Chapter 4: Advice and Decision

Papa and the rest of the Council were having a meeting.

"Lately, there's been an increase in activity of Klaxosaur even large ones are showing up everywhere."

"The Nine are dealing with them along with those Maximals robots," An Ape council stated.

"How long will we have Strelizia goof off, now that the non-Stamen's aptitude has been ascertained, they will have no reason to leave it there," Another council spoke.

Marmoset decided to speak his piece. "It isn't wise to let her mix with tainted stamens any longer."

"Looks like we'll just have to find a new Stamen," Another suggested.

"What about the Maximal's new member?" Gorrilla asked.

"First off, there are many parasites who would want to team up with Zero Two," Vice-Chairman said. "As for the Maximals' new recruit, keep an eye on it or rather him...as for Zero Two, our escorts shall put her back to the front lines."

At the Maximal Base

Landfill was given a tour by Optimus Primal.

"Glad we got a new member, what do you think of our ship?"

"It's amazing and an honor to work under the leader of Optimus Primal," Landfill said.

The flattery was a bit much for the gorilla bot. "No need to be so formal, glad we got more members than less,"

Rattrap was a little nervous about the new member. "Another Dinosaur bot, man, this cuts the cheese."

"Come on, at least, he's nice, I know Dinbot's attitude was a bit harsh and he was still a Predacon, but, he still was an honorable guy," Cheetor assured.

Rhinox had to agree. "He's right, on top of that we need another member to help us on this mission,"

"Where's Blackarchnia and Silverbolt?" Cheetor asked.

"They went to go see the kids," Rhinox replied.

"I thought Blackarchnia hated kids," Rattrop said a bit surprised.

"She does, but, Optimus told her and Silverbolt to visit that Mitsuru kid," Rhinox explained, an additional thought came to his mind. "Though, I wonder how the boy is doing."

Cheetor laughed. "Oh come on, that girl isn't that bad, I mean, she's a little strange, but, she seems nice."

Rattrap saw the irony in the cheetah's words. "Hello, I heard that girl's previous partners are dead, if that Hiro kid isn't careful, he'll be dead just like those before him, he must have a death wish or something."

Cheetor and Rhinox glared at the rat robot, who shook his head while waving his hands. "I know, I know, "Shut up Rattrap"."

Rhinox was having his thoughts about the horned girl. "Regardless, that girl's abilities are rather unusual, not only that, she's not human herself as we all know, so, I wonder where did she come from."

At the Mistilteinn infirmary.

Mitsuru is shaking in his bed with his face between his knees.

"She's a demon, she's not like other Stamens, she's a monster," He panicked with terror in his eyes.

Futoshi picked up Stamen's tray which was still filled with food. He heard the boy's words but didn't say a word, he then went towards the doorway where his other teammates were.

All of them were concerned about what happened to their team member, so, they decided to share their thoughts, with almost all of them.

"How is he?" Ichigo asked, though, her answer was simply to know.

"He hasn't eaten any of his food," Futoshi replied glancing at him for a moment before looking at the food on the tray. "Perhaps I can eat this so it doesn't go to waste."

Zorome had his thought. "He hasn't changed his mood since we got back."

Hiro decided to get some answer of Mitsuru's experience so he went into the room and approached his teammate's bed. "Mitsuru, what happened with Zero Two?"

Mitsuru's eyes looked in Hiro's direction but, he didn't lift his head. "What...happened...she was out for my blood, soul, and flesh, at first, everything was normal, but, after a point, she was out to kill me..."

Hiro attempted to comfort his teammate, but, before he do so, Mitsuru abruptly grabbed the non- stamen's collar. "The worse part was her smile, she just smiled as she tried to steal what I had, and she smiled the whole time!"

"Mitsuru!" Miku gasped.

"You ride with that girl again, you could end up much worse than me!" Mitsuru yelled with a terrified expression. "You're out of your mind if you think you can with her...NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THAT MONSTER!"

Futoshi grabs hold of Mitsuru's arm to hold him back. "Calm down, you need some more rest!"

Ichigo saw the look of concern on her childhood friend's face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Hiro replied, though, clearly he wasn't."

