxosapien part of her was too strong to be overcome by such weak substance no matter how much was pumped in. The only thing it did was create a metamorphosis of some sort that brought on a drastic change in her physical appearance.
It still remained to be seen if it affected her emotional state in any capacity, as she had always been an emotional creature since birth. It was impossible to tell if her emotions were a result of being part Human or if the Klaxosapiens had been just as reliant on their emotions as well.
Meanwhile, 016's body had been going in the opposite direction, shedding more of his Humanity to become more Klaxian-like in both body and nature. The boy behaved so much like 002 that it was impossible not to notice now; from his appetite changing to the subtle quirks that she displayed like growling and baring his fangs when threatened.
His entire genetic makeup had been taken over, which was simply astounding as all of this came from merely licking blood off her wound... While Werner had always anticipated changes like this in him, it was certainly a surprise when 002 began to change as well.
More strange, all the changes occurred through or with the help of Strelizia...
It was incredible that in spite of piloting together for almost two years now, they have not displayed the same level of saurification as other pilots have. Instead of increased signs of ageing or emotional distortion they were changing -
No... Evolving! He realized with a gasp.
It was almost as if... their bodies were adapting to each other's to become more compatible...!
"Astonishing!" Werner said as he furiously typed his notes. The more he thought about it the more it began to all make sense.
Klaxosaurs have always possessed the magnificent ability to evolve and adapt, and if he was correct the Klaxosapiens that created them also carried the same trait. Through the very same effect within their Hybrid DNA - combined with piloting - they have evolved into something completely unique only to them.
It brought him back to that first day in his lab when he saw the computer relay the life-changing data to him, when he saw that their compatibility was 100% guaranteed.
There was no question about it now, they were perfect for each other.
And Strelizia had somehow been the catalyst for both children to get to this point. Something that both amazed and confounded him all at the same time as he just had no idea how she did it.
Perhaps his theory of the FRANXX - especially magnificent creations like his Strelizia - being more capable of conscious thought held far more merit than he had initially thought. Originally he thought it simply extended to choosing who was worthy of piloting her, but now he began to realize that it possibly went far beyond that.
Strelizia had been the one to harvest and give the Human DNA that changed 002's appearance, had been the one who transferred the Yellow Blood Cells that mutated 016. Somehow, that beautiful FRANXX managed to bridge both the genetic and physical gap that lay between them and made them exactly the same, all on her own...
Werner stood firm on his theory that the Iron Maiden herself held a conscious enough mind within to pick and choose her Stamen, only the best to suit her Pistil. But what he didn't know was if he should be in awe of his creation or fear her.
Perhaps both...
His hypothesizing was interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open. Franxx turned towards the one entering, only to find it was his two young wards, each with their own hard expression that clearly screamed "you have explaining to do".
The scientist's perceptive eyes were able to pick up the extended length of their horns, at least a good three inches longer than the short stubs they usually kept them at. Something had occurred out on the field to lengthen them, he realized yet couldn't comment on it at the moment.
Code 002, however, appeared a bit more despondent than her male counterpart, which intrigued Franxx as he had thought she would have been in slightly higher spirits. Surely meeting someone of her own species would be an uplifting occasion? He would have to approach the subject casually.
"You two look quite serious... did something happen?" He asked nonchalantly. Subtly the old man pressed a couple keys on his keyboard, appearing as if he was saving his current files for later.
In reality, he was activating the alternate footage he had stored for the cameras to run while they had this conversation. No need to have APE listening to something they shouldn't be...
"That's one way to put it." Hiro said tersely.
"Care to share?" Franxx inquired as he turned to fully face them, leaning on his cane in front of him.
"We learned quite a few interesting things... from Έna."
The old man's head tilted the slightest bit. "Έna...?"
"The Klaxosaur Princess."
Franxx didn't move on the outside, but inside his heart skipped a beat at this.
"Ah... so she told you her true name. She must have trusted you greatly, then." Inside he was positively giddy with this new information. He finally knew she had a name! He was so glad now that he had never given one other than 001 to her as any other name would pale in comparison.
"She never told you?" Hiro asked with a raised brow, taking in that fact. He had assumed based on what she said that she knew the Doctor more personally than she let on.
"Our first meeting wasn't exactly under the best of circumstances, and neither was our second to be honest. Lots of tense moments and slight hostility." The word 'slight' was an understatement of the true threat that had come across his throat twice now but he wouldn't tell them that.
Despite all that had happened though, despite the sheer hatred she seemed to harbor towards him regardless of their arrangement... There was no doubt that of the myriad of things he had seen she was - and still is, in his mind even today - the most beautiful being he had ever seen in his life.
"You changed the geographical tracking on Strelizia, didn't you?" Hiro asked with a serious edge to his tone that immediately gave a no-nonsense vibe.
"Ahh, clever observation. Yes, that was indeed me. I always keep an eye on you when you sortie." Franxx said simply with a shrug.
"You knew where we were going." This wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"Correct again, you're as astute as ever, 016." The scientist responded with pride in his voice. Truly this boy was brilliant, born to be a menace on the battlefield...
The questions kept coming. "What about her headband? APE can easily track our movements through that."
"Also my design. What makes you think I can't alter it's data?"
Hiro noted this. Oh? Good to know.
"How did you know?" The dark-haired boy inquired with frigid blue eyes that would make any other person feel a shiver of fear.
"Her familiar has a very specific signature that I've encountered before." He let out a light sigh, looking up towards the ceiling briefly as if reliving a fond memory. "The minute it appeared on your radar I knew she was making contact, as she had foretold."
A single one of Hiro's brows raised up at this. "You mean you've known that she would seek us out eventually. Were you ever going to tell us this?"
It was not going outside of Franxx's notice that Hiro was leading the conversation while Zero Two remained tight-lipped at his side staring off to the side. It also didn't escape his notice that she was visibly tensing the longer this discussion continued. He chose not to comment on it just yet, though.
"It had always been my intention to have this conversation when you had both reached a satisfactory amount of maturity and experience. What exactly do you think you would have said if I had tried years ago when we first met?"
Hiro took that into consideration, and he had to admit the old man was right. It would have been absolutely preposterous for him to believe the "man" who ruled over them like a God was actually an extraterrestrial alien in disguise... and he was only willing to believe it because a blue-skinned being who claimed to be millions of years old had showed him so many things.
