A gentle gust of wind brushes against your face, slowly awakening you from your slumber. Above the sky of Mistilteinn appears as you slowly open your eyes and hear birds chirping not too far away.

How did I get here? Is your first thought as you start to recall last night's events.

You notice right away that your movement is restricted as there is a weight on top of you. You quickly realize that it's Zero Two, naked, your uniforms serving as the blankets of your makeshift bed. As your gaze wanders, you realize that you're not wearing anything either.

Just then, a small beeping noise comes from the pocket of your jacket lying beside you. Carefully reaching for it, you pull out your communicator while doing your best not to wake up Zero Two. A single message is displayed on the screen.

Meeting in 15 minutes.

Right, today is the day where we take back our future... or die trying. The stakes have never been higher. This is basically an all or nothing bet.

Zero Two begins to stir and lets out a yawn as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. "Good morning, Zero Two," you smile, "Did you sleep well?" "Mhm," she responds as she playfully draws circles on your chest with her finger, "Because you were here with me, Darling."

"I want every morning to be like this after today," she adds. "Me too," you reply.

A few more minutes pass as you enjoyed your time in each other's company before you get ready for the briefing with Umbra to go through your plan...

XXXXXX

Once the briefing has concluded, you walk to the front and stand next to Umbra.

"Remember," Umbra warns, "Once the broadcast starts, you'll only have a couple of minutes until APE throws me out of their network. Good luck."

You nod solemnly. This was a longshot, but you had the idea to broadcast a speech to all the Parasites at Plantation 1 guarding Valhalla. The best-case scenario would be that some of them would turn on APE and join your side. Worst case, they would remain puppets of APE until the very end. Either way, you have nothing to lose by trying.

"Do it," you say and Umbra taps the console next to him.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile

"Hey, Alpha," Gamma calls. "What is it?" Alpha asks as he snaps out of his train of thought. "Look at this," Gamma replies as he points to their holographic table, "Isn't he one of Squad 13?"

Alpha perks up at this unexpected sight, "Code 023. No... (Y/N), was it?"

xxx

"Sir, there is an anomaly in the network!" one of the analysts in the command center reports.

"Clarify!" Hachi orders. "It's a broadcast... from Plantation 13?!" the analyst elaborates, "We're trying to shut it down as fast as we can."

Hachi glances over to Nana who is next to him. Their eyes meet for a brief moment and they subtly nod to each other. After Nana excuses herself.

xxx

The Spectres, in their own private quarters at Plantation 1, notice that there is something happening on the monitors and one by one turn their attention towards them.

XXXXXX

"This is Code 023, (Y/N), of Squad 13. I'm sure you've heard about how our squad rebelled against APE by now. They probably call us traitors or worse. But that's not important right now. You are probably wondering why I am talking to all of you right now. It will only take a few minutes but I assure you that it'll be worth your while to listen."

"Some of you may already know, but there are things that APE and Papa aren't telling you. Rather, there are a lot of things they're not telling you. Right now, all of you are tasked to protect Plantation 1, but do any of you know what it is you are protecting? It's Papa's way off this planet. Yes, that's right. He plans to leave this world with the adults after robbing it of almost every resource it has. And all of you will be left behind to die once that happens."

"It's no secret that we Parasites are nothing more than disposable tools to them with an expiration date. So, I ask of all of you: Do you really want to live like this? Do any of you enjoy fighting for their lives on a daily basis with the risk that APE will send you to a suicide mission as they did with my previous Squad during Operation Gjallarhorn or Squad 26 during the battle of the Gran Crevasse?"

"Once APE extracted enough magma fuel, this planet will be damaged beyond repair. And we will have no chance of survival when that happens while they set out for other planets. We destroyed their Superweapon yesterday to stop them from doing just that. However, I imagine that even without that, they will continue like this nonetheless."

"With this, I'll be attaching several files for everyone to access. This is everything APE has kept hidden from you. Everything about APE's history, their secret projects, and the truth about the Klaxosaurs. Now, you have no reason to believe any of this, I am well aware of that fact. I only ask you to make your own decision with all this information. And we, of Squad 13, have made the decision that we want to live our lives freely and in peace."

