A/N: Obviously I'm doing something right, because this fanfiction, in more ways than one, has officially surpassed my old one.
I am quite honored, to be honest.
There's another authors note at the end, regarding the approaching Summer, among other things.
Hope you enjoy.
"T.I.T.A.N. has engaged the target, sir."
"Good. Continue monitoring the situation."
The princess coughed up blood.
What hit me? She wondered hazily. The event came to her quickly, and she stood up, nearly crashing back down when the FranXX lurched forward.
"Princess! Hang onto something!" Hiro yelled.
Hime looked at the hybrid, whose skin was beginning to turn blue again, and his partner, whose skin was already reddened, at the controls, currently piloting to keep out of reach of the mechanical behemoth outside.
The robot was clunky, obviously (to her) of old human make, the size of a human skyscraper. It's multiple eyes flashed red as it tracked them with malicious intent.
Zero Two grimaced. "That thing's huge, darling!" She grinned slightly at her accidental innuendo.
Must you?, the princess thought dryly.
"Yeah! I don't think we keep dodging for much longer!" Hiro called back to her. Papa in hell, can we not get anywhere without crashing or getting attacked by something?!
As if to clarify that point, the massive robot swung at them again, palm hitting the sands where Strelitzia had just been. The FranXX flew around the behemoth, buzzing around like an antagonizing fly.
The princess used her tentacles to secure herself before glaring at the two. Get us out of here! She wanted to shout, but she didn't have the human words for it. You cannot die here!
Alas, fate seemed to pay no heed to any of their wishes.
The robot swung it's right arm again, this time making successful contact with the FranXX with a sickening crunch.
The hybrids screamed.
And Strelitzia fell.
Passing by the Gran Crevasse again, Ichigo was reminded of the final battle between the parasites and the Klaxosaurs-when the truth was revealed.
The memory wasn't exactly a pleasant one.
"Ichigo?"
"Im fine, Goro. You don't have to worry about me all the time."
"O-oh…"
"Only half." She grinned, and she felt Goro's presence lighten.
"God, I love you."
"I love you too, Goro. Now, let's go back to the Birds Nest. I hate being in these things."
FranXXs. They had stopped using them after most of the harder bits of construction and scavenging were done, as well as destroying all the Magma mines, although the Klaxosaurs mostly beat them to that. Their makeshift city was still mostly running on Magma energy, as making such a major transition from one energy source to another could not, and would not, be possible for another four years. Ikuno's hydro-powered turbine experiments were gaining some steam (Ichigo had complete confidence in her- she had solved the parasite rapid-aging problem soon after Hiro and Zero Two left [possibly thanks to the declassified notes of Werner Frank, but she wasn't to sure on that front]), and she was confident that they could replace most of the Magma powered systems within the next five years.
"We don't have to get there right away, we can afford an extra half-hour off," Goro spoke up, picking up on her fatigue.
He'd always been able to tell. She wished she had realized that sooner. But, she digressed...
Ichigo sighed. She had become the de-facto leader of the Birds Nest (why they had called their settlement that, she didn't know) so she handled all the city's problems.
And there were many.
The child population had boomed around Year Two, not counting the children that had been in cryo freeze for who-knows-how-long, which led to the implementation of rationing as well as sex-ed classes.
Taught by Kokoro.
She honestly didn't know how that one happened.
"Yeah, that sounds nice. Y'know, you're probably the only reason I'm still sane."
"Yeah. Being the unofficial leader of the last vestiges of humanity really puts a strain on your shoulder."
Ichigo twisted her head to glare jokingly at her partner. "Are you trying to make me more depressed?"
Goro chuckled. "Possibly."
The two lapsed back into comfortably silence.
...
After cruising for a while, the pilots noticed an obstruction ahead of them.
A bipedal black and blue obstruction.
Looking at them. Not at all unnerving. (Nudge nudge sarcasm wink wink)
"Uh… I guess we got to close to the Crevasse." Ichigo cold-sweated
"Y-yeah…"
As if to affirm this, the Klaxosaur made a shooing motion towards the Birds Nest.
"...Okay, that's new."
Deciding not to press their luck, they adjusted their course.
WHAM.
Where… was she?
WHAM.
It came back to her quickly.
WHAM.
The hit. The fall.
WHAM.
Her young charges.
Hime jolted upwards just in time for the robot to once again smash it's fist into the FranXX.
WHAM.
The princess' gaze shot to the pistil terminal, where Zero Two lay, bruised and bloodied.
WHAM.
Her eyes caught sight of Hiro, in as bad of shape as his partner.
WHAM.
