Darling in the FranXX: Insurrection

Chapter 18- Progress and Pitfalls

The next morning after breakfast, it was time to explore the village again. This time, in much greater detail than the last. Because this was to be your home now, it was important that you knew what was in all the buildings, that way you'd know what could be salvaged from them. The biggest priorities were water and electricity, but finding some undamaged furniture or clothes would go a long way toward making the manor feel like home.

Squad 13 had split up into groups to search by drawing lots. You had drawn the shortest of the batch, and Mitsuru became your partner for the day as a result.

In the morning, the two of you searched several homes and shops but had not found anything helpful in any of them. You did find something interesting, however. One of the shops you explored had rows upon rows of books, but not the kind you were accustomed to. It would be hard to call them novels, considering each page was made up of several boxed illustrations with word bubbles sprouting from whichever character happened to be speaking. They reminded you of children's picture books, but the content was far from something meant for a child based on the vocabulary.

Sadly, Mitsuru hadn't been as interested as you in this discovery and quickly left the shop soon after entering. You left to follow him after making a mental note to return when you had the time.

After that, you had explored a rundown building near the cliff's edge. Inside were hundreds of small offices, just like Nana and Hachi's back at Plantation 13. Being reminded of your former caretaker and commander made you feel a twinge of guilt. Were they punished because we ran away? I'd hate to think that our leaving could have had that kind of result. Knowing APE, though, it wouldn't be out of the question.

Exiting the building, you take a moment to admire the sea. It's quite beautiful, as the waves peacefully roll across and into themselves. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you notice something odd. A large grey pipe seems to run down the edge of the cliff, which is easily close to five hundred feet high, toward the sand below. Now, why would they have something like that? The beach isn't very wide there, and without the trees it isn't as scenic.

"Hey, Mitsuru," you call out to him as he makes his way out of the complex. He looks at you, waiting for you to continue. You wave your hand, ushering him over. "Come take a look at this."

"What is it?" he asks, stepping beside you. "You're much better at understanding technical stuff than I am," you say before pointing to the pipe. "Why would they run that up here? Salt water can't be used for hydration, and a building like this wouldn't need it for anything else, right?"

Mitsuru rubs his chin with his right hand. "Hmm. This building was some kind of industrial plant. I could definitely see it being used, as the seawater would be perfect for cooling down machinery." "But it's not," you point out. "Well, then, let's take a look," he says as he kneels down beside the pipe and gives it a shake. The material rattles, but doesn't show any signs of budging.

He then follows the line to the office building where there is a momentary break, revealing a mess of large wires. "Oh, so that's what it's for," he says to himself. "Care to clue me in?" you ask. "It's for electricity. You know, power," he answers. "Ah," you reply, "but why would it be coming from down there?"

Mitsuru stands and begins walking in the direction of the beach. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

About twenty minutes later, the two of you reach the beach. The FranXX are still waiting in their inactive state for your return, but you veer off in the other direction and begin to snake back toward the village along the continually narrowing shoreline. Running your hand along the cliff face as you walk, you find it to be extremely smooth, the sea having worn it down over time.