Following the release of chapter 15, I had some intensive discussions with a variety of trusted friends, both online and in real life, about the potential of this story. I sat down and thought it over, and after a while I came to a conclusion: MitF really is being held back. It doesn't matter how the omelette is made if the ingredients themselves are rotten, you know? I've had to do a ton of wiggling and experimenting to fit everything into the DitF mold, and some things just don't work. If I'm honest with myself, I don't like that, and I don't enjoy not having full creative freedom to do what I want and tell the story I want. For the past two months, I've done quite a bit of brainstorming.

So while all of this is still very, very tentative, I suppose you could consider MitF to be a prototype - a rough draft, of sorts - for something... well, more.

Mastermind in the FranXX

Episode 16

THE TRUTH

All this time... all this time... all this time...

She'd been...

All along...

It was her fault. Of that she'd been convinced. Everything, her fault. She couldn't be with him because she was a monster. The stamen, the fighting, the war and battles and death, all of it was her punishment. Because she was a monster. She had to suffer for her sins, so she could become human. So she could find him again. So she could be with him. So she could unlock his memories. So she could save him.

But as a monster, she had found him. He had been waiting, searching for her. He had never forgotten! Even though she was a monster! A demon, a villain, a murderer!

And he had been fine with that! But then she thought she'd corrupted him! She had poisoned him, dragged him down and chained him, when all she'd wanted was to climb to his level!

Even still, it didn't matter to him. He said she was human on the inside. Her appearance wasn't important. That was why he had saved her: not because she was weird or strange, but because she was strong.

And she was okay with that. It had been good enough. Together, as long as they could make the journey together, she could accept it. She could accept being a monster, a weird hybrid, if it meant she was with him. If it meant they were the same.

The true blame, she'd come to understand, rested with APE. The soldiers had torn them apart. The council had made her fight and kill her stamen and suffer and cry and anguish. It wasn't her fault. She was born a monster, and she was okay with being a monster, because she wasn't a monster! She was his Zero Two!

But...

But she... had never...

From the moment she was born, from the moment she was created, from the moment her darling had given her an existence, a name, a purpose... she had always been... a...

"In that land of monsters and slaves, Zero Two, you were the only other human."

Zero Two buried her face into the neck of the boy who had given her everything and cried. All this time. All along, he was right. Darling was right.

No lies, no harm, not even one empty platitude! He was always there, even when she couldn't dare to believe in herself. The only one to love her, the only one to trust her, the only one to give her a chance.

Her name, her tears, her world and past and future.

"I love you I love you I love you!"

Like a warm blanket, his arms wrapped around her. They held her close, gave her strength. Arms to catch her when she fell. Arms to lift her up high. Arms to sleep in, to hug and protect her.

"I love you, Zero Two."

Ugly, thick sobs shook her slender frame. She hiccuped, hating how her tears soiled his shoulder, but loving how he didn't care.

He loved her!

Is she okay? Was it something I said?

Darling rocked her back and forth as she let it all out. "Yeah, she's fine. She's just... wanted those answers for a long time. We both have."

Zero Two felt the girl's eyes on her back.

Did you not know you were hybrids?

He shook his head. "Not until recently." Her grip around him tightened. Darling gave her a reassuring squeeze. "She's always thought she was... less than human or something. The asshole doctor didn't tell her until after we reunited."

The princess didn't respond. For the longest time they sat there, with the silence broken only by soft, periodic whimpers. Then there was movement, and from the corners of blurry eyes Zero Two saw the other girl stand and move to the exit.

...I shall give you two a moment. When you are done, meet me in the hall. There is much to do.

The door closed with its characteristic screech. She sniffled into his neck. "How did you know?"

Darling rubbed her back. His chest rumbled with soft laughter. "To me, it was obvious."

"Huh?"

"There's no way a girl so cute, with a heart so pure, could ever be a monster."

Cute and pure, huh? Way back when, she would've disagreed with him. The emphasis would've been on her negative traits, on her inhuman qualities, on everything that made her lesser and inferior. But those things weren't inhuman at all. They were just... things. Things that described her. Features that made her... her. She was his Zero Two. She had two horns. Her canines were sharp and long. Her eyes and markings were unique and different.

Just like him.

She sniffed back her mucus and nuzzled into his hug. The warmth prickled her cheeks.

She was human. She was normal.

Just like him.

"Captain! Captain!"

He paused mid-chew and looked up from his breakfast. The signal had come from the door to the mess hall. That was the scout he'd assigned to the walls, wasn't it?

Sure enough, there the young man was, bent over at the waist and gasping for air.

"They're here!" came the panicked chemicals. "Sensors just lit up across the northern perimeter!"

A moment to swallow his bite, another to down his drink. He was already standing. "How many?"

"Over a hundred!"

...

The mess hall had gone silent. The soldiers glanced between each other with growing urgency.

"Get to the walls! To your positions!" he commanded. "Now!"

There was a flurry of activity. Breakfast was left half finished.

Was this some kind of sick joke? This book was so... so...

"It's horrible. Why is this story so sad?"

Her companions' faces were grim, downtrodden. Miku placed the book on the table, mood soured. The depressing atmosphere choked her. Zorome's weak and gaunt form filled her thoughts. Was this book her fate? Would he ever open his eyes? No! She hated this!

The elder lowered a glass he had been washing. "Most fairy tales are bittersweet. They tend to not end well."

That made no sense! "Why would anyone write them, then?"

He collected his thoughts. Ticking of an old clock interrupted the library's silence. "To bring out the happiness in our own lives, my dear."

...Huh?

Her confused expression gave him a chuckle. "Those stories are not meant to represent the best case scenario. Indeed, it is the opposite: they are meant to show the bottom of the barrel, the tragedy we never experience. They are to help us put things in perspective."

Miku's mind whirled. She couldn't process his words. "I... I don't get it."

The old man approached their table again and flipped the book to the last page.

"Look. The beast princess has fled. The prince does not know where she is. He doesn't know if she is okay, or how to find her, or if he will ever see her again."

A disgruntled noise escaped her lips. And that was awful! Terrible! She wanted them to be together, to be happy!

"But you know where your friend is, do you not?"

