"Hmph, about time you figured that out, Alpha," you scoff. The former soldier shrugs. "Of course you're all too familiar with Papa's indoctrination tactics. I must let you know with a heavy heart that we Nines were subjected to it far more often than you think. If at any moment it entered our minds that we should rebel against APE, our first instinct was to report it to Papa so he could remove it from us. Of course, all of it changed on the day the truth of VIRM was unveiled." "He's right," says Epsilon, who now steps forward with his arm around Delta. "The day we fell in battle, code 404." "You mean when the purple VIRM monsters ate up your FranXX?" you reply. "I only heard about it after the battle, when Apus blew out the vanguard forces." "Mm-hmm," Delta replied, her features darkening somewhat. "The moment we were attacked by those beasts, Epsilon and I were slapped in the face that we were abandoned by the one we called Papa. It was in that time-space that I suddenly cried out in terror, afraid of facing certain doom, and I recall Epsilon crying for help, too. Of course, we met our deaths shortly afterward by the hand of those monsters. Thankfully," she said, her smile returning on the instant, "we passed over that dreadful bridge and came here to Valhallar, as did everyone else." Here she motioned to the others. You sigh. "Well, at least you guys got that truth through your thick skulls, so that's a good thing." "We did," said Beta, "and the three of us who remained behind gave our lives for a noble cause. Of course, we did not forget about you, friends." Here one of the mysterious grey-haired triplets spoke for the first time in your hearing. "We were unable to," she says in a low, somewhat monotone voice. "Of course, Beta, the three of us required more maintenance than anyone else, save for Iota herself." "Oh, it's you weird girls," says Nee-san, who for some time had been quiet. "I never knew you could speak." "In our past life, we could not," says a second triplet. She points to the first one. "This is Zeta. I am Theta, and this quiet one is Eta." "Like I'm the quiet one!" Eta spits out. She turns to the two of you. "She's lying. I'm the most eager of us to start a conversation!" "Now, now, ladies," says a suave Gamma, this is no time for arguing amongst yourselves. I would personally prefer not to have the peace disturbed." "*Sigh*, as you wish," says Theta. You laugh at their childish talk, and Alpha shares a hearty chuckle with you. "Indeed, our minds are forever out of the gutter, code 404. If only we had been brought to the light long before our deaths." "Code 666 actually told me that you had it rather fun, as you said yourself before turning your FranXX into a suicide bomb," you say. "Is that right?" "It's true, of course," Alpha replies. "I'm afraid code 016 never followed through on his promise to say hi to Iota for me. He certainly was occupied scouring the universe for VIRM soldiers in Apus. I watched the battles unfold from up here." "I'll admit, I was rather surprised to see Iota's form manifested on that giant ship," says Beta, who had listened in on your conversation. "Still, she and 016 got the job done, so kudos to them, I guess." "Are they here, by any chance?" Nee-san asks. "I want to meet them, if such a thing is possible." "They are not," says Delta. "As we speak, their souls are traveling back to Earth to be reincarnated." "Indeed? So they never came here?" you ask. "That's right," said Epsilon. "They defied fate and decided to return to Earth. This pair is completely inseparable, and it is not meant to be broken." TO BE CONTINUED