Alpha's POV

Bird's Nest – 1 day later

"It's decided," Beta states nonchalantly as he and the rest of the Nines exit the lab, "We're the pinnacle of perfection."

"One shot of maintenance makes us lively, doesn't it?" Gamma adds. "But since her last visit at the Garden, Iota hasn't any," Delta remarks as they walk down the corridor to their private lounge. "It's a little embarrassing really, considering it's required," Epsilon says almost sounding worried.

"Guess that just means she really isn't one of us, Epsilon," Beta replies. "That's right. We should always be as one," Gamma responds as he sits on the couch, leans back and puts his feet on the table, "Isn't that right, Zeta, Eta, Theta?"

The triplets just stand there silent and motionless as they look at Gamma. After a few moments, Gamma speaks up again, "See? They agree." "That's easy for you to say if they don't talk," Beta interjects sarcastically.

Suddenly, the table in the center of the room starts to emit a ringing noise, which means that they are being contacted. The Nines immediately get into order around the table. Shortly after, Alpha presses a button to start the transmission. A hologram of Papa appears.

"I have received your scouting report on the Gran Crevasse and the new cores," Papa states, "Thank you, all your hard work is going towards one goal. I expect your good work to continue." And with that, the transmission ends as quickly as it began.

Everyone relaxes again as Delta says proudly, "Papa praised us again!" "Well, we retrieved cores without damaging them," Beta states matter of factly, "And Hringhorni requires the highest quality of cores."

"And only we are capable of doing this sort of thing," Gamma adds as he takes a seat on the couch again. "That's because we're not limited in the same way as humans," Alpha explains, "Therefore, this task was not formidable."

"Hey, hey, Alpha," Beta speaks up, "There's no need to point that out." "That's right," Gamma adds, "There's no comparison. After all, we're better than them in every way."

"Still," Alpha asks, "Aren't you a little curious about them?" "What do you mean?" Beta inquires. "Clearly Squad 13's parasites are different from other parasites we've seen so far," Alpha elaborates. "They certainly are strange ones..." Delta says, deep in thought.

"Their behavior is so odd," Alpha begins, "They can have pointless arguments over the most trivial things." "True..." Gamma ponders. "Also," Alpha continues, "I wonder about this 'kiss' thing I heard from one of their conversations."

"Kiss?" Beta repeats confusedly. "What's that?" Gamma adds. "The act of bringing two mouths together," Alpha explains. "What? That sounds gross!" Delta shouts, clearly disgusted. "Wouldn't that spread bacteria?" Beta wonders aloud. "Then why do people do it?" Epsilon inquires.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Alpha responds, "It's said that they do it to stay with one another. They can't live without it, lest they are an unstable and incomplete creature."

The rest of the Nines are silent for a moment, letting the words sink in until Alpha continues, "However, Iota and Code 023 were more deeply linked in the Franxx. We all saw it. Strelizia's red color is the color of magma fuel itself, yet I can't wrap my head around these wings..."

Seeing no response from his team to that, Alpha raises the question once again, "Isn't everyone interested?" "Well..." Beta murmurs. "Yeah," Gamma follows.

"I keep asking myself," Alpha continues, "Why does Iota live with these parasites, despite having the same abilities as we do? So, there is something I want to try..." "And what's that?" Delta questions.

"I've obtained samples from Mistilteinn," Alpha states as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out some tiny circular objects that are neatly wrapped in plastic.

"Hey, hey, did you bring that in here without quarantining it?" Beta asks as his eyes widen. "Is that?" Epsilon begins. "Candy," Alpha states, "Apparently, they were given in the past as rewards for something. So, maybe we can experience the same feelings they do by trying these."

Beta eyes the candy closely as if there is some deeper meaning to be found by looking at it. "What's wrong, Beta? Scared?" Alpha taunts him, "Didn't Iota take these all the time?"

"What?! Give me one, right now!" Gamma demands as he walks up to him, "Anything she can do, I can do better!" He takes a piece of candy from Alpha, opens the wrapper and puts it in his mouth. He savors the taste for a few moments before his eyes widen, "W-What is this?" "A curious flavor," Delta remarks as she tries one as well, "This is... sweet."

Alpha, Beta, and Epsilon have taken one too and analyze the taste. "This is..." Beta murmurs. "Delicious!" Epsilon exclaims.

