A/N: Hello peeps. This is my first ever fanfiction so please do excuse the grammatical and punctuation errors. This fic started off as a "what if?", so the scenarios might be a little iffy at best, I must admit.

Just a note, this story takes place in a universe that slightly veers off from the main series of events that take place in the anime. Hiro and Zero Two are officially a couple and thus in this story Hiro had already regained his memories. And one more thing, this story starts off late into the anime.

Without further ado, enjoy!

The Beginning Of The End

"Mohorovicic class closing in on your position about 500 clicks away" Hachi's voice sounded over the open comms.

"Understood" Hiro firmly said as his grip on the stamen controls tightened.

"Neh Darling, looks like we have some company eager to join us isn't it?" Zero Two chimed in with a wicked grin as Strelitzia's face appeared on the top right of the Franxx's HUD.

Hiro silently chuckled at his partner's cute eagerness to get into another fight.

"Yeah but let's not get ahead of ourselves... they're still a threat to be reckoned with" Hiro added, a slight bit of concern in his voice.

"Darling ~ you don't have to be so firm you know ~. They're just a few icky little klaxosaurs. Nothing me and my darling can't handle". Zero Two tried to comfort Hiro.

She could feel some tension in Hiro's movements as he took control of Strelitzia. Using the bond they shared through Strelitzia, Zero Two used her neural pathways to calm Hiro's nerves.

"Darling ~ It's alright... you don't need to be so tense" she said softly with her angelic voice.

Hiro shivered in delight as his neuroreceptors tingled with pleasure and comfort, slowing down his pulsating heart. Hiro cracked a warm smile towards the HUD and let out a long deep breath, an effort to calm his nerves.

"Thank you, Zero Two"

"Anything for my darling~. Whenever you're down I'll pick you up just like we promised" she beamed a smile towards her partner.

"Gosh what did I do to deserve you", Hiro thought to himself as he replied Zero Two's smile with a warm smile of his own, a slight rosy tint painting his pale cheeks.

"Hiro, Zero Two, are you two fine with taking that Moho Class on your own?" Ichigo's voice suddenly entered the comms.

A slight panting could be heard in her voice. But otherwise she seemed to be calm and collected. A product of all the klaxosaur slaughtering she and the squad had been carrying out for the past half hour outside of Plantation 13.

"We're fine Ichigo.. thanks for asking" Hiro spoke with a reassuring tone.

"As long as I'm with Darling, even a Moho-class should be easy pickings", Zero Two added playfully, a hint of conviction in her voice.

Hiro's face began to show signs of slight blushing but otherwise he still wore a warm smile. Ichigo couldn't help but release a sweet, amused set of giggles through the comms.

"Well alright then you two. Happy hunting! And Hiro make sure nothing bad happens to Zero Two" Ichigo reminded; still letting out a series of giggles.

She was expecting Hiro to counter her mention of protecting Zero Two. All this time she's been telling Zero Two to keep Hiro safe, but Ichigo felt that she'd tease the stamen this time around. And judging by the brief moment of silence that followed her words, she could tell her words played their intended role. Unseen, but clearly known to Ichigo, Hiro became flustered and his blush deepened tenfold.

"W-wait Ichigo what do you-"

Ichigo closes the comms before Hiro has a chance to finish his sentence. Zero Two chuckled in delight as she witnessed her darling struggle to get his bearings straight after the playful tease Ichigo gave.

"Daaarling ~ you'll protect me right?" she reaffirmed, her cyan eyes doing their best impression of puppy eyes, seemingly to add to Hiro's embarrassment.

"O-Of course" Hiro managed to say, his cheeks now a deep shade of crimson.

Zero Two heartily chuckled at the state she's put her partner in.

"It's okay darling ~ I know you'll protect me" she spoke with a reassuring tone as she flashed Hiro a small smile. "And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my darling ~".

Hiro could only do so much as wear a small smile, his senses being overloaded with embarrassment and his cheeks still blushing profusely.

The pair continue to journey onwards toward the Moho-class until Hachi appears once again on the comms. But this time his voice is garbled by some static, most definitely due to the limited range of the communications devices at the command centre.