The racing thoughts screeched to a halt. Panic froze with nowhere to go. Wait...

"He's... still in bed..."

The mustache angled upwards with his grin. Eyes still on her, the librarian pulled out the free chair and sat with them at the circular table. He sighed with the movement. "And you know what ails him, do you not?"

She... she did. He had lost his legs. He was still recovering from the blood loss.

He shared her nod. "You are not the prince, my dear. You are in a much better position. All you need is to figure out how to help him, yes?"

"But I don't know how! We were trained as soldiers! All I know is basic first aid, but... he needs so much more..."

A strange twinkle crossed his eye. "Can you not learn?"

"Eh?"

"Asphodel has doctors, my dear. Experienced ones at that. They have seen and handled much, and they could always use an extra pair of hands."

Hesitation slithered through her gut. Miku gnawed on her lower lip, eyed her left arm in its sling. "I'm still recovering, though."

"Of course you are. Wounds do not heal in a day!" He leaned back in the chair, tapping his cane against the hardwood floor. "But, my dear, you are also young. Something like that I would never recover from, it is true. You? Pah! With rest it'll take a month, maybe two if the weather's bad."

...What did weather have to do with healing nerve damage? That wasn't how it worked, was it?

A shake of the head got her back on track. "Then! While I'm recovering, do you have those medical books I mentioned? Maybe... I could look them over? Get a head start?"

His wrinkled hand combed through the beard; he displayed his agreement with a nod. "A sound idea, yes. However, there is a small problem."

Auburn eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she said nothing and waited for him to continue. The elder huffed once and sniffed.

"You see, it is complicated and quite a long story, but... well..."

Another tap of the cane. He seemed... embarrassed?

"...I loaned away the majority of the library's medical books and they, ah, have yet to be returned."

...

Huh?!

"W-Wait!" Higosa interrupted. "Isn't that, like, a big deal?! What if the doctors or nurses need to look something up?!"

Up and down, down and up went the man's head in short, sporadic movements. The faint shimmer of sweat reflected off his poor balding cranium.

"Yes, yes, of course. It is quite alright, more of a personal issue, you see. The hospital has its own books, but the scavengers have yet to find an intact copy machine we can reverse engineer. And, well..." He gestured to the picture book. "...it is one thing for an off-duty scribe to recreate a little fairy tale, and quite another to copy a two hundred page tome or three. The missing books were gathering dust in the hospital - they were either too novice or too specific to be of use, you see - and were donated to the library."

The three former parasites shared odd looks. This entire situation was a tad bit strange.

"I-It is quite unbecoming!" the librarian continued, barking out a quick laugh. "I realize they were not the most essential books in Asphodel, but knowledge is knowledge! It is a commodity in this day and age!"

Kyuma scratched his cheek. "Why did you loan them out in the first place?"

The fog of an old memory rolled over his eyes and the elder's gaze trailed to the book on the table.

"Ah, well... we were not the only ones to live in this forest." Another sigh, drawn out and pensive. "She was a good person, truly. I hope she found her answers."

Geez, she was lost again. "What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"

The man craned his head to a nearby window. "You see, I believe I know where the missing books are located. For the past few years I have attempted to get help in retrieving them, but the villagers won't set foot in that place. They are all scared of the repercussions. It is understandable, really, despite it being apparently abandoned." His eyes darted to her. "It should be safe for you, though!"

A shiver ran down her spine. That was a little creepy. But - no! If it was for Zorome, then... "I'll... I'll get them for you!"

"We will get them," Kyuma clarified. Higosa nodded.

He was already up and moving back to the counter to fish for a pencil and paper. "Wonderful! I shall write the directions!"

"Could we have some more info, first?" Higosa inquired. "I'm assuming this person lives outside the walls? And who are we looking for? What does she look like? Does she have a name?"

Her rapid-fire questions prompted a pause in the librarian's scribbling. He lowered the pencil with a slouch of the shoulders and a bowing of the head. It was a while before he responded, and for a moment Miku wondered if her friend had asked too much. Did he have a personal stake in this?

"I never learned her name, though I wish I had. We met on the city outskirts, in the forest. Our interactions were short and brief. Talking was... a struggle for her, given her..." Another pause. His hand gripped the counter's edge. "...physical deformities. She claimed, once, that she was expiring. I didn't pry. But her mind - she was sharp, brilliant! A genius, one might say."

"Could you describe her appearance, if it's alright?" Kyuma asked. "Surely it must have been noteworthy in some manner, given what you say."

The perplexing old man turned to them once more. His next words nearly gave Miku a heart attack.

"She was a woman with horns."

"Walls can't take much more of this, captain! Engineers are being overwhelmed!"

"Are the turrets attuned yet?"

"Nanos are alternating as best they can! The saurians have been shifting their frequencies since they entered the cavern!"

He turned to his mate, his trusted second. "What's their primary communication unit?"

Niumi glanced at a black handheld device. She focused for a moment. Blue waves shifted across its surface. "Forward sensors reported them as modified D-types, hun."

"Any torchers?"

"Back of the network. Crushers are up front, drills on second line. Localized, unit-based masking modifications. Definitely an alpha somewhere, too. Their coordination subunits are within the ninety-seventh percentile. They know what they're doing."

"Shit." He lowered his head and thought long and hard, before tapping his suit to open the amplifier. He raised his arm. "Turrets are to alternate from sub-three to plus-two! Wide dispersal, sweep pattern!"

"Sir!"

An invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. At first, she hadn't even known it was there. But... but she could tell, mhm! Something was different. Something had changed for the better.

She swung their arms back and forth as they followed the girl down one of the city's dimly lit streets. It was so weird! Why couldn't she stop smiling? Her life was like... like an elevator! Yup! An elevator that totally wasn't in one of APE's icky plantations! She started at the veeeery bottom and then she met darling and things just started going up and up and up! And right when she thought she was at the top - surprise! There were even more floors above!

...

Why was this girl staring at her, though? It was making her self-conscious. "What is it?"

The gaze shifted away.

Nothing.

"You've been glancing at her for a while now," darling added. "Is everything alright?"

Yes.

