"Attention, external access confirmed." Said a computerized female voice. "Stasis disengaging in ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

Nine Alpha gasped as his lungs came back online. His nerves felt like somebody had just set him fire.

"Cleansing process will be deactivated in five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One."

A feeling of relief washed over him as the cleansing fluids were flushed from his body. After a few moments of bliss, he finally managed to open his eyes. He was lying naked in a medical pod IV tubes still sticking in his body from where his injections had been pumped into his body.

"Nine Alpha are you awake?" Said a female operator.

"Yes." He rasped, his throat dry.

"Good." She nodded. "Papa has ordered me to go over a few things with you, and then you will receive a new injection that has just been produced."

He nodded and started to pull the IV tubes out of his body.

"The war with the Klaxosaurs has deteriorated since you were put in for cleaning. Our forces are being pushed back, and right now, we are only able to delay the inevitable without making any significant progress against our enemy. Your job is to get back out in the field and start striking back and protect plantations until this war is over."

"How are we supposed to fight for that long?" He inquired. "We'll need cleaning eventually."

"A lot has happened since you were last awake Nine Alpha. Papa's techs discovered and implemented a way into for your FRANXX's to harvest energy from Klaxosaur's, making your injections obsolete. Your FRANXX's have been modified, and if you wound a Klaxosaur, you can feed off its life energy to sustain yourself. Your battery pilots have also been upgraded so they will last longer. These two things should keep you in the field for quite a while." The operator checked her notes. "Also, Papa is removing any restrictions on you from this moment forward. You are free to do as you wish, just as long as you go where he commands and kill the Klaxosaurs."

"Understood." He said with a grin. The idea of doing anything he liked was vastly appealing, and since he already enjoyed killing Klaxosaurs, he wasn't losing anything to gain that privilege. "Is there anything else?"

"Yes." The operator said, picking up a big syringe. "Papa has ordered that all the Nines receive this dose before they go back out in the field."

He squirmed happily. Papa's injections always made him feel good. "What does it do?" He asked, excitedly.

"Papa says that it will increase your desire to kill the Klaxosaurs." The operator paused. "He trusted that you are okay with this?"

He beamed. "Anything for Papa."

The operator lowered the syringe and placed the needle in his arm. "When we are done you can retrieve your FRANXX in hanger 1."

He nodded and turned to watch as the operator injected a golden fluid into his arm.

For a moment, he waited as nothing happened, but all of a sudden, he was assaulted by pain. He let out a cry of pain and doubled up trying to cope to the best of his ability. He screamed as what felt like fire twisted at his insides and made him feel like he was being stabbed with a thousand needles. He felt his canines in his mouth lengthening, and he was driven to insanity with a hunger twisting in his belly. An insane urge to feed dominated him, and his mind became filled with thoughts of feeding off someone to dominate their entire being and consume them with his hunger.

In the back of his head, he heard the smallest tiniest voice, moan. "Papa….. What have you done to me?"

Nine Iota swam into his mind. Papa had always said that if he consumed her life essence that he would never hunger again and that she would provide him limitless power if he managed to get her while they weren't piloting. He needed Nine Iota now! He needed all of her, to feed off her and to drive away this sickening hunger. If there was ever a time that she was required, it was now!

"Nine Alpha." The caretaker said unconcerned. "Bare with it you must…."

She never finished her sentence.

He launched at her and tackled her to the ground, she let out a muffled scream, but he ignored it. He tore at her clothes until he exposed her neck, then without a moment's hesitation launched at her and dug his fangs into her. Ravenous, he eagerly devoured her life essence as he tried to satiate his never-ending hunger. As he violated her stealing all of her precious life essence, he felt powerful, and that he was in control of everything. This feeling was addicting. The feeling of dominating all that she was and consuming her to satiate his hunger was incredible, and nothing could match the sheer sense of control he felt.

There was one last feeble breath from the caretaker, as he sucked the last of her life essence out of her, but then all of a sudden her body went limp, and he couldn't feed on her anymore.

Panting he released himself from her and sat back, staring at what he' ed done. Now that he had fed his insane hunger, he was able to think clearly.

"What has Papa done to me?" He whispered.

Never in his life had ever felt like that. Whatever that injection was utterly overwhelmed him and stripped him of his own self-control. Part of him was appalled at the fact that he had been completely unable to control his desire to consume life essence. It wasn't that he was appalled that he had done it, but to have his entire being dominated by it was scary. He liked being the one in control and to think that this injection could strip that from him….

He shuddered and took a deep breath. He needed to get out of here. Quickly he stood up and saw his Nines uniform in the corner of the room. Hurrying over he put it on and gave himself a moment to bask in the feeling of familiarity.

His mind still racing consumed with thoughts of what had just happened to him, he exited the room he was in and made his way towards the hangers. He was almost there when he decided to stop and wait for the rest of the Nines. Coming to a halt, he stood in the hallway that led to the hanger. Absentmindedly he began fixing his uniform, so it wasn't such a mess. As he waited, he let his mind wander. He wondered how the rest of the Nines were taking their injections; hopefully, theirs hadn't been as painful. At the very least he hoped that Nine Delta was fairing alright.

Inwardly he wondered why he was thinking of her in particular. Every time he saw her, his heartbeat a little fast and compared to the rest of the Nines. Another weird thing was that he didn't see her like he did everyone else. Everyone he came across he evaluated, trying to calculate how much energy they could provide for him. But with Nine Delta it was different. He just couldn't bring himself to view her that way.

