Mastermind in the FranXX

Episode 6

EX MACHINA

The mid-morning sunshine peeked through the curtains and landed on his face. Hiro cracked his eyes open with a groan. He yawned, lazily rubbing at his eyes, and then after a moment tried to sit up. He couldn't. Deliriously, he glanced down to find a mass of pink hair in his face. He could feel soft breathing tickling his throat; his entire body was immobile. He processed for a moment, still half asleep, before realizing his situation. He turned his head as much as he could and glanced at the second bed on the other side of the room. It was empty. The sheets were pushed back from the mattress sloppily. Clearly, Zero Two wasn't in her bed.

She wasn't even sleeping next to him, either. She was sleeping on top of him. Her entire body was sprawled out on him, her limbs thrown to either side and her face wedged literally as far into his neck as it could go. Through some miracle, he hadn't been impaled by her horns in the middle of the night. Her arms were wrapped around underneath his pillow in a makeshift, indirect hug. For all intents and purposes, he was a giant, human-sized teddy bear.

He didn't really mind. He found it surprisingly comfortable. Despite her superhuman abilities - her strength, speed, endurance - she was, physically, still very much a teenage girl. With some minor exceptions, of course. She wasn't that heavy and her weight felt good on his body. Yeah. Definitely just her weight... they were in their sleepwear this time, thankfully.

"Daaaa..." she mumbled into his neck.

Adorable.

She shuffled and then yawned, cracking her eyes open lazily. He turned his head to look at her and he was greeted by those gorgeous mint green orbs he loved so much.

"Morning," he whispered.

Zero Two sucked in a breath and closed the marginal distance between their heads. Her tongue flicked out and licked a line up his cheek. She pondered the taste for a moment, then exhaled in relief. Her head dropped to his chest, her grip on him tightening. Hiro brought his hands up around her back and hugged her to him.

"It's okay," he consoled.

"'m sorryyyy..." she said into his shirt, her voice muffled.

"None of this is your fault, Zero Two. You didn't do anything."

"I did!" she exclaimed, lifting her head to stare at him through tear-filled eyes. "It was my blood! My blood did it!"

He wiped away the liquid with his finger, smiling gently. "And I was the one who drank that blood. I did it myself, it was my choice. You never forced it on me."

"But... but I poisoned you!" she wailed.

"Poisoned? Zero Two, you're not some sort of demon or snake," he replied. "There's nothing wrong with the way you are. No matter how this ends, if it means I can be with you, it's worth it."

"But I'm not human, and you are!" she whimpered, resting her cheek on his chest. "A-And I'm hurting you. I can't be with you if I hurt you!"

"Who said you're hurting me?" he asked softly.

"Huh?" She tilted her head to look at him, confused.

"It doesn't hurt, Zero Two." She maneuvered off him as he sat up. They kneeled on the sheets; Hiro pulled her into a hug. "You have never hurt me. You never would. I know it's scary, but together we will get past it. We'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere."

She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing tightly but saying nothing.

"I'll wait outside while you get dressed," he whispered. "After we're both ready, we'll head down for breakfast. We have some time before the operation starts, right? We can goof off and relax."

"...Stay," she ordered with another squeeze.

He blinked. "I want to give you pri-"

"No! Stay."

He sighed and placed his mouth against her neck, grinning. "Alright, I'll stay."

She detached herself hesitantly, like he'd disappear as soon as she let go. She crawled off the bed and went to her dresser, pulling out her uniform. He closed his eyes as she pulled off her top. If he couldn't give her privacy the normal way, he'd at least respect her decency. He kept his eyes shut, listening to her rummage around and get dressed.

"Ready," she murmured. He opened his eyes to find her putting on her headband.

He stood up to remove his shirt, but as soon as it was discarded she was in front of him, kneeling on the floor, a bit below chest height.

"Zero Two?" he questioned.

She carefully ran her hands around the tumor; it had grown smaller since the previous night, but was still prominent and pulsing. She frowned and leaned forward, kissing around it gently.

"Kisses will make it better," she said matter-of-factly. Then she stood up and turned around, giving him his privacy.

He chuckled as he got changed.

"Bulwark in the last line of defense is now eighty-five percent complete."

"Estimated to be complete by 0100."

"Current distance to klaxosaur group: approximately 4000."

"ETA is still 2300 hours."

"Squads 26 and 13 are to stand by for combat by 2230 hours."

"They're moving in a pack. Then that huge thing could likely be a klaxosaur, too," Hachi noted, scowling. "But I've never seen one like it before."

"It's a night operation as well," Nana added. "And the estimates have increased again. This would be challenging for a veteran squad, but they're still rookies. Are we sure they can handle it?"

"At this point, we simply have no choice."

"Have a good afternoon?"

Zero Two stopped, turning to look at her hesitantly. Ichigo was glad she'd managed to catch up with the other girl before they deployed. "...Y-Yeah," she replied quietly.

Ichigo smiled. "Good. I'm glad."

"Why... why are you being so..."

"Because you should be in our squad."

The surprise on Zero Two's face was clearly evident.