The reply - its sheer speed! - slammed into Zero Two like one of APE's bullets. The air left her lungs.

"Code 002? I am Code 081, your new stamen partner."

"Cool."

This girl, she was-

"I understand you've had bad experiences with stamen in the past. Rest assured that such things will not occur anymore. My record is impeccable. If you have any concerns, I wi-"

"No. Go away."

Darling's warm hand guided her back to the present. Words spilled from her lips faster than she could think.

"U-Um! Um, um! I just - I've b-been there before too, so... i-it's not - we all need someone to talk to!" Her throat was so dry. "I d-don't... know how long you've... if you ever need to let it go, I can listen!"

The girl's stiffening shoulders confirmed the words had reached, but no response was offered and the group descended into uncomfortable silence. Zero Two's heart sank. Her ocean pulled her close.

"It's okay," he whispered into her ear. "These things take time. You did the right thing."

His pride flooded their connection. Spirits lifting, she nodded and watched their guide maneuver into an alley. It did take time, he was right. Not everyone had access to someone so loving, patient and understanding. Fewer still could touch minds with such a person.

She was the luckiest girl in the world, mhm.

The shortcut led them to a residential district. Tightly packed skyscrapers gave way to spacious two-floor homes or apartments, shadowed by one of the secondary spires. Its twinkling orange light bathed the road in an ethereal glow. Where APE's plantation cities had been harsh and unwelcoming, this didn't seem half bad. Living here wasn't an option - it wasn't the ocean, after all. But in another life it could've been a fun destination to visit.

The 'princess' had stopped in front of an unremarkable building, no different from its neighbors. She peered up its walls, eyeing the second story, then walked to the door and pushed it open. It was unlocked?

You are free to enter, but stay on the first floor.

They followed her inside. It was comfortable, modern, with much of the furniture made up of either shaped metal or a strange type of rock. A kitchen, a den. The girl disappeared up stone stairs, leaving them to explore.

"It's weird. Sorta reminds me of that place from the vision," darling observed.

She murmured her agreement. "There's no wood, though. No trees in a cave, right?"

"Yeah. Must have been tough finding the materials to build all this stuff. Wood would probably be easier to work with, too."

He wandered into the kitchen, but she found herself drawn in the opposite direction. There was little in the den. A few chairs, a stone sofa with pillows made of that same fabric found in their clothes. A bookshelf gathered dust in the corner. Next to it rested a small, circular table with a few-

Wait, pictures?

There were several of them, all focused on the girl. Was it her? No, it definitely was. She looked a bit different, though. Where were her tails and those black markings? She was dressed normally, too. Like them! And this one was... huh, a family photo? Those were her parents, maybe? They looked nice. The mother had good taste in hairstyle!

In front of the larger family photo was a smaller picture, of the girl with someone else. She was wrapped around his arm and had a giant smile on her face, with sharp teeth fully on display. Reminded her of herself, actually, especially when she was having fun with darling. The other person definitely wasn't as good-looking as him, though, but...

Pink eyebrows furrowed. It was strange...

Don't touch it.

Her hand retreated with a jolt. Zero Two's head swiveled to the girl, who was descending the stairs, eyes downcast. Her hands held two items: some sort of metal bottle, and a small, rectangular package wrapped in her society's strange fabric.

Zero Two resisted the urge to bite on a fingernail. "This picture, um..."

It's an old memory. Leave it there. Come, there is much to do.

She spared a single, lingering glance at the photograph before following. Darling met them by the entrance and her eyes traced over his form. Confusion pricked at her gut.

"Zero Two? What's wrong?"

The memories flowed, calm as a river.

Bah, whatever!

She didn't have parents and neither did he. They were both grown in tubes, vats. Who knew what their stories were? Everything before she met him was a hazy blur and didn't matter. Someone long dead had given her a stupid picture book. So what? Her real first memories were of seeing him as she was dragged into Garden and thinking how handsome he was. His tears, their escape, the snow beneath her feet, the warmth of his coat and body as she slept against him beneath the trees.

That was who they were. Him and her. Her darling and his Zero Two. They only needed each other. Everything else was a silly coincidence, yupyup!

He was still holding the bag of clothes, so she grabbed his free hand with both of hers and tugged him out the door.

"There were some cool pictures. I'll tell you about them later!"

That toothy grin and the sparkle in his eyes belonged to him and him alone. "Hmm? Alright."

News rumbled along the battlements - a panicked wave of chemical signals alight with but a single message.

"Breached! The southern wall is breached! They're inside the gates!"

His training took hold and the chaos fell to the background. Now was not the time for turbulent thoughts.

"Evacuate the base! Have the soldiers fall back to the inner wall!"

It was all they could do. But at the same time, if those supplies were lost, the city was as good as gone.

"Delphis?"

Niumi's signal grabbed his attention. A slight tremor shook her normally calm hands. Frenzied blue lines spasmed across the device's surface, and her eyes shifted to his own. Cool discomfort reflected off her irises.

"The city is surrounded."

What were YBCs, anyway?

Mitsuru rubbed the bandage covering the needle site, grimacing. 'Yellow blood cells' didn't exist. Human blood contained red blood cells, platelets and the various immune cells that fell under the broad term of 'white blood cells'. Blood plasma by itself was an off-yellow color, but it was just that - plasma. Nothing more than water and protein.

Parasites needed routine injections to maintain their YBC levels, which meant they were foreign entities. The body didn't produce them. And on top of that, Hiro's medical file showed the medical staff had reduced the potency of his injections in years and months leading up to whatever operation he had undergone following his escape with Zero Two. The 5th of November was blank. From the 6th on, it was replaced by 'BTTS'.

"Mi-"

It was a strange acronym, to be sure, but the video log from the 7th had some clues. The doctor himself said Hiro received blood transfusions. If he assumed that those transfusions - in combination with whatever this serum was - were the cause of Hiro's rapid changes after he piloted with Zero Two, then...

"-ru!"

Blood transfusion... from a test subject? BTTS? It made sense. But who was the test subject in this case? Hiro was altered, and that alteration depended on connecting with Zero Two as a trigger mechanism. Zero Two was a test subject.