She flung the two from their respective stations (making sure to sit them as comfortably as rushed mother instincts allowed [Is that what this feeling was?] in her tentacles, wrapping them tightly, and safely) and took hold of the FranXX.
WHAM. Down came another blow.
It hurt. So badly.
WHAM.
The FranXX was starting to dent-
WHAM.
She could feel her bones cracking, blood mixing with saliva-
WHAM.
No... no. She could not... they could not...
Get up, then.
WHAM.
Get up.
WHAM.
GET UP!
...
CLANG.
The simple processors of the robot couldn't comprehend this.
It had been in the middle of completing its objective (neutralize target, retrieve target, return to base,) when something proceeded to stop him from doing so.
Namely, a lance held in a defensive position, held by a mecha that couldn't possibly be getting up-
His fist, still pressing down of said mecha, began to rise.
They won't die here today.
It took the princess every ounce of strength she had to push the FranXX up, using Queen Pike as a brace between her and the massive fist.
The pain from earlier stilled lingered. It still hurt.
But she did not care.
Shoving the fist slightly to the right, the FranXX rolled to the left, freeing itself. The FranXX proceeded to lunge forward as the robot moved to rectify the mistake of letting it free, but Strelitzia dodged the hand, and instead flew in a spiral around the arm, slashing with Queen Pike at every exposed mechanical tendon and weak spot.
Upon reaching the shoulder, one last vicious cut caused the arm to go limp, and the robot gave a mechanical groan as Strelitzia flew beyond its reach, towards the clouds above.
The man gaped. "That's Impossible! How could something so damaged-!"
"Remain calm," came the reply. Unload its arsenal."
Hime growled as she twisted Strelitzia's head to see streaks of smoke trailing her. Missiles. She slowed for a moment and cleaved one of the projectiles in two, causing it to explode prematurely, and several others, but the others kept coming.
So the princess kept flying.
She had one shot, and if this didn't work…
Well, if it didn't, she wouldn't have the strength for anything else.
She forced Strelitzia to fly faster, keeping a sense on how high they were. It wasn't long before they breached the clouds.
Hime cut the thrusters, and took a moment to capture the bright sky in her memory.
Then, assisted by gravity, flipped to face the robot.
"Oh, no…"
"You don't it will…"
"It certainty looks like it!"
Strelitzia blasted down with such force that the clouds dispelled, and the missiles blown away, or denoting in a ripple affect due to the increase in pressure.
The princess paid no heed to the burns.
Nor the gashes on her arms and torso, nor the cuts on her cheeks.
She kept on her downward spiral, Queen Pike held in front.
As T.I.T.A.N. came closer, she let out the first battle cry she had uttered in sixty million years.
Then the lance pierced it's head.
There was the sound of metal being torn in two, and not a moment after the two mechs made contact, a crater formed right beneath the behemoth as the smaller tore right through the larger, landing beneath it.
There was a silence, and the robot seemed to lag comically, as if confused.
Then it swelled, and it blew up.
"Sir… T.I.T.A.N has been destroyed."
"So it would seem."
The two men watched the screen closely, watching what the probe was broadcasting.
Debris and ash blocked the view of the crater, but it wasn't long before it cleared.
And there Strelitzia stood, battered and near broken, but it stood, lance raised in defiant victory.
The two men in the observation room watched the mecha as the thrusters kicked to life, weakly sparking at first, but the growing stable.
The FranXX lifted off the ground, and wasting no time, immediately shot past the coast towards a horizon that would lead to Old North America. The drone caught the faint sound of a sonic boom.
The younger man's shoulders slumped slightly as the target disappeared from the drone's camera. "Target lost."
"I can see that quite clearly," the superior sighed, running his hand through his graying hair. "God-bloody-damnit. The council's gonna have a field day with this." He wipped out a cigar. "On the bright side…" The man glared at the screen displaying only a debris filled coast and a horizon not breached in a hundred years. "We might finally get permission for an expedition."
"You mean…" The younger man looked at his superior with amazement.
The man nodded. "It's time to see what APE has been doing all this time."
A/N: When thinking of T.I.T.A.N, think of the first thing Izuku Midoriya brought down with One For All.
So, as I said up top, this will most likely be the last chapter for Summer, as I have other things that'll take up time. Anyways, perhaps it'll give this story time to gain some more followers. My apologies in advance.
Speaking of such, I would appreciate reviews; it's interesting to hear your thoughts and your comments, as well as your theories on how this will turn out. It also helps me plan my story to maximize your reading experience.
Ah, and don't forget about spelling errors/mistakes in general.
Anyways, have a good Summer.
-Order of Alignment