"Alpha, if you are also listening to this. Delta and Epsilon are alive like I promised. I'll send you their coordinates in a few hours. That'll be all."

The strategy behind this last part is to at least take the Nines out of the fight until we can deal with the Spectres. I am confident that the Nines will go to rescue their comrades. What they'll do from that point on is up to them. I pray that they make the right choice...

You turn around to see Squad 13 look at you in awe due to the inspiring speech you just gave. "Ah, come on, guys," you say holding a hand behind your head, "It wasn't that good."

XXXXXX

Your squad of seven Franxx stand just outside the detection radius of Plantation 1. You transmitted the coordinates to the ruined city, Delta and Epsilon's location, to the Nines about 10 minutes ago. At top speed, it should take them about an hour to get there, pick them up, and return, leaving you just enough time.

"Everyone ready?" you ask as you look at the rest of your squad. Some of them appear nervous while others maintain their composure.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Ryoken exclaims. "I'm ready!" Valkyrie adds.

"Let's do this!" Goro and Delphinium reply.

"Ready!" Hiro states. "As am I," says Gladiolus.

"For our future!" yells Futoshi. "For our freedom," Chlorophytum adds.

"For the ones close to us," Genista says shyly. Mitsuru just nods solemnly on the screen.

"I'm all fired up!" Zorome announces. "What he said," Argentea concludes.

"I'm also here," Umbra comments over the comms, "Running at maximum capacity. Ready to exterminate."

The seven of you march towards Plantation 1. Soon Umbra will arrive with every available unit he can dispatch and take over the Plantation once you've engaged the enemy. APE has shut down nearly every other facility and has stationed the majority of their forces at Plantation 1. The Garden and the Bird's Nest are the only ones to have been left with a skeleton crew to operate it.

This particular Plantation, being the first one constructed, has a slightly different appearance than the others. The top dome, where there is usually the forest of Mistilteinn for that Plantation's parasites, is replaced by a peak.

About a kilometer away from the Plantation, you can already see dozens of standard-issue Franxx rushing out of the Plantation and forming a defensive line in, their spears at the ready. This doesn't faze you, however, you come to a halt nonetheless.

They have the advantage in numbers, for now.

You face a small army of Franxx, blocking your path to Plantation 1 with the Spectres among them. The Nines, however, are nowhere to be seen. Strelizia takes a step forward as you address the other Franxx.

"So, what is your decision?" you ask them, "Will you stand with us and fight for a life without APE's rule or remain their puppets until the very end?"

There is a moment of silence in this standoff while some dust gets blown past by the wind. Finally, a squad of 5 Franxx walks over to your side and one of them asks you, "We of Squad 39 would like to join your cause if that is acceptable."

Spectre 1 states monotonously to the turncoats, "You will be punished after this, if you survive."

"Welcome aboard," you nod in approval before turning to the other Franxx again, "Anyone else?"

Three more squads run over and join your ranks though you are still outnumbered by a long shot. Still, the fact that some did join you gives you pause.

The enemy Franxx ready their weapons and prepare to attack when suddenly a guttural roar can be heard. A Klaxosaur descends from the sky, and not just any Klaxosaur. It's the one that resembles a dragon, the one that guarded the throne room of the Klaxosaur Princess. With it, numerous Conrad-class Klaxosaurs emerge from tunnels out of the ground behind you and join your formation.

"Looks like the cavalry has arrived," you smile, "Let's do this!"

With those words, both sides charge. You can hear the distinct sounds of clashing blades, cannons firing, and screeches from the Conrads along with the roaring of the dragon. Amidst all this chaos, a transmission from Umbra comes in, "Breaching Plantation 1 now. Charging weapons. This will be fun!"

Strelizia engages the first standard Franxx. It tries to snare her by shooting its harpoon at her, though she quickly deflects it with her spear before closing the distance, sweeping it off its legs and cutting the fuel line.

This one lacked any combat prowess. I'd guess APE just took the last batch of parasites from the Garden and armed them with Franxx.

You take a glance around you on the battlefield. Everywhere you look is fighting. Either Franxx against Franxx or Franxx against Klaxosaur in this all-out battle. Then, in front of you, a new challenger approaches.