"I-I can't resist!" Alpha says as he takes another one, "It's like a drug! How do humans live while overcoming such temptation?!"

Suddenly, Epsilon snaps and breaks into hysterical laughter. "Did Epsilon break?" Delta shouts. "Hey! What are you doing?" Beta yells at Epsilon. "Uhm... I think I'm drunk," Delta mutters. "I can't handle this," Alpha facepalms as he watches Epsilon holding Beta in a headlock and trying to feed him candy.

"Hey, stop! Don't put that in my mouth!" Beta exclaims as he resists. "Beta and Gamma are really bad at having fun!" Epsilon laughs, "Another one! Another one!"

"So, this is how it is," Gamma says as if he accepts Epsilon's challenge and takes more candy before he too, begins to laugh with Epsilon. "Why am I here..." Beta says after he freed himself from Epsilon.

XXXXXX

"That's interesting," Dr. Franxx says to no one in particular as he watches the scene with the Nines unfold on one of the many screens in front of him while sits in a comfortable chair, leaning back.

A sugar rush, it should pass in a few hours after they run out of candy. It looks like they did inherit some traits from Zero Two after all and the first sign of human nature appeared within them, he thinks to himself.

XXXXXX

6 days later

Plantation 13 – Boarding house

The time has finally come. Over the course of the last 6 days, you have planned and prepared for this day. Everything from the day Squad 13 has become official parasites has ultimately been leading up to this pivotal moment. Suffice to say that everyone was a bit on edge and nervous about what was going to happen.

"Alright, let's go over the plan one last time," you say after everyone gathered in the lounge before the briefing. "We already talked about it three times," Mitsuru states dryly. "Better safe than sorry," Goro responds.

"After the briefing, when we get into our Franxx," Ichigo begins, "Argentea, Genista, and Strelizia grab the containers we prepared. Then, (Y/N) will send the signal to temporarily disable the Plantation's sensors and communication so that we can make our escape to the north where the location we discovered on the map should be. Any questions?"

No one says a word. "Good, then let's do this!" Ryoken says excitedly.

XXXXXX

Briefing room

After gathering in what would be your final briefing at Plantation 13, each member of Squad 13 takes a seat and waits patiently. Nana and Hachi are in the front, each holding a datapad and whispering something to each other.

You lean over to Zero Two and whisper to her, "Hey, can you make out what they're saying by any chance?" She averts her gaze toward them and tries to focus. After nearly a minute, she turns back to you, "Something about a transfer and preparations for the next phase." "I wonder what that means..." you mutter to yourself.

Suddenly, Nana and Hachi turn towards your squad and the latter clears his throat to gather everyone's attention.

"Children," Hachi begins, "I hope you are well rested because the mission you are about to undergo will be your toughest yet." As he says this, a 3D hologram of the Gran Crevasse appears before him, showing the extensive underground system underneath it that almost looks like a labyrinth.

"As we're speaking, the 6th United Company is entering the Crevasse and launching their assault," he continues, "The main objective of this Operation is to reach and open 'The Vault'." A large underground dome is highlighted in red as he says this with several blinking dots in the caverns above it scattered in the system, most likely Franxx squads.

"What exactly is in that vault?" Hiro asks curiously. "We are not quite sure ourselves," Nana replies, "But our intelligence suggests that the most guarded secrets of the Klaxosaurs lie inside it."

"The job of the other Franxx squads is to clear the way to the vault, "Hachi continues, "Squad 13 is responsible for opening the vault once you meet up with the Nines there."

"Just how would we go about opening this vault?" you inquire.

Hachi hesitates for a moment before his gaze lands on Zero Two, "Code 002 can open it. This is... what she has been trained and raised for up to this moment."

You know all too well by now what Hachi means by "trained and raised" and you suppress the urge to say something as the briefing comes to its conclusion.

"All hands, prepare to board," Hachi finishes.

XXXXXX

The walk over to the docking bay was quiet, like the calm before the storm. Everyone knew what was about to happen, what you were about to do. Did anyone have any doubts? Any concerns they kept to themselves? Perhaps but no one said a word.

Hiro and Naomi are the first to split off from the group as they step onto the walkway for Gladiolus, followed by Futoshi and Ikuno. Then, Mitsuru and Kokoro wave to the rest of you as they go their own way as well. Your group gradually becomes smaller after Zorome and Miku take a turn for Argentea and Goro and Ichigo veer off to Delphinium.