It all sounded so insane, though... it felt like the plot of a bad novel.
"It had always been my hope to find a suitable partner for 002 so that she could fulfill her true purpose in life. While Papa seems to have his own idea of what that is, I knew otherwise that she was meant to do more than be a tool for destruction. I saw her, and by extension you as well, as the hope for Humanity."
Zero Two twitched at this, the grip she had on her arm tightening as she raised her other hand to her mouth, her teeth biting down on her thumbnail. She still said nothing, but her movements didn't go unnoticed.
"Hope for Humanity...? We've heard that twice today now and I wanna know what the hell that's supposed to mean! Why did you make her suffer so much then, if you needed her so badly? Why did you let all the adults treat her so horribly if she's so damn special to you?!" Hiro demanded with bared fangs, his voice raising slightly as his temper began to get the better of him.
How dare he use Zero Two like this and act so blase about it! If he didn't have a hundred questions that demanded answers now he would be going for the geezer's throat...
"If there was the slightest belief that I was acting out of Papa's best interest, I would have been removed and replaced, and then all you've gone through up to this point would have been a pleasant stroll through cherry blossoms in comparison to what they would have done to you both. But let's be honest here, you wouldn't even be with her if not for me."
Begrudgingly, Hiro had to admit he was right on that one. Without this man he would not have been permitted to stay together with Zero Two, and their paths would have been far more different than they are now. They would be completely different people...
Whether he trusted this old geezer or not, he owed so much to him all the same.
Taking a deep breath, the younger man managed to get a firm hold over himself as he continued with the impromptu interrogation. "So it's all been an act?"
"To an extent. I'll admit that I've never been the loving nurturing type, even in my younger days." If that was his attempt at a joke, Hiro didn't find it amusing.
Impatiently, the dark-haired boy demanded. "Then what is the truth? When you told me before that I would understand everything one day soon...?"
The scientist sighed heavily, before leveling his ward with the most serious look he had ever given him.
"... Yes. Today is that day, Hiro."
The young man froze, as this was the very first time the old geezer had ever called him by anything besides his code number. That meant he was... actually being genuine then, wasn't he?
"I know you've had an endless myriad of questions, most of which I have purposely avoided or ignored because of obvious reasons. But now, whether you or I are ready for it or not, the time has come for you to know what's at stake. Έna has given you her side of things, now you will hear ours."
Έna had been speaking the truth, their guardian was being more open now. Finally, after all these years of just hearing "You don't need to know such things" or "That's none of your concern" he was going to be told something real!
The only question Hiro could think of to start with was...
"Έna mentioned something about how Humans have created a 'false illusion of immortality that they willingly wrap themselves in' and I've been wondering ever since what she meant by that." That phrase had stuck with him all the way back to base, and he couldn't get it out of his head.
Franxx bowed his head slightly, now knowing exactly where he needed to start. "In that case, I think it's the perfect time I show you both something. Come with me."
He then walked passed them and exited the lab, waiting for them just outside the door until they came out along with him. Making sure it was locked behind him, the scientist proceeded down the hall until they reached the elevation area of the wing.
With a swipe of his badge, one specific elevator was opened and the old man motioned for the younger ones to enter ahead of him. They wordlessly made their way inside and Franxx followed close behind them, the doors immediately shutting as soon as he had passed through the threshold.
They began to descend, and as they went down the elevator Hiro and Zero Two couldn't help but be intrigued by how deep they were going, it felt like they were going miles beneath the surface of the plantation. It was far deeper than they had ever gone before, as the hangars and such were closer to the topside.
"As you are part of APE, you both have access through this area. However, you have never been given permission to venture here, and that was for a reason." Franxx told them as they went further and further down.
Suddenly the elevator filled with a soft golden glow as the elevator shaft gave way to a more open area as they continued downwards. The children quickly turned to look out the glass window, only to gasp at what they saw. Before they could take in all the specific details the view was blocked by more walls as they came to the end of the ride.
"Put on your gloves, both of you." Franxx instructed as they exited the elevator. Ahead of them was an archway with a clear barrier that read "SECURITY CHECKPOINT" in white across the invisible surface. The old man walked through effortlessly, the clear barrier turning to green and releasing a positive beeping sound as he went. He stopped on the other side and looked back to them, waiting.
The horned couple obeyed the order without a fuss, fishing their white gloves out of their pockets to slip them on. Built within the wrist cuff of the glove was their special 9's ID that allowed them access to most anywhere in the plantations. As they walked through the gate their palms lit up with said IDs.
[ PERMITTED ENTRY ]
They both heard the positive beeping as they went through and once they had Franxx continued down the hall. They eventually came upon a tall arched doorway that led to who only knows where, and the two teenagers were waiting with bated breath to see what it was that their guardian wanted to show them.
The door opened at their approach, and the two were immediately assaulted by the same bright golden aura that made it difficult to make out what they were seeing at first until their sensitive eyes quickly adjusted.
"What is this place?" Zero Two asked, unable to contain the curiosity eating at her any longer.
"A place you were going to see eventually, be it from accompanying the 9's or through your ceaseless wanderings." The old man replied as he lead them further inside. The moment they passed the doorway they were assaulted by many smells and the feeling of a slightly heavy breeze hitting them.
The trio walked up to a large balcony that overlooked what could only be described as a magnificent metropolis. Franxx gestured with his organic hand to the sight before them.
"Welcome to the Inner City." Franxx informed them. "This is the place where the adults you've been protecting reside."
Hiro and Zero Two looked on in stunned silence as they took in what looked like hundreds of tall buildings all grouped together and expanding almost the entirety of this internal space like mountains of steel. The space itself was so gargantuan that it felt like it took up almost the whole plantation. In fact, it probably did.
The buildings towered high before them and glittered a brilliant golden aura that shined brightly, and in the distance they could make out several magma energy power plants scattered around. That explained the glowing of the city, it was completely powered by magma energy; this had to be where the majority of the plantations spent their energy.
There was a grand lake in the center of the city with several islands that held more buildings settled within, curved bridges connecting them to each other and the rest of the city. The buildings there were arranged in a slightly curved fashion as they surrounded the center core that supported the structure of the very plantation itself.
The magma plants released a constant stream of smoke and smog that clouded the city somewhat in a haze in several places, also releasing the unpleasant odors they were forced to breathe in. At the top corners of most of the buildings there were red blinking lights, their purposes a mystery to them.