"Stre..zia...fa...ack...supe..man...class".

Hiro wore a guise riddled with confusion and perplexion, with worry evident on his face as his brows furrowed and scrunched up; clearly struggling to decipher Hachi's message.

"Z-Zero Two can you make out what he's saying?" Hiro asked; his voice showing hints of concern and fear. His hands began to shake slightly as beads of sweat run down his cheeks. "I-It sounds like he said there was a super lehman class nearby..."

Strelitzia's face appears once again on the HUD.

"Neh Darling, if you want to back out now and rendezvous with our friends I'm fine with that" Zero Two states with a firm face, yet she doesn't seem disappointed.

Hiro let out a sigh.

"But the others are counting on us to-"

"Darling..." Zero Two calls out faintly, dispiritedly, almost as if she's sighing with a hint of disappointment and concern in her voice.

"Your safety is more important to me than killing those klaxosaurs... the last thing I want is to" her voice suddenly goes soft and a crack can be heard "...to l-lose you..."

Hiro's body suddenly becomes stiff as he sees the state his lover is in but soon he lets out another sigh and flashes her a warm smile.

"Alright Zero Two, it's best we go back"

Zero Two's face started to light up again as she flashes Hiro a small smile.

"It's for the best darling" she stated softly, her voice as sweet as ever.

"Let's try to get back as fast as we can before those monsters can get any closer"

"Mhm" Zero Two nods.

Hiro fumbled with the buttons on the stamen controls to pull up his comms, allowing Ichigo's voice enters the comms once more.

"Hiro, Zero Two, what's wrong?" she asks worriedly.

"Darling and I got a transmission from Hachi... there's a super Lehman in the area so we're falling back" Zero Two clarified with a firm voice, a stark contrast to her usually jovial and carefree nature, a sign that she's in her serious mode.

"A S-super Lehman?!" Ichigo stammered as she began to realize the situation.

"We're closing in on the squad right now from the east" Hiro added as Delphinium's faint silhouette appears over the horizon, although they seemed to still be quite a distance away judging by how small Delphinium appears to be on the HUD.

A sudden rumble from the earth beneath Strelitzia interrupted his train of thought. The rumbling grew louder and louder until it started to become deafening to the pair.

"Zero Two! What's going on?!" Hiro shouted, fear clearly evident in his voice.

His hands started to tremble yet again; almost slipping from the stamen controls.

"Darling we've got company! Big ones!" his partner bellowed, frustration in her tone.

The ground beneath them began to crumble. Biomechanical appendages and limbs spewed forth, black as the night with blue accents. But they weren't the conrad type. They were something far worse. The Lehman had arrived.

"Activate thrusters!" Hiro shrieked with as loud of a voice as he could muster.

It wasn't to ensure that his partner could hear him, but because he was utterly terrified.

"We'll get as high as we can and outmaneuver this thing!" Zero Two suggested as the thrusters boomed to life.

The roaring engines at maximum power caused the cockpit to vibrate vigorously. The sudden G-force of the ascent pulled Hiro back into his seat. But amidst the chaos, his skin turned pale with sweat running down his face like a river, his bangs sweaty. Absolute fear, that was what he was feeling. As they ascended higher and higher into the clouds, he heard a static roar coming from beneath him, presumably from the Lehman class beneath them, emerging from the ground like the devil himself had been awoken from his slumber in the pits of Hell.

"Z-ZERO TWO WE NEED SOME EVASIVE MANEUVERS!"

All Hiro could do right now was shout, focusing on the stamen controls was tough as it was. All he could hear was his heartbeat, his partner's growls and pants and most of all the clicking of the monster's digits.

"DARLING HOLD ON!"

Strelitzia made a sharp bank right as they did a 90 degree turn to the left, he saw the Lehman's massive forearm, with its digits as long and scaley as a lizard's. Its nails, no... its claws.., as long as half the height of the Franxx. Right as the arm reached into the sky, the fingers of the monster balled into a fist almost as if it was trying to grab onto something. It was about to grab onto Strelitzia. Hiro gulped, saliva coating his throat which by now was feeling extremely hoarse and dry.

