Klaxosaur activity has increased lately,
and large ones are reportedly showing up everywhere, which is unprecedented.
The Nines are dealing with them for now,
but they still have other tasks to complete.
How long will we let Strelizia goof off?
Now that the special specimen's aptitude has been ascertained,
we have no reason to leave it there any longer.
Indeed. It isn't wise to let her mix with tainted stamens any more.
If we're recalling her, we'll have to ready a new stamen.
Not a problem.
There are plenty of parasites who want to team up with her.
A demon...
She's a demon. You'd have to be insane to ride with her.
She'll kill you.
How was he?
He hasn't touched his food at all.
Maybe I should eat it so it doesn't go to waste.
He's been like that ever since we got back.
Mitsuru...
What happened with Zero Two?
What... happened?
That girl tried to devour everything I have.
My blood, my flesh, and my soul...
All of it!
Everything was normal at first,
but after a point, sh-she was out to kill me.
Mitsuru...
What's worse, she had a smile on her face!
She was smiling the entire time!
Mitsuru!
Calm down, man!
Ride with her again, and it'll happen to you.
You'll end up like me, too.
You're out of your mind if you think you're the sole exception!
Cut it out, Mitsuru!
Look, just lie down.
You okay?
Yeah.
Got it.
There.
Whoa.
Do you still want to ride with her?
Dude, if you keep eating that much, you'll get even fatter.
I just can't bring myself to trust her.
Don't call me fat!
Hey, fatty!
Especially after seeing what happened to Mitsuru.
Don't call me that!
Wait up!
Assuming the partner-killing rumor is true,
you could die if you ride with her two more times.
Even so, I still have a chance to be of use if I'm riding with Zero Two.
You've made up your mind, huh?
Fine. I won't stop you again, then.
Ichigo?
As leader, I have to steel myself, too.
Steel yourself, huh?
Yes, klaxosaurs must be eliminated.
But that doesn't mean you get free rein.
You didn't need to use that much power to deal with those klaxosaurs.
But because you did, we nearly lost one of our squad.
Are you listening to me?
I wanna leave. I feel like I'm gonna suffocate in here.
Why, you...
As long as I have my darling, I don't care about this place.
And the rest are sure to die soon, anyway.
Zero Two,
those kids are your fellow FRANXX pilots, even if you do belong to different units.
Fellow pilots? Are you serious?
Those weaklings are only a nuisance, no matter how many there are.
They may be an irregular squad,
but they're parasites who were carefully chosen for their high aptitude.
Really? Those guys?
You only feel that way because you are special.
Are you talking about how I'm not human?
I'm talking about your abilities and nothing else.
Also, it's highly unlikely that 016 will be given permission to pilot Strelizia.
What do you mean?
We received word from HQ earlier.
You'll be returning to the front lines.
Assuming the partner-killing rumor is true,
you could die if you ride with her two more times.
...but after a point, sh-she was out to kill me.
What's worse, she had a smile on her face!
She was smiling the entire time!
Damn it!
Hiro's training by himself again?
If you leave him alone, he runs forever.
He's surprisingly hardworking, isn't he?
That's not how I imagined he'd be.
Wait, has he still not given up on riding with that girl?
Well, that is presently the only way he can stay here.
But doesn't that mean he'll have to leave if Zero Two does?
That would be the natural assumption.
Maybe he'd be better off going with her.
It'd be awful if he had to remain alone forever.
Look, I don't know if you forgot or what, but she has klaxosaur blood.
She's not human.
Just look at what happened to Mitsuru.
Hiro's well aware of that. He wants to ride with her anyway.
Ichigo?
And he isn't the only one staring death in the face.
If things don't change, we could find ourselves dead at any time, too.
Unless we can defeat klaxosaurs without Strelizia,
we won't survive for long.
We can't afford to mess up again.
You messed up just as bad.
That's right. But it won't happen again.
I need your help to ensure it doesn't.
We're a team, aren't we?
A team, huh?
Yeah, we are.
Y-You don't have to tell me.
How very like a leader.
Well, it's high time we showed Papa and them what we're made of.
Yeah.
And if we keep it up, we could make it big, too!
We need you too, Ikuno.
Right on!
Let's do this!
Mitsuru probably knows he can't mess up again, either.
Back him up as his partner.
Okay.
To prepare for the kissing with Plantation 26,
Plantation 13 will switch to mobile setup.
I repeat:
To prepare for the kissing with Plantation 26,
Plantation 13 will switch to mobile setup.
Why am I hiding from her?
Boys Bathing
Two more times...
I...
There you are.
W-Wait, why are you here?
G-Give me some space here!
Hey, darling.
Run away with me.
Forget about those weaklings.
As long as you're with me, nothing else matters.