And in every single one of those buildings sat the adults they had been charged with keeping safe.
"This is where they've been all this time, right beneath our feet..." Hiro observed, his sharp eyes trailing over the closely clustered buildings. So many of them, all housing who knows how many people inside. Hundreds? Thousands?
"Naturally, it's the safest place to house a city of this stature. Just as it's convenient and ideal that you children stay above where you can come and go quickly as you sortie." Franxx explained as he too looked out at the city, his hands folded behind his back as his cane leaned against the railing.
"So every plantation has a city just like this at the center?" Zero Two asked as her hair blew swiftly in the wind like pink ribbons. She found herself wondering where such a breeze was coming from, did they have synthetic weather systems in this place...? Her nose wrinkled at such a thought.
"Affirmative. This is the Paradise that Papa has created for all of the adults to live in harmony."
The couple twitched at that. Paradise? This was his vision of paradise?
"What about all of this seems like a 'paradise' to him?" Hiro asked skeptically as he raised a judgemental brow at the sight before him. It was nothing like he pictured in his own head when he heard the word.
Whenever he had envisioned a paradise, it had always been something far different. Maybe some of it wasn't exactly in the realm of possibilities anymore with how the world is, but it was still achievable and far more ideal than this cluttered mess that lay before him.
Perhaps some people wouldn't mind this setting, but this is definitely not what he or Zero Two wanted, that was for sure.
"... Take a while to look around. Maybe you'll come to your own conclusions when you see what it is you've been risking your lives for." Franxx said in an almost cryptic way, gesturing towards the city.
Hiro looked towards his beloved, trying to gauge her reaction in this. Feelings his eyes on her, the pinkette simply shrugged her shoulders, her face remaining the same "I couldn't care less" expression that it had been for a while now. Hiro sighed quietly and gently grabbed her hand to lead her away.
"Let's go." He said quietly as they walked away. Franxx watched them go in silence. Preparing himself for the inevitable.
He knew that by the end of this little field trip, those two were going to be different people...
The couple took a long escalator downwards to a lower level, their heads turning this way and that as they had seemed to be doing all day, all the new sights and scents starting to feel overwhelming. It was similar in many ways to the city they had seen in one of Έna's memories, yet completely different in far more places. Instead of the blue glow of the Klaxians, though, it was the bright golden glow of the magma energy.
For a while, they just roamed around aimlessly, taking in all they could while trying to understand what the general purpose of it was. It was nothing like being in Mistleteinn, there were no trees or grass, just stone and concrete roads between buildings made of steel and other metals.
"So this is the city the adults live in...?" Hiro muttered unenthusiastically.
The buildings were nothing like the ones they had seen in the city that the Klaxosapiens had built. They were similar in size and structure, sure, and yet felt completely different in looks and the vibe they got from looking at them. In the Klaxian city, everything felt like it was more natural even with all the destruction, unlike here where everything was being siphoned from an irreplaceable and finite power source.
While everything in the Bird Cage up above made sense to them - even if it was man-made and not naturally maintained - here, there was nothing that seemed natural, it was all so synthetic and industrial.
"There's nothing but a bunch of buildings..." Zero Two observed in a hollow voice. "No skies... no oceans. I don't like it."
Hiro was in complete agreement. It was stifling, even though there was plenty of open space. Perhaps it was all the buildings clustered together, or maybe it was the thick smog in the air that irritated their noses, or maybe it was the fact it felt so empty despite being full of people...
Or maybe a combination of all of the above...
... Wait...
It was with a startled realization that the blue-horned boy began to notice that there wasn't a single person walking around besides them. Not a one.
"Hold on. Where is everyone...?" Hiro asked, not really expecting an answer but feeling the need to voice it. Zero Two was also coming to this realization now, and it made her feel even more unsettled in this environment.
There were no stands that traded exotic goods and food, there were no people engaging in conversations or even any animals. Not a single bird could be seen flying in the air, and the silence of the city was deafening. It felt so lifeless...
It didn't matter how long they walked or how many turns they made or how many streets they traveled. They didn't see a single living soul wandering around as they were. It was almost as if the city were empty, yet they knew people had to be nearby.
It was eerily similar to the memory they had seen of the deserted Klaxian city, but whereas the citizens of that city had been forced into hiding because of war, these people were free to walk around as they pleased. And yet, they weren't?
As they were passing over a bridge, Zero Two looked to the side, peering over the railing to see what lay beneath them as they walked. She noticed a building roof several meters down a ways, with a built-in skyline that allowed her better than average eyesight to see what lay within.
"Darling... Look." Zero Two called to him as she stopped walking, her voice hinting at something making her uncomfortable. More so than the city had already made her.
Hiro wasted no time in striding to her, joining her at her side as she pointed at something underneath the bridge. With his own improved eyesight as well as the bright lighting within they were able to see what all lay inside.
It looked like a... home? It only held the barest furniture such as a cushioned sofa and a table with a single chair, with even sparser decorations such as a fake plant in the corner.
One thing, however, stood out like a sore thumb in the quaint little setting. A large rectangular-shaped box-looking hunk of metal with some odd machinery that took up a good amount of the room, with a small viewing window on top of the right side.
From their positions above, they could see inside said window, and both were absolutely dumbfounded at what they saw lying inside.
"Are they... sleeping?" Zero Two gasped out in something akin to horror.
"I think so?" Hiro replied, unsure. Neither knew what to make of this discovery, all they knew was it set them further on edge.
It was an adult, who laid completely immobile with a cushioned brace around their neck to support their head, which was covered in a strange helmet-looking device. A visor with a golden glowing strip across the eyes covered and wires of red and blue were embedded in multiple places on the top of the helmet connecting them to the machinery.
It was impossible to tell the gender of the person underneath the strange head gear, as it covered all but their nose, mouth and chin, and no hair was left exposed. With no other part of their body viewable, it was anybody's guess who they were.
Strangely, bizarrely, even though they appeared to be unconscious and at the mercy of this large contraption they had never seen before... they had a peaceful smile on their face. That above all was the most disturbing part for the couple looking in.
"Why would they all be sleeping...? I don't understand this." Hiro's brows pulled together in a scowl as he stared down at the bizarre sight. Nothing was making any sense.