"We've all noticed how much you care about him, and how much he cares about you," Ichigo observed. "You've been searching for him for a while now, haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"You always get so sad and mopey when he's not around!" she grinned, trying to ignore the knot in her stomach. "And he's the same way. When you two aren't with each other you act like different people. I like it more when you're both cheerful."

Zero Two swallowed and looked down, gathering her courage. "U-Um, I... I want to stay here w-with him!"

"You only need one more ride to prove your compatibility, right?"

The taller girl nodded.

Ichigo looked up at her and smiled. "After today's mission, I'll request an official transfer into Squad 13 on your behalf. How's that sound?"

Zero Two's eyes lit up, like her day had just been made. "R-Really?!"

"Of course! Just be sure to keep him safe, okay?"

"I will! Th-Thank you..." she paused for a moment, thinking hard. "...I-Ichigo!"

{This is a story of a monster.}

"We can't afford to be too optimistic, given the difference in numbers," Mitsuru spoke. The boys were already suited up and were walking down the hall.

"Hey, don't go wimping out on us now," Zorome mocked with a grin. "We've got me, Zorome the Great, on our side!"

Futoshi wasn't as concerned. "Zorome aside, we can count on Strelizia this time. I wonder if they'll do another mind meld thingy? I kinda wanna see what it looks like."

Zorome frowned as he was forced to remember Hiro's extraordinary shift in aptitude. "Anyway, we're not letting Squad 26 hog all the glory!"

"That's not who you should be fighting," Mitsuru scolded.

Goro was silent, but noticed the door to the pistil room open. Ikuno and Ichigo walked out. The blue haired girl stopped and waited for him to catch up upon seeing him; they let the others go on ahead.

"Where's Hiro?" she asked him.

Goro shrugged. "He was walking out as we entered the room. He got a head start on us, I guess. Probably went off to find Zero Two afterwards."

Ichigo nodded. "Um, Goro. About yesterday..."

"Hm?"

"Thanks for supporting my plan. I think it went a lot smoother because of you."

He grinned and scratched his cheek. "I, ah, was mostly in it for myself, actually."

"Eh?" She gave him a confused look. Goro sighed.

"During your recovery, one morning I stumbled back to the room to get some rest. I... saw them in the same bed, sleeping together. I had to go sleep on one of the library's couches and it was really uncomfortable."

Ichigo's confusion morphed to surprise and shock as he spoke. A blush was growing on her cheeks rapidly. "H-HUH? What?!"

"It's okay!" he stressed, trying to calm her down. "They looked really happy. I don't think she's comfortable being away from him for long periods of time. It's... kinda weird. Do you know anything about it?"

The girl tried to fight down her blush. She turned to stare at the wall. "They..."

Goro raised an eyebrow as she trailed off.

"They're... childhood friends. They've been looking for each other for a while now," she tried to explain. "H-Hiro told me about it!" she added quickly to sell the story.

"We never saw her in Garden, though, Ichigo." He mentally noted her sudden nervousness. Yeah, there was definitely something fishy going on here. What had she seen?

"Remember how... how he was always taken away for those tests?"

Goro nodded.

"S-She was a special test subject, too! She was from a separate wing, they met each other and became friends."

"Huh, really?" he acknowledged. "I wonder why he never told us..."

Ichigo shrugged. "He probably never felt the reason too!"

Goro thought for a moment. "Wait, didn't you say she had something to do with his bad week?"

Ichigo blinked and then gaped, doing nothing to mask her surprise. "A-Ah, y-yeah! Hiro... ah... took a test! With her! And there was an accident and it gave him a horrible headache! It made him really sick!"

She was such a bad liar. But she'd always been that way, really. And if she was trying that hard to cover for them, then it might be best to let it drop until some other time. The situation clearly wasn't that urgent if she was defending them so desperately.

"I see!" he grinned, nodding. "That makes sense. I'm glad Hiro told you about it, Ichigo!"

"Yeah!" she replied in relief. "I'm glad he told me, too! C'mon Goro, let's go. It wouldn't do for the squad leader to be late to our most important mission yet!"

"Right you are, madam leader."

She was chewing on her lower lip when he got to the platform.

"Ready?" he asked quietly.

Zero Two didn't reply. After a moment, she grabbed his hand with shaky fingers and led him inside the cockpit. She tapped a code on the pistil interface to close and lock the hatch, and then she pushed him down to the ground, in a sitting position. He leaned up against the side of the stamen seat and she followed him down, wrapping her arms around his chest. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hold me."

He grinned, bringing his arms around her back and kissed her forehead softly. "We'll be fine."

"I don't wanna, darling!" she moaned.

"I know, I know. We're the final line of defense, remember? We'll wait until we're needed."

Zero Two nodded against his shoulder, worried. But then she sat up and grabbed his shoulders. Her grip was laced with urgency.

"If... if you feel anything at all, tell me! Even a pinch! Okay?"

He leaned forward to rest his forehead against hers.

"Okay."

"Open force gate. Open force gate."

"Lift carrier, proceed slowly at zero point five."