"I can't be scared now... not when Zero Two needs me..", Hiro thought to himself as he felt fear overload his mind.

Now more than ever would he need to prove that he could handle a klaxosaur this massive. Now more than ever would he need to give his all to protect Zero Two, his Zero Two, the very reason he had the will to live.

As Strelitzia continued to dodge the beast's advances, they finally caught a view of the Lehman class in all its glory, it's terror. Standing at roughly the height of a plantation was the Lehman class, a horned beast, horns as long as a Franxx, with sharp protrusions lining its back. But what terrified the pair most of all was the fact that only half the beast's body was visible.. the rest was hidden underneath the Earth.

"D-D-Darling how big is this klaxosaur", Zero Two stammered, fear absolutely evident in her voice.

Gone was the stoic and brave facade she had tried so hard to put on. Her pupils dilated. She was experiencing true fear for the first time in ages... the fear of losing her darling.

"I-I don't know Zero Two..". Hiro attempted to give her some reassurance, but in the state of fear he was in, he was at a loss for words, completely mortified by what he witnessed below him.

"ZERO TWO, HIRO, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT", Ichigo shrieked through the comms, her voice breaking the pair out of their fearful daze.

"Lehman class!" Hiro hastily replied.

"FALL BACK, I REPEAT FALL BACK DO NOT ENGAGE!" Ichigo bellowed once again, her voice now a lot more firm than before.

"ROGER", the pair roared in unison before revving up the thrusters a second time up to maximum power.

Just as they were beginning to fly east towards the squad, the Franxx stopped abruptly in mid-air as if it was stopped by an invisible wall. Hiro almost slipped out of his stamen seat, but the restraints on his waist prevented it.

"HNGG"

Hiro's eyes suddenly dilated and his body froze. He knew what was happening. The Lehman had a grip on Strelitzia. His Zero Two was getting hurt.

"ZERO TWO!"

Hiro's cry tore out through the air, the sheer fear in his voice was so evident that it would send shivers down anyone who'd be unfortunate enough to witness the horror unfolding.

"HNGGGG IT'S GOT US DARLING", Zero Two screamed, a mix of pain and frustration in her voice. "AAAGGHHH", she let out another scream of pain, almost as if she was gargling on her saliva as the sound of the monster's claws digging against the metal became more audible.

The Lehman was digging into her left foot, preventing her from flying any further. Slowly but surely, the monster was dragging Strelitzia out of the air and towards the ground.

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY ZERO TWO", the terrified stamen hissed at the klaxosaur.

Hiro took control of the Franxx and lunged his spear towards the digits of the klaxosaur. But to no avail, the spear merely bounced off the klaxosaur's claws as they dug deeper and deeper into the metal, skewering Strelitzia's left leg.

"HHHNNNGGGG"

Another blood-curdling cry of pain ushered out from Zero Two, one that would galvanize Hiro into a state of rage and desperation.

Nonononononono I can't let this happen. I CAN'T LET HER GET HURT. NOTHING HURTS MY ZERO TWO.

Hiro once again lunged the spear towards the hand that grips Strelitzia's left leg while screaming like a cornered anima at the top of his lungs. Sensing what Hiro was about to do, Zero Two gave the arm that held the magma spear a boost of energy as she directed the Franxx's power towards the right arm. Unfortunately, the second attempt proved to be futile just like the first, but this didn't stop the raging stamen from trying again. He wasn't about to give up.. not when his Zero Two's life was on the line. Once again he struck the claws of the beast and this time the momentum of his strike managed to loosen the beast's grip.

They were free.

Strelitzia used this fleeting opportunity to break free from the beast's grip.

"ACTIVATE THRUSTERS TO FULL THROTTLE" Hiro shouted, his voice filled with desperation.

The thrusters roared back to life once again and propel the Franxx further away from the Lehman class.

"D-DARLING WE DID IT" Zero Two choked as Xs ran down Strelitzia's faceplate, she was tearing up with tears of joy.

A voice from the comms snapped the pair out of their ecstacy though. The voice on the other end was stoic, but hints of desperation could be heard.

