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"020, come in. 036? Chimera? call in imm-" The voice was swiftly cut off by the global communications in the Franxx being turned off, and a thunderous crash reverberated through the cockpit. The female pistil remained still, despite the paracapcity between the two parasites falling to zero."GOD DAMMINT" My male counterpart screamed to the ceiling, hands covering his eyes, "What is it this time huh!? Don't ignore me!" his voice boomed inside the Franxx. The holsters on the pistil suit remained out despite the simulation being over, he wasted no time in heaving his foot back and breaking them right off of the pistil suit. The impact launching her across the humanoid machine,"That's enough 036!!" A female voice came from outside, it was our parasite "guardians" given the name of Nana. She rushed to restrain the boy, followed closely by the other parasites; the boys aided Nana while the girls aimed to help me up.The kindest of the five girls, "Code 165" or Nadaya bent down and lent a hand, "Are you alright Theaura?"Her voice was smooth and inviting, paired perfectly with her dark loose curls and brown skin. I don't know when I started being this way but her warm nature bothered me to no end, her voice turned into acid as hearing that name ached at my ears and her hand might as well have been diseased as I refused to take it. I gathered myself, my stray pistil handle, and went over to my withheld partner; signaling it was okay to let him go. "Let's go 036." my voice was quick and curt, and together we exited the Franxx, left the simulation, and entered the elevator.Deafening silence filled the air until he turned to me, "At least call me by my name, I didn't go through all that trouble making names for us all for it to be wasted." he spat with cold blood. "Sorry... Adrian" I hissed back and we returned to the silence I have found myself recently preferring, the cart of the elevator whizzed up into the viewing room. it was empty aside from the only other guardian we as parasites have interacted with, Nile; just a name we came up with being the male version of Nana. Rubbing his temples he gestured for the two of us to sit on the round bench, which we did with no question. I just knew were about to get an earful for our performance as of late. "These simulations were supposed to be such as supplementary training for the two of you, help your drastically changing paracapacity. But it seems the more we put the two of you together, the worse you get. You two are the leaders of Plantation 20, do you want to be discarded? Sent back to the garden?" A tiny laugh fell off of the last bit of words but you both knew nothing was funny about this. Adrian's head fell in what would almost seem like despair, a grit noise coming from his mouth. Theaura's fist clenched against her clothes, to lose the title of a pilot could be a fate worse than death but what could she do when the connection between her and her partner already made her feel as if she was dying? Nile ranted a bit more, stern on raising their paracapacity and heavy on the punishment that would come if they did not but eventually they were let go. Cracking open the door to the parasite's home, known as the birdcage, chatter and the smell of freshly cooked food filled the air. Theaura's heart skipped a beat as a voice called to them through the walls, she began walking over when an arm caught her wrist, tightly. She turned to see Adrian, red face and teary eyes met her gaze, and despite all that was going on between the two of them she did what she always did. "I know you're sorry Adri. We'll work on it together, okay?" Her voice softened and her arms wrapped around him carefully, slowly just in case. His arms rocketed back overtaking her, being the noticeably different size and fit between the two of them, she couldn't help but shift around trying to make herself fit inside his arms, but she couldn't; just like always it was never a perfect fit. As caught up as she was literally and emotionally, small footsteps unheard by either of them approached,"Theaura and Adrian, sitting in a Franxx~" Wooed a familiar voice, "C-O-N-N-E-C-TING!!" and was finished by another, jumping away from each other Theaura saw her teammates all crowded around the dining hall doorframe, being led out by a pair.Rei (C:142) and Dankai (C:156) high-fived at their little charade, receiving giggles that echoed from the doorway. Rei, a taller girl with bone-straight red hair and grayish-blue eyes never went far without her good friend; and even better Franxx Stamen Dankai. Who was just a hair shorter than his pistil, with jet-black curls and tan-ish skin. "Good you made up already, what was all that commotion for again if you're just always going end up normal again?" Dankai giggled, trying to sling an arm over a noticeably taller Adrian.The girls all took solitude near Theaura, trying to soak up as much time as they could with her. It wasn't common these days for her to stick around, Nadaya offered dinner much to no one's surprise and they all seconded the idea;"It wouldn't hurt, you didn't touch your breakfast this morning." A deeper yet feminine voice came from the squad of girls, Code 171: Luka, a two-toned black with white striped haired girl stood strongly behind the group, she always held this presence around her that made her feel mature, "I ain't dealing with you if you collapse, that's medical's job." she deplored, another round of giggles met the room. Code 278: Sage, a very small, albino girl with green eyes hummed in agreement; Along with Code 228: Kiara, a tanned-skinned girl with loose brown curls, that melted neatly around her head, bangs held back by two black barrettes on each side. Theaura's heart was so easily swayed just by seeing all of them smile at her, it was hard to remember how they all adored her when she spent most of her time tucked away with-Adrian. His smile had completely fallen off his face, and his softness had already melted away; he was always so impatient. You quickly detached yourself from the surrounding group and fell back in line