Hiro had received Zero Two's blood. She was the donor. That was the only logical explanation.

But why? And how did that relate to the yellow blood cells? Why did everyone else need them, but not him? He wished he could access Zero Two's file as well. If she hadn't received YBC injections either, it would support his hypothesis that the two situations were related in some way. Drat, he should've tried to access them when they were in the doctor's old office. It was probably the only way around the classification lockout. From what he understood, not even Ichigo had access those records.

"Hey, Mitsuru! Hey!"

Huh? "Kokoro?"

She leaned back to huff out a sigh of exasperation. "You're brooding again. We're free to go, everyone's done. Let's find someplace quiet!"

Blinking, Mitsuru glanced at the door. Their other squadmates loitered around the exit in uncomfortable fashion. Oh. They were waiting on him.

They followed Ichigo out the lab doors and down the hallway. An awkward silence permeated; they didn't know what would be overheard or who was listening in. Any conversations needed to be quick. Their trackers ensured they would always be found eventually, and it was best they didn't make the guards suspicious.

"Mitsuru," Ichigo whispered. "Tell us about the soldiers."

He took the question in stride, to his credit, but his thoughts raced nonetheless. What? He shot Kokoro a questioning glance.

"Red eyes," she mouthed under her breath.

This was treason. They were pushing their luck to talk about this here and now, when they were already on thin ice. He lowered his voice as much as possible.

"Military, I think. Well-equipped. Captured Zorome, Miku."

Goro slammed a hand over Futoshi's mouth, cutting off his alarmed exclamation. "Shh!" Then he turned to hiss out his own question. "Where? When?"

"City. Day they died."

Futoshi wrenched Goro's hand away with a snarl. "APE? Were they APE?"

Mitsuru released something halfway between a sigh and a huff. "No."

That answer halted the barrage of questions and let him get his bearings. It was a moment longer before Ikuno spoke up with the next interrogative.

"Are you sure?"

Those men were not APE. He knew that in his bones. "Yes."

Their squad leader chewed on her lower lip. "...Were they human?"

He stopped walking, eyes lowered, and they halted too. It was insanity. Mitsuru knew that. The world was dead. APE and the klaxosaurs stood alone - no biodiversity, no other civilizations, no remnants of whatever used to be. Just sand, snow and experiments on children.

They couldn't be human. It was impossible. But that equipment, those goggles, that posture - the figure in the security feed, the one who'd stared at the camera, was not a figment of his imagination. It was impossible, but it existed. They existed.

Zorome and Miku had seen and met them.

"Yes," he muttered at last.

Besides Kokoro, Squad 13 shared hesitant looks but took his words at face value. Futoshi shifted his weight between his feet. "But that means..."

His partner offered a nervous smile. "APE isn't alone. Something... someone else is out there."

The blizzard continued raging. He heard the wind howl its unrelenting fury, saw it slam the windows with snow and ice. It was impossible. Nothing could survive in that broken, desolate world. There was no food, there was no shelter. How? The disbelief gnawed at his soul, at all he had been taught. The truth went against biology. It went against science itself. It stared at him from the feed of a security camera.

"Humanity is alive."

He needed to fix this 'bad luck' thing. What were the chances? Damn it all! The base was collapsing around them!

"Crusher! Crusher!"

On instinct he launched himself to the right, and it saved his life. Steel and concrete and nanoplate fell around him in chunks. Walls broke and floors splintered and ceilings shattered. The saurians' roars left his ears ringing. To the inner wall! He had to get to the inner wall! Grabbing the synthetic chemicals needed for the turrets and weapons, he rolled over the wreckage and stumbled to the door-

"Help! Someone help me! Please!"

Shit, not now! Another soldier? No, two! Wait, that guy's leg, he was-

"He's trapped!" signaled the woman. Again she tried to push the wall fragment, but her effort was futile. "It's too heavy! Please! He's my mate!"

"Alright, hang on!"

He braced himself besides her and on the count of three, they were able to shift the slab just enough for the man to wrench his leg free. The building began to destabilize.

"Genix!" The relief on her face couldn't be mistaken. "Thank you, stranger!"

"I'm okay, Stavani. Thanks friend, we can introduce ourselves later. Let's go!"

He nodded and slung the pack over his shoulder. Another earthquake shook the foundations. The two other soldiers made it out the door - right before it collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Chaos itself filled his head. His body moved on autopilot. He shoved the salvaged engineering supplies through the cracks. Pain engulfed his arms.

Darkness.

If you were unaware of your hybrid origins, what did you think you were?

It was funny how quickly things changed. Mere months ago, the implications of such a question would've, um, given her a nervous breakdown... yeah. Now though? She could think. She wasn't an angry ball of rage and self-loathing. His presence in her mind comforted her, drowned out the panic and fear and loneliness. She could bask in the ocean as long as she needed. Things were okay, mhm!

But what did she think she was? Before she found him again, before all of this... what was she? The years without him had merged together in a haze, and separating the torture into individual events proved difficult. Days ran together, battles all happened at the same time. She'd never payed attention to what anyone else said. Her obsession was too high, her search too focused.

All she remembered... was...

"I thought I was just... some freak. A monster. There was a rumor I had klaxosaur blood in me, so... part klaxosaur, I guess?"

Ah. Rambling about things of which they know nothing. How very human-like.

Darling cracked a smirk and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. She shoved the swirling fog of memories back in their box. Good riddance!

For what it's worth, that's impossible.

Huh? "What is?"

The girl glanced at her from over the shoulder.

Being 'part klaxosaur'. Klaxosaurs are not naturally occurring, nor are they single organisms, like you and I. You cannot be part klaxosaur, it is a physical impossibility.

Darling's face scrunched up in that super cute way she adored. He mulled over the girl's words. "Then... what are they?"

A bond.

Why was she being so vague all of a sudden? Before, she'd given them answers almost faster than they could ask. Ugh! Okay, okay. Think it through. A bond was a... a connection, shared by people. Right? Soooo... did she mean it became a concrete thing? But how did that even work? Was it like how they piloted Strelizia? But Kivala had told them Strelizia wasn't a klaxosaur!

Her shoulders slouched. "I don't understand..."

