Alpha and Delta lay together on the faceplate of their FRANXX, the moon just beginning to rise above the mountains. Delta shivered in his arms her weak bonny body trembling in the cold night air. He clutched her tighter to his chest, their naked bodies huddled together.

"Alpha," Delta whispered, her voice weak and raspy.

"Yes.." He croaked his voice dry.

"Are… Are we going to die…" She whispered.

He would have cried, but he no longer had the strength. Neither of them had the strength. They'd consumed the last of their human batteries weeks ago, and their rotting corpses lay uncared for at the base of the FRANXX. He and Delta had nothing left, and these last few weeks had sapped them of all their remaining strength. Gently he held Delta's bony body in his arms, her skin clinging to her bones. She looked up at him, her sunken eyes desperately clinging to him.

He ran his fingers through her hair, feeling how stiff and dry it was. "I don't know…" He rasped.

"I don't want to die…" She whispered, clinging to him.

He felt his stomach clenching as he held on to her. "Neither do I…" He choked.

"I've been free for the first time." She whispered, "So why… Why is it all being taken away?"

"I don't know…"

He looked out into the night sky, staring out at the moon. Would this be the last sight he ever saw? The moon rising into the sky, as thousands of tiny stars twinkled all around them. He looked down at Delta, the moon casting a pale light on her body. Even sick and dying, she looked beautiful. But then again, she always looked beautiful to his eyes. He wondered what it would have been like if they been allowed to live. What would they have done together? Maybe it would have been possible to find a way for her to walk again. But all he could do was dream. But what did it matter? They were about to die anyway.

Gently, he pressed his lips to the top of her head. "Will you stay with me until the end?"

Feebly she grasped his hand. "Yes… Alpha, I want you to know that I couldn't have wished for someone better than you. You looked after me and took care of me when no one else cared. Alpha… If I could spend the rest of my life with you, I would."

He hugged her, "It's you I s-should be thanking you… Without your faith in me, I would have given up long ago. Delta… Thank you for helping me be free… Even for this little while. A-And until the end… I'll always be by your side."

He heard Delta give a feeble sigh, and she slumped into his arms. He feared the worst for a moment, but a second later felt the slight rise and fall of her chest. She was still alive… But for how much longer…?

He sat there, staring out into the night. He didn't know how much time passed, only that nothing disturbed the silence. It seemed that even the world had stopped to watch their final moments.

"Please…" He pleaded into the dark. "If there's anything I can do to save her, tell me… I finally got a chance to be with her… Why do you have to take it away?"

Silence was all the response he got, the moon in the sky staring down at him almost in pity. He let out a sigh and slumped against the cockpit.

"Anything…" He whispered.

Just then far off in the distance, he heard a rumbling sound. Something was creeping along, making its determined progress to some unknown destination. He sat in silence, listening to the sound. There was nothing else in this world that he could listen to. For hours he sat there listening until he saw something that made his heartbreak. As the thing rumbled along, he saw the distinctive shape of one of Papa's plantations.

"No!" He sobbed his voice nothing more than a dry rasp.

Why now… Couldn't they just die in peace? This was a fate worse than death. Would they have to suffer under Papa's hand again? What kind of punishments would he inflict on them for failing in their mission…

He sat there sobbing and watched as Papa's plantation crawled steadily closer, a fate worse then death reaching out its vicious hands once again.

Everything was dark around Ikuno as she waited. Waited for what? Something was going to happen, but what. Suddenly she felt a warmness growing inside her, it pulsated waves of heat and energy washing over her. With a gasp, it emerged and floated in front of her, a little golden ball of energy. Gently, she held it in her hands. It almost seemed alive, the waves of energy pulsating in time with her heart. She smiled, this orb was precious to her. It was apart of her. Suddenly a room appeared around her, but it was unlike anything she'd ever seen. The walls were soft and comforting. The space around her felt sacred, as if it was meant to nurture something into existence. This was a place of creation. A place of love. She smiled and looked down at the orb in her hands. She loved this little ball of energy, and if it had to make a home anywhere, it was here.

She walked up to the walls of the room and stared down at the orb. "You'll be safe here. I promise I'll always be with you."

Gently she pressed the orb into the nurturing walls and watched as the two fused together. Everything was going to be okay. Here was were this miracle would manifest itself.

Ikuno's eyes shot open in the dark, and she bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She rolled over and sobbed into the pillow. She felt like she was on fire. The pain coming from her pelvis was overwhelming. It felt like something was ripping out her insides and building something else in its place. She sobbed again. What as this? What was so desperately trying to rip her apart? The skin between her legs felt like somebody was scolding her with boiling water. What was going on!?