with him, "I'm not exactly hungry," You rushed, "I'll grab something later if I start to feel it y'know?" The girls frowned and were about to argue it when Luka stepped in front, shoving the girls to go back into the dining room and finish their meals, "They had a tough day already but I'm tellin' ya' Theaura, Code 020" She announced off, as if your name had an extension to it, "We ain't gonna be for your collapse sooner or later." and they disappeared once again to which Adrian wasted no time in grabbing your arm once again, tighter than the last time, and moving you both upstairs. This was usually the nightly routine as the others would be downstairs with one another, sitting on the floor of the girl's dorm room Theaura and Adrian would pretty much hide away together until he would return to his room at light's out, on a good day some light conversation would fall between the two of them; seeing as light's out wasn't for another four hours. Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed to fill the air was the sound of her stomach grumbling. Light chatter from downstairs crept through the floorboards, the girl's room hovered just about around the dining room; she could hear it all. The others were gossiping about her, how she didn't come around anymore, how she was different, how she had changed. A twinge came from deep in her chest for a reason she couldn't quite pinpoint but that didn't stop her anxiety from skyrocketing, and yet she stayed quiet.About an hour and a half in, she felt the grumbling turning into aching and the heightened anxiety in her chest worsening. Theaura reached for her partner, the only one accompanying her in the silence hoping to ease either feeling but of course, why would he ease her? Snatching himself away from her grasp, Adrian's face contorted into a disgusted expression, "What are you doing?" he mocked, malice hanging on every syllable once again, he started wiping off his arm as if her touch would plague him.When did it get this bad between them..? "You don't have to do that." Theaura snapped back quickly and Adrian shot up from his spot on the floor, face starting to redden with anger,"Oh good! Here we go again, What did I do this time?! Is it my fault for being confused and asking a question?" He scorned, and her face turned wildly as to how he had reached that conclusion. " What? Huh? There is nothing else to blame me for! Seriously Theaura, this is exactly why our paracapacity is taking a swan dive! Because I can't do anything around you without you freaking out on me." he stepped away from her in annoyance, tears threatened their way forward in her face but she bit them back and refused to face the boy anymore. Curling up in a ball, she sat her chin on her knees, and stared forward,"I'm sorry Adrian." she spit out as quickly as she could to get it over with, "I thought so." He smirked, making his way out of the room he found his foot accidentally bumping into her small frame on the floor. He turned in the doorway, "Oops" closing the door with a thud. Theaura remained still for hours, the girls slowly began to file in, and eventually lights out came. Slowly, extremely slowly Theaura climbed out of bed and slid as quietly as she could out of the room, unable to contain the emptiness of her stomach any longer. Finally reaching the hall she dreaded each stair hoping that their old wood wouldn't give way under her weight and creak, fortunately for her it didn't but she had something else to worry about. A dim light shone through to the hall stemming from the dining room, peaking through the doorway she spotted a familiar face, Code 101: Claude. Going unnoticed by him, his features were illuminated by his small lamp which made Theaura just stare. There was a look on his face that was so unlike him. Being the leader of the plantation Theaura spent her fair share of time analyzing her squad members and even had a small input in creating the Franxx partners. Rei and Dankai, Kiara and Suto, Sage and Claude. She had a hand in it as they all just made perfect sense for each other. Sage had always been weaker while also more on the shy end pairing with Claude, who always has been friendly and held a completely stronger willpower than most, on top of his already bigger build for a child parasite. Lost in thought, Theaura leaned a bit too far against the door and it slid a bit open reverberating a creak through the night. Trying to gather herself quickly she spat out whatever she could think of, "Claude, it's lights out y'know?" her words mashing a bit together. He turned his attention to the girl and quickly, but not unnoticed, did that unfitting expression exit his features. "Theaura... Yeah, I'm sorry. I just had a few things on my mind, and I couldn't sit still without doing something about it." He fidgeted "Is there something you need to get off your mind, a clouded mind could affect to team." She stated coldly on accident,"Nono! Everything is fine, I guarantee you," He said with a warm smile, disregarding the pointedness of Theaura's words, though from not far where he was leaning a beep came. A happy surprise ran through him as he made his way over to the microwave. A small plate came out of assorted foods, perhaps leftovers from dinner,"You couldn't sleep because you were hungry?" Theaura breathed out a breath resembling a giggle,and a snort was reciprocated from him, "Ha, something like that." He pulled a piece of paper out of his night uniform, a white T-shirt, and shorts, and folded it to make a small pyramid just in front of the plate. Satisfied, he took his lamp, smiled one last great, big, proud smile, and began leaving."What are you-""Goodnight Theaura, Try and get some good sleep after all this, we need you with a clear head, right leader?" he referenced, now extremely proud and now falling back into the night as the rest of her comrades were doing. Curiosity claimed his win over Theaura as she over-analyzed his wording, "After all this..?" Sliding over to the counter the taller, fluffy brown-haired boy was once standing her eyes fell onto the piece of paper discarded near the plate.