It would be easier to show you. Come.

She shared a curious look with darling, but he just shrugged. They followed her across the city. Zero Two wasn't used to the silence. Their guide reminded her of that Ikuno girl in a way - where she and darling liked to talk about anything and everything, her counterpart only 'spoke' when needed. Information only. No small talk.

It was so laaaaaaaame.

At least the walking was good exercise. The city was far bigger than it first appeared. So many buildings, it was like a maze! How long had it taken them to build all this stuff? Years? Decades? Her eyes traced the cavern's ceiling, far above. This place couldn't be natural. It was too... big. Huuuuge! Wide and tall! They must've carved this out themselves. But why not build on the surface? Had they always lived underground? How far down were they, anyway? The doctor had made them read all about the old world when they were growing up. She'd seen it in darling's memories - he read the same books she had. They'd been given the same education, just in separate locations. Those books never mentioned anything about ancient underground civilizations... at least, not human ones.

Err. Human human ones. Yeah!

Ancient sister species were mentioned in passing, in the biology books. There were no references to 'homo klaxo', just neander-whatevers and other hard to pronounce names. And none of them were still alive. Humans, homo sapiens, were the last. They were alone.

Zero Two huffed and chewed on her lip in thought. So... put aaaaall that together... and... it meant humans never discovered any of this. Wherever they were, it had to be far enough underground for this huge city to completely avoid detection. But why so deep? And how had they even gotten here? Klax were still humans, right? That meant they'd evolved above ground, same as all the others!

What the heck was going on? She had so many questions! "How did you guys build all of this?"

The girl arched a cool eyebrow and gestured to the tendrils on her backside.

With tools.

...Tools? Wait... those weren't...

"I thought those were tails!" darling blurted.

Their guide's face screwed together in a quite familiar way.

You thought these were... what?

"T-Tails!" She was making darling blush! "You... you know, like... from an animal or... or something..."

A blue forehead impacted the held bottle. Wow. That sigh was... long. She didn't deign to respond; instead, the 'princess' tapped her index finger across her wrist. A whirl, a click, then the tendrils dropped to the street with a lifeless thud. The base separated from the black of her lower back and she took a step forward. The girl performed an exasperated twirl.

Klax don't have tails. We used the equipment for everything: scaling walls, crushing rock, lifting objects, enhanced maneuverability.

Her petite hand - and the rectangular package it held - waved through the air, as if to convey that the list could go on for a while.

They were quite common. My parents and... friends... helped me build my own. It was a birthday present.

"Then... your skin?" she found herself wondering. "Is that..."

Was she... blushing?

It's - it's a necessity, okay?! It's a suit! The klaxosaurs organize through me because of... because I'm a good communicator. It's a special type of amplifier. Normally you'd wear something over it, but with such long distances you need to minimize the impedance as much as possible.

The girl put the bottle on the ground, then pulled the black device off her horns and held it up for them to look over. It reminded her of the...

The suit boosts my outgoing signals, and this detects incoming ones. It's the opposite of your old limiter.

Wha-! "You - you know about the headband?!"

Of course. I told the idiot how to build it.

WHAAAAAT?! She tugged at her bangs. "Th-That thing gave me a lot of grief, you know! It kept me from sensing out darling for years!"

Why was she rolling her eyes?! The truth, it was the truth! That entire situation was the textbook definition of ickygross!

That was the point, little one. Klax children never left home without limiters. I had one, my friends had one. They aided in our development and helped us deal with the information overload until our senses were better developed. You can't bond while the limiter is in place, as it blocks off and diverts the incoming chemicals from the sensory glands. Children's emotions are potent things, and we all knew about the bond growing up. That little device prevented us from making poor life choices.

Zero Two moaned. The stupid demon fixed the black crown to her horns and backed against her robo-tails.

I've watched you for quite a while now. Trying to escape before you were ready would indeed qualify as one such 'poor life choice'. Do you disagree?

Hnnnnnn! "Darliii-"

"That's a pile of crap."

...Huh?

He took a step forward, eyes sharp. "I won't claim to know anything about you, but if you were really watching her, you'd know that thing was attached to her against her will. I don't care if it was necessary. It wasn't just a limiter, it was a tracker. They watched her and kept her in chains! They treated her like an animal!" Canines flashed from between his lips. What was he... "And we made our 'life choice' years before that. We promised to marry each other long before they forced that headband on her! It doesn't even apply! And don't treat her like an idiot! The doctor kept us separated for goddamn ages because he thought the same thing! We're not stupid, damn it! All he had to do was sit us down andmmph-!"

Hands cupping his cheeks, she turned him away mid-kiss. This stupid, perfect, amazing... couldn't they just get married already? Ugh!

"Shh..." Zero Two breathed into his lips. "I'm here. It's gone. We're okay."

The tension released from his shoulders. "I love you."

"Love you."

From her periphery, she watched the girl turn away from the display with an almost paranoid urgency. It piqued her curiosity but she shoved it aside. He was more important.

Darling turned to their guide's back, wincing in embarrassment. "Ah... s-sorry. Sometimes I just get a... little..."

Overprotective. Angry and overprotective.

She 'spoke' the words as a statement of fact, not a question. He blinked in confusion. "Yeah. How'd you-"

It's nothing.

Conversation dropped, the princess walked down the street through the inner gate. They had to jog to catch up. Well that reaction was a bit, um, confusing. She really wanted answers, but no way would she get them now. Sighing, Zero Two stored away the question for later and instead focused on their surroundings.

Were they on the opposite side of the city? She couldn't tell... it all looked the same and blended together. This section of the military base was undamaged, mhm. The dichotomy was a little off-putting. Why would their point of entrance be ruined, but this side remain perfectly fine? If her hunch was correct, the military base surrounded the actual city like a ring, separated by an inner layer of walls. It was all interconnected. They'd spied some bridge-like wall pieces earlier that probably linked the two walls together. Maybe for efficiency reasons? The design itself was kinda cool... reminded her of those old castles she'd read about way back when. But... if something had broken through the outer wall, they'd have access to the entire base. So what had prevented the enemy from rampaging everywhere and securing the base and battlements? It didn't make sense. What had happened?