Archangel stands before you with her magma fueled blade drawn and pointed at you, an emotionless look on her faceplate. "Archangel's mine," is what you yell to your squad over the comms before Strelizia charges towards Archangel, who meets her halfway.

XXXXXX

Inside Plantation 1

"I repeat: Send backup to -" are the last words of an APE soldier before a shot tears through his heart. A moment later he collapses to the ground.

Another target eliminated. Incrementing body count by 1.

"The hangar is secured now," Umbra announces to someone inside the shuttle that just landed. With the clicking of his cane, Dr. Franxx heralds his entrance as he steps out of it.

"Good grief," the doctor sighs as he looks around, "You made quite a mess."

XXXXXX

"Hey, Misaki," Ryoken comments as Valkyrie ends the blade lock with Titania, "Considering these are just fakes, they sure know what they're doing." "Any ideas of how to get through the armor plating?" Valkyrie asks. "I've got a plan," he says confidently. "Is it reckless?" she replies. "Of course, it is!" he smirks.

Valkyrie rushes towards Titania with her sword at the ready. Titania prepares to parry the strike but just as they were about to connect, Valkyrie ducks and slides underneath Titania's legs, dropping her shield in the process. Then, she quickly turns, grabs Titania from behind before she can react and fires her thrusters at maximum capacity. Both Franxx fly for a few hundred meters into the air in an arch toward the Plantation.

"So, this is what was like to carry Titania for the others huh?" Valkyrie huffs.

Titania struggles free from Valkyrie's grasp and attempts to punch her in the face since she can't swing her two-hander like this. Valkyrie barely manages to move her head to the side before the hit can land, then releases Titania in the air and kicks her in the stomach.

Since Titania is a model that sacrificed its flight capabilities for additional armor, she now plummets into the Plantation, leaving a hole in the wall as a result. Valkyrie isn't done yet as she fires her thrusters again to go after her into the Plantation.

The first noticeable thing once Valkyrie is inside the Plantation is that the city where the adults usually live is completely shut down and the central spire has a much larger radius and almost looks like a rocket.

Nevertheless, Valkyrie sees the downed Titania on the ground where she crashed and skydives directly towards her with her sword while Titania recovers.

"Shine once more!"

The blade sparks to life and almost looks like divine judgment coming down from the sky onto Titania. However, Titania manages to roll to the side by a hair's length as the blade grazes her and hits the ground, creating a massive shockwave.

"Damn it," Ryoken complains preparing for another brawl.

XXXXXX

The dragon lays waste to the field below as it makes several runs, spewing blue fire at the enemy. The canons of the Plantation are firing at it nonstop, trying to knock it out of the sky. Meanwhile, Delphinium leads your forces on the battlefield, giving orders to both Conrads and Franxx on your side.

"Time for round two!" Zorome exclaims as Argentea engages Banshee while Genista provides supporting fire. The claws of both Franxx clash repeatedly with each other as Banshee uses her sonic scream to stun Argentea momentarily to buy herself time to dodge Genista's cannon fire.

At the same time, Gladiolus has engaged Tempest with her double-bladed polearm with Chlorophytum as her support. They have a hard time keeping up with Tempest's hit-and-run tactic as she tries to take out the weak link, Chlorophytum, first. However, Gladiolus defends her relentlessly.

Scorpia has taken down a dozen Conrad-class Klaxosaur from afar with her halberd cannon before seeing Valkyrie with Titania up in the air, the latter of whom was shoved into the Plantation before Valkyrie went after her.

Spectre 5, Aporia, knows that his partner is still oblivious to their past and any attempt by him to make her remember was met with an electric shock through the collar around his neck. Instead, he'll try a different approach and claims to go into the Plantation to assist Titania, an idea that Spectre 1 agreed to...

XXXXXX

Plantation 1 – Command Center

"Commander, we are holding back the andriods from the spire for now," an analyst reports to Hachi, "Our defenses should hold out long enough for Valhalla to launch."

"Very good," Hachi replies in his usual stern voice, "Continue."