"Strelitzia this is Hachi... we.. have an urgent request for you..."

NO! NO! NO! NOT LIKE THIS HACHI PLEASE DONT PLEASE DONT TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO ASK US TO KILL THAT THING.. PLEASE DONT PUT MY ZERO TWO IN HARM'S WAY..

"... we require that you.. dispatch the Lehman class by any means necessary..."

A tense and eerie silence in the cockpit followed Hachi's commands. Hiro's grip on the stamen controls tightened, his knuckles white and his fingers clenching the controls with all his might. His breathing became ragged and heavy, he was hyperventilating. He choked as he tried to find the words he wished to say to Hachi. Hachi interrupted his train of thought however by continuing with his solemn, desperate request.

"... if you two don't kill the klaxosaur.. I'm afraid the entire plantation will be at risk.. and so will your squad".

He couldn't take it anymore.. he was going to break.

Tears begin flowing down Hiro's cheeks as he grit his teeth. Tears of anger, tears of hate, tears of fear and sorrow. He sobbed quietly inside the cockpit.. but whatever effort he put into hiding his tears were futile as his sobbing became more and more audible. Hiro's mental state continued to deteriorate as he mumbled to himself - a helpless boy's ramblings.

"No.. please no. I don't want Zero Two to get hurt... I don't care if I get hurt... I'd go through anything to keep her safe. Just please I don't want to lose her" Hiro quietly mumbled to himself as he clutched the sides of his head.

A soft, angelic voice snapped him out of his deliriousness.

"H-Hachi.. can I have a minute to discuss this with my Darling.. please?" Zero Two softly implored.

There was no anger or frustration in her voice, only fear and hints of desperation. A short silence followed her request until Hachi finally replied.

"Understood code 002"

"Strelitzia engage autopilot" Zero Two commanded swiftly, a bit of a contrast to her soft, desperate tone from earlier.

The stamen controls finally retracted and the paracapacity display went off with a low-pitched hum.

"Darling..." Zero Two softly called out as she turned around to meet Hiro, her beloved, who at this point was still sobbing with his head held in his hands.

As Hiro heard her angelic voice, he looked up to see her face. Puffy eyes stared back at him, tears streaming down her face, but despite all of this, Hiro's lover continued to wear a warm smile, despite the daunting situation they're in.

"Z-Zero Two" is all Hiro managed to say before his vision is once again blurred by the tears welling up in his eyes.

He lifted his back from the seat, leaning forward. Almost in an instant, Zero Two hopped off the pistil platform and immediately wrapped her arms around her darling.

"Sshhh it's gonna be alright, Darling.. everything's going to be alright.. sshhh listen to my voice ~" she delicately whispered into Hiro's ear as she rubs his back with one hand and gently caresses his shaggy hair with another.

Despite her attempts to calm her darling, Hiro continues to sob even louder as he buries his head into her neck, arms tightly gripping around her back. To him, it was as if she would disappear into thin air if he were to let her go from his embrace.

"I'm not ready Zero Two.. I don't want to lose you.." Hiro meekly whimpered as his emotions spill out from him like water rushes from a broken dam.

His sobbing continues to die down slowly but he sniffles more and more, mucus dripping from his nose. To anyone else Hiro would seem pathetic and cowardly for breaking down in the middle of a battle. But not to Zero Two. She knew well that Hiro had a reason for breaking down. He had been through alot... and now was the time that the barriers that kept his raging emotions at bay finally broke down.

Zero Two herself was on the verge of another panic attack. But she knew that her darling needed her more than ever right now to be the one leading the way, the one to provide comfort to a broken boy on the verge of insanity. Zero Two placed her hands on Hiro's shoulder and gently left his embrace. With tears welling up in her eyes, she pulled away from Hiro, but not enough for his hands to lose their grip on her back. Still putting on a comforting smile, albeit one that had noticeable hints of despair, she gently pressed her horns against Hiro's forehead, a sign of affection, and nuzzled her nose on his.

"Hiro..." Zero Two whispered as she cupped his cheeks, wiping away the tears staining his face with her thumbs.