"On the double."

"Numbers Two through Five are to deploy in gamma quartet formation. I repeat: deploy in gamma quartet formation."

"Crimping boosters decompressing."

"All Franxx are good to go."

"Clear weather. Temperature is 22.6 degrees celsius."

"Amending enemy's approach route. Estimated point of contact unchanged."

"Safety systems all green."

Everyone was in position. Hachi's voice came over the communications system. "We have updated intel on the klaxosaurs. Aside from the Conrad-class pack, we've also detected a large, tightly packed unit. It didn't match any of the ones we have on record, but we've deemed it a klaxosaur due to its independent movement and codenamed it Target Beta."

The parasites looked out at the specified klaxosaur approaching from the dark horizon. Even in the night, it was visible due to the blue glow and its sheer size alone.

"It's huge!" Futoshi exclaimed.

"The heck is that thing?" Zorome asked.

"There are so many of the smaller ones, too," Miku noted.

"Since we lack data on it, attacking it would be reckless," Hachi continued. "As such, prioritize wiping out the Conrad-class pack once you engage. 090 will have field command."

"Understood," Squad 26's leader responded.

"It's time. All Franxx, commence operation. Strelizia, stand by where you are."

"Roger!" everyone responded in unison.

On the pipe, Zero Two found herself sighing in relief.

"Let's go, Squad 26," 090 barked.

As one they rushed towards the mass of klaxosaurs, readying their polearms. They worked in perfect unison, binding the Conrad-classes as they approached and eliminating them one at a time. Although it wasn't flash or stylish, the effectiveness of the strategy was without question. But the entire squad focusing on single targets meant there were bound to be some that made it past, and sure enough a group of four klaxosaurs had broken through the defensive line.

"Take care of them, Squad 13!" 090 ordered. "But be careful to not stray too far ahead. If you move around haphazardly, you could affect our coordination, as well."

"If you think we're a hindrance, come out and say it! Damn it..." Zorome grumbled.

Goro sighed. "I never thought we'd be seen as such a big liability."

"It's the truth," Mitsuru replied, shrugging. "We're still green. Squad 26 has to carry us in their arms, so to speak."

"Say what?!" Zorome growled, irritated.

"Focus, everyone. Here they come!" Ichigo announced.

Genista opened up with its rifle, but unlike in the mines, the Conrad-classes had plenty of room to avoid the fire. They dodged and weaved around the shots.

"Hold still, damn it!" Futoshi barked. One of the klaxosaurs came up behind the Franxx while it was distracted and slammed into its back. Kokoro let out a shout of surprise and pain. Chlorophytum rushed up behind the beast and unloaded into it with its machine guns; the klaxosaur screeched and leapt away to recover. But Delphinium saw the opening and sailed over the other Franxx. Ichigo landed on the retreating monster and stabbed its core with her weapons. The klaxosaur vanished in a mist of blue.

"Don't overdo it, Ichigo!" Ikuno chastised. "You've just recovered!"

"I'm fine!" the girl called back as she exchanged blows with another klaxosaur. Argentea flanked it and stabbed the beast in the back, piercing the core in one swift movement. Another one down.

Further up the battlefield, 090 took a moment to turn and note their efficiency. "Not bad for an experimental test squadron. 015 is a skilled leader. And they have Code 016 as well, don't they?"

Throbbing pain erupted in his head and he bent over, clutching his temple in agony. A call from Nana interrupted the painful stream of consciousness.

"Second wave incoming!"

"U-Understood!" he gasped, wincing. "Here they come! Don't let them through!"

"They're barely hanging in there."

She tilted her head up to look at him, frowning slightly, and tightened her grip around his arm. They were sitting on the edge of the faceplate, watching the battle.

Don'twanna don't wannaaaaaaaa! Gotta protect darling!

"W-We should wait a bit longer," she suggested quietly.

He turned to look at her, those ice blue eyes she loved so much sending a comforting warmth down her spine. "The longer we wait, the more serious it's going to get. They won't be able to hold out without us. You know that."

She bit her lip. "But..."

Butbutbutbutbut!

"Zero Two," he said gently, turning and taking her hands. "I will be fine. What kind of darling would I be if I just up and died on our third ride together?" he joked.

She whined, knowing he was right. Butstill! Not okay not okaaaaaay! Gotta protect, go slow slowlyslowly!

She reached up and connected their lips with tender urgency.

"I won't forgive you if anything happens to you!" she warned after a moment. "And I want lots of hugs and kisses after this! And candy! And cuddles! And-"

He interrupted her with another gentle kiss.

"Strelizia's here!" Miku called out.

The mech rocketed onto the battlefield, strength personified. Readying the spear, Zero Two dashed into the approaching mass of Conrad-classes and began ripping and tearing them to shreds. They died by the dozens; blue gore flew everywhere as the klaxosaurs were incinerated by the sheer power of the mech.

Identifying the newcomer as a significant threat, the next wave of Conrads began charging and unleashed a torrent of blue energy directly at Strelizia. Its shield came up, deflecting the blasts, and it gracefully leapt through the air to close distance. It lauched its spear like a harpoon into the wave, slaughtering the vast majority of them instantly.