Why were all the people concealed away and not active? Were all the adults in the buildings like this? Lying in a machine that was doing who knows what to them?
What did all of this mean...?
Was this truly what they "earned" when they got the right to become an adult?
"It's almost like being in a coffin..." Zero Two muttered, and Hiro felt his stomach roll in knots from those words. Yet he couldn't deny the comparison to be accurate.
Movement out of the corner of her eye made Zero Two look up, and she quickly nudged her beloved to get him to see the same thing. Hiro looked towards her only to see what she had noticed; a single person walking around, an actual adult.
Well that was a relief, perhaps not all of them were like the one below then. This might be a good opportunity to try and ask them about life in the city.
The person was covered from head to toe in white robes that had a single green slip along the shoulder and a white mask with only their chins and mouths exposed, making them unidentifiable by any means. Most all the adults they had seen in ceremonies wore these garments, yet it was unclear to either of them why that was.
How were you supposed to know who anyone was? ... Was that somehow the point? What did any of this mean?
The person walking was so inexpressive - almost robotic in their movements - and so lacking in personality that the two teenagers couldn't see what the appeal to any of this was. They were hardly the same adults they've seen partake in graduation ceremonies for new Parasites, where they cheered and moved with some form of passion.
Regardless of the strangeness of the situation, when they had come close enough Hiro tried to approach them.
"Excuse me-?"
At hearing the young man try to speak to them, they began to walk in a wider arc to keep a large distance between themself and Hiro, seeming to ignore him altogether as they said not a word. They even seemed to pick up their pace in walking speed, just to ensure they avoided him.
Hiro stopped walking and just stared after them, baffled. Zero Two wasn't sure what to make of it either, as she stayed put where she was and watched the whole thing.
They both were able to notice something peculiar, however, something that made them unsure of what they were about to try and talk to.
The person smelled... off. They still smelled enough like a Human and yet there was a scent mixed in reminiscent of the kind they got from the magma energy plants... They smelled nothing like any person - child or adult - that they have encountered before.
The adult wandered to a building entrance that opened automatically for them, whereas it had remained firmly shut as the horned couple had walked by. As soon as the doors opened, they both heard a hissing sound and watched as an orange mist of some kind was sprayed over the adult before they proceeded to head inside.
"That... was strange? They just ignored us. I don't know what to make of any of this anymore... This is nothing like what I pictured for the adults." Hiro sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his black locks, feeling a headache coming on from all the building stress.
"I don't even know what I was picturing..." His pink-haired partner admitted quietly, her voice and face equally somber.
The two stood in silence for a while on the bridge, the false wind ruffling through their hair and clothing as they just watched the city that felt so empty. A haunting feeling considering just how many people supposedly occupied it.
Without taking her eyes off the buildings, the pinkette spoke in a soft voice that was barely heard over the strong breeze, but her partner heard her.
"Darling... why do we fight the Klaxosaurs?" Zero Two asked uncertainly, making Hiro's shoulders tense slightly.
Once again an answer automatically came to his lips but he paused, stopping himself as his eyes widened, realizing for the second time that day that the response had come too easily. Without prompt. What had seemed so obvious and certain before was now shrouded in heavy doubt.
Twenty-four hours ago this was normal - the correct response. It had been something that was firmly ingrained into his psyche, to the point he never thought to question it. Until now.
"I used to believe it was to protect Papa, the plantations and the adults... but now..."
"The planet itself will be abandoned and left to die in his wake after all is said and done. He will leave it an unlivable rock that will float endlessly through space, as I'm sure he has done before."
He could convince himself that it was all nonsense, the ranting of a creature who was using a manipulative tactic to get them to eliminate her greatest enemy that she bore a grudge against. Then what was to stop her from using her army of Klaxosaurs to wipe them out afterwards as revenge for all the years of slaying them?
Nothing was stopping her. But once again, something in his gut told him it wasn't a lie. And looking at this city now, seeing and hearing all that he had the last five years of his life...
"Now I'm not sure anymore." Hiro admitted with a lost look on his face. "After all we've witnessed today, and the way things have been all our lives..."
The golden aura of the city taunted him, and he couldn't help the heavy doubt that began to settle in his stomach like a rock. All that magma energy that it took to power all of this, and it just rubbed him the wrong way.
This is what they had to look forward to if they killed enough Klaxosaurs to earn the right to become an adult?
This is what they and other children were laying down their lives to protect?
It was nothing like what he and Zero Two wanted, what they had fought so hard to try and earn. There had to be another way.
But it begged an even larger question now... Why did they have to earn this in the first place...?
Why was being able to continue to grow up so guarded by the people who raised them? It was a natural progression of life, why did they have to be given permission to simply continue to exist?
He'd always asked so many questions but no one would ever answer them, and it was so frustrating! Maddening even! Why were they undeserving of knowing the full truth, yet demanded so much from in return?!
... Well there was one person who had all those answers, and he was finally willing to give them now.
"Come on, Zero Two. There still several things I want to know." Hiro reached for Zero Two's hand and began leading her back the way they came, suddenly very eager to leave. His partner followed with no resistance, giving his hand a firm squeeze as she sensed his inner frustrations beginning to show again.
The pair found Doctor Franxx waiting for them where they left him, having hardly moved from his place overlooking the city. As they approached him, he could see they both had a disturbed look about them. It didn't take his genius IQ to know what they had seen to be so uncomfortable.
"Have you seen everything you need to?" The scientist asked them, slightly rhetorically since he doubted they'd be here if they hadn't.
"We have, and frankly I have a few questions." Hiro responded gruffly.
"Of course you do." Franxx said, almost condescendingly. "Go on, then."
Hiro tried to push past his irritation with him, taking a deep breath. "The adults that are lying in those machines, you know exactly the ones I mean... what's going on inside them?"
"Those machines are designed solely to be isolation chambers for the people who climb into them. It's the main reason you didn't see anyone walking around, they rarely step outside of their presumed sanctuaries. If not for risk of muscular dystrophy they might never leave those pods."
The two grimaced at hearing this. Then they really did spend the majority of their time locked away inside boxes like that?
"Why...? What kind of 'sanctuary' can that thing possibly grant them?"
"The machines are specially designed to target the brain's reward system and constantly send waves of pleasure and happiness to the user. By directly accessing the nucleus accumbens in the ventral striatum, as well as the frontal cortex and the amygdala, they are able to experience nothing but their own version of paradise." Despite it being a lot of scientific terms, they were still able to understand the gist of what he was saying.