Tears of pain cascaded down her cheeks as she stripped naked and looked down at herself. She didn't get it. Everything looked normal. What was wrong with her. What was happening? A moment later, she saw it. Between her legs was a glowing blue vein. She gasped hurriedly inspected between her legs, everything rushing a million miles an hour. What was going on? What was this blue vein? What had happened to her?

He looked on the floor and saw one of Futoshi's forgotten socks from the night before. Her breath caught in her throat. She'd seen these blue veins before. Thousands of them covered Futoshi's body, and Naomi had shown her a picture of some of her own. But wait a moment, why were they on her? Naomi said that it was the sign that you were turning into a Klaxosapien, and that Futoshi had somehow been exposed to their DNA. She sat, confused. But why was it on her? She'd never been exposed to Klaxosapien DNA. Her mind froze, and her eyes went wide as saucers. She had. Last night she'd taken Futoshi to her bed, and it had ended with Futoshi fulfilling her request. But if that was the case, that could only mean one thing.

She was pregnant, and her own baby was changing her from the inside. She sat there, stunned. This was unbelievable. This was such an inconceivable possibility that she hadn't even thought about it. As she sat there, a wave of pain washed over her and she clutched her stomach. But as she sat there hunched over in pain, it hit her. She was pregnant. If nothing else, that was a certainty. What it had cost to have this child-she wasn't sure, but it was reality. She lay there, feeling confused. She'd gotten what she wanted, but it had come with something she wasn't prepared for. This was unknown waters, and nothing could have prepared her for it. How could she be expected to do this without preparation? There was no textbook that she could retreat to for answers. What was she going to do?

The thought of her predicament reminded her of her friend and the person she loved more than anything. Naomi. Naomi had gone through this. And what she'd been through was much worse.

Ikuno took a deep breath as another wave of pain washed over her. That was where she'd draw her strength and guidance. If Naomi could do it so could she.

She let out a sigh, she rolled onto her back, placing her hands over her womb as another wave of pain washed over her. The baby inside her desperately trying to make a home as everything around it tried to fight against it.

"I accept you…" She breathed, "I promise I'll take care of you. We'll be okay."

The next wave that washed over her was less visceral, the desperation that she'd felt before subsiding somewhat.

"It's okay…" She breathed. "We'll get through this. No matter what, we're together now."

Another wave of pain caused her to spasm, but this time she felt a warm bundle of energy nestled deep inside her. Faintly she smiled. This was what she had wanted since the very beginning. It may not have happened in the way she'd expected or preferred, but it was here all the same. And as she lay there, she realized it was all worth it. Enduring Futoshi's lust and even the transformation she was undergoing, this was all part of the sacrifice that she'd wanted to make to create her miracle. And now she had.

Gently she stroked her belly, feeling her baby inside her. "My miracle." She whispered. "You are my miracle."

Zero Two sat in the corner of one of the strawberry patches in Plantation 13's farm. She and Darling had been down here tending to the patch for the last serval hours, but Darling had insisted that she take a break. She smiled. Darling could be too overprotective at times-try as she might getting him to loosen up when it came to subjects regarding her, usually proved futile.

She sat back and laid her hands on her belly, Darling's beautiful ring sparkling on her finger. She smiled as the baby kicked her again, gently stroking her belly, as their baby moved around inside her. She reflected back on everything that had happened so far. Frankly, she'd been doing a lot of that as of late, but she couldn't help herself. The feeling of carrying, the embodiment of their love inside her, caused her to reflect on her life. She couldn't remember much before Darling. And frankly, that didn't really matter. Mentally she took herself back to when she was a little girl. Remembering the pain and misery but retaining the sense of gratitude and love that she'd felt when Darling had set her free from Papa's prison. Smiling, she toyed with the idea of what if they had gotten away. Just running off to who knows where and living together. If that had been the case, she could have avoided the misery of being separated from him and forced to do Papa's will, and suffer the disgust of being with the Nines. She wished nothing but death upon that squad, especially Alpha. He'd been Papa's perfect harassment tool. All he'd have to do was tell Alpha to "Punish her," and he'd fly at her neck.

The Nines really were Papa's perfect tools. All he had to do was keep them fed with human subjects to feed off, and they'd be happy. Inwardly she shivered. Feeding off people was a sick thing to do, and she was ashamed to have ever taken part in it. It had been more about undermining Papa, then an actual sense of enjoyment. Hanging over a toilet while you gagged yourself to expel someone's life essence was never fun. It always came out in the form of her own blood, but…

She sighed and shook herself, stroking her belly again. That was all behind her. She had a new life now; there was no use reminiscing on the past when you had a future to live. Just then, she looked up and saw Darling walking towards her, his bare chest gleaming with sweat. She noticed that he had something in his hands, but she couldn't tell what.