"Tch. Her again," 090 grunted. He opened a direct line to Strelizia. "Why'd you come out here? Don't ignore orders."

Zero Two didn't bother to respond, so Hiro did instead. "We're just here to help our squad."

"You can't do whatever the hell you want-"

They terminated the connection. "Damn it!" 090 swore. He squeezed his eyes shut as another throb of pain tore through his head.

"What do we do?" one of the other squad members asked.

"Ig... Ignore them. Let's... take it out in one fell swoop!"

Squad 26 equipped the auxiliary magma energy batteries to their weapons. They wrapped up as many Conrads as they could, then activated the shock coils. The klaxosaurs were reduced to blue goop in a mighty explosion.

"Whoa!" Futoshi exclaimed in awe. Zorome sneered at the display.

"That's some teamwork," Goro noted, his tone approving.

"Target Beta has breached the second line of defense."

The Franxx units stopped at looked out at the massive behemoth.

"We're going to attack Target Beta now," 090 reported.

"Be careful," Hachi replied over the comms.

"How is it going to attack?" Ichigo wondered. "It doesn't have any limbs."

Squad 13 watched as the 26ers wrapped their shock coils around the klaxosaur. The energy didn't seem to do much direct damage, but the beast stopped its advance.

"Good. It's working," 090 noted. "Now!"

They reactivated the coils at full power, sending the explosive energy streaming into the klaxosaur. But then a piercing, horrific screech ran out; the energy flowing through the cables ceased.

"What's that noise?" Goro cried, covering his ears in pain.

"A shriek?" Mitsuru replied with a wince.

"L-Look!" Ichigo called out.

The cables snapped instantly; a massive klaxosaur exploded out of the cube, groaning as it extended itself to its full size. It slammed the ground with its front limbs, sending a massive shockwave radiating outwards. The pistils cried out in shock as they tried to maintain balance.

"A-A humanoid form?" Futoshi asked.

In the control room, Nana observed the change with horror. "A Gutenberg-class?!"

"This is bad news," Hachi observed.

"You're not getting any closer!" 090 declared. "All units, we're trying again!"

The 26ers attempted to reattach their cables to the klaxosaur's limbs; the Gutenberg was having none of it and easily sent them flying through the air like ragdolls.

"Damn! Damn! We're out of gas!" 090 shouted out once he landed.

"Squad 26 units, fall back!" Hachi commanded. A warning blared on one of the command room's many monitors. Another massive wave of Conrad-classes were on approach towards the Gutenberg. "There were even more?! Squad 13, deal with the Conrads! Strelizia will handle the Gutenberg-class!"

The massive behemoth continued to approach the fuel pipe.

"Easier said than done," Ikuno noted dryly.

Kokoro looked up at the klaxosaur with a mix of fear and awe. "Will Strelizia really be able to handle that by itself?"

"Doubtful," Mitsuru replied. "It's too big, even for those two."

"Everyone, let's deal with the other group quickly!" Ichigo ordered. "The faster we take them out, the sooner we can regroup and assist Strelizia!"

"Roger!" they replied in unison, speeding off.

It's okay. We're fine. Breathe.

Y-Yeah. Yeah...

They sped around the massive behemoth, looking for an opening.

Have you fought one of these before, Zero Two?

No. I've heard of them, but this is the first time I've even seen one. It's huge, darling, look at it!

It's bipedal and its torso is thick, which means it should be top heavy. If we knock it off balance we'll have a better shot.

Right! So we'll go for the legs!

Strelizia swerved to the side sharply, gathering momentum and raising its spear. With a blast of the thrusters, it slammed into the right leg of the Gutenberg. They caught it mid-stride, with the left leg raised, and the resulting explosion quite literally knocked its feet out from under it. With a groan the beast slammed face first into the ground. Strelizia reversed away to prevent being caught underneath.

Great job, Zero Two. Let's get on top of it and search for that core.

Yeah, yeah! We can do this!

With a thruster-assisted leap, the mech jumped onto the Gutenberg's back. Magma energy filled the spear once more and Strelizia slammed it into the klaxosaur's tough hide. But even the mighty weapon wasn't enough to blow open the beast completely; the discharge merely left it dazed.

Damn! Not enough force!

Let's try again, darling!

But their plans were interrupted by movement. A piece of the Gutenberg's back lifted up and slammed Strelizia off, sending it flying in the direction of the transfer tube. Zero Two gasped as the ocean was suddenly ripped away. The sun scorched her with its heat.

D-Darling? Darling?!

There was no answer. Her limbs were stiff - too stiff. They weighed her down, chained her to the earth. A shadow fell over her and she struggled to twist towards the klaxosaur. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a rapidly approaching battering ram.

The Gutenberg-class slammed into them again. She didn't care.

nonononONOnonONonoNONOononONNoNOONpleasepleasenoNONONONOPLEASE

"Wake up! Darling! Wake up!" she sobbed out, shaking him desperately. "Please! Please!"