So that was it, that was the supposed secret to Papa's Paradise. Leaving all of the adults helpless under the guise of keeping them satisfied with these false delusions of joy.
"We did see one adult, but it was like we didn't exist to them." Hiro pointed out. "They walked by us as if we were invisible, almost seemed to be avoiding us."
"Unsurprising. The adults have no care to pay attention to anything that isn't their dopamine-filled haven. They can't even be near you children because of how different your physiology is from them. They - like the city - live off the magma energy and exposure to you can cause complications for them."
"But adults have been near us all the time? Like the Mayors." Not to mention all the adults that work for APE that have been around them all their lives, or even the caretakers at Garden's Nursery?
"And afterwards they had all been disinfected, though most have precautionary measures when it's unavoidable such as during graduations. As it is, the parts of the city you've set foot in will have to be quarantined until the area has been thoroughly cleaned."
That would explain the strange mist that covered the adult as they went inside the building, it was some kind of disinfectant.
"And the adults from APE?" The dark-haired boy wondered.
"You children had to have people who could look after you, as well as guide you in your missions. They have a similar physiology to you that allows them to be close to you without consequence, but they have to maintain that lifestyle through a different means than the adults in the city."
"This is crazy... So this is all they do? Day in and day out...?!" Hiro's voice rose an octave but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't even begin to picture spending all day, every day of his life like that... It was horrendous to even imagine himself laying down in one of those cursed machines!
To never go out and feel the sun or look at the moon... To never feel a cool breeze on their faces and touch soft grass...
"This is the false illusion the Princess spoke of, the reality of what it means to be an adult in this society." Franxx said solemnly with a bowed head. "They have hidden themselves away for so long that they've forgotten much of the real world, and that doesn't just extend to the existence of the Klaxosaurs. They have lost all sense in anything they have deemed "trivial", including taste, smell and even emotions."
"You mean... they willingly reject the simple pleasures of eating or smelling something nice, like flowers or the ocean?" Zero Two asked in a hallow tone. While her Darling was in a state of disbelief, she found she held nothing but disgust for all these adults.
All of her life, she had been purposely and forcefully denied such pleasures, and here these people were willingly throwing it away. Choosing instead to pursue some unachievable level of eternal happiness...
How could there be pure happiness without feeling or experiencing sorrow...? How could they call what they felt true happiness when it was created out of falsehood and trickery of the brain...?
How could these people say they were truly alive?
"Emotions...?" Hiro parroted in confusion. "Does that mean they don't even interact with each other?"
"Oh they still retain the custom of pairing as man and woman, but it is by no means anything intimate. It is simply convenient for them to continue the tradition that has existed for ages, as Humans have always naturally sought companionship. However, these adults rarely truly convene with one another, I doubt most even know what their partner's voice sounds like."
Hiro felt like his eyes were going to bulge out of his eyes from hearing this. That sounded like such an awful existence, so lonely...
"What about falling in love? What about marriage...?" He gasped out.
"Such things are inconsequential to them; they completely lack common sense when it comes to relationships of any kind. Friendship, romance, lust, they all mean nothing to them. They only need the technology they hook themselves up into to give them their form of happiness, receiving all the endorphins they need in their comatose-like state as they blissfully ignore the world around them."
"It's almost the same as being dead..." Zero Two said bitterly. "They aren't willing to set foot outside to enjoy the world we work so hard to keep for them, all because it would mean leaving their false comfort."
"This... is what Humanity has become, I'm afraid." The old man told them gravely. "They're not good for anything more than supplying genetic material to create more of you children."
"How did it become this way to begin with...?" Hiro demanded heatedly. "How did an alien manage to take our whole world and turn it into this?!"
"... We were all fooled. Including myself." Franxx answered him with bitterness of his own clouding his tone. He stepped closer to the railing, staring off into the distance as he opened up about his past for the first time in ages.
"At one point, I believed us to be friends - equals who saw a common goal for Humanity. Little did I know that even I was being used to create his "utopia"... the place you look on before you now. He had always been a powerful person even before the Klaxosaurs came, but it was through my research that he accomplished complete control, and we were all too eager to give it to him."
He, especially, had been only too eager to cast aside his fear of the limits in order to achieve what he sought to. Had cast aside everything that made him Human, even.
In the past he had not cared how far he took things morally, had not cared what repercussions came from his actions so long as he accomplished all he wanted. He genuinely could not have cared less what became of Humanity, especially after the emotional loss of her.
Papa had known this, and like everyone else Franxx had wronged he, too, became a tool to be used like a piece on a chess board.
Perhaps it was karma, perhaps it was the god he never believed in showing their hand and making him eat his words of the past. It didn't matter, he was in this game Papa had started to win now. Even if his piece got knocked off the playing field.
If there was one thing Werner Franxx hated, it was being made a fool of.
"What if we don't want it?" Hiro asked boldly with a scowl, drawing the scientist out of his ire. "What if we don't want this so called utopia and want to pass on it?"
Werner slowly turned towards the boy, the grave look on his face making Hiro break out in a nervous sweat. In a low voice, the bearded man answered his question.
"It doesn't really matter how much you children want it. Inevitably, for the majority of you, it won't even matter in the long run."
For the second time that day, a heavy bomb had been dropped on the two of them that stunned them
The way he spoke those words was almost terrifying. With a sinking feeling, the younger man hesitated to ask in a small voice.
"... What are you saying...?"
This is it. Werner thought to himself with a sigh. There was no turning back now.
Deep breath in. Let it out slowly.
"You children... were never meant to live to adulthood."
It was spoken in the softest voice that they had ever heard him speak in, and yet the words themselves seemed echo with increasing volume in their minds.
Never meant to live to adulthood...
Never meant to live...
"What...? The hell does that mean?!" Hiro shouted in outrage, his eyes and horns beginning to glow a bright sapphire blue. Zero Two was solid as stone beside him, her bangs hiding the despondent look in her eyes from hearing that.
"Your very existence is a synthetic creation that was never meant to outlive past two or three years on the field. Just like most every child that has come before you, the casualties of war eventually claim us all."
"That doesn't make any sense! What about all the adults that claim they used to be Parasites?!"