"I found one." He said with a smile, crouching down next to her.

She looked in his hands and saw a gleaming red strawberry, the first natural strawberry produced in over a hundred years.

She smiled, "They're finally ripening. That means soon we can start harvesting, right?"

He nodded, "I think so. I'd have to recheck the book, but I think we're close to a full harvest." Then smiling, he held out the strawberry to her. "Here I want you to have it."

She shook her head. "No. It's yours, you should eat it. After all the hard work you've been doing, you deserve it."

He picked it up and put it to her lips. "I won't take no for an answer…" He teased, tracing her lips with its smooth ruby surface.

She sighed. "Okay… If that's what you really want, then give me the stupid thing."

He chuckled and dropped the strawberry into her hands. "Here you go."

She sighed and looked at the strawberry, its ruby surface dotted with hundreds of little seeds. It looked delicious. Eagerly she took a bite and marveled at the sweet juices that exploded in her mouth. The rich, fruity flavor was simply one of a kind.

"Wow!" She gasped. "Darling this is amazing. This is the richest strawberry I've ever tasted."

He smiled. "Here, let me go see if I can find another one for ya."

He made to leave, but she grabbed him, yanked him back to the ground. "Oh no you don't." She said, crawling on top of him. "You're eating the rest of this."

"No." He said playfully, trying to squirm out of her grasp.

She straddled him and pinned him to the ground, her pregnant belly only allowing her to do so much. "Stay still." She growled playfully, wrestling him to keep him under control.

She pressed the strawberry to his lips, the exposed juices smearing, leaving a juicy red mark.

She smiled triumphantly, "You're not going anywhere till you eat this."

He sighed and open his mouth.

Grinning, she fed him the strawberry and made him eat the entire thing.

He smiled. "I have to admit that it was delicious."

She laughed, "Glad I made you eat it?"

He blushed. "Kinda."

Smiling, she sat back, all of her weight now directly on his stomach.

"Damn." He groaned as she sat there grinning. "You're starting to get really heavy.."

She grinned evilly at him. "You're the one who put a baby in me. Now you know what it feels like."

He nodded and groaned. "Point taken…"

Just then, their communicators beeped. Curious, she pulled hers out. "Sortie order." She said, surprised. "I wonder what that's about?"

"I guess we should go find out."

Groaning and with more effort than she would have liked, she stood up and reaching a hand out helped Darling to his feet.

"Well, I hope it's nothing too serious." She said as they began to walk along the path.

He nodded. "Yeah. Let's just hope we're not poking another hornet's nest like we did at the Archives."

She nodded, placing one hand on her belly as they walked. "Yeah, let's not do that."

She and Darling entered the briefing room fifteen minutes later, parasite suits already on, the rest of the squad already gathering and finding a seat. Finding a seat, they sat down, and a second later, Hachi walked in.

"Thank you for coming." He said, tapping the display screen. "Yesterday we detected an unknown object, but now that we're here, we've learned more and would like the squad to investigate further." He tapped the screen and images started showing up. "It appears that some sort of battle took place here. Evidenced by the remains of three destroyed FRANXXs, one of them is damaged but still intact.

As she stared at the image, something made her hair stand on end. She didn't know only that something was wrong. Hachi continued talking, but she barely even heard him. She stared at these FRANXX; something was familiar about them, but she couldn't figure out what. And then it hit her, and she shot up eyes alight with hatred.

These FRANXX belonged to the Nines!

Hachi just managed to say that they'd detected two life signs inside the FRANXX before everyone noticed her.

"Zero Two, what's wrong." Darling said, grabbing her hand.

By now, everyone had turned to her and were staring curiously, wondering what was wrong.

"These FRANXXs belong to the Nines." She said with an icy edge in her voice.

Memories of everything the Nines had ever done to her came rushing back, and all of her old hatred started boiling up inside her. The baby squirmed inside her sensing her anger. But for the first time, she didn't care, as she stared at the evidence of her past. She felt Darling's hand flex angrily and she knew that he was reliving the small part of her past that she'd accidentally shown to him in a dream.

"You said that two of them were still alive." She said icily to Hachi.

"Yes, but please…."