She'd been trying to wake him for what seemed like an eternity but hewasn'trespondiiiiiiiiiingnonononoopleasenoNOONONONONPLEASENONONOWHYNODARLINGDARLINGDARLINGDARLING

Desperately, fingers shaking, she place a hand over his neck, checking for his pulse.

There was none.

"Ah... aaah..." she gasped in horror, recoiling. She shook her head back and forth, unable to accept it.

she... sheeeeee... had...

"Da... da...!"

Zero Two put her trembling hands on his chest and pressed her head against him. She couldn't even breathe. She was going to throw up. She was choking and dying.

"Da...liiiii..."

kiiiiiiiiilled

"I..." she gagged. "...so...sorr..."

She screamed. In horror, terror, loathing and suffering. She screamed to the heavens as the cockpit shook, as her world came tumbling down and her universe collapsed on itself. Everything was falling apart as she broke and cried and sobbed and-

"Shh."

Her eyes snapped open. Two arms had wrapped around her.

"Da... da..." she wheezed, praying and praying and praying and praying that this wasn'tadreampleaaaaase...

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered. He ran a hand through her hair gently, keeping the other on her back. "I scared you, didn't I?"

She moaned, broken, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. She didn't dare let go - if she did, he would vanish. He would vanish andleaveher and goaway and she'dbealonealonealonealonepleasedarlingPLEASEPLEASE

Darli... aliiiii...

"It's okay. I passed out for a moment. Shh. I'm here, I'm here," he breathed into her ear, rocking her back and forth. She cried loudly into his shoulder, her nightmare passing but no less real. He rubbed her back as she let it all out. The cockpit suffered a particularly nasty vibration as the Gutenberg continued its relentless action.

"Zero Two, we need to get out of here. We're not safe," he whispered.

Weakly, she pulled back to look at him... and then sucked in a breath when she saw the two blue points glowing beneath his hair. She brought up a hand and pushed away his bangs.

corruptedpoisonedDARLING

"What have I..." she whispered.

Hiro leaned forward, and nudged his tiny pseudo-horns against hers. Her eyes widened.

The cockpit illuminated itself. The pounding stopped.

"I've never told you... why I saved you, have I?" he asked her, voice just as quiet.

"Wha..."

Their horns glowed. Hiro closed his eyes. The visions streamed through her.

A boy lost and alone, with many questions and no answers.

soalone

A girl on a table, with only a picture book for company.

Darling, he...

A burning desire, an urge to be saved.

...the same?

A reason for existing.

"You..." she murmured.

He smiled softly at her, opening his eyes to gaze into her own. "I was a slave. Empty, without purpose. I didn't know who I was or what I was meant to do. They tested me but never answered my questions. Gave me candy, but never satisfied my hunger or thirst."

The boy grabbed her hands, stroked her knuckles.

"Nobody else fought back. Nobody else felt anything, or cared, or wanted to know why. And then I saw you."

She stared at him, sniffing back her tears.

"I admired you. They put you through so much, gave you so much pain, and yet you kept fighting. You kept struggling. You never gave up."

He squeezed her hands.

"I didn't save you because I pitied you or thought you weak. I saved you because you were strong."

She whimpered, tears falling freely, and pushed her horns into his own to not break the connection.

All along, he... heeeee he he had...

"You were the answer I'd been looking for. In that land of monsters and slaves, Zero Two, you were the only other human."

She... she had saved...

"You alone gave me a reason for living."

The world flashed white.

[ERROR: SIGNAL LOST]

[ERROR: SIGNAL LOST]

[ERROR: SIGNAL LOST]

[ERROR: PULSE REG.]

[ERROR: PULSE REG.]

"Doctor!" Nana shouted.

"I know, damn it, I know! Let me concentrate!"

"All communciations with Strelizia have been cut off from the inside," Hachi alerted. "It's gone into radio silence."

"Output is still increasing!" a systems tech called out. "We've passed stability thresholds! Magma energy consumption at double standard levels!"

"Get a camera focused on the tube! We need eyes on that Franxx!" Werner barked.

There was a flash of red light, and the sound of an explosion.

{This is a story unforgotten.}

The shockwave of power reverberated through the Gutenberg's giant, hammer-like body. It groaned in pain and stumbled back away from the damaged tube, pieces of its shapeshifting body trying and failing to reform into their proper positions. The energy echoed out past it, stirring up a cloud of dust that battered the surrounding area and momentarily disrupted visual sensors.

Two mechanical, claw-like hands grabbed the edges of the crater. With a jerky, rough movement, Strelizia's head leaned forward. The horn had been folded back. Its faceplate was black and grey static.

It pulled itself out of the crater and unceremoniously dropped to the ground. It did nothing to stop or mitigate the free fall; like a rock it fell, its legs buckling as they impacted the dirt. The mech collapsed forward onto its stomach, limp and immobile, face obscured by the sand and dust.

"Strelizia!" Delphinium called out as it fought off a pair of Conrad-classes by the Gutenberg. "Hiro! Zero Two!"

There was no response.