Hiro's pupils begin to dilate and he gasps under his breath. It was the first time she'd ever called him by his actual name. His breathing ceased for a fleeting moment as he absorbed the situation. From his point of view it was as if the gears of time ceased to turn.

"... you are my darling, Hiro. And whenever I'm with you, I feel like I can fly again... I know we're going through alot right now... but trust me... we'll get through this.." she whispered.

To no surprise, Hiro once again began to feel the rush of tears streaming down his face, but this time he doesn't cower, he doesn't run away. He cupped Zero Two's cheeks in his hands and gently pulled her face closer until both of their lips were merely inches apart. Sensing what Hiro was about to do, Zero Two closed her eyes, preparing her lips to meet Hiro's. The pair shared a long, passionate kiss. But this time instead of it being filled with lust and carnal love, it was filled with longing, sorrow, sadness, comfort.

Soon after, they broke away from their kiss, both quietly gasping for air, their rosey cheeks seemingly glowing in the dark cockpit. Hiro opened his eyes and stares into the cyan eyes that stare back at him. A warm smile cracked on his face, a sign that he was slowly regaining his spirit, his sanity. He caressed Zero Two's cheeks gently, wiping away the tears that stain her cheeks, just like how she wiped away his tears.

"I'll always protect you Zero Two.." he whispered as he pulled her into another embrace.

Zero Two reciprocated the embrace with her hands gripping Hiro's back.

"Mhm darling ~ I know you will" she states in a chirpy voice as she sniffles.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

The engines of Strelitzia roared back to life once again and it's faceplate was now showing Zero Two's red eyes, a grin on her face.

"Ready, Zero Two?" Hiro said, his voice laden with conviction and confidence, as Strelitzia turned around to face the Lehman class.

"I'm always ready whenever we're together, Darling ~" Zero Two hummed in a sing-song voice.

Readying her lance in her right hand, Strelitzia pressed a button on the lance that allowed magma to flow to the tip. The beast took notice of Strelitzia's offensive stance in the sky and hissed. A static hiss that had a high pitch, one that could shatter glass. Sensing that Strelitzia was not out of the fight, the beast crashed its palms into the Earth.

"Neh, Darling do you think it's trying to mock us?" Zero Two asked.

Clearly she was amused by the beast's behaviour as Hiro heard her giggle slightly.

"I guess this thing thinks we're nothing but fodder... how about we let it know we mean business?" Hiro replied, his voice now oozing with confidence.

"Mhm Darling ~ you took the words right out of my-" Zero Two stopped her sentence mid-way as she noticed that the Lehman class's body began inching upwards from beneath the Earth.

Strelitzia's eyes begin to dilate as the klaxosaur used its arms to release itself from the Earth, causing the surrounding barren soil to crumble into the abyss that the klaxosaur left.

Standing at twice the height of the plantation was the klaxosaur, its tail revealed, and its legs thick and scaly like a mix between a bull's legs and a lizard's. Strelitzia quickly snapped herself out of her daze and brought herself into a defensive stance. The Lehman class roared, shaking the heavens and vibrating the Franxx's cockpit.

"WE WON'T BACK DOWN AGAIN" Hiro and Zero Two shouted in unison.

Though one could see the fear in their eyes, their hearts were pulsating with desperation, with rage, with conviction.

"DARLING WE HAVE TO AIM FOR THE CORE!" Zero Two shouted.

"WHERE DO WE EVEN FIND IT" Hiro asked, panicking but still trying to maintain his facade.

Strelitzia's eyes quickly scaled up and down the klaxosaur's hideous form and dilated when she saw a glowing patch on the head of the klaxosaur, in between it's ram-like horns. Blue veins spread out from the patch throughout the Lehman's body.

"THERE, DARLING!"

Zero Two focused the Franxx's view on the blue, pulsating patch.

"Strelitzia do you copy?" Ichigo's voice came into the comms once again.

"Loud and clear Ichigo!" Hiro replied.

"We're going to take on that Lehman class before it gets any closer to the plantatio-"

"HIRO YOU'RE DOING WHAT?!" Ichigo interrupts Hiro before he could finish his sentence.