A short time later, Futoshi and Zorome were playing ball.

"Got It!"

"Too easy."

Hiro was watching his teammates play ball and have fun. He had Mitsuru's almost meltdown on his mind.

"Do you still want to ride with her?" He glanced to the left and saw his friend Ichigo as she leaned against the wall. "Honestly, no matter, how hard I try, I can't bring myself to trust her, especially what happened to Mitsuru."

There was silence between them for a few seconds. "If the rumor about the partner killing is true...then you might die after you rode with her after two times."

Despite the grim words and risk he was told by her, he didn't want to back down from his decision. "Even so, I'm the only one that can ride with her and that's probably what'll make me useful for this team."

Ichigo's clenched her hands tightly as she glanced at him with great concern, she mostly wanted to prevent him from doing something so risky but she knew he wouldn't change his mind. "So...you made up your mind." She stood from the wall. "Fine, I won't stop you again, as a leader I have to steel myself to emotions."

"Steal yourself..." Hiro repeated his childhood friend's words.

"Hello, Hiro." He looked forward and saw Landfill in his Stegasaurus Beast Form with a saluted pose. "I'm here if you need something."

Hiro smiled awkwardly. "Oh, I'm fine, so, what's up, did you get to meet your Maximal comrades?"

Landfill nodded. "Yes, it is an honor to be under the command of the famous Optimus Primal."

Zorome overheard this conversation. "Please, that monkey geezer has nothing besides being big."

"Zorome..." Futoshi quietly said a little nervous.

Zorome ignored the overweight boy instead he gave the Maximal dinosaur a stern look. "I'm going to become stronger and if I get the chance to become the leader someday, I'll rub it in Hiro's face."

Landfill turned his head. "You know, you shouldn't be cocky while going into battle."

"Huh?" Zorome said a little annoyed.

"I hate to admit it, but, he's right," Blackarchania was crawling down from the house and once she got on the ground she transformed into her robot form. "Kid, you need to be careful, if Megatron sees your cocky attitude he'll blast you and your girlfriend into scrap metal."

Zorome groaned and he turned to glare at the spider maximal. "What..."

"I ain't done, I recall you stupidly tried to take on Megatron and your Franxx suddenly lost control." Blackarchnia reminded while placing her hands on her sides. "If Optimus didn't react in time, you and your pigtails would not be here right now."

Zorome growled at the last reminder. "Whoa, I can't be accountable for that, Miku was the one that let us fall." He wasn't done gloating. "I didn't you see guys putting up a fight against the Klaxosaurs we were in that underground area, so, what makes you guys any better than us."

"That's enough!" Optimus appeared looking unhappy, Zorome was about to talk back until Maximal spoke again; "You and your team are fighting for survival and you're treating this war a game!"

Zorome was a little stunned as Optimus continued. "You're lucky I was there to save you and your friend Miku and I'm not sure what the Predacons are up to, but, if you face them, don't let your guard!" Zorome took several backs while not saying a word. "You need to learn to work with Miku even more than you do now, you understand?"

Zorome huffed as he slowly gave Optimus a small nod without saying a word.

Cheetor was watching from afar. "Optimus knows how to put others in their place." He remembered how he got scolded by his leader after he messed up back on Prehistoric Earth.

"Anyway, we thought you were staying at the base." Silverbolt presumed.

"I did, but, Rhinox needed some time alone while he was working on his project." Optimus replied. "Either way, I hope you kids don't get too full of yourselves, remember war isn't something to be taking lightly, if you let your guard down even once, the enemy will see it and it could get you killed."

Some of the Parasites were stunned, mostly, Hiro was amazed at the speech from Optimus Primal. "Optimus!" He got the Maximal leader to look in his direction. "Can we talk?"

In an elevator Hachi and Nana were having a discussion with Zero Two about the overdoing display she did with Mitsuru.

"Yes, Klaxosaurs must be eliminated, however, that doesn't we can't let you go full rein on your methods."

"They are comrade class, you didn't need to use so much power, but because you did we almost lost one of our Parasites." Zero Two didn't respond to the lecture she was given, much to Nana's frustration. "Are you listening to me?"