"Hey, guys! Let's go, let's go! Time's wasting!" Zorome motivated from inside Argentea.

Strelizia twitched once, twice. The spear was up. Into the ground. White hands out. Up it jerked. A low growl. A constant, static-filled hum. Bent knees, onto its toes. Mimicry, a human on all fours. The hum intensified.

"...Strelizia?" Genista asked cautiously.

The head snapped up. Fast and quick.

The faceplate was deactivated and blank.

"All units!" a voice called out sharply over the intercom. It was Hachi. "Do not approach Strelizia! I repeat, do not approach Strelizia!"

"W-What?" Delphinium asked.

A zombie, rising from the grave. It straightened itself with its tail. Hunched over, arms limp. The hum was choppy, broken, distorted. Something faded and expired. A distant memory. The klaxosaurs themselves had ceased the assault. They sensed something: a pungent odor; a malformed, rotten disease.

Out of the sand came the tail. It quivered in the air. Nervously, eagerly, silently. A lurching step forward. Another. It reared up to its full height, brought its head back.

Strelizia roared. A wild noise, crazed. A horrible sound that sent static through the mechs' auditory systems. The Conrad-classes disengaged from Delphinium immediately, dashing as fast as they could in the machine's direction. They screeched at it, venomous and hateful.

The mech stumbled, sluggish. It groaned, it growled. To its haunches it dropped. Forward, fast, to the oncoming klaxosaurs. A wildly swinging tail. It spun on its hands. The spear twisted. Through one Conrad, then another. Explosions, blue mist.

The Gutenberg that had been pounding against the transfer tube now looked to Strelizia as it tried to regain its original form. It howled a warning, something primal and laced with fear. Around it, the remaining klaxosaurs shifted targets and sprinted after the white machine as fast as possible. The magma energy was no longer the priority. The intent was clear: that Franxx had to die.

Strelizia roared its fury. A defiance declared. Faceplate gone, potent jaws out. Ripping, tearing. Another klaxosaur dead. Both forms on instinct, human and beast. Clawing, stabbing. Through the horde of blue and black, it fought.

"W-What do we do?" Miku asked nervously.

"Hiro and Zero Two are trapped in there! I'm going to get them out! You three try to delay that big one. Strelizia is the only one that can reach the core!" Ichigo ordered. She raced off to lend assistance as the others turned their focus to the massive klaxosaur, which was still trying to repair itself after the shockwave.

Delphinium cut down and stabbed as many klaxosaurs as it could, but the swarm was not interested in the new arrival and simply ran past. Their target remained singular and focused. Wounded but determined. More slicing, more killing - a path of destruction. A mountain of guts and gore. Broken bodies, piled on top of each other. A monument to chaos and carnage. It scrambled to get away, to find someplace to rest and recover. The klaoxsaur pursuit was relentless.

"I don't think they're in control!" Goro shouted through the madness.

"It's just like that first time," Ichigo realized as she cut down a Conrad.

"What the heck is going on?" her partner replied, sweat on his brow. "Klaoxsaurs don't normally act like this, right?"

Eventually, they somehow managed to cut their way to Strelizia. Ichigo carved a Conrad-class to pieces and rushed to the other mech, but Strelizia roared again and swiped at Delphinium with its tail.

"Hiro! Zero Two!" she cried out.

"Stay back!" a new voice roared through the comms. It was the doctor. "It's backed up against a wall, let it run! It can't get away, it's too tired! Don't fight it!"

"But...!" Ichigo stammered, blocking another tail swipe. She hesitated a moment before following the doctor's instructions, backing off and giving the mech room. Seeing an opening, Strelizia growled and scrambled down the hill of klaxosaur bodies. It tripped over a broken Conrad carcass and tumbled down into the dirt. The Franxx voiced a broken, disjointed howl of pain as it tried to crawl away. It shakily managed to get onto its hands and knees - but then it stopped. The tail fell limply into the gut-splattered sand.

Strelizia was silent.

Delphinium approached it cautiously, but Hachi's voice once again sounded on the communications system.

"Delphinium, rejoin Squad 13 and try to disable the Gutenberg-class. We will try to deal with Strelizia from our end."

Ichigo didn't move. She continued to stare at Strelizia's broken, frozen form, obviously worried about its occupants.

"Ichigo, let's go!" Goro urged. "You know how strong those two are, they'll be fine. Strelizia isn't moving, they won't go anywhere. We'll get them out as soon as we deal with the klaxosaur!"

"R-Right..." After sparing one last look in Strelizia's direction, Ichigo dashed off to rejoin her teammates. The last remaining klaxosaur was once again approaching the battered transfer tube.

live

fight

pain

live

survive

fear

tired

survive

live

You poor thing...

fear

fear

fight

live

You've been fighting all this time, haven't you?

live

fight

fear

pain

tired

fight

It's okay. We're here now.

tired

fight

live

fight

tired

Let us fight instead. You can go. We'll protect you. We promise.

fear

tired

fear

Shh. It's okay, it's okay. Sleep. Rest now.

tired

tired

tired...

