This is VIRM's will.
Star Entity is a mass of life that could disturb the universe's peace.
As such, if the klaxosaur princess took over the implanting process,
we programmed it to explode.
Papa?
The die has been cast.
This planet will explode, leaving nothing behind.
What's going on?
Who are you?
We have assimilated several lifeforms from all over the universe
and helped them break free of the shells of their bodies.
And the time has come for you humans to embrace your evolution.
Wh-What?
There exists a form of pleasure that is gentle and perpetual,
and you will now experience it.
Damn!
Zero Two!
It's all or nothing.
What is this?
Just how long have you been alive?
You've been living all by yourself since before humans existed?
Darling...
Command! Please come in, Command!
Papa!
H-Hey! Who are we supposed to fight here?
The klaxosaurs, obviously! That's how it's always been!
But she said the ones that came from the sky were invaders.
It doesn't matter who the enemy is.
All I can do is fight.
Since the detonation stalled once Code 016 connected...
It's a backdoor code?
Backdoor code?
It's targeting the Stampede Mode.
They set it up so the mode's overload would cause an internal explosion.
They got me.
They got me good!
If this thing blows, the planet will go with it.
And Code 016 prevented that?
All he's done is slow it down.
As things stand, it will reach critical in...
That's how much time my darling bought us, huh?
Code 002?
Uh, isn't it too dangerous to stay here?
What else are we supposed to do?
Calm down. We should assume we won't get any more orders from above.
We'll have to deal with this ourselves.
Weren't they saying something strange in the last message?
Yeah, about using Star Entity as a bomb or something.
They also said the whole planet would explode.
Yeah, that wasn't normal.
What does that mean?
Wasn't that thing supposed to put an end to the war?
We should go and see for ourselves.
If the bomb thing is real, we don't have time to stand around.
Yeah. I'm also worried about Hiro and Zero Two.
Good point... Okay.
We're heading back...
to Gran Crevasse!
It's no use.
VIRM got me.
We've lost.
And what is this "VIRM"?
Who are those guys that came from the sky, the ones you people fought?
When I connected with you, I felt it.
I felt the passing of an unbelievable amount of time.
When did it all begin?
She called me a fake.
What was that about?
She is the sole survivor of the klaxo sapiens,
and you are her clone.
It has been more than sixty million years now.
We inhabited this planet as a civilization far more advanced than yours.
But one day, VIRM arrived.
They were a group mind with no physical bodies,
and they wanted us to join them.
Join them?
They were telling us to cast aside our bodies.
We refused, and war broke out.
During that centuries-long war,
we reforged ourselves into immortal weapons
and evolved into what you people call klaxosaurs.
By the time we finally fought off VIRM,
fighting and warfare was all that remained of our civilization.
We had even lost our ability to procreate.
But things did not end there.
The enemy we had fought off was but VIRM's vanguard.
With no innate form,
they keep expanding, adding the weapons of the planets they devour to their arsenal.
No...
To prepare for VIRM's inevitable return,
we went underground.
The weak turned themselves into energy,
and the strong combined to evolve into even stronger weapons.
That's how the klaxo sapiens built Star Entity, a collective mass of klaxosaurs.
Only a klaxo sapien can operate it.
The klaxosaur princess has probably lived millions of years for that very purpose.
Zero Two, you were created to operate Star Entity on behalf of the human race.
I created you from her DNA.
Even if victory was impossible,
I wanted to take down as many of them as I could.
But this is the end.
It's all over.
Is it really the end?
Is there really nothing more you can do?!
That's right.
Many specimens were born, but failed to survive.
You were the only success.
Eventually, with the idea of using them either as backups or stamens,
I created clones using your cells, too.
But they didn't inherit the klaxosaur blood.
My... clones?
The 9's.
You guys...
Why are you here?
This isn't your post.
Leaving your post without permission can be considered disobeying orders.
Return to your assignment and follow Papa's orders.
That's meaningless at this point! The bomb—
That isn't your call to make. It's Papa's.
And we can't get in touch with him!
We have to analyze the situation and make our own decisions!
"Our own decisions"? Do you guys think you're special or something?
Papa's words are absolute!
Damn monsters.
Kill every last one of them!
They're nuts.
Ichigo! Now's our chance!
Y-Yeah! Let's hurry!
Kokoro!
Let's go.
Y-Yeah.
What is with those guys?
Delta! To your left!
What?!
Delta!
Upsilon!
Hang on, you two!
We'll get rid of them right away!
No! I don't wanna die!
H-Help me!
Screw you...
Screw you!
Okay, I'm going.
Going where?
To bring my darling back.
Don't push yourself.
My darling's waiting for me.
What can you do there?
Star Entity is probably rigged with VIRM traps.
Even if you took it back, you'd only end up falling into them.
So what?
