Darling in the Franx: Alternate Core

Chapter 6: Darlings in the NEXTs.

Chapter 6 bois! The BIG one for this arc! Nothing much will change except the final parts of the battle where our favorite squad of Parasites will see the TRUE potential of a NEXT! On with the show!

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Kissing operation night, 1 hour before the battle, in the bunker's briefing room...

Raven: - They actually activated it? -

Orion: - Yep. It seems the kids are bolder than we give them credit for. And talk about impecable timing, the klaxosaur force ETA is about 50 minutes, wouldn't surprise me if they did this for the sake of receiving our help. -

Naomi: - How many klaxosaurs are supposed to be there? -

Orion: - Between 150 and 170. Not to say the pack they are fighting also has a Gutenberg going in bait mode. -

Naomi: - Bait mode? -

Orion: - Some Gutenbergs are smart enough to hide their true strength and category until the battle reaches a criticial point, usually that being the pack about to break or the defenders about to be overrun. Right now the Gutenberg... *shows on the hologram table a projection of a cubic klaxo* looks like this, but in reality... *the klaxo changes forms until it forms a big bipedal humanoid creature* its true form is this. There's a saying from an ancient master of war called Sun Tzu that says: "Appear strong when you're weak and appear weak when you're strong." Some Gutenbergs are smart enough to apply that tip. -

Naomi: - What does it mean to my friends? -

Raven: - It means that it is in their best interest to save their energy for one big fight once they clear all the minions in the pack. -

Naomi got a little worried about that. From what her rescuers told her, fighting the little guys can be as exhausting if not more time and energy consuming than fighting the leader. She just hoped Ichigo would make the correct decisions...

Samuel: - So, what's the plan for insertion boss? -

Orion: - Well, that's what the equipment you brought is designed for... *Shows a hologram of 3 sets of boosters each containing 4 main ones alongside 4 secondary ones (the boosters that White Glint uses on the 'Armored Core For Answer' trailer)* the EXO-SSE-Quad-6000 (couldn't find the official name) designed for fast deployment of NEXT with a maximum speed of 2000 km/h (1242.7 mph) and a maximum range of 5000 km. Using those we should be able to reach the battlefield if we go in a straight line in half-an-hour. -

Naomi: - Half-an-hour?! But at that point the battle would have already started! -

Orion: - Which is why we are departing as soon as Sally returns from the comms room... -

The door was then opened as the mentioned one entered in a hurry. She was worried and that only meant unexpected developments and not on their favor.

Orion: - What's wrong? -

Sally: - The Oletros detected a second pack... following the first one... its bigger and... it has a Death Ripper klaxosaur on it! -

Everyone present stared in shock at her.

Naomi: - What's a Death Ripper? -

Raven: - A klaxosaur class that IS made against something as deadly as them... our NEXT... -

Naomi was shocked significantly, a klaxosaur designed to attack and kill NEXT's specifically?! Then that meant... her friends...

Naomi: - WE HAVE TO GO AND SAVE THEM! -