Come. This way.

Their guide's 'voice' broke her from her thoughts. Zero Two lifted her eyes to find the other girl entering the outer wall. It had seen better days, to be sure, but at least this portion was still intact.

Those cracks scared her, though.

Her footsteps echoed off the tight walls and cramped staircase. Wait, these steps - made of that same, strange metal used in the rods for the fish from yesterday! So they did have it here! The klax must have saved it for military stuff. That made sense, it seemed pretty sturdy. Holy crap, though, there were a looooot of stairs...

The girl was waiting for them at the top, looking out over-

...

Darling's... darling's hand! Where was - she needed...!

The warmth found her before the thought could finish. Zero Two released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding.

"What the hell?" she heard him mutter. Her thoughts mirrored the disbelief in his voice.

Bodies across the cavern floor, as far as the eye could see - toppled over and frozen in time. Strange plant life crawled and twisted across the carcasses. The light from the spires illuminated the barren field in an eery glow. She couldn't call it beautiful. It was... weird. They hadn't seen any foliage in their journey so far, so why here?

She had seen many battlefields and experienced so much death over her short career. One of her more common nightmares, back then, had been finding her darling among the ruined Franxx. Those nights were sleepless. But this graveyard topped them all. The corpses were piled high, thrown about, torn limb from limb. What had done this? What unimaginable force caused such destruction?

"They're... klaxosaurs?"

No, they are not.

The girl stared out at the field of death, a strange expression twisting her features.

"But they look just like them," she countered. "Same size, shape, everything."

You are right. But they are not klaxosaurs. These were once the beasts.

Beasts? What did that mean?

Darling shook his head, lost. "I don't understand. What happened here? What did this?"

His words must have triggered something, because their poor guide braced herself against the barrier for support. Her gaze lowered to a battered section of the wall, cracked and fractured and dented. It had held for all this time, for all these years.

Wait.

Were those things... what had caused...

They were called Strelizia.

Her fingers clenched around his own and her back stiffened in reaction.

"Strelizia, is it... is it a klaxosaur?"

'They were. It was.'

The girl took a moment, then looked back out at the carnage - at the remnants of a siege.

And in defense of their people, they made a choice.

A harrowing snarl echoed from up above. Hardened eyes shifted, surveyed the ceiling.

"That came from below the sensor screen! Someone report!"

"Delphis!"

He turned to the signal's origin point. Argen was hunched over, winded. Teana came up the stairs next, gasping for breath. Had they run all the way here?

"Guys, what happened? Is the captured unit secure? Talk to me!"

The woman shook her head, messy ponytail twisting with the movement. "No! Those stupid, impulsive idiots! They tried to-"

A massive crash nearly knocked them off their feet. Something had dropped down from the cavern ceiling, onto the crushers slamming against the wall.

The beast sniffed the bleeding, broken carcasses. Typical. The strong cannibalized the weak, given the chance. They operated on the concept of survival of the fittest. It would grow more powerful from consuming the-

It looked up, prowled forward. The saurians paused and assessed it, wary. The dead machines were untouched. Not a single bite.

Then it roared.

"Are you okay? Miku? Want to rest for a moment?"

"I'm fine. Let's keep going."

She appreciated Higosa, truly she did, but that was the fifth time she'd asked since they left the city walls. She needed this. She was being useful! Someone wanted her help! So it didn't matter if she was a little tired, or if her arm stung every time she stepped over a rock or branch in the way. Things like rest could wait until after they recovered the books.

A forest existed in Mistleteinn, but it was nothing like this. It was stale and lonely. Artificial. Miku found this one lacking as well, but for different reasons. The woods in the mountains outside Asphodel weren't fake, not by any stretch of the imagination, but they were lonely.

Empty.

The breeze whisked through the trees like hushed whispers. Kyuma watched the leaves rustle annd shift. "It's quiet."

Before they left, she'd expressed concern about her wounds. She needed the crutch. Her arm was in a sling. Wouldn't the guards forbid her from leaving? The woods were dangerous, even with Kyuma and Higosa as her companions. Surely there were creatures that would sense her weakness, right?

In reply, the men at the eastern gate had shaken their heads. Their saddened expressions haunted her.

Anything that had once posed a threat to an injured human was long since dead. Wolves, bears, mountain lions - gone. Humans barely managed to save their best friend, the dog, now critically endangered. The common house cat could be considered an apex predator. Most of its prey, such as birds and rodents, survived. Those animals were small and capable of surviving in the destroyed world, but anything larger just... didn't exist anymore. Out of sheer necessity, the people of Asphodel had rescued various livestock animals from extinction, but their diets still consisted mostly of vegetables, fruits and fish. Things such as beef and pork were rare. City law considered it a crime to slaughter a cow, pig or chicken before it mated and continued its lineage.

But all the same, they allowed her to leave Asphodel. No dangers lurked these forests.

Miku hated it. It felt wrong.

Her two companions ahead of her adjusted their backpacks. The winter breeze sent shivers through her spine, and she clutched the wool coat closer to her body.

"Hey, um... do you want me to carry the packs for a bit?"

"No," they replied in unison. She huffed. It was worth a shot, right?

The dirt path thinned out. This section had been abandoned, judging from the leaves and grass obscuring their way forward. Dead moss edged in from where forest met the trail. How long had it been since anyone walked this way? And it was so steep...

Wait, that boulder! "Guys, look!"

Kyuma nodded. "I think that's it." He walked a bit to the right and pushed away the dead leaves with his foot. Another path revealed itself, though 'path' may have been the wrong descriptor. Browned grass and specks of dirt weaved through the trees. No one had journeyed past this point in years.

"'Follow the overgrown road past the boulder'," Higosa quoted from the parchment. "'In the clearing you will find the meadows of Asphodel'."

She rolled her eyes. "There are plenty of meadows right outside the city! What makes this place so special?"

The other girl shrugged and shoved the paper into one of her pant pockets. "I suppose we're going to find out."