Ryoken and Misaki stop in front of the corner that leads to Valkyrie. You nudge him with your elbow and give him a reassuring look before the two of you bump fists and you continue with Zero Two onwards to Strelizia.

The two of you stop in front of the faceplate of your Franxx, holding each other's hands.

"Are you ready?" you ask, facing her. She nods, smiling, "Let's do this, Darling!" A few steps towards Strelizia, she suddenly stops, however. "Oh, I almost forgot," she says as she lets go of your hand and reaches for the headband that is attached to her horns as you watch her curiously.

With one clicking noise, the band comes off and Zero Two proceeds to snap it in half before throwing the pieces down the docking bay. She takes your hand again and leads you inside the cockpit where the two of you get into position.

Taking hold of the controls, your vision is enveloped by the green shimmering vortex that you're accustomed to being pulled into every time you connect with her. Shortly after, you're back in the here and now with a perfect connection of 120. Your minds in total synchronicity after gazing into each other's memories and gaining a deeper understanding of one another, Strelizia's color changes to red once she is fully activated.

Taking a few steps forward out of the holding, Strelizia looks at the rest of the squad. Everyone looks back at her.

"It's time," you announce, "Get ready."

Sending the command to activate the program you set in the command center last week, the entire Plantation suddenly goes dark.

"Alright, grab and go people!" Delphinium orders as Strelizia, Argentea, and Genista grab one container each that were lying around in the docking bay which you have filled over the past week with everything you'll be needing to survive on your own.

"Remember to switch off any unnecessary Franxx systems to preserve fuel," Ryoken adds as the squad files out of the docking bay through the opened gate.

XXXXXX

Plantation 13 – Command Center

"Status report! What's happening?" Hachi demands as all the screens flash a red warning symbol.

"We've lost all power, sir!" one of the analysts responds. "Every system is down, we are unable to reboot it!" the next analyst adds. "Are you saying we're blind and completely cut off from everyone else?" Nana inquires. "Yes, ma'am," another analyst replies.

"What about the backup generator?" Hachi asks. "Not responding either, sir," the analyst responds, "It might be awhile before we can figure the cause of this and fix it."

"Unbelievable," Hachi groans, "Then get on with it then!" After which, he exchanges a quick glance with Doctor Franxx who seems totally unfazed by the situation.

XXXXXX

"Everyone on me!" Delphinium says as she leads the squad north. "You heard her," Valkyrie adds, "Let's leave all of this behind us."

Your squad follows Delphinium as you cross the barren wasteland of the world. You occasionally glance in the direction the Gran Crevasse. Things are pretty quiet on the surface, but if that briefing earlier was anything to go by, there is intense close-quarters combat in the labyrinthine structure underground with high casualties most likely. Luckily, your squad will never be a part of these suicidal missions ever again.

"Hey, (Y/N)," Ryoken says to you over the comms. "What's up?" you ask. "You've really outdone yourself this time, brother," he says casually. "What do you mean?" you inquire. "Look at the Plantations around the Gran Crevasse," he points out.

Looking through the screens in Strelizia's cockpit, you notice that the Plantations around the Gran Crevasse have gone completely dark just like Plantation 13. They all seem to be deactivated from what you can tell.

Sure, I'm decent in these sorts of things, but I never expected it to work that good. How did it even spread to the other Plantations? I mean, their systems are all connected but I didn't plan for this to happen since I would have needed far more time to program something that infects all the nearby Plantations. Shouldn't they have even switched to backup power by now? I wonder if this is even my doing... or something else...

"Yeah, I guess it worked out better than expected," you reply casually.

Unbeknownst to anyone present, a lone Klaxosaur wyvern was silently observing everything from high in the sky.

XXXXXX

A few hours later

Gran Crevasse

[Author's Note: To distinguish the Franxx of the Nines I labeled them Ena (Alpha's Franxx), Dyo (Beta), Tria (Gamma), and Tessera (Delta and Epsilon). That's greek for the numbers one to four.]

"Well, here it is," Gamma announces, clearly somewhat bored as he and the other Nines exit a tunnel and enter a big hall underground that has a massive black and blue gate on the other side. Dyo begins to walk around the room and analyzes it for anything interesting while the others approach the gate.