APE is backed into a corner now and they know it. This all-out attack by Squad 13 forced them to begin the launching preparations right away. Hachi glanced at the time. Nana should be back any moment by his estimation.

On cue, the door slides open and Nana walks in and makes a beeline towards Hachi. Upon coming to a halt right next to him, she whispers to him amidst all the chaos, "The sabotage is complete."

"Then it's time," Hachi replies as he types something on his terminal.

Disabling defensive barriers and automatic turrets.

At that moment, the Umbra units at the frontline see that the Plantation's inner defense turrets come to a halt and the defensive barricades for the soldiers to hide behind retract back into the ground and the walls, much to their surprise.

"Oh, now I'm really going to rack up kills!" Umbra announces.

XXXXXX

Strelizia continues her relentless assault on Archangel with a flurry of jabs from her mega-lance. Archangel, despite being pushed back, has no trouble deflecting or parrying the strikes.

We're not getting anywhere like this. If this guy fights and thinks exactly as I do, I have to try something that I would never do or expect myself.

Just then, the dragon flies by for one last strafe with its scorching blue fire, narrowly missing Archangel among its targets, and diverting its attention toward the Plantation, whose defensive cannons have stopped firing.

The dragon lands on the edge of Plantation 1 and starts to tear its wall apart with its claws to get access to the insides. Seeing this, Archangel cancels the fight with you, activates her wings and flies towards the dragon.

"Where do you think you're going?" you shout after him before pursuing Archangel.

Strelizia begins to catch up before something fast hits her from the side. Before she can crash on the ground, however, you manage to stabilize her and remain airborne. You proceed to look around for what had just hit you, finding Tempest. A quick glance on the monitor next to you shows Gladiolus is badly wounded but Chlorophytum is undamaged. It appears that Tempest broke off from their fight before attacking Chlorophytum.

"Haru, Kasumi, I know you guys are in there," you state, "Snap out of it."

Tempest fires her shoulder cannon as a response, which Strelizia dodges. "Guess we'll have to do it the hard way," Strelizia announces.

The dragon breaks the wall of the Plantation with brute force leaving a gaping hole in it's side that your Franxx and Conrads on the ground can walk through. This leaves the dragon open to attack though as Archangel cuts across one of its eyes, making it roar in pain before it answers with its fire. Archangel manages to escape her fiery death and circles around the dragon, ready to continue her assualt.

XXXXXX

Banshee lets out another shriek, much to the annoyance of Argentea's pilots as she dodges another shot from Genista.

"Can you stop with all that screaming?!" Argentea scoffs, "This is seriously annoying me!"

As if to make her even madder, Banshee backs off and lets out yet another shriek. "That's it! I've had enough of this!" Argentea yells as she charges with her claws ahead. Banshee prepares to intercept assumeing a defensive posture. However, just before their claws clash, Argentea uses her momentum to slide underneath Banshee and grabs both of her legs, taking her by surprise and making her fall forward.

Argentea uses that opportunity and jumps on Banshee's back, punching her in the head before she could scream again and rips out the fuel tank from her back with both hands, rendering her inactive.

"And stay down!" Zorome says cockily. "You actually had a good idea for once, Zorome," Argentea comments. "Hey now, all my ideas are good ideas," Zorome interjects. "Yeah, whatever," she chuckles.

"This is Umbra," a transmission comes in, "Since you are free right now, I would like a pair of giant mechanical hands to help me out with something inside the Plantation."

"Got it," Genista says as she catches up with Argentea, "We're on our way."

XXXXXX

"We have them on the run," Delphinium shouts triumphantly, "All forces, advance!" With that order, the few squads of Franxx on your side and the Conrads push the enemy back inside the deactivated city of Plantation 1.

Meanwhile, Strelizia and Tempest stare each other down in the sky, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Alright, let's think this through. How would Haru attack? He'd most likely try to use Tempest's tonfas to cut Strelizia as she flies by with her incredible speed and continue that process if it works. "Death by a thousand cuts," is the best way to describe that strategy. For the first strike, Haru will most likely attempt to faint an attack before striking low. Which means I have to play along and then counter at the right time.

Tempest draws her tonfas.

I just need to land one solid