As Heliconia brushed itself off and walked back to Squad 13, Kyouko said to Argentea. "Hey, Miku, Zorome, you guys doing alright?"
"Yeah," Miku replied through Argentea. Suddrnly, they both were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Strelitzia on the battlefield as it zoomed by them. "Huh? Strelitzia?"
Yasuto, slightly annoyed, said to himself, "What the fuck?"
090 radioed to Heliconia as Strelitzia began to almost effortlessly sweep through various Klaxosaurs, "Guys, are you seeing this?"
"Yep," Kyouko replied. "She ignored orders." She then chuckled. "She always does."
Hiro then joined in on the conversation with, "I'm just here to help my squad out, that's all."
"Hiro," Yasuto then told him. "Listen to me carefully. If, at any point, you need to take a break, don't be afraid to tell Zero Two that. We'll make sure she gives you one. We don't want you tiring yourself out, okay?"
"He'll be fine," Zero Two almost cut Yasuto off with. "My Darling will do just fine, right?"
"Yeah," Hiro agreed as the two closed out of the conversation.
Kyouko then told her partner as she swiveled her head inside the cockpit, "Do you think they'll need any help?"
"Nah," Yasuto replied, shaking his head. "They'll be fine."
As Strelitzia continued its attack, Squad 26 chose to ignore her and continue their own plans. Meanwhile, Squad 13 debated amongst themselves on what to do. Futoshi noted to the group, "Should one of us tell her to get back to her post?"
"If anyone is gonna do that," Ichigo replied to him. "It needs to be me. As her leader, I have that authority."
"If she doesn't listen," Kyouko told Ichigo. "We'll tell her as well."
As the team watched Strelitzia suddenly slow down, indicating there was a connection problem, Goro became concerned. "Ichigo, move in now."
"On it," she replied as Delphinium suddenly swooped in between Strelitzia and a Klaxosaur it was about to kill. "Strelitzia, get back to RIT! That's an order!"
"Fine," Zero Two begrudgingly replied. "How bossy." Strelitzia then flew back to its original staging area, much to Zero Two's dismay.
As Delphinium returned to the rest of Squad 13, 090 transmitted, "Squad 13, you guys can return to your original assignments. We'll take Target Beta for ourselves."
"10-4," Ichigo replied. As Squad 13 looked to Target Beta, they were in awe at its size. It was a large box-shaped Klaxosaur, with horns on the side, but no limbs to attack. "How exactly does that thing work?"
"No clue here," Kyouko replied. "And that's saying something. This thing is brand new to us."
As Squad 26 wrapped its electricity-charged harpoons around the Klaxosaur, they all applied a strong shock to it in an attempt to kill it and stop it from moving. However, instead of dying, it produced a loud and deafening shriek, forcing all involved in the battle to cover their ears in pain. Mitsuru said to himself inside Chlorophytum, "What the hell is that noise?!"
Suddenly, the box began to open up, and to everyone's shock, the Klaxosaur transformed into a Gutenberg-class, one of the most feared types of Klaxosaur. Yasuto said to himself, "Ohhhhh shit."
Ichigo yelled out in shock, "A Gutenberg-class?!"
090, determined to fight back, yelled out, "Attack it again! We can kill it!" Squad 26 then sprung back into action, firing their harpoons. However, all they succeeded in doing was attaching themselves to the Guttenberg-class, allowing it to throw them around like dolls onto the ground. As 090 attempted to get back up in his Franxx, he called out, "Everyone, fall back!" Suddenly, however, he came face-to-face with his worst fear.
The Klaxosaur stared directly at him, and was about to crush him.
He immediately tried to fire up the engines on his Franxx, but found that they no longer worked as empty fuel warnings popped up inside the cockpit. "We're out of fuel! Are you fucking kidding me?!" He then looked up at what he thought would be his final moments as the Gutenberg-class came down on him, closing his eyes just before impact.
However, when he opened them, he saw that he was instead being carried away by Argentea, safe from harm. "You owe me for this!"
"Huh?" 090 was initially confused, but then relieved as Argentea laid his Franxx down on the ground. "Zorome! Thank you!"
"No problem," he replied as Argentea sped back into battle.
Dispatch then radioed out, "Joint Dispatch to all Squad 26 units, go 10-8 at this time. Squad 13 will take the Gutenberg-class."
"Received," Ichigo replied She then said to her team mates. "That's easier said than done."
"Regardless of how," Mitsuru noted. "We have to kill it sooner rather than later."
"I think we'll need Strelitzia at this point," Miku somewhat reluctantly told the team.
"You can count on us," Hiro replied to her. He was tired out, but still not down for the count just yet.
However, Ichigo seemed to have other plans. "Hiro, no. Stay where you are, Strelitzia."
Zorome, in shock, replied back, "Wait, are you serious?"