"-For Theaura :)"
His kindness never ceases, even to her. She let a smile cross her face as she picked up the paper pyramid, finding that there was even more when unfolded.
"Hi! Spending time with your partner is important,
especially when you're so close like you and Adrian but , don't skip too many meals to be with each other!
Adrian will be upset if you get yourself sick over him y'know .
Also ... Please try and eat with all of us again soon, dinner is a lot more fun when you're around.
Don't forget, we're your friends too!!"
She felt sick to her stomach, and not just because of the empty aching of her stomach, she re-read the note again and again, tears pricked at her eyes that she refused to let fall down
"Adrian will be upset if you get yourself sick over him y'know ."
"Don't forget, we're your friends too!!"
Tears pricked at her eyes that she refused to let fall, so instead she laughed, laughed at the note, laughed at the food, laughed at the whole thing. Gripping at her nightgown she felt the irony of it all burning at her chest, as her stomach beckoned her to eat what was left out for her so kindly. Gulping hard she picked up the plate and examined it, it was all carefully crafted together with all the bits she had liked. It was warm, delicate, and had something that she couldn't quite figure out, but she knew one thing. It had something that everyone else could have but herself, while Theaura was not allergic or intolerant to anything there was something that she couldn't quite digest in the food, however came so naturally to the others.What was this horrific feeling? Another laugh bellowed from her chest that was almost feral, she wasted no more time tossing the food away to the nearest garbage, stowing away the note, and returning to her room. Seemingly more disheartened from the last time she was there.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Children were everywhere, for the first time the garden was filled to complete capacity and maybe even more were stowed away somewhere in the facility. Crowded around one stood high above the rest giving out commands, being praised by his peers, and weirdly smiling: an uncommon thing for most children. "I'll name you... Li- mmm Lionel! Your name will be Lionel, wear it proudly my fawner!" Chatter rang with praises for him,
"His number is in the double digits!"
"I bet he'll become a parasite"
"He would make such a great adult, I can't wait to grow up!!"
All talk went one ear out the other as a little girl sat on the edge of the confined room, pulling her knees to her chest she made herself as small as possible as if she was trying to disappear. The others despised her, scoffing at her gloomy nature. Since the young, commanding boy had been around all things had changed. No one had been as quiet as it used to be, there was always running and laughing and unconventionally, the starting of friendships.
"Are you going to talk anytime soon? Come on, it's boring..." The boy stated, sneakily coming up to her. But his comment was granted no response, a look, or even a blink in his direction. He moved around the girl as if examining a wild animal that might pounce back at any second. That's when he spotted it.
Tucked away by the young, quiet girl's side there was a book. It was a blank brownish color, with gold accents along the spine. A tell-tale sign, books like that were only meant for the doctors and caretakers around here. A mischievous grin crossed his face as he snatched it away from her side, and the girl spoke for the first time since being there.
"NO!" She yelled, ripping the book back into her arms defensively, so much so that the sudden movement made her lose balance, falling into some of the other younger boys, who pushed her away promptly so she would meet the floor. They all gathered around her, watching her like a caged monster.
A boisterous laugh came from the leader boy, "I've got it!! You like reading forbidden books, like the dictionaries in the testing rooms! What are they called again... T?- The- Thesaurus... How about we call you Theaura!" A revolving wave of laughter came from the girl's peers, while all their names came from a place of deep thought Theaura knew her came from a place of mockery. This wasn't a name, this was a shot at her character that none of them took even a fraction of a second to understand. And He knew that She knew that, They all knew it.