"I want to get out of the city, I feel like I'm suffocating." Zero Two spoke not looking at the two adults.

"Excuse me?" Nana asked looking more frustrated.

"As long as I have my darling nothing else matters, those kids will die soon," Zero Two replied coldly.

Nana disliked that comment. "Zero Two, even though those kids are from different units, they're still your comrades."

"Comrades, does that include those robotic machines?" Zero Two was referring to the Maximals.

"Those machines you speak of are Maximals, they helped us during the Predacon attacks as you remember, also, if wasn't for their leader Optimus, both of our Parasites Code:666 and Code: 390 would've been killed," Nana commented with a serious tone.

Zero two just giggled amusingly. "Yeah, yeah, those machines are strong I know that, they can handle the Predacons, but, the Klaxosaurs are another story, if they let their guard down, they'll die with the Parasites."

"Even though, Squad 13 is carefully chosen for their high altitude and those Maximals are strong with different skills, now, they got a new Maximal and whatever skills he has is surely to come helpful," Hachi stated. "You doubt them because you are special."

Those last words made Zero Two look Hachi's way looking offended. "Hold on, are you saying that because I'm not human?"

"I'm talking about your talents and nothing else," Hachi elaborated. "That said, it's like unlikely that O16 pilot Steriliza."

"Why is that?" Zero Two asked.

"We received orders from HQ earlier, they want you battling back on the front lines," Nana replied seeing a disappointed look on the horned girl's look.

Hiro was out training with a training unit and kept running. He began to think about the rumors and Ichigo along with Mitsuru's words. "If the partner rumor is true, then you'll die after your ride with her a second time...after a point, she was out to kill me, the worse part was her smile, she smiled the whole time..." Despite the horrors and the opinions he kept running, but that wasn't the only thing on his mind.

He was at the lake with Optimus wanting some advice. "Optimus, what do you think of Zero Two, do you think she's dangerous too?"

Optimus was silent for a minute until he decided to speak. "Honestly, I'm not sure, I know the rumors and most of my team has their own opinion about her, as for me, I can tell she's an unusual being."

Hiro didn't know how to respond to that, but, the Maximal leader wasn't done. "Regardless, her power could be helpful as long she can control it and that's probably with you." He continued. "So, I advise you to be cautious, that said, it's better to think for yourself, but, think carefully about what you want to do."

Hiro continued his training and thought of Optimus' advice. "Think carefully about what I want to do." He said using Maximal's words.

The other members of Squad 13 were discussing with three of the Maximals, Blackarchnia, Rattrap, and Silverbolt.

"So, Hiro is training by himself again?" Zorome sighed as he sat on the couch. "Leave him alone and he'll run forever."

"He's surprisingly hard working isn't he," Futoshi added while chowing a chocolate ice cream bar. "Anyone else would've given up by now."

"Wait a second, does he still want to ride with that girl after what happened?" Miku asked while placing her hands under her chin.

"Well, if she's the only one she can connect with Hiro, riding with her is the only way he can stay," Goro answered while having his arms crossed.

That was a good point from the level-headed Parasite. "But, on the flip side, if Zero Two is sent back to the front lines, does that mean, Hiro has to leave as well,"

For once, Zorome had a point. "We can assume that's the case," Goro replied calmly.

"That's too bad, that kid has potential," Silverbolt spoke. "Honestly, if he wants to continue what he wants to do, then he should ride with her."

"I agree," Kokoro agreed. "I mean, that might be the best choice, I hate for Hiro to be all alone."

"I'm sorry, but I think you two are forgetting one small detail," Miku reminded me with a serious look on her face. "That girl has Klaxosaur blood running through her veins, she isn't human, do you two want Hiro to go through what Mitsuru did?"

"She's right," Rattrap spoke abruptly. "If that girl is as dangerous as she claimed to be, then-"

"He knows the risks and he doesn't care," Everyone looked at Ichigo, with a sound of seriousness in her voice which took them by surprise.

Goro was a little surprised himself. "Ichigo..."