"Ichigo," Kyouko replied to her in turn. "What are you doing?"
"I have a plan," she replied back. "I want to use Strelitzia in the final blow."
"Everyone," Goro spoke up. "What we need to do is create an opening for Strelitzia to get through. Only it has a weapon sharp enough to penetrate the core of that Gutenberg-class. Isn't that your plan, Ichigo?"
"Well, uh," Ichigo stammered out. "Yeah! Totally! That's the plan!" She then nervously laughed.
"Hiro," Goro addressed directly. "You got all that?"
"Absolutely," he replied with determination.
"On that note," Ichigo radioed to all of Squad 13. "Squad 13, attack!" The whole of Squad 13 then moved out, jumping onto the Gutenberg class to rip it apart at the seams.
Heliconia used its harpoon to dig into the side, and then proceeded to climb up the Klaxosaur, using its harpoon to hold on. All the while, it fired shotgun shells from its perforated harpoon with each stab it made, damaging the Klaxosaur further. As it continued to climb up, the Klaxosaur began to fall in severe pain and collapse to the ground, giving Strelitzia the chance to attack from above. As it stopped and jumped off to get out of the way, Yasuto said to himself, "I just hope Hiro's alright in there."
"He'll be fine," Kyouko told him through Stealth Mode. "You know, I noticed you didn't put any music on. Why don't we change that?"
Suddenly, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins began to play in the cockpit. Yasuto laughed. "Of course... This song is a bit cheesy, but I can roll with it."
Outside, Strelitzia had just penetrated the outer skin of the Klaxosaur from above with its spear, and had begun to dig itself in when the Klaxosaur ceased all movement. For a couple seconds, it looked like it had finally been defeated. However, suddenly, the Klaxosaur began to move once more, and it effortlessly slapped Strelitzia away into the linking area between the two plantations, much to the shock of Squad 13.
"Holy shit," Yasuto screamed as he turned off the music. "Hiro! Zero Two!"
As Strelitzia struggled to stay up, the Klaxosaur began to rapidly change form into a battering ram-like structure, ready to crush it at a moment's notice. Inside the cockpit of Strelitzia, chaos ensued as Hiro began to pass out from exhaustion. Zero Two said to him, "Huh? Darling? Hey! What's up?! Darling?!" Oddly, for one of the first times, she had suddenly grown extremely worried for her partner, and began to beg for him to wake up. "Wake up, damn it!"
"HIRO, RUN!" Ichigo screamed loudly as the Klaxosaur's battering ram fired at Strelitzia, crushing it against the wall of the Plantation Kissing Link with a loud explosion. All Squad 13 could do was watch in horror as Strelitzia's link disappeared.
Inside the cockpit, Zero Two turned around as her body woke up. "Darling! Hey!" This behavior was very uncharacteristic of her, as normally she would just continue fighting regardless of her partner's status. She shook Hiro's seemingly lifeless body as blood dripped from his mouth and blue veins continued to appear on his skin. "Fucking hell, wake up!" Then, as she heard the Klaxosaur move behind her, she turned around and got back in her seat. "What the hell am I doing? Why am I so attached to this partner?! I have a job I need to do!" She then pressed a button in her riding position and said into it, "Activate Stampede Mode." For reasons not even she could explain, tears began to fall from her eyes.
As the Klaxosaur began to ready itself for another barrage, Goro shouted to Strelitzia, "Hiro! Zero Two! Get up! Come on! You can't let them kill you after all you've done!"
Ichigo stared hopelessly at the Klaxosaur for several seconds before the connection between her and Goro was cut, and Delphinium shut down.
Kyouko noticed this as the rest of Squad 13 tried to tell Hiro and Zero Two to get up, and said to herself, "Oh shit!" She then turned to Yasuto, "Hey, Yasuto, get to Delphinium and break the connection. I need to get in there for a sec."
"Got it," Yasuto replied as he made Heliconia walk towards Delphinium. Once it was there, Heliconia shut off, and the cockpit opened up. Kyouko stood up and ran out to the edge of the exiting platform that extended out, and radioed, "Goro, can you open the cockpit up?"
"On it," Goro replied as the cockpit opened up. As soon as it did, Kyouko jumped over and climbed aboard as Goro comforted Ichigo.
"I couldn't stop him from piloting," Ichigo said to herself as she cried. "God damn it..."
"Hey, listen," Goro told her as he looked her dead in the eyes. "This is no time to shut down. We still have a job to do."
Kyouko approached from behind Goro and told her calmly, "Ichigo, you're going to see death. There will come a time where..." She then sighed as she remembered her own traumatic memories of past deaths. "Where you'll have to say goodbye... What matters is how you react. Hiro needs you to keep fighting. Zero Two does, too. Listen, I know she's distant and cold, but there's a person beneath that mask, and she isn't cruel. You need to get up and continue, lest you join them, and trust me, they will kick your ass if you do."