Miku didn't know how long they followed the winding trail. It seemed like hours. Up one hill, down another, around dozens upon dozens of hibernating trees. At first the wind was brutal and frigid, but to her relief it died down when the trees started thinning. Her arm tingled in a painful manner. Who would live all the way out here? Seriously! This was stupid! She hoped the lady returned the books without incident; a warm drink sounded really nice right about now.

Eery silence greeted them as they entered the clearing. The path disappeared into stalk-like grass the height of her thigh, swaying too and fro in the invisible breeze. She got the feeling it was once maintained; the responsible party must've abandoned this place ages ago. On the far side of the clearing stood some sort of trapezoid-shaped bunker. Vines crawled up its foundation. Moss blotted the walls. It reminded her of that acne she had when she was fourteen and still in Garden. Gross!

Even creepier, the... door was open.

"I don't liiiike this," she whisper-shouted. Higosa blanched.

Kyuma was all business. "I get it now."

Confusion and hesitation pricked at her gut. "Huh?"

"Why he sent us in particular, why the villagers refused to come here..." A sharp scowl wrinkled his cheeks and forehead. "That is an APE bunker."

But... the old man had loaned books to... to APE?! "I don't... why would APE have a building outside of Asphodel? They want nothing to do with each other, right?"

Higosa shifted her backpack again, then took a step forward. "We can figure it out later. Right now we should find those books and then get out of here."

The grass made it hard to walk with the crutch, but somehow she managed. Kyuma took point and Higosa watched their backs. As they got closer, she could make out white words against the slate gray of the building. Dead vines obscured the message - only the APE logo remained visible. Higosa reached up and yanked them away.

BUILDING AM-01

She shared confused looks with her companions. None of them knew the meaning behind the label. Sighing, their squad leader poked his head into the building.

"...Hello? We were sent by the librarian!"

A gust of wind caught the door and slammed it into the wall. Miku almost had a panic attack.

Nobody home. Abandoned. Kyuma shook his head and beckoned them inside.

The walls were claustrophobic, the corridors narrow. Ceiling lights flickered. Whoever lived here forgot to turn them off when they left for the last time. Had they been in a hurry?

In the dim light she spied a four-way intersection. The writing on the wall's corner was faded and scratched, but legible.

HOLDING CELLS

TESTING

LABS

APE AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

IDENTIFICATION VISIBLE AT ALL TIMES - COMPLIANCE MANDATORY

TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT

The question rasped from her lips. "A-Are we sure we're in the right place?"

Higosa pointed down the hall, straight ahead. "Let's check the labs? Maybe there's someone there."

Was she being ignored?! "If someone's here, it means they'll shoot us!"

"No. Think about it," Kyuma replied. "I don't think those people are still here. Remember what the old man said? The woman had horns."

Geez, what had they gotten themselves into? "I think it has to do with Zero Two, too, but shouldn't we try to stay alive so we can tell her?"

"Even if this isn't about Code..." He took a moment and shifted his weight, frowning. "...Zero Two specifically, it's bound to be related. He implied he met her outside, in the forest itself. If that's true, it means the woman wasn't locked up in here."

Oh... oh! "You think there weren't any guards here to begin with?"

He nodded. "Something isn't right. Now's our best bet to learn what we can."

Swallowing her nerves, she followed them down the hall to the next door. Why did her footsteps have to echo so loudly? This place was too creepy! There weren't even any windows! It was so cold! She wanted Zorome!

Kyuma tested the door, but it didn't budge. "Locked."

Higosa scratched her cheek. "Should we try testing or the holding cells?"

He shook his head and raised his foot. Wait, was he seriously going to-

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Well... if they weren't ex-parasites before, they were now.

The door gave way with another solid kick. Stark white siding greeted them; the lights struggled to obey the commands of the motion sensors. Flickering photons illuminated the deactivated row of computers along the left side, the Asphodel library's dusty books tossed haphazardly across the floor, and the message painted blue on the back wall.

Miku felt clammy. She felt disturbed. The illumination failed, then restarted itself yet again.

Higosa licked her lips. Her voice shook. "That's a DNA helix."

Their eyes beheld a large stylized X, interconnected via several perpendicular lines. Multiple blue arrows drew attention to a circled segment of the helix. Beneath the drawing were two simple words, in all capital letters:

SAVE HER

Underneath the phrase, another arrow descended towards a metal table pushed against the wall. What it pointed at, they didn't know.

There was nothing on the table.

"Grab the books now," Kyuma muttered. "We're getting out of here."

Miku kept her eyes on the hallway while her companions worked. She told herself she was keeping watch, but deep down she just didn't want to look in that room. It creeped her out. Uncomfortable questions filled her mind; she wasn't sure she wanted answers. Only a few minutes passed before the group was speed walking back down the corridor. Her eyes glanced down the other two halls out of paranoia more than anything else. Kyuma and Higosa passed her.

She froze upon seeing something at the end of the holding cell hallway. "G-Guys?"

They turned to her in askance, but she didn't dare look away. "Was that door... a-always open?"

Higosa followed her gaze. The door to one of the cells was ajar. "We shouldn't. I have a bad feeling, Miku."

Miku swallowed her fear and pushed forward. The two 26ers shared nervous looks before following. With her good hand and a bit of struggle, Argentea's pistil pushed open the old sliding door.

Torn wallpaper, of navy skies and dark clouds.

A hanging mobile, of twinkling stars and white birds.

Ruined stuffed animals.

Broken toys.

A crib.

A rusted chain, embedded in the wall.

We... we can't help you like this...

This form is... too foreign to us...

...

...

...

tHeN wE sHaLL bECoMe SoMeTHiNg MORE

"So what are they?" darling asked. "Them, those things. The beasts."

She turned and looked them over.

Rogue biomachines.

The air left her lungs. "The doctor, he..."

He's known, yes.

Darling stared at the bodies. "What happened?"

The girl gestured to their surroundings.

As if it wasn't obvious enough already, we were a society of miners. Our bodies were stronger than the other humans, and our chemical senses let us keep our bearings and communicate in the dark. We specialized in exploring the depths of this planet. We dug through its surface, searched for treasure and wealth. We developed tools to aid us and machines to assist our building and excavating.

It all made sense. The way the klaxosaurs emerged from the sand, the way they fought...! "They're repurposed excavators!"