"I AM NOT LETTING YOU TWO TAKE THAT THING ON ALONE. RETURN TO THE PLANTATION NOW"

"Ichigo... if we don't do this.. there won't be a plantation to go back to..." Hiro says softly, not trying to escalate the situation further.

"NO AS SQUAD LEADER I WON'T ALLOW -" Ichigo screams through the comms with fear and anger laddening her voice before she's interrupted by Hiro.

"Ichigo... I have Zero Two.. and she has me.. we'll both keep each other safe... I promise" Hiro states softly but with conviction in his voice as he beams a small smile at the HUD toward Strelitzia's face.

Zero Two reciprocates her darling's comforting reassurance with a smile of her own. A moment of silence follows his reply until Ichigo lets out a long, deep sigh.

"F-fine.." Ichigo stammers. "But if anything happens I'm going to have a field day with the two of you!"

Zero Two giggles heartily at Ichigo's command. It was as if the severity of the situation didn't impact her sense of humour one bit.

"Haaaai leader-san~" she hummed jovially.

Ichigo finally exited the comms and the pair began to go into their serious stance once again.

"Zero Two, we'll fly around the Lehman to throw it off and after we've got it into a daze.. we'll plunge onto its head, pierce the core and kill it" Hiro suggests.

"Sounds like a plan darling!" Zero Two chimes in.

Together they revved up the engines, tilting the Franxx forward to begin their dash towards the Lehman.

"YOSH (Let's go)!" Hiro bellowed out before Strelitzia's twin thrusters knocked him back into his seat.

As the barren landscape whizzed past him and the klaxosaur grew in size in the Franxx's HUD, he began to perspire, due to fear no less. But deep in his heart he had the overwhelming will to act, to face his fears and cower from them no longer. Zero Two felt the same. Her eyes on Strelitzia's faceplate were locked onto the Lehman class, onto the patch that would be their ticket into saving their squad, their home. It didn't matter that the bureaucracy of APE almost managed to tear them apart because they admitted, that without plantation 13, without misteltein, they'd have nowhere else to go.

The pair screamed at the top of their lungs as they approached the Lehman class. If one were to view this battle as a spectator, Strelitzia would seem to be the size of an ant, a speck of dust compared to the gargantuan Lehman class. But the two lovers couldn't care less about the unfavourable odds. They had each other. And that was more than enough.

"Zero Two, hand coming from the right!" Hiro shouted his warning as the beast raised its hand, seemingly to swat the Franxx out of the sky.

Heeding Hiro's command, Strelitzia banked to the left and descended a few feet to dodge the attack.

"Darling, I have a plan!" Zero Two suggested, already panting from all the action.

"What is it, Zero Two?" Hiro questioned, slight confusion in his tone as his partner's actions were often unpredictable even to the most skilled of fighters such as Delphinium.

"No time, Darling! Just bear with me!" is all she managed to say before the thrusters shut off and the Franxx enters a free fall.

"Z-ZERO TWO WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Hiro choked out absolutely terrified and confused.

Zero Two didn't reply however, as they plummeted towards the Earth. The beast though took notice of this and directed its palm toward the Franxx, intending to slam the Franxx into the Earth. As Strelitzia approached the barren soil beneath them, so did the hand that eagerly wanted to put an end to their lives. Hiro's heart began to palpate at an unnatural speed.

Zero Two I really hope you know what you're doing.

"DARLING ACTIVATE THE THRUSTERS NOW!" Zero Two bellowed out her command out of the blue, catching Hiro off guard.

He still managed to absorb her words though and presses the red buttons on each of his stamen controls.

"THRUSTERS ON FULL POWER!" Hiro shouted, the G-force once again pulling him back into his seat.

As the thrusters boomed back to life, Strelitzia exited the free fall and swiftly dodged the Lehman class's palm moments before it crashed into the Earth, sending dust and soil flying into the air. From the cloud of dust, Strelitzia dashed out and made a break towards the beast's face.

