Darling in the FranXX: Insurrection

Chapter 16- A Well-Timed Bluff

"Well...that's not good," you whisper to yourself, looking up at the squad of standard model FranXX surrounding your group. At the same time, your mind works at an electrifying pace to try and figure out what's going on and how you're going to navigate your way out of this. What are they even doing here? Did they somehow manage to follow us? No, that's impossible. They couldn't have. We were so careful to keep from leaving an obvious trail. Did they track us then? I don't think that the FranXX have any kind of locator beacons. They didn't just happen upon us, did they? The insane amount of luck that would require...

"Unidentified FranXX," a voice booms outside. "We are here to have a word with you." You hurriedly glance from screen to screen, looking between the active FranXX towering above you and the deactivated units of your friends. "Squad 13," Ichigo begins giving orders, "private comms only. No one says a word without my permission." She turns to you. "Tell me you have at least some idea of what's going on?"

You shake your head. "I've got nothing..." But then suddenly, your mind flashes back to a time when you were in the Replacement Division at the Garden. One day, the Nines had arrived unannounced and demanded to be seen from maintenance that very instant. The schedule had been cleared for them without a second thought, resulting in your maintenance being put off until the next day.

"That's it," you whisper. Ichigo shoots you a confused look. "What's it?" she asks.

"Follow my lead," you reply, activating Delphinium's external speakers and quickly jumping into a connection with Ichigo. "What is the meaning of this?" you ask quietly, voice dripping with venom as Delphinium stands. You wouldn't know it, but the subdued yet powerful aura plays into your plan far better than a bolstering one would. "Who are you and why have you come here? You run the risk of upsetting our entire operation."

The lead FranXX takes a step forward. "We are Squad 59. Your FranXX were sighted from our plantation in an inactive state and we deployed to render aid. What led you to this situation?"

"Your aid is unneeded," you coolly answer. "We're special forces. Trained from birth to operate independently from the plantations."

"I'm afraid I have never heard of such a unit," the squad leader replies. "Please provide your code for verification with Plantation 59."

"Nine Omega."

Inside Delphinium, the eyes of her image go wide and a few gasps leak through over your squad comm, telling you that everyone is just as surprised as she is. The FranXX outside shift nervously before the lead drops to a knee. "Forgive me, Nine Omega," she whispers, her tone quickly going from accusatory to fearful as the reputation of the Nines works in your favor. The other members of the squad quickly follow suit and kneel before you.

"Could you not tell we were elites?" you ask as Delphinium dismissively waves her hand. "Have you ever seen a FranXX like ours? Who else could we be?"

"Laying it on a little thick, don't you think?" Hiro asks on a private comm channel. "If you go too far, they might doubt you," Ikuno agrees.

"Of course," the squad leader lifts her head to look at you while speaking. "Plantation 59 is nearby. If there is any aid we could provide, you need only ask. If you permit it then we will deliver this news to our commander, as he will want to know that you are in the area."

"Understood," Delphinium tells them, speaking for the first time. "You may go." Squad 59 nods and walks away, stopping a respectful distance from you to contact Plantation 59.

"What the hell was that?!" Zorome demands over the squad comm. "Nines?! We aren't Nines!" "I am well aware of that, Zorome," you reply calmly, "but it was the only thing I could come up with." "We do look different from other squads," Genista answers hopefully. "Yeah, and we were trained to stay outside the plantations," Futoshi agrees, "so it wasn't a complete lie."