"He's not the only one staring death in the face, if things don't change soon, we can all wide up dead at any moment." Ichigo continued. "If we can't defeat the Klaxosaur without Sterlizia, then that's it, and that's not all, you guys seemed to have forgotten about the Predacons, you saw how strong they are, they could attack us if the Klaxosaur don't finish us, so, we can't screw up."

Miku begged to differ. "It's not like you screwed up too." The squad leader turned around and looked at her team with a determined look. "You're right, but, I need your help to ensure that happens, we're a team and we'll act like it!" She then looked at the Maximals. "Silverbolt, Rattrap, Blackarchnia, I need your help as well as the rest of your team too. I know you can handle the Predacons, but, if you guys are willing to assist us in our battle, I would be honored and grateful."

"A team..." Futoshi spoke as he smiled. "Ichigo is right."

Miku huffed showing her toughness. "Yeah, I don't need you to spell that out."

Goro smiled impressively. "Spoken like a true leader."

"It's about time for us to show Papa what we're made of," Zorome added as Kokoro nodded in agreement.

Silverbolt bowed in respect. "I would be honored to assist a lovely leader like yourself." That earned a bonk on the head from Blackarchnia and she looked at human child. "I help out, but, don't expect me to get all touchy with you kids."

Rattrap crossed his arms while looking away. "Yeah, yeah, no need to gushy on us."

Ikuno lowered her head as she felt a hand on her shoulder. "We need you too, I'm sure that Mitsuru knows he can't mess up either, so be there for him as his partner."

Ikuno looked away before she nodded while blushing slightly.

An announcement about preparing for the kissing with Plantation 26, Plantation 13 was switching to a mobile setup.

At the Franxx Dock, Zero Two was staring at Strelizia. Hiro walked by and stopped as he looked at her for a brief moment until an image of Mitsuru's condition flashed into his mind causing him to gasp quietly and hide hastily behind the corner.

Zero Two heard the footsteps and looked in the direction she heard, but, she just simply walked away.

"Why did I just hide from her?" He thought.

A short time later, he went to Mistilteinn and was in the bath. "Two more times..." He thought laying in the water for a second before he lift himself. "Think about what I want to do...what can I do?" He leaned his head slightly. "There you are."

He looked further to where he heard the voice and saw Zero Two appear out of nowhere taking him by surprise. "What are you doing here?!" Instead of answering him, Zero Two walked closer to him corning him against the wall. "You're... close..."

She placed her hands on his shoulder while slightly caressing his chest with her left hand. "Darling... run away with me then we can forget about those other weaklings and those talking machines." She said seductively. "As long as we're together nothing else matters, you're the only one..." She lowered her head. "My partner."

This gave him a view of her horns causing him to gulp. "Or am I wrong, are you like everyone else, do you think I'm a monster?" A darkened expression was seen on her face, though, her question was considered to answer. "Well...I..."

Just then the alarms went off.

"Worm-type Klaxosaur is heading towards Plantation 13!"

Mitsuru heard the alarm and struggled to get out of bed despite his condition. "Shit...I can do...this." He cursed as he saw Ikuno arriving. "Did you need help?"

"I can handle this, this is nothing..." He struggled to get up but to no avail. "Hold on to me."

Mitsuru gave her an annoyed look. "I don't need your help." He limbed for a second and almost collapsed but Ikuno caught him in her arms. "Geez, you're so stubborn."

"We haven't identified its class yet and while we only confirmed this one so far, there might be more in hiding, so be careful," Hachi stated.

"Roger that!" Squad 13 saluted.

"Commence conntecting!"

Mitsuru and Ikuno got in their pose. "I hope for our sakes, you can work this time."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Ikuno assurred touching where Ichigo placed her hand.

Soon, each team pair was able to connect and activate their Franxx, each advanced.

Optimus was flying alongside Silverbolt and Cheetor. "Cheetor, Silverbolt, we'll attack from the sky, but, don't fly in hastily."

"Right!"

Optimus looked at his communicator. "Ground Team, are you position?"

Rattrap, Blackarchnia, and Landfill were on the ground. "Roger that, Optimus Primal!" Landfill saluted respectively.

"What should we do now?" Blackarchnia asked.