The klaxosaur princess? VIRM?
I don't care.
I don't care if I'm a fake or a monster or whatever.
My darling and I promised to be together forever,
and that we'd go get the other if we were torn apart.
But we learned that the door to the entry point only opens for Code 001.
I'll go with her.
Doctor?
Guys...
Zero Two!
016's connection has delayed their plans, if only briefly.
He is most definitely an unknown factor to VIRM.
The klaxosaur princess, 016, and you...
The three of you together could create a miracle.
Really?
It's a highly optimistic view with no basis whatsoever.
Some might call it blind hope.
Still...
It's much better than standing no chance at all.
Jeez, they don't give up!
Now there's another!
It's caved in!
No! We'll have to take a detour!
There's not enough time!
Get back, guys.
What are you thinking, Ikuno?
Futoshi! We're going to open up a path!
Right on!
Wait, Ikuno! If you do that...
You okay?
Ikuno!
Your hair!
Damn it!
Go, Ichigo!
How could I?
I'll stay behind.
You all go ahead.
Hell no!
You're not throwing your life away! We're staying with you!
Miku...
Kokoro.
I agree with them. We should fight together here.
Either way, we'll need manpower to hold these guys off.
There you have it! Get going already!
Ichigo...
Got it.
Get Hiro for us, Zero Two.
After we save the world, let's have a big feast together!
We'll make a bunch of your favorite sweet things, too!
Sure.
Take care of Chlorophytum!
And don't you dare die!
Let's go!
Welp, leader's orders.
Miku! We're gonna survive, no matter what!
Of course!
Here they come!
Why?
Why do you still struggle?
This battle was never yours to fight.
I was the same.
I was the same as you people.
I never doubted for a second that my purpose in life was to fight,
and I wasn't afraid to die.
But you know what I learned?
You don't call that living.
Meeting Zero Two helped me understand.
The time we spend crying, laughing, and falling in love is truly valuable,
and I realized I wanted to protect it all.
But if we march into death, we'll lose everything.
It'll all be gone.
And I'm not having that! I will never give up!
I promised her that I'd be with her forever!
I don't live to fight anymore.
I'm going to fight to live.
Is that Hringhorni?
Who's operating it?
Hey, Papa, say something...
What are we to do?
Crap! It's going to catch up!
How much farther, Zero Two?
I see it!
Over there!
Star Entity Entry Point
They keep coming.
Go! Get Hiro for us!
Both of you had better come back together.
If either of you is missing, you'll have hell to pay!
You two...
You're not getting past!
Damn it all!
Ichigo! Goro!
Dig in. It's your master's arm.
Doctor?!
Why?
That contains the princess's cells.
They didn't turn me into a klaxosaur like I wanted, but this will do.
Get going.
Doctor?
It's the least I could do to atone.
I won't ask for forgiveness. Feel free to hate me.
I deserve it for what I've done to you.
Are you telling me to ride you?
Got it.
Hey.
Did you take me to Plantation 13 to reunite me with my darling?
Who knows?
It's not like I was expecting you two to rekindle what you had.
It was just a scientist's whim, a fancy.
That's so you.
Doctor, I should say this before I go.
Thank you for creating me and helping me meet my darling.
When did she become so human?
Thank you.
Star Entity Interior: Gran Cradle
Strelizia...
Wait for me, darling.
Darling!
I'm here for you! I kept my promise!
Hey, darling!
Wake up! Open your eyes!
Why aren't you saying anything? Talk to me!
Hey, hey...
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
I'm talking to you, darling!
No...
So it didn't work.
I will never accept this.
I will never give up.
Wait for me, darling.
Is this what living is for you?
We believed that by abandoning our ties and embracing solitude,
we could perfect ourselves, make ourselves stronger.
However...
Perhaps some lives only shine in unison with another.
Very well.
I shall give you every ounce of strength that remains within me.
Whether or not you can take over the controls will be up to you.
I stake this planet's future on you two.
Darling...
Darling.
Zero Two?
I kept my promise.
I believed you would.
Everyone helped.
Right.
I missed you, Zero Two.
Same here, darling.
What's this?!
Humans, we shall take flight once more.
Decide whether you want to fight or accept your ruin.
Strelizia
Apath
Strelizia is rejecting all attempts at interference.
It broke free of our program?
Right now, I feel you closer to me than ever before.
I know what you're thinking like the back of my own hand.
No matter what happens from here on out,
our hearts will always be as one, darling!
I see it... I see it!
Ah, how beautiful you are,
my Apath...
Strelizia Apath!
We have no choice.
We'll settle for the lance of life built from klaxosaurs.
We wanted more, but we'll withdraw for now.
But know that we will return.
And when we do, we will bring our full army
and erase this planet from existence.
Papa...
Episode 21
For You, My Love
We did it, Zero Two.
Zero Two?