After FRANXX

Chapter 3

New Horizons

The faint song of the mornings birds drifted through the air as the wind whispered through the trees.

The schoolchildren gawked as the spark of red and white streaked through the air, the shockwaves from its sonic boom rippling across the fields.

The children cheered as the bright light sparred with the towering monoliths of purple and pink, streaks of light shedding off of their skin.

The FRANXX had finally been recommissioned, and Zero Two and Hiro were the last parasite pair that was still viable. Even after years of not piloting, their connection still reached 100% the second they connected. They were still a perfect couple.

It had been almost three days since they had entered the FRANXX. Every time they defeated one of the new VIRM amalgamations, a new one would pop up hundreds of miles away.

Hiros body was bruised and battered, and blood dripped down his face. He gritted his teeth as he thrusted Strelizia's spear through the VIRMs head, destroying its receptor. It fell to the ground as two new blips appeared on the HUD.

Zero Two was concerned. Her and Hiro loves each other so much that they wouldn't allow the other to be hurt in any way, yet here she was, allowing him to take the brunt of the attacks. He didn't let her put her body on the line for them. He put himself between her and the danger in front of her, and she hated herself for letting him do it. She couldn't bare watching her sweet, loving, perfect little darling letting himself be hurt so that she wouldn't have to.

She fell out of sync for the first time in her life. The FRANXX hit the ground, and Hiro unleashed a guttural scream as he forced Strelitzia upright, before falling onto its knees.

She noticed his just barely audible rambling,

"Not again. Not again. I can't lose her. Not again."

She started to cry.

The tears that ran down her face matched the blood that ran down his. She ripped her headpiece off and looked at the screen. He was at nearly 200%. He was destroying himself to save her.

She pulled him out of the chair.

She laid on top of him, her tears staining his uniform as he cracked open his eyelids. She screamed at him.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU'RE KILLING YOURSELF!"

She couldn't comprehend why. Why would he do this. She loved him just as much as he loved her, couldn't he see? Couldn't he see that him destroying himself was destroying her too?

She slammed her head into his chest and sobbed. She kept repeating his name, her voice muffled by his chest.

His blank eyes stared at the ceiling even when her face was right above his. As she stroked his hair, tears started to form in his striking blue eyes.

She closed her eyes and kissed him.

When she pulled away, he was staring into her eyes with tears streaming down his face.

"I can't let you fight alone again, Zero Two. I promised to never leave you. I will not break that promise."

His voice faded. She wrapped her arms around him, and squeezed him as tightly as she could. He hugged her back.

"Don't worry, Da-ling. We'll be together forever."

"We're not going out again."

Zero Twos voice was stern as she looked Hachi directly in the eyes. He started to reply.

"Bu-"

"No buts. You're not putting my da-ling in harms way again. He almost died, and you said nothing. We're not going to help you any more."

She pushed past Hachi, walking at a brisk pace and pulled Hiro along behind her.

He tried to get her attention, but she just kept walking. He walked beside her and squeezed her hand.

The people clustered in the gardens hallways parted as they walked past. He suddenly felt self conscious.

They hadn't seen the outside of Strelitzias cockpit for almost a week. Their clothes were torn and bloodied, and their horns were almost a foot long, their almost crystalline quality refracted the sunlight onto the walls around them.

The crowds eyes burned through his already thin parasite uniform as he strode along the love of his life. She slammed opened one of the exterior doors and started walking towards the forest.

He already knew where she was going.

She shook his hand off and fell into a slumped position against the tree where it had all started.

The mistletoes bright red berries seemed to glow the same color as her horns. The snow around them was pure white, only broken by their trail of footsteps.

He sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She slammed her head into his shoulder and sobbed.

Hiro laid his head on top of hers as he started to stroke her back. Her body wracking sobs slowly trickled into hiccups, and finally turned to silence.

She crawled so that she was straddling his waist, and hugged him as tightly as she could. He returned the embrace as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

When Zero Two woke up, she was in her and Hiros bed. She grasped at his side, trying to find the warmth of his body.

When it was made obvious that he wasn't there, she bolted upright.

She ran into the main section of the apartment, and saw him sitting at the table.

She tackled him out of the chair.

She squeezed his body as tightly as she could. He stroked her hair and spoke in a calming voice as he told her it was ok. When she finally let him get up, he showed her what he had been working on.

The table was covered in old maps of the world, along with a list of currently uncharted sections of the wilderness. Hiros beaming smile was contagious, as Zero Two started to giggle like a schoolgirl.

"You really do remember, da-ling."