"Huh, it's not as big as I thought it would be," Alpha narrates, "Then again, we don't really know what's behind it."

Dyo joins the rest as Beta remarks, "There are no enemies in the vicinity, we're clear." "So, now we just need to wait for Iota to show up with Squad 13 so that we can open this thing, right?" Gamma asks. "Correct," Beta replies. "They sure are taking their sweet time though," Epsilon comments.

"Don't tell me you're worried about them?" Gamma says sarcastically. "I'm just saying it would be bad if they were killed on the way down here," Epsilon responds. "Well, as long as Iota gets here in one piece it doesn't matter," Beta chimes in, "The rest is expendable." "And Papa will be pleased!" Delta adds excitedly.

Another hour goes by with the occasional Conrad or Moho-class Klaxosaur making its way into the hall. It's nothing the Nines couldn't handle though. At some point, they even made a game out of it to kill the time. They would take turns whenever a Klaxosaur showed up while the other three watched.

"Hey, hey, Beta, you're getting slow," Gamma taunts him as he watches Dyo fight off a Moho-class that resembles a spider. "Very funny, Gamma," Beta sighs as he deals the killing blow. "That makes..." Epsilon ponders, "the 14th Moho-class in the past hour. It took you about 10 seconds longer to kill yours than Gamma needed for his."

"Whatever, it's Alpha's turn next," Beta says as his Franxx walks back to the rest. Seeing that Ena doesn't respond, but simply stares at the gate, Beta tries again, "Hey, Alpha, wake up."

"Ah, sorry," Alpha replies, "I was just thinking if there might be another way in there." "Seriously, what's taking them so long?" Delta remarks impatiently.

"If anything would have gone wrong, we should have gotten notified, no?" Gamma states. "Check the comms," Alpha orders.

Contact with other squads has been rather scarce since most of them have been killed due to the overwhelming amount of Klaxosaurs down here. Eventually, a signal from base comes in.

"This is APE Central HQ," the voice of the Vice Chairman comes in, "Nines, do you copy?" "We can hear you loud and clear, sir," Alpha immediately responds.

"Our entire network experienced an unprecedented outage," he explains, "Every Plantation around the Gran Crevasse has been completely disabled for the past 6 hours, however, the first are coming back online right now."

"An outage? How did this happen?" Beta inquires. "We are still analyzing the cause of this, however, Squad 13, including Code 002, has gone missing during that time period. The remaining squads down there are being questioned while they're falling back, but no one has seen or heard of them today. This leads us to believe that they might have something to do with this."

"What are your orders, sir?" Alpha responds. "You are to report back to HQ, for now," the Vice Chairman answers, entering the call, "We will have new orders for you by the time you arrive."

"But what about the vault? This was Papa's long-standing wish! We are so close!" Delta interjects. "Without Code 002, we are unable to open it, that's just how it is," the Vice Chairman replies, "Do not worry, we will find another way. Now, return to HQ, this is Papa's will."

"Roger!" the Nines reply in unison before the transmission ends.

XXXXXX

"Are we there yet?" Zorome complains after several hours of speeding through the wasteland. "Quit your whining and behave like a man for once!" Argentea scolds him.

"Please don't fight," Genista begs, hoping to prevent further fighting between the pair, "We're almost there, right, Ichigo?" "Yes," Delphinium replies.

"So, what kind of place did you find us?" you ask curiously. "I'd like to know as well," Goro adds.

"Remember when we found that old town where people used to live before we had Plantations?" Valkyrie asks. "Yeah, what about it?" Mitsuru questions. "Don't tell me where going there," Zorome interjects. "How would we even hide our Franxx in that place?" Futoshi says concerned.

"Don't worry, it's much better," Valkyrie responds, "It's far bigger than that and even rivals the city of a Plantation in its size." "Places like that exist?" Hiro asks. "Indeed," Delphinium answers.

After another 20 minutes of travel, Squad 13 reaches a mountain which they go around when they see the ruins of a major metropolis not far in the distance. The skyscrapers in the center of the city are still standing tall, as are most of the surrounding buildings. It doesn't look as pretty as it would have looked a few centuries ago since the city has been reclaimed by nature in that time. Vegetation snakes around most of the