"They are the lucky - and rare - ones that managed to beat the odds. They were rewarded with exactly what Papa promised them for their efforts. Immortality and a place by his side, which they took without question."
"Then why...? Why tell us such lies all these years if they aren't true?!" He knew it was a stupid question before it fully left his lips but he still had to ask.
Franxx replied with a counter question that took the fight right out of him.
"Would you be willing to pilot otherwise?"
"...!" Hiro's shoulders sagged and his head lowered as he stared unseeing at the floor in front of him.
He had no idea what to say in response to the entirety of his reality being thrust into his face. Έna's haunting words from earlier suddenly rang in his head clear as a bell.
"... the sacrifices of all the young ones who have given their lives for what they believed to be a great cause for Humanity."
If their lives meant nothing more to the adults than tools to be used, then all the children from before...
Hiro swallowed the thick lump that had settled in his throat, his eyes wide and lips trembling as he spoke. Asked the question that he and other children he grew up with had wondered at one point or another.
"... What happened to all the children who disappeared from the Nursery...?"
Franxx didn't bat an eye, he gave him the full truth in a heartbeat.
"They were insufficient at fulfilling their roles as pilots. Deemed failures. I'm sure you know what happens when someone is of no use to Papa."
All the faces of those children... There one day and gone the next. Mitsuru had almost been one of them...
So many nights Hiro remembered he spent looking at the empty bunks beside him wondering what happened to all of them. All of the others slept soundly in their beds without a care or worry but he couldn't stop losing sleep over wondering.
Hiro's heart sank to his feet. He felt like he wanted to throw up. His voice was a breathless whisper.
"They were pruned..."
Franxx's expression all but confirmed it, even before his head gave the slightest perceptible nod.
"Pruned, and then their genetic material was pulled from storage to make a new child from it. Repeating the cycle."
Hiro had to reach out and grab the railing for support, his stomach threatening to expel whatever little was in there as he took it all in. Everything, all the things he had been told growing up stacked against all the harsh realities he'd bore witness to today...
It had all been a lie... He knew that APE was full of lies but to learn that the one thing they had been promised in life was practically impossible to achieve for most children...
All those children... Killed because they couldn't pilot to kill Klaxosaurs...
All the training. All the injections. All the indoctrination. All the promises.
In reality... They were all working so hard for absolutely nothing.
It was even worse than the idea of them suffering all of that to end up in this hauntingly empty city where they wouldn't interact with anything but a machine for the rest of their immortal lives... At least then they got what they believed they wanted.
"I knew it was all crap." Zero Two spoke up suddenly, her sharp voice cutting through the silence.
Hiro's head snapped towards her while Franxx merely looked over at her curiously. She was staring out at the city, her expression looking so... blank. There was no intelligible way to guess what she was feeling or thinking, she just looked so apathetic.
Void of any feeling whatsoever. After everything she's heard today, this was the final straw for her.
"I knew there was no real "Paradise" like the one Papa was always spewing about. I knew that even if there was I wouldn't be allowed to be included in it. After all, Paradise doesn't have monsters in it." Her voice was as hollow as her expression, yet her fists were clenched so tightly that drops of blood began seeping through her fingers.
"...!" Hiro gasped softly, her words cutting him just as deep.
Even though they were the same now, she still separated herself from him in some ways. Still looked at herself as the reason for everything bad that had happened to them both. It broke his heart that she still pulled away at times like this, willing to accept her place as the scapegoat even when she outright hated it.
All the progress she had made, and it was being destroyed right in front of him... He couldn't let her keep doing this to herself!
"So it was all crap, and it looks like I'm not the only one who is going to be saddled with disappointment. Not that they'll be alive to realize that... And I'm starting to genuinely wonder why I should care?"
"Zero Two...?!" Hiro tried to argue, but the red-horned woman turned towards him then, her eyes fierce and unrelenting as she challenged him to oppose her or her words.
"No really. Why should I care about anyone else on this planet? No one but you has ever given a damn about me, Darling, even the person I share DNA with just left me to be abused and mistreated for years. And for what? For me to fulfill some grand purpose that I never asked for? What right does she have to think I would be so willing to do it?"
Franxx and Hiro stood there in silence, letting her vent the feelings long buried deep inside. The former was finally starting to get an understanding of her now that she was opening up, and genuinely felt remorse at all he had put her through. Every word she spoke was nothing but the truth.
Werner had prayed years ago she would forgive him, believing what he was doing at the time to be the right thing, but he knew in the long run it was unfair and unlikely he would ever receive her forgiveness.
"I've been hated by everyone my entire life and now I'm suddenly expected to save them all? As well as somehow stop the very being everyone worships because of some billion-year old grudge? How in the hell am I supposed to do that?! Why should I do any of that? I don't owe them anything!"
At the start she had felt elation, sheer joy at finally being able to see and meet another who was similar to her. Not just similar, she practically was her! They were almost like two halves of the same coin, she had felt so naturally drawn to her.
But then, the more she talked to her, the more she began to realize that the feeling wasn't entirely mutual.
She didn't really matter to her at all. She had called her one of her 'brethren' yet she had left her to the hands of Humans all this time.
All she felt now was anger.
"And even if I did agree to this and tried to help them, who would actually accept my help anyway? They sneer and curse my very existence! As if they'd believe me if I actually tried to save them!"
Hiro had to bite his tongue to keep silent as his eyes lowered mournfully towards the floor. He knew that despite all they had tried and dealt with she was still scorned by the rest of the world, her unfortunate reputation as the "Partner Killer" following her every step of the way.
It was a literal stain on her name, one that they knew they couldn't wipe away but couldn't seem to grow distant from it either. It didn't matter what she did or how nice she was to anyone, they would only acknowledge the things that made her look bad. The things that made her a frightful figure in their eyes.
The things that made her a monster...
"I'm sick and tired of pretending there was ever a place for me in this world! I still don't even know who I really am or what my place is in this life!"
Zero Two knew it probably killed her Darling to hear her say all of this, but she couldn't deny her true feelings anymore. She had tried, she had tried so hard to accept herself and her lack of a real connection to anyone who wasn't her Prince.
But it was clear to her now that she had just been fooling herself.
All the progress Zero Two had made in her life so far, what did all of it amount to? Just when she was finally starting to grow comfortable and at peace with herself it was all being uprooted with the discovery of her supposed heritage! All her life she thought she wanted to know these things and yet now that she was finally being given it all she wanted to do was give it right back.