Tears burst from the girl's eyes, along with loud cries, the children covered their ears and ran in all opposite directions. Caretakers rushed in to see the problem but could not diagnose it. Everyone was gone and there this girl was, completely inconsolable, every word of facade comfort or care was again one ear out the other. So much so that the young girl, now forever deemed Theaura, was in isolation, again. And against all her wishes Theaura was now awake, again.
Slowly she rose from her bed, a slight aching feeling in her head. "What was that about...?" A murmur left her mouth only to be met with Luka leaning over her, still zipping the top of her uniform up from the X sigil on her chest. "Mornin' sleepyhead," Her deep voice started, "Wanna join the rest of us downstairs? Breakfast started not that long ago." A twinge in Theaura's heart started, as her thoughts finally caught up with everything. She hadn't had a dream like that in forever, not since she first partnered up with Adrian, not since she lost that book she used to love, not since she met- Another ache rang through Theaura's head, painful enough for her to grip the forefront of her skull grunting out. Luka responded as quick as a flash, "Woah Woah, Are you alright?? Want me to ping up medical?" placing her hand over her forehead, palm first then flipping it over. Before Theaura could even answer, Luka's question became a statement. She quickly hit the medical button that resided in each of the parasite's dorms. Theaura would take a trip to the doctor before her day even began, "When's the last time you've had a meal?" Luka commanded, frustration hanging off her tone involuntarily. Theaura tried to honestly think back but the ringing in her head and dryness in her throat wouldn't allow that, had it been that long? Had yesterday been her body's limit? She questioned although knowing the answer. A knock came on the door echoed into the room, "Hey, I'm going to come in. Please be dressed ladies" A distressed, yet familiar voice followed as one of the male parasites entered. Code: 118 Eris and Luka's partner invited himself in, a cautious hand covering his eyes. He was tall, followed by dark skin and eyes, hair straight up paired with tight coils and faded sides. The two of them paired quite nicely with each other considering the effect they gave off that nobody could quite place, but they always just seemed older. "Luka? Theaura? Is it okay if I open my eyes" he called out again, receiving no response the first time. to which he was nudged by Luka, "She needs to go to medical, none of us want to hear Nile's mouth and she's got a raging heatwave emanating from her forehead." Luka sighed deeply, something strangely resembling Nana, Eris reciprocated. "Aw jeez, looks like you overdid it again huh?" He smiled a worry hanging off his lips, "Well, you pressed the button so they'll come get'er soon butt, how about we keep this on the between us. We don't need a repeat of yesterday..." He leaned back an almost exhausted sigh leaving his mouth, A confused look was exchanged between the two girls, and Luka nudged him again."Yesterday?" the girls questioned in unison,Eris gave a look that made it seem as if he said too much already and wasn't planning to elaborate, Theaura tried to look up and interject but the sunlight reflecting into the room caught her eyes and rang her headache harshly. While medical wasn't ideal for her right now, she'd be eating her own words when she eventually passed out as Luka predicted. Although, unlike she said, Luka ended up swooping in to take care of her the second she saw something was off. Theaura gripped the sheets of the bed she was making for herself, how could she call herself the leader, how could she lecture Claude on taking care of himself, how could she keep standing by when she knew something was wrong? Another ache went through her, but this time not in her head but in her heart. When medical arrived she was whisked away by the doctor, and a quick word was shared between the two girls when parting. "I know what you think about partners and all but, try to differentiate happiness and holding on." the words were so wild the meaning of it all rapidly dissected in her head, it felt like everywhere she turned everyone was reading into something that always fails to dawn on her. Yesterday, all the dinner chatter, Claude, and now Luka. When did this divide start between all of them? She used to have them all down pact down to their breathing but now even the way they speak is unnatural for her. What was so different, them or her? One trip to medical, an IV of fluids, and a forced, half-eaten, ration bar later Theaura was let go and released into the briefing room. While she had been away the others had been informed of a mission that they would be exported on today. The parasites all sat at the rounded seating, a serious look on their faces. The members of Plantation 20 were not all that new to fighting in their Franxx, in fact, they already debuted in a few successful missions with other plantations but only recently have they started being deployed on their own. As Theaura entered the room a feeling of relief fell over the room, "Oh thank god..." Sage released coming from the heart, giggles fell over the room. Theaura nodded at them all,"I apologize for my tardiness but I would never allow my team to go without their leaders due to