All of a sudden he heard a somebody muttering to themselves. Looking up, he saw Nine Delta walking towards him, and for some reason, he felt a tightening in his gut, and it felt like somebody was squeezing his heart. Delta's hair was a matted tangled mess and was clawing at herself, her nails digging into the skin of her arms. Her uniform was seconds from away from falling to the floor. The mounds of flesh that sat on her chest were hanging out, and he could see what looked like light pink nipples at their peaks. Both her pants and her underwear were down around her ankles as she hobbled towards him, and he could see the weird slit that girls had between her legs.

"Delta!" He called, feeling an odd tightness in his throat.

The sound of his voice made her look up, and she stared at him with heavily lidded eyes, that failed to hide the insane hunger that dominating her entire being. She had fangs far longer than his, which forced her to keep her mouth slightly ajar.

"Alpha." She moaned, her voice filled with pain and confusion.

Before he had even realized what he was doing, he stroud over to her.

Words that had never left his mouth leaped to his lips. "Are you okay?"

"My skin itches and I have a hunger that feels like it's eating me from the inside." She said feebly.

"I felt the same way a few minutes ago." He said, feeling worried for some reason.

"How did you make it stop?" She asked, desperately.

"I harvested from the caretaker."

A veil of darkness washed over her face. "I already did that." She groaned. "And it still won't go away." She looked down at herself. "I guess I also forgot to put my uniform on properly." She moaned aloud, to the floor.

"I'll assist you." He said without even thinking.

Gently he began to help her back into her uniform. As he touched her skin, he noticed that it was abnormally hot, but that revelation was immediately interrupted, as he felt how soft and silky her skin was. He marveled at it and just let his fingers glide over her. As he did this, he saw a little bit of a blush warm her face, and she looked just a tiny bit like her old self. Hoping that meant that she was enjoying the sensation, he got bolder, and fulfilling a selfish desire traced his finger down the mound of flesh on her chest and touched the nipple on top. She shuddered involuntarily, and grabbed his hand, holding it to her chest. His owns cheeks flushed scarlet as her nipple gently dug into his hand.

"T-this is s-so weird." She said weakly. "It felt good, and I don't know why." He was relieved as he saw one of her rueful smiles cross her face lifting some of the darkness. "In fact, its the only things that feels good, right now."

"Do you want me to touch it again?" He asked before he could stop himself.

There was a long pause. "I.. I think so."

Encouraged he was about to try it again, when her face suddenly contorted in pain and she groaned, and stumbled into him, clawing at herself again.

"Delta!" He shouted alarmed. Gently he lowered her to the floor and gently cradled her head.

She winced and gazed up at him with her pale green eyes. "I… I will always obey Papa's commands…" She groaned. "But… But I hate whatever injections he just gave me… I.. I am loyal… But I am struggling to find a reason for this why I have to go through this… D-Did I displease him? W-Why is he doing this to me?"

He stared back at her completely lost far words. More emotions than he had ever known existed were spiraling within him. He was so confused. His loyalty to Papa was absolute, but for the first time in living memory, he couldn't help but doubt Papa's orders. He desperately tried to drive the thought out of his mind, but as he held Delta in his arms, he couldn't get rid of the thought. As he stared at Delta, he couldn't understand the emotions he felt for her. He was concerned for her in a way that he had never felt before. Something made him genially care about her well being more than anyone else in the squad. She had always been his favorite squad-mate, but all of that favoritisms was now transforming into something that he couldn't understand. And it prevented him from doing the one thing that he had always wanted to do to a girl. For years now, he had wanted to see and touch what made a girl a girl and use them to satisfy his odd desire. The caretakers had forbidden him to go anywhere near those places for reasons they never explained. But as he held a helpless Delta, he couldn't bring himself to touch those areas on her body. She was baring them for him to see, and he could explore any part of her body with little effort, and there wasn't even a caretaker around to stop him. But as he held her, he couldn't do it. He still desired to touch every inch of her skin and touch that place between her legs, but he couldn't make himself do it. For some reason, he only wanted to touch her if she wanted to be touched. Bizarrely he wanted her permission to do what he wanted, and couldn't bring himself to just take it.

"Alpha," Delta said weakly. "W-We need to get to the hangar so that we can pilot our FRANXXs… I know it's selfish but would you, help me to the locker room?

He nodded. "Of course, Delta. We should fix your uniform first, though."

She nodded.

Gently he reached down and grabbed her underwear and pants, gently he dragged them up her legs until they were high enough for her to drag the rest of the way. Then aligning the zipper on her uniform's shirt, gently began to zip it up. When he was finished, he helped stand her up, and she leaned on him, and he walked her to a changing room.

"Do you need anything from me." He asked, concerned.

She shook her head. "No… I'll... I'll manage on my own." Then with a smile that didn't fool him, she added. "I didn't get to be the second-best fighter in the squad by being helpless I'll… I'll be fine on my own."

Before he could counter her justification, she straightened and hobbled into the changing room, shutting the door behind her.

Realizing that he was going to be of no help, he hurried off to another changing room and got suited up in his own pilot gear. Finishing at brake neck spends he hurried into the hanger, and didn't even bother to look at his FRANXX. Instead, he sat by the door that he had come in through waiting for Delta.

It was a long time later before she entered the hangar. She had taken so long that all the other Nines had time to depart from their injections, get to the changing rooms, change, and come wait in the hangar with time to have serval long conversations before she got there. The caretakers weren't happy either and were about to send somebody to go find her when she had appeared.

"What happened to her?" Nine Gamma said in his arrogant voice.

"She looks like shit." Nine Beta commented dryly, unconcerned.

He sat watching as she limped towards them, feeling that weird tightening in his chest again. Why was this happening to her? Why was she in so much pain.

"There you are." The caretaker said, annoyed. "You took far to long Nine Delta. Papa will be forced to punish you the next time you delay his plans like that."