That's it, it's okay. You've fought enough. You've earned this.

tired...

comfort...

comfort...

tired...

Thank you for everything...

rest...

comfort...

peace...

slee-

...

...Strelizia.

{This is a story of inheritance.}

"Strelizia's started moving again! Pilot pulses are still not registering!" Nana shouted.

"Zoom in with camera 44. I want to see it," Werner ordered. The system magnified onto the rogue mech. It was still on its hands and knees, but...

"What's it doing, doctor?" Hachi asked.

"...Hachi."

He turned to the scientist. "Sir?"

"Prepare a flare. Make the color white. Launch it on my signal, directly above the plantation."

"Understood."

Werner returned to staring at the camera, his gaze sharp. "Nana."

"Sir?"

"Tell me when they reconnect."

"U-Understood, doctor."

"Why won't this damn thing just go down?!" Zorome exclaimed, agitated. Miku stabbed into the beast's leg once again with Argentea's claws, moaning in frustration.

"It keeps repairing itself! Why the heck can't we do that?!" Futoshi cried.

"Focus your attacks on one area!" Ichigo ordered. "Its core has to be buried in there somewhere! We'll just have to dig for it!"

"Roger!" the others responded in unison.

"Ichigo!" Goro interrupted. "Strelizia is moving again!"

Her attention immediately shifted to Strelizia's position. It hadn't left the spot of blood-stained dirt by the hill of destroyed Conrad-classes, but it was indeed moving again.

It was digging.

"What's it..." she whispered.

"Ichigo! Come on!" Ikuno shouted, drawing Delphinium's focus back to the Gutenberg.

Werner watched as the mech buried its hands into the ground and cupped a handful of bloodied, dead dirt. It brought it up to the still-blank faceplate, staring.

"What's it doing, doctor?" Nana whispered.

"Quiet!" he hushed, leaning forward to stare at the feed.

It separated its hands, just enough for the dirt to trickle down to the ground. And then an alert sounded from the system tracking the sync rate and pulse of its pilots.

"They're back online, doctor!" Nana exclaimed. "But - but this pulse is..."

Werner was at her side instantly. Hiro and Zero Two's pulses were the exact same number, but they weren't stationary. They rested at 120, spiked twice to 180, and then the pattern repeated.

Nana's eyes widened. Her voice was panicked. "That looks like a... heartbeat?"

The doctor looked back to the monitor. Strelizia was repeating the action, letting more dirt fall from its hands.

"Hachi, launch the flare."

Hachi nodded and began the loading sequence. Nana approached the doctor, concern written all over her face.

"Doctor, I don't understand! This is beyond abnormal! No Franxx has ever shown this behavior!"

Werner glanced at her. "Obviously. Strelizia isn't a Franxx. Why would it behave like one?"

Nana took a step back in shock. "What?"

He sighed, clearly not in the mood to explain himself. "Due to their unique situations, 002 and 016 are incapable of operating Franxx units. She overwhelms the stamen and he overloads the pistil. The machines cannot handle them. I ran simulations when they were still in development and the results never changed. If you put those two together into a standard Franxx, it would shut down at best and explode at worst. You're fitting too much power into too small of a package."

Nana looked from the doctor back to the monitor as he continued explain the situation. Strelizia had dropped the the last of the dirt suddenly, arcing its back as a red glow began subsuming its white body. The shimmer crawled outwards across the mech's skin, snaking its way across every part of the machine. It tilted forward again, catching itself with shaking arms as the process continued.

"After much research and experimentation, I realized that there was only one way to efficiently harnass their potential," Werner continued.

"And that was?"

"To use their connection as fuel."

The flare exploded above the two plantations, illuminating the battlefield right as the clock struck midnight. Strelizia stopped shaking and looked up at the radiance with childlike curiosity. Its tail twitched in the dirt, skin now glowing a radiant red.

"You mean, like a..." Nana trailed off.

It crawled towards the light, like a toddler, before planted its hands into the ground. Unsteadily, the mech pushed onto its feet and then straightened. It stumbled and almost fell over, but caught itself. It carefully held out its arms to either side of its body, trying to balance.

"No. Hooking them up permanently was deemed too dangerous. The connection would have been too unstable, too uncontrollable," Werner grunted. "Strelizia was developed in a unique manner, different from any other Franxx. It was intended to safely harness their latent abilities, to let them utilize their connective attributes to their full extent. But due to its experimental nature and the process by which they connect, it developed some... quirks."

One step, then two. The tail dragged through the blue-brown earth. The thrusters returned to life, billowing smoke and flame in short, sporadic bursts. Strelizia paused, getting its bearings. It lifted its hands out in front of itself, gazing at its knuckles, then its palms.

"What is it?" Nana asked finally.

Shifting its gaze, Strelizia looked at the dimming flare, down to Plantation 13, and over to the where the Gutenberg and the Squad 13 Franxx units were still in combat. It lowered its head down to its feet and experimentally jumped in place. The tail rapidly retracted and locked into position on the left arm. Strelizia observed it, twisting the forearm as it analyzed the weapon. The magma energy blazed to life; the machine looked to the klaxosaur. The thrusters sputtered twice more before roaring to life, a solid wall of flame.

