Darling in the FranXX: The Lost Prodigy

Chapter 19: Revelations - Part 3

Operation Gjallarhorn... a long campaign devised by APE that would change the fate of humanity. I still remember every traumatic detail of it. We were out in the barren wasteland for hours, sometimes days with few breaks, if there were any. It was hot, arid, and chaotic. Nothing at all like the simulations we had run back at the Garden. Of course, that's pretty much the way it was for all of us, wasn't it? All those years of training... It doesn't really prepare you for all the screaming or the bloodshed does it?

XXXXXX

17 years ago

It's been almost a month now since Papa chose Squad 42 as the vanguard for Operation Gjallarhorn. The plan was pretty straightforward: A massive number of Plantations gathered just outside Klaxosaur territory and would march all the way through to the Gran Crevasse and capture it, eliminating any resistance on the way.

The battles we fought were on a scale much larger than any of us imagined and more difficult than any mission we have ever participated in. The road to the Gran Crevasse was a long one and we had barely entered the outskirts of Klaxosaur territory when our first deployment in this grand operation came.

We saw Klaxosaurs in new shapes and sizes in every battle we fought. Of course, we were accompanied by at least six other Plantation squads at every battle, though they were not nearly as skilled or capable as ours. We tried our best to save them, though it was ultimately futile as the less experienced squads were trampled by the enemy.

However, Papa and the rest of APE didn't see any issues in this. If one squad was eliminated, a new one would simply take its place. The philosophy was basically to just throw Franxx at the Klaxosaur army until we would win. The lives of parasites were completely disregarded, Papa would win by any means necessary and the parasites themselves marched happily to their own death for whatever sick goal APE was pursuing.

As for us, we persevered through every fight and emerged more battle-hardened than before. However, this came at a price. Battles became more and more frequent the deeper we pushed into Klaxosaur territory. As a result, we hardly had any time to rest in-between the larger battles and were pushed to our limits.

The few times we were able to go back to Mistilteinn, our activities only consisted of eating, showering, and sleeping until the alarm would wake us up for our next deployment. This took a heavy toll on some of the more sensitive members of the squad.

Kisara, Kasumi, and Aki had become more and more silent. Kuro, Yuri, Ryoken, and Misaki were more or less the same but that was only due to the great façade they put up to hide the fact that they were slowly falling apart on the inside from the stress. They couldn't fool me though but I didn't know what to do about it nevertheless.

Even Haru, who has such a carefree spirit, started to seem less and less cheerful and made fewer jokes. Aporia was steadfast, however. Pain was an old friend for him since the Garden and he had an iron will to fight through it. Seeing his beloved Kisara like this, however, left a scar in him that may never fully healed.

What was I supposed to do about it? They were my friends, my family. They looked up to me and expected me to lead them through whatever comes our way. Their safety, their lives, my responsibility. I had to stay strong for them. At least that's what I told myself...

XXXXXX

Squad 42's Franxx just finished refueling and were ready to jump back into action on the front lines. Going back to refuel was the only break you got at this point. It took over two weeks to fight through the outskirts of the region where the Gran Crevasse is located and now, you're closing in on the objective itself. However, you'd also face what looks to be the main force of the Klaxosaur army here.