"Once the Klaxosaur appears, scan the creature as much as you can so we can detect any weak spots or anything else!"

"So, we're going in close, we're going to die," Rattrap muttered. "Hey, where is Rhinox?"

"He's preparing something right now, he'll catch up soon," Optimus replied. "Alright, you know your mission, get out there and assist Squad 13, Maximize now!"

"Yes sir!" Each of the Maximals transformed into their robot mode.

Hiro and Zero Two arrived at the command room in their suits. "That the only one?"

"Yes, for now at least," Nana replied as she turned to them without turning her head. "Don't think putting on your suits means we'll be deploying Strelizia."

Zero Two sighed while putting her hands behind her head. "We didn't say that so you're thinking it.

The worm Klaxosaur pursued Delphinium through a small rocky narrow area and once it came out, Argentea, Genista, and Chlorophytum grabbed it together at once.

Delphinium grabbed hold. "On three...one...two..." All together they fired their weapons.

"Fly Team, fire now!" Optimus commanded as he and his team maximals fired their weapons as soon as the Franxx squad moved away in time.

The Klaxosaur worm fell over, not moving an inch. "Is it dead?" Ikuno asked.

Goro didn't think so. "I doubt it, I didn't see anyone get its core."

"Well, if that's the case we'd better get back to work-"

Rattrap suddenly detected something on his scanner. "Big bot, the scanner is detecting something!"

Cheetor saw faint movement in the dirt and smoke. "Hey, Miku, Zorome, behind you!"

It was too late, and Argentea was grabbed from behind. "There's another one?"

"For bolting up cold!" Rattrap exclaimed in shock.

"We're coming!" Kokoro called.

However, the worm Klaxosaur fired some strange black plates that pinned Genista, Delphinium, and Chlorophytum.

"Damn it!" Ichigo cursed as she managed to get free but suddenly fell into a soft area that showed another worm catching them from underground.

"Fly Team, let's get them out of there!" Optimus commanded. "Ground Team, remain aside, but, scan the Klaxosaur as much as you can and find anything that can help us defeat this beast, you understand?"

"Loud and clear, big bot!" Cheetor acknowledged as the others did.

"Just saying that this wouldn't be happening if we were out there right now," Zero Two reminded sternly.

Nana disapproved of what the horned girl was thinking. "Out of the question!"

Zero Two scoffed. "Killjoy...by the way, that transport that just landed, who's in it?"

Her answer was by a group of several escorts arrived. "Code:002, you're coming with us."

"Your escort and I would obey them if I were you," Nana suggested sternly. "As I mentioned before, you're going back to the frontlines by yourself of course."

Hiro was about to respond to that, but, an escort member walked up to Zero Two. "Let's go, it's better while that Klaxosaur is preoccupied at the moment." As soon as he placed his hand on the girl's shoulder she violently threw him across the room, putting the other soldiers on the offensive. "Freeze!"

Hiro wasn't understanding what was going on. "Zero Two...what is this about?"

Zero Two wasn't going to fight back and she smiled sadly. "Darling, I was hoping that things would work out between us." She placed her left hand on his cheek tenderly. "I truly wanted us to be together, but, this is goodbye." She leaned towards him and her horns poked his forehead.

Hiro held where her horns poked him. "But, why..." For a brief moment, she looked at him with a sad smile. "Bye, darling."

She eventually was escorted away from the soldiers. "Hiro, it was a direct order from Papa," Nana spoke getting Hiro to look in her direction, he decided to get an answer. "Are the rumors true, about her being a partner killer?"

Nana sighed. "It's complex, Zero Two is a unique individual that must be kept on the frontlines of this battle, she's a special pistil, but, with that, comes a great toll for any Stamen that is assigned to be her partner. Remember, she's not like you or the others."

"Are you saying she's not human?" Hiro asked.

"That's exactly that's how it is," Nana replied.

"Is that really how it is?" Hiro thought as Zero Two's echoed in his mind.

"Also, it's nice that you weren't frightened by my horns! Do you think I'm a monster? I truly wanted to be with you!"

Then, Optimus' advice echoed into his mind. "You need to decide what you want to do."