She never let him finish and stormed out of the briefing room and purposely walked towards the hangar, Darling chasing after her. The door to the hangar slid open and she dived at the control panel, slamming the emergency button that opened the hangar door.

"Zero Two," Darling said, grabbing her arm.

"Let go of me, Darling." She said in a commanding tone.

"Zero Two…"

"Please don't get in my way, Darling." She said, looking him in the eye. "I'm sick of reliving my past. I'm going to do this. I won't make you come with me, but you're not stopping me."

He sighed and let go of her hand. "I'm with you."

She nodded. "Then let's go."

They clambered into Strelizia and had her activated before the squad even got into the hanger. Strelizia zoomed out onto the plane before them, a cloud of red dust trailing behind them as they dashed across the Earth. Ahead she saw it, one of the Nines FRANXXs kneeing in a deactivated state, its surface stained red from the Earth. Around it, she saw the three other FRANXXs. It seemed that the Nines had been in some sort of battle, and apparently, it hadn't ended well for them. All the better she decided, this world was well rid of this menace. She stared at the final FRANXX. She hoped it was Alpha who was still alive. That way, she could personally seek her vengeance. That second person was probably his drone, and wouldn't even be worth bothering with. Strelizia slid to a halt, a cloud of dust enveloping both the FRANXX. Curiously she noted that the faceplate to the other FRANXX was down. She shook herself. A curiosity nothing more.

Darling lined up Strelizia's faceplate with the other FRANXX, and they disengage, her consciousness leaping back into her own head. She struggled to her feet the weight of her belly, making her more clumsy than she'd like. Darling offered a helping hand, but she brushed it aside, she was going to do this herself.

Darling stood beside her. "We'll do this together." He whispered as Strelizia's faceplate descended.

She nodded and stared out at her enemy. It was time to finish this.

The faceplates descended, forming a bridge, and purposely she crossed it, her hands already clenching into fists. Taking a deep breath and stepped into the cockpit of the other FRANXX ready to finish off her enemy. Immediately she recoiled as the smell of rot and sick assaulted her nose. It was everything she could do to keep from retching, the bitter taste of bile staining the back of her throat. Disgusted, she looked around, and what she saw was the last thing she was prepared to see. Alpha and Delta were huddled in the corner of the cockpit, but the state they were in… It... It could only be described as inhuman. They both lay naked and were so thin and weak that they looked more like skeletons. Their faces were gaunt and sunken, and large shadows hung under their eyes. They both lay there trembling, fear coloring what remained of their faces.

"Zero Two…." Alpha croaked.

She stared at him, stunned. He didn't just do that, did he? He'd always called her Nine Iota. How did he know that name? "Did… Did you just call me Zero Two?"

He nodded, "I thought…." He rasped. "I thought that was your name… You… Never liked being called… Nine Iota…" He coughed. "I guess I got it wrong…"

She stared at him, confused. Who was this? This wasn't Alpha. Alpha was vicious and cruel, who didn't give a damn about anyone else. He wasn't the type of person to remember the one time she'd been angry enough to give away her real name. "You… Didn't." She said hesitantly.

"Good…" He breathed.

She stared at the two of them. What was this? What was going on? This was not how she was supposed to find them. She was here to seek vengeance… She stared into Alpha's eyes, expecting to see the ruthless hunger that always seemed to possess him.. Instead… Instead, she saw sadness and regret. Regret for every action he'd ever taken in his entire life.

"Zero Two…" Delta breathed, looking up helplessly at her.

She stood there, unable to move. This was wrong… This wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Zero Two.." Alpha croaked. "I know that I can… That I can never take back what I did. But I want you to know that... I'm sorry. All the horrible things I did… I… I…"

She watched him confused. Alpha apologizing!? What world was she living in? Never in her life would she had thought those words could cross his lips.

She stared helplessly at Darling. What was she supposed to do? He stared helplessly back at her. He'd been prepared to support her in her decision, but now that decision wasn't clear.

She stared back at Alpha. "What.. What happened to you?"

"I realized too late what following Papa would do to me…" He wheezed. "And now we pay the price…"

Delta moaned in pain and gritted her teeth, trying to fight off whatever sensation was overwhelming her.

Alpha gently hugged her and kissed the back of her head, comforting Delta in her moment of weakness.

Zero two watched them wide-eyed. This was wrong. This went against everything she'd ever known. As she stared at them, pity welling up inside her. She could barely even imagine what this must feel like. And to see people she'd hated brought so low… It seemed wrong that this could happen to a person.