Ichigo then sniffled as wiped her face. "Well... I... I really can't argue with you... Your own past makes my own troubles almost meaningless..."
"Don't say that," the brunette replied to her. "Don't put yourself down like that."
"Kyouko," Yasuto then suddenly radioed. "Get back in Heliconia! There's a giant light coming from where Strelitzia is! I think they survived!"
All three of them looked over in amazement as a giant beam of light emanated from that area of the Kissing Link. "I gotta go," Kyouko told Goro and Ichigo as she jumped out and climbed back aboard Heliconia to pilot once more. However, just as she linked up with Yasuto again, the Gutenberg exploded, rendering their jobs fulfilled.
As Strelitzia steadied itself on the ground, Yasuto radioed to Hiro, "Hey, buddy, are you okay in there?"
"I feel better than ever," Hiro happily replied. "Same as Zero Two!"
"Thank God," Goro radioed next. "You're alive!"
As the team watched in amazement, Yasuto switched to Stealth Mode and pressed a button to call Joint Dispatch by telephone. "Plantation 13 Emergency Communications?"
"Hi," Yasuto replied. "This is Code 085 from Heliconia. Can you put me through to Nana and Hachi?"
"On it," the dispatcher replied.
"Kissing Operations Board," Hachi replied on the phone.
"Hey, Hachi, this is Yasuto," he replied. "Can you tell me and Kyouko the status of Hiro's health stats?"
"They're fine now," Hachi replied in a surprised tone. "Just a few minutes ago, we had all though he died. His health was declining throughout the entire battle, but now, he's healthier than ever."
Yasuto said in curious reply, "Interesting." He then saw that the Gutenberg was once again changing forms. "I'll have to talk to you later. This fucking Klaxosaur doesn't know when to quit."
"I can only imagine your frustration," he replied. "Good luck." The phone call then ended.
"Let's help them," Kyouko replied as Stealth Mode came off. Heliconia then joined in with Squad 13 as they all charged at the Klaxosaur, determined to kill it while it was heavily weakened. As all of them held the Klaxosaur up to create an opening, Strelitzia saw the opportunity for the kill and took it, flying straight through the Klaxosaur and impaling its core with its spear. Soon after, a massive explosion of blue blood enveloped the entire team as they landed on the ground, the blast rocking them slightly, but not knocking them down.
"Holy shit," Yasuto exclaimed in joyous excitement as he smiled. He then radioed to Hiro and Zero Two, "Great job, you two! That was one in a thousand!"
After the battle was over, 090 met up with Kyouko and Yasuto outside on the battlefield as both squads demobilized and stretched. "Hey," he replied as he walked over to them. "You guys did awesome."
"Thank you," Kyouko replied as she turned to Hiro. "But it wasn't us that did the kill."
"You're right," he replied as he shook both of their hands. "Hopefully, we'll meet again on the battlefield." He then walked over to the rest of Squad 13.
Yasuto then noticed that Zero Two was standing off to the side, away from everyone else. "Huh? Hey, Zero Two! Come on over! You deserve to celebrate like the rest of us!"
Hiro noticed this as well and also waved her over. "Zero Two, you were amazing out there!"
Zero Two wiped the blood off of her face, smiled, and began to walk over. "Thank you, Darling." As she walked over, she passed by 090 and looked over at him, unsure of what to say.
"Zero Two," 090 suddenly interrupted her. "I... I wanted to say thank you." He then extended a hand for a handshake, which Zero Two accepted.
"It's nothing important," she replied happily. "It's my job."
In a dark meeting room after Squad 13 had returned to their plantation, Yasuto alone met with Dr. Franxx. "So," he began. "Do you think Hiro may be the permanent pilot for Zero Two?"
"At this rate," he replied. "Absolutely. Any traces of that growth you and Goro found is gone." He then sighed. "On a lighter note, how's your music collection?"
"We haven't rescued any tapes or discs since we were transferred to Squad 13," Yasuto noted. "I'm surprised Papa's patience hasn't worn thin in our collecting."
"You'd be surprised at the musical tastes of the other members of the council," Dr. Franxx replied with a chuckle. "It is very diverse. Remember, though, they let you two get away with stuff like music collection because of your skills. If you mess up just a bit, they may not be as patient." He seemed concerned in his tone of voice. "Since I know there's no recording devices in this room, I can say that I hope you and Kyouko keep your sexual activities on the down-low, as you have for these past four and a half years." He had known about the two's relationship from the very start, but had kept it a secret. He was the only person aside from Kyouko and Yasuto themselves who knew. "I must say, I am very impressed with how good you two can be at lying or keeping secrets."
Yasuto smiled. "Thank you, Doctor."