"I think I know what I want to do now," Hiro thought as he abruptly ran off and down the corridor.

This got Nana's attention. "Hiro, what are you doing, Hiro!"

As Zero Two walked through the hall, she seemingly sensed something, which got an escort to aim his gun cautiously. "What is it?" The horned girl shrugged. "It's nothing."

It was something. "Zero Two!" The pink-haired girl stopped for a brief moment seeing Hiro, trying to get through the passage. She didn't reply instead she kept walking forward.

"Don't go!" He pleaded as he banged his fist against the barrier. "Stop, listen to me, please!" He placed his hands on the barrier. "I admit that I was afraid to ride with you and I'm still kind of afraid honestly!"

Despite she wasn't looking at him, she was listening. "That fear doesn't have anything to do that you're not human. It's because I lack resolve, when I met you by that lake, I couldn't take my eyes off of you, you were confident and strong. When you were hurt and jumped back into that fight, I found that beautiful!"

Zero Two continued walking but she was still listening and he lowered his head. "I've been lumping around, but, during that time I got to spend with you, I felt like I can fly!" He lift his head and looked at her. "You made me realize I never cared about riding the Franxx, what matters the most is that I got to ride with you!"

He had more things to say. "Also, someone told me, to decide for myself of what I want, that's to ride with you and only you! So, please, don't leave me...ZERO TWO!"

Upon hearing that, Zero Two stopped. "Hey keep moving!" An escort soldier ordered her.

"How can I after hearing that," Zero Two flipped over and stole an escort's blaster, and fired at the glass weakening the part where she fired as she crashed through it and landed in front of Hiro. "You're the first person to say something so... embarrassing."

Hiro felt slightly embarrassed. "It's my first time."

Zero Two leaned close. "Do you want to ride now?" Hiro smiled at her. "I do."

That wasn't enough answer for her, so she put her hand by her ear. "Let me hear you say it."

Hiro was a little nervous at that, but, he knew he couldn't hold back so he took a deep breath. "Alright...I WANT TO RIDE STRELIZIA WITH YOU AGAIN!" Zero Two smiled with delight and danced with him through the gate. They made their way and avoided the escort soldiers.

They soon boarded Strelizia. Nana appeared on the screen. "You facade that Franxx right now!"

Zero Two looked at her with an annoyed look. "I can't, I'm going out with my darling!" She hung up as she glanced at Hiro. "Is something wrong, darling?"

He became nervous about piloting. "What if I can't pilot, what will happen?"

Zero Two smiled. "You can, we can do this." Hiro was inspired by her words and he also has Optimus to thank for his advice.

"Are you ready?" Zero Two asked rearing to go.

Hiro took a short breath and had a determined look on his face. "Yeah, as long as I am with Zero Two, I can do this."

Strelizia successfully activated and broke out of the aircraft. "Now, darling, let's fly!" They soon were flying in the sky which greatly excited Hiro. "I'm doing it, I'm piloting!"

"That's right, this is what you're capable of!" Zero Two commented with a smile.

"For bolting up cold, this worm is bigger than the warship from Prehistoric Earth!" Rattrap yelled.

Delphinium sensed the presence of Strelizia and zipped to where the other parasites were and quickly saved them.

Ichigo was shocked to see Strelizia.

"Whoa, is that Hiro, unreal," Futoshi said slightly amazed.

"Whoa, talk about a nick of time," Cheetor commented.

"About time the kid got here," Rattrap added.

Optimus just smiled at the display.

"Optimus, I'm on my way!" Hearing Rhinox's voice took the gorilla Maximal by surprise. "Rhinox, what are you doing here?"

"Look over here!" Rhinox was riding on a strange robotic mecha that shared a resemblance to the training unit that Hiro used only it had the head of a rhino with a dark brown horn.

Cheetor was astonished. "Alright big guy, but, how does it work?"

Rhinox chuckled as he pressed a button that took out two Gatling guns which was exactly what Rhinox uses in battle and began rapidly shooting out laser-like bullets that seemed to damage the armor plates of the worm Klaxosaur.

Rattrap was in awe. "Quite the machine big green."