Werner Frank lowered his head, eye closed. He brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose. He was tired. So very, very tired.

"It is not a true Franxx, nor is it a true klaxosaur," he rasped.

The implications of what he was saying slammed into the administrator like a sack of bricks. Nana went pale, her expression one of sheer horror.

"It's a..." she breathed.

Werner nodded.

"Yes. It is both and neither. It is a hybrid."

Strelizia cracked its neck.

"Damn it!" Ichigo shouted, exhausted.

"Ichigo, calm down!" Goro replied urgently. "Let's think it through. There has to be something we haven't tried yet, right?"

She was so frustrated! Nothing was working! It was just shrugging off the blows and repairing all the damage done to it. Their weapons weren't strong enough to reach the core before they were either forced away or the klaxosaur began regenerating. Focusing their attacks on a single spot wasn't working, either! They were running out of time. It was almost back to the fuel pipe again, and this time they didn't have any distractions to catch its attention.

"Let's try to immobilize one of its legs again," Mitsuru suggested over comms. "If nothing else, it'll buy us some time to formulate a plan."

"Alright, we'll go with that," Ichigo agreed. The Gutenberg had sinced reformed back into its bipedal form, and the squad made the decision to focus on its right leg. They zoomed in, striking at it with everything they had. Just like before, though, their attacks couldn't effectively pierce the thick, armor-like hide. The klaxosaur groaned and brought up a massive fist. It dropped it towards the Franxx, attempting to swat them away like gnats.

Ichigo looked up at it in frustration. Not again! "Everyone, disper-"

The giant limb was quite literally blown off the Gutenberg. It slammed into the ground some distance away, setting off a dusty shockwave. Squad 13 fell back, confused.

"What the heck was that?!" Zorome shouted.

Ichigo looked up just in time to dash out of the way. Strelizia impacted the spot Delphinium had been in a moment prior. It bounced and rolled on the ground for a bit before skidding to a halt on its back. It sat up, shook its head, and looked at its spear in confusion.

"S-Strelizia?!" Ichigo exclaimed. She propelled Delphinium over to the other mech.

"Ichigo, hold on! Look!" Goro advised. "Zero Two's face isn't there. It's still berserk, be careful!"

Ichigo didn't care; she had to make sure Hiro and Zero Two were okay! "Hey! Guys! Can you hear me! Are you alright?"

Strelizia lifted its head upon hearing Ichigo's voice and it shakily got to its feet. It looked towards Delphinium and visibly perked up. With a quick burst of its thrusters, it was immediately besides the other machine, looking it over curiously and definitely breaching its personal space.

"H-Hey..." Goro muttered.

"Guys...?" Ichigo asked cautiously.

Strelizia glomped it.

"Guys?!"

The machine gave Delphinium a big hug; it was all Ichigo could do to prevent toppling over. Eventually Strelizia released it and jumped in place excitedly. Ichigo gave it a weird look. What in the world? First it was attacking them, now it was hugging them? The robot was just as bipolar as its pilots!

Delphinium sighed. "Alright guys, listen! I don't know if you can hear me in there, but now's not the time! We need your help. You're the only one that can get to the klaxosaur's core! We'll try to hold it in place and you go for the kill. Alright?" She lifted a finger and pointed at the Gutenberg for emphasis.

Strelizia tilted its head like an innocent puppy. Then it looked from Delphinium, to its finger, to the Gutenberg, and back to Delphinium. It paused for a long moment... and then gave a thumbs up. Ichigo released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Alright, great! Let's-"

Strelizia was gone.

"-go?"

"Ichigo!" Goro called out, alarmed. "Look! Up there!"

She turned and looked into the sky. Strelizia had rocketed into the air faster than anyone had noticed, rapidly approaching the Gutenberg's "face". The spear was held back in a ready position, surging with magma energy. The rogue machine hung in the air for a pregnant moment and then brought the weapon forward.

The Gutenberg-class klaxosaur ceased to exist.

Squad 13 watched, shocked still, as a now-white Strelizia fell lifelessly from the sky. It impacted the ground like a brick, silent and immobile.

At long last Ichigo snapped from her daze. "Hiro! Zero Two!" she cried as she flew over to downed machine. She rolled Strelizia onto its back, sat it up and lowered Delphinium into a crouch over it. Shutting off the system, she bolted out of the Franxx before Goro could even say a word of warning. Ichigo leapt onto Strelizia's shoulder and twisted open the emergency hatch after a bit of struggle. She dashed into the cockpit.

"Guys! Are you..."

She stopped. Wild, tangled cables were strewn about the enclosure, originating from within the pistil terminal. They ran limply over to its two pilots, twisting around them in a semi-circle, but didn't touch their still forms. Hiro and Zero Two were leaning up against the side of the stamen seat, unconscious. Their arms were wrapped around each other in a tight hug.

Ichigo's hands came up to cover her mouth.

Poking through Hiro's bangs were a burgeoning pair of bright blue horns.