The baby inside her kicked, and she gently placed a hand on her belly. Her emotions were overwhelming her right now. She'd come here to seek vengeance, not find them helpless. Pity towards these people was.. Was… And he'd apologized… Alpha. Papa's obedient tool was apologizing for his actions, and for some reason, she.. The hatred. The rage. She couldn't call upon it anymore. The more she stood there, the more she couldn't bring herself to punish him. She stared at them as they lay helpless and dying, the consequences of their actions eating them from the inside out.

"Alpha, please." Delta sobbed. "Just make it stop… DAMN YOU, PAPA! I HATE YOU!"

Her stomach clenched. This was wrong, nobody deserved to live like this. Even them… And after all, what were they. They had just been Papa's tools. Nobody had really had a free will of their own. Most of them still didn't. It all stemmed back to Papa. He was the villain in all this. He'd caused all this suffering, and in the end, they had all be victims of him. And she had done things that she regretted now, and if she could, she'd of asked for forgiveness as well.

She stared at them, feeling the life inside her and watching the death in front of her face. It didn't feel right…

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to them and crouched down next to them, Darling following behind her. Alpha stared up at her.

"Zero Two.." He whispered.

Gently she reached out a hand and touched the side of his face, watching as a tear cascaded down his cheek and ran over her hand.

"I'm sorry." He sobbed, shaking. "I'm so sorry. Zero Two I'd take it all back. If I could... If I could.."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do... Now she just had to find the strength to do it. She'd resolved to live a new life. To move forward and not let the actions of the past affect her future. Maybe they deserved that chance. At this moment she had to opportunity to give it to them.

She looked over at Darling, and he nodded.

She looked back at Alpha. "It's okay." She said softly. "I've done things I regret to. We all did… Papa's used us for our whole lives." She took another deep breath. "It might take me a while for me to truly forgive you, Alpha. But… I'm willing to try…"

Alpha stared at her sobbing. "Thank you…"

Delta reached up to her, and she gently grabbed her hands. "You to Delta. As long as you leave Papa behind, I'll do my best to forgive you too."

Delta nodded, shaking. "I'll never forgive Papa. He did this to us.. I'll never forgive him. He lied to me and punished me when I questioned his wishes. I'll never listen to him again."

She nodded. "That's the spirit. Things turn out better when you disobey him." Unconsciously she placed a hand on her belly.

Delta's eyes follow ed the movement. "What happened to your belly… Zero Two…"

She smiled. "It's complicated. But it makes me very happy."

"Can I touch it," Delta asked weakly.

She glanced at Darling and then nodded. "Yes. If you'd like."

Delta reached out a boney hand, and she gently guided it to her belly. Delta let out a gasp of surprise and wonder, as the girl's fingers rubbed over the swell of her belly. Just then, the baby kicked again, and Delta's eyes went wide.

She smiled.

"What is it?" Delta asked horsily.

"It would take too much time to explain." She said, "But I promise I'll explain later."

"We should get them back to the Plantation," Darling said, standing up.

A moment later, they heard the rest of the squad arriving frantically trying to find a way in, since Strelizia was in the way.

"I'll go explain the situation to them," Darling said, moving off.

She nodded and turned back to Alpha and Delta. "Well, here's your chance to start a new." She said to them. "Please don't waste it." She looked directly at Alpha, "Don't make me regret this. I believe people can change. The only reason I got to find happiness is because somebody believed in me when I needed it most. I'm willing to offer that same opportunity to you but be warned. I will destroy you if you threaten the things that I love."

Alpha nodded. "I understand… I finally know what it feels like to care about something more than yourself." Gently he gave Delta a squeeze. "Thank you, Zero Two. I promise you won't regret this."

She smiled and stood up. "Good. Now let's see about getting you guys back to the plantation. You can't stay this way for much longer."

Alpha lay on a medical bed, staring up at the white ceiling of the med bay. There was an IV drip in his arm, feeding him a gentle balance of nutrients while he recovered. He looked over at Delta sleeping in the bed next to him, one arm hanging over the side of the bed as she slept. He raised his arms and looked up at his fingers, watching as the bones beneath his skin moved. He thought over everything that had happened today, how by the grace of fortune, he and Delta had been rescued and had a chance to start a new. A new life without Papa, and freedom to make his own choices.

He swore to himself that he wasn't going to waste this opportunity. He was going to follow his heart and make his life better. And with Delta at his side, he knew he could do it. Delta was his partner, and to her, he would commit himself. If not for his sake, then for hers. He would make their future one worth living.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading Chapter 26 of The Jian Bird

I hope you all are enjoying I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for Chapter 27 of The Jian Bird: Ceremonies