"DARLING, CHANGE OF PLANS! WE'RE GONNA TAKE OUT ITS CORE THROUGH IT'S EYES!"

I hope this works, Zero Two...

"H-HAI" is all Hiro could muster to say before they finally approach the beast's eyes.

The eyes were a deep blue, with no pupils or irises, giving the demonic creature a soulless look. Hiro gulped, warm saliva running down his dry throat.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared, don't be scared" Hiro kept repeating to himself under his breath.

Truth be told, he was just about ready to break into a panic attack. The entire fate of the plantation rested on his shoulders. His lover's life was in his hands. In what felt like an eternity before Strelitzia's lance striked the beast's eye, he looked towards Zero Two, the love of his life. She wasn't shaking, she wasn't cowering. Whether or not it was all a facade didn't matter. Her resolve could clearly be seen.

If Zero Two can do it... so can I.

His eyes then shifted towards the beast that was taking up the entire view of his HUD. His digits gripped the stamen controls with such ferocity. He was ready to strike. He was ready to act. No longer would he be fearful.

The pair screamed as they both took control of the Franxx, their movements syncing with one another. They plunged the lance into the beast's eye, driving it deep until they could feel the edge of the core grazing against their spear.

"DARLING I CAN FEEL THE CORE" Zero Two cried out her voice filled with adrenaline and hope.

"PUSH IT DEEPER ZERO TWO" Hiro hastily commanded.

It was a mix of desperation and fear. The pair screamed into the heavens, their cries of exhilaration and adrenaline almost drowning out the deafening roar of pain emanating from the beast. Finally, they both gave the lance one last push before they felt the lance pierce the core. A muffled explosion could be heard from within the beast's eye.

"D-DARLING WE DID-"

"ZERO TWO" Hiro's cry of terror snapped Zero Two out of the daze she was in.

In her ecstacy of piercing the beast's core, she didn't notice that the beast didn't intend on going out without taking the Franxx along with it.

To the right of Strelitzia, the beast's fist was speeding straight into the Franxx. In what seemed like an eternity, as time seemed to stop for Zero Two, she shifted her head to the right. Her pupils dilated, the fist was mere inches away from the Franxx. Usually situations like these wouldn't be of much concern to the pistil whenever the pair fought Gutenbergs and other massive klaxosaurs. But this time... this time she knew she received the short end of the stick.

Up close, the beast's fist was as large as a cargo transport ship. To make matters worse, its knuckles were serrated with sharp protrusions, seemingly to add salt to the wound.

"D-Darling... I'm sorry.." she muttered to herself.

Tears were welling in her eyes. She knew well that if these were to be the pair's last moments, then she would be the obvious culprit for their demise. Only now did she realize that her darling's life had reached its pitiful, untimely end; all because of her reckless antics. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. Her life flashed before her eyes.

And all she could see was her darling. Hiro was her life. The hours they spent together in Garden. The night they spent crying in the light of a dimly lit candle as Hiro regained his lost memories. The time they first slept together in each other's warmth. Their first kiss.

If it didn't seem like she was tearing up before, then now it would seem like a dam had been broken behind her eyes as tears rushed through her closed eyelids.

"I love you.. Darli-" she whispered to herself only to be interrupted when she felt a warmth emanating from behind her.

She slowly opened her eyelids, black-clad arms were wrapped around her waist and she could feel a lock of fuzzy hair tickle her neck.

"I love you too... Zero Two" a voice came from behind her, mere inches away from her ear.

"D-d-darling?.." she choked.

In the time it took for the fist to close in on Strelitzia, Hiro had jumped out of his seat and protectively encased Zero Two in his arms, never to let go. Knowing that the strike of the fist would severely damage the Franxx, and by extension cripple Zero Two, he released her from the pistil controls and embraced her for the impact.

"I'll protect you Zero Two... just like I promised" he whispered into her ear, his voice as soft as ever.

His tone didn't have any trace of sadness nor fear, just comfort and longing. Truly her life mattered more to him... now more than ever. Zero Two now began to weep, tears streamed down her eyes as she gripped Hiro's arms that were wrapped around her waist. She didn't want to let go.

But alas, it happened...