my negligence" She spoke dryly. Which earned a very noticeable eye-roll from Luka. "What's going on Nana?" With a few clicks on her tablet Nana showed a screen full of Klaxosaurs, "Conrad-Class raid, slowly but surely we've been seeing a rise in Klaxosaur activity, especially Conrad class but we think we finally found their breeding grounds. All your Franxx have been equipped with Magma detonators, they do not create huge explosions but you mustn't let them detonate near the other Franxx. The energy from those detonators is like a reset switch for the Franxx.""Do we have an exact measurement for safe detonation?" Code: 140 Suto spoke out, his face was bland-looking but his bright blonde curly hair, with light brown eyes, gave him some pop that was always very unexpected from his quiet nature. "Good question, about three feet is safe proximity for detonation. Your Franxx will warn you when a parasite is too close in proximity before detonation, but it will not stop or slow the explosion. When the button is pressed, it's pressed. You have about only a second to get away; the only one safe is the Franxx firing it." Nile laid it out plainly if you're in the way, it's over for you. Your Franxx will be resseting and in a cavern crawling with Conrad classes it might cost you. The stakes weren't just higher than they have been, the stakes were living or dying. but this was the life of a parasite.A resolve fell over the young adults as they were deployed to their Franxx.Rei and Dankai whooped all down the hallways and into the Franxx hangar, their laughs unwavering as they entered their Franxx: Amity.Luka and Eris fell into step with each other, she held her hands behind her back and he walked relaxed, hands covering the back of his head. He motioned his head forward for Luka to fall in first and they entered their Franxx: Oracle. Nadaya ran excitedly down to her Franxx her partner, Code: 100 Pierce following at a distance. Adjusting his fluffy, jet-black hair to fit around his rounded glasses, he smiled as his partner egged him on to hurry inside their Franxx: Felicity.Sage followed side by side with Claude, watching his feet and trying to match his steps, a ritual she created to "ensure they were in sync" When they arrived at the opening, Claude lent a hand as Sage's small stature gave her trouble when trying to enter their Franxx: MilenaFinally, heart bumping in her chest Theaura began walking to her Franxx, with no helping hand, no side-by-side, or no smile to adore her. Adrian bee-lined it to the Franxx, rushing several steps ahead of her she could only watch his back as he went ahead into their Franxx: Chimera. Entering the Franxx it was dark, only illuminated by the light of the opening. Adrian sat expectantly into the Stamen spot. "Well..?" he raised an eyebrow at her. Taking a much-needed breath she tried to gather herself in preparation, they needed to connect in the moment or it may be their lives or all of their lives stolen today. Theaura slid into the pistil slot, her breath catching when Adrian practically yanked at the handlebars, she could still feel the sensation of the one that was before kicked and broken off her suit but she focused. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of useless nonsense that was in the past, she went to her space to connect.
-A- to the Amity! Online!-
-Felicity is Online!!-
-Oracle, Online-
A pause broke out in between the Franxx reporting their successful connections, and Theaura drove herself deeper and deeper into her connection state. Most pisitls found it the easiest to find a safe space, a mantra, something to leave themselves open to their partners, and Theaura always found herself there.
The first time she allowed anyone to touch that book it was him, she had met him through days in the isolation rooms, where most children found were for the to-be failure parasites, but not him. She knew that anyone who believed what she did about a partnership in the Franxx was no failure, they knew the truth. it had to be true. Theaura thought back to that book, that boy, that connection. That's what it means to be partners, and she knew she had that with-
Adrian. He was there, his presence was strong and commanding, so much so the walls in her daydream cracked and crumbled, the boy she was picturing with a bright smile, frowned, and that book about partnership lost all meaning. Communications turned on in the Franxx, "Chimera, report in. Your paracapcity has barely reached the threshold and is dropping rapidly. report. in." Nile commanded and those words sunk in Theaura's heart, Adrian squeezed harder on the controls as he fell forward, forcing himself harder into Theaura's mind. There's no denying it, the two of them are failing. tears fought again at her eyes but she forced them back in, she forced herself to see Adrian, and she forced herself to face reality next: Partnership isn't some fairytale, this is life and it's hard, hurtful, and sometimes borderline scary. So she needed to grow up, nobody was going to take care of her, hold her, and whatever the hell "love her" meant, as the stories said it would go. She opened her mind to whatever Adrian wanted and just like that she was his pistil. Communication spoke again, "Franxx is at capacity, Chimera call in." Nana reported.A heavy-breathing Adrian called in, his voice heard, alone. "Chimera, Online." A smile crossed his face.