She had finally accepted she'd never be fully Human, learned to accept that the other half of her would always remain a mystery. But now the mystery was uncovered, and she wished it hadn't been.
What did it mean to be part Klaxosapien? What did it mean to be part Human?
She felt like neither!
"I'm not a Human, I'm not a Klaxosapien, I'm not a Klaxosaur! WHAT AM I?! WHO AM I?!" She grabbed at her ruby-colored horns like she wanted to yank them off, and right now more than ever she wished she could. They had caused her nothing but suffering all the years she's lived with them.
"I don't want my life to just be a means to an end for someone... Be it Papa or a Princess, aliens or Klaxosaurs, it doesn't matter! I don't care! I want to be able to choose my own path for myself!"
The dam was broken, all the anger and pain finally taking shape in the form of tears now that the torrent of rage had passed.
"I WANT TO LIVE!" She screamed, her voice carrying out into the distance.
That was all she had ever wanted... just to live. With her Darling, that's all she needed.
"But is there really any point? Is all this really worth trying so damn hard for?! When the alternative is just becoming another statistic in the greater scheme of things?! So what then...? Just what is my purpose in this miserable life?!"
Franxx debated whether or not he should tell her the truth, consequences be damned. She had already taken in so much today but what was just a little more? It was her life, after all, she deserved to know the truth of what her reality will inevitably be at this rate.
The true reality of what future Papa had in store for her... the one he was trying so hard to prevent from happening.
From the minute he had stolen the Klaxosapien Princess's DNA in the form of strands of her hair, he had unknowingly played into Papa's hands of giving him exactly what he wanted. A tool to be used, one that would serve as not just an insult to his greatest enemy, but as the very thing that would spell their end.
And if she completed her designated mission... she would surely die. Along with everything else on this planet.
But he didn't get the chance to tell her this, as Hiro had stepped up in his place with something completely different.
Hiro pulled her into his arms, cradling her head against his chest as he ran a soothing hand through her hair.
"To be with me..." He whispered into her ear, his voice thick with sadness.
Zero Two's watery eyes widened at hearing those words, a pained whimper escaping her as she reached up and clutched at his jacket tightly.
"You are Zero Two, you are the girl I've loved since the moment I first saw her. And your purpose, should you wish it, is to just be with me. I know that's what my purpose is. To hell with piloting, I can finally admit the truth that's been right in front of my face all this time."
He did not care that the old man was standing just a few feet away listening to every word he said to her. He spoke them as if they were the only two people in the whole world.
"Human, Klaxosaur, Klaxosapien, some mix of them all... I don't care what we are. I don't care what we do. I just want to spend my life with you, because wherever you are that is my home."
"Darling...!" Zero Two cried into his chest.
"I know. Just let it all out..." Hiro soothed as his fingers caressed through her long silky locks while she sobbed. "You're absolutely right; you don't owe anyone a damn thing. After all they've said and done to you I don't blame you for being resentful. And I won't try to convince you of anything, either. This is something that you deserve to have a choice in, and I will be damned if I take that away from you."
Despite the gargantuan weight that had just been placed on their shoulders - or perhaps it had always been there and they were only just now becoming aware of it - there was still a small glimmer of hope. Because now there was a chance that their future could be one of their choosing.
Their choosing, and no one else's.
For that, for the chance to be free of these cages forever, to be together in peace... Hiro knew he was willing to do anything it took, but he wouldn't do it without her. There was no point.
Franxx watched them both, a silent witness to the miraculous event unfolding before him.
They were entering the next phase of adolescence and one step closer to adulthood. It was almost like... watching his own children grow up.
Well, with his advanced age it was more like his grandchildren, but that was besides the point.
Werner kept telling himself at the start of this that he wouldn't grow soft, no matter what... and yet here he was. He had succumbed to the inevitable and grown paternal feelings towards the people who were just supposed to be another lead towards yet another scientific breakthrough in his long career.
But things have changed... even with her gone, she had changed him.
He never imagined he would actually grant his love her one wish, but it only felt right to use her Human DNA when creating 002. It was almost comical... Sometimes when 002 smiled a certain way, he could see past the Klaxosaur Princess' strong resemblance and see her...
His Karina...
Funny, how he had created an experimental squad meant to regain their baser Human instincts, and here he was developing exactly that. The basic parental instinct.
"Take some time to absorb all of this. It's been a long day for you both, I'm sure." Franxx said in a gentle voice, which the two children picked up on but didn't comment. It was nice to know that the old man had at least some tact somewhere in there.
"Return to your quarters for now. No plans or decisions need to be made today or tomorrow, there is still plenty of time before the need for that will come."
Hiro looked back at him with a hard side eye, keeping his arm around his beloved as he lead her away.
The Princess and the Doctor knew something was coming, but what that was they were unsure. Did it have something to do with the Gran Crevasse?
For now, though, they couldn't ask anymore questions. They were tired of asking questions... For once in their lives, they had gotten their fill of answers, as many new questions formed in their place. But they didn't have the mental strength to ask them now.
The future was more unclear than ever before now, there was no guide or straight path to follow like the one they had been set on so far. All their life it was planned or predetermined where they would go or what kind of life they'd lead. Now, there was a chance they could somehow change all of that.
But if they wanted absolute freedom, not just for themselves but for all of Humanity, how could they possibly proceed in order to even try to accomplish it...?
Hiro and Zero Two were quiet as they entered their room, the latter immediately pulling out her night clothes and muttering that she wanted to go bathe. Hiro let her go without a word, staring glumly at her back as she left.
He couldn't blame her for being so distant right now, as much as it hurt him. After everything that happened today, their whole world - hers especially - had been turned upside down.
After changing his clothes into his long nightshirt Hiro sat on their bed, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands dangling between them as he stared at his feet. As he waited patiently for his other half to finish bathing, he took the time alone to think to himself.
He was truly at a loss of what to do now... With all of this information to process, all of these revelations to consider, he didn't know where to begin.
All his life Hiro had known that things weren't quite right with the adults, and now it all made somewhat more sense. It was no wonder they wouldn't answer any of his questions, they couldn't risk revealing anything that would make him or the others rebel.