Her counterpart flashed a hollow, wounded grin.

The deeper we went, the more we relied on the chemicals. Our technology advanced, even as our society grew more fragmented and separated. Using our vast resources and our knowledge of our bodily processes, the klax created facsimiles we could control: nanomachines, interconnected by synthesized chemicals, able to process and harvest the ores we needed to continue our unquenchable industries. We formed them into shapes, willed them into drills, plasma cutters and the vehicles that would equip such devices.

She and darling glanced at each other. He frowned. "So what caused everything to..."

Collapse?

Zero Two didn't like that word.

"Y-Yeah."

Simple. We dug too deep.

...Wait. "You mean... you..."

An exhausted sigh shuddered from the girl's body.

Yes. We found the magma energy.

"We don't know much about it," darling clarified. "All we know is that it can make people immortal. When we were growing up, the doctor us it was the magma energy extraction that had ruined the planet."

He told you the truth.

They both exhaled in relief. Wow, what a concept!

But it's also more complicated than that.

Hnnnnnnn!

Magma energy, according to all our scientific principles, should not exist. It does not obey the laws of physics. It does not make sense. We don't know what it's made of, or if it exists on some sort of higher dimensional plane. All our research was inconclusive, and our society collapsed before we could get any real answers.

Aaaand now she was confused again. "Why shouldn't it exist? Isn't it just... like... an advanced energy source or something?"

That's one way of putting it. Magma energy is life itself.

...

What?

She looked at darling. Darling looked at her.

Okay. Ooookay. Process. Process! Zero Two blinked once, twice.

She couldn't process.

What?

"That... doesn't make any sense whatsoever," darling grouched. "Life isn't quantifiable. You can't measure it."

So we thought. The city's scientists tried to learn what they could. At the time of the siege, one of the more common theories speculated that everything on earth has trace amounts of magma energy already, that it's so efficiently imbued it's undetectable. Our species fell before we could find the truth, but we were able to learn... certain things.

She tried to wrap her head around all of this. This was... a lot stranger than anything she'd imagined. "Like?"

It follows three rules, and three rules only: when dead beings absorb magma, they come alive; when taken from living things, they die; when living things 'overdose', they gain immortality.

Oh.

Oh no.

"Then..." darling stammered. "If... the mining machines absorbed the magma..."

We were not a warlike people. Communication came natural to us, thanks to the chemicals. Because misunderstanding another klax was impossible, we found it easy to resolve any conflicts without resorting to violence. We did not see the need to create weapons, or formulate tactics, or establish efficient chains of command. We knew not how to defend ourselves. Our city lost contact with the other clans long before the machines went rogue. And by the time we realized something had happened...

"...The klax were gone," she finished, horrified.

Their guide nodded.

Our city was all that remained. There were no others and the world died around us. My ancestors rushed to find the cause, to see how we could stop the madness, but when our scouts found the roaming beasts, we were at a loss. How could we disable them when they no longer obeyed our commands? How could we stop them when they searched out and attacked other machines, infecting them in the process? Their hunger was insatiable. They searched for more magma to fuel their systems, to grow stronger. The corruption evolved them, turned them into disgusting perversions of the vanishing natural world. The more energy they absorbed, the more powerful they became. Packs formed. We watched them kill each other.

Darling could only shake his head. "Then they came for you."

We posed a threat. Our scientists developed weapons to confuse and harm them, to purge the magma from their systems and render them inert. Our society changed. We fought a war. We tried to return the magma to the ground and revive our dying world. But right when we thought things were going to get better, they came to us.

They knew what happened next. "How did Strelizia save you? What did they do?"

The people who became Strelizia believed they could link themselves to the machines by drinking the magma energy fueling the corruption. They thought they could become the corruption itself. They thought they could stop the madness.

...

This was... so...

They were right.

She leaned against him for stability. Her gut clenched, her head felt light. She was going to throw up.

"You... your people, they..."

It had to be us. We started it with our lust and we ended it with our sacrifice. To save our planet and end their hunger, we became their immortal fuel source. Our bodies became their batteries and our minds became both their jailers and prisoners. The journey was too terrifying to make alone, so we went in pairs.

"And the cores..."

Are the klax.

"That... looks like..."

"...Elizia?"

"You... found the books..."

The poor old man took a moment to process that simple fact. Miku groaned and slumped into the chair. She was so tired!

"They're all accounted for, I believe," Kyuma informed. He and Higosa placed the loaned backpacks on the counter, then returned to their chairs.

"Was she - was she there?"

"We did not see any woman. The facility was abandoned. I'm sorry."

He slouched against the counter, weary and tired. "Thank you for looking."

They descended into silence, but one question wouldn't leave her mind. "Um... when we were there, we... we saw a room with a lot of toys. Do you..."

The elder swallowed once, twice, before nodding. "I had a granddaughter. My daughter married an ex-Child. We... she didn't..."

He wiped underneath his glasses, at his eyes. It took him a moment to work up the will to speak again. Miku wanted to curl up in a ball and wither away.

"She had cancer. She was only nine. Some years later, the woman told me she was trying to raise a child. We decided to... to donate the toys."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Higosa whispered. Kyuma bowed his head.

A moment later, the door burst open. That was... another member of Squad 26? He was doubled over and gasping for breath.

"Finally...! We've been... looking all over for you..."

Kyuma was all business. "What is it? What happened?"

When the boy looked up, his eyes went to her. "He's... awake!"

...

Her heart stopped.

"Zorome is awake!"

"We're going to need to evacuate the city, Delphis. The southern wall took a big hit and we're still sorting through the rubble. Reports will be made soon. But if they come back..."

This was a nightmare. "We have to figure something out."

Another soldier rushed to his side. "Sir! The alpha is still alive. We managed to restrain it. We'll begin the purging sequence at your order."

He followed the man through the gates. A sizable group of soldiers had gathered around the wounded saurian. They'd managed to shuffle its internal sequences long enough to get it chained down and disabled. He pushed his way through the crowd to get a good look at the thing.

The twin-tailed wolf stared at him and him alone. The others fell silent and waited for his command.

"...No," he decided at last.

"Keep this one alive."