"I'm s-sorry," Delta said weakly. "It won't happen again."

"It better not." Nine Gamma muttered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Alright, everyone follow me." The caretaker said, turning towards the lift to their FRANXXs.

When everyone had gotten on the lift, they ascend to their FRANXXs, and the sight momentarily took him off guard. The cockpits had been reworked, and they all had fang-like protrusions, which gave them a menacing look. He grimaced. For some reason, he just didn't like this new look. It just had a vibe that felt wrong.

"Your new FRANXXs are equipped with a harvesting system which will allow all of you to feed mid-mission without the need to use injections." The caretaker explained as they walked. "It will no longer be necessary to return to the Garden unless Papa orders it."

The caretaker went on and on, and eventually he lost interest, looking behind him he noticed that Delta was lagging behind limping as she struggled to keep up with the rest of the group. Dropping back, he reached an arm around her and hoisted her up, supporting some of her weight.

"Thanks," Delta said. "I'm sorry I can't keep up."

Strangely he felt a smile spread across his face. "No problem. You just seem to be having a bad day so, I don't mind."

"Alpha!" The caretaker shouted. "What do you think you are doing!"

"Helping her." He explained. "She was lagging behind, so I thought…"

"Alpha, you know the rules about contact between different gendered parasites. This is completely unacceptable behavior. Unhand her at once."

He didn't let her go, and he stood there, for the first time in his life disobeying a direct order. He just simply didn't understand why this was necessary. He could kind of understand why the caretakers didn't want him touching girls, but helping Delta? He was trying to help his teammate. Why wasn't it okay to help her?

"Its okay Alpha," Delta whispered. "I'll be alright on my own."

For some bizarre reason, he wanted to stand his ground, but as Delta distanced herself from him, he decided to let it go. At least for the moment. Still, as the caretaker kept explaining everything about their new FRANXXs, he kept a close eye on Delta.

A while later, the caretaker announced. "You are to travel to Klaxosaur nest 66 and whip out all the targets. You depart immediately."

"Understood." Everyone answer.

"Good. Now board your FRANXX and prepare to launch."

Walking back to his own FRANXX, he watched as the faceplate disengaged, opening the way into the cockpit. He was just about to enter when he stopped and watched as Delta boarded her FRANXX, and the faceplate sealed behind her, leaving him with an ominous feeling. With a sigh, he entered the cockpit to his own FRANXX and only bothered to make a cursory notice of his new battery. All he really bothered noticing before he settled into the pistil position was that she had dark brown hair. His mind still lost in thought he connected with his stamen, feeling a rush of energy and control.

Activating the comms, he called out. "Everyone report in."

He listened as they all reported in, eager to get started. The only person how was failing to respond was.

"You alright Delta?" He called.

"Yes... I'm fine. Awaiting your instructions." Delta said a few moments later.

Before he could answer, he was cut off. "Nines, this is the Garden. You will launch in ten seconds."

Silently he listened as one of the caretakers counted down, watching as the hanger door in front of him opened with a hiss.

"Alright, squad lets move." He called before the caretaker finished.

Then with a rush, he started forward, and they set off towards nest 66.

Papa sat in his office the bright red glow of Earth's refection illuminating his room with vibrant crimson light. Absentmindedly he stared down at Apus still heavily damaged from that disastrous test fire. Still, he was thankful that it had managed to take out one of the Klaxosaur armadas. Their crusaded had slowed noticeably for a while, which had allowed humanity time to retreat and regroup. Now all he had to do was play a running game while slowly shaving off Klaxosaurs and eventually they' ed be whittled down to the point where they could be challenged on a prober battlefield.

He nodded. Yes, this should work, and if everything went to plan, he could keep the Garden cloning and education program how it was.

"Speaking of the Garden." He muttered. "I think that I'd like to have a chat with my old friend."

Reaching forward, he dialed Werner, sitting back in his chair.

"Hello, Artos," Werner said casually, his hologram flickering into the air.

He smiled under his mask. "Shouldn't that be Papa?" He teased.

"Oh, we're going by those names? Well if that's the case I'm Dr. Franxx."

He shook his head in amusement. "Aah Werner. I've missed our verbal sparing, It's been too long, hasn't it?"

Werner nodded. "It has indeed, all you usually do is ask me questions. I guess it must be pretty boring up there."

"Well, not as boring as you think it is. Those damned Klaxosaurs are keeping me quite busy."

Werner shrugged. "Well if you're ever looking for a something a little more interesting, come down to the surface."

He chuckled. "But then who would plan humanities survival while I'm away?"

"We'll manage," Werner said with a smile.

There was a pause for a long moment before he spoke. "Well, my friend I'm interested to hear what exactly you've been up to. Your reports to headquarters are quite vague, to say the least."

Werner nodded. "You wanna play chest while we talk?"

He smiled. "You ready to get your ass kicked again?"

"Not if I can help it. I swear that this time I am going to win."

A moment later, his computer screen projected a chessboard into the air in front of him, and he stared at the board his pieces all lined up in their neat rows. He smiled at the black pieces he'd been given. They had always served him well and had won him many victories. "White moves first." He said gesturing to Werner.

Werner nodded and moved one of his center pawns forward to take control of the center. He smiled and moved his own pawn forward.

"So Werner. What have you been up to these last few months?" He said casually, as they continued to play.

"Well, I did tell you that I was bringing Code 002 to Plantation 13."

"Yes, I'm aware of that." He said, taking one of Werner's pawns. "I thought we had agreed not to reunite Code 002 and Code 016, but you decided to do it anyway. I didn't question it at the time, because I knew you had to have a good reason but I'd still like an answer."