Hiro had to wonder what all those adults were thinking as they became immortal, did they know what they were signing up for? As in did they fully understand all they would truly gain or lose, were they told? Would the children, if they knew full well ahead of time what they were really "earning", still choose to go through with becoming like them?
That is to say, if they even made it to that point where they could choose... The fact that he and all the other children were expected to die long before they could reach the age of adulthood was so devastating that thinking about it now still made his stomach roll around uncomfortably.
The children were helpless to do anything other than as they were told and taught, falsely believing that one day when they had earned Papa's approval through all their hard work that they would join him in his "Paradise". Little did they know that said paradise was nothing more than what the Klaxosaur Princess had called it - an illusion.
What a terrible fate. A fate that would befall all of the children in the Parasite Program, his childhood friends included...
Zorome would surely be all for such a future if Papa told him he'd love it, his devotion to Papa so immense that he and others like him would blindly follow without question. Assuming they actually made it that far in life, which was a long shot in and of itself he now knew.
All of those children needed their help, they were doomed otherwise...
Still...
Even knowing that, at the end of the day Hiro would not make Zero Two choose something she didn't want to do. He would do his best to guide her, help her through it all, make her see the potential reality that awaited them all depending on the decision.
But no matter what choice she made, no matter how much that choice might hurt some part of him deep inside, he would stay by her side and support her through it.
Zero Two had all of her choices taken away all of her life, and he absolutely refused to be one of those people that did so. At the end of the day - Human or Klaxosapien or a mix of the two - she was a person. A person who had just as much right to live as everyone else in the world.
A person who had enough cruelty dumped upon her, and Hiro would be rather be dragged to Hell by scorching hot chains than add to that pain. He swore to her that one day he would find a way for them to be free, so that they could make their own choices and go wherever they wanted to go.
And come death or some other worse fate, he would keep his word!
All he could do in the meantime was be here for her, which he would continue to do until the day he took his last breath. All the while trying his hardest to make her happy and see that beautiful smile that lit up his entire existence.
Because if Zero Two wouldn't smile for him, he might as well be dead.
When Zero Two finally came back, over an hour after leaving to go bathe, she was dressed in her nightgown and appeared slightly more refreshed except for one thing... Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, looking similar to how they used to before she changed skin tones.
She had been crying all that time in the bath, he realized...
Without saying a word, Hiro got up and walked over to her, then gently swept her off her feet into his arms. Zero Two let out a soft gasp but didn't object as her arms tucked in close to her chest, letting her other half carry her to their bed as she buried her nose in his chest and took deep breaths.
She looked almost exactly like that vulnerable child he had seen all those years ago in that horrible lab... and he hated it so much.
Hiro carefully lay her down on the mattress, then once she was settled he crawled in beside her and wrapped the blankets tight around them both. When that was done he wrapped both his arms strongly around her and pulled her as close as possible, his body shielding hers from the rest of the world.
Zero Two continued to breathe in deeply, taking in the wonderful and calming scent that was her Darling. The comforting weight that was his body spooning over hers. The intimate motions of his hands as they massaged along her back to relax her further.
It was all so wonderful, and yet she knew she had no right to any of this...
"Darling..." Zero Two started but a firm squeeze around her made her quiet down again, unable to say anything more.
"Shhh... We don't need to talk about it right now. I know you need time, and I'll be right here whenever you're ready." Hiro whispered against the top of her head, tightening his hold around her. Zero Two's brows furrowed sadly as she hid her face in his neck.
How he could be this tender to her right now, it was beyond her. Zero Two knew how her Darling felt about other people, she wasn't stupid or blind to his compassion and empathy for other Humans. Especially his friends, it must have hurt him so much to hear her say she didn't care about what future awaited them...
And yet here he was, comforting her. Sticking by her side when she needed him the most. He should be so disgusted with her, Zero Two wouldn't blame him at all if he were, but he wasn't. He was still the same loving and caring Darling that put her and her needs before his own.
Nobody else on this planet would ever understand her the way he did. Without him, she would be so lost.
She didn't deserve him, she knew this... but she still cherished him so much. Clung to him so fiercely, afraid to let him go lest he be taken away or finally grow wise and walk away from her of his own free will.
Lifting her head some, Zero Two lightly nudged her horns against Hiro's, desperately wanting that bonding sensation they held now more than ever before. She would never be ungrateful for this feeling ever again, for without it she felt like she would crumble and break.
To think that she had once rejected this connection to him at the start of his change made her feel so stupid now, she vowed she would never take it for granted ever again.
"I love you..." She murmured in a trembling voice as she stared into his eyes. However, there was a hidden meaning behind her words that she couldn't say aloud, one that was only translated through the touch of their horns.
I'm sorry I'm so selfish...
Hiro replied easily and with nothing but devotion for her. Whether he caught the underlying words through their link she couldn't tell, but didn't get the chance to ponder as her heavy lids fell closed under his gentle affection.
"I love you more. Sleep well, my Zero Two." He said into her ear before kissing it, and a light shiver went through her from the feeling.
Settling in with a sigh, Hiro decided then he would stay awake until she was safe in her dreams, and he hoped with all his being that they would be nothing but good dreams. All he wanted was for her to be free of hardships and pain for a little while, even if it was just in the sanctuary of sleep.
As she began to slip from the land of consciousness, all Zero Two could wonder was why?
Why did everything and everyone have to demand so much of her...? Why couldn't she be left alone to live in peace with her beloved in their own little nest of paradise...?
All she wanted was her Darling... even if the rest of the world burned.
So... yeah, that was a lot I know. Poor Zero Two just can't catch a break... but she never had it easy even in the original source. I really wanted to take Zero Two's development very seriously in this, and make it more than just her struggle with wanting to be Human. Since the plot has been altered so heavily, such a character trait doesn't make very much sense in this setting.
Hiro's character is a bit easier to write for, as I can look to the original Hiro a lot for reference. I feel like this goes hand in hand with his canon self since he was perfectly willing to leave everyone in Squad 13 on their own to go join Zero Two in space, because he couldn't find happiness in anything that didn't include her. He knew it was selfish but he also knew his life had no meaning if he couldn't see her smile for him.
This is the crux of the story I'm writing, revealed to you at last. How can two people - one of which has been hated by everyone her whole life and the other seeing the world for how it truly is apart from his peers - change a system that has been in place for over a century...?
Stick around in future chapters to find out... ;) Thank you for reading.