"That's quite the impressive machine he made," Silverbolt added quite impressed himself.

Optimus couldn't be more proud. "I'd expect nothing less from him."

Rhinox continued to fire laser bullets as he heard the praise and response thumbs-up pose.

Goro had to admit he was impressed. "Rhinox, that's quite the handy work you did."

Rhinox chuckled at the praise that boy gave him. "I'm honored to hear that, Goro."

"Enough of the gushy stuff, let's finish this oversized worm off!" Blackarchnia declared.

Hiro couldn't agree more. "Right, I'm part of the team, so, I'll help!"

Ichigo had no choice but to allow him to do what he wanted. "Alright, let's do this, you take that one while we focus on the one here!"

"Hold on, the scanners finally detected this oversized worm is one big one!" Rattrap informed.

"In that case..." Strelizia grabbed hold of the part that was still above the ground and lift it so hard that it revealed its entire long body.

"No way, it's all one Klaxosaur!" Zorome exclaimed in disbelief.

"I told you!" Rattrap boasted.

Futoshi saw how hard this has gotten. "Finding the core inside something this long won't be easy!"

Goro agreed, but, he knew they had to kill it and quickly. "It's still the only way to kill it!"

The worm started to squirm roughly sending some flying away. "We can't find it if this thing won't stop squirming!"

"I'm on it!" Delphinium impaled her spears into the Klaxosaur's body pinning it into the ground. "Come on!"

"Right!" Genista and Chlorophytum held the Klaxosaur to the ground.

"Now that we got it pinned down, what are we going to do with it?" Zorome asked.

Delphinium and Argentea pry its mouth open and the worm struggled to close back its mouth.

Optimus held the top of its mouth open as much as he could. "No, you don't!" He also had another idea. "Ground and Flight Team, fire your weapons but, carefully, see if we get this worm to open its mouth even more!"

"Yes sir!" The Maximals fired all of their weapons which hurt the Klaxosaur even more that its mouth opened even wider.

Rattrap scanned something within the creature's mouth. "Optimus, the scanner detected the core, it's deep inside in there!"

"That's our cue!" Zero Two stated as Hiro agreed jumped away from the tail and appeared in front. "Go!" Ichigo cried out happily

Strelizia entered through the mouth and Zero Two showed a sarcastic smug at Ichigo. Strelizia went through the entire body to the end with its core on its spear and destroyed the Klaxosaur in the process.

"Target neutralized, all units return to base," Hachi announced.

"I can't believe she ignored Papa's orders, was she planning this all along?" Nana questioned.

Hachi checked the screen. "Perhaps, but her stunt changes everything, the numbers inconclusively show 016 compatibility with her. How will Papa and the others react to this."

"I always dreamt of the day of flying in the sky, I almost gave up for a while, but, now, I might have a pair of wings to call my own. If they are double edge ones that destroy me slowly, I'll still get to fly with them again one more time." Hiro thought.

Back at the new Predacon Base.

Crawler was having a chat with Megatron. "Did you find anything out?"

"Not much, but, I conclude that the scanner has detected something deep within the ground, it's still not clear, but, with time, I can find the Klaxosaur princess,"

Megatron liked that a bit. "Excellent, yes, keep the work, though, don't disappoint me."

Crawler chuckled creepily. "Yes sir."

"Black Beak and Poison Arrow, find anything out there?"

"Nothing to report sir, but, we'll search for any Stasis Pods that could be by, our scanners are still lacking, but, we'll have these upgraded soon,"

"Very well, but, make sure to do that as quickly as possible, we'll need more Predacons to take on the Maximals and that human colony."

The two Predacons nodded and left their leader's chamber.

Megatron chuckled evilly. "Optimus Primal, I'll soon have my revenge, once I destroy you and your precious Maximal team, I'll go after your human friends and take whatever weaponry they have to Cybertron and nothing will stop us from Galactic conquest!"

Rhinox has created his own Franxx that was based on his robotic appearance and has a head that resembles a rhino(which he is in Beast Mode), if any are thinking that the other Maximals will get more, or if any new Maximals or Predacons will show up, find out next time.

End of chapter.