There was a long paused as Werner stared at the chess broad. After a long pause moved another of his pieces. "Well, as I told you, I had a theory that putting them back together would increase their combat effectiveness." There was another long pause. "Well I'm happy to report that it has been a complete success, and Code 016 is completely compatible with her. I don't know if you have observed this, but they can actually fly together."

He nodded. That was an impressive feat, Code 002 was a powerful parasite, but flying was something that she'd never been able to achieve with any of the other stamens.

"Is there any risk of rebellion?" He asked, calmly.

"No," Werner said with a straight face. "We control their whole lives, and they wouldn't risk doing anything that could result in their separation. So we can pretty much ask them to do anything, and as long as they're together, they'll do it."

He was silent for a long moment as he stared at the chessboard. Making a move, he removed one of Werner's knights. "Very well. I'll allow this to continue. But from now on, Squad 13 needs to be brought further into the war. I can't have such a valuable squad so far out of play." He paused again, thinking a few moves ahead. "You're at the Garden correct?"

"Yes," Werner said. "We needed a resupply, and the Garden was the easiest place to get what we needed."

"Very well." He said, moving his queen to check Werner's king. "I think its time we move to attack The Grand Crevasse. We need to inflict a critical blow to the Klaxosaurs before its too late."

Werner nodded and sat back. "Very well. I'll prep Squad 13 for the attack."

He smiled at his old friend. "It's time to finish what we started Werner. We'll finally be able to accomplish our dream, and create a future for humanity."

Werner stared at him, with an expression that almost seemed like sadness. "I'll always remember the promise we made, Artos." Werner held up a glass of water that had been sitting on his desk. "To childhood, dreams made in dark places."

He smiled and removed his mask, revealing his face. Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a packet of magma energy and emptied it into a specially made cup. Then with a smile, he held up the glass. "To childhood dreams."

Then bring the cup to his lips, he sipped the golden liquid, feeling as the warm substance cascaded down his throat.

Werner just smiled and set down his glass. "I'll talk to you soon old friend, but for now I must return to obligations down here."

He smiled. "Good luck, let's hope everything goes well."

"Yes…. Let's hope it does." And with that the image of Werner disappeared and he was left staring down at Earth, in all of her crimson glory.

Dr. Franxx stood over Futoshi a while later not entirely sure what to do with him. He had put the boy in stasis which had seemed to have helped stabilize him over the past few days, and the massive growth on his chest had disappeared leaving nothing but a scar. Something he had noticed however was that some of the skin on the boy's chest had the faintest cyan tinge to it which he thought was extremely odd. He hoped it didn't mean anything bad was happening.

"Argh. Haven't I dealt with enough problems today." He muttered.

He needed to keep this boy alive. The squad was still in a fragile state, and he had to be careful with how he dealt with them. Losing this boy would be a significant blow to the little trust he had managed to gain so far. What made it worse was that this boy had been poisoned by a Klaxosaur, which by all rights should have killed him. The fact that he was still alive was a blessing but left him entirely in the dark.

Absentmindedly he fingered his communicator. He wondered if the queen had any answers to this. Making a split-second decision, he locked the door and threw his communicator on the floor.

"Call the queen." He commanded.

The communicator gave a beep, and a few moments later the queen's hologram flicked into the air.

"Yes, Doctor." She said neutrally.

"My lady." He said, inclining his head. "I was wondering if you could answer a question for me."

"And what would that be?" She asked.

"Well." He said gesturing to Futoshi on the medical table. "I have a question about Klaxosaurs."

The queen raised an eyebrow. "That's not a Klaxosaur."

He ignored her comment. The queen seemed to be in a better mood than usual, so he decided to let the comment slide.

"When the squad attacked that Klaxosaur nest I told you about, Futoshi and his partner's FRANXX took a direct hit. Normally I wouldn't bother you with such details, but you see, the Klaxosaur poisoned him."

The queen frowned. "I'm surprised that he's not dead."

"I thought the same, which is why I wanted to ask you and see if you knew anything."

"I can guess." The queen said, gazing at the boy with new interest. "But you'll need to give me some information to work with."

"Let's start with the mother, did the squad report anything about her eggs?"

Quickly he grabbed his plantation communicator and pulled up the squad's logs. "According to Ichigo here, she reported that the eggs looked like they contained small almost fully formed creatures. Apparently, Ikuno theorized that they could be a Klaxosaur's young."

"Smart girl." The queen commented, but gazing at the boy she returned to thinking, muttering out loud. "If her eggs were that far along, her milk would have defiantly been coming in…. But that shouldn't really affect her venom glands all that much." She looked up at him. "How badly was the boy cut?"

"It was pretty deep." He replied, but then a thought crossed his mind. "Although I guess in relation to the size of Klaxosaur's fang I guess it wouldn't be that deep."

The queen studied Futoshi. "This boy enormous size may have actually helped now that I think about it."

"In what way?" He asked, confused.

"Well, I only have one theory, because by all rights he should be long dead. My theory would be that the Klaxosaur's venom was slightly less potent than usual, which in conjunction with the fact that she didn't get a good hit on him, probably meant that not that much venom got inside him. Combine that with the fact that this boy is abnormally fat, his body may have been able to stop the venom before it killed him."

"Interesting…" He muttered. "I guess being fat has perks that I had not foreseen."

The queen gave him a doubtful look but declined to comment. "Is there anything else you need me from me?"

He shook himself. "Yes, actually there is. And it still has to do with this boy."

Quickly he reached forward and pulled back the sheet covering the boy's chest. "The boy has had a growth on his chest for the past several days which disappeared, leaving nothing but this scar and that colored skin."

For just a moment the queen's eyes went wide as saucers, but quickly she neutralized her expression.

"What is it?" He asked quickly.