You're the only one who can be my partner.
Or are you just like everyone else?
Do you think I'm a monster, too?
Klaxosaur?!
We've detected one worm-type klaxosaur. It's heading toward Plantation 13.
It likely reacted to the energy emitted by the mobile kissing setup.
Shit...
I can... I can...
Can you move?
This... is nothing.
Grab on to me.
I don't need to.
You're such an awkward boy.
We haven't identified the klaxosaur's class.
We've only detected one as of now, but there may be more in hiding.
Be careful.
Roger that!
All FRANXX, commence connecting!
I sure hope you can connect this time.
I get it. I'll be fine now.
We'll hold it off here.
Is that the only enemy?
For now, yes.
Changing into your suits won't help. We're not deploying Strelizia.
Hey, I didn't say anything.
Let's go!
One, two...
Did we get it?
No, I don't think so. We probably missed the core.
We can't kill it unless we find its core.
Let's get—
There was another one?
We have to save them!
Damn...
Just wait!
From below?
See? We really should go too, don't you think?
Out of the question.
Tch. Spoilsport.
By the way, who just landed in that transport plane?
Code 002. You're coming with us.
Your escorts are here. Do as they say.
Zero Two, you will return to the front lines.
By yourself, obviously.
Wait, what do you—
Hurry. We want to leave while the FRANXX are keeping the klaxosaur occupied.
Don't touch me!
Hey!
What's all this about, Zero Two?
Darling, looks like time's up.
I felt like things could work out with you, too.
I wanted to be with you.
But this is goodbye.
Ow...
Zero Two?
Bye-bye.
Come on.
Hiro...
This was an order from Papa and the rest.
Is it true that Zero Two is a partner killer?
She's a special pistil who must keep fighting on the front lines for them.
That will also take its toll on the stamen who becomes her partner.
Keep this in mind. She's not like you normal children.
You mean she isn't human?
Simply put, yes.
Is that really how it is?
You weren't frightened by my horns.
Do you think I'm a monster, too?
I wanted to be with you.
Bye-bye.
No! Zero Two is just like us!
Stop, Hiro!
Zero Two!
What is it?
Nothing.
Zero Two!
Wait up, Zero Two!
Damn it!
Hear me out! I...
I was afraid of riding with you.
I'm probably still afraid of it.
But that's not because you aren't human.
It's because I lacked the resolve!
When we first met, I couldn't take my eyes off you.
You were confident, held your head high,
and were ready to fight the klaxosaurs even when hurt! And I found that beautiful!
I'd been moping around,
but I felt like I could fly with you.
I realized that I never really cared about riding the FRANXX.
I wanted to ride with you!
So please don't go, Zero Two!
Hey, keep moving.
How can I leave after that?
Zero Two...
Nobody's ever said such embarrassing things to me before.
I-It's a first for me, too.
You wanna ride me, huh?
I'll do it.
Let me hear it one more time.
Let me...
Let me ride in Strelizia again!
Now that's my darling!
Run for it!
Those two got through the gates!
Hold it!
Both of you, get out of there right now!
I'm going out with my darling.
You are not getting permis—
What's up, darling?
Will I be really be able to pilot?
Of course you can do this. We can do this.
Ready?
Yeah.
It'll be all right.
If I'm with Zero Two, I can do this!
Let's fly, darling!
I did it...
I'm piloting a FRANXX!
That's right. This is what you're capable of.
I feel myself going deeper inside you.
I can't tell where I end and where you begin anymore.
But I love it!
I'm feeling it, too.
We're a perfect fit, huh?
But there's more to come.
Shit!
Strelizia?!
Is that Hiro?
Are you serious?
Let me handle this.
No! We can't afford to rely on Strelizia this time!
Even I'm...
I'm part of the team, too.
All right, Hiro.
You deal with that.
We're going to focus on this one.
That didn't feel right.
Where's the core?
Oh, no, you don't!
What the...
No way... It was all part of one klaxosaur?
If it's that long, it won't be easy to look for the core!
But we'll still have to find it!
God! Somebody stop this thing!
I'll do it.
Come on, guys!
Yeah!
Okay, we pinned it down,
but now what?!
Not on my watch!
H-Hiro!
We need you!
Think we can do this, Zero Two?
Easy!
Hiro!
Target neutralized. All units, return to base.
I can't believe she ignored Papa's orders.
Was she planning on this all along?
But this changes everything.
The numbers conclusively prove Code 016's compatibility with Strelizia.
How will Papa and the others react to this?
I'd always dreamed of the day I could take flight to the skies above.
And for a while, I'd given up on it ever coming true.
But now, I may have finally found a pair of wings to call my own.
Even if they're double-edged wings that will slowly destroy me,
I'll be able to fly one more time.
Episode 4
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