She shook her head. "I don't know at the moment, I'll get back to you if I think of something. Keep me posted on this boy."

He bowed his head, utterly bewildered. "Of course." Realizing that she was about to leave, he injected quickly. "My queen, I'd like to discuss some things with you. I… I feel that our plan needs some reworking to achieve our goals."

To his surprise, the queen nodded.

"I agree." She said with a sigh. "I've realized things have changed and were going to need to adapt. Plus my plans never factored in Naomi, and her protection and safety have become my primary concerns as of late." A shadow of anger and fear crossed her face. "That magma cannon of Papa's. Can you assure me that it's destroyed for good?"

He bowed his head. "Unfortunately, I can't my lady. I know it's been severally damaged, but I don't know how long it will take to repair."

The queen frowned. "It is imperative that it remains out of commission. That thing could crack open the Grand Crevasse, and endanger Naomi and her children. I can't have that."

In spite of the queen's concerns, he felt a small smile cross his face. It was nice to officially hear that Naomi was okay and that she was doing well. But his smile faded as he returned his attention to the queen. "I'll do what I can, my lady, but I have no control over Papa's project. Rest assured, that I will do whatever it takes to protect both our goals. We both need each other, so if you fall, I fall." He smiled. "And I for sure don't want that to happen."

The queen smiled. "Then let's keep it that way. I propose that we communicate more regularly to discuss updated plans. Call me when you feel it safe to do so, and we'll discuss what we need to do moving forward."

He nodded. "Understood."

She nodded and with a click the communicator shut off, and she disappeared.

He barely had time to breathe before his communicator rang, indicating that Nana was calling him.

Quickly he picked up. "Yes, Nana."

"Sir." She said, "I just overheard that the squad is planning to go into the Garden. Do you want me to stop them?"

"No." He said quickly, thinking fast. "Let's see what they do, return to headquarters, and I'll contact them if I change my mind."

"Understood." She said before hanging up.

He sighed. "Well… What to do now?"

Ichigo was eating breakfast with her squadmates who with the sole exceptions being Hiro and Zero Two were all happily eating the food that had been provided for them. She listened quietly to the sound of clinking of utensils, and the persistent hum of conversation buzzing around the table.

As she listened, however, an idea was forming in her head. She wanted to go into the garden and have a look around. So much had happened since she had last been here, and with her new perspective, she wanted to have a look around.

"Hey, guy!" She called out, "I was thinking of exploring the garden today. Do you guys want to go?"

Everyone looked up at her, their conversations coming to an abrupt stop.

"Sounds interesting," Mitsuru commented.

"Yeah, I'd be up for that," Miku said curiously, her partner Zorome not too far behind in his agreement.

One by one the rest of the squad nodded their agreement, all eager to embark on the suggestion that she had brought up. It was quickly agreed that after they finished breakfast, they would all journey into the Garden.

"I guess that I should call Hiro and invite him along." She muttered, although now that she thought about it if those two were still in bed together they probably weren't leaving anytime soon.

Whipping out her communicator she dialed Hiro waiting to see if he'd pick up. To her surprise, he did.

"Hey, what's up, Ichigo."

"Hiro." She said, surprised. "You actually answered this time."

"Obviously."

She shook her head. "Anyway. Hiro the rest of the squad and I are going to go explore the Garden. Do you guys want to come or not?"

Hiro's response was instant. "Nah, we're good. You guys go enjoy yourselves."

"That was predictable," Goro muttered.

She smiled amused. "Okay well, you two enjoy yourselves. Breakfast is still sitting on the table if you guys want some."

Hiro started and looked away from the screen. " Is it really that late already?"

"Yes, it is." She replied dryly.

"Okay well see you guys when you get back."

"Yeah, I'm sure we will." She said unconvinced, then smiling, she hung up.

She glanced up at the squad were all wearing expressions of amusement. With a smile, she said. "Well, I guess there's no use waiting around, let's get going."

The squad took its time getting up, but after a few minutes, they all began to make their way out of the dining room, and towards the elevators. To their surprise, however, they saw Hiro and Zero Two descending the stairs, still in their nightclothes.

"Oh look," Miku commented. "They actually managed to leave their room for once."

"Maybe they're going through a rough patch," Mitsuru commented sounding amused.

"Don't say that," Kokoro replied quietly. "That would be terrible."

"No," Hiro replied with a chuckle. "Food is the master of us all eventually."

"Should have known," She said with a smile. "It's usually the only thing that gets you guys out of your room."

Hiro frowned. "That's not entirely true. We spend plenty of time with you guys."

She raised an eyebrow and then shaking her head shrugged.

"So what were you guys planning on doing all day," Goro asked.

"I actually haven't thought about it," Hiro said, scratching the side of his head. He turned to Zero Two. "How about you? Do you have any ideas?"

"I don't know." Zero Two replied. "Hmmm. Oh… Actually, I have an idea."

"That was fast," Ikuno commented.

"Umm... Do we have any art supplies?"

Hiro stiffened, and she glanced up at Goro, identical grins spreading across their faces.

"Yeah, we do," Goro said, sounding like he was fighting a laugh. "They're in a closet over there."

She watched as Zero Two turned rushed over to the closet nestled under the landing of the final staircase.

"Okay, thanks." Zero Two said.

After a few moments, the squad began to move towards the elevators again. Ichigo smiled warmly as she watched Zero Two digging through the boxes in the closet trying to find what she was looking for.

Just at that moment, Goro whispered just loud enough for the squad to hear. "Should I tell her about Hiro's drawings?"

The irresistible urge to laugh overtook her, and she stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing. She nodded vigorously at Goro, and as the rest of the squad attempted to contain their own laughter.

Just at that moment, Zero Two turned to look back at them as they began to enter the elevators still fighting to maintain control. "Thanks." She said, waving to Goro.

"No problem," Goro said smirking. "Oh and Zero Two if you see a box labeled 'Hiro,' its all of his old drawings from when he was a child."

Zero Two's face was enveloped by the happiest smile she had ever seen in her entire life. Hiro face, on the other hand, fell and a look of stunned horror overwhelmed him giving him the most comical look she had ever seen in her entire life.

"Thanks, Goro!" Zero Two cried, diving into the closet. "You're the best!"

"Goro, you traitor!" Hiro shout, dumbfounded. "I thought we had a deal?!"

It was too much for the squad, and they burst out laughing as the elevator doors shut their laughter echoed around in a deafening barrage of noise, that nobody took any notice of it. The look on Hiro's face when Goro had mentioned his pictures was priceless.

"I wish I could get a picture of that…." She gasped, clutching her sides.

"I know, right!" Goro shouted, trying to get control of himself. "Oh, that was so worth it. Hiro can hate me for the rest of his life, but I am so glad I got to see that."

"B-Better yet, Zero Two will be your ally forever." Miku gasped, tears cascading down her face.

The elevator doors opened, and they all spilled out into the lobby, still overcome with uncontrollable laughter.

"Dr. Franxx!" Zorome said suddenly completely surprised.

Instantly the squad's laughter evaporated, and they all looked up startled.

The doctor smiled. "Relax, relax." He said, kindly. "Now.. What would you guys be up to?"

They all stared at each other, not entirely sure what they were supposed to say.

"We were... We were planning on exploring the Garden." Ichigo said after a few moments.

The doctor nodded, intrigued. "Interesting… Well. It has been some years since I've been back here. Would you guys like to accompany me?"

Ichigo was taken aback caught off guard by the suggestion. She almost couldn't believe that the doctor was not only approving their visit but was encouraging them to accompany him.

Immediately she seized the opportunity. "Of course, Sir. I'm sure we' ed all appreciate the opportunity to accompany you." Quickly she glanced around at the squad, and everyone quickly agreed.

"Well then I suggest you all grab some coats and I'll meet you guys at the loading dock." After he had finished, the doctor turned to leave, the squad staring dumbfounded in his wake.

Then with a sudden start the squad partially ran to the changing rooms and pulled out their snow coats, then all chatting excitedly they ran to the loading dock, Dr. Franxx quietly waiting for them at the entrance.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes." They all said eagerly.

The doctor chuckled softly. "Okay, then let's go."

With a hiss, the massive loading bay doors disengaged and began to crawl open revealing an enormous staging area inside the Garden, packed from floor to ceiling with equipment.

They started forward, and Ichigo stared up in awe at the ceiling far above them and saw two massive numbers painted in red lettering. "02" She barely had time to register those numbers when she saw a FRANXX being transported by a massive ceiling crane zoom across the ceiling and into a passage leading to who knew where.

"You have got to be kidding me," Zorome muttered in awe.

"Somebody pinch my arm," Goro muttered softly, in complete awe.

"Impressive." Mitsuru muttered. "Most impressive."

"H-How is it so big?" Kokoro whispered softly.

"Engineering my friends." Dr. Franxx said. "Engineering." There was a slight pause before he continued. "There are sixteen docks similar to this one all-round the Garden. When a plantation needs to be restocked, with supplies or needs to receive a new FRANXX deployment, they come here."

Just then an engineer ran up to Dr. Franxx wearing a mask similar in style to a caretaker's mask, and wearing a grey uniform with tools strapped to him. Quickly he saluted Dr. Franxx and began speaking his voice formal and stiff. "Sir. We have the supplies you requested and can beginning loading immediately."

"Very good. Hachi will rotate the plantation when you need a new loading dock."

"Sir. Is there a particular dock you'd like the new construction equipment in?"

"Hmmm. Put it in dock 16 for now, and when you rotate around to it, put the spare fuel cells in dock 02."

"Of course sir." There was a pause for a moment before the engineer spoke again. "Sir I must inform you that all of this is highly irregular. I don't understand why Plantation 13 needs all this."

"You don't need to worry about that just get it on the plantation. Also, there is no need to report the equipment's absence. Papa fears that our logs are being watched and he doesn't want the enemy to know. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Sir." The engineer replied immediately. "It'll be done as you command."

Ichigo stood there completely stunned not having the faintest idea what was going on. She glanced around at the rest of the squad who were all wearing expressions of utter confusion. Nobody had the faintest idea of what was going on.

"Very good." Dr. Franxx said in a tone indicating that the conversation was at an end. "Come along Squad 13."

Everyone gave a start of surprise and quickly ran off after the doctor.

"Sir, what was that all about?" Ikuno questioned, as they made their way to the other side of the hanger.

The doctor was silent for a long moment almost as if considering something, but then suddenly he shook his head. "This is not the time or the place for such a question Ikuno." The doctor said quietly. "I just need all of you to trust that I have your best interests in mind."

The squad glanced at each other nervously not entirely sure what to do with that piece of information.

As they kept walking the sound of their feet barely audible over the sounds of machinery Ichigo slowly dropped back, till she was right beside Ikuno. "This is rather odd." She muttered casually.

"You think so?" Ikuno said, smiling.

She chuckled but said softly. "Things just keep getting more and more suspicious."

"Yeah, no kidding. I wouldn't be surprised if something….."

"Would you guys like to see the orphanage again?" Dr. Franxx asked suddenly.

The squad caught by surprise stumbled over their responses, but it was understood away.

Dr. Franxx smiled and led them over to an elevator, and they followed him in, a few moments later, the door opened, and they spilled onto the main lobby of the laboratory.

"I remember this place…" Mitsuru muttered lost in thought. Ichigo watched Mitsuru scowl slightly as he looked back at the elevator they had just left.

Dr. Franxx led them out of the lab, and they began walking along the snowy path that led to the orphanage. As they walked, she looked up at a giant tree beside the lab marveling at how staggeringly tall it was. As she continued to stare, she saw that about halfway up there was a randomly broken branch.

"Has the weather gotten more extreme since we left?" Ichigo asked. "I don't remember any of the weather we had being strong enough to break anything."

Dr. Franxx looked up at the tree, and spotting what she was talking about, smiled warmly. "No. The weather never gets that bad in here. That's… That's from something else."

As they approached the orphanage, she felt a tightening in her stomach, that she couldn't explain.

"It'll be nice to see the children again," Kokoro said warmly. "I remember having so much fun here."

"Agreed," Zorome replied enthusiastically.

The doors to the orphanage opened, and they all walked inside. Immediately something felt off, but she couldn't pin it down. The atmosphere just felt dead, but she couldn't explain why.

They walked deeper into the orphanage, she listed to the squad chatting happily, all looking forward to seeing how all the children were doing. She, however, did not join in and was too lost in thought to join in.

"What are you thinking?" Ikuno muttered.

She paused for a moment before answering. "I don't know if it's just me, but something seems off."

Ikuno nodded. "I've been thinking the same thing. Have you noticed that there's no laughter? We've walked these halls before, and you could always hear everyone playing. But listen… All you can hear is us."

"What the heck!" Zorome shouted from up ahead.

Everybody ran forward and stared into one of the classrooms where some of the children were taught. But instead of being instructed by a caretaker, all the children were staring at screens inlayed in the desks with devices hooked to their heads with wires extending to the ceiling. As she watched in horror, not one of them raised their hand, or made any sort of human-like motion. They all just stare at the screens their eyes darting back and forth as they took in all the information that was being fed to them.

"I'm so glad I got you guys out of here before they started doing this." Dr. Franxx muttered.

"What is this?" Mitsuru question.

The doctor sighed. "This is Papa's training program. APE needs more soldiers to fight off the Klaxosaurs, and this method is faster than the traditional method. The devices on their ends allow them to focus solely on the information being provided to them." He sniffed in amusement. "Of course, it has the added benefit of making sure everyone will follow Papa's orders, without doubting it."

"Can we put a stop…" Goro started before Dr. Franxx but him off.

"Don't finish that sentence Goro. This is not the time or place. We're in the middle of the orphanage, the centerpiece of Papa's operations. Until we get somewhere more secure observe. Caretakers are everywhere." He stared at all of them. "I don't need to spell out the rest do I?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Now let's see what else Papa has done since I was last here."

Dr. Franxx led them through the orphanage, and they observed the new training that the children were undergoing. She could feel her revolution growing as they observed the training regimen that these children were undergoing. Gone was the playing and fun. Replaced by strict piloting drills and practice combats. The dining hall that had once buzzed with life and laughter was silent, as the children consumer nutrient bars. But what was the most sickening thing by far was the injections all the children seemed to be getting. Whole rooms were just filled with children standing all in a line, caretakers injecting them with syringes filled with a faint golden liquid.

"Where are we going now," Miku asked, as they exited an elevator and began walking down a long corridor back in the Garden.

"I've come to check on something." Dr. Franxx said, stopping in front of a door.

They all stopped, and everyone held their breath a great sense of unease washing over them.

"It's been too long since I was last in here." Dr. Franxx muttered sadness, and what might have been fear in his voice. "I can only pray that they've discontinued this practice."

Ichigo stared at the door to the cloning chamber and felt a sickening feeling wash through her. All of a sudden she really didn't want to know what was behind that door.

"Sir," Goro asked. "What did you mean by all that?"

"We're about to find out." The doctor muttered bitterly; then in a commanding voice, he said. "Open!"

With a hiss, the doors slide open, and they walked inside, and Ichigo saw rows of hundreds upon hundreds of tubes filled with….

"Are those people!?" Ikuno gasped in horror.

"What?…" Kokoro gasped in a barely audible squeak.

She looked over in horror at Dr. Franxx and saw tears cascading down his cheek from his one normal eye. "No… This is a thousand time worse than I could have ever imagined. What else have you done behind my back?"

Determined Ichigo stroud forward and stared in horror at the people in the tube around her. She felt like she was going to be sick as she noticed that all the people around her were stripped naked and had IV tubes stabbed into the top of their heads, in the middle of their foreheads, their throats, into their hearts, were the stomach was located, another who inserted a few inches below the belly button, and finally one inserted between their legs. Her eyes came to rest on a little girl floating with IV tubes sticking out of her, and sickeningly one was shoved into her…

Zorome coughed and a second later vomited onto the floor, everything he had eaten falling out onto the floor.

"Sir, what is this?" Goro said, his voice barely under control.

The doctor mumbled something incoherent clutching his walking stick for support.

"You better tell us now." She growled disgusted.

The doctor gulped and after a long moment, began to speak. "A long time ago…. S-Science made a discovery that changed everything. They discovered that the human body has an energy system that allows it to tap into an infinite potential in a way never before thought possible. Many people called it humanities special power, the very essence of what makes us human. It was the breakthrough of the century, but all the people at the time rightly considered harvesting this energy for commercial gain to be unethical. So everyone voted to bane the practice." The doctor gave a long sigh. "To make a long story short the corrupt governments of the world never actually stopped the practice and experimented on people and harvested them hiding it all from the masses. But eventually, however, everybody found out, and they all started to protest and began pressuring governments to stop. Things eventually got so bad, that wars broke out all over the world, leading to what history calls the seven years of fire from all of the divesting weapons that were used."

Ichigo shook her head in bewilderment, trying to absorb all of this information. "But… But what does that have to do with all of this?"

Dr. Franxx gazed around sickened. "This is the process that is used to tap into and harvest a person's life essence. These children are all the failed parasites and children taken from the Garden. They're all brought here to be harvested for their life-force, which is an essential component of what Papa calls his obedience formula."

Ichigo felt like she was going to be sick, and it was all she could do to keep herself from being sick. She was so revolted that her skin felt like it was being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. Desperately she tried to tell herself that this was all a dream. Just some sick dream that she could wake up from. Surely humanity wasn't so far gone that they were using people as a resource? Not only that but who's sick twisted mind could stomach this? There were children in here! How could anybody live with themselves after putting even one person in here, let alone an innocent child, who didn't know any better? And the thought of what these people were being used for was almost too much to bear.

"Sir what is the obedience formula?" Miku asked shakily, gently rubbing her partner's back.

The doctor gave a long sigh. "I can't explain the whole child-raising process. I just can't will myself to relive what I've been a part of. All I'll tell you is that the obedience formula makes it easier to brainwash people, especially children. Its purpose is so that by the time you've reached the age when you can pilot a FRANXX, you will obey Papa's every command."

"D-Did Papa ever give use that stuff?" Zorome groaned.

"No…" The doctor said. "But your squad is the only squad that wasn't given the obedience formula."

"Why?" Ichigo questioned immediately.

"Because you guys are my special test squad." The doctor said slowly. "APE has been creating people to fight for them for so long that most of the children you see now are perfectly breed units designed to obey. I can't get into all the details, but I decided to create you guys on a whim… I wanted to see what a squad of normal humans would be like, and compare you to Papa's breed units." The doctor smiled. "That turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I've ever made. Because now everything rides on this squad."

"What rides on us?" Goro asked immediately.

The doctor shook his head. "Not in the Garden. I can't risk us being overheard. I've worked so hard for so many years, and I can't allow us to fail now."

"And what makes you think we'll join you?" Mitsuru asked suspiciously.

"I can only hope that you guys will." The doctor said with a small smile. "I've done so many horrible things in my lifetime… I… I helped create this mess… But before I die, I need to do something right. I need to fix what I helped destroy." The doctor stared each of them in the eyes "I can only hope that you guys will help me rebuild this destroyed world."

She stood lost for words her heart pounding in her chest. The doctor's request only led to one place, and the thought both terrified and invigorated her. The doctor had just suggested betraying Papa and trying to make a world where they were free to do whatever they wanted.

"Is it really possible to do that?" Goro asked. "Can we really be free?"

"I can only hope." The doctor said with a small smile. "Because I don't know what I'll do if we don't."

"So what do we do now?" Ichigo interjected. "Once Papa finds out what we're doing we're screwed."

The doctor perked up and stared at her. "Does that mean you're joining me?"

Ichigo looked at the rest of the squad and got small nods of approval from all of them.

"Yes." She stated firmly. "We' ed all rather fight for a world where we can be free, then to be used by Papa to fight against the Klaxosaurs. If we can truly create a world where we can be free, then I speak for everybody when I say that, that's a world worth fighting for."

She swallowed hard feeling the excitement building in her throat, the gravity of what she had just said, casting an eerie sense of foreboding over the entire room.

The doctor smiled, his face flushed with relief. "Thank you. I promise I won't fail you guys."

There was silence for a long moment, and all anybody heard was a gentle hum of machinery.

"So what do we do now?" Goro asked.

The doctor sighed. "It's probably best that we get back to the plantation. We're in the heart of Papa's territory and acting now would just result in us being discovered."

"Wait a minute." Kokoro piped up. "What are we going to do with all the people in here we can't just allow Papa to keep using them like this."

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. The moment we try deactivating these machines, Papa will be notified, and we'll be caught."

"Are you saying we have to leave these people and let them be used by Papa?" Zorome said indignantly.

"I'm sorry. But there's nothing we can do for them."

"But!" Zorome countered.

"Drop it Zorome," Goro said bitterly. "Dr. Franxx is right. We can't act here."

Ichigo swallowed hard. She knew Goro was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it. The very thought of leaving these people to be used by Papa made her feel dirty. It just felt so wrong.

"Sir," Ikuno interjected. "What are we going to do after this is all over? If we somehow manage to survive all this, how are we going to restart humanity if we're the only real humans left? There's just not enough of us."

"Well…" The Doctor said, considering. "Have any of you come across the information in the library?"

To Ichigo's surprise, everyone nodded. She thought that only she and Ikuno knew about the baby-making process, but apparently, everyone else had found out the information as well. Mentally she scolded herself for being arrogant enough to think that she and Ikuno where the only ones with enough initiative to realize that there was hidden knowledge in the library.

"Well unless you guys know of a different way to create real humans, that's what you'll have to do." The doctor smiled and chuckled softly. "I hope you and your partners share that level of trust with each other; otherwise, it might be a little awkward."

Unconsciously she and Goro glanced at each other before she spoke again.

"So, Sir. What do we do first?" She asked, steeling herself as she took the first steps down a path that would change her life forever.

The doctor smiled. "Let's get back to Plantation 13. I can't stand staying here another moment longer."

And with that, they all set off back towards Plantation 13, each step marking a new step towards freedom.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading chapter 17 of The Jian Bird.

Sorry for the delay. I just had a hectic Summer term and before I knew it 2 months had already placed. I'll endeavor to make more frequent updates in the future. Thank you for your continued support

Stay tuned for chapter